A Word about Contests and Publishing

I know, I know. I was going to write about Dark YA today, but (considering the Textnovel/Dorchester "America's Next Best Celler" contest announced the top ten yesterday) I decided I'd go for "timely." Yeah. Who'dda thunk it?

I've developed a few opinions regarding contests recently (thanks in part to the 1st TN one that landed me a contract and a few other contests I've checked into).

First, let me make this perfectly clear: If you compete in a contest you are already a winner. Why? Because it takes guts to put your work out there to be judged. You're putting a part of yourself on display and hoping for good stuff. I understand that. And I know that for everyone of you who had the guts to compete in "Best Celler" there are tons more who didn't have the guts to get in the mix.

As I was watching the announcements and congratulations flitting by on Twitter, I was also pretty certain I was watching a few hearts breaking. Knowing you've made it to a certain level and then being told you can't proceed--well, it sucks. And I noticed a few folks saying things like "just because you aren't right for Dorchester..." and "your time will come."

I want you to understand two things:

1.) If you continue pressing forward, honing your writing skills, working on things like query letters and high concept pitches, etc., and if you are determined to persevere (without bitterness and ego) you WILL make it. Regardless of what naysayers proclaim, publishing is a VERY open field. Keep writing. Believe in yourself and your story.

2.) And no matter what anyone says, keep in mind that although you may not be what Dorchester wants RIGHT NOW, IN THIS CONTEST lists change. What they want now may not be what they want in spring or summer. There are some publishing houses (like my publisher St. Martin's Press) that don't really work to a preconceived "list." They want good stories. If you catch their attention they'll find a home for you.

3.) I said there'd be two--right? This is why I didn't go into math... Look at all the good you have already gotten from this experience: You met some other talented authors and probably built some relationships; you pushed yourself forward with your writing and learned a bit about marketing and engaging readers; you tested your own hunger for getting published by a NYC publisher. I daresay you've learned a lot about yourself through this contest.

So where do you go from here if you didn't make top 10?

1.) You complete your manuscript. Heck, try and do it to the same specs Dorchester has at the Textnovel Blog.
2.) Try doing your jacket copy (and see how the top 10's turn out--compare, contrast, learn a little more). That jacket copy can potentially be used in your query or synopsis, so it's not like the experience is wasted.
3.) Do some research. Who do you SERIOUSLY want to be published by? Maybe it's Dorchester. And maybe not. Make sure you're ready to exceed the expectations of the publishing house you really want (but don't get all "I'm so much better than this author, they HAVE to want me").
4.) Begin to build your platform and brand.
5.) Figure out if you need an agent or not. If you need one, get one. Be careful though. Some are good and some aren't (and there are all sorts of degrees in between).
6.) Do your query letter, your synopsis, your outline.
7.) Submit to your dream publishers first.
8.) Persevere.

You can do this!
~Shannon

(Another) America's Next Best Celler Semifinals Afterparty Post!

I confess that by throwing up this post, I'm usurping our dear Shannon's blog post day, so before you start partying down, please go read her amazing thoughts on contests and waiting beneath this post. You'll be glad you did. Leave her a comment, too, because our Shannon, she's the real deal. We're grateful to have her here.

Now, fire up the grill and mix up a vat of margaritas, cuz it's official. The top twenty in Dorchester Publishing's Next Best Celler contest @ textnovel have been posted. And that gives us another excuse to party down here at the Textnovel Divas blog!

We did it!

Come join us as we cut up, share funny stories, tell how our stories began...whatever ribaldry happens to hit the comments thread. Got questions about the contest? About what it's like to write a textnovel? Want to know our dirty secrets? Go ahead, ask them.

We might even be up for a spot of textnovel-ish truth or dare if you ply us with enough margaritas! :)

With that said. Party on, dude-ettes!

Waiting IS the Hardest Part: Welcome to Publishing ;-)

So, although I didn't compete in the Dorchester contest through Textnovel.com I can relate to waiting for results. I have to say (sorry) it seems to be a major part of being in the publishing business. But there's hope. There's always hope. ;-)

We wait to know how we've done in contests (anywhere from a week to a couple months), we wait to hear back from agents (sometimes for up to eight months), we wait to hear from editors and their publishing houses (can be another month or two there) and then we wait on lawyers about contracts (usually at least once, but they're often the quickest part in the process).

