Appeared in RWAustralia's Hearts Talk, June 2008

Rachel won the 2006 Emerald Award (category), the 2006 Valerie Parv Award, the 2006 Jane Porter Award, the 2006 Great Expectations, the 2007 Emerald Award (category), the 2007 Marlene Award, and has placed/finalled in a bunch of other contests, both in Australia and the US.

The first contest I entered was the 2005 Single Title and Loving It. I was thrilled to final with a score of 97%. The first and second round judges said some lovely things about the entry, including, “This is great writing,” and “Editor would definitely want to see it.” The final judge was an agent from a big NY agency, and her comments were, “This is tricky to pull off, because it’s funny, but only for a moment.” Ouch. And my heroine “finds it a waste of time (…) and therefore so did I.” She also thought the romance plot was “nothing terribly urgent or even terribly important.” Methinks she didn’t like it much <g>.

That pretty much sums up my contest experience. Some thrills, some spills. But the journey has been an invaluable aspect of my writing apprenticeship and one I’d absolutely repeat if I had my time over.

Feedback

Feedback was the main reason I started entering contests. In the STALI, I entered one of my comedies with a prologue that I wasn’t convinced I wanted. The judges almost unanimously told me to drop it. I did.

Some judges have had stronger things to say – good and bad. In fact, I occasionally have one judge particularly dislike my entry. That’s not uncommon among other writers – and I don’t think splitting judges is such a bad thing. Writing is subjective. I’ve had a discussion several times with a writing friend about Jenny Crusie’s Anyone But You. I love it. It’s a perfect book and I’ve reread it several times. My friend (also a JC fan) thinks it’s a weaker book compared to the others, mainly because of the low conflict. I love the low level of conflict and think it works beautifully.

Thing is, if we can disagree on someone of Jenny Crusie’s level of skill, then judges will disagree about my writing and some will suggest changes. It’s a given. Some will like it and others won’t. I enter contests assuming that, so when the criticisms come, I look through and see which ones I agree with. I usually let them sit for a few days, show them to a critique partner for another viewpoint, and then throw the ones I don’t agree with in my mental trash bin. And the ones I do agree with are worth more than the entry fee.

Prizes

I’ve got a pretty nice stash here on my desk – two elegant curved glass plaques (the Emeralds), a beautiful engraved medallion (VPA), a gorgeous Waterford crystal heart pendant (the Marlene), and an assortment of certificates. The Emeralds came with cash prizes too, which was fabulous for a struggling writer

But the best prizes by far have been the writing input ones. The Marlene Award came with a critique of the entry by Linda Lael Miller, RWAmerica’s 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. Priceless. And then there’s the most valuable prize I’ve won – a year’s mentoring from Valerie Parv. I don’t think the worth of a year with a best-selling author like Valerie can be overstated. The fact that she’s so sweet and encouraging was the icing on the cake. Thank you, Valerie!

Access to an Editor

The Valerie Parv Award came with a read of the entry by a Harlequin / Red Dress Ink editor (who requested the full, but unfortunately left the company, handed the full on to another editor who also left the company). I figure it’s now lost, but that first editor gave me revision advice about pace that has affected every piece of writing I’ve done since.

In one US contest, The Perfect Pitch, I came second and the final judge, Paula Eykelhof, requested the partial. I managed to mention that I would be at the Gold Coast conference later that year in the covering letter. At the conference, she asked to meet me and we also set up a meeting at the Auckland conference the following week. Those two sessions of chatting to such a senior editor about my writing, writing craft in general and the industry were amazing, and I benefited so much. And those chats were an unforeseeable and invaluable contest reward.

Not all the reads by final judges have been positive, (the sole comment from an editor on one contest entry was, “Why the British punctuation?”) but it’s kinda like the theory of kissing a lot of frogs before you find your prince. Just one good response from an editor – one little gem of advice – is worth all the others.

Contest Credits

When I queried my agent, Jennifer Schober, I mentioned some of my contest credits in the email. In her reply, she requested two full manuscripts and said, “You seem to be on a creative roll.” I don’t know how much sway the contests had to her request, but I figure it didn’t hurt <g>.

Connections to the Writing Community

I’ve made new friends through contests – some from people who took the time to email and congratulate me on contest results and we’ve stayed in touch afterwards. Also, it’s made some connections stronger – like times I’ve held cyber-hands with another entrant as we wait for results.

In one US contest I wrote thank you letters to the judges and one from Florida who’d given me a perfect score wrote back to tell me again how much she loved reading my entry. She then said if I ever needed a fresh pair of eyes to let her know. We ended up critiquing a full ms for each other and that judge (a Golden Heart finalist and gorgeous person) is now a trusted friend and we still occasionally critique for each other. (So never forget to send that thank you card!)

Deadlines and Excitement

Writing can be a very solitary occupation, so having some externally imposed deadlines and encouragement has been great. I know I’ve written more by having entered contests than I would have without them, just from having to meet a deadline. And knowing I have something “out there” either in a first round of a contest or on an editor’s desk has been great for keeping the motivation and adrenalin high.

Every one of us will have a different story to tell about their experience with contests. Ultimately I think there’s a great big dollop of luck involved – whether it’s good or bad luck depends on a heap of factors, many of which are outside the entrant’s control. I think I’ve had more than my fair share of good luck (though it didn’t always feel that way), but basically, you have to be in it to win it. And by winning, I don’t just mean coming first. Whether you get useful feedback, finish the manuscript because of the deadline, final or place, make a new friend, or use the contests to keep your motivation going, then you’re a winner. Good luck!