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You can’t win if you don’t play
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So I entered GOTH in a contest. The Hearts Through History contest, to be exact. I’m also planning to enter it in The Beau Monde’s Royal Ascot and Orange Rose contests within the month. And I think that will about do it.
I hear such mixed things about what contests can do for you. There are inspiring success stories, like Diane Gaston’s guestblog the other day on Romance Vagabonds (and if you haven’t been over to the new RV site yet, it’s gorgeous! Great job, gypsy girls!) And then there are people who say contests are a waste of time, energy, and money that could be put to better use.
I figure I might as well try a few, see if I get some helpful feedback out of them.
How about you? Yay or Nay on contests?
March 10th, 2007 at 5:10 am · Link
I think contests are wonderful. For newbie writers with no significant writing credits to their name, it’s a nice thing to have as a writing credit if you finaled or won. It’s also a good way to get your work in front of an agent or editor if you finale (for those contests that have them as final judges). Who better to give you a critique of your work? I read the blog of a fairly newbie writer Sophie Jordan, and she entered her first book in contests for over a year and was about to shelve the thing when it won and she was asked for the full from an editor. The rest as they say…was history. A couple of months ago, one of the girls on the RT forum sold her book to Avon. She won The Beau Monde contest and Erika Tsang requested the full…10 months later it was sold and is coming out in Jan 2008.
I think you’re entering GOTH is some great contests. Best of luck!
March 10th, 2007 at 5:50 am · Link
I think being able to list a winning credit is great, but the best thing are the comments.
These are people who don’t know you, and you learn a lot from what they like/don’t like. And you learn a lot about what to take to heart and what to ignore. Good Luck! 🙂
March 10th, 2007 at 5:31 pm · Link
Yes, Gillian is right. I forgot to add that in the year she was entering it in contests, she was changing and improving the story based on feedback. I’m sure without that she would have been able to sell it.
March 11th, 2007 at 12:53 am · Link
I say yay. The nice thing about contests is that you can enter them as much as you please without burning through potential markets. You’ll get a lot more feedback from them than from the average editor. And it’s a lot of fun when you win. 😀
Alice
March 11th, 2007 at 5:18 am · Link
Good for you. It can’t hurt, right? I know some published authors still enter contests, so they must think it’s a useful enterprise. Good luck! GOTH is wonderful and deserves to be read by the masses!
March 11th, 2007 at 8:03 pm · Link
I usually enter a contest, when the final judge is an editor who I want to get my book in front of.
Good luck to you!
March 11th, 2007 at 11:17 pm · Link
I second what all the other ladies said, contests are a great way to get your writing seen by industry professionals–who might just want to represent/buy your book. I’m crossing my fingers for GOTH…
March 12th, 2007 at 6:40 am · Link
Good luck on the contests! I’ve never been very interested in entering, but I bit the bullet and entered two last month! I guess I’ll wait to draw any conclusions until I see results/feedback.
March 12th, 2007 at 9:46 am · Link
I enter contests when I’m interested in the final judges, yep. Sometimes I do well, other times not so much.
Good luck with your entries!
March 12th, 2007 at 8:28 pm · Link
Yay, Tessa! Contests have worked for you so far, so why not? It’s always a good idea to start getting your name & your work out there.
March 12th, 2007 at 10:02 pm · Link
I just recently sent off a few chapters to The Stroke of Midnight Contest run by The Passionate Pen.
I love contests. . . heck, I entered Avon Fanlit, right?
March 15th, 2007 at 1:16 am · Link
Loribelle and Shelli –
Thanks for dropping by! Don’t be strangers.
Thanks for the encouragement, everyone – I’ll be sure to keep you posted on what happens.