When I first began my writing career a little over two years ago, I had no idea the romance genre offered such a wonderful vehicle for gaining feedback-or for dispensing such conflicting opinions-on a manuscript. Yes, I’m talking about writing contests. Writers know why they enter them: to obtain those insights from other writers, to test the waters with a new story, to catch the eye of a final judge. But why do editors give their precious time to volunteer as final round judges? Danielle Poiesz from Pocket Books is with us today to answer that question and more.
Welcome to Romance University, Danielle!
Kelsey: Approximately how many writing contests do you judge each year? How many of those contests are focused on the romance genre?
Danielle: I judge about 3-4 contests per year, give or take, all focused on the romance genre. I mainly judge romantic suspense, single title, and contemporary romance categories. I’d love to get into judging more crossover YA though!
Kelsey: What’s your primary motivation in judging contests?
Danielle: I think contests are a wonderful tool for unpublished authors. Contests give authors an opportunity to have their work read by people in the industry and receive constructive criticism so they can go back and revise. I am all for helping an author rework her project so that she has a better chance of getting it published. There is a lot of unrecognized talent in the world and I think it’s very important to nurture it and I love being a part of helping it grow. That’s why I judge contests. And if I happen to find an author to acquire along the way, that doesn’t hurt either! 
Kelsey: Tell us a little about your judging process and how you rank the finalists. Do you normally send feedback?
Danielle: When I judge a contest submission, I read it straight through as I would any agent submission that comes across my desk. I take notes whenever something jumps out at me as positive or negative, and when I’m done, I take a look at the score sheet and consider the areas the sheet wants me to rate. Some contests are much more specific than others, asking for 10 different areas to judge on a scale of 1-10. Others are simply ask us to rank the submissions first, second, and third. I always try to give as much feedback as my time allows, because, as I mentioned earlier, I believe these contests should be used as a constructive tool for aspiring writers.
Kelsey: How do you think contests help or hinder aspiring authors?
Danielle: Again, I think these contests are a great help for authors. But I must clarify that they are only helpful if the author is open to such criticism. Honestly, there usually is a good deal of work to be done. Even published authors have things to be improved after a first draft comes into their editors. So, I think if authors take the comments us judges give objectively and don’t take them personally, it can be incredibly useful.
Kelsey: Would you share some of the mistakes you often see in contest entries?
Danielle: I think some of the most common mistakes are the ones that are the hardest to fix-a story being too familiar and not fresh enough, and the characters falling flat and not being distinct enough within the world of the story. These are more over-arching issues that need to be addressed if an author is going to get published. There needs to be something new and different about the story, whether it be a freshness in the voice that overpowers the familiarity of the plot, a unique and engaging hook, or a surprising (but believable!) plot twist. A reader should also be able to read a line of dialogue, without seeing which character is speaking, and be able to figure out who it is based on the character’s way of speaking or their tone or even their body language. Each character needs to be distinct and one of a kind. I find this is a problem even with published authors, where the characters all just sound the same. Just like real people, everyone has an individual personality. In real life, we have our voices to distinguish us at the very least, but since a reader can’t literally hear the character speaking, they need to be able to recognize him or her through other means.
Also, on a more technical note, there are often grammatical errors in contest submissions. Typos, misspellings, et cetera, that really shouldn’t be there. Just like when writing a college essay, cover letter, or a resume, you don’t want to have minor errors that indicate carelessness or poor attention to detail. As someone who does freelance proofreading, that’s a pet peeve of mine!
Kelsey: What about the positives you see in contest entries?
Danielle: The positives vary more greatly than the mistakes it seems. My favorite positives though are when a writer’s voice is super fresh and engaging, a character is relatable and likeable despite his/her flaws, and when a writer totally surprises me. Another pet peeve of mine is predictability, so when I’m totally taken aback in the best of ways, it’s such a wonderful feeling!
Kelsey: How often do you request partial or full manuscripts? Has this lessened in the tight economy?
Danielle: I’ve only requested two manuscripts total as a result of contests-one partial and one full MS. Unfortunately, they did not turn into acquisitions. The economy definitely plays a part in how many we request. I really need to fall in love with a submission to request it, as that’s generally our policy for acquisitions, as well. If I’m unsure when I read it, then that’s my answer.
Kelsey: If you see real promise in a writer but not enough to ask for more material, how do you convey this message to the entrant?
Danielle: When I’m judging, I always try to be as honest as possible. It’s not helping anyone for me to sugar-coat my opinions (too much 
). That goes not only for the weaknesses I see, but for the strengths as well. So, I will flat-out tell an author in my feedback if there is something I love about their story or their writing, or if there’s a certain aspect they should focus more on because it’s so compelling, I’ll share that too.
Thanks to Danielle for her insights! We hope her answers were helpful for our RU readers.
Please be sure to join us on Wednesday when a special guest will be here to give a man’s perspective on the RWA National Conference (and all those women!).
Danielle Poiesz currently works in the editorial department at Pocket Books. She is the editor of Pocket’s Ellora’s Cave anthologies, has completed developmental and line edits on several other titles in the romance/women’s fiction genres, and is a frequent finalist judge for contests for a variety of RWA chapters. Prior to working in editorial, she worked in the sales department at St. Martin’s Press where she learned the ins and outs of the book publishing industry. Danielle graduated cum laude from Boston University in 2006 with a BA in English.
She also has experience in similar fields, having done script analysis for a film producer and co-founding the Boston University Editorial Society and its literary magazine, The Back Bay Review. In her free time, she devours books of all genres or works on writing her own novel and short stories.
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Thanks for the great article Danielle! I’ve been drawn to several contests, to try my hand, but so far have chickened out. lol….someday I’ll get up the nerve and just do it!
