Contest Time! #3 About to Begin

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The book industry faces many challenges. People seem to have less time to read and it’s tough to compete with the television and Internet. Any new or aspiring author knows how hard it is to make his or her voice heard amongst the chorus of “publish me!” “Notice me!” “Buy my books!”

In many cultures around the world, Valentine’s Day has converted the month of February into the month of love. This February, two aspiring authors are taking their love of reading and their admiration for debut authors and combining them into the “Debut a debut!” contest.

Take a first-time author for a spin on your “To Read in 2007” list and give yourself the chance to win great prizes! Gift certificates to Borders and more!

During the week of 12 Feb through 17 Feb, read a book written by a debut author and post your review by 17 February. Send Susan or Erica the permalink to your review and you will be entered in a drawing for some great prizes.

Some Rules
A debut author is an author who has had their first novel published between 01/2006 and 02/2007.

Accepted publication types are ebook and in-print novels from established royalty-paying publishers or e-publishers; if you’re not sure, e-mail us the name of the publisher. POD, vanity presses, or Publish America books are not considered for this contest.

Reviews can not be previously printed online or in print. The review of a debut author’s novel must be posted between the dates of 02/12/2007 – 02/17/2007. Prize drawing will occur 02/19/2007 and winners will be notified via email.

Multiple entries are allowed.

The Prizes
2 randomly drawn participants will receive a $20.00 Borders gift certificate. Other prizes announced closer to the contest.

How to Enter
1. Buy, find, or borrow a novel that is an author’s debut. (see list of some debut novels at WestofMars.com, West of Mars — the Meet and Greet, or Writing Aspirations)
2. Read the novel.
3. Write a review. It does not have to be a professional review. Provide a brief plot synopsis and then mention your likes or dislikes or other thoughts you had while reading.
4. Post the review online – either on a website or blog.
5. Send the permalink of the post to West of Mars or Writing Aspirations in an email message or post a comment to the main contest post with a link to your review.

Remember, the review is to be completed and posted during the week of 02/12/2007 – 02/17/2007.

A post will be created on West of Mars and Writing Aspirations with links to all book reviews submitted.

Authors
Don’t miss your chance to get some press! West of Mars and Writing Aspirations are in the process of gathering your names and titles to help our contest entrants find great books to read. Please send us links to your website, or just your name and the title of your debut novel that was published between 1 January 2006 and 1 February 2007. If you have any promotional items — especially copies of your book — that you’d like to donate, we’d love to offer them as prizes.

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17 Comments

  1. cheesygiraffe

    January 20, 2007 12:21 pm

    This is a contest I can handle! woohoobr /I love to read and also help out new authors. I’ll have to check out the lists to see if I have any of those in my tbr or I’ll get it from elsewhere. My reviews suck but hey you love me anyway. 😉

  2. Anonymous

    January 20, 2007 12:41 pm

    I love this!!! The best idea I can imagine. It is well needed PR for debut books. br /Barb (Front Street Reviews)

  3. karen!

    January 20, 2007 12:52 pm

    Fabulous contest idea.br /I love reading debut novels.br /Now, I just have to find the perfect one for this challenge!

  4. Rene

    January 20, 2007 12:55 pm

    Sounds like a great contest. I’ll keep my eyes open for new authors.

  5. Uisce

    January 20, 2007 1:08 pm

    published… damn! 🙂

  6. Lswriter

    January 20, 2007 1:16 pm

    Ooh, this is a great idea! It always riles me that established writers seem to get more publicity than new ones. I shall make time to do this! *heads off to find debut book*

  7. Andrew

    January 20, 2007 3:56 pm

    What a great contest idea! New authors get publicity, we get to explore new authors, book prizes. Better get searching…

  8. Susan Helene Gottfried

    January 20, 2007 4:54 pm

    Let me know what you turn up. As you can tell, our list of debut authors is a bit… anemic.

  9. Lswriter

    January 20, 2007 7:37 pm

    I’ve picked my book already. I was so excited, I did a post about it. 😀

  10. Susan Helene Gottfried

    January 20, 2007 11:43 pm

    Whee! Can’t wait to see it! (hey, if you e-mail me the author’s name and book title, I’ll add it to the list)

  11. she

    January 21, 2007 2:52 pm

    You’re right, I’m in 😉

  12. bCherie/b

    January 21, 2007 4:13 pm

    I couldn’t find the list. Does it have to be a book from the list, or any debut author with their debut book? I assume if they have more than one book out now, even if the 2nd one just came out, that reading the first book wouldn’t qualify? Please help me decide if anything I’ve got waiting here would qualify… 🙂

  13. Susan Helene Gottfried

    January 21, 2007 5:46 pm

    Cherie, I’ll e-mail you; the list isn’t up quite yet.br /br /It has to be a debut that was published in our timeframe. So if they have a second out in under a year, I’m impressed!br /br /And yes, you can deviate from the list I’m making. If you do, please give me the title and author, so I CAN add it to the list!

  14. Megi53

    January 22, 2007 5:42 pm

    I just checked out bLondon Is the Best City in America/b by Laura Dave (May 18, 2006) from the library, so I’ll review it. Is LibraryThing OK? Or Amazon, if they’ll let me?

  15. Susan Helene Gottfried

    January 22, 2007 6:13 pm

    Both are great, so long as they have a permanent link, Megi. br /br /The book looks great! And for all you who’d like to buy it, it’s coming out in Paperback at the end of January.

  16. Merry

    January 25, 2007 10:55 pm

    Is the list up yet?

  17. Susan Helene Gottfried

    January 26, 2007 9:10 am

    Yep. To avoid too many posts on my blog, I put it up at a href=”https://westofmars.com”West of Mars/a. Check it out!

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