Writing contests run year-'round, but this time of year is when the finalists in Romance Writers of America's (RWA's) Golden Heart Contest are announced. I just read a pretty interesting blog discussing what finaling in this contest can do for you, and I think, in a lot of ways, it's a lot like anything else in the writing biz. If you work hard, have a little luck, and position yourself to take advantage of opportunities that come your way, you can get published.
However, the Golden Heart gives little to no feedback, and while I appreciate that the contest is now considered "prestigious", I think it's good to keep a bit of reality in the back of our heads. Outside of RWA, very few people have even heard of the thing. Finaling or even winning the contest is no guarantee of publication, of getting agented, or even of having someone agree to read your manuscript.
I've finaled twice and seen people achieve their dreams with the help of this contest, and seen dreams dashed, as well. I think contests--especially the Golden Heart--are tools, and maybe by looking at them that way, instead of looking at them like some magical Golden Ticket, we can keep ourselves grounded enough to realize that one contest is unlikely to bring about fantastic changes.
Does it give you an opportunity? Yes. But exactly what opportunity it provides and what you do with that opportunity will remain to be seen. After finaling twice I decided to go back to school, so that finalist status pretty much wasted away. I'm a better writer now, both for the contest experience and the school experience, but in the end, being a GH finalist really hasn't changed my life. Nor do I think it should have.
What do you all think of writing contests? And am I being too harsh on the GH? What people, contests, or events have had the most impact on your writing career, whether you're published or not?
5 comments:
Carol I think your assesment of contests especially GH is fair. I know that it has standing within the RWA organization but what do you say to someone who has finaled twice and never had so much as a nibble on her work. I know this has happened to people and I have to wonder what does GH mean to the publishing industry?
Now local chapter contests I think can have an avantage in two ways: !) lots of feedback but you have to be ready for some negative possibly from people who don't understand the genre 2) it gets you beyond the slush pile and at least onto the desk of an editor or agent, as long as they are actually doing the judging and not their staff.
I think the keep is to ask yourself what do you want out of it: Wins? not sure that is necessarily going equal a sales, Feedback? better but have a thick skin. Set a goal for each contest.
Good points!
I agree with you, Carol. I entered the GH twice and ended up with wildy divergent scores that kept me from finaling. In other words, some judges loved it, and others hated it. But I didn't know why they loved or hated it.
I did better with the chapter contests where I got feedback, both positive and negative that helped me shape up my work for eventual publication.
Susan, I'm just curious: did the judge's comments in the contests you entered go along with comments you eventually got from your editor(s)? What I mean is, did the contest judges seem to see the same things in your work that the editor did, like strong characterization or good use of dialog? Or questions about motivation, etc?
Carol, it was the early contests I entered that helped me the most. Those judges were extremely helpful as I learned all the things essential to a publishable romance story. Later, after my writing improved, contests were less helpful and I was getting those mixed scores, with some judges giving me perfect scores, while others hated everything about the entry. That's when I knew it was time to start submitting.
Ironically, I did well in some of the early contests, but couldn't final to save my life later. And those same stories, after being published, finaled and won contests for published authors and received great reviews.
I think you have to know when you hit the right time to start submitting your work. Otherwise, you can spend your life entering unpublished contests.
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