tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179836200439938895.post522494642002312702..comments2023-08-16T07:41:54.806-04:00Comments on Tales Of Allure: Contest WoesAllureVanSanzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07343377905154824059noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179836200439938895.post-76820741680025187642009-07-07T11:10:29.344-04:002009-07-07T11:10:29.344-04:00Writing contests are like chili contests. I might ...Writing contests are like chili contests. I might rate one taste of chili higher because it's memorable. Would I want to eat a whole bowl? The answer is no. <br /><br />A chapter from a book which reads well in the context of a 100,000 word story might not compete well. I've learned to spice up the excerpt for it to compete better.Karen K.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179836200439938895.post-21532361635086886142009-07-07T00:00:14.968-04:002009-07-07T00:00:14.968-04:00Hey AVS!
Wonderful post. I agree with Patti and ...Hey AVS! <br /><br />Wonderful post. I agree with Patti and Sue, especially Sue's comment about how an editor is an author's primary audience. Authors have a different perspective than editors/agents. Trouble is with contests, you have to please the author judges to get to the final round editor/agent judges. <br /><br />That being said, I used to be a contest whore. I've entered quite a few of them and after a couple, you realize when to throw a score sheet away and when to keep them. You will get a fair share of off the wall comments (as you illustrated in your post) and judges who don't seem to understand how to correctly judge what they are given. But that's the nature of contests and the volunteer judging system. You have to take the bad with the good, and decide if the good is worth the entry fee. <br /><br />Honestly, I learned a lot more by judging contests than entering contests. Judging forces you to be objective and identify what you like and didn't like in a book. Then you can take that objectivity to your own books. Odd, the way something not quite right won't stand out in your own work until you see someone else do it in theirs.Ava Marchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07728101223255398162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179836200439938895.post-14424384878299474312009-07-06T15:16:15.253-04:002009-07-06T15:16:15.253-04:00Great example of the ambiguous nature of contests....Great example of the ambiguous nature of contests. I don't enter for the reason that most commentary is so subjective as to be close to useless. I also don't feel I should have to pay for the few gems that I could get from contest commentary. I get those from critique groups. If I thought that entering a specific contest would give me a good shot at getting my work in front of an editor or agent, I would consider entering. You write of the judges as being representative of our reading audience. I agree, but that doesn't make them good judges of what will sell or give them the ability to explain well what they like and why. My primary audience is an editor, because I have to sell to him or her before I can ever sell a book to a reader. That said, your blog makes a number of valid and good points about the potential benefits of entering contests. Each author needs to decide what works for him or her. In addition, you cannot know if contests will work for you or not unless you try them (which I have). So I'd recommend that after careful research into specific competitions writers try two or thre to discover how beneficial contests might be. JMHO.<br />Sue C.Rue Allynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18107397172933004267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179836200439938895.post-28481324691814416352009-07-06T13:21:52.676-04:002009-07-06T13:21:52.676-04:00Allure, very interesting post! I am not a contest...Allure, very interesting post! I am not a contest whore at all. I would rather spend my 42 cents or email a query and take my chances. But that's just me. I am a firm believer though that if more than one person says the same thing about a piece of work, then consider it. If only one, it may only be their opinion alone. Keep up the great blogs!Patti Shenbergernoreply@blogger.com