ABNA -- again!

I must be an idiot (or a glutton for punishment at the very least) but I decided to enter the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest again this year. But I also decided to follow some advice by online friend and published author James King, the 2009 ABNA winner.

I entered ABNA that year and found the expereince less than pleasant, though not because Jim ultimately -- and quite deservedly -- won. Some of the people I encountered in the online chat threads were not just competitive, which was to be expected -- we all were competitive -- but also downright nasty about it. I networked a lot on the threads and, despite the nasties, I thankfully met plenty of wonderful people and many of them I now consider friends.

At the time, Jim wasn't one of them. And that was probably because his approach to the contest was smart.

I met Jim face-to-face for the first time last fall during at one of his book tour events in Ohio. And I asked him whether he read or commented in the ABNA threads during the contest. He said no. He just entered and let it rip.

So I decided to do the same this year. I'm going to enter and just let my writing speak for me. I won't hang out talking and waiting. I don't plan to get all caught up in the contest as I have before. I will know something when they contact me.

I won't say which novel I will enter and I will use a pseudonym, though I haven't decided which name to use. I am reading over my entry now, nipping and tucking where I think it may need it. And I'm going to have my wife, who is great at marketing, write the first draft of my novel pitch, though I won't blame her if I don't make it past stage one because I will write the last draft of the pitch.

So there you have it. This is probably my last mention of this year's contest unless I make the semi-final round later in the spring. And I may not mention it then, either.

I have the talent, I believe, but success is often a matter of luck. So wish me luck.

And, as always, thanks for reading.