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I attended the Washington
Romance Writers' annual Spring Retreat at Harpers Ferry, West
Virginia, where my WIP (Work In Progress) placed first in
the Marlene Contest, Historical Division.
I WON! I WON!! I WON!!!
Ok. I'm back now. I'm sure
you're not nearly as excited about this as I am. Unless you're
my mother. So. Besides doing this five-minute long dance,
why do I enter contests and attend conferences? Not just for
the sheer fun of it, I assure you. The idea is to get your
work in front of acquiring editors. There are three ways to
do this.
1) Submit a query letter.
Wait at least four months. Send in three chapters, IF the
editor requests them after your query. Wait six months to
a year. Send in a full manuscript, IF it is requested after
your chapters have been read. Wait another 6 months.
2) Go to conferences. Have
interviews with editors. Bypass step 1 above. Go directly
to the "Submit three chapters step."
3) Enter contests. As a finalist,
you bypass steps 1 and 2 above. Hopefully, if you've been
judged by an editor who works for a house which is in a position
to buy your book, you can now go to the final stage of the
submission process, and send in a full manuscript. Note. Make
sure you actually HAVE a full manuscript ready to submit!!!
Most contests are not free.
If you're going to spend $15.00 to $50.00 on an entry fee,
plus tons of printing and copying, better enter the right
contests. I look at the following criteria.
1) Who is going to judge the
final round of the contest? Readers and even other published
authors can critique your work, but they cannot buy your book.
The idea, as I stated earlier, is to get your work in front
of acquiring editors.
2) Look for contests where
the finalists will be announced at a conference which you
can actually attend. Make sure the editor who will judge the
final round entries will be taking Editor appointments at
the conference. If the contest announcement doesn't tell you
this, call, write, send carrier pigeons, but FIND OUT! Awards
look cool hanging on the wall, but this is all about sales.
Concentrate your time and money where there's some hope for
a tangible reward.
3) Submit your best work,
and make sure you follow the entry guidelines precisely. The
first rounds of contests are usually judged by published and
unpublished authors from the local sponsoring organization.
Your entry will be eliminated if you use .8" margins instead
of 1" margins. Your entry will be eliminated if you use Arial
10 point type font and the contest specifies Courier New 12
point. Your entry will automatically be disqualified if you
accidentally leave the header you can't see on the screen
in your WORD file and send the entry in with your name on
it. Check, double check, have friends check. Print out the
rules, go over them individually one rule at a time, and then
read them backwards!
4) Give yourself time. Do
not expect to win the first contest you enter. Learn from
your mistakes. Volunteer to judge contests. Learn what's expected
from the best entries. See what the competition looks like.
Learn from their mistakes. IF you judge, make sure to approach
each work like you would your critique partner's work. Be
honest. Be helpful. Be fair. Be specific. Write your comments
legibly. (I've taken to typing mine…)
5) Never get too attached
to one manuscript. If you enter a contest and that manuscript
doesn't do well, enter the next contest with a completely
revised manuscript or a totally new manuscript. This isn't
about one book. It's about building a career.
6) Make sure you enter the
correct category! Many otherwise great entries go unsung because
they're in the wrong category. If you're not sure, see rule
two above.
Conferences:
1) Pick your conferences carefully.
Make sure there will be editors and agents there who will
buy the type of work you have to sell.
2) Choose conferences you
can afford to attend and are reasonably likely to enjoy even
if you don't win a contest or sell a manuscript.
3) If you are published, particularly
in a media the other publishers are not likely to be familiar
with, provide promotional materials for the WELCOME packs.
Provide tip sheets for your publisher. Anything you do to
promote your publisher promotes yourself as well. By providing
a tip sheet, I let people know that my publisher is discriminating
about who they publish. Small presses often have higher standards
to meet, because every book has to make a profit. I consider
my publisher a REAL publisher, and I have REAL books out there,
even if it is a media people may not know about. It's my job
to educate them.
4) Sell yourself. Publishers
and agents are at this conference to buy authors. They are
looking for people they can have long-term relationships with.
Sell your current work. Present it as you would your best
soufflé. But make sure the editor or agent walks away knowing
you are looking for a long-term relationship. When Susanna
Hoffs left the Bangles, Columbia invested thousands in her
solo career, producing one album, Only Love. Not a
good investment. One Tin Soldier (The legend of Billy Jack)
from the Covens is another example of a "One Hit Wonder."
At least I remember the song. Editors want writers who can
produce. Consistently. Writers who can develop a loyal reader
base.
5) Attend classes and lectures
given by the Editors and Agents you wish to work with. Learn
all you can about them-their likes and dislikes and what they're
shopping for. After my first conference I went home and chopped
the whole first chapter off of my fourth place contest entry,
Charlie's Way. It was published six months
later by Books Onscreen (www.booksonscreen.com).
6) Have fun. Learn. Stay sober
enough not to embarrass yourself too badly. Go home. Edit
your manuscript. Do NOT totally rewrite the book. Send it
off within a week, in the format the Editor or Agent has told
you they prefer (Ask what type font they prefer. I've had
five different editors tell me they HATE Courier New!). Start
to work on the next book. Immediately. If the Editor or Agent
calls you a year from now, be ready to pitch your next two
pieces!
Copyright 2000 by Margaret
L. Riley
Reprinted with the author's permission.
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