How Contests Can Take Your Writing to the Next Level

RMFW’s annual Colorado Gold contest is fast approaching—submissions open April 1^st! Have you considered entering? As someone who’s entered several contests, won a couple, lost a lot more, and judged some as well, I highly recommend the experience. Here’s why.

You’re forced to perfect your opening.

For most of us, the opening is the hardest part of any novel. Which scene to start with? How early or late into the story? How to hook the reader’s attention, characterize the protagonist, and introduce just the right amount of backstory—all at the same time?

It’s convenient, then, that most novel contests only accept the first 4000 words, 30 pages, three chapters, etc. This forces us to rethink our openings. Does the story really start in the best place? Is the prologue necessary, or dead weight? Does the reader get an accurate idea of who the main character is?

It may get tiresome reading and revising the same pages over and over, but it’s a healthy exercise for your novel. Because no matter how groundbreaking, mind-blowing, and cliff-hanging the rest of your story is, if your first pages aren’t up to snuff, no agent or editor will bother reading the rest of the manuscript. Similarly, if you self-publish, readers will be turned off by a sub-par opening and put the book down prematurely.

You get valuable feedback.

Not all writing contests offer feedback, but many (including the Colorado Gold) do. And chances are, despite all your hard work on your opening pages, they still have room to improve. The feedback you receive from contests is invaluable. It’s from a fresh perspective other than your weekly critique partner’s, and it’s usually from someone with more writing experience than you have.

This doesn’t mean you should use all—or any—of the feedback you receive. But at least read it, and think about it carefully. Whether or not you take the judges’ suggestions, you’ll definitely see your manuscript from a new angle.

Giving feedback is as good as getting it.

Some contests, like the Colorado Gold, are actively looking for judges. You don’t necessarily have to be published to do it—you just have to know how to read critically, give constructive feedback, and turn in your homework on time. I’ve judged the past two years, and it was a very rewarding experience. I saw openings that didn’t work and realized “Crap, I’ve been doing the same thing!” I saw techniques that worked wonders and thought “I could incorporate that into my manuscript!”

Remember what I said about openings? They’re hard. Reading other writers’ openings is a fantastic way to learn what draws the reader in and what makes an opening fall flat. So if you’re interested in being a judge this year, sign up! Even if you’re planning to submit to the contest, you can still judge other categories.

You just might win.

You may be thinking there’s not a snowball’s chance in the Colorado sunshine that you’ll win a writing contest. Hundreds of people enter, and only one can win—the statistics just aren’t on your side. But you never know. I was a finalist in the first contest I ever entered. I promptly entered another one, and didn’t even crack the longlist. Every contest is different, depending on who the judges are and who enters. And if you work hard on your entry, I can guarantee you have a better shot than you think.

If you win a contest, you’ll get a huge confidence boost (and probably a financial boost, too). You’ll get another credential to add to your resume or query letter. You’ll probably have your work read by a publishing professional (many contests have an agent or editor to judge the final round), who can give you invaluable feedback. And, if that professional likes your work, you just might find your agent.

Of course, not winning (or even finaling) doesn’t mean you’re a bad writer or this manuscript is hopeless. Winning and not nabbing an agent in the process doesn’t mean anything, either. Whatever happens, commend yourself for trying and learn from the experience.

You practice being brave.

In this post, I discussed the importance of being brave in your writing career. It’s something many of us struggle with, especially at the beginning of our writing journey. We lack the confidence to network, to pitch to agents, to work with editors. At the root of it all, we’re crippled by our fear. Fear of sharing our work with others. Fear of being judged. Fear of being deemed unworthy.

I firmly believe that submitting anything—whether you’re sending your manuscript to a novel contest or submitting short stories to a magazine—is one of the first steps to overcoming that fear and building your confidence as a writer. The more you put yourself, and your writing, out on that limb, the more comfortable you’ll become.

So don’t let fear stop you from entering contests. Lock your fear in the closet for a day. Tune out its critical, pessimistic voice. Show your fear who’s boss, and submit.