Contests

For someone who just finaled in the Golden Heart this is going to sound a bit odd--I'm cutting way back on the contests I enter. Why? Because they suck up a lot of time and energy, and they give feedback on only the first part of the manuscript. Yeah, I know there are contests that judge other parts--I've entered some of them--but most focus on the first 30 pages or so.

I love contests because they give you a sense of progress in an industry that moves incredibly slow. Last year, that love translated into almost one contest per month. But the cold hard truth is, I can win a contest and still not be publishable...because editors buy the whole book, not just the first 30-50 pages. So, contests have to take a back seat to writing that really good book. I'll still squeeze in the odd contest, where the final round judge is an editor I particularly want to have read my work...but if you catch me doing more than that, rap my knuckles.