Kim Howe’s pursuit of publication just might qualify her as the poster girl for perseverance. If you think I’m joking, ask her. She’ll tell you. After all, she has been nominated for the coveted Golden Heart award seven times (seven times!) and has won three Daphne du Maurier awards.
With that resume, we decided Kim would be the perfect person to share her thoughts on how contests can help an unpublished writer’s career.
Take it away, Kim!
The publishing world is a challenging one—many new writers feel like they are swimming with sharks. And it’s easy to feel believe you’re a tadpole in the big sea of talented writers. But, there are ways to grow as a writer and contests may be just the ticket. No matter where you are on the continuum—ranging from a complete neophyte to a writer who is on the cusp of being published, contests can play a positive role. Like a play has three acts, there are three stages where contests can be helpful to your writing career.
Stage One
You’ve been writing for a while, but the only people who have seen your manuscript are your best friend, your golden retriever, and your mother—and they think you’re brilliant. Now, you very well may be, but perhaps there is room in your raw talent for a few subtle improvements. What you need at this stage is honest feedback from impartial strangers. Certain RWA chapters, like the Toronto Romance Writers and the Indiana Romance Writers, pride themselves on the detailed feedback they offer writers and that’s the kind of contest that will benefit you most at this stage. Spend time researching the different contests as most RWA chapters have their feedback form online so you can see how detailed the critique will be. Ask your writing friends about contests they found helpful.
When you receive feedback, take the time to read through the comments thoroughly, and then put aside the comments for a few days to let any hurt feelings fade. As a new writer, it isn’t easy to accept criticism. It can feel like a shark has taken a giant bite out of your confidence. After a few days have passed, revisit the criticism and try to look at your work with unbiased eyes. Did all the judges comment that your protagonist felt one-dimensional? Perhaps you need to spend more time with your heroine, understanding her real motivations?
Although you should try to be open-minded about the feedback, there are (unfortunately!) a few judges who have axes to grind, so if their criticism seems overly harsh or incorrect, trust your instincts, or ask a friend you trust for honest analysis of the comments. Believe me, I understand how frustrating it can be when you feel unfairly treated. On one occasion, my feedback sheets listed mostly eights and nines (ratings ranged from one to nine), but one judge gave me a one in every category and when asked what he/she liked about the book, the response was “nothing.” I couldn’t take that feedback seriously. Perhaps he/she had a problem with the content of my novel? The good news is the lowest score for every entry was dropped. I ended up winning that particular contest, but I’ll never forget the feeling of looking down at all those ones, wondering where I went wrong.
Contests can help you improve everything from your grammar to your plotting and characters. Use the feedback as a springboard to hone your craft and keep submitting your work. You may find a few helping hands (or trunks!) along the way. A few published writers who judged my contest entries sent me encouraging notes and offers of critiques/introductions to agents. I will never forget their kindness. Hopefully, as you learn and grow, your results will skyrocket—and that propels us to the next stage.
Stage Two
The feedback you’ve received from contests has taught you many valuable lessons. You’re aware of your weaknesses and you’ve turned some of them into your strengths. When you enter contests now, you have a different focus. Instead of analyzing the depth and breadth of the feedback forms, you are perusing the list of final judges—usually editors and agents—and targeting them. This is where you need to do your homework to discover which editors and agents like your writing style and genre. A good way to do this is to write down a list of authors who write in a similar vein/genre as you, and then look up which agents and editors they work with to give you an idea of who might be the best target audience for your work. Contests involve money, time, effort, and postage, so please be selective about which ones you enter.
Visualize your dream agent and editor reading your work and asking for a partial or a full. Positive thinking can be a powerful tool. I was fortunate and secured an agent as a result of a contest win, so it can be done!
Stage Three
This stage can last a blissfully short or an agonizingly long time. I jokingly call it purgatory. You’re finaling in most of the contests you enter—in fact, you’ve won several contests, but you’ve yet to find a home for your novels. This is the time to selectively enter big-name contests like the Golden Heart and the Daphne du Maurier to keep your name recognizable, build an impressive resume, and show editors you’re serious.
At this time, it’s no longer just about contests. You need to submit to agents and editors, network with published authors who can lend a helping hand, and learn everything you can about the industry.
One day, your well-crafted novel will land on the right editor’s desk and you will get THE CALL. Until then, keep your bum on your chair, fingers on your keyboard, and heart fully engaged in your story. Don’t be afraid of taking risks—they will pay off for you, big time. Wishing you many contest wins and sales!
