The GM&C of Writing Contests

Copyright © 2000 by Deborah M. Hale

If you looked at that title and didn't have a clue what it meant, I have a golden suggestion for you, before you read any further. Get thee to Gryphon Books and order a copy of Goal, Motivation and Conflict by Debra Dixon. I guarantee you'll have much better success in writing contests if you've mastered these key components of genre fiction.

If you have read Debra Dixon's book, you may be wondering what GM&C have to do with writing contests. Well, I'll tell you...

I've had the opportunity to see writing contests from almost every angle. I'm a veteran of many contest entries, both successful and otherwise. I've judged quite a number of contests, including the Golden Heart and the RITA. And I was a coordinator for RWA's first on-line writing contest. There are no shortage of writing contests out there for romance writers at any stage of their careers. In order for you to maximize the benefit for your contest dollars, I believe you'd do well to consider Goal, Motivation and Conflict.

Even though it comes second in the list, let's discuss motivation first. Ask yourself this question: "Why do I want to enter a writing contest?" There are a number of possible answers. You might say, "Because I want to win the contest." Fair enough, but that may be a bit shortsighted unless all you want to do is win contests. It's possible to work up a five or ten page opening that glows in the dark from relentless polishing, but never have a shot at publication, because that's all you've written.

Another possible answer, "To get my work published," may be too farsighted. There can be many steps between a good contest score and a publishing contract, and one does not guarantee the other by any means. The motivation that may serve you best when embarking on the contest circuit is this, "To advance my career and improve my craft." This kind of motivation sets you up for success. You don't need to win or even final to be feeding this important motivation. As long as you get helpful feedback or make a useful contact, your contest experience will be taking you in the direction you want to go.

Next, think about your specific goal for entering a particular contest. Goals can vary with the experience and needs of the entrant. For a beginning writer, the goal may be simply to get objective feedback about your work. Your mother loves it. Your best friend thinks it's destined for the NYT Bestseller list. But deep down, you know it ain't Nora Roberts. You want to hear the straight goods from knowledgeable fellow writers who don't just love your story because they love you. This goal will determine how you approach contests.

And that will be much different than if you're a more experienced writer who has honed her skills with loads of score sheets and contest critiques. In this case, your goal may be to gauge your progress and move up the food chain. If you've been writing for even longer and have reason to feel your work is close to publication, your goal for entering contests may be to have your work read by a particular editor. You may want to garner a series of contest wins to look impressive in your cover letters. Or you may want to shoot for some of the great prizes offered by contests.

Once you've established your goal, it's time to work toward achieving it. One way is to keep that goal in mind when choosing the contest(s) you want to enter. For a newer writer seeking feedback, choose contests that provide detailed score sheets and/or critiques, with as many experienced judges as possible. You want the most feedback for your money. A writer looking to gauge her progress may reenter a contest she entered the previous year and try to better her score or make the finals. She may graduate to contests with a larger entry field, which generally means stiffer competition. Finally, the 'this-close' writer will want to look for a contest judged by an editor of the line she's targeting. She may enter contests with higher prestige or ones with prizes of value such as money, conference fees or publicity.

Once you've chosen the right contest to fit your goal, it's time to make your entry competitive. To give your entry its very best shot as success, keep a few things in mind. One is the length of your submission. In general it's best to send the longest entry allowable in the contest rules that ends with a strong hook. Genre is also important. Don't be the beautiful apple in a contest for oranges. If the contest is for romantic suspense, don't send your witty little Regency, unless the heroine's brother gets bumped off in a gaming hell and your brooding, inscrutable hero is the prime suspect.

Finally, pay attention to mechanics -- spelling, punctuation, fonts, margins. Make sure they're standard. Few things will detract from a judge's enjoyment of your story more than an entry loaded with misspellings or typos, a comma after every third word, all in a font so small or light that reading two paragraphs is enough to trigger a vicious migraine. If that's your entry, your scores will reflect that judge's annoyance.

Now it's time to talk about the dreaded "C", the conflict of contests. One is expense. Twenty dollars here and there doesn't sound like much, but if you start entering multiple contests, each with postage and copying costs, it can run into serious money. To avoid this pitfall, do some comparison shopping and try to get the most bang for your buck.

