You fine tune your work in progress, write out the check, make a half dozen copies and pay dearly for postage. Hopes are high that your entry will make it to the final rounds where an editor, the editor, will read and buy it. Oh, yes, you hope that you place in the contest too. But, does this happen in the real world? HODRW PAN Members share their experiences about entering contests.
Carol Devine Rusley: Yes, I entered contests as an unpub and yes, they helped me get pubbed!! Entering contests generally helped me learn how to submit by a deadline and in the correct manuscript form. Depending on who judges the contest, entering also provides an opportunity to get your work in front of an editor, thereby skipping assistants, readers et al when submitted over the transom. Last contest I entered resulted in the editor who judged it calling to make me an offer...it don't get much more effective than that.
Anita Gordon (aka Kathleen Kirkwood): Yes, I entered the Golden Heart…twice. The first time I made the semi-finals and one of the judges gave me the idea to add a prologue since my hero, Rurik, doesn't show up until the third chapter. That was the most valuable advice I got. I followed her advice and the book took off! The following year I entered the ms again (THE VALIANT HEART) to see what, if any, difference the prologue would make. It not only won the Golden Heart (for Historical in 1989) but sold on eight chapters and a synopsis! Laura DeVries (aka Laura Gordon):The one and only time I entered a contest was the Golden Heart. Back then, entrants received written critiques, and judges were allowed to write on the manuscripts. My three judges didn't agree on anything! One loved my story and gave me a perfect score, another hated it, but didn't possess the writing skills necessary to explain why. The third judge's response was lukewarm. Obviously, with such a disparate scores, I didn't make the finals with that book, nor did I ever enter it in another contest. I did, however, sell it the following year.
Kathleen Wells: I'd say contests helped me. Regional contests taught me a lot if they included critiques. I kept what worked and tossed the rest. They also allowed me to send proposals to the editors who judged the final rounds if they liked the story. Being a Golden Heart finalist allowed me to send material in as requested by editors and agents and helped me get the attention of an agent. I still recommend them but when money is tight, I'd go for one that have editors or agents judging the final rounds.
Dar Tomlinson: Before I was published, I was a contest junkie. I'm still entering with actual books, but it doesn't have quite the attraction. I'm not sure it helped me get published, though I have now sold the mainstream that won the Hemingway First Novel Award, and two others that won a lot of contests. I loved entering, kind of like gambling in Vegas, waiting for the results to come in. I literally covered my study wall--it's not huge--with certificates. I think contests helped to get my name out there among judging editors, but mostly I did it for feedback. You have to have a stiff constitution, though, to face some of those critiques. Some people are a bit demented. I always remember that when I judge, and I apply criticism with a gentle stroke.
Amy Sandrin: Yes I entered contests. They let me know I was heading in the right direction. Did they help me get published? No. But I see NOT being able to enter contests the only downfall of getting published. I miss them.
Jean Ross Ewing: Quick answer -- no I never did! I'd never even heard of RWA when I sold my first book. So, I'm no help at all!! But I know quite a few unpubs who've been almost destroyed by judges' careless comments in contests, which worries me, since at least some of those unpubs went on to be pubbed later :)
Deb Kastner: Contests never did a thing for me. I always got mixed scores: really high and really low. I think that's a by-product of my writing style--love or hate. Anyway, I don't take much stock in them, because one contest I got slammed in, and I do mean slammed, ended up being the book that got me a nomination for the 1998 Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award. However, I do have good friends who *did* benefit from contests--but you have to be able to final, which I never could, LOL!
Anita Moore (aka Desiree Lindsay): They gave me a tough skin that would be needed come rejection time, so yes, in a round about way they helped me get published, otherwise no! Carol Steward: I entered the Heart of the Rockies contest right after coming 'out of the closet' as a writer, which would have been around 5 years ago. I didn't have the foggiest idea what I was doing and the scores confirmed it, as I remember. I haven't entered another contest since, but it's only because I've been so busy writing and rewriting that I lost track of time and never got the entry sent. For me, the advice WAS actually helpful, but I am not easily discouraged by low scores. I think what is important is to look at contests as a tool for learning, not just a stepping stone to publication or a sign that your work is ready for "the call."
Julie Pottinger (aka Julia Quinn): I never entered a contest as an unpub. But I also didn't join RWA until after I'd sold. My take on contests is that A) they can be very helpful in honing your craft and B) they can definitely help you get published, but not all contests are created equal in the eyes of editors. Making the finals in the Golden Heart will move you to the top of any slush pile, but a page-long list of all the regional contests you've won/finaled in will probably just make the editor roll her eyes and wonder how much money you spent. On the other hand, it's always good to enter even a "minor" contest if they've snagged an editor to judge the final round. If you make the finals, an editor will read your stuff---probably faster than if you'd submitted it through the publishing house!
Emily Cotler: Yes, I entered, but I was careful about which ones. The GH of course, and finalling in those for each of my books not only boosted my faith in my work (peer validation is a powerful thing), but lent credibility to my ms with editors. I know that being a finalist helped get my book read earlier.
Rogenna Brewer: Heart of the Rockies--first place--8 minute appointment with Senior Editor Paula Eykelhof--changed my life ;)
Lynda Cooper (aka Lynda Sandoval): I entered a LOT of contests as an unpub, as you probably know. What they did for me was get my name in front of editors and provide me with credentials for my cover letters. They didn't always offer really great feedback, but I didn't enter them with that goal in mind, so it didn't matter to me. As for whether they helped me sell, I'd have to say that every proactive thing we do as writers helps us sell eventually. You might not be able to show a concrete path from writing to entering contests to selling, but you DID something. You took a step. And to me, that helps.
Deb Stover: This is coming from the current GH coordinator, which is interesting, I suppose. In 1993, I entered a total of three contests before selling my first book in December of that year. The Golden Heart--yes, that's the only time I ever entered--the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' Colorado Gold and the MAGGIE.No, I don't believe contests played any role whatsoever in my first sale, and I believe they are highly overrated in RWA. In my humble opinion, if members spent as much time honing their craft, finishing their manuscripts, and getting them in front of editors as they do entering contests, we'd have a lot more first sales.
Maureen Webster (aka Maureen McKade): I entered two with my first book, the NOLA where I placed. And the Golden Heart where I was a finalist and how I met the editor (Ellen Edwards for Avon) who went on to buy the book. Yes, the GH most definitely helped me get published.
Home | Membership Info | HODRW Authors | Congratulations!! | Links | Board Members | Meeting Info | Monthly Spotlight! | Articles | Calendar | Molly Contest | Aspen Gold Contest |