Greetings and Salutations -

I wanted to share some news about the Amazon Book Contest.

I have advanced to Round 2! 10,000 people entered this contest and the contest team just whittled it down to 2,000 people based solely on a short blurb we submitted about our books. Nothing else was read but that blurb. I made the cut!

Round 2 involves reviewers reading the first chapter I carefully chose a novel which had a gripping first chapter to ensure I had the best chance of making it through this round. I went with Finding Peace, which starts with the emotion-filled woman, drenched from a thunderstorm, coming into a tavern and being attacked. So, hopefully, it'll catch the reader’s interest and stand out amongst the other entries. There are now 400 entries left per category so I am against the 400 in Young Adult.

This round is read by Vine reviewers (I did this in past years) and two people read each entry. They rate them from 1-5 on various categories of overall strength, style, plot, and originality. When I reviewed these books in the past I have to say many of them were completely atrocious. So simply being readable was a big boost :). The field may be much better now, but since “any 10,000” can enter at the very beginning there’s all sorts of entries from people who have never written before and who have no idea how to spell or write. So one would hope our editors have a good chance at this stage.

Their aim in this round is to advance 100 entries per category, so 1 out of 4. It runs through April 11th.

On April 11th we’ll know if we go up another level! At that next round they whittle down to *5* per category, so it’s a huge culling. That’s then the semi-finals from which they choose an overall winner. I believe everyone in the semi-finals group gets $15,000 – so those are the top 25 novels (5 per category). The actual finalist gets $50,000. So it’s worth entering.

Still, a long way to go. Now to see if the readers love my first chapter. That’s all that’s seen at this current stage. It all comes down to finding two Amazon Vine reviewers who perfectly connect with one’s style. If I happen to get two readers who hate the medieval time period, I could easily be left behind :). There are other authors who say they submitted the exact same blurb, first chapter, and full book four years in a row. Each year they reached a random different stage including one year failing at the blurb stage. So you never know. It all depends on who happens to get your entry to review and what their personal interests are.

If there are other editors who entered this contest, please respond back and let me know! That way I can watch for your entries as well and cheer you on, and share the news with our editor community.

If you weren't able to enter this year, mark it on your calendar to enter next year! It's completely free to enter and you never know, you could win!

Sincerely,


Lisa Shea, owner
BellaOnline.com

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