Contests: A Proving Ground

by Alexis Walker

Unpublished writers can gain much from writing contests

Contests are a great way to hone a writer’s skill and develop good author habits as long as the contest route is taken with “practice” in mind. Like making the Olympic team, we need to develop a routine, exercise our muscles, practice our art, and enter competitions, so when we make the publishing team, we have a solid foundation on which to build and we won’t let our teammates down.

But we must be very conscious of how we approach this path and what our expectations are. If we enter contests simply hoping our entry will pass the test of the first-round judges who will pass it along to the final judge who will then request the full manuscript, and love it so much they’ll decide to publish it, then we are losing out on the education that can be gained from the experience itself. Not every competition will be won, but we can take something away from every competition entered.

The Reality

Feedback is probably the most controversial area of entering a contest. Horror stories abound about the belittling judge who told a writer never to write another word. To me, this type of critique tells me more about the judge than the work. However, it amazes me that a writer will receive feedback from three judges and two will offer wonderful praise and the third will trash it. The writer can’t stop talking about, and, yes, obsessing over, the negative feedback. Granted, positive critiques don’t give you a lot to work on, but, for some reason, we always focus on the one negative. Are our egos really so delicate? For writers, they’d better not be, or trips to the psychologist will far outpace trips to the bank!

Yes, getting a harsh critique can be tough, but guess what? Editors and agents are not all going to have the same opinion. They aren’t going to like the same genres, writing styles, voices, and plot lines. They will come to your manuscript with their own personal biases and beliefs, just as the many volunteer judges do for our chapter contests. Some editors will think my manuscript needs work. Others may think it should be thrown in the trash (though they won’t say so), and then, there will be that one editor who thinks my story has great potential and will want to publish it.

Notice the similarity? The judging portion of the contest world is simply a microcosm of the publishing world. It is a competition for your Olympic manuscript. Feedback from the “good” judges is like our coaches sharing their experience and wisdom. The feedback from the “bad” judge is the opposing team’s trash talk. Are we really going to waste time on trash talk?

Building Self-Judgment

So, having entered a contest and received all this feedback (whether well explained or poorly judged), you now need to review it and separate the wheat from the chaff. What will make the manuscript better, and what won’t? If more than one judge makes a similar comment, it is easier to determine whether a change should be made. But, many times it is only one judge’s opinion. Do you make the change or not?

This decision making process is important not only to the quality of the story, but also to the future of the writer. Why? Because once published, an author has an editor, one judge who will give feedback and request changes. Most of the time, especially with new authors, every change will be made, but what if a requested change just isn’t right for the story? If 98% of editor feedback is right on the money, how will we recognize that remaining 2%? Will we know when we need to negotiate that point? By entering contests, we can hone this skill of determining what can be changed and what might destroy the whole effect of the story.

Beyond the First Three Chapters

I’m not sure how many people look for contests based on what is requested, but I do. The “first 25 pages and a synopsis” requirements can be found in dozens of contests. After submitting those pages to a few, I don’t feel the need for more feedback, unless of course, that final judge is my dream agent or editor. I like to look for unique contests, for example: the MERWA Synopsis contest, the EVA Query contest, the IE Picture This contest (which is any scene), OVRWA’s Summer Sizzle contest (which is a scene filled with sexual tension), the ARWA Break-up Contest (which is the dark moment), or the KYOWA Bold as Brass contest (which is a scene with your heroine showing she has, um . . . guts).

There are a number of contests out there that focus on specific areas of your work. Why bother with these? How will they help you get published? Well, one of the common complaints I have heard from agents and editors is that those golden first three chapters are excellent, polished, and well crafted. Then, the full is requested and it completely falls apart.

As far as I know, there is only one contest where the full manuscript is initially read, the Australia Romance Writers Emerald Award. So, with that in mind, the next best thing is to see where you stand in other important aspects of your story. Let’s face it, if you are writing a steamy romance and your sexual tension is lacking, then a rewrite may be in order. The same can go for your black moment, your ability to show and not tell, etc. These contests give you the chance to get aspects of your story you are not completely confident in judged and critiqued by people who don’t know you.  

