 |
|
Now Available Zebra Ballad  Book One American Heiress Series Now Available Zebra Ballad  Book Two American Heiress Series |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
What Do Editors Really Think About Contests?Contest Tips | Design Tips | Self-Editing Tips |
In the spring of 1998, Tracy Cozzens and Roxanne Rustand conducted a mail survey of romance editors and agents regarding the value of contests for unpublished writers. There are not a large number of editors and agents, so the following results can't be considered statistically valid. In all, 20 responded to the survey and these are the results: Do contests help to make a sale? 85% said they have judged contests for unpublished writers. About one third of them have judged more than 10 contests, another third have judged six to 10, and another third have judged five or less. If a contest entry interests the editor/agent judge, 73% of them will request a full manuscript and the rest will request a partial or either a full or partial. How often have these editors and agents made such requests? Most (68%) said five or less times, 18% said more than five times, and 14% said never. Those who have never requested a manuscript stated that the entries they judged either lacked quality or did not meet that publisher's guidelines. More than half the respondents (54%) said requesting a full manuscript from a contest entrant has never led to a sale. Another 41% said they have bought between one and five manuscripts from the contestants they have judged, and 18% said they have bought more than five manuscripts. Do contests help in marketing your work? One third of the respondents said mention of a contest finaling or win in a query letter makes no difference as to whether the manuscript is requested. 23% said it makes him or her more likely to request the material. Half said it depends on the contest and the placement. 54% of editors and agents said they give greater consideration to the query if a writer mentions finaling in the Golden Heart. However, 37% said they don't give greater consideration to such a query. Do contests help aspiring authors? Of those responding to a question about whether contests help aspiring authors, 90% said they do help. However, this recommendation to enter contests came with several caveats. On the plus side, contests are:
• good for
feedback • show an author is serious • may keep a writer's spirits up and increase confidence • can get material read and make it stand out • can serve as a reality check • can be a good way to find talent. On the minus side, editors and agents warn writers • not to become "contest junkies" • to polish the entire manuscript and not just the portion a contest calls for • to beware of unprofessional judges who can be overly harsh • to beware of misleading critique forms (scoring high on small items doesn't equal quality overall) • to be selective when choosing contests to enter (find out who is judging) • and to keep in mind that contest judges—and even editors—are not always right.
We asked the editors and agents,
"Do you feel entering contests helps aspiring authors? Do you have any words
of caution or advice?" Here are some answers: "You can't win if you don't enter. Putting yourself on the line means you are serious about getting feedback and recognition. It means you are serious about being a writer."—Meredith Bernstein, Meredith Bernstein Literary Agency
Line
spacing:
Double-space your entire entry, including the synopsis. Exceptions
are when an entry specifically asks for single-spacing or if a query letter
is included. Like other business letters, queries are traditionally
single-spaced.
Font:
When contests specify a typeface, it's usually Courier 12 point
(10 pitch) which is considered the industry standard—at least in contests.
Courier is a "non-proportional" font, meaning the spacing taken up by each
letter is equal, regardless of whether it's a skinny "i" or a fat "m". As
a result, it makes it easy for an editor to estimate how many words there
are per page. Except that the industry itself—meaning editors—doesn't
seem quite as hung up on font selection as some contest judges are. Some
judges insist Courier must be used and will mark down an entry if it's printed
in any other font, even if using Courier isn't specified in the rules. The
"non-Courier" faction holds that Courier—a hold-over from typewriter
days when every typeface was non-proportional—is old-fashioned, hard
to read, and downright ugly.
Rule of thumb: Use it and be on the safe side.
Lines per page:
The "industry standard" is 25 lines per page (there's that "standard"
again). Like the ubiquitous Courier font, this is an area of hot debate among
contest entrants, judges and coordinators. Some contests specify an acceptable
number of lines per page, and some judges mark off for it. Coupled with Courier,
25 lines per page yields a neat 250 words per page—making it easy for
editors to count manuscript length when you submit to them. Read the contest
rules to be sure you're in the "safe zone." If you have at least one-inch
margins, a header, and are using Courier, the lines per page should come
out darned close to 25.
Hint: Make sure your "widows and orphans" control is turned
off in your word-processing program. (This control keeps the bulk of your
paragraphs together.) Also turn off hyphenation.
Page Format:
Leave at least one-inch margins all the way around. The header
can be less than an inch from the top, but an inch looks the nicest. Err
on the side of larger rather than smaller margins.
Header:
For contests, use only your title and page number, not your last
name (which you would use when submitting to an editor or agent). If a synopsis
is included in the entry, number it separately, and include the word "synopsis"
in the header. Place the header at least a half-inch down from the top of
the page.
Title page or cover
sheet:
Most contests ask for usually one title page, such as the type
you would put on top of your manuscript when mailing to an editor. Here's
where you include your name, address, phone number and e-mail address so
that the coordinator can contact you and tell you how you did. You also include
the manuscript title, sub-genre or series line, and word count. Sometimes,
contests ask you to put the contest category you are entering on the title
page as well.
Placement of title:
Center your title about one-third to one-half of the way down
the first page, with the sub-genre or series line and word count underneath.
