AS YOU KNOW BOB...CONTESTS ROCK!

I am a contest whore.

Yes, you read that right. I can’t resist a contest. And romance writing contests...well, let’s just say I have lots of experience J

When I first started writing, I found it very difficult to find good beta readers. I asked my sisters, my friends, even a casual acquaintance. And they were all very willing to help out. Problem was, they were too nice.

Everyone loved my sample chapters. They thought I was the best writer since Margaret Atwood (little hint there that I’m Canadian). The only real criticism I got was from one sister who works as the Managing Editor of a prestigious medical journal. Apparently, I didn't use enough commas.

Around that time, I read a blog post by a romance author who extolled the virtues of joining a writing group. She mentioned the Romance Writers Association. I promptly looked them up and was delighted to discover they had a local chapter near me. Yay!

A whole new world of support and information opened up the day I became an RWA member. Not the least of which was a monthly listing of...gasp...contests. Yes, I am one of those people who fills in the little contest forms in malls and parking lots. I click every button that says “Enter here”. I tick every box that says “Sign me up.”

But an RWA chapter contest is a whole different beast.

Designed to give newbie romance authors substantive feedback on their work, the RWA chapter contests require the submission of several chapters and often a synopsis (gah). There is no “click here” button. No “easy entry.” Your work has to be read and reread, polished and spit-shined. And did I mention the synopsis?

I wrote and rewrote my chapters. I edited them with a fine-tooth comb. I read article after article about writing a synopsis and then proceeded to destroy a forest worth of trees. I realized then, I hadn't properly plotted out the story.

Back to the computer. Learn about plotting. Write and rewrite. Attack synopsis with the vigor reserved for really dirty ovens (at least in the days before oven cleaner was invented). Finally, I had something that didn't make me cringe.

But more than that. The process of reviewing and editing my own work taught me more than I had learned from self-help writing books and community college courses. There is nothing like ripping your own work apart. Except maybe forcing it into a two page synopsis. I did mention the synopsis, didn't I?

I learned more with every contest I entered (and there were quite a few!). My scenes became steamier when I entered a contest for the best “first kiss”. My writing became crisper when I learned how to condense for the “one page synopsis” contest. The best “cute meet” taught me how to put emotion into a scene.

Best of all, however, the feedback I received from contest judges was invaluable. Some pointed out inconsistencies in the story. Others made me realize that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. A few kind judges pointed out grammar errors (although no missing commas). It was through contest judges I learned to avoid the “As you know, Bob” literary device where a character blurts out a bunch of information in dialogue to another character that already knows the information with the sole purpose of informing the reader. Boy, was I guilty of that!

I would highly recommend contests for anyone starting a romance writing career. Not only did I get excellent feedback through the contests, I learned a lot about writing, won a few prizes, and I got an agent!

I still enter contests. After all, the learning never stops.

• What has been your experiences with contests? Love 'em? Hate 'em?

Thanks very much to Sia for hosting me today. I wish you many happy contests!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

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AGAINST THE ROPES--Available in stores and online now.

He scared me. He thrilled me. And after one touch, all I could think about was getting more...

Makayla never thought she'd set foot in an elite mixed martial arts club. But if anyone needs a medic on hand, it's these guys. Then again, at her first sight of the club's owner, she's the one feeling breathless.

The man they call Torment is all sleek muscle and restrained power. Whether it's in the ring or in the bedroom, he knows exactly when a soft touch is required and when to launch a full-on assault. He always knows just how far he can push. 

And he's about to tempt Makayla in ways she never imagined...

Excerpt



                                                                                                                                                                                                                     


Recovering lawyer, karate practitioner, and caffeine addict, Sarah Castille worked and traveled abroad before trading her briefcase and stilettos for a handful of magic beans and a home near the Canadian Rockies. Her steamy, contemporary romantic tales feature blazingly hot alpha heroes and the women who tame them.

You can find Sarah: Website, Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter. 

You can also sign up for Sarah's newsletter for the latest scoop on books, contests, and appearances.

CONTEST PERFORMANCE vs PUBLISHING REALITY

FYI:There won't be a blog post for Friday, May 17th, as I will be out of town. See you on Monday!

My guest is award winning romance author, Caren Crane. I've known Caren since 2007 when we both entered our books in a contest contest sponsored by Gather and Simon & Schuster. I loved Kick Start, and especially the idea of a heroine who was older than twenty, lol! I thought for sure she'd get it published since she did so well in contests with the story.

Unfortunately, receiving contest accolades or even winning doesn't guarantee being published. I asked Caren  about her experiences with contests, what some of the benefits were of entering and placing well, as well as sharing her journey to publication. 

