Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Ten Top Reasons to Enter GENESIS and FRASIER Contests

Is your goal to publish a novel, but you can’t land an agent or spark a publisher’s interest?

You’d really like to attend a writer’s conference to get feedback on your wip, but you can’t afford the time or the cash. There’s an easier and less-costly solution. Get your manuscript evaluated by entering the GENESIS contest for $35 per entry or the FRASIER contest for $30 per entry.

Below are ten top reasons to enter:

  • To get a pro to read your story—You want readers, don’t you? Isn’t that your ultimate goal?
  • To learn—How do you format a manuscript? What’s a page break?
  • To improve—What do you need to do better? Did your readers care? Why/ why not?
  • To compete—How do you compare with other writers? Are you in the top 25%?
  • To show off—Frasier judges pick a favorite sentence from your ms. Find out which one rocks and why. It might not be the one you loved.
  • To get feedback—Published judges typically know what sells.
  • To work toward a deadline—Force yourself to enter before the deadline to improve your ability to make a goal and keep it. Once you’re working with a publisher, deadlines will be constant.
  • To win—scholarships and prizes, but most of all, bragging rights that look good to an agent or publisher, and visibility in the market place.
  • To identify your strengths and weaknesses—Find out if you nailed your dialogue or if your hook grabbed the reader. Was your story goal believable?
  • To practice how to take criticism—Once you’re working with an agent you need to learn how to stay professional—even if it means killing parts of your baby. Can you take criticism without getting your panties in a ruffle or your undies in a wad? If you can’t, who’s going to want to work with you?

Deadline for the GENESIS is March 4th and the FRASIER is March 31st. There’s time to enter both.

Click below for contest guidelines:

http://www.acfw.com/genesis

http://www.mybooktherapy.com/index2.php/the-frasier-contest/


How many of you have entered in the past or will enter this year? What were your experiences?

4 comments:

  1. I've entered several MS in the last three years, and I feel it is a good investment where an author can get some semi-pro feedback. (All judges are not published writers).

    However, new-comers should keep in mind that like most things in life, the feedback is subjective. A low score doesn't necessarily mean the writing is deserving of a low score, and vice-versa.

    I've had a wide range of feedback on the same story. For example, a 100% from one judge who made me feel as if I'd died and gone to Jerry Jenkins' clubhouse. But the same entry got a 58% from another judge who made me feel as if she had a personal vendetta against me and my family. :)

    One year my average score for three different submissions was 85% and the next year after I worked harder and longer on new stories, my average score dropped to 72%. Go figure. Different judges, different stories. Yet, I felt the second year stories were much better, even though they received a lower score.

    But all comments have been benificial, and I'll continue to enter, because it feel it is a value for what a writer gets in return. But no one should be discouraged with a low score because it is subjective.

    ReplyDelete
  2. In a nutshell, I didn't final in the Genesis contest last year, and received what I understand is somewhat typical scoring: one perfect score, one middle-of-the-road and one fairly low. Then I finaled in the RWA/Faith Hope & Love with the same story. Completely bombed out with it in the Frasier (who cares what the conference room looks like? who cares that my heroine poured the coffee?) Some comments had no rhyme or reason to me, but they obviously did to the judges.

    Sure, those low scores hurt, just as those high scores and being a finalist were high points, but it's all part of the process. They give you experience and maybe help you gain some visibility among your peers. I'm glad I entered them all. I learned from the feedback and made some friends along the way.

    I still don't have an agent, but I did get a book published when the first publisher to review the entire manuscript bought it (not the same story I entered in the contests last year, but part of the same series). Kenny's so right - it IS all subjective. And guess what? My writer friends encouraged me to enter another big contest this year - for published writers. But I'm only entering one (in two categories, however). Looking back on the past whirlwind of a year in terms of my writing career, I'm glad I entered the Genesis and the Frasier when I had the opportunity. Next year at this time, I hope you can say the same! Blessings.

    Blessings, JoAnn

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks JoAnn and Kenny -
    Great comments! I didn't realize that some of the judges weren't published authors. Hmmm. I found the feedback valuable, too, and subjective. It only reminds me that there are many different opinions out there. So, when I finally sell a book, I know that not everyone will like it. There's no way to please everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You're so right, Michelle. Once you're a published author, then you wait with bated breath for the reviews to come in. It's a whole new set of "judges." And yes, quite a number of the contest judges aren't published, interestingly enough. But I suppose it makes it a representative sampling of your peers.

    As far as not pleasing everyone, I always try to keep in mind for Whom I'm writing. As long as I'm looking to Him and can hold my head up high, that's my focus. I'm not writing for other men, I'm writing for His glory. And praying that my work will reach the hands, hearts and minds of His choosing.

    Blessings!

    ReplyDelete