Do any of you writers, published or unpublished, enter contests? If so, why? What is it that you’re looking for? An editor? An agent? Validation of your craft? A Sally Field “they like me, they really like me” feeling? Or is it just something to do on a rainy day when you’ve got an extra $20 or $30 in your bank account?
Being between contracts, I think that I’ve picked up the habit of doing contests again for a few selective reasons. I have a fabulous agent so I’m not looking for a new one, but I’m hoping that maybe one of my entries will tweak an editor judge’s interest. I definitely don’t have any extra money and certainly have other things to do on a rainy day. But yes, I have the need to validate my writing. And lo and behold, more than occasionally I get a lot out of the judges’ comments — constructive critiques, great plot suggestions, astute comments about characterization, and all of the good, strong opinions about my writing that I won’t get from family members or best friends who love me and don’t want to bruise my feelings. Do I get upset with some of the contest judges’ remarks? Duh!! Sure, I do. I’m human, I’m a writer, I’ve got the usual writer’s thin skin and easily bruised ego and insecurities. Granted it’s easy for me to tell my sister critique partners (the fabulous Critters) to suck it up, that rejection is part and parcel of the entire writing/publishing process, but deep down there is a tender spot in my soul that suffers, just like theirs do, over every criticism or negative word.
Being published and not having a current book on the market, my selection of available contests is rather limited but there are a few that are well worth the effort. What is great is that I can try out new projects, prepare better proposals, and see if I’m heading down the right track with a story by entering. And yes…it also helps to keep my name out in the world. Editors who are associate members of RWA read the Romance Writer’s Report (RWA’s monthly magazine) and soon begin recognizing a person’s name and potential if the author’s name continually shows up in the contest winners feature of the RWR. I don’t just pick any contest to enter. I’m not interested in the ones that judge only a few pages, just a love scene, or a great beginning sentence. I want a contest to challenge me, to allow me to submit at least 30 pages of manuscript and sometimes a synopsis, and one that has a long-standing and prestigious reputation with editors who are the final judges who might be interested in my work.
The other thing that I’ve found that helps me out a great deal with my own writing is judging entries in my own chapter’s contest and often volunteering to judge other chapters’ contests. It is also a thrill, one which I’m sure feels the same to an editor or agent, when I discover an entry that absolutely blows my socks off.
So, when I find an extra $20 or $30 in my checkbook, discover a contest that has all of the elements that I like/need, and when I’ve got a project that I’d like to toss out into the pool to see how it swims…I’ll fill out the entry form, either write a check or use PayPal, format my entry as the contest requests, send it in and anxiously wait to find out how it fares.
Just be warned…contests can be addictive. And, like any addiction, that isn’t good for you at all. They can suck $$$ out of your account, take up too much time from your writing, and sometimes encourage you to only write good contest entries and not the whole book. But, contests can also be encouraging, exciting, give you walls loaded with certificates, and accolades. Just remember to carefully examine your reasons and needs to enter a contest and keep the goal of writing a great book, garnering a sale and building a career in your sights. Oh yeah, and as a reminder from my blog from yesterday…back it up! :>)