EPIC / Eppie Awards

EPIC and Eppies

EPIC and the Eppies are here:

http://www.epicauthors.org/eppiewinners2005.html

EPIC is the Electronically Published Internet Connection.

I am an EPIC member, but like you, sometimes wonder if I should bother to renew on the next due date. I opted out one year when the group seemed to be nothing but controversy and they had no website, but since then the group is much improved.

I did win an EPPIE and final another time, and know that much of the entry fees go to the trophy awarded. Because my win was for an anthology with three other authors, EPIC went the extra yard and had medals made for each author and gave the trophy to our publisher. I know this took extra funds. I believe the rest of the contest entry funds help pay for the EPIC conference and awards banquet.

I considered joining, but never got around to it... I entered my book in the 2005 Eppies and was a finalist - however, I'm still waiting on my promised certificate - at one point I was told there was a problem with the printer? I'm not sure how the entry funds are spent, but enjoyed the excitement of knowing my book was actually good enough to make it to the final round.

kaliannah said:

I considered joining, but never got around to it... I entered my book in the 2005 Eppies and was a finalist - however, I'm still waiting on my promised certificate - at one point I was told there was a problem with the printer? I'm not sure how the entry funds are spent, but enjoyed the excitement of knowing my book was actually good enough to make it to the final round.

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I heard recently that the certificates had finally gone out--or--finalists with color printers could get them e-mailed and print it out themselves. Congrats!

I have heard several times that winning Eppies does not help sales. It makes me wonder.

How much is that fee?

I entered Bad Ice in the Mystery/Suspense/Horror Romance category as a non-member. Kudos can only help, not hurt. Plus, a trophy would be cool.

Kudos can help, but a fee is a 'con'. Just saying--IMHO it is more a peer endorsement than a way to solicit readers.

veinglory said:

Kudos can help, but a fee is a 'con'. Just saying--IMHO it is more a peer endorsement than a way to solicit readers.

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I had the same concern. As a reader of e-books way before I became an e-published author, I'd never even heard of the EPPIEs until a post came along through my publisher chat loop. Plus I was somewhat disappointed in EPIC's total non-response to any of the e-publisher fiascoes over the last year. I mean, really, where the heck were they? But that's a rant for another time...

Still. I suppose it would be cool to win a statue!

veinglory said:

I have heard several times that winning Eppies does not help sales. It makes me wonder.

How much is that fee?

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I won years ago with 3 other authors (anthology) and that book has been my bestseller to date.

On the other hand, I was a finalist a while back -- with a gay romance, in a romance category, before they split the gay books into a category of their own, so not a trivial achievement. That book's one of my poorest sellers, and being an EPPIE finalist has made not a single extra sale so far as I can tell. I don't regret entering the book, but it's the only book I've ever entered, and I don't plan to enter in the future.

Yes, it would be cool to win a statue, and it was cool to get a certificate. On the other hand, it was less than cool to find that they had got both my name and the title of my book wrong on the certificate...

Ouch.



I think that sort of says it all...

I postws a request for informal comments on this a while back. I heard from four Eppie winners, three said they think it had no effect on sales, one thought it might have helped a little. That sample is too small to say much.

I think a peer endorsement is no small thing. The ceremony is great fun, the books that win are good quality and the engraved awards would look good on any mantle. Many other awards considered significant do not appear to effect sales. But writers just should not assume it will be a good promotional tool as very few non-author readers have even registered that it exists.

Don't get me wrong, I value that peer endorsement -- and being blunt about it, I entered that book as a political statement, because it was at the height of a particularly nasty round of "if it's m/m, it's filthy porn, not romance" within RWA. So it means something to me that I finalled with that book. But if you're looking at it simply as an advertising tool, I don't think you're going to get value for the entry money.

Hmmm. I've been considering joining EPIC at some future point, but I haven't got it worked out yet what the benefits would be. I've seen a lot of people complain about EPIC and the EPPIES and a lot of others defending them, so I'm not sure yet what I make of it all.

Dara said:

Hmmm. I've been considering joining EPIC at some future point, but I haven't got it worked out yet what the benefits would be. I've seen a lot of people complain about EPIC and the EPPIES and a lot of others defending them, so I'm not sure yet what I make of it all.

