Writing Contests:Should You Take a Shot?

There are writing contests everywhere. Besides the small ones on blogs for opening lines and flash fiction and such, there are dozens of more formal ones put on by local chapters of writer's groups. These contests usually involve submitting part of your manuscript (15, 25, 50 pages depending on contest) and sometimes a synopsis or query letter. In the first round, your work is evaluated by a panel of judges which typically includes published authors. Then if you final, you move on to another judge--and here's the exciting part--this judge is usually an agent or an editor at a relevant publishing house.

Photo by Reggie Alvey (click photo for link)These contests cost money, which I know makes some think--wait, I'm paying for a contest. Aren't those usually free? But keep in mind that these are often put on by local chapters who have their own administrative costs to run such a venture and this serves as their non-profit fundraiser. The fees are usually reasonable--most around $25. If you enter at the national level, like RWA's Golden Heart, then the price goes up.

So is entering a contest worth that $20-$50 bucks you're shelling out? Well, I entered a number of contests (and won a few!) before I signed with Sara and here are the benefits I see:

1. You get to see your score sheets and feedback from the judges. So basically a critique, in some cases, by a published author.

2. If you place, you now have something to add to that bio paragraph in your query letter. (And I know that bio paragraph gives a lot of unpublished writers anxiety because--oh crap, what the heck do I put in there?)

3. Impartial feedback. These judges are not your mom, your friends, or even your critique buddies whom you already have a relationship with. The judges don't even know your name when they are looking at the manuscript.

4. There are sometimes small cash prizes if you place and your name may be listed in some of the trade magazines like Romance Writers Report.

5. Did I mention that if you final, your entry usually goes to an agent or acquiring editor? Hello, nurse! No slush pile to sit in--your work in front of someone who can make something happen.

On the negative side...

--Winning doesn't guarantee publication. It doesn't even guarantee you'll get a pages request from the agent or editor. 

--Judging, like anything else, is subjective. I've won some contests, finaled in others, and then didn't place at all in a few with the same exact manuscript. 

--It costs money

--If you have a book that doesn't neatly fit into a category, it can be hard to figure out the right section to enter your manuscript in.

And just as a side note, many of these contests are run by romance writers chapters. However, that doesn't mean your book has to be straight up romance. Almost every contest has a young adult category and a mainstream fiction category--as long your book has "romantic elements", you can enter. Here are the upcoming contest for RWA chapters. Of course, there are other contests for specific things like memoirs, screenplays, paranormal, horror, mystery, thrillers, etc. If you want a comprehensive list of a variety of contests, check out this link. Although this site lists last years dates, these contests are run yearly, so check out the provided links on the page to get updated info.

As for me, I enjoyed entering contests. It built my confidence tremendously. There's really nothing like winning and knowing that the judges thought your entry was the best of the bunch. But also, even when I didn't take top prize, I usually received great feedback that helped me improve. So I definitely recommend them.

How about you? Are any of you going to enter any contests this year? For those of you who have done the contest thing, what was your experience like?

*This is a revamped post from November 2009

Happy to Be Nominated, but Winning Doesn't Suck!

Saturday. Was.  Awesome.

I attended the North Texas Two-Step writer's conference, where I learned all kinds of terrific information (more on that this week) and where they announced the results to the Great Expectations contest.

I've been waiting with bated breath for a month to know where I placed.  In the initial round I had ended up second with my scores, but once the finalists are sent to the editor for final judging, then your scores are erased and you start fresh, so you can end up anywhere.  I kept telling myself that I was just happy to final, that the worse that could happen would be honorable mention (4th place) which would still be a victory.  But my perfectionistic/competitive side held out hope for more.

So when Angi Morgan went to the microphone to announce the results, my heart was pounding and I was preparing my I'm-so-happy-no-matter-where-I-placed face.  And of course, my category was the last one read, which was tortuous.  But then Angi called me up to the podium and started reading out the names in my category.  And guess what?

I placed FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Woo-hoo!   The editor picked Wanderlust as the best in the Series Contemporary Romance category!  She gave me perfect scores on almost every checkpoint AND she requested a partial & synopsis to be sent to the Senior Editor at Harlequin Blaze using her name (the editor of Harlequin Superromance) as a reference.  *wide grin*  There's nothing like having a publishing professional say "hey, you're actually good at this."  So I'm over the moon.