In romance writing, there has been a lot of emphasis placed on entering, finaling in and winning writing contests. I'll admit, from the time I completed my first manuscript I was hooked on contests. I experienced a good bit of contest love from the start, which boosted my confidence in my budding skills. I'm not one to put much stock in certificates, plaques and awards, but it was nice to have them around as reminders that I didn't actually suck as bad as I sometimes felt I did.

Then I finaled in RWA's Golden Heart contest in with my manuscript Kick Start in 2006. Kick Start got a lot of contest love. Many finals and a handful of wins. I didn't win the Golden Heart, but did have a request for the full from an editor for the then-new Next line at Harlequin. They didn't buy it. They liked it and wanted to, but thought certain story elements were too similar to a book they had just bought. To say I was disappointed is a vast understatement.

In 2007, I heard Gather.com was having a First Chapters writing competition where the winner would have their novel published. I was in! What I didn't realize was that the competition was a bit like American Idol. It was partially about your talent and the quality of your writing, but mostly about who you knew and how many of those people you could motivate to vote for your entry. I did semi-final in the contest, but only because I was the "editor's pick" and not because I could rally the masses. (I am still unable to rally masses to do anything. J)

By 2009, I had completed seven manuscripts and spoken to countless editors and agents. I had submitted requested (and unrequested) material to every publishing professional even remotely interested in acquiring what I wrote. While I received lots of great feedback, it became clear that what I felt compelled to write—a mix of contemporary romance and women's fiction—is apparently impossible for New York publishing houses to market. Witness Harlequin's now-defunct Next line.

By that time, I was incredibly busy with my full-time day job and trying to do the endless work associated with successfully getting my back-to-back daughters into their colleges of choice. With scholarships. That took three full years. Last fall, when the baby was deposited in her freshman dorm, my writer friends began pestering me about when I was going to start writing again. When? When? WHEN?!?

I looked around and noticed most of my friends, both traditionally published and as-yet-unpublished, were dipping their toes into the waters of indie publishing. I was a bit intimidated by all it entails, but intrigued by the fact that the author has full control of the entire process—writing, editing, selecting a book cover and creating the timeline for the whole process. My life is still quite complicated and unpredictable, so having full control over the publication process (over anything, really) appealed to me. I decided to resurrect Kick Start first, since it had done so well in its contest heyday. I endured the long, sometimes agonizing, learning curve associated with getting it updated, whipped into shape and ready to upload to booksellers.

And I realized something as I was wrestling with formatting, gutting chapters and writing new scenes to satisfy my beta readers. I really love writing again. What had become little more than drudgery and torment by 2009 is once again the thing I am most excited about. I hope people love Kick Start and all the other books I choose to publish, because it's great fun sharing my characters and their stories with the world. But most of all, I love writing them.

Contests can be wonderful to encourage your efforts, boost your spirits or get your work in front of important eyeballs. They are not, however, the be-all and end-all as I found out. 

• So what has been your experience with contests? I would love to hear the good, the bad and the ugly!

                                                                                                                                                                                                    

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Sometimes when life stalls right in the middle of the journey, all it needs is a Kick Start...

Linda Dowling’s husband traded her in for a younger model, and she clung to the only life and home her kids knew. Easiest thing by far when her heart was broken and her small town was filled with folks who commonly mistook their neighbor’s concerns for their own. But even in Cross Springs, NC, time moves on and heals the most grievous of wounds. Linda shakes things up, goes back to school and—gasp!—starts to date a younger man.

Suddenly everyone in Cross Springs has something to say about her life—and Linda is faced with hard choices. She has tried for years to live up to the expectations of Cross Springs’ society, but now she is remembering the girl she used to be, back before motherhood and self-doubt robbed her of her self-esteem. Should she bow to comfortable roles and old expectations? Or should she give herself a Kick Start and pursue the kind of love she never thought she would find?

All she needs is courage and a good old-fashioned Kick Start. EXCERPT

                                                                                                                                                          

Caren Crane grew up in Nashville, TN, and as a result does not care for country music. However, she cares a great deal about family, friends and men in boots. She blames her love of reading on a childhood devoid of TV and heavy on amusing oneself. Reading books was a lot more fun than playing with Barbies and playing "library" was far superior to playing "school." When she discovered romance novels, the librarians at her local branch were horrified but Caren was delighted.

She now lives in North Carolina with her tall, handsome husband and a very chatty and irascible rescue cat. She is sometimes visited by her three grown children, who are busy having wonderful lives and only require: beds during college breaks, food, rides back to school (though a bus ticket will do) and sometimes cash. Which leaves her with lots of time to write funny, heartwarming stories set in her adopted home state, North Carolina, and to investigate the Smoky Mountains, from whence her mother's people all came. She plans to set a future series in the Smoky Mountains of her native state, Tennessee, and fill the books full of family, friends and happy-ever-after endings. Which all books should feature, in her opinion. You can find Caren on Facebook, Romance Bandits, Twitter, and her website.