Tight Writing

This was an unexpected benefit I found to entering contests. Those dratted page length requirements can actually help you fine tune a very important skill, tight writing. How do you fit everything you want the judges to read inside the page limit, especially as the going advice is to leave the judge with a hook? This takes some strategizing.

I look at the page count and find a good hook somewhere after the page limit, preferably no more than five pages beyond. Then, I go through my pages with a fine tooth comb, cutting every extra word and every tidbit of information that seemed critical before but, with the page limit, is suddenly not so critical now. The margins are strict, as are the lines per page, so it is really your writing that needs to be tightened up if you want to leave the judge wanting more.

This is a very helpful benefit if you’re like me and writing short doesn’t happen much. Practicing it enough times can really pay off. So, as a published author, when you submit your next book to your editor, you already have the skill to go through the entire manuscript and tighten it up. Or, better yet, you write a tighter book to start with!

Writing Under Deadline

This was the initial reason I started entering contests. My concern was that when I started writing my first novel, I had no deadline. No editor was waiting in the wings. I realized that writing without a deadline was a luxury a published author wouldn’t have. As a result, I started entering contests. As a result, I had a set amount of time to get that entry in or lose my money. There’s nothing like the great dollar bill to motivate oneself.

At first, I was doing the “come into work late gig” because I had been up until two minutes before the midnight deadline to get in my entry, but I soon figured out how to structure my time better. This can be an invaluable skill to learn. For me, it has come in handy with requests for full manuscripts from agents. I always review my manuscript one more time before sending it out because I know I will find other places to tweak. This has given me the confidence to believe that, when my future editor requests my next book by a given date, I will be able to meet that deadline.

Some contests, after you final, allow you to take the judges’ comments and revise before submitting to the final judge. It’s not on the scale of doing revisions on a whole book for an editor, but it certainly gives you a taste of things to come. This is truly a skill that will benefit us as we make the transition from unpublished to published. And what better place to practice than with contests, where your biggest loss might be a few bucks if you don’t get it in on time--versus your reputation if you can’t make a deadline as an author?

Name Recognition

Regarding name recognition, we need to be realistic. Having your unpublished work final or win a few contests is not going to make you a best seller. However, it’s a tiny step in the right direction. Many contests will announce finalists and winners in the RWR. How fun to see your name in the National publication! Pretty soon, your writing buddies are watching for you, too.  In addition, contest finalists and winners are always posted on the sponsoring chapter’s Web site.

Plus, you have one more accomplishment to crow about on your various listservs. The fun about crowing to your listservs is not that you are promoting yourself, but that you can tell people from the world of romance publishing who can truly appreciate your success. Ever try to explain to your hair stylist what making PRO means? Trust me; it’s just too subtle a concept.

And, something I just learned: there is a Web site out there called Contest Divas that lists contest finalists. I checked it out and, sure enough, there I am. Once we join the ranks of the published, we are going to have to market ourselves, so this is a good habit to develop. Sometimes we have a difficult time blowing our own horn, but our future publisher will prefer we do, so we might as well practice.

Building Credentials

Placing in a contest can build your credentials while still un-published. I thought this was a no-brainer, a finalist placement to add to my query letters. This shows I’m not only serious about this work, but that I might actually be able to string a few words together.

Well, guess what? There is some controversy over this because being a finalist means you didn’t win the contest. Wins are a given, but communicating that you finaled tells the agent or editor that you didn’t win because if you did win, you would say so.

Having gone to numerous conferences and listened to agents talk about query letters, as well as having read umpteen agent blogs where this topic came up, I say go ahead and list the contest finals. Why? Over and over you hear that you should state that you are a member of RWA. Heck, if paying $85 a year is all it takes to get one leg up on the competition, imagine what a contest final can do for you. And once published, the contests don’t go away. People like to back winners, and readers like to read award winners. Being able to add to your Web site that you’re a Golden Heart winner or a RITA finalist is certainly not going to hurt your fan base.