Then we wait for revision notes (I've been lucky here--not long, but some take a few months), release date (totally hinges on the publisher's meeting schedule), copyedits (also, not long for me, but it depends), cover art, galleys (about a month and a half to two months from when copyedits get back to the editor--at least in my publishing house) and then--finally--we wait to see the book on the shelves (in my case, almost six months after galleys).

By the time our book lands on shelves it's often been a year and a half to two years since we signed a contract. It can really wear on you--the waiting.

But.

The good news is, every step in that very drawn out process feels like an amazing victory. Seriously. Every step forward helps build your author's momentum back up (and there are TONS of things you have to do personally between each of those steps--so it's not like you're twiddling your thumbs).

You'll also get bits of good and great news throughout the process--interview requests you didn't expect, interest from Hollywood producers and (just yesterday for us) news you've sold translation rights to the Hungarians (eh, maybe you'll get a different country to start the ball rolling--me? Hungary :-). Stuff like that makes it feel like the time's flying!

So, the waiting may be the hardest part, but as an author, just keep pushing forward. Build that momentum so your dreams snowball into something huge and great.

Hugs to the Divas--you're all winners from where I sit!

~Shannon (<--the chick whose publishers just sold translation rights for 13 TO LIFE to the Hungarians and whose brother says she should use that $ to have the Hungarian version re-translated back into English. "It'll be like a totally different book," he says. *snort*)

Showing It Off: Textnovel, Dorchester, and Other Contests That Can Get You Hot.

Contest. The very idea of allowing people read my writing so that they can judge it freaks me out. Not as bad as before I entered my first contest, the Dorchester "Next Best Celler" contest on Textnovel, but I still get a little light-headed at the thought.

I am as inexperienced an author as you can get. I have never won anything. I had never entered anything. In fact, I had been living vicariously through my writer's group, made up of two other authors. Both are published, but for the record, Deborah had been previously been ensconced in non-fiction and Shannon's first book doesn't come out until June of 2010.

In the group, I was the "brain stormer". We would outline plots and toy around with twists. I brought FAE NIGHTS to work on, read aloud a few parts of it, but never shared the manuscript the way my fellow authors did. Why? It felt like I was standing naked in front of them and asking them to paint me with latex.

That is when it began. We were bitten by the contest bug. First Shannon won last year's Textnovel contest, and you can see what happened to her. She obtained the writer's dream of 3 book deal. Deborah enters many RWA contests and recently won the 2009 RWA "Best of the Best" : Contemporary Romantic Suspense award.

How freakin' cool is that?

In June, a few days before my birthday, Shannon called to tell me that I had to enter the Textnovel/Dorchester. No ifs. No ands. And certainly no buts.

What she didn't know was that I had just spent 5 hours sitting in front of my computer, first chapter of FAE NIGHTS loaded, my finger poised over the "Save this chapter" button.

5 hours of wondering, of worrying, of heart palpitations. Remember, Shannon and Deborah had only been allowed glimpses of my work, and I trusted them. Here I was about to strip totally naked online.

By the time she called, I had already been breathing into a paper bag for a few minutes.

I can tell you, it isn't that bad. In fact, I still have the giddy feeling when people vote for me. It's inspiring, and I am so grateful. I wonder now why hadn't I done this before?

I also wonder if entering contests will help me in the long run. I am toying with the idea of doing more after Textnovel/Dorchester is over. I also think about writing for anthologies and actually getting paid for the time I put in. What I would like to know, well, need to know, is what everyone else has done? What are your newbie author stories? What was your big break?

For those who are on the aspiring writer boat with me, here are some websites that will may get your work on the path to awardom. I wish you luck!

Lists of contests:
The Open Directory List powered by AOL of writer's contests, including the Writer's Digest Competitions.

Erotica Readers and Writers Association Along with contest listings, there are also lists of publishers looking for specific submissions, ranging from light romance to erotica.

Romance Writer's of America In addition to the Golden Heart and RITA awards, many of the local chapters have their own they sponsor, such as The West Houston Chapter's EMILY Award, which Deborah won in 2009! See Chapter Contests and Awards

Textnovel You have until November 1st to enter the Dorchester Romance Contest and get 20 chapters up, but Textnovel also has a yearly contest with a $1000 award.

