The EPIC eBook Awards are Coming!

This week I'm interviewing EPIC's fearless eBook Award Competition Chair, Debi Sullivan.

Disclaimer: Several of our books have finaled in this contest, and one, Directions of Love, won. I have had the privilege of presenting the award at several EPICon conferences.

Debi, you have been managing this contest for quite a few years (akin to herding cats). How long have you taken on this challenge?

I initially volunteered to work behind the scenes and started out as a judge, moved to category judge coordinator, then inherited *grin* the Competitions Chair position in 2007. At the time, I was already the New Voices Young Writers Chair, which made for a VERY chaotic and wacky first year as EPIC’s overall Competitions Chair.

What are the biggest challenges you face?

Entrants following the rules; doesn’t matter if they are young or old, folks just don’t pay attention to the details. *sigh* Best suggestion I can give any entrant: Read the RULES! *grin*

How does a book qualify for entry?

Any English-language ebook published and available for sale to the public between June 1, 2012 and May 31, 2013 is eligible for this year’s contest.

How many entries do you usually receive, and how many awards are presented?

We usually average 700 entries within a four-week period. The numbers of awards we present vary as we constantly update the current categories to reflect genres within the electronic industry and past entries. This year we are offering 24 categories for the eBook Competition and 11 categories for the Ariana eBook Cover Art Competition.

How do you recruit judges? Who is eligible?

I am blessed to have a loyal group of volunteers who step up every year, for both the eBook and New Voices Young Writers competitions. But we can always use more. For eBook, we seek published authors, publishers, and/or editors; for New Voices, we add teachers and librarians to that mix.

What makes this award different from other writing competitions out there?

EPIC's eBook Competition has garnered a reputation for excellence from both entrants and judges, a reputation that continues to shine as we move into the future. I am extremely proud to know that I play an integral part in the progressive changes to our competitions.

What do the winners receive? How about the finalists?

Our eBook and Ariana competition finalists receive gorgeous certificates and are prominently posted on our website. The category winners receive stunning trophies and are honored at our annual EPICon (http://www.epicorg.com/epicon.html) awards banquet before being announced on our website.

What is EPICon, for those who don’t already know?

EPICon is EPIC’s annual convention. It is three days chock full of marvelous and informative workshops reflecting the current needs of the industry, both electronic and print. You never know who will be there—whether it is a well-known author or the latest marketing/promo guru and/or agent. It is the perfect venue to mingle with publishing peers. And there is so much going on that there is sure to be something for everyone.

Can only members attend EPICon?

Any industry member, aspiring writer, or reader is welcome. I would definitely suggest checking http://www.epicorg.com/epicon.html to learn about the fabulous events scheduled for March 2014. And it is taking place in one of my favorite cities—San Antonio, Texas! What’s not to love about cowboys, ghosts (the Menger Hotel is chockfull!), the Alamo, the Riverwalk, great food, the Reader eFiesta, door prizes, and incredible workshops?

When does the contest begin this year?

Both the eBook and Ariana eBook Cover Art Competitions open for entries on June 1, 2013.

Where can authors get more information?

There are links to all our competitions at http://www.epicorg.com/competitions.html.

Thank you so much for all the good information, Debi! Next week, we’ll hear about the exciting New Voices/Young Writers program.

Desiree Holt on EPICon 2014

This week I am interviewing Desiree Holt, who is currently planning EPICon 2014, coming up next March in San Antonio, TX.

Disclaimer: Larry and I have attended every EPICon since 2006. They are our favorite conferences, and we often present workshops. We never fail to learn new things!

Desiree, thank you for being my guest today. You have been very active in planning the past two EPICons and you will be in charge of the next one. What do you like about this particular conference?

Desiree: First and foremost I’d have to say the number and variety of workshops. We have many new presenters this year and many new topics. We are offering everything from the mechanics of social media—not why you should do it but how to. We’ll have everything from “Painting the Picture—How to Make Your Readers ‘see’ Your Characters” to a workshop about prisons for people who write thrillers and suspense. We’ve added some spice to eFiesta. Authors will sign cover flats or cards or whatever they choose to bring, and we will also have a Google chat set up so readers who can’t attend can talk to their favorite authors. And finally, “Speed Dating with Editors” for both published and unpublished authors, a chance to pitch your story to a variety of editors.

