AUTHORS
Before making a submission please read the explanation of the criteria here. Books are evaluated for acceptance onto this list in accordance with the book ’Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print ’. If you haven’t read it, we suggest that you do so. On average 60% of books submitted to our reviewers for evaluation of their suitability for this list are rejected.
If you think your book is of sufficient quality to make a submission, then you will need
- a comprehensive 5 or 4 star review written by one of the following people
- Someone with a degree in Creative Writing, English Literature or Journalism.
- An author, editor or publisher who is or has been employed in that capacity by a well-known traditional publishing house.
- an Awesome Indies recommended reviewer – see the Reviewers page for the list of names.
- or a book award from a reputable source, (first places only) You must link to a page that confirms that your book has received the award. A BRAG Medallion is accepted.
- or a link that shows that the book was previously published by a mainstream publisher.
Links to reviews on sites where authors must pay for reviews are not acceptable eg Kirkus reviews.
You will have to provide a link to a bio page that shows that your reviewer has the required qualifications. A link to our reviewers page is sufficient if you’re using one of our reviewers for your recommendation. If you are using an author for your review recommendation, please link to something that indicates that they published with a mainstream publisher. If you are submitting on the basis of previous mainstream publication, please link to a page that shows the name of the book along with the publisher’s name. If you are submitting based on an award, please link to the ‘about’ page of the award site.
Usually, reviewers have a bio page somewhere. That’s what we need a link to. If the review isn’t by one of our own reviewers, you must also supply the reviewer’s email address so we can ask for confirmation that your book meets our standards.
We check that submitted links contain the relevant information. If they don’t supply it, your submission will be rejected.
Once you have the links required, please fill in the form below.
Note that the Awesome Indies list is restricted to fiction.
Minimum Criteria your book must meet
- the plot is well structured, well paced, conceptually sound and engaging
- the characters are well developed and their dialogue and interactions with others are believable.
- the book is not excessively wordy, particularly, no rambling descriptions, dumps of information, unnecessary repetition or irrelevant scenes.
- changes in the point of view of the writing are clear, specifically no confusing quick jumps from the thoughts of one character to another and back again. (head-hopping).
- the writing is immediate and engaging. This means that the story is generally shown rather than told, and the writing is active rather than passive, eg doesn’t overuse forms of the verb, ‘to be’.
- the grammar, spelling and punctuation are correct for the author’s country of origin.
PLEASE NOTE the following
If issues are found with a book and for some reason it’s been recommended without meeting the Awesome Indies standards, that book and the author’s name will be removed from the list. We reserve the right not to list, or to remove, any publication we consider socially irresponsible.
