Stabby Awards 2017!

1/10/2018

I made a post about this on Facebook already, but I was told to put it on the blog as well, and so I shall!

Reddit's r/Fantasy hosts a contest every year called the Stabby Awards. It exists to promote excellent fantasy content across a bunch of different categories, and the mods of the subreddit work very hard at this every year. Each winner gets a real, no-kidding, metal dagger mailed to them with their name, work, and category printed on it; I have one myself, hanging on my wall, from when House of Blades won Best Indie / Self-Published in 2013.

The contest has gone on every year since, but I've never promoted it before, because it feels...inappropriate. Like I'm linking to it just to say "Hey, vote for me and not these other guys!" Also, I just don't care much about contests or winning contests in general, and I usually don't follow them myself.

This year, I've changed my mind. As a community, r/Fantasy has supported me to a frankly surprising degree ever since the launch of House of Blades. Thanks to many of you, I'm sure, my books get mentioned on the subreddit every few weeks, and recommended to people more often than that.

So this time, I'm going to do what I can to spread the word for them instead of the other way around! This is a cool thing they're doing, and it's worth promoting; there are tons of great authors on there, and you can upvote multiple people in each category, so it's easy to scroll down and support everyone you like.

Plus, I always find some new things to read on here. So that's new.

Here's the link to the voting page for the 2017 Stabby Awards, which also explains how to vote and how the contest works.

The r/Fantasy community is very supportive of independent authors, mainly because everybody wants more fantasy to read, and /u/elquesogrande, the moderator running the show, is particularly awesome. I've had interactions with him in the past, when doing AMAs for reddit, and he's got a heart of gold and eyes of steel. Or...wait.

Anyway, check it out, support some cool authors, and at the very least get an idea of some more stuff to read. Plus, support the people who are running r/Fantasy, because they deserve it.

Or don't. I'm not your dad.

-Will

EDIT: Since everyone involved in this is a volunteer, they've also set up a GoFundMe page to fund the contest. Just getting that out there.

36 Comments

Faris

1/10/2018 05:06:27 pm

Andrew Rowe had already sent me there from his newsletter. I'm hoping that reading through some of the other nominations that I'll find some more books and authors to read.

Will, you're a great author, but unfortunately, I can read faster than you can write. :(

Will link

1/11/2018 06:48:24 am

That's what I'm saying! There are some great authors on there.

And then they let me in too, somehow.

Clint

1/10/2018 05:20:27 pm

I don't think you gotta worry about seeming like those guys who always tell people to vote for them. As far as I've seen, you only ever tell people to follow what they're interested in. It just so happens that we're all ( for the most part, I think) interested in what you have to say.

Side note: this past week I've passed on House of Blades to a new believer.

1/11/2018 06:47:48 am

One of the main reasons why I didn't promote it these other years is because I'm not really eager to win. I wanted to give the spotlight to other people, because people on r/Fantasy spread the word about my books all the time.

But it's been long enough that I feel like I can break the silence without sounding like "VOTE FOR ME." This is a genuinely cool event they're doing.

Side note: yeeeessss, yeeeessss, goooooood. And soon, the world!

Garbagiel the Raccoon

1/10/2018 05:50:11 pm

Just because Will hasn't commanded you to vote for him doesn't mean that it's morally acceptable not to vote for him.

1/11/2018 06:46:16 am

I mean, I don't want to say that you will immediately be sucked into a portal to Hell if you don't vote for me, but uh...

Sam

1/14/2018 07:45:31 pm

😳

Demanding Fan

1/10/2018 06:17:54 pm

Yay! New blog post! Here is your A+.

(╯°□°）╯ A+

1/11/2018 06:43:48 am

Woohoo!

Joel

1/10/2018 06:20:13 pm

Just because you decided not to come back after your cigarette break doesn't mean you're not my dad.

1/11/2018 06:43:20 am

Don't worry, I'll come back when you have a stable job and I need money.

1/10/2018 07:01:58 pm

Thanks again Will. kdp.amazon.com was just what I was looking for.

1/10/2018 08:04:45 pm

Also, thanks for the support. Some authors get really upset when they hear about amateurs trying to self-publish books. "Poisoning the well" I believe the last guy called it. He felt that people putting out low quality books tended to lower people's opinion of self-publishing in general, which was hurting his sales.

It's a perspective that's annoying for somebody in my position, but I do understand it in a way, which is why I really do need to rework what I have.

1/11/2018 06:42:42 am

Yeah, I hear that perspective a lot, but I consider it a shortsighted view. Who exactly is the gatekeeper here? Who decides whether something is good enough?

I consider it a great advantage of independent publishing, and of KDP's system in general, that the readers are the gatekeepers. The stuff people like tends to float to the top, which is as it should be.

I read a ton of web novels, and if most of those had been published on Kindle, they would have been considered "poisoning the well." But they're great stories.

