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Filed in: Announcements | book reviews | writing Tags: contests | finalist | golden heart | historical romance | the call
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Butterfly Swords is a finalist in the Historical Romance category for the Golden Heart©!
At 7:59 am I checked the clock and at 8:00am the phone rang! It was Terri Brisbin from RWA telling me that Butterfly Swords had finalled. I literally sank to the floor.
More later, for now — I bask!
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Filed in: writing Tags: chase-the-dream-contest | conferences | contests | golden heart
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Big for a little unpublished writer at least…
1. Chase the Dream contest announcements:
These are supposed to come today. I didn’t win, because they should have already notified the winners, but I’m still excited for the announcements. I have my own personal favorite that I’m rooting for.
2. Golden Heart announcements:
Wednesday, March 25 is the date for the announcements. I’m going to be on pins and needles all day. Already I’m trying to mentally prepare myself. Historicals seem to be a very competitive category so I’m trying not to get my hopes up too high, but heck yeah I’m hoping to final. I may need ice cream Wednesday night. 
3. The New England Chapter conference
On Thursday I’m travelling out to Massachusetts for the Let Your Imagination Take Flight conference. The schedule looks amazing and I have my pitch mentally prepared. It’s good to keep it off the cuff and fresh, right? That’s my excuse.
I’m looking forward to seeing some writer buddies, meeting new people and hopefully, some happy news.
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Filed in: book reviews | writing Tags: agents | chase-the-dream-contest | contests | editors | feedback | writing journey
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I know that most submissions are rejected and that form rejections are the standard. There’s just not enough time to respond to each submission, plus the threat of the “angry author” is even more real in this day and age of instant e-mail replies.
Form rejections are the reason why I started hitting contests so hard. I just needed to know if I was making any progress at all with my writing. So far one of the best experiences I’ve had is the Chase the Dream contest run by Rachellle Chase and Leigh Michaels. I was chosen as the Week 4 finalist and so far one agent and three editors have read my opening. They each pointed out weaknesses in my writing as well as strengths. (giddy! I have strengths) Sure, I with I could blow them all away and get requests for my manuscript on the spot, but nonetheless, this feedback is gold to me. This is what I’ve been searching for throughout my entire query war. I’m starting to get an occasional form rejection now which is a huge step, isn’t it?
There are more critiques to come and I wait on pins and needles for each one.
Tomorrow is the last day to vote for the winners!
To see finalists:
http://chasethedreamcontest.wordpress.com/
To vote:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=OQvSykwHXYudFZ5C3hcdoA_3d_3d
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Filed in: Announcements | writing Tags: brags | butterfly swords | chase-the-dream-contest | contests | openings | writing
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All eight finalists have been posted and voting opens from March 5 to March 11. There’s quite a range there — historicals from different time periods, paranormals, contemporaries. Butterfly Swords is in good company and I feel like I’ve already won since the lovely panel of judges will read over all the final entries.
I feel silly trolling for votes, so if you’d like to check out some interesting openings, click on over and vote your conscience.
To read the final entries
http://chasethedreamcontest.wordpress.com/entries/
To vote:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=OQvSykwHXYudFZ5C3hcdoA_3d_3d
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Filed in: writing Tags: agents | contests | critique | writing
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I have yet another playground on the internet – Miss Snark’s First Victim’s blog. Self described as a blog for aspiring authors, the site’s mistress “Authoress” is currently hosting a Secret Agent contest. Aspiring authors send in 250 word entries to be critiqued by a faithful following of bloggers as well as the Secret Agent of the month, who is actually a literary agent. Get this – the Secret Agent comments on every entry that makes the cutoff. A guaranteed agent critique! This month’s call for submission included romance so I jumped into the fray.
I’m getting some great pointers in my entry and reading the other entries is really helping me get a sense of what works in an opening. There are some very conscientious and thoughtful critiquers following this blog. Many of them are familiar with each other’s works, commenting that “they like the changes” or “it’s come a long way”. I might have to hang around a little more, though the last thing I need is another internet vortex.
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Filed in: Announcements | writing Tags: brags | chase-the-dream-contest | contests | hooks | writing
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It was 6:00 am Wednesday. I woke up and groggily turned on my laptop. I had a workout I had to rush to at 6:30, but for some reason I thought I’d check out Rachelle Chase’s blog…just to see.