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RU Crew, do you enter contests? Why or why not?
Thank you, Kim for being here to answer questions. RU Crew, join us tomorrow when Jeannie Ruesch of Will Design for Chocolate shares her tips on how to become a social media guru.
Kim’s Bio: K.J. Howe is a medical, health, and fitness writer who has a passion for international thrillers. She has a Master’s in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in Pennsylvania and has the honor of winning three Daphne du Maurier awards for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense. Travel and adventure fuel her imagination. She has raced camels in Jordan, learned how to surf in Hawaii, zip-lined in the Costa Rican jungle, dove with Great White Sharks in South Africa, and co-mingled with elephants in Botswana. Home is Toronto, Canada, but she is often missing in action. www.kjhowe.com
Carrie Spencer, writing romantic comedy and goofy middle-grade, personifies her alter-ego - 
Really good approach to contests. I think the idea of targeting contests and having a plan that will advance your career rather than just entering contests willy-nilly is really valuable. Thanks for sharing that Kim, now back to the keyboard for me!
Posted by RLD | August 18, 2010, 6:41 amHi Kim,
Thanks for joining us today! Your 3-stage approach to contests aligns perfectly with what I experienced. During Stage 1, I entered several contests and absorbed their feedback. I didn’t really pay attention to the final judges. Then, somewhere along the way, my needs changed and I became very picky.
Before I sold, I took first place in New Jersey’s Put Your Heart in a Book contest and finaled in the Daphne contest.
Thanks for the great post. I know The Call is right around the corner for you. Love the pictures, btw!
Tracey
Posted by TraceyDevlyn | August 18, 2010, 6:43 amHi Kim. Thank you for being here. I remember the year I met you at RWA. You were a finalist in the Daphne and the GH, and I kept thinking “Man, she must be good!”
I think I’ve hit stage three. I have a handful of contests that I will enter because I’ve had good experiences with them. Other than that, I don’t do a lot of contests anymore. Contests can be tough stuff. Early on, one contest judge gave me a 35 (out of 100) and it nearly devastated me. The following week, that manuscript finalled in the Linda Howard contest.
I’ve learned it’s all subjective and not to take bad scores to heart.
Posted by Adrienne Giordano | August 18, 2010, 7:53 amHi RLD,
I love your enthusiastic approach to getting back to that keyboard. I’m a big believer in perseverance. Every writer has a different route to getting published. I figure I’ll have quite the story to tell!
Posted by Kim Howe | August 18, 2010, 8:06 amHi Tracey,
I love the Put Your Heart in a Book Contest! Congrats on all your success. Sometimes your genre choice can have an impact on your opportunities to get published. Trends tend to dictate what publishers are looking for. Steve Berry wrote historical adventures for 12 years before he was published and his agent, the lovely Pamela Ahearn, told him to keep writing what he loved because it would come back into popularity–and then the Davinci Code was published and the rest is history!!!
Posted by Kim Howe | August 18, 2010, 8:10 amAdrienne, thanks so much for inviting me to Romance University! The best part about RWA National is meeting people like you.
When I started writing, I tried a few genres–and I was fortunate to get some great feedback from a few editors at Harlequin saying that my heroines were too strong for category romance, and my plots too “large”. I’m tackling single title suspense now with strong romantic elements and I hope I might have better results. Sometimes it takes time to find the right genre and voice. I guess my heroines love romance after avoiding a live grenade!!!
Posted by Kim Howe | August 18, 2010, 8:25 amMorning Kim!
Great post! I’ve entered a couple contests, and boy does it take a couple of days to shake off some of the comments. A few margarita’s seem to help. =) Everyone says if you’re going to be a writer, you need to develop thick skin, but how did you bounce back from the “all 1′s” contest?
Thanks for posting with us today!
carrie
Posted by Carrie Spencer | August 18, 2010, 8:43 amHi Kim,
I love your ordered approach to the topic of contests, assessing feedback, growing as a writer, and (hopefully!) getting published. Your experiences and insights give me confidence that one day my novel will be on the bookstore shelves–right next to yours!
Susan
Posted by Susan | August 18, 2010, 8:47 amAdrienne, where was your photo taken? You look so happy!!! Love it!
Posted by Kim Howe | August 18, 2010, 8:51 amLOL. My sister-in-law took that picture on the beach by my mom’s house at the Jersey shore. I grew up sitting on that beach and still love going there.
