SPFBO XI is set to begin!
One of the biggest indie fantasy book contests will begin on February 1.
If you’re unfamiliar with SPFBO (the self-published fantasy blog-off), it’s a (mostly) annual contest run by Mark Lawrence with the help of 10 volunteer blog teams.
300 books are chosen at random from the submission pool and divided up between the blog teams (so each team starts with 30 books.) By the end of round one, it will be narrowed down to only 10. You can read the full contest rules here.
This is the 11th year of the contest. While I submitted Exile in year 10, I did not make it past the lottery (which was probably fortunate, since the submission date was 2 days after I had major surgery, and I’m pretty sure I would have been unable to keep up with social media, etc relating to the contest.) It was still disappointing not to get in, but there was always next time.
And here we are at “next time.”
I chose to submit Serpentus this year, rather than Exile, based on two factors:
- I had a couple really encouraging reader reviews come in December. Serpentus is a book I wish I could get more people to read, but for some reason, it has been a difficult sell. I’m not entirely sure why… My hope was that more people like those December readers would find it through the contest if it got through the lottery. I truly believe it’s one of my best stories.
- After watching indie book competitions for a few years, I’ve noticed a common theme with a number of judges. If a book feels too familiar (as in, it follows classic genre expectations and/or tropes), it’s often cut in favor of stories that break from the norm or subvert expectations. I’m not sure Exile is different enough to appease those judges, but Serpentus certainly is. Especially when it comes to that one scene™ (if you know, you know.)
On submission day, I wasn’t feeling particularly lucky. When it comes to games of chance, I usually come in last, and I wasn’t holding my breath to get in.
So when I did make it through the lottery, it was cause for celebration. (This was mostly me just running around the house for a while and probably annoying the crap out of my husband. But getting in is a big deal! My husband didn’t complain, but I know how I can be when I’m excited…)
The competition is always tough. There are a ton of great books involved every year, and having read some of the others that got in this year, I know what I’m up against. But I don’t enter contests to win (although it would be nice.) I enter them to make connections, new friends, and to hopefully get a few more eyes on my work along the way.
If you’d like to check out the full list of 300 in SPFBO XI, it’s available on Mark Lawrence’s blog. There are also some stats, like oldest book and demographics of authors if you’re a trivia/numbers person.
I hope everyone participating this year has a great time, and I wish everyone the best!