And the Silver Goes To…

Can God Trust You with Trouble? Winner of the Silver Medal Award in the Christian Living genre, 2026 Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Contest! For two consecutive years, I have entered my books in book contests with positive results! In 2025, The Iraq I Knew… was an Award Finalist in the Nonfiction Adventure genre, placing fifth. As you can see in the blog image, Can God Trust You with Trouble? placed second and earned the Silver Medal Winner position. Being one of 850 winners in 150+ genres is a great honor in this highly competitive book contest. Check out the winning work at the Learn More button.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

And Why the Silver Goes To…

Although winning a silver is not gold, it does indicate quite a few things about the book. I broke these into two categories: The Key Big Three and The Nitty Gritty. The Key Big Three must be met before a reader ever opens a book.

The Key Big Three

1. An Engaging Title. Books with wonderful stories are never bought or read. Why? Because the title does not capture the reader’s interest. A catchy title was the first criterion I asked of Pastor Moore when we began the work, and he hit a home run!
2. An Appealing Cover. After the title, the cover is the next thing readers judge about a book. Or it may be the first. Experts are split on this, but title, then cover, is the order in my book-writing template. The moment Pastor Moore saw the cover (the original was purple, but the figure is the same), he immediately approved it.
3. The Right Category/Genre. My award-winning blog, “The Key is in the Category,” offers tried-and-true advice that is applicable to book promotion today. Again, you can have an outstanding book, but if it is placed in the wrong category for whatever reason, it will not get the attention it deserves.

Capturing the immediate interest of readers and reviewers is the most important aspect of your book’s reception. Without this, your book will likely not make it to The Nitty-Gritty section.

After the Foot in the Door

The Key Big Three are just a foot in the door. Now, some readers may buy the book just based on that and be sorely disappointed. Of course, they can always return the book after reading a few pages, but there are better ways to judge the nitty-gritty of a book.

The Nitty-Gritty

Many books survive the superficial but fail in substance. That is why book Samples and libraries are great places to get a free look under the cover. Hence the old saying, “Never judge a book by its cover.” What looks good to you may not, in fact, be good for you. That is why the inside is the nitty-gritty.

1. Well Written. There’s a big difference between a good story and a good book. A good story, poorly written, is never a good book. I try to write from the reader’s perspective, not my own. If I write from my own point of view, no one will understand the story. And even if they do, if the writing mechanics fail, the book becomes a driveby.
2. Editing Matters. I rarely edit my own work. I know what I mean to say. And because that is in my head, I will skip words, create incomplete sentences, and even use the wrong words for the context I am attempting to convey. We all make mistakes, so a second or even third set of eyes can turn a mediocre book into a compelling story.

Because contest judges rarely provide a list of judging criteria or give you a book review at the end of the process (one contest does), you may never know why your book didn’t make the silver.

Are you looking to get a competitive advantage for your book, or are you just happy it’s published?

Whatever the case, an unbiased review of your work inspires a writer to continue writing, get help, or stop torturing others with their work. What category are you in?