By Rachel Dylan
No
matter what your genre, there seems to be a writing contest these days for
everyone—unpublished and published authors alike. Today I’d like to talk a bit
about contests for unpublished authors. I’m going to steal my own thunder and
tell you that I am answering the “to enter or not to enter” question in the
affirmative with a big and resounding, YES!
There
are many great reasons to enter writing contests, and I’d like to outline a few
of them here and talk about the benefits of contests.
1)
Fear—I think a lot of
authors, myself included, have the initial fear of having someone else read and
critique their work. The writing contest allows you to rip off the Band-Aid and
have a stranger provide an opinion. Not only will their opinion be more
objective than your friend or family member, but it will be an
opinion—sometimes a strong one, or even a negative one. But having that
experience is a crucial part of growing as an author. Which leads to point two.
2)
Feedback—Learning how to
take feedback is an important part of being an author. Once you put your story
out into the world, you will get lots of feedback, and not all of that feedback
will be positive. Contests are a great way of learning how to take the
feedback. Whether its readers, editors, agents, or other publishing industry
contacts, getting accustomed to having someone provide an opinion and feedback on
your work is invaluable. Which leads to the next point.
3)
Learning and
Growing—It’s
not just enough to take in the feedback, but what do you do with it? One of the
things I learned from contests is to recognize certain blind spots I might have
about my own writing. But it’s equally important to know when to stand your
ground. Take the feedback, use what you can, and don’t internalize the negative
comments. Remember that it is just one person’s opinion. It’s okay to have an
emotional reaction to feedback, but it is so important to keep growing as an
author to learn to accept criticism.
4)
Exposure—Yes, this is
what most writers are seeking from entering the contest—getting your pages in
front of an industry professional! Many contests have the final round judged by
editors and agents who can discover you and your story. This exposure is a
wonderful way to make contacts. Even if your current story isn’t for them, you
never know the contacts and connections you will make for the future.
These
are just some of the benefits of entering contests, and I hope it will
encourage you to take the leap and put your work out there into the world.
Rachel Dylan was
a litigator in one of Atlanta's most elite law firms for over eight years and
now works as an attorney at one of the Big Three automobile
manufacturers. She is the author of Deadly Proof and four
Love Inspired Suspense novels and lives in Michigan with her husband. She is
active on social media and you can visit her website at www.racheldylan.com.
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