Welcome 2014 Golden Heart Finalist Piper Huguley!
Hey, everyone, today we’re joined by another 2014 Golden Heart Finalist, Piper Huguley, who is actually two-time finalist! I asked Piper to talk about a really cool contest that I’m not sure a lot of people know about. So take it away, Piper!
Thank you, Jamie, for inviting me to talk about the ABNA (Amazon Novel Breakthrough Contest) contest today. Ever since I reached the quarterfinals of this contest last week, I’m surprised by the number of my writing friends who don’t know much about the contest. So, I’m happy to provide an introduction to it. I know a number of us Golden Heart folk are striving for publication, but if you find things haven’t worked out your way by next January or February, you might want to give it a try. Even if you’ve self-published with Ammy (some ABNA speak) – Jamie here: Ammy is Amazon if anyone is slow like me. It took me a second to figure it out! – you can still enter!
The ABNA contest has been in existence for six years. Everyone used to be lumped in together. That made the Romance people very unhappy, because they got no respect (they still don’t by the way). Last year, they broke up the contest into five categories: General Fiction, Mystery/Thriller, Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror, Romance, and Young Adult Fiction. People seem to be happier with this way of doing things, so they kept things the same. About six weeks before they open up the window, Ammy will say the contest will open the submission window soon. If you have a complete manuscript and a pitch (300 word book blurb) ready, enter! It’s free. And to me, this year, it has been an opportunity for free publicity as I launch my self-publishing endeavor.
The contest is capped at 10,000 entries. Once Ammy gets that 10k entry, the submissions window closes. Over the past two years that I participated, the window closed the day before the deadline. To enter you have to put in your pitch, your partial (3000 to 5000 words), and the complete manuscript. They also ask for a photo, but you don’t have to give it if you are shy. Here’s how it works:
First Round: This is where Ammy editors judge the pitch. This round frightens a lot of people. Ammy has discussion boards of its own where people discuss and exchange pitches. (I’ve toyed with self-pubbing a book about writing pitches—I’m not trying to brag when I say it is a strength of mine.) After about month, the first cut comes—down to 400. So if you figure about 2000 people in each of the 5 categories (2000 times 5 is 10,000—Math is not a strength of mine, so I have to check) then about 1 of 5 entrants have survived this cut.
Second Round: Now two Viners (frequent reviewers on Amazon) will read and rate the Excerpts. 100 of the 400 in each category will survive this cut (1 in 4) to advance to the quarter finals. What are the viners looking for? Overall strength, prose, style, plot, hook and originality. I think originality is a sticking point for a lot of people. Ammy is looking for something new. There are a few reviewers who complain on the boards about my entry, but they always forget originality is part of the judging. And I have that originality part of the score captured.
Quarterfinals: Abbie Roads, my 2014 GH sister, and I have advanced to this round. Now, a single (wah!!) reviewer from Publisher’s Weekly (PW) will read the full manuscripts and write a review. Still, this is a prize at this point. Not everyone is reviewed by PW and if you are planning to self publish, this can help in your publicity—if they have something nice to say. The cut for this round, which takes about two months, plummets from 100 to 5 in each category (1 in 20). *gulp*
Semi Finals: It takes about two weeks for the Ammy editors to review the semi finalists and decide on one finalist in each category. That one person will be awarded an advance of $15,000. The book will be published by Ammy. Sweet.
Finals: The public votes among the 5 finalists over two – three weeks. The top vote getter gets the Grand Prize of a $50,000 advance. Even sweeter.
I’m not sure why this contest doesn’t close faster than it does. After all, it’s free. Even though there has been a good deal of snark on the discussion boards (a hot topic right now is the authenticity of entry for Romance Quarter-Finalist Dick B. Long), there’s a lot of opportunity for publicity here. If you are interested in investigating my originality or my pitch skills, here is the link to my entry The Preacher’s Promise.
You have to download it to your Kindle or Kindle app to be able to see it (it is an Amazon contest after all). If you would like to review it, please do so! The reviews may or may not figure into my advancement into the next round (who knows?) but Ammy does offer contracts to entries from the quarters on. I would love 15K, but a contract would be a nice consolation prize!
Have you ever entered the ABNA? If not, would you take the plunge next year? What would make you decide against it?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Piper G Huguley is the author of “Migrations of the Heart,” a five-book series of inspirational historical romances set in the early 20th century featuring African American characters. Book one in the series, A Virtuous Ruby won the Golden Rose contest in Historical Romance in 2013 and is a Golden Heart finalist in 2014. Book four in the series, A Champion’s Heart, was a Golden Heart finalist in 2013. Book one in her new 19th century historical series, The Preacher’s Promise, in the “Home to Milford College “ was a semi-finalist in Harlequin’s So You Think You Can Write contest and will be self-published in summer 2014.
She blogs about the history behind her novels at http://piperhuguley.com. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and son.