What special events are planned for EPICon 2014?

Desiree: We’ll have the popular river cruise we did two years ago and we’re adding a one hour ghost tour. You now, The Menger is a haunted hotel and we wanted our attendees to know all about the ghosts that haunt that place as well as surrounding areas.

Who may attend the conference?

Desiree: Absolutely anyone. There is something here for everyone involved in digital publishing—authors, editors, publishers, designers. You name it. We especially encourage aspiring writers and readers to attend. But I encourage all industry professionals to join EPIC if they have not already. The membership fee is a very, very reasonable at $30 per year and offers a lot of benefits.

What makes this conference different from all the other writing conferences?

Desiree: First and foremost, it deals strictly with all things digital. You can learn everything from how to prepare your manuscript to how to format it for self-publishing to how to promote yourself on the Internet. We have workshops that explain the uniqueness of digital publishing and promotion and presenters who will explain how to do it.

Can unpublished writers attend? How about readers?

Desiree: Yes. And everyone you will sit next to, have coffee or a drink with, attend workshops with, is involved in the world of digital publishing so you have a unique opportunity to share and absorb information pertaining just to this industry.

What are the dates and location for the conference?

Desiree:

March 13-16, 2014, The Menger Hotel, San Antonio, Texas.

And it’s always bigger and better in Texas, you know!

How can people find our more information?

Desiree: Simply go to www.epicorg.com and click on the Lone Star Flag. The schedule is still a work in progress but we will be updating it constantly.

When can we start signing up?

I am hopeful that the registration from will go up no later than May 15.

Thank you, Desiree, for joining me today. I, for one, can’t wait to go to EPICon 2014!

Attending Writers' Conferences

 A couple of weeks ago, we spent four days in Vancouver, WA at EPICon, the annual conference for EPIC (Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition). As we have since 2006, we loved spending time with others who are as obsessed with books as we are. Then, in July, we will go to Las Vegas for the PSWA (Public Safety Writers Association) conference. Why do we keep going to conferences?
 

In 2005, after our first book, a memoir entitled 31 Months in Japan: the Building of a Theme Park, was published, we decided to attend the now-defunct Maui Writers Conference.  We had already planned a trip to Hawaii for the same time, and my favorite author at the time, Gail Tsukiyama, was one of the presenters. Larry said he’d rather surf. That is, until he found out one of his favorites, Terry Brooks, would be speaking. Oh, and he realized the cost of the conference was tax-deductible.

He agreed to go, but said he’d drop me off in the morning, go surfing, and pick me up in the afternoon, except for the time Terry was scheduled. I agreed.

Once we arrived, however, and he saw all the topics available, he decided maybe he’d go to one or two workshops. It was a good thing we had another few days on Oahu after the conference, because he never surfed on Maui.

We heard some awesome people speak, learned a lot, which we’re still using, met some wonderful folks, and had a blast! Oh, and we also met the guy who became the inspiration for our protagonist, Agapè Jones, in our mysteries, Murder… They Wrote and Murder in Paradise  (finalist for the EPIC eBook Award).

We discovered spending time around others who understood when we complained that our characters wouldn't cooperate was empowering. If we say, “I just couldn’t sleep last night. My latest character kept talking all night,” they don’t think we’re crazy. In fact, they nod sagely. They’ve been there, too.

Later the same year we decided to go to EPICon in San Antonio when our book, 31 Months: The Building of a Theme Park, was named one of the two finalists in the nonfiction category.

This conference was a more intimate, but we actually preferred it in some ways to the big one. And we loved visiting San Antonio. We didn’t win the award, but we had a ball. And we’ve been attending EPICon each year since.

By now, quite a few of the members have become dear friends. I met one of my writing partners at the first conference. We’ve since written five anthologies together, including Directions of Love, which won the EPIC eBook Award for best romance anthology.

Why do we keep going, year after year? Because the workshops are relevant to the publishing industry and we never fail to gain information to make our writing better. Because we love reconnecting with dear friends every year and making new ones. Because writers are lots of fun!

We plan to attend EPICon again next year. In fact, our arms have already been twisted to present our workshop "The Perfect Pitch" again next year. (We've presented every year since 2007, including doing the luncheon keynote for one.)

Hope to see you at a conference next year!