Posted by Adrienne Giordano | August 18, 2010, 9:05 amHi Carrie,
How did you know my favorite drink was a Margarita? LOL
Most judges are kind and generous people who give of themselves to help others grow, but there are a few folks who grew up in Unhappyville and, unfortunately, they want everyone to move there with them. If someone is hard on my writing, but the comments feel fair and motivated from a constructive place, I welcome the feedback. However, in the case of the “1s”, I knew that there was a personal issue of sorts and I was able to work through the sting pretty quickly.
As for the thick skin…why do you think I was hanging with elephants??? Trying to learn from them!
Posted by Kim Howe | August 18, 2010, 8:59 amSusan,
Thanks so much for stopping by! I have a feeling that a new home will bring very good writing Karma, so brace yourself for inspiration!!!
Posted by Kim Howe | August 18, 2010, 9:00 amI’m off to a few business meetings, so I will be checking in later this afternoon. Can’t wait!
Posted by Kim Howe | August 18, 2010, 9:18 amHi Kim!
Great post!
I’ve finaled in contests, got as high as second place a few times, but never first. The story I tell is the time my entry finished with two perfect scores, the highest in the category. The third judge, a published author, took off thrity points, but her score was dropped. Of all three judges, I sent the published author a thank you e-mail. Because I believe no work is perfect, and she gave me the best suggestions. Alas, the final judge, an editor at Harlequin, did not think my entry perfect, gave me a second place standing, and did not request the manuscript. Oh well!!!
Posted by Wendy Marcus | August 18, 2010, 11:08 amHi Wendy,
It sure sounds to me like you’re getting close to a contest win. I hope you’re continuing to write and submit. If you find a couple more of those helpful published judges, it could give you the insight to make a few tweaks that’ll take you to the top. Good luck!
Posted by Kim Howe | August 18, 2010, 3:07 pmHello Kim!
I entered a contest a few months ago in which all the judges were published authors and the difference in the comments betweeen pubbed authors and unpubbed, “trained” authors, was a real eye-opener. I felt the pubbed authors gave me a little more leeway to allow my story to unfold. Two of them loved my entry and gave me high scores. The third took off twenty-nine points partly because she felt one of my scenes wasn’t plausible. However, she had the best advice and although I didn’t change my scene, I took her advice and made a few changes.
It’s always hard to read the judges’ comments. Now, I’ll see if I finaled and if not, I’ll tuck the scoresheets away until I’m ready to work on some revisions. My pet peeve is when a judge gives me twos and threes across the board but will not comment as to why she gave me those scores.
Thanks for sharing your contest experience with us.
Cheers!
Jen
Posted by Jennifer Tanner | August 18, 2010, 5:16 pmHi Jen,
Thanks for sharing your contest experiences. There were several judging sheets that I have kept for years as they were that helpful. It’s good to pull them out after six months and take another look at them–the emotions fade and time gives you new perspective. Wishing you every success on your journey!
Posted by Kim Howe | August 18, 2010, 7:47 pmHi Kim,
I used to submit to contests, but then I received a whammy. Not only did all three judges slam me, giving me scores in the twenties, they were “kind” enough to include their personal e-mails about me. Very professional operation. I was tempted to reply. Of all the comments, I’ve kept those. One, to remember when I judge, someone is on the other side. Two, never put anything in print I wouldn’t mind the world knowing.
Mary Jo Burke
Posted by Mary Jo Burke | August 18, 2010, 8:57 pmHi Kim,
Great Post. I’ve stumbled on to most of this information on my own but it is wonderful to know that I’m on the right track.
My funniest experience was when I won and contest. I was beside myself giddy, until I opened the final judge’s comment sheet.
OUCH!.
There I was, expecting a glowing, back thumping cogratulatory letter of validation that said something like…. Wow, you can really write a great story!..
ha ha. What I got was a wonderful agent’s honest opinion of what I needed to do to make this a good story. She didn’t mince words, got right to the point, and every word was spot on.
I treasure that page as the biggest kick up the stairs that I’ve received so far.
I’m still hoping this agent will one day represent me so I’m continuing to work at my craft.
Contests are a great tool to have in the box.
Posted by katt | August 18, 2010, 10:54 pmOOPS .. my appologies for the typos, it’s late! Katt.
Posted by katt | August 18, 2010, 10:56 pmHi Kim
Great info. Thanks
Posted by Jean | August 19, 2010, 10:57 am