I have no standard for what you're "allowed" to publish, nor do I think there should be one. But you'll generally get a better reception and make more money if you write, publish, and market professionally. If that's your goal, there are definitely things to learn and ways to maximize your chances.

1/11/2018 05:31:05 pm

Yeah, I figured when I first posted the story that it would be quickly buried in the bowls of Amazon never to see the light of day unless I specifically linked somebody to it. Nobody is going to take that story and say "Hmm, I've never read a self-published book before but I'm going to take this story with a homemade cover and consider it representative of self-publishing in general."

The names of authors can be considered a brand, but not the industry. Nobody judges the toothpaste industry just because one brand they tried years ago tasted horrible.

Still, now that it's bought pizza for me and some friends multiple times I probably should work to make sure people are happy with what they're paying for.

A far greater threat to self-publishing are those "Gold miner" guys as they seem to be called. The ones who hire people from overseas to write a really short piece based on an outline and mass produce publications. I've talked to several of them on the web. Luckily Sci fi and Fantasy are really unconducive to mass production, and so they mostly seem to stay in the educational section of Amazon.

Sam V2

1/14/2018 07:47:04 pm

Darn I leave for a month and someone else ends up with my name. This is why you don't #%^#%* leave blogs for more than two hours.

Dustin

1/10/2018 08:14:29 pm

I just have one question for you Will. Are you so sure you're not my dad?

1/11/2018 06:43:00 am

At least...60% sure.

Diego

1/11/2018 06:49:11 pm

Ooo!!! Playa!!!

Ravi

1/11/2018 08:06:13 pm

Ahhh the stabbies! Will, you know what you have to do to earn my vote... That's right! Eat French Fries! Do it and my vote is yours!

1/12/2018 06:25:31 am

When have I ever eaten anything else? I've eaten nothing but french fries, and now I'm facing a serious nutrient deficiency, please send help.

Fellow Daoist Ji Ning

1/11/2018 08:25:25 pm

Oh, is it that time of year already? Nice. Looks like Skysworn is up there on the Best Novel list.

1/12/2018 06:24:50 am

Yeah, but while I might win something in best indie / self-published, I definitely won't win Best Novel.

Nor should I. There are way better books on that list.

Awesompossum

1/13/2018 09:06:25 pm

I disagree.

Aaron

1/14/2018 07:48:29 pm

And if it fails?
Hamilton: that's why we need it!

Deadnettle

1/12/2018 08:14:15 am

This is my first year voting in the Stabby awards, and I must say that I really like the fact that you can cast your vote for as many authors as you like. That way I don't have to choose between my two favorite independent authors, Andrew and Will. It also is a great opportunity to find some new authors to read. Does anyone have any specific titles to recommend from the other contestants?

1/14/2018 10:20:22 am

The fact that you can vote for everyone you like is probably my favorite aspect of the contest.

Shady Upvote Dealer

1/12/2018 10:52:15 pm

Hey Will, I got a contact I could put you in communication with... for a small fee.

He specializes in this sort of thing. He's got a bot that controls thousands of Reddit accounts, and for the right price he can get you a couple thousand up-votes or down-votes on any post.

Contact me with your credit card numbers at [email protected]

1/13/2018 10:11:47 am

I'm more interested in talking to a Nigerian prince. I hear all they need is acess to my bank accounts so they can transfer millions of dollars over from their home country. Know any?

1/14/2018 07:51:32 pm

As a matter of fact, I DO!!!! Yours truly has recently been notified he will come into an inheritance! You will receive a hundred times what you give me now! So give a million, get a hundred million! Contact, questions, payment info at www.nigerianprince/scam.com

TBoy

1/13/2018 02:56:55 pm

Hmm. Looks legit to me!

1/14/2018 10:22:52 am

Can I pay to give someone else upvotes?

And can I pay with someone else's credit card?

1/14/2018 10:36:19 am

Here at Shady Upvote Dealers LLC, where when and how you use your procured up-votes is entirely up to your discretion, and is covered in depth in in section IV of our privacy policy.

Also, someone else's credit cards are my favorite kind of credit cards!

Ron

1/15/2018 04:32:15 pm

Off topic question but is there any news on the movie and television front? Have you sold the rights to make a movie to anybody yet Will?

If Sanderson can sell a novella he hasn't even written yet you should be able to get somebody to buy the Elder Empire or Travelers Gate.

1/16/2018 10:05:04 am

Well the thing you have to remember is that Sanderson has entire teams of people behind him who specialize this stuff. He's got people at his company, agents, and publishers at Tor all working on deals like that. Will didn't go to law school and he's not an agent. As a self publisher he's on his own, so it's much harder for him to sell movie or television rights.

Also, large companies haven't really caught up with the whole self-publishing thing yet. Selling film rights isn't really a thing with self-publishers.

1/17/2018 10:48:11 pm

Congratulations William Lawrence Wight III on winning second and third place on best self-published novel and third place on best novel.

In which we ramble on.
And by we, I mean me.