"And the Award Goes To..."

Early in award season, there's been some debate on the legitimacy of certain awards and authors' campaigning for them. It amazes me that adults can act so childish when it comes to awards. Sarah Weinman posted her thoughts yesterday, and I commented:

Sarah wrote:

"[B]ut I also like to think that any awards list is representative of what the best of the year really is, not the efforts of single-minded campaigning by anyone."

I agree. Ideally, I wouldn't nominate my own work for awards, but I do so with the rationale that all work deserves at least a look.

I'm not needy enough to impose on others to nominate my work, but I will say (once), "If you enjoy my work, consider nominating it." The decision is left to the individual.

I can understand authors wanting the increased recognition and sales awards can bring. As performance is vital to the professional athlete, recognition and sales are vital to the full-time author. In both cases, the purity of the endeavor is at risk. I plan to avoid the trap by never depending primarily on my earnings as a novelist.