I’m one of those poor souls who can’t believe the good things people say about me, but I worry for days over bad things they say. And no matter what, you won’t get gentle, constructive criticism. Most judges believe you need to hear the unvarnished truth about how bad your story is. Sometimes you may learn from what is written on your contest score sheet. If you are like me, you have to go back and reread the comments to realize they weren’t all negative.
While looking for blogs and articles to link to on the subject of contests, I found Mythcreants, a site and a name that I love. They are an online publisher for speculative fiction storytellers, and the first blog I read points out some interesting reasons why writers should not enter contests, plus one possible reason to do so. These are valid points. Luckily, Romance story contests are different.
The Write Practice featured Monica M. Clark with reasons why you should enter a contest, and stating that she had won a contest put on by the Washington Romance Writers’ chapter of Romance Writers of America. The post is rather old and WRW may have left RWA but the contest may still be going.
Personally, I won a contest early in my days in the local chapter of RWA. It had something to do with the first seven pages of your story. I entered my “poor governess turns out to be an heiress” which opens in a busy coaching inn where the hero slips into her room to avoid a jealous husband. They loved it, but this also was the story a couple of mentors ripped to shreds. I may revisit it some day.
I entered a speculative fiction story that is also Romance into a contest because usually few authors enter that category. This is a smart strategy, but it backfired on me because they combined it with the Western Romances. I did not win but I did get wonderful feedback from two judges who thought it was good enough to be rewritten. Yay!
Currently, I am doing the 4,975th rewrite of the last book in my Regency Banquet trilogy. The first book sold well, the second languishes with few sales, and I think I will need to offer all three as a boxed set when the series is finished. And maybe throw in a box of Girl Scout cookies.
This great article on “To Submit or Not to Submit: 5 Arguments for Entering Writing Contests” by Shayna Krishnasamy was published at Kobo Writing Life on Apr 16, 2015. The information is still good to know. I do have to disagree with the statement that nobody needs to know. If you entered one of the big contests back in the RWA heyday, your name was published at some point after the judging was done.
I suggest you start by looking for lists of contests for Romance Writers or whatever genre you live in. Angie Hockman provides a wonderful breakdown of what chapter contests are, how to decide which one to enter, and explains that fees are different for RWA members, chapter members, and non-members. Once you make up your mind, jump in. I would not trade my contest experiences for anything, except maybe a Golden Heart Award. Maybe.
Thanks for reading; I’ll be back on Sunday.
Romance-ology 