Climbing
the Slush Pile -
or
"Why We Really Enter Contests"
copyright March 2002 Mia Zachary
There's
nothing like getting The Mini Call to tell you that your entry has
made the finals or even won a contest. What a rush, what a thrill! You
are now the proud recipient of a certificate or plaque, some prize
money, a piece of jewelry, or (my personal favorite) an actual star
registered in your name.
The only
thing better is getting THE CALL telling you that a publisher wants to
buy your manuscript. And that, my friends, is the real reason for
entering contests.
The average
wait for an editor's response is anywhere from six to eighteen months.
Publishers get thousands of queries each year and for every fifty
partial submissions received, only one will be requested in full. I've
heard stories that the slush piles at Harlequin are literally leaning
up against the walls to support their vast height.
So how can you possibly beat these odds? You can't. But maybe
you can shorten them by first writing the best work that you can and
then by entering contests.
I
completed my first manuscript, Destiny's Dream, in November 1999. I
was so proud of this achievement that I immediately entered RWA's
Golden Heart Contest with visions of publisher bidding wars dancing
in my head.
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