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I was a member for two years. Didn't get anything out of it other than the usual "feel-good" pep speeches about how epubs were going to change the world.

Didn't bother renewing this year. A bit too incestous a group, if you ask me. Not to mention that they really don't do much else other than slap each other on the back for anything. IMO, of course.

My writing partner loves contests and loves to participate in contests. She's extremely competitive. I couldn't care less about the EPPIEs (or awards in general), but I told her she could enter any books of ours (or mine) that she wants, if it makes her happy. As a result of this, I have a lot of novellas/novels entered this year. Something like 25. If any of them final, I'll be happy to report on any movement, sales-wise

I have a friend who's an Eppie winner. I just can't make up my mind whether I'll participate next year or not. First book is epub and comes out in January.

My novel won an Eppie in 2006. It's hard to quantify how many more copies I've sold because of the award. So far I've received royalties on 3,000 copies sold in all formats (hardback, trade paperback, ebook.) One thing I've noticed on Amazon is that shortly after I sell a Kindle edition (Mobipocket format) I soon sell a few paperbacks and/or hardbacks. I think moving up on the Kindle list draws new attention to the book.

I've heard the same thing as Sheryl about how epubs are the wave of the future. That wave seems to be growing a lot slower than some proponents had hoped for. The main resistance is undoubtedly the price of the epub readers, with the Sony Reader and Kindle in the $300 plus range. (That's a lot of paperbacks, especially if you buy them used.) You can read epubs in most formats on your computer, of course, but not everybody finds that convenient or pleasant. Also, there's the "tactile factor" to consider- many book buyers still prefer the heft, feel and even smell of a book over the cold glare of a computer screen or epub reader. (Sony has a leather cover for their Reader, but that hasn't fooled anyone.) Still, epubs are a bargain, and epub readers can store hundreds. But while epub readers are way cool, are they really a substitute for a nice bookcase full of books just waiting for your perusal?

Somehow, I don't think bookcase makers have anything to worry about just yet. And IMHO, until epub readers come down in price and a lot more book buyers warm to the notion of paperless books, no epub award is going to boost ebook sales much.

Again, just my two pennies.

I am not entirely sure that the two are connected. There are promotional efforts that will increase ebook sales such as a promonant soft sell review, a well designed contest + discount coupon etc. So I don't personally feel all contests are doomed to be ineffective with ebooks, although it is certainly possible. And until an ebook contest is effectively aimed at ebook readers I doubt the notion will even have been tested. I mean the sales of high literature are not that much bigger than ebook erotic romance, and literary book contests still seem to spike sales. The difference IMHO is that readers of the genre are actively interested in who is nominated for and who wins the award.

Sheryl Nantus said:

I was a member for two years. Didn't get anything out of it other than the usual "feel-good" pep speeches about how epubs were going to change the world.

Didn't bother renewing this year. A bit too incestous a group, if you ask me. Not to mention that they really don't do much else other than slap each other on the back for anything. IMO, of course.

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I agree. I was kinda soured on the whole thing especially during the big epublishing crashes. I hadn't really benefited from the organization so I finished with them as well.

Some may go for support and all but I get enough support from my awesome crit group and fellow writer friends.

I agree that epubs and small presses will take the industry in a new ways, but it'll be with a few who really have their hearts in it and not just put up a sign to make a quick buck off a few poor authors.

EPIC

http://www.epicorg.com/ Anyone here a member of this organization? Is it worthwhile joining up with their group? Their EPICon is being held in San Antonio in March, which is just a hop, skip, and a jump from my house, so I'm entertaining the thought of attending. Thanks.

EPIC is also the organization that acts as a voice for e-publishers and e-published authors (whether self-published or published by a royalty-paying publisher).

I'm a member. They're pretty active in trying to combat e-book piracy. They also sponsor an e-book award competition every year, formerly known as the Eppies. (You don't have to be a member to enter, but the entry fee is lower for members. That was why I joined in the first place.) On their loops, there are sometimes calls for submissions from e-publishers. The fee to join is quite low, and I know some people have made good connections there, so it could be worth it for you to join.