I’m leaving my ‘Things I’ve learned’ post for last, this one will need a lot of though. Instead…
Get ready, ladies and gentlemen, I’m about to throw another opinion at you. It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot over the last couple of months, so bear with me while I put my thoughts to words.
Writer/Agent Contests.
First let me state that I am a major fan of contest. I’ve placed in some, didn’t make it past the first round of others, but over all I’ve had a good response and experience from those I’ve entered. Over the last two weeks my twitter feed has been full of writers sharing their contest success stories and I make a point of read each story, because I know how hard it is to put your work out there for others to judge. These writers have done exactly that and were rewarded for it, and I couldn’t be happier for any of them.
But… There is one thing that makes my eye twitch a little, and leads to at least one or two cringes, and that would be putting the words ‘contest’ and ‘subjectivity’ in the same sentence/paragraph/post/tweet. Whatever
Contest, to me, implies that there will be winners and there will be losers.
Subjectivity says that th
ough I might not necessarily like your idea, will be somebody else that absolutely loves it. What works for one person might not work for somebody else.
There are no losers with subjectivity and you shouldn’t think like that and never be made to feel that way!
Some writers take it very personally when they ‘lose’ an agent-judged contest, and it makes me wonder if they have so little faith in their work that feel personally affronted by the rejection.
It also makes me wonder why some of them have to belittle and harshly criticize the entries that did make it through to the next round/the agent’s inbox. Somewhere near the beginning of the year I found a blog post in my reader by a writer who hadn’t received a request from an acquisitions editor after participating in a blog contest.
This writer was sorely disappointed with the entries that had received requests and wondered what the acquisitions editor was thinking when she requested those manuscripts. The writer then went on to question the quality of the requested entries in such a decretory tone that I was ashamed for her.
It saddens me when some writers publicly degrade what others put their hearts and souls into. And yes, I’ve seen it more times than I would like to admit. As supportive as the writing community is, it can be just as damaging if you don’t have a thick skin and the right kind of support system in place.
Subjectivity and contest aside. Let me tell you why you are a writing winner:
- You are a creator/an artist
- You are a writer
- You started writing a novel even though it isn’t finished yet
- You finished your first novel, your third, your sixth
- You had the guts to send that novel to a critique partner/beta reader
- You received feedback and DID something about it
- You are a winner because you wrote that query letter/synopsis
- You are a winner because you received your very first rejection
- And while you’re querying, you started writing a new novel
- But most important, you are a winner because YOU DIDN’T GIVE UP
There will always be contest, and agents are all about subjectivity. No, I don’t like when the two are used in the same vicinity, but there’s also nothing I can do about it except say: It’s what you do with both, and handle what they hand out, that will make the difference. On extremely good days I do believe that good karma will give you a helping hand in the right direction.
Once again I started writing about one thing and ended up with something different, but that’s part of the fun. I get to blame it on my writer brain. There you go. You get a little bit of everything. It’s a good thing I decided not to blog about the how awesome contests are, the post would be ridiculously long.
Go on with your winner self and enter ‘contests’ with an open mind and an open heart. You might be surprised at what comes from it.
Courtney Koschel has been writing since she could hold a crayon. She has worked as a journalist, editor, technical writer, and technical editor. Young adult fiction is near and dear to her heart, which is why she writes YA and all of its glorious sub-genres.
Tonia Marie Houston is a mother, writer, poet, bookworm, and blogger. When sheís not chasing her three spider monkeys, she spends her time revising a young adult novel about life after death and second chances. Though she began to pursue her career later in life, she hopes to inspire and motivate other writers to put their best book forward.
This native Texan now lives with her Scottish hubby in North Ayrshire, Scotland, where she wanders the moors in search of William Wallace. She has been a guest blogger on Writer Unboxed and is currently working on the sequel to her YA supernatural novel, Touched by Darkness.
Jamie Raintree writes what she likes to call everyday fairytale love stories, featuring the little moments in life that are truly magical. She lives in Arizona with her husband and daughter and is currently editing her second novel.
