writing contests
Contest Woes: I Feel Your Pain
Tomorrow morning, the PAPfest entries will go live on my blog as well as Mindy McGinnis’s and MarcyKate Connolly’s.
If any of the entrants are reading this post, I imagine some of you are old hands at such contests, while others may be contest newbies. Either way, I want you to keep my own contest experiences in mind.
Some blog readers may remember that last spring’s Writer’s Voice contest was a big part of the big, crazy frenzy that resulted in me signing with my agent less than two weeks later. I had several requests from participating agents, lurking agents, and through a handful of queries I’d sent just before the contest went live.
Super-awesome, right? Dream come true, right?
Yes.
But.
I almost didn’t enter.
I’d tried another similar contest for two years straight (different manuscripts) and nary a peep from an agent either time. Not so much as a request for five measly pages. There’d been a “preliminary” round beforehand, and I’d gotten through that both times. Someone had at least sort of liked my work.
Hard to remind myself of that with the silence surrounding me.
The silence hurt more than any number of query rejections. Mindy can tell you about talking me off the ledge those days.
But I did come down off that ledge. I kept writing, kept learning, kept working, and eventually it all came together. (Now I have the same old insecurities in whole new ways, but that’s another story.)
I’d love it if every entry tomorrow gets requests. I hope that happens. But if it doesn’t, those of you who receive the silence, I understand. It’s okay to be bummed and let it hurt … for a little while. A good critique partner will let you wallow in it just long enough, and then they’ll remind you it’s not the end. You’re still awesome. That awesomeness can only come out if you keep putting it out there, one way or another.
Send some queries.
Revise some pages.
Work on a new project.
Just keep going.
Speak up:
10 commentsShow the Love and Pitch-A-Partner in PAPfest
Let’s get real—pitching our novels is tough. Often beyond tough. Personally, I find it a lot easier to talk about the amazing work of my critique partners MarcyKate Connolly and Mindy McGinnis. In imagining pitching my novel and MarcyKate’s to her students, Mindy had a thought … hey—EVERYONE should practice pitching by pitching other people’s stuff! And so our contest idea was born.
Last month we announced an upcoming agent-judged contest called the PAPfest (Pitch-A-Partner Festival). As always, the PAP is sneaking up on you quicker than you thought. Mindy will be the primary host on Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire, while MarcyKate and I will be co-hosting, because that’s only fitting.
In our model, writers will pitch their critique partner’s project, and our team will decide whose pitching abilities are so strong that we’re interested in seeing their own project.
The blogging team will narrow down the final hopefuls to 30 entries, at which point we’ll ask our participating agents to cruise our blogs to bid on projects that catch their eye.
What Are the Rules?
- The PAPfest is open to completed MG & YA projects of any genre
- Be sure to have your CP’s permission before pitching them
- If CP-X successfully pitches CP-Y, we will ask to see the query and first 5 pages of CP-X’s ms to use in determining who moves on to agent judging
- 100 initial entries accepted
- 30 finalists move on to agent judging
- Finalists will provide query & first 200 words for agent judging. Their partner CP-Y has the option of requesting a query critique from the PAP team of myself, MarcyKate and Mindy.
Are you confused? That’s OK. We believe in multiple learning styles, so we’ll lay this out a few different ways. But first, the nitty-gritty:
What’s the Timeline?
There will be two windows to pitch your CP’s project to PAPfest(at)gmail(dot)com
The first window will open Wednesday, Jan 23 at 8 AM EST
The second window will open Friday, Jan 25 at 8 PM EST
Each window will allow 50 email entries
The PAP team of myself, MarcyKate and Mindy will be reading the entries between Jan 29 – Feb 8. If you are one of the 30 finalists you will be notified by Feb 8 via email. If you are chosen you will provide your query & first 200 words for agent judging. Also if you are chosen, your CP who graciously allowed you to use their project as pitching material will have the option of requesting a query critique from the PAP team.
February 14th from 9 AM EST to 9 PM EST (Hooray! V-DAY!) The agents will be invited to browse the entries and make requests. They will vote for their favorites with a partial or full request. Everyone who receives requests will be able to submit their materials to all the agents who voted for them.
