Can't live with 'em...or can we?
I've had some great experiences with writing contests. Take Avon's FanLit. I was fortunate enough to final twice, but came away with a much better prize than a Fox Development Deal. No lie. I won a community of talented and supportive writers who have helped me hone my craft. And because of Fanlit and other contests, I've got something actually related to romance writing to put in my query letters. That's the good news.
The bad news of course is that in any contest, you may have to endure snarky, sometimes devastating comments from well-meaning and not so well-meaning judges. On balance, however, I think the contests I've entered were well worth taking a few blows to my ego.
Ego. That's the main problem with contests. Contests wreak all kinds of havoc with your ego. You tell yourself you enter for the feedback. Stop lying to yourself!! That's like a guy saying he reads playboy for the articles. Even if it's true, no one buys it. While you may be fortunate enough to receive helpful feedback on your manuscript, there are many more reliable sources for criticism. Okay I'm expecting to take a lot of flack for the above statement, so let me have it.
You enter contests to WIN and to further your career. Or to final. Which in the case of most RWA sponsored contests translates to a win because your work winds up on an editor's or agent's desk. And this is a fabulous reason to enter. For most of us unpublished, unagented, aspiring authors RWA sponsored contests may be the only way to get our manuscript in front of an editor.
So I say enter, enter, enter. But remember your goal is to score an editor read, maybe get some useful comments. Never use a contest to validate your worth as a writer.
Never use a contest to validate your worth as a writer. I think that bears repeating.
I'd love to hear your opinion on writing contests.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
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23 comments:
Awesome site. Not sure I agree with you on the contests. I think I'm all entered out.
Janai
The site looks great!! I am not sure about the contests either, just because I have never entered one. We all think you are an amazing and talented writer, so we cant ALL be wrong, but I know it helps to have someone else tell you that!!
Site looks wonderful darling. I'll send you my link and I hae a special section for critique partners in my authors link at my site that I can place you in.
As far as contests go, I've entered two and the feedback from the judges has been about the same as what I get from my critique partners. Never finaled. So what I've been trying to do instead of wasting my money on entry fees is to work on my publishing credits. I've had great luck with e-presses so far. The contest wins or finals look great on a query letter but I think publishing credits catch an agent or publisher's eye a little more. So that's what I've been trying to do.
Now since I'm a member of EPIC now for E-book authors, I'll probably enter thier Eppie Contest for published E-book authors. Figure it couldn't hurt :-). But I'd really rather at least get a few more publishing credits up my sleeve before I try again with an RWA contest.
Your site looks fab!
I've entered three contests and haven't received any news or feedback yet, so I'm reserving judgment. The Avon contest was a great experience for me, of course!
Monday through Friday this week, I'll be blogging about my trip to New York and conversations with the Avon people, and I'll be giving away prizes!! So everyone's invited. (Shameless plug, sorry)
Hi! Thanks for linking to me--I shall do the same to you, natch! FanLit was my first contest, and while I lost ten pounds (good) and my mind (questionable), I probably would do it again. I had no idea there were so many pubbed writers, tho and that such very strange things would happen. By and large I think it helped me with my writing, and if I ever stop being too cheap to join RWA, I can enter more contests!
You are right in a sense (and I blogged about this before or perhaps I responded to Eve's blog on the subject). While I love to get constructive feedback from judges (which I've received from CPs already), I would love to get it in front of an editor or agent, so finaling is the big motivating reason.
I love your site! As for contests, I only did Avon (With similar thoughts. The friends I have made there and the growth I have made as a writer are worth more than a trip to NYC or a Fox development deal). I've only entered Avon, Grand Beginnings, and just recently the Royal Ascot. I got wonderful feedback from Grand Beginnings and didn't do so shabby for my first RWA contest, 16th and 17th place out of 70 or so entries.
Keep up the good work!
Cindy
Contests scare the poo out of me, but I love the feedback, well sometimes.
You are on your way to fulfilling your dream don't let anything stop you.
Christina
Love the site, India!
Avon FanLit was both a contest and a community, and I think both of those aspects were great for me. The community was wonderful and warm and supportive. It was also critical, and I learned so much from everyone's comments.
The contest part -- well, I agree that you shouldn't look to contests to validate you as a writer. They are neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition of being a good writer. But they're not wholly irrelevant. If (ahem) you're regularly getting great critiques from contests, it is a little bit of validation: it says people enjoy reading what you've written. And if people regularly tell you the same thing, over and over again, you should pay heed, and ask yourself if they have valid criticisms.
Thanks for the input guys!