DO NOT include your name. Follow this with
CHAPTER 1, then your text. Start each chapter on a new page.
Paper:
Use standard white bond paper and black ink. Never, ever print
your entry with colored paper, colored ink, easy-erase paper, or clip art.
Do not bind or staple your entry. Check the rules carefully. Most specify
binding each entry with a banker's clasp or binder clip. The Golden Heart
usually specifies placing a colored sheet of paper between the synopsis and
the chapter pages. Which goes on top? It's usually up to you.
Hint: Make sure your printer's toner or ribbon is printing dark.
Don't use a 9-pin dot matrix printer. Make sure your photocopies are neat
and dark, with no black edges or stray blobs. Appearance counts. If your
printer prints Courier too light (a frequent problem with many of today's
word processing programs), you can compensate by darkening the copies at
the photocopy machine.
Mail:
The U.S. Post Office provides "priority
mail" Tyvek envelopes (made of a waterproof, non-tear material) and cardboard
envelopes free of charge. Priority mail boxes are also available. If you're
sending your entry by some means other than the U.S. Post Office, you can
purchase Tyvek or bubble-padded envelopes at office-supply stores. Avoid
envelopes with the messy brown filling.
The priority mail rate is $3.55 for a flat-rate envelope to mail up to two pounds—sufficient
for most contests, except perhaps the Golden Heart. Priority mail is supposed
to arrive at its destination within two or three days. Usually it does, but
there are no guarantees. If you're crunching the deadline, you might consider
spending the extra money for express (overnight) mail, either through the
post office or a private carrier such as Federal Express or
Airborne.
:S.A.S.E.:
Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope with sufficient postage
for return of your entries. If you wish to be sure your entry arrived safe
and sound, include a self-addressed, stamped postcard along with your entry
which the coordinator can return to you.
•
Failure to
PROOFREAD. Almost every entry has a stray typo or cut-and-paste
problem that spell-checkers miss, but what will really kill your entry are
mistakes on every page. Read through your entry as if the editor of your
dreams will be reading it.
•
Using a font that's
way too big (trying to fill pages) or much
too small (trying to cram in more text than the page count
allows).
•
Using less than one-inch
margins. Give the judges (and editors) space
to write their comments on your manuscript.
• Entering the wrong category.
If you have a question about where your
entry should be, contact the contest coordinator. They expect questions like
this, and they will steer you in the right direction.
• Sending an S.A.S.E. that's too
small. Realize that coordinators will be
sending back your entry and comments in the envelope you provide. They may
also send a certificate if you make the finals. Don't make the poor coordinator
try to fit a huge entry into a small envelope.
• Forgetting to send the title
page. In your concern over the entry, don't
forget a title page in the format required by the contest rules. A good rule
of thumb: If the entry rules fail to mention a title page, throw one in with
your name, address, phone number, title of entry, word count, and category
entered. If it's not needed, the coordinator will set it aside.
• Forgetting to include the entry
fee. If you forget the check, your entry
won't be "officially" entered until the coordinator gets it, which means
your entry could miss the deadline.
• Waiting until the last minute
to enter. Don't wait until the last minute
to mail your entry, since many contests fill up in the last days before the
deadline.
•••• Taking it too
seriously. Don't let comments—good
or bad—get to you personally. No matter what you hear, you are not the
best writer ever to set words to paper, nor are you the worst. Either way,
you're still learning. We all are. That's the whole point of
contests.
Every so often, you'll get one judge whose comments seem out of
left field—for instance, she insists that the alien in your futuristic
couldn't possibly like to eat cheese. Your heroine's hair color couldn't
possibly be both "black" and "coal-colored." No one can have a British accent
outside of Britain. This is commonly referred to as "Stupid Judge Syndrome."
If you get such comments, repeat one of the following two sentences to
yourself:
"This judge simply didn't share my vision."
Or
"This judge is commenting on my manuscript,
not on me as a person."
Then write her a nice thank-you note for giving her time to read
your manuscript.
If, however, you do receive comments from a judge which are seriously
malicious—not just critical but needlessly cruel—let the contest
coordinator know about it. If the chapter hosting the contest knows, that
judge may not be asked to judge again.
Send a thank-you letter or card soon after the contest ends. Address the
notes by using either the judges' names, if provided, or their judge numbers.
Put each note in a stamped envelope and write the judge's name or number
on the front of the envelope. Then mail the notes to the contest coordinator.
She will address them and forward them to your judges. Include a thank-you
note to the coordinator, as well.
It helps to include in your note not only your entry's title, but a sentence
summarizing what your manuscript is about so the judges can more easily recall
which entry was yours. Nothing detailed or lengthy, just a comment such as,
"Thank you for judging Spring Passion in the Discovering Great Writers
Contest. Spring Passion was about a CIA agent distracted in his
investigation of circus fraud when a trampoline artist bounces into his life."
What not to do:
Do not use your thank-you note as a way to:
• Defend your entry
• Explain your entry
• Chastise the judge
• Otherwise try to convince the judge she was wrong and you deserved
a higher score.
It won't work.
|