To top it all off, I got a small check for the win, which is officially the first money I've ever made for my writing.

Days like Saturday are ones I need to file away in the memory bank so that when I'm having the I'm a Total Hack Days, I can remember these victories and keep going.

Now, don't miss the rest of this week here at the blog.  Beyond the normal Beta Club days, I'll be sharing some of what I learned at the conference, including info from an agent/editor panel.

*Today's Theme Song**

"Beautiful Day" - U2

(player in sidebar--go ahead, take a listen)

I'm a Finalist!

*Sorry that this picture only has vague relevance to the topic, but I couldn't resist.  By far, the funniest Saved By The Bell episode ever.*

 A while back I mentioned that I would be entering a couple of writing contests for the first time and promised to share what my experience was like with y'all.  Well, this weekend I got a call from the North TX RWA letting me know that my manuscript, Wanderlust, has finaled in the Contemporary Series Romance category of the Great Expectations contest!

I am so excited!  Now I get a day to read through the judges' feedback and revise before the entry gets sent to the final judge--an editor at Harlequin.  :)  Woo-hoo!

So obviously I'm feeling pretty good about contests right now, but let me share a bit of my experience so far.  First, I have to say that these results came back very quickly and the amount of detailed feedback from the three judges (two of whom were published) was awesome.  They teased out things me and my crit group had not caught (and we're a picky bunch) and it wasn't just surface feedback--their comments showed they had put a lot of thought into it.  This kind of feedback is worth its weight in gold and was a great return on my small contest fee even if I hadn't finaled.

In addition, I can't tell you how nice it is to have people who are either published or are trained as judges tell me such positive things about my writing and that my story is of publishable quality.  I'm definitely going to save those files and pull them out when I go through my inevitable "I'm a Total Hack" days.  So thank you to those anonymous judges who have given me that gift.

Now, although my experience has been very positive, I do want to give one word of warning about contests.  Remember not to freak out if you get feedback you don't like or agree with.  Even though these are educated opinions, they are still just opinions.  Angi Morgan, who recently sold her first manuscript, wrote a great article on keeping contest feedback in perspective.  So go into these things with that in mind.

But all in all, I think the positives outweigh that minor risk.  So, if you're looking for some totally outside feedback and a chance to jump the slush pile of an editor or agent, consider entering one.  They are especially helpful if you want to "test out" your beginning or hook because contests usually have a page limit (first 15, 25, 50 pages).

Most of the local RWA chapters run these contests and they're open to anyone--you don't have to be a member.   And I know a lot of you write YA and may think that these don't apply to you, but almost every contest I've seen has a YA category.  (Here's a list of some upcoming contests.)  So take a chance and put yourself out there.

Also, totally off subject, but I'd like to give a little shout out to my New Orleans Saints for winning the Super Bowl!  Sometimes the underdog really does triumph--okay so it took a few decades to get there, but still, I always believed.  :)

Have you entered any contests?  Why or why not?  What's been your experience?

**Today's Theme Song**

"I'm So Excited" - The Pointer Sisters

(player in sidebar--go ahead, take a listen)

Judging Writing Contests (and the Crit Winners!)

*Drum roll*  And the winners of the critiques are...at the bottom of this post.  :)

First, I wanted to talk about judging writing contests.  This year I decided to not only enter RWA's Golden Heart, but to volunteer as a preliminary judge.  The way it works is you are able to judge in any category except the one you entered in.  They send you six fifty-page partials and the accompanying synopses, which you are responsible for reading and judging.  

When I first started reading them, I realized how quickly I could tell if something was going to be good or not.   I know we've talked about agents making decisions quickly and how important that first line, page, chapter is, but this drove it home for me.

That first line and paragraph are like a little snapshot of what to expect in the book.  If it was overwritten and tell-y, the rest of the pages tended to be the same way.   If it was confusing, the story was often convoluted.  On the entries that had first pages that hooked me, the rest of the story was really good too.  So had I been an agent reading these, there are a few I would have put aside pretty darn fast.  (However, for the contest, you're required to read all of the pages, so I went ahead and did that.)