Janai, I'm entered out myself for the moment. Maybe I'll get a second wind with another manuscript.
Karan and Marguerite, thanks for the encouragement. I think critique partners are a better source for criticism than contests. Especially if you have writing partners who are honest and caring-like I do!
Tessa, feel free to use my blog for plugs anytime! What are friends for? Can't wait to hear all about NY. You are a wonderful example of the way a contest can shine a light on talent.
Maggie, great to see you! I lost ten pounds during FanLit too. Sadly, I found them again. I think RWA is worth the fee.
Hi Beverly! It's great when you get a knowledgable judge who leaves helpful comments. But I'm with you, I want to get that editor or agent read.
Cindy and Christine, your comments reminded me that it takes guts to put yourself out there and enter a contest. It's also a way to stretch as a writer. Fanlit was great for forcing me to produce and to find a voice I never knew I had-Regency. Okay, it's debatable that I found a Regency voice. Maybe I'll use it some more and see what happens.
CM, I agree. Fanlit was and still is a wonderful community. And there were many helpful critiques to be had there. For example, people told me over and over to stop rushing the happy ending. I think it finally sank in.
Thanks everyone, for commenting on my first blog.
Christina! After I posted I got confused and thought Christine had left your comment. So I removed my post (haven't figured out how to edit my comments after publishing yet) and retyped her name in place of yours. Now I see it was you all along. I'm sorry! Please forgive me.
Ack- contests. I just got some not so great feedback today, and now I'm extra terrified of pitching to Natasha Kern next month. Because I finaled in a contest- yes, it was useful- Kern will have read my first 2 chapters and synopsis before I pitch to her. But now I'm terrified she'll have the same reservations as the published historical author from my last contest. Alas. I guess I like contests as long as I do well ;-) I find them useful when the comments all point to a similar area of strength or weakness, but frustrating when one person is so certain of something and no one else is.
Anyway- love your site, India! I'll be back.
Leigh
Yay! I'm so excited that you have a site (which is lovely!) and are blogging - I like to keep tabs on all my favorite FanLitters! ;)
As someone who has coordinated the back end for a lot of scholarship & fellowship competitions, I know from experience that any kind of selection process is - to a certain extent - arbitrary. So you just have to take the experience for what it's worth.
But you can't win if you don't play, and it's always a good idea for unpublished writers to start getting their names out there!
Lindsey! So glad to see you! It's been a while and I like to keep tabs on my favorite fanlitters too!
I agree, there's a lot of luck and arbitrary filters in contests. And I know how Leigh feels. You need a good seat belt when you enter contests because it's a rollercoaster ride. I wonder when we develop our thick writer's skin?
Leigh, you finaled. Hooray!You met your goal. Unbound Heart(which I happen to know is superb)is going in front of an agent. I'd reread all my glowing comments several times before pitching. Where is Arnold? We need to pump you up! And I know you've just been to a pitching workshop so I'm looking to you for guidance. Tessa's going to share Eloisa's pearls on pitching in her blog (I hope).
Your site looks great!
Nice seeing you again Amy (I mean India) -- from another fanlitter using a pseudonym these days (Pamsko waving hello!)
Love the new site/blog! I can always use another way to procrastinate. Aside from AvonFanLit, I've entered into two contests and have yet to receive feedback from either. Whatever the result is, I value the comments of my CPs far more.
Sara, who is feeling like she should join the pseudonym club, but doesn't think she could learn to answer to a different name...
Ericka and Sara, great to see ya! I love the whole pseudonym thing. You get to be whoever you want to be. C'mon Sara, hop aboard.
woo hoo! new blog! welcome to the deep, dark underworld of procrastolation.
I'm so glad you are joining the blogging world! The site looks wonderful, btw, as does the Twist of Fate excerpt - I'm hooked!
I really agree with your contest views - contests are such a great way to get editor exposure. It seems like a wasted opportunity not to enter some of them, at least.
Unfortunately, I'm one of those naive writers who used both the Avon and Harper Teen contests to validate my writing. Luck was with me and I ended up with great feedback AND a confidence boost...both of which were needed. Still - knowing what I know now, I wouldn't have given them such importance, but they did get me to where I am now in writing!
Lacey and Mary, Thanks for visiting! Love seeing you both. Yes, I finally made it into cyberspace, and it's great so far. Mary, thanks for the kind words about Twist! I can't wait to explore the websites of my long lost pals.
Amy
Ooops, I mean to sign that post India! Sara, you and I may have the same problem.
I don't think we can help using contests as a sort of validation. At least the ones there judges make comments can be helpful.
Alice
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