| How important are awards in ensuring the success of a book? |
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Q: The sad truth has finally dawned on me that the road to sales and royalties in children’s books is not to write books kids love, but to write books that win prestigious awards. Is there anything an author can do to increase the chances of winning these awards, or is it pretty much out of our hands? While winning a major award does have tremendous impact on book sales, it’s important to realize that only a handful of the 5,000-6,000 children’s books published each year are chosen for these awards. There are many excellent books that have not been chosen, but have sold well over time. There are also books that would not be likely award candidates, such as series fiction, that kids love and that sell in very large quantities. There are also Children’s Choice Awards given at the state level to give kids a chance to vote for books they like. For a full listing of industry awards, you may want to check your library or purchase Children’s Books Awards and Prizes, which is available in hardcover for $75.00 from the Children’s Book Council by calling 800-999-2160. The book lists more than two hundred domestic and international awards, including those that are well-known and others that are more specialized. The most coveted awards in the industry are, of course, the Newbery and Caldecott Medals and Honors. Janice Del Negro, editor of the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books and a member of the 1997 Caldecott Committee, explained the process this way. “Each award is given by the Association of Library Services for Children (ALSC). The award committee consists of an elected chairperson, seven members appointed by the president of ALSC and seven elected by the ALSC membership. The group meets at the American Library Association (ALA) summer convention and at the ALA Midwinter conference, where the final decision is made and announced. A similar process takes place for the ALA Notables, except that the discussions are in open session. Authors and illustrators may want to sit in on these meetings at ALA Midwinter to hear how books are chosen. Publishers provide the committees with copies of all new books for consideration. Any member of ALSC can also nominate a book for discussion by the committee. While people may differ on whether they agree with the selections made in a given year, the decisions are weighted in such a way that the group must keep going back into discussion until a strong consensus is achieved. For that reason, I don’t see any way to influence the decision. The bottom line is to write the very best book you can.” 12:97/1:98 |