For my future submissions to anthologies, magazines, e-zines, etc, I have to say that Duotrope is the best site hands down. I know, I know, I mentioned them last blog too, but this site totally deserves all the kudos I can give.

By the way, Deborah's award winning novel, WITCH EVER WAY YOU CAN can be read on Textnovel, as can Shannon's 13 TO LIFE, which you will also find on a bookseller's shelf near you in 2010.

Read, Vote, Subscribe!

Brightest Blessings!
Robin

A Little Bit About Cell Phone Novels:

What are an aspiring romance novelist's dreams made of? Well, besides the obvious, naughty things, a chance at getting your book picked up by a major publishing house is pretty good! Dorchester's Press Release:

Cell Us Your Novel

Publisher Seeks New Romantic Voices through Social Networking Venture

New York City—Dorchester Publishing and Textnovel announce their partnership in an innovative writing competition for aspiring novelists. Beginning today, authors ages 18 and older are invited to participate in America’s Next Best Celler, a literary challenge that pairs the emergent cellular generation with the traditional publishing model. The contest will award a guaranteed publishing contract with Dorchester, the publisher who discovered and nurtured the careers of New York Times bestsellers Victoria Alexander, Christine Feehan and Lynsay Sands.

America’s Next Best Celler utilizes Textnovel’s unique business model that allows authors and readers to create, read and share serialized fiction via today’s most popular and ubiquitous technologies. The site encourages readers to subscribe to developing works of fiction which are disseminated in chapter-length installments via cell phones and email over a period of time. Subscribers offer direct feedback to authors and vote for their favorite serials, fostering an intimacy between artist and fan similar to reality television.

Textnovel was created in response to the literary movement that exploded in Japan a little over two years ago which produced an entirely new genre that now dominates their mainstream publishing industry. In 2007, five of Japan’s ten best-selling novels originated as cell phone serials. Many of the serials, such as Love Sky written by a debut novelist and read by 20 million people, have been adapted for TV series and movies.

With faster cell phone networks and data plans now available, the U.S. market has the potential to experience even more success than Japan. “Textnovel’s business model could revolutionize the entire publishing industry,” says Brooke Borneman, Dorchester’s Sales and Marketing Director. According to Maho no i-rando (Magic Island), Japan’s first and largest mobile novel portal, the site has six million registered users, representing roughly 5% of the country’s population. “When applying this percentage to the U.S. population of over 300 million people, the potential to build name recognition for authors is simply staggering,” states Borneman.

A collision of multiple cultural and societal influences has created the ideal situation for the resurgence of the serial which traces its roots to Victorian era novelists Charles Dickens, George Elliott and William Makepeace Thackeray. “Our increasingly fast-paced and chaotic lifestyles have created challenges for many individuals who can’t or won’t make the time to read. Between fragmented attention spans, the enthusiasm and devotion cultivated by fan participation in reality television and the social networking revolution, we think the time is perfect to bring readers and writers together through Textnovel and we hope to discover America’s Next Best ‘Celler,’” says Borneman.

Dorchester is seeking contest entries in any of the following romantic sub-genres: historical, paranormal, urban fantasy, high fantasy, futuristic, romantic suspense or humorous contemporary. For complete contest details, including rules and regulations, please visit www.dorchesterpub.com or www.textnovel.com.

About Dorchester Publishing
Dorchester Publishing has published mass market books since 1971, making it the oldest independent mass market publisher in America. Known for its collection of best-selling romance novels, Dorchester also publishes award-winning horror, thrillers and western titles, as well as the Hard Case Crime line of pulp-style mysteries. In addition, Dorchester distributes the bestselling Family Doctor series of health guides in the US and Canada. Website: http://www.dorchesterpub.com

About Textnovel
Textnovel is a social network for authors and readers of serial fiction and the first English language cell phone novel website, allowing members to write and read fiction with their cell phones or computers, using text messaging, email and online tools. Textnovel also offers literary agency services to aspiring novelists. Website: http://www.textnovel.com

Dorchester Publishing Press Release site

Out From Under The Covers

This world is a changing, and you can be bedside! Texting Between The Sheets features Textnovel's up-and-coming authors in the romance genre. They are on the fringe of a technological boom already seen in Japan, the cell phone novel. Think Dickens--with an iPhone. You'll find links to their work, their causes, and their creative genius.