Contest Season

Every year, I look forward to getting my books for the RITA contest. This year, I got seven, which I had to read and judge in the space of six weeks. I added on a few more contests this year, judging the Prism contest because I wanted to see how historical paranormal was handled. I had to read three books for that one. And now, the contemporary chapter of RWA has reintroduced the Stiletto contest and I just yesterday received two more published novels to read and one unpublished entry.

Our own NEORWA chapter has a contest for unpublished authors going on as well, and I had to judge three entries there.

Even though it's a huge time commitment, I see this as my way to pay back the industry. I got a lot of help, and still am getting it, on my road to publication, and contests were the way I received valuable feedback to make my works stronger. And this way, if I'm lucky, I might find a new-to-me author in the bunch, find a book I would never have picked up otherwise.

 I think I went a bit overboard this year. I understand all these contests want to gear their announcements of winners during the RWA conference, but I really wish someone would hold a contest in the fall. It would even out my reading enjoyment.

Now, back to work. I still have two books to go before I can get back to my book-in-progress, not to mention my work-in-progress!

Contest Caution

It's that time of year again. Contests abound for romance writers.

So far this year (and remember, it's only February), I've judged the RITA entries I was assigned to, judged the entries in my local chapter's contest for unpublished authors, and am waiting for the entries in the Hearts Through History contest for unpublished authors.

Why do I so willingly give of my time to judge contests? The answer is very simple. The feedback I got from contests helped me become a published author, and I want to return the favor. Besides, with the RITA entries, you have no choice. If you enter a book into that contest, you must read some entries. It's a huge contest, with 2,000 entries, all needing five judges each. Imagine the logistics nightmare the RWA staff has each January.

Contests are not the only place where you can get feedback. Any number of workshops are offered each week, geared to improving some aspect or the other of your work. Feedback from these workshops can also be invaluable. With my most recent historical, currently still a WIP, someone caught the fact I was leaving the cow in the pasture overnight. Obviously the woman had more farming knowledge than I did, since she flagged it for my attention. A quick check with my 80-year-old uncle verified the woman's claim. Something as precious as a cow would have been brought in from the pasture each night and put in the barn, away from predators. My entire story had to change, but without that input, I'd have been laughed out of every farming community in the country.

But I have to throw out a note of caution in both instances. Chances are the person reading your work doesn't write in your particular genre, and if that's the case, their remarks should not be considered gospel. Their overall impression of your work–fine–but individual remarks? Not so much. I recently had a case where the work I was judging was set in ancient Scotland. I know nothing about the era, other than what I see on the Outlander series, so some of the words tripped me up. I had to put in my notes to the author that I was unschooled in her particular genre, so she should only consider my overall impression of her work. And then, someone who was remarking on my work–a historical set in 1860s America–referred to a medical condition that has only been diagnosed in the past twenty years. Again, I fact-checked my work and found that, in this case, anyway, I was correct.

The moral of this story is this–your work needs to be viewed by someone other than your family and friends, in order to get constructive criticism, and contests and workshops are a very good way to accomplish this. But not everyone who offers feedback is competent to do so.

A grain of salt needs to be added in each time a person gets a contest entry back with comments. But you should enter your work, and get back comments. It will only improve your writing.

TRR's Blog Hop--Day 2--Sara MacLean

Of course, I was aware of Sarah MacLean prior to this year's RWA Conference in Atlanta. She writes sassy Regency romances, which I devour daily. But when she sat at the table with three of my chapter mates at the Awards presentation, they were entertained by her wit and charm.  And when she capped off the night by winning the RITA for best historical, I decided it was time to get to know her again.

A Rogue By Any Other Name is a perfect place to begin getting reacquainted. It's the first of the Scoundrels books (and you know I love a good scoundrel). Michael Bourne gambled away his lands when he was barely old enough to enter a gambling hell. Faced with such a devastating loss, he decided to never gamble again, but to open a business where he would benefit from others' weaknesses.  He and his partners formed the most famous gambling hell in all of England. He's a rogue and a scoundrel and proud of it.

Penelope was his best friend when they were children. Now she's a spinster with attitude. She hates Michael for leaving her, first when he went off to college, then when his fortunes fell from his grasp. Now, he's back and wants to marry her. She's not buying it.

This is a great read, with a spirited heroine who defies convention and doesn't marry just so she can save face among her peers. She's holding out for the real thing. How can a writer of historical romances not be inspired by a RITA winning book?