Once upon a time (at least this is how I figure the story goes), traditionally published author Mark Lawrence (Prince of Thorns) noticed a glaring problem in the world of fantasy writing. Too many great works of fantasy were falling by the wayside. Why? Because these works were self-published, and self-pub books–no matter how well they’re written–can easily get lost in the great Amazonian slush pile.
So Mark decided to do something about it. He created the Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off, a competition to bring attention to great self-published works that might otherwise go unnoticed by the fantasy reading world. If a book can win the hearts of the judges (established bloggers and BookTubers who review fantasy), then it will get the renown and recognition it deserves.
300 books. 10 judges. 1 champion.
SPFBO is quite possibly the biggest contest for self-published fantasy authors. (If anyone can think of a bigger competition for self-pub books in this genre, I’d like to know.) June 1, 2023, marked the start of the 9th SPFBO, and you can follow the progress of the competition here. But following requires patience. Judges getting through 300 books takes time, and SPFBO 9 won’t finish until May 2024.
I’m really excited about SPFBO 9 because my book, Angel from the Rust, is in the running! And thank God it got in. Because if I had done things differently, I certainly would have been left out in the cold.
Trusting my gut…
Submitting a book to SPFBO is on a first-come-first-serve basis. Anyone can enter (as long as their book is self-published and falls in the fantasy genre). But as soon as the 300 spots are filled, the contest closes. This year, submissions opened on May 17 at 6am my time. This made me nervous because at 6am I’m usually right in the middle of getting my kids out of bed and ready for school. What if submissions filled up while we were eating breakfast and getting out the door?
I asked around on the SPFBO FaceBook group to see if my worries were founded. Members of the group assured me I’d be alright. Last year it took around 8 hours for submissions to fill up, so I should have been good to submit my book later on in the morning.
Still, I had a feeling it would be better to be safe than sorry. So I asked my wife if she could go solo for a bit on the morning routine while I took care of business. At 6am on the dot I was there at the submission form, entering my book. I’m so glad I followed my gut on this one.
This year, for all 300 spots to fill up, it only took 41 minutes! If I had waited until I got to work to submit, the doors to the contest would have slammed in my face. And I would have had to wait a whole year more for the next one to open.
I’m so grateful my book made it into the running. I’m looking forward to seeing how far it can go.
And thanks to Mark Lawrence and the bloggers who run this contest. I so appreciate you looking out for the little guy.
Congrats on getting it in and good luck with the contest! I thought it was a great book!
Thanks, Jim!