The I Heart SOOP Authors contest is entering its last leg here, as the polls will close on January 31. But that’s no reason to stop collecting votes, even for authors who feel like they don’t have a hope in the world of placing in the top three and winning a publishing contract offer from SOOP: because that prize is available to ANY author who reaches 1,000 votes or 500 pre-orders, any day of the year.
photo by Curt Fleenor Photography / CC BY
We couldn’t be more proud of our authors and the votes they’ve been reigning in. Vivek Kumar’s Hearts on Fire has amazingly hurdled through nearly 200 votes in just a few weeks, while the numbers for Wendy Karasin’s Passing Through and Rohini Singh’s The Time Manipulator’s Son have been climbing by the dozens. If the voting were to stop right now, these three would be crowned the winners, and all three would be extended a publishing offer with SOOP. As you can see, that would mean handing out contract offers to authors with less than half the votes/pre-orders it would normally take.
But what these authors have accomplished in just a few weeks is testament to what an ambitious writer can accomplish over time. Imagine how many votes they could ring in with a whole year on their hands. And let’s not forget, while the I Heart SOOP Authors contest is very much a competition, with prizes going only to the top three, reaching 1,000 votes (or 500 pre-orders) to win a publishing contract offer doesn’t have to be a competition at all.
In fact, we believe very strongly in the publishing community, and that community support is the backbone of any successful publication. To quote artist R. B. Kitaj, “art is not made in a vacuum.” It takes a network of inspiring and encouraging associates to produce and successfully market and distribute a book.
So go get your friends involved. Find a local writers group and tell everyone what you’re doing. The more people hear about your book idea, the more people will be interested in it. The more people are interested in your book idea, the more they’ll be thinking and talking about it. And the more people are thinking and talking about your book idea, the more people will ultimately want to buy it.
Remember, all it takes is 1,000 votes or 500 pre-orders to receive a SOOP publishing contract offer, even after the I Heart SOOP Authors contest is over. Happy writing, and happy voting!
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