*BAM*
My words! The opening for Butterfly Swords. I couldn’t smile wide enough. I started e-mailing people and gushing. I compared it to a couple of my writing buddies as the “I’m on TV” feeling. My writing is on the Internet. Okay, I know it’s easy to post something to the Internet…look I’m doing it right now. But it was so cool to be recognized…and of course I’m jittery about the amazing agents and editors that Ms. Chase has gathered for the panel.
You can keep on entering every week for this contest. (It’s still open by the way!) So I had entered every week for four weeks, alternating between “Butterfly Swords” and “Silk and Seduction”. I was kind of worried she would be darn tired of seeing that thing again, but the rules allow it so there had to be a reason, right?
Persistence paid off! And though this was the same story that finaled in “Hook, Line & Sinker”, I had revamped the entire opening based on other contest feedback. I switched it to start in the heroine’s POV and in a more action packed spot. It had to mean something that more than one judge would point out that the opening was just okay compared to the rest of the entry. So even if people love your writing – pay special attention to the comments you get repeatedly!
So, come by and browse the finalists. Get your 1000 words together to enter. It’s free and you may final or win the mini-crit. One of my chapter-mates finalled two years ago and that’s how she got the editor request that led to her first sale. And you can learn a lot by reading the openings that finalled or won the mini-crits. Rachelle Chase and Leigh Michaels are really making an effort to comment constructively and provide a learning opportunity.
Oh yeah, and if you honestly feel “Butterfly Swords” was the most compelling, come by and vote for it from March 4 to March 11.
Excerpt from Butterfly Swords
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Filed in: writing Tags: contests
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I finally figured out what it was about contests. Since I’m not getting any responses back from queries at the moment, this fills the void and pumps me full of adrenaline to keep going. The only thing is, I do pay dearly for my highs (and lows).
I’m still glowing from my last contest fix. I got my results back from the Suzannah contest, run by the NOLA Stars chapter of RWA. I didn’t final, but overall I did pretty well.
Let’s brag, shall we? Out of 230 points on the scorecard, I managed to get: 217,220, 226
The giddyness:
- The judge who raved the most about liking my entry, scored it the lowest. I’ll take that with open arms.
- The judge who scored it as a 220 commented that the setting initially put them off, but the writing drew them in. They wouldn’t “enthusiastically” recommend it, but they would recommend it. This reluctant reader made me the happiest of all. Am I just neurotically upbeat or what?
To improve:
- Mechanics. I suck at commas.
- My synopsis got rated down a couple of times. So I can either fix it or…enter contests without a synopsis requirement? hmmm….:)
- Modern voice
- Oh yeah, it absolutely is not historical fantasy. I get called out on that one over an over again. Guess it’s an “alternative history” because it’s not 100% historically accurate.
To get me through the winter (tentative dates):
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Filed in: writing Tags: contests | golden heart
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 When I buy sexy little shoes, I know I’m not buying footwear. Just like I know I’m not playing blackjack to actually win. I’m doing it for the kick, the high, the little zing. So this is exactly why I enter the Golden Heart–the motivational boost it gives me plus the emotional highs and lows of waiting for “The Call”. I’m an anticipation junkie.
As far as romance writing contests go, the GH is one of the most expensive. If the fifty dollar entrance fee wasn’t steep enough, entrants are required to print out six copies of the approximately 55 page entry (partial + synopsis). Then there’s the shipping cost. My GH heart entry ended up costing nearly $90 to enter, print and ship. And in return I will receive 5 cold, hard numbers in March.
So why do it?
A part of it is for sentimental reasons. I entered the Golden Heart last year with my first finished manuscript. I had finished it in October, but it was butt ugly with a face only a mother could love. But I put my money on the line anyway and then had to polish the full, get the partial ready and *gulp* write the dreaded synopsis. I didn’t final…
But the buzz of finishing my first manuscript and thrusting it out to the world, ready or not (NOT!), gave me some happy little mojo. It gave me the zing to polish my second manuscript and start a third one.
So I entered again this year. It’s nice to daydream a little and I’ll do so often in the coming months to get my money’s worth. No, it doesn’t make sense. But I still think it’s worth every penny.
P.S. What’s crazier than entering the GH? Entering twice…pending a post office fiasco that I need to straigten out. Is there a support group somewhere?
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Filed in: Announcements Tags: brags | contests | requests
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First place in the Historical Romance category.
My first contest final and win ever! And, as icing on the cake, I received a request for the full from the editor judging the historical category. I’m quite surprised and giddy.
At the moment I entered, I had only written 25 pages of this manuscript and decided to enter it for feedback because of MORWA’s special contest deal which allowed a second entry for half price. I’m encouraged that the story received such a nice response its first time out.
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