ChapterBuzz Book of the Year 2024

When competing in the ChapterBuzz Book of the Year Competition, please observe and abide by the following rules:

Eligibility & entry

• Any published book that is available for sale and has been accepted into our Hot Off the Press section (with the exception of any books that were granted exemptions to any of the Hot Off the Press requirements) is eligible for the Competition
• Only one book per author can be entered
• The copyright of your book can be from any year
• You must own all rights, or have written permission from any other rights holders, to post your book on ChapterBuzz and enter it into the Competition
• The deadline has been extended. The deadline for entering your book into the Competition was formerly August 31, but has been extended until such time as we have 10 entries, each with 3 reviews.

Qualifying & winner selection

• You must obtain at least three reviews for your book to qualify
• Reviews can be obtained from any reviewer listed in our Service Directory, or a reviewer of your choice whose blog meets these requirements. Because reviews appear on someone else's blog, it is the author who is ultimately responsible for making sure review link is posted to ChapterBuzz, otherwise the review won't count
• Winner will be selected based on an average of all review star ratings as well as on Fame Points earned (which includes Buzz from readers)
• Reviews can be obtained, and Fame Points earned, anytime during the year of the Competition. The earlier you start, the better
• One grand prize winner (Book of the Year) and four runners-up (Finalists) will be chosen
• In the case of co-authored books, only the author under whose account the book is posted and entered will be recognized as a winner
• Ties are broken by seniority, that is, the person who been a ChapterBuzz member the longest
• When average review star ratings are calculated, the lowest rating out of every ten reviews is dropped
• Your book must remain in our Hot Off the Press section, and available in full, through the entire month of our Winter Book Reading Party. Any edits or modifications you make to your book during the Competition could cause your book to be disqualified
• Free premium membership prize for winners will start just after the Winter Book Reading Party and run for 12 months

Reviews

• Please see this page for more information about obtaining reviews, and requirements for review blogs
• The links to all reviews must be either registered by the reviewer on ChapterBuzz, or sent to me via e-mail, by the entry deadline in order for them to count for the Competition
• Reviewers are permitted to remove or modify reviews at any time. As this would affect your average star rating and minumum qualifying number of reviews, it is recommended you obtain as many reviews as possible to prevent this type of situation from hurting your chances or disqualifying your book
• You cannot post a review of your own book
• Reviewers can charge for their time and expenses, but reviews must remain impartial. Giving money, gifts, or other compensation to a reviewer in exchange for a more favorable review is strictly forbidden
• Directing—or even hinting at—a reviewer to give your book a better rating, or attempting to influence a reviewer's rating of your book in any way (other than just writing a great book!), is strictly prohibited
• Reviews, even though they are posted on the reviewer's own website, must still adhere to the "Content" section in our Terms of Use, and we reserve the right to remove the link to any review from our site. In the case of a removed review, it would no longer count for the Competition

General

• The book you enter cannot be enrolled in KDP Select, or any other program that requires exclusivity, while it is available here
• Any book that does not win Book of the Year, including finalists, can be re-submitted for the following year's Competition. However, only reviews posted in the year of the new Competition will count
• Creating fake or spam accounts, or trying to manipulate the system in any way, is strictly prohibited. According to our Terms of Use, any individual is only allowed to create one account
• To be featured in Books & Buzz Magazine, you must be willing to complete a written interview. To appear on the cover, you must be able to provide a professional headshot photo that meets certain technical requirements
• The cover feature portion of the prize is only available to entrants who have not previously been featured on the cover of Books & Buzz Magazine
• The Competition is subject to cancelation if at least 25 books total are not entered, but can also be canceled at any time for any other reason
• We reserve the right to rescind any award at any time, and for any reason
• We reserve the right to modify, clarify, add, or retract rules at any time. Once you enter the Competition, you are responsible for keeping yourself apprised of any changes to these Official Rules

Because we want to make this a fair, friendly competition for everyone, failure to adhere to these rules is grounds for disqualification from the Competition. Thanks for understanding!

If you have any questions, please contact me.

Happy writing (& winning!),
Tim | About me