ENnies Awards

[mcrow24]

I'm just posting this here because I would like to see as many of the YGN publishers as possible enter the ENnies. I feel that there are many very good product here and it would be a shame if they were not entered. So if you have Products released between May 1, 2006 and April 30, 2007, please enter them. There looks like there will be a PDF category this year.

[xrpsuzi]

Thanks for bringing attention to the eligible dates for the ENnies.

Joe and I are big supporters of the awards and are pleased to see the fan-driven award grow in stature every year.

Here's a link to the ENnies page where the organizers will post submission guidelines and important dates as they become available

http://www.ennieawards.com/

The first step (judge selection) is well underway. Threads have been cropping up on various boards where candidates have been answering questions and voting on judges begins on February 12!

-Suzi

[Destriarch]

I've never entered the Ennies before, is it difficult?

Ash

[xrpsuzi]

It's not difficult. Publishers determine which products they want considered for which categories (with the eligibility dates in mind).

Publishers fill out some paperwork, submit said paperwork and product (e-products go on CDs) x6. In previous years, they gave publishers the option of sending things to 1 location and pay a small fee, or mail things out themselves.

After that you wait until the judges announce the nominees, and then the public votes from that list.

Many things will be solidified after the vote on the judges is done, and I would suggest hitting the ENnies site for updates because the new judges will have the opportunity to make tweeks to the system after they are selected.

-Suzi

[Destriarch]

I'm amazed that they don't do digital products by email. It'd cost me a fortune to send out six CD's to various locations (and I'm guessing they'd be US locations which would cost even more for a UK-based developer like me). It'd also take weeks and weeks to arrive, and if it got lost in the mail it'd take even longer due to sending a replacement. In contrast, if an email goes astray it is quickly and easily resent at no cost.

I dunno, I'm not sure I like the idea of an award that you have to pay to get, albeit payment in product and postage so to speak, when there is a viable (if not actually preferable) alternative that costs nothing. It's not like I've got money to spare as it is I'll keep an eye on it and calculate how much money it's likely to cost to enter.

*EDIT* Additionally, there wouldn't be much point if the end result is going to be a public vote. My products aren't well-known enough. If it were all based on the assessment of a panel of expert judges, I'd be much more tempted to risk it.

Ash

[xrpsuzi]

I don't represent the ENnies officially in any way, but I can offer my interpretations from working with them as a publisher for 3 (going on 4) years. At one time they did accept e-mails, but that quickly got out of hand (e-mail can get lost, judges with CD have access to the products regardless where they are viewing the material, and a CD in the mail in something to look for and note if it got lost in the shuffle).

As far as I know, there is no flat fee for publishers who wish to place their product for consideration, but you are correct in that they have to eat the cost of shipping product and the physical product itself. Most of the judges up until now have been in the US and Canada, but shipping locations will vary based on the judge selection.

If you are considering entering, I would suggest taking the option to ship to 1 location and pay the minimal fee (last year was $10 or $15 if I'm remembering properly), because it may turn out to be less expensive than mailing 6 packages across the pond (the first pound is always the most expensive ) It also means that you contact 1 person to see that the package got there instead of 6.

*EDIT* Additionally, there wouldn't be much point if the end result is going to be a public vote. My products aren't well-known enough. If it were all based on the assessment of a panel of expert judges, I'd be much more tempted to risk it.

I understand what you mean-being a small publisher is a people's choice type of awards is not easy. This is less of the case in PDF (where PDF-only products with limited numbers of POD reign), but again, it doesn't negate the point you are making.

Think of it as a 2 tiered award. Judges (albeit publically-selected) read over all this material, discuss and pick what communally they consider creme of the crop. If something is not selected as a nominee, but it was close, they often give it an honorable mention so the public knows it was close. Then it becomes a public vote.

