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.