My question – how hard is it to judge an entire book by just one chapter or a few pages? Are you judging based on the authors voice and whether it makes you want to read more? What’s your personal criteria for This Is Going To Be A Good One?
(okay, technically that was three questions…I’m an over achiever)
=)
carrie
Posted by carrie | July 13, 2009, 9:20 amHi, Carrie.
No problem! I know contests can seem daunting and it’s always scary to put your work out there. It’s such a personal thing. I, myself, have yet to be able to do it! But even if your project doesn’t make it to the final round, you’re bound to get some good criticism (and encouragement!) from the judges. It can’t hurt, right?
Now onto your questions!
It’s actually not as difficult as one migh think to judge an entire book by just a sample chapter or two. It obviously varies case by case, but basically yes, you’re right, I’m looking a great deal at the author’s voice. If the voice isn’t strong enough or doesn’t hook a reader enough, it’s not going to make for a very compelling book in full.
Additionally, a sample, especially when it’s the first few chapters, can tell a lot about the author’s ability in that it’s the reader’s introduction to the story, the hero, and the heroine. The reader needs to be instantly invested in all three of those aspects of the story if she’s going to want to continue reading. So the initial laydown of those things is very important to the story as a whole.
It can be difficult, however, in that oftentimes, the first chapter or two is the roughest by nature. The author is trying to get into her rhythm, get into her characters’ minds, et cetera, and that transition from an idea in an author’s head to a tangible, readable form is always rough. Unfortunately, in a contest situation, all we have is the material in front of us. When we have a submission in full, we can jump around to see if a weak beginning becomes a strong middle or ending, but contests aren’t amenable to that. So we do what we can!
My personal criteria are a strong, relatable, and unique hero and heroine with great chemistry that jumps off the page, an interesting premise that doesn’t feel too much like everything else out in the market, and a fun, fresh, and engaging voice. It sounds pretty simple, I know, but those things are very difficult to accomplish, especially in just a little sample!
Danielle
Posted by Danielle | July 13, 2009, 9:46 amHi Danielle,
Welcome to RU!! I’ve been told by contest judges (not final judges) that my heroine’s not likeable. I understand where they’re coming from and have found ways to give the reader a glimpse into the heroine’s true self and still have her be “difficult.” She must grow, of course!!
Have you run across this situation? If so, what suggestions can you give authors to fix unlikeable characters?
Thanks again for joining us!
Tracey
Posted by Tracey Devlyn | July 13, 2009, 4:54 pmHi, Tracey!
Thanks for the warm welcome! I think this is a surprisingly common problem actually. And as you’re finding out, quite difficult to remedy sometimes! You don’t want your tough-as-nails heroine to lose her edge, but somehow she needs to soften to appeal to your audience. It’s tricky!
I think a good way to make your heroine more likeable is to focus on finding a reason for your reader to sympathize and/or empathize with her. If the reader can relate to your heroine, she’s automatically going to start to like her–even if even if your reader doesn’t want to admit it! Think about who your heroine is and how she is similar to your intended demographic. Figure out would make that twenty-something (or whatever age/class/race your heroine is) sigh and go “I hear ya, sister!”
You can let your reader see the softer side of your heroine in small ways here and there, so that the reader knows that there’s more to her than meets the eye and starts to wonder why your heroine is the way that she is. You can unravel these things in simple, seemingly insignificant interactions with secondary characters or with your hero–big or small actions with both achieve what you want. So, however you want to tackle it, just try to let the reader in on the secret your heroine’s hiding. I find that more often than not, body language even makes a huge difference!
Whatever route you choose, just keep at it, and keep thinking about ways you can relate your reader to your character.
Danielle
Posted by Danielle | July 13, 2009, 5:08 pmThank you, Danielle! I really appreciate the advice.
Posted by Tracey Devlyn | July 14, 2009, 5:59 pmDanielle – thanks so much for being with us yesterday! Tracey, Adrienne and I are all in DC, and I’ve had a heck of a time trying to get internet access.
Here’s one more question, if you have time to answer it: Would it ever be appropriate for a contest finalist to contact the final judge for further clarification on comments? What about if the final judge made no comments on the entry?
Many thanks!
Kelsey
Posted by Kelsey Browning | July 14, 2009, 8:34 amHi, Kelsey. I’m sorry to hear about the uncooperative internet access!
That’s definitely a difficult question! I think it’s highly dependent on the judge herself, but, of course, the finalist would have no way of knowing whether or not the judge would be open to post-contest contact!
I personally would be fine with a finalist contacting me for further clarification. I’ve actually received some very nice notes from finalists lately thanking me for placing their novels in the rank I did, and it was nice to hear from them. However, I do know some people who would be bothered by unsolicited contact. Judging these contests takes a surprising amount of time–all out of the office–when you combine that with regular in-office work, editing, and agented submissions, it can be a lot! So, as you can probably imagine, the additional contact isn’t always welcome with so much on our plates already.
I think it’s probably safest to say not to contact the judges after if they haven’t specifically requested your MS. Or if you choose to do so, then don’t necessarily expect a response. A lot of editors will just cast aside or trash anything unsolicited so you never really know in these cases if you’ll get an answer or not.
As for judges giving no comments, I think the same rules apply. Though, I’d definitely lean more toward not contacting a judge who chose not to comment, as it is an indicator in itself of how much energy the judge is able to put toward the contest.
I’m sorry if this isn’t much of an answer! It’s such a tough call!
Posted by Danielle | July 14, 2009, 10:07 amVery interesting and very informative. Thanks.
Posted by Wes | July 16, 2009, 1:54 pm