Can Guys Get a PAP?
Why yes, yes they can. In fact, we’d love to see that.
Who are the Agents?
Agents participating in the PAPfest are:
Laura Bradford of Bradford Literary
Jennifer Laughran of Andrea Brown Literary
Pooja Menon of Kimberley Cameron
Adriann Ranta of Wolf Literary
Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary
Tina Wexler of ICM
Isn’t that spectacular? Aren’t we so glad that we have them? Yes, we are. We commissioned original art from Lynn Phillips to immortalize them. (Click to enlarge the image.)
As if the fabulous portraits you’ve seen aren’t enough, we asked Lynn to reiterate the process for those who learn best through comics. Enjoy!
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2 commentsAnother Contest? But Wait, This One’s Weird!
If you’re anything like me, you probably find it easier to rave about your critique partners’ work than your own. Maybe even easier to pitch theirs than ours. To explain how that skill could come in handy, we interrupt our regularly scheduled blog posts for a message from Mindy McGinnis.
I know what you’re thinking.
Another contest? Seriously? But I absolutely despise all these chances to expose my work to agents!
Well, don’t worry. Because I’m me, when I decided to do a contest I knew I had to make it Mindy-Style, which means it had to be different from everyone else and slightly offensive. I wracked my brain about how to do this, as there are a plethora of writing contests out there. And I came up with something that I think fulfills the Mindy-Style requirements.
Introducing the Pitch-A-Partner Festival! Yes, that’s right, it’s the PAPfest. Coming at you during the month of February 2013. Why February? Well, because you want to show your partner you love them, and also because I have a badly timed reoccurring annual exam that makes me think February = PAPfest.
When it comes to my writing I value my Critique Partners above all else. My CPs deserve a lot of credit for helping to improve my craft, and I’m sure there are a lot of aspiring authors out there who feel the same. So what better way to show them you love them than to pitch their project? Don’t worry, there’s something in it for both of you.
I dragged my CPs, MarcyKate Connolly and R.C. Lewis, into the PAPfest as co-hosts, because it’s only fitting. In our model, writers will pitch their critique partner’s project, and our team will decide whose pitching abilities are so strong that we’re interested in seeing their own project. And of course, if the premise of the partner’s project is so enticing that we can’t help ourselves, we’re free to request material from them as well.
The blogging team will narrow the final hopefuls down to 30 entries, at which point we’ll ask our participating agents to cruise our blogs to bid on projects that catch their eye. We’ve got an excellent team of agents lined up, both established and brand-new hungry types.
- The PAPfest is open to completed MG & YA projects of any genre
- Be sure to have your CP’s permission before pitching them
- If CP-X successfully pitches CP-Y, then CP-Y gets a query critique, and we ask for the first 5 pages of CP-X’s ms to use in determining who moves on to agent judging
- 100 initial entries accepted
- 30 finalists move on to agent judging
- Finalists will provide query & first 200 words for agent judging
Are you confused? That’s OK. We’re planning on walking you through the process as February gets closer. All kinds of fun things are in store to clarify all your questions. I mean that. I intend to amuse the hell out of you while explaining this contest.
Why am I telling you this now? Because I want you to stress over the holidays.
Not really. I’m telling you this now because it’s important that you have your CP’s permission to pitch their project—they’ll be getting a query crit out of the deal (and possibly a request for more if we’re hooked by their concept, pitched by you). And of course in order for you to pitch something in the first place, you need to have read it. So polish off your WIPs or breathe new life into a trunked novel and get that ms in front of your CP!
Stay tuned to Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire for more details! And feel free to ask questions, always. Comment on one of the participating blogs, email Mindy, or tweet using the tag #PAPfest.
And yes, I’d love to see that trending. 🙂
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Comments Off on Another Contest? But Wait, This One’s Weird!Crushing the Contest Curse
Some of you know I haven’t had the greatest history with contests. I’d only entered two—well, the same one, two years in a row. I got through the initial slush round both times. When it came to the agent judging/voting round, however … silence.