So with that in mind, Joe and I really look for the nomination, that nod of recoginition that we are making good product. We still tell all our fans to vote and make an honest attempt at taking home an award, but there have been years where we are nominated but do not make it up the podium, and that's ok. Heck, there have been years where our product was not nominated, but we showed up for the award to support our fellow publishers and the awards.

Just one publisher's perspective.

And if you have any specific questions about the awards and how they run, check the site. There will be a lot things that get solidified in the upcoming weeks. If that doesn't answer them, drop the coordinators an e-mail with your questions. They are very helpful.

-Suzi

[mcrow24]

Also, keep in mind that there is one award that is only given to product that are pbulished as PDFs or have a very small POD print run <50 copies.

if you enter your product in this category there will be a lot of relatively unknown publishers that are competeing there as well. If you were to get one of your products nominated or won an award, that would give you some level of exposure as well.

[Tabletop Adventures]

Suzi's right that the nomination, not only the award itself, means something significant. We were pleased to have one of our products nominated last year for Best Electronic Book, and it gave us additional credibility in the eyes of our local retailer when we were talking about possibly placing print products in her store. She knew about the ENnies, and was impressed that we had been nominated.


If you want to enter but postage is prohibitive for you (which I can understand, having mailed stuff to a writer in the UK), it might be that you could arrange something with another PDF publisher who is submitting material. You could electronically send your product(s) and the completed entry form to a US publisher, who could burn them to CDs, print copies of the form, and then mail your entry along with their own.

Alternatively, get together with other PDF publishers from the UK, collect up everyones' disks and forms, and submit them together.


Vicki

[Destriarch]

Alternatively, get together with other PDF publishers from the UK, collect up everyones' disks and forms, and submit them together.

Heh, I have enough trouble finding anyone to share the cost of a table at a convention

Seriously though, I do appreciate everyone's perspective on the Ennies. I'd love to put something worthwhile in, but at the moment I don't know if I'll be able to afford to.

*EDIT* Incidentally, the postal system in the UK changed its pricing strategy last year. They don't just charge you for weight any more. Now they also charge you according to the size of the parcel you are sending. It's gotten a lot more expensive as a result. Sure you could use slimline cardboard sleeves to ship CD's in and keep the package fairly thin, but that doesn't afford much protection for a flimsy bit of metal and plastic that's got to go a few hundred miles.

Ash

[Zachary The First]

Good thinking, Mike!

[OldKingdomGames]

Ash.

Gimme a shout if you want to submit something - We'll share the cost on bouncing some CD's to the States with you. We'll give it a shot this year just to see what the processes are like.

[andrew_kenrick]

We (as a UK publisher) submitted to the ENnies last year, but luckily had our US distributor ship books for us. I don't recall sending CDs was prohibitive from here though, as we used the ship centrally option (is that available this year?). We used an a5 padded envelope (for about 30p) and it cost us about £4 tops for shipping.

As our pdf of the Lemurian Candidate got nominated for best adventure I'd say it was well worth it.

[Destriarch]

We (as a UK publisher) submitted to the ENnies last year, but luckily had our US distributor ship books for us. I don't recall sending CDs was prohibitive from here though, as we used the ship centrally option (is that available this year?). We used an a5 padded envelope (for about 30p) and it cost us about £4 tops for shipping.

Was that before or after the postal charges reform though?

Ash

[andrew_kenrick]

It was before, but the small padded envelopes don't fall foul of it particularly because they fit through letterboxes! Trust me, I'm an ebayer

[Destriarch]

It was before, but the small padded envelopes don't fall foul of it particularly because they fit through letterboxes! Trust me, I'm an ebayer

Unfortunately, there's no chance I could fit five copies of Vanishing Point in such a slimline package. It's 340 pages long and hardback and sadly that's the only product I'd really consider entering.

I need to have a chat with the guys at lightning source. If there's no extra charge I might be able to get them printed and shipped direct from the US site, but that's still £50 ($100) cash in printing

Ash