I don't enter contests ... it's a confidence issue, I suppose. Some folks will balk at having to pay an entry fee for a contest, which I find kind of funny and entitled at the same time. You do realize humans are behind the considerable administrative work AND the part where they have to read your book, right? So, they're supposed to volunteer their time to read 800 submissions? I think not.

Also, if your writing is that stunning, chances are the awards are chasing you. For the rest of us, however, a little admiration goes a long way. So I was thrilled to learn that Wish Upon a Rosie was a finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards. Nope, she didn't win a cash prize or a promise of publication with a big 5 or a one-on-one with an agent. But that's not why I entered the contest.

I thought it would be cool to see how she did against her peers. She did OK, being one of seven women's fiction titles chosen as a finalist for a twenty-year-old awards program with a solid reputation among independent presses and self-publishers.

That's a win in my book.