Ouch.
All the things people say about subjectivity, not the right mix of agents for you, etc. are true. Someone thought my work was good enough to put me through the slush.
Those true words don’t stop the hurt. The feeling that readers and other writers may appreciate aspects of my writing, but to the “people who matter,” I’ll never be good enough. The conviction that I’m doing something wrong and no one can tell me what.
Or maybe someone could tell me. They just don’t.
I kept writing, kept revising, kept querying. With each story, I’ve gotten better. I know that. But I figured contests weren’t for me. The sting of public silence was too much.
Then a couple of friends talked me into trying one more contest. (Okay, they didn’t have to try that hard. Mostly it kept coming up in conversation and they said, “Yeah, you should.”)
Maybe I’m just a masochist at heart.
I got picked by a coach, thus getting through the slush again.
Monday was agent voting day. One or two votes meant partial requests. Three or more meant full requests.
Would I suffer silence again?
No. Not this time. Five votes. Five full requests.
Nothing is guaranteed. An agent still has to love the whole manuscript enough to offer representation, and that’s a whole different hurdle. The point for now is that when I was put up next to lots of really stellar work, I still caught some eyes. That feels really good.
But I still remember how the silence felt.
If you’ve suffered the silence, it’s okay that it hurts. I’m a big believer in letting yourself wallow for a day or so, but only if you definitively cut off that wallowing before it does some damage. Keep working on the story you’ve got, or start working on a new one. Tweak your query or opening pages. Do some research on which agents are most likely to love your story.
Hope that you hit the right agent at the right time with the right story, because it takes a little luck. I’m not one to say we will make it if we keep working, because no one knows that. The only thing I know is that if we stop writing and stop trying, failure is guaranteed.
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7 commentsUpdate: A-NaNo-ing I Go
As I mentioned earlier this month on From the Write Angle, I’m currently participating in my very first NaNoWriMo. In my case, it seemed like a nice excuse to try something a little different. I’m writing my first YA contemporary—a story about a hard-of-hearing girl who transfers to a school for the deaf and finds herself caught between the Deaf and hearing worlds. So far, it’s been a lot of fun to write, and is stretching different writing muscles than my usual speculative fiction.
Not sure whether it’ll be any good. It’ll definitely need some editing (I’ve already made some notes of things I know need fixing). But I’m ahead of the pace so far, so it looks like I’ll get at least the 50k words done by the end of the month.
In other news, I made it through the slush pile for the Baker’s Dozen Agent Auction over at Miss Snark’s First Victim. Log lines and first pages will be posted on December 2nd, and the “auction” will take place December 6th.
I participated in the same event last year. While making it through the slush is a great feeling, my entry didn’t receive a single bid. That was pretty rough. Hoping to have better luck this year.
Meanwhile, I’ll keep myself busy with this NaNo project. 🙂
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1 comment"Get Your Foot in the Door" Contest
Here’s another contest, this one over at Gabriela Lessa’s site and judged by one of four Sourcebooks editors (depending on genre). One-sentence pitch and the first paragraph (or two as long as the total is under 170 words). Checking out other entries is part of the fun, so here goes.
UPDATED
One-Sentence Pitch: When telepathic Ziv’s newly normal life is interrupted by a military request, she must decide if she belongs in humanity’s war, or on Earth at all.
Opening Paragraphs: Blades of grass brush my toes, forcing me to suppress a shudder. Textures like this still feel unnatural, wrong. Too irregular and unpredictable. Shouldn’t have worn sandals. Despite my physical reaction, I continue across the lawn toward school. If I force myself to endure it enough times, maybe I’ll finally get used to it.
A familiar voice calls out behind me. As I stop to let Khalil catch up, his golden-bronze skin seems to radiate the warmth of the sun back out to the world. Not for the first time, I wonder if he finds my pale face as cold as I do. The thought is interrupted by a tickle on my foot, different from the grass. A ladybug crawls across my toe, and I reflexively clench my fists, not letting myself fritz out.