My Worth the Effort novellas have been out for a while, but they were only available electronically. It felt senseless to make a print version of a short novella. The spine wouldn’t even be wide enough to print the title on! But the themes the novellas address – social anxiety, underage homelessness – are really important and I didn’t want the fact that they were only available electronically to get in the way of anyone reading them. So, I finally combined them and made a print copy.
While I was finishing up that process, I stumbled upon a book award program that fit the theme of the stories really well. The submission deadline wasn’t far off and I knew I would be cutting it close to be able to get print copies in my hands in time to send to the contest. But the theme was too good a fit for me to not try. (Pro tip ) I asked a friend to order the print copy of my book knowing, as a customer, she would receive hers before I received my author copies. Long before, btw.
Then I ended up having to go on an unexpected trip. How would I get my submission sent off if I wasn’t even going to be home when my books arrived? I enlisted more help. I bought my envelope, filled out my submission form, and with very concise instructions I left everything in my husband’s capable hands. When I received the confirmation from the award program that they had received my submission, I breathed a sigh of relief. It had come together after all.
Then I promptly forgot about it. I don’t enter a lot of awards programs, so it just didn’t stay on my radar. But guess what….
The Human Relations Indie Book Awards honored WORTH THE EFFORT with the bronze medal In the category of Pre-Teen and Teen Human Relations Children’s Indie Book.
Yay!
From their website: “The purpose of the Human Relations Indie Book Awards is to recognize indie authors who have written books with a human relations focus related to various interactions among people in different settings such as work, organizations, school, home, family or in personal lives.”
It’s a very small award program. I don’t even get a digital award certificate to put on the cover! But Worth the Effort is about two people who are living very different lives making a connection. It’s about a girl who digs deep within herself to find the courage to reach out to someone whose circumstances frightens her. It’s about a boy who confronts his crippling anxieties so he can feel worthy of the girl. And I’m so excited that the people at the Human Relations Indie Book Awards recognized that Worth the Effort is…worth the effort.
Congratulations little book!
Find out what the fuss is all about and pick up your own copy of the complete Worth the Effort series here!