The other thing I discovered in this judging experience is that it's hard to give a score when you're not allowed to give feedback.  For most of the chapter level contests, you get detailed feedback from judges and a score sheet.  However, for the GH, you just assign one score (from 1-9) and give no feedback.  This is so difficult.

I know how much love has been poured into each of these manuscripts (not to mention the fifty bucks paid to enter the contest), so it pains me to assign a low score and not be able to help the writer out by telling them what I see that could be worked on.  However, I'm also not going to assign a higher than deserved score simply to be nice because that's not fair either.  I have to be honest in my opinion.  I just have to hope that if someone gets theirs back and all the judges assigned them less than stellar scores, they'll seek out beta reader feedback to try and figure out what went wrong.  Or, they have the option of going the these judges were idiots and failed to recognize my awesomneness route.  That can work, too.

Of course, I could be saying all this and then get back my own back with low scores, lol.  Hopefully not.

Alright, so now for the winners of the crit contest.  Congrats to....

List Randomizer

There were 43 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. Julie Dao - WINNER!
2. Aubrie - WINNER!

Woo-hoo for Julie and Aubrie!  Ladies, please email me your ten pages or query letter (your choice) for critique (click the little @ button under my picture on the right).  I look forward to reading your work!

So has anyone else out there judged a writing contest?  Have you participated in submitting to any?  Did you get feedback or just a score?  

**Today's Theme Song**

"In My Opinion" - The Kooks

(player in sidebar, take a listen)

Writing Contests: Should you take a shot?

It seems to be the time of year for writing contests. Besides the small ones on blogs for opening lines and such, there are dozens of more formal ones put on by local chapters of writer's groups. These contests usually involve submitting part of your manuscript (15, 25, 50 pages depending on contest) and a synopsis or query letter. In the first round, your work is evaluated by a panel of judges which typically includes published authors. Then if you final, you move on to another judge--and here's the exciting part--this judge is usually an editor at a relevant publishing house.

These contests cost money, which I know makes some think--wait, I'm paying for a contest. Aren't those usually free? But keep in mind that these are often put on by local chapters who have their own administrative costs to run such a venture and the fees are usually reasonable--usually around $25. If you enter at the national level, like RWA's Golden Heart, then the price goes up.

So is entering a contest worth that $20-$50 bucks you're shelling out? Well, I've been giving this some thought since there are a number of contests with upcoming deadlines and here are the benefits I see:

1. You get to see your score sheets and feedback from the judges. So basically a critique, in some cases, by a published author.

2. If you place, you now have something to add to that bio paragraph in your query letter.

3. Impartial feedback. These judges are not your mom, your friends, or even your critique buddies whom you already have a relationship with. The judges don't even know your name when they are looking at the manuscript.

4. There are usually cash prizes if you place.

5. Did I mention that if you final, your entry usually goes to an acquiring editor? Hello, nurse! No slush pile to sit in--your work in front of someone who can offer you a contract.

On the negative side...

--Winning doesn't guarantee publication

--Judging, like anything else, is subjective. I've heard of people winning one contest and then not even finaling in a another with the same exact manuscript.

--It costs money

--If you have a book that doesn't neatly fit into a category, it can be hard to figure out the right section to enter your manuscript in.

And just as a side note, many of these contests are run by romance writers chapters. However, that doesn't mean your book has to be straight up romance. Almost every contest I've looked at has a young adult category and a mainstream fiction category--as long your book has "romantic elements", you can enter. Of course, there are other contests for specific things like memoirs, screenplays, paranormal, horror, mystery, thrillers, etc. If you want a comprehensive list of a variety of contests, check out this link. Although this site lists last years dates, these contests are run yearly, so check out the provided links on the page to get updated info.

As for me, I've decided the benefits outweigh any drawbacks. It can't hurt to take a shot, right? I'm entering my romance in three contests this year. I've never done one of these before, so I'll be sure to let you guys know what the experience is like once I get my results sometime in Jan./Feb./March

How about you? Are any of you going to enter any contests this year? For those of you who have done the contest thing, what was your experience like? Was it worth it?

**Today's Theme Song**

"Hey Man Nice Shot" - Filter

(player in sidebar, go ahead and take a listen)