Putting It Out There

For some unpublished writers, it‘s hard to send their creations out into the world and let others criticize. But, if you can’t cut the strings now, how do you expect to get published? You have to send the manuscript out.

Contests make you practice formatting your work, just like you’ll have to do for agents and publishers. They make you trim that synopsis to five pages, just as the agents and editors will do. And, they also make you send your work off to be read by complete strangers! It’s amazing how freeing it can be.
With no empty nest syndrome, you find you have the freedom to work on editing that other work in progress or to start a new story. Besides, now you’ll have mail to wait for that’s not a bill.  

Sometimes we think that once published, we will never see a rejection ever again. Wrong. There is no guarantee every story idea you have is going to be bought by your first editor. So, getting comfortable with sending your baby out into the cold, cruel world is important. We, as unpublished authors, forget that the world is just as cold after publication as before. In fact, published authors have to send their printed babies to reviewers, and not all reviewers will like their work. In that case, the rejection is put in print for everyone to read. Ouch!

Positive Reinforcement

We have all heard of the author who said she had enough rejections to wallpaper her office. I’m sincerely hoping no one has ever done that. Rejections on the wall are negative energy better left filed in a drawer somewhere. When you enter a contest and you do final or win, you usually get a nifty certificate. If you get one, hang it on the wall. Display it. Add your finalist position or award to your Web site. Tout your win to your writers’ listserv. Take in all that joy, that feeling of accomplishment, and float on the thought that you just might have something . . . for as long as you can. This positive reinforcement that says you’re on the right track will help you stay on track. Those certificates on the wall can remind you that you do not have a crazy dream, you have a potential career, and you need to sit your butt in front of your computer and make it happen.

How does this temporary euphoria help you once published? Well, believe it or not, there are a number of very successful writers out there who still doubt their own work. They still call their critique partner of 12 years and say “I’m halfway through this thing and it’s a mess. I’m going to trash it!” Then, at the next RWA conference you see “Rita Finalist” on their badge for the very same work. I can’t imagine ever being so good at something that you don’t need a few kudos thrown your way every once in a while to remind yourself that you really can do this.

Appreciation

If you have entered a contest, you know the feeling you get when your entry comes back in the mail and you haven’t won. You haven’t even finaled. You tear it open and start looking at the feedback. Then, you let it sit for awhile because you just don’t have the energy to make the changes quite yet. You need to sit on them, let them percolate. But, something you can and should do in the meantime is thank the judges. It’s a bit strange because you don’t know who they are, but they have volunteered their time away from their own writing and deserve a thank you. It’s not an easy job judging manuscripts.

This appreciation is good practice for once you are published, as well.  You become part of a publishing team. Yes, you wrote the book, but your agent sold it, your editor helped make it awesome, and the marketing department gave you a great cover. True, they are paid to do their jobs, but that doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate their hard work as part of the team that makes your book successful. When someone is appreciated, they naturally want to do even better next time. This is what the nonprofits have known for a long time, and the corporate world is just starting to understand. The salary is not the motivator, but appreciation definitely can be.

The Path for You

For many unpublished writers, contests can help develop habits that will stand you in good stead once published. Getting used to meeting deadlines, building self-judgment, writing tighter, and sending the manuscript out are just a few of the habits you develop. Despite the numerous inconsistencies, contests can be a good investment in your writing career. But, they are only one path, and there are so many that can lead to success. It all comes down to individual choice and what works for you.

They have worked well for me so far, and I feel much better prepared for the career I plan to have for the next 30 or so years. I’ll bet they can work for you, too.

Alexis Walker is a unpublished writer whose manuscript Highland Magic has finaled in five contests. Currently, she is whipping into contest shape her third manuscript, a contemporary fantasy, while teaching at Arizona State University in the Nonprofit Management program. Her Web site is www.alexiswalkerauthor.com.

 Published in the Romance Writers Report, December 2009, Volume 29, Number 12