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Climbing
the Slush Pile -
or
"Why We Really Enter Contests"
Mia Zachary copyright March 2002
A
friend told me about the Silver Lining, a contest just for those
who'd been disqualified from the Golden Heart that year. Hope
rose like a phoenix as I prepared Destiny's Dream to receive the
accolades it so obviously deserved.
Two months later, I was crushed again. The scores ranged from 86
all the way down to 56. I received near perfect scores for
style, mechanics, dialogue and overall appeal. However, I needed
serious help with minor details like Plot. Motivation. Pacing.
Conflict. Passive voice.
LESSON
NUMBER TWO
The Golden
Heart is like the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. [Best
Actress, of course, is the RITA] Never enter the most
prestigious contest in our industry with less than your very
best work and definitely don't enter at the beginning of your
writing career. It's a waste of time, money and self esteem.
Speaking of
money, I try to calculate the value of a contest by using a
dollar to page ratio. For example, a contest fee of $25.00 for
a 50 page entry [Touched by Love] is an excellent deal. But I
won't spend a contest fee of $25 for a 15 page entry unless
the prize [editor read, prestige] makes it worthwhile.
Most contests
judge approximately the first chapter (20 25 pages). But there
are also contests for synopses [Dreaded Synopsis, Golden
Synopsis], queries [Thumbs Up, Foot in the Door], hooks [Great
Beginnings, Fabulous Five, Hook, Line & Sinker],
manuscript openings (30 60 pages) [Maggie, Romance
through the Ages, Barclay Sterling].
There are contests for first meetings [Ignite the Flame, Fire
& Ice], love scenes [Between the Sheets], conflict scenes
[Bold As Brass], best scenes [Launching A Star] and contests
to prepare you for the Golden Heart [Orange Rose, Golden
Opportunity, Golden Rose].
For a list of
RWA sponsored contests, go to my Contests
page.
I
went back to Destiny's Dream to see what could be salvaged and
what should be savaged. I still thought it was a pretty good story
so I dashed off an entry to the Molly contest. The judges'
comments included 'well done dialogue', very nice setting' and
'potential for very enjoyable book'; but also 'slow start', 'too
much backstory' and 'two dimensional characters'.
LESSON NUMBER THREE
Determining the level of your skills will help determine which
contests to enter. The beginning writer should look for contests
with at least two, preferably three, first round judges, very
detailed score sheets and guidelines that encourage the judges to
write comments on the entries. At this stage, feedback and
objective criticism are the most beneficial reasons to enter
contests. Look for first chapter contests and I personally suggest
choosing contests that don't require a synopsis.
Many unpublished
judges are very good, but keep in mind there's no guarantee that
they know any more about what editors are looking for than you do.
More experienced writers may want a contest that has a second
round that is judged by published authors before going on to the
final round. They definitely should look for contests that that
allow you to enter a synopsis of at least five pages in addition
to the chapter. These will help you gauge your writing skill and
your story's general acceptance to readers.
If you're ready
to submit your manuscript, look for contests that offer editors or
agents as the final judges, preferably one from the line or house
that you're targeting. Contest awards can be added to a resume in
lieu of publishing credits
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