So another Preditors & Editors Reader’s Poll has come and gone (or will be gone shortly, as it ended at midnight 01\/14\/10). I saw a lot of snarking about the awards because of the dubious possibilities of ballot-stuffing, self-nomination and ‘who has got who’s back’ for vote trading.<\/p>\n
Guess what? For some of us, it’s not whether we win or even come into the top ten (much as I like the nifty banners P&E does up) it’s new readers, new friends and best of all – new markets<\/em> – that we find while perusing the ballot lists. Maybe they’re not for everyone, but I’ve personally added a handful of sci-fi\/fantasy novels, horror novels and magazines (print and electronic) that I’ve added to my TBR lists. I’ve checked out authors in the list, marking blogs to read. I’ve checked out the other artists and publishers, making note of those I liked the look of for future reference.<\/p>\n Why do I enjoy the P&E polls, besides the fun of participating? The NEW<\/em> voices and faces of speculative fiction. And I know it’s not just me, because TNBP has picked up new readers, a handful of which have let me know they enjoy the ‘zine, most of whom came from the E-romance arena and possibly wouldn’t have found TNBP otherwise.<\/p>\n To me, that’s a successful poll. <\/p>\n