Q –

Recently, I received an email from the Elite Choice Awards:

---

I’m Katherine from the Elite Choice Awards and I hope this email finds you well.

Every year, our program reaches out to a select group of authors to invite them to apply to the awards. This year, you are one of them!

We look for authors with fresh and new voices that we think would be deserving of a book award.

Here is some information about our program:

Prizes: A chance to win our grand prize of $5,000 in cash, an editorial review of your book and exposure to key book buying audiences.
Deadline: We have a rolling deadline which means that you can enter all year long.
Guidelines: Your book will be judged on the story or structure, writing style and tone, and originality. Your book must be written in English and have a publication date of 2010 or later.
Categories: A list of our official categories can be found on our website.

Here is a link to our website where you can learn more about how to formalize your application.

I hope that you take some time to apply.

Warm Regards,
Katherine Hughes

---

I am extremely skeptical that this is a legitimate book awards program. I went to the website and noted that they do not have lists of prior winners of their awards. I am unable to find out any information about the Elite Choice Awards other than through their website. I would like to make sure that other authors are not taken in by Elite Choice Awards, if in fact it is a scam. I thank you for your assistance. Thank you very much for all the good work that you do.

– William

---

---

A –

Thank you for alerting us to this, William.

I see several red flags here:

1. “Every year, our program reaches out to a select group of authors to invite them to apply to the awards. This year, you are one of them!”

Total B.S. Their website lets anyone enter.

2. They spammed you. NEVER send money to spammers.

2. Her email doesn’t mention the entry fee. It’s $99 for just one category. It appears you can enter your book in several categories, which is ludicrous.

From their website:

3. “One Of The World’s Most Trusted Book Awards” and “A Trusted Seal of Approval”

Trusted by whom? They’ve only been in business since 2017!

4. “Since its inauguration, over 2,500 books have received an Elite Choice Award”

2500 winners since just 2017? Seems to me that being a “winner” means nothing at all. Only one winner (allegedly) wins $5,000 each year. What are the other people winning? Looks like NOTHING.

5. “All entrants of the Elite Choice Awards are eligible to win the $5,000 cash prize. The cash prize winner is selected by random draw once per year.”

The winner of a “random drawing” does NOT win based on merit so the “distinction” is worthless.

5. They claim honorees have been featured on Oprah. They started business in 2017. The Oprah Winfrey showed ceased airing in 2011.

6. When you click on the “award winners” link on their site, it says:
“This page is currently being updated.”

There are no winners listed at all even through they claim that 2500 books have received awards???

7. “A Mark of Distinction”

HA HA HA HA HA!!!

8. No refunds permitted and “The Elite Choice Awards reserves the right to cancel, suspend, terminate or modify the award competition, without prior notice, including the selection of prize winners in any manner it deems fair and reasonable.”

So, they can collect the money and change the award, or simply not hold the contest at all. And, remember, NO REFUNDS.

This is just another low-brow company preying on writers.

Don’t just take my word for it. Check out Patrick Finegan’s take on this racket here:

The latest book award fraud: Elite Choice Book Awards

RELATED

What?! New Authors Are Being Solicited by “Free” Publishers? How to Avoid This Common Scam…

Book Contests for a Publisher’s Authors? Pppfffttt!!!

From WritersWeekly Short Story Contest Winner to Simon and Schuster Contract!

14 Tips To Give Yourself A Leg Up In Writing Contests! By Angela Hoy

Having a “Typo Contest” is a HORRIBLE Idea!

Read More "Ask The Expert" Articles

7.625 STRATEGIES IN EVERY BEST-SELLER - Revised and Expanded Edition

At this moment, thousands of would-be authors are slaving away on their keyboards, dreaming of literary success. But their efforts won’t count for much. Of all those manuscripts, trade book editors will sign up only a slim fraction.

And of those titles--ones that that editors paid thousands of dollars to contract, print and publicize--an unhealthy percentage never sell enough copies to earn back their advances. Two years later, most will be out of print!

Acquisition Editor Tam Mossman shares seven essentials every book needs to stay in print, and sell!

Read more here:

https://writersweekly.com/books/5635.html

The Best of Boyd's Blogs: 87 Solutions to a Life of Better Speaking and Listening

Ever wish you could have your favorite blog in book form? There's nothing like flipping through the pages and reading helpful snippets here and there.

In this book, Steve Boyd gives you that very opportunity. He has intrigued his readers and clients for years with his insightful newsletters and blog posts. This book includes some of his most interesting stories and communication tips, from listening to speaking. As he quotes this Chinese proverb, "From listening comes wisdom and from speaking repentance."

You won't need to repent from your next speech if you use these articles to guide both your preparation and delivery. As an avid reader of his blog said, "These articles are priceless! People need what you have to say."

Steve Boyd's articles on motivation and communication-related topics have appeared
in various publications. His books on public speaking have sold over 30,000 copies.
He is a popular after-dinner speaker and conducts workshops for businesses and associations
whose members want to speak and listen effectively to improve personally and professionally.

Read more here:

https://booklocker.com/books/7171.html