More words of wisdom from yer old Auntie B

The fun thing about having been around the Twitter writing circle for a little bit now is I'm starting to feel old. Plus, I know lots of authors with published novels, who are significantly younger than I am. Mid 30s are the new 60, apparently!

But with age comes wisdom. So here is post #2 about writing contests.

DURING THE CONTEST

1. MAKE NEW FRIENDS!

This is the best part of contests. Everyone involved can make new connections in the writing community. And since a lot of us are introverts, meeting new writer friends online is less intimidating, and it fills a void. Knowing there are other people out there just as crazy as you is empowering. Find new critique partners and beta readers, and cool people you just want to keep in touch with. This business is hard, and having friends along the way makes it so much easier to take the rejections.

And don’t just make friends with the other contestants. Get to know the mentors, readers, and judges. Most of them are just a few steps further along in their writing career, and they remember exactly how hard it is to be querying. Many of them host blogs with great writing tips—free learning resources with solid techniques on how to improve your own writing. Because whatever you’re doing wrong, chances are someone else out there has done it too.

Author confession: Every time a mentor follows me back, I squee a little.

The flipside of that is, do also respect that these are busy authors. Ask them questions when you need help, but try to find the answer yourself first. Don’t ask silly questions you could find out the answer to in 5 seconds on Google. They’re glad to help, but if you’re constantly asking things that are already answered on the contest FAQs and directions, they’re going to start questioning your reading comprehension skills.

2. PARTICIPATE ON THE HASHTAGS!

It’s fun! And playing all these games, where you describe your character in 3 words or come up with comps or whatever are actually useful. The games help you define your novel. The more concise you can be, the easier it is to pitch. And if someone asks what your MC likes to eat, and you can’t answer…maybe you need to get inside his/her head a little more. If you can’t picture your setting, have you given it enough thought and description in your story? So use the hashtags to have fun, make friends, and figure out your own strengths and weaknesses.

3. TRY NOT TO OBSESS

We all do it. But you have to figure out what your personal mental health limits are. The first time I entered, I think I was on the hashtag almost all day long. Bad me. This time, I’m checking in a few times a day. I’m relaxing over it. Part of that comes with experience, but it’s also a choice. Remember, if you don’t get in, it’s not the end of the world. Most writers don’t find their agent through competitions.

Stay tuned for part 3!

A little contest wisdom (Or, I get by with a little help from my friends)

Hey you! Yes, you. A year ago, I was in your shoes. Sitting in front of my laptop, scanning the Twitter feed during a contest, crossing my fingers and hoping that my entry would get picked. Spoiler alert: it didn’t.

For this past year, I’ve made a concerted effort to learn, improve my writing, and get published. I’m obviously not there yet, because I’m still querying and entering competitions along with you, but I HAVE learned a lot along the way, and I figured it’s time to share the love. So here are some words of wisdom, based off my contest and pitching experiences of the past year. I'll be doing a series of posts since I ended up with a lot more info than I thought I would. But I am known for rambling on and on and on...whoops.

(In case you were wondering: My 1st #pitchmadness entry made it onto one team’s shortlist, but not onto the final. I entered a different MS into #PitchWars, had absolutely no requests, but did get amazing advice on how to rework the story into something 100 times better. I labored over that MS for months, revising it until I couldn’t stand the story any longer, and then entered it into Nightmare on Query Street. I got in! I got a few requests! But…no agent. So here I am, back at #pitchmadness again.)

BEFORE A CONTEST:
1. ALWAYS READ THE RULES.
Make sure you’re eligible. Make sure you’re in the right age group, pitching the right category of book. Make sure that if you’ve won a different contest, you aren’t DQ’d from this one. And please, for everyone’s sake, NEVER EVER EVER enter a contest with a manuscript that hasn’t been revised and beta read at the very least; for the love of all that is holy, don’t enter an unfinished manuscript.

It will show. The judges will notice. And word might get around that you are wasting people’s time, trying to skip the process. None of us are geniuses who put out perfect stories on the first try. Not even the magical Brenda Drake. Remember, publishing is a looooong game; there will be other contests, other pitch days, and plenty of time for you to find an agent.

2. ALWAYS DOUBLE/TRIPLE CHECK YOUR FORMATTING
This is a pet peeve of about every slush reader and mentor I’ve ever seen, and agents too. If it’s a minor detail, they’ll probably let it slide. But if your entire MS is in Comic Sans, single spaced, and purple lettering…you’re more likely to end up in the trash.

Following the boring, technical formatting details shows that you’re serious. You can read and follow directions, which means you’re more likely to take instruction. So if an editor comes back to you and points out something that needs to get changed, you’re more likely to listen. That’s the impression you want to give. Writing is creative, but it’s still a profession. If a contest decision comes down to two amazing manuscripts, one who followed all the rules and one who didn’t, who do you think would get chosen?

3. INVESTIGATE
Check out the contest. Look for past successes—not to say that new contests are horrible, there was a great new one last year—but make sure you’re not being sucked into a scam.

Also, take a look at the readers, hosts, and agents. Follow them on Twitter. For some competitions, you’ll have to select which mentors to submit to. Read their books and blogs and follow them on social media to get a sense of what they write, what their style is, and if it would be a match for you. Don’t sub to someone just because you think they’re cool. It’s tempting, I know, but you’re better off finding someone who actually likes your genre. If a mentor has a specific list of triggers they don’t read, respect it.

Always check out any agent or publisher as well. Most agents and publishers out there are legit. But there are always presses who try to take advantage of the fact that we are dreamers getting constant rejections in a disheartening business. If someone is asking you to put up your own money to publish a book, run. If they’re offering you a shortcut, check it out. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. So vet them online as well. Check out Publishers Weekly, Preditors and Editors, Absolute Write. Google them. Does their website look like my preschooler put it together? Bad sign. Ask around. The writing community is pretty tight knit. If a publisher is shady, chances are someone else has run into them before and can steer you clear.

Lastly, take a look at the contest itself. What’s the prize? Is it something you want? Will it advance your career? And are you willing to put in the time and effort it takes, if it’s a mentoring opportunity? If you’re convinced your story is word-for-word perfect and aren’t open to suggestions, then do everyone a favor and don’t take a mentored spot someone else is dying to have.

Next, I'll tackle what to do during the contest to make the most of your experience. And if you have any words of wisdom to add, please comment! This is just based off my own experience and I'm sure there are other people with more ideas to share.