Comments on: Ins, Outs, Ups & Downs of Writing Contests

By: Kristina McMorris

Kristina McMorris — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:19:32 +0000

Hi Donnell!

Great info. Very informative! I cringe to think of my original entries into contests; those poor, poor judges. But my goodness did I learn a lot from them.

And I agree — it’s all sooo subjective. When it comes to feedback, like a cafeteria line, I pick and choose what works for me. And I strongly believe in ALWAYS sending a thank you card/email. Even if you disagree with 95% of the judge’s comments, that person took time away from their family/writing/life in order to voluntarily review your work. So thanks for reminding us about that too!

By: Donnell

Donnell — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:28:31 +0000

Donna, absolutely. How else do you know if you’re on the right track? Congratulations on making that next step toward your career. You can be the little engine who can Another great thing about being a contest coordinator or a judge; it gives you a great idea of what the editors/agents are seeing on their desks.

By: Donna

Donna — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:21:51 +0000

I decided to try my hand at contests this year, and in addition to getting great feedback, I have to say it’s been nice to hear compliments!

When a judge says, “I LOVE your character”, or “I can’t wait to buy this”, it really does make you feel like you’re headed in the right direction. (We all know that some days it feels like we’re backtracking! LOL)

So my thanks to the judges and contest coordinators. You keep all of us going!

By: Donnell

Donnell — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:04:17 +0000

Thanks, Elizabeth, if you write mystery or romantic suspense, I hope you’ll consider entering the Daphne. Thanks for having me Romance University!

By: Elizabeth Stock

Elizabeth Stock — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:30:31 +0000

Great article and the advice for contest entrants is excellent. I’ve judged quite a few and those are the issues that come up so often. The success stories are great too, always nice to hear about sales that come from contests, and HR at that. Enjoyed reading this.

By: Donnell

Donnell — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:03:21 +0000

Kylie, you’re very kind and how fantastic to know that Harlequin and Silhouette value our contest. We try. As for me, I have a lot of help; I’m surrounded by the most conscientious and talented bunch in the business. And the people I meet and the books I get to read. Pretty cool perk of the job. Thank you!

By: Donnell

Donnell — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:57:23 +0000

Margaret, and you are a fantastic judge. When a Daphne entrant gets you, he/she’s one lucky entrant! Thanks for commenting on our contest. You’re right we get some that are darn close to perfect it’s hard to judge, which makes it incredible to be labeled a finalist.

By: Kylie Brant

Kylie Brant — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:34:45 +0000

Just chiming in here to say Donnell has contributed soooo much to making this contest what it is. She’s to be congratulated! I’ve judged for several years and I think it has become one of the premiere contests out there. I know Harlequin thinks highly enough of it to put Daphne Award Winning Author on the front of their authors’ books (for overall winners). And I once sat at the contest with one of Silhouette’s top editors and watched her mark her program meticulously with winners and their books. H/S, at least, really thinks highly of this contest. And last summer there were more H/S editors at the ceremony than any of the other publishing houses.

What makes it more valuable for unpublished writers is the amount of work the judges put into commenting on the manuscripts and score sheets. Judges are reminded to be generous with their feedback and I think that can be really helpful. Especially when you compare the input from all the judges and find commonalities.

By: Donnell

Donnell — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:33:20 +0000

Tammy, you nailed one of the reasons I became a contest coordinator. As I mentioned, judges are like gold to us, but if a judge is going through something, or seems to have a vendetta it will definitely show in his/her work and I ask him not to judge. Oh, dear, Little Miss RWA or East German Judge not titles I aspire to.

By: Tammy Hoganson

Tammy Hoganson — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:58:04 +0000

Over at the 2009 Golden Heart finalists blog at http://www.rubyslipperedsisterhood.com, we’ve started to refer to the judges who look for things not to like either “The East German Judge” or “Little Miss RWA.”

I think we all quickly learn that our work may not be every readers’ cuppa tea, that there is a certain degree of subjectivity that comes into play when judging. But unfortunately a lot of us have also encountered judges whose feedback reveals a lot more about the judge’s personal issues and frustrations than the manuscript’s improvement areas. Good training definitely helps.