Jani Grey is a South African ambivert, writer, reader, optimist, and bacon enthusiast. When her boss isnít looking she writes, revises, or edits YA Urban Fantasies in between work. Sheís sneaky like that. Sheís a NaNoWriMo addict and is currently working on two NaNo novels.
Rebecca Fields is a modern gypsy, roaming from place to place in search of ñ well, sheíll let you know when she finds it. Writing has become a way for her to share her adventures, both real and imagined. Along with her on her journey are her son and an assortment of rescued animals.
bwtaylor75
June 13, 2012 at 6:18 am
I think contests are a fantastic way to start making a name for yourself. Especially anything cupid hosts.
Contests are also a great way to build your confidence if you are feeling shy about submitting.
I don’t know if I’ve used this quote here, but it’s one of my favorites. “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”–Mark Twain Helpful people help and hurtful people hurt. We have to be confident and astute enough to recognize the difference.
Winning post, Jani, and something I see many writers struggle with. Whether someone likes or dislikes our writing doesn’t necessarily mean they like or dislike the author. We have to learn to separate our personal-self from our writer-self or we will never grow and evolve as writers.
Jani
June 14, 2012 at 11:50 am
Great quote. If only more people would take this stance. We also have to get used to the bad, it won’t stop after we’re agented and definitely not after we’re published.
Juliana Haygert
June 13, 2012 at 7:47 am
Agree with you 100%!
You know I love spreading the word, so let me point you to a post Krista Van Dolzer wrote 2 days ago about why to enter blog contests: http://motherwrite.blogspot.com/2012/06/why-you-should-enter-blog-contests.html
bwtaylor75
June 13, 2012 at 10:58 am
Awesome link, Juliana. Through Krista I also discovered Authoress of Miss Snark’s First Victim. Some great info. Thank you!
Jani
June 14, 2012 at 11:53 am
Which is why we are CPs. We agree on a lot of things, the things that matter. Thank you for sharing the link too, what perfect timing
Heather Reid
June 13, 2012 at 10:02 am
Awesome post as always! I totally agree with you. As a community we should be supportive, we should pass on our knowledge and experience to writers who are at the start of their journey and sit at the feet to gain insight from other writers who are farther along the path from where we are. I think we sometimes forget that everyone is at a different level but that doesn’t make one writer better or more valuable than another. We’re all at different paths on the journey. Tearing other artists to shreds isn’t helpful, it isn’t valuable and I don’t like it. If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all…unless you’ve been asked to critique a work, which I think you owe it to the person to be honest, but that’s totally different.
As far as contests go…I admit I’ve entered very few and the ones that I have entered, I haven’t won. I never felt that bad about it. Maybe because it wasn’t my ultimate goal. I saw contests as a place to learn, to meet others, and to test out my pitch/synopsis/query etc…It was a learning experience. I never won, but it didn’t matter. Winning contests didn’t get me a publishing deal. Never giving up did! And like you said, that’s what makes us winners!
Jani
June 14, 2012 at 1:39 pm
There’s a right way of doing things and a wrong way. I completely agree with you about keeping quiet if you don’t have something constructive to add. You always leave such smart replies
Love reading them.
Courtney Koschel
June 14, 2012 at 5:08 pm
Thanks for another great post, Jani. I’ve never entered a contest before, but I’ve thought about it. I think they can be a good tool to motivate people to complete a manuscript or write that query letter.
There is a big difference between being constructive and being mean…some people don’t seem to know which is which, and it makes me sad as well. There is no reason to be mean to someone just because it’s not your cup of tea. If there are craft issues, there’s a way to explain it so the writer actually feels motivated to go and work on something instead of wanting to throw their manuscript out and never write again.
This business is all about not giving up. Sometimes we just have to let the dumb things people say roll off of us. I’m so fortunate to have everyone here in the community rooting for me. And I’m beyond happy to be a cheerleader for everyone here
Jamie Raintree
June 20, 2012 at 10:58 pm
This is a great point! I’ve never entered a contest but I think it’s important that writers always appreciate other writers’ artistry and always conduct themselves with grace. If writers don’t appreciate other writers’ struggles, who will?