Contradictory feedback is something that bothers many contest entrants. Judge A loved your hero and wanted to have his baby. Judge B thought he had as much personality as a kitchen appliance. Judge C said he should have had a restraining order slapped on him (No, that was Judge Judy!). Anyway, you get my point. Remember, judges are individuals and they'll react to your story based on the likes, dislikes, prejudices, and hot buttons they've developed over a lifetime.

To minimize this problem -- Listen. You paid for their advice, after all. So don't disregard everything out of hand. Try not to go the other way either and develop the writer's equivalent of multiple personality disorder trying to please everybody. It'll never happen. Give yourself a day or two to cool off or nurse your hurt feelings, then weigh each judge's comments and listen for confirmation or rejection from your own writer's instinct. Consider contest feedback like a buffet -- take what helps you and leave the rest.

There's no question, entering contests can be almost as ego deflating as editor rejections. Unfortunately, everybody can't win or make the finals. The most productive way to handle ego battering is to set your own criteria for success. In an RWR article several years ago, Pamela Morsi suggested the following rejection-proof criteria for success, and I can't improve upon it one atom.

Meet the contest deadline, said Morsi. You'll never get better training for real life as a published author. Amen, says Sister Deb. Send a clean entry, wrote Morsi, this is good training for submitting to editors. Finally, listen to your judges. If you've done all those things, then you've won something important, no matter who walks away with first prize.

I've got one last piece of advice for any writer entering contests. Look upon them as a valuable opportunity for networking and establishing name recognition. Every article I've ever read about writing contests stresses the importance of thanking your judges, but entrants don't seem to be listening.

I'd been judging contests for awhile before I got my first thank you. I'd put in many hours I could profitably have spent on my own work, reading those entries and providing the best feedback I possibly could. I tried never to be snide or unduly negative. Yet even from entrants I'd awarded near perfect scores and lavish praise, not a peep of thanks until one contest coordinator forwarded me a note from Donna K. Smith. I've recently heard Donna has a book out (Beyond the Shadow, HWF, w/a Liz Hunter) and I plan to get a copy.

Back when I was entering contests, I would have sent my entry written on toilet paper before I'd have neglected to thank my contest judges. It's not hard to do. Pick up a batch of blank thank you cards and write a few words to each judge. Even if you didn't agree with their comments. Even if you question their taste, morals or sanity. Thank them for taking the time to judge your entry and for providing you with feedback. If one of their comments really rang a bell with you, tell them so. If the judges haven't signed their score sheets or critiques, address the envelope to Judge H-8 (or whatever), put a stamps on the envelopes and mail them to the contest coordinator along with a thank you to him or her. Contest coordinators are the unsung heroines of their chapters. Contests wouldn't be possible without them, they do an incredible amount of work and often have to put up with griping from dissatisfied entrants and even their own chapter if contest revenues are down for that year. Yours may be the only thanks they get and (trust me here) they'll remember you fondly.

Back when the Golden Heart was still providing optional critiques (that really dates me, huh?) I received two for my first Golden Heart attempt. One from my highest scoring judge and one from my lowest. I wrote to thank them both for their valuable feedback and they both wrote back to me with even more. One had enjoyed the story so much, she offered to line edit my entire manuscript. I assumed she meant as a paid professional service, and asked her fees. She replied that she'd be happy to do it for free. I don't think I've learned more about romance writing from a single individual than I did from this generous lady and wonderful teacher. The next year, when I wrote to thank my Golden Heart category coordinator, she also offered to critique my work. We've been critique partners ever since and through her I joined my first RWA chapter, long distance. Your next critique partner or mentor may be only a thank you note away.

In conclusion I want to leave with some wise words from romance author Patricia Bray, that really sum up the GM&C of writing contests. "Why is being a writer like a lottery? Because you can't win unless you're willing to take a chance. The competition is not about measuring yourself against other writers. It's about measuring your own growth."

Go on, take a chance. I've got my fingers crossed for you!