Workshop: FINALS,
FLOPS & FEEDBACK
By Stacey
Kayne
I.
Finals, Flops & Feedback -
Defining expectations and strategies to get the most out of your feedback.
II.
Contest Selection - Breaking down
contest components to find the best fit and increase your odds to final.
III.
Headers, Hooks & Rules
- Entry preparation, make every point count.
**
This workshop is geared toward new contest entrants.
I. FINALS, FLOPS & FEEDBACK: Defining expectations and
strategies to get the most out of
your feedback.
Quick Tips:
1. Know what you’re after; feedback, resume
building, skipping the slush pile.
2. You don’t have to finish the manuscript
to enter regional contests.
3. Enter more than one contest at a time.
4. Trust your voice. Advice is great, but ultimately it’s your
story.
5. Sometimes feedback is more useful/helpful
than a final.
6. Developing rhino skin can be a good
thing.
7. Don’t get discouraged by love/hate
feedback.
8. Polish the BOOK, not the entry.
- Contests can be a useful tool for writers at
every level. They’re a great
insight to the reader perspectives, a way to gauge whether we’ve
conveyed all we see in our minds onto the page. For new writers, contest feedback
can help to validate talent as well as identify strengths and weakness
to help sharpen and polish writing skills. Contest finals can add writing merit
to a query letter, or allude to likes and dislikes of certain
editors/agents. And then
there’s the ultimate prize, a request to read the full manuscript by
the judging editor/agent, which in all likelihood, could lead to a
sale.
- For most contests (check the rules) entrants are
not required to have a finished manuscript. Although the manuscript doesn’t need
to be complete, I definitely recommend the writer have a firm handle
on the story and where it’s going.
Personally, I’m glad I started entering contests early on,
before I’d spent all that time writing the entire manuscript
incorrectly—what a chore it would have been to fix! Living in the middle of Timbuktu
with no online access at the time, the contests in the RWR were my first
and only form of critiques (expensive, but effective). I was as green as they come. I didn’t understand any of the
acronyms written all over the entries I’d gotten back. POV—Point of View. GMC—Goals, Motivation &
Conflict. H/H—Hero &
Heroine. LOL—Laughing Out
Loud. Thank goodness one of the
judges included her name and answered my SOS.
- For new writers, my best advice is to enter
more than one contest with close return dates. A wide range of feedback can help
weed out one judge’s personal hang-ups or preferences opposed to solid
helpful suggestions. For
example, if three or four judges comment on a confusing POV (point of
view) shift on page six, odds are there may be a POV glitch on page
six. If one judge mentions a
problem with POV and five others don’t, perhaps that one judge is a
POV purist or simply didn’t read carefully. Bottom line, watch for consistency
in comments. This can be a good
indication of a rough spot that needs smoothing–or not. That’s for you to decide.
- Trust YOUR voice.
If I’ve learned anything about the vast variety and
complexities of contest judges, it’s that you can’t and won’t please
them all. You shouldn’t try to. Know
what you’re getting. Subjective
opinions of your work—but the greatest opinion comes from within. One
judge may rave about your writing and another may not see its
worth--only YOU can decide what works for you, your style and your
story. Use the comments that
ring true to you and discard the rest.
An area one or more judge may view as flawed doesn’t
necessarily mean it needs fixing. Sometimes a judge simply won’t click
with your story, voice or style.
The same can be said for editors. What one editor passes on, another
will snatch up.
- I’ve never considered a non-finaling entry to be
a waste. In fact, I’ve gotten
some of the best critiques from contests I didn’t final in. It’s also no justice to the writer
for an entry to final before it’s ready to land on an editor or
agent’s desk. By the same
token, not every deserving entry will final. Luck of the draw with judges does
play a huge part in making it to the final round. I’ve given perfect scores to entries
that didn’t reach the final round, which in my opinion should
have. On the bright side, I
have seen those same entries go on to final in other contests.
- Anonymous no-holds-barred feedback, although
sometimes hard to take, when delivered in a constructive tone, can be
truly beneficial to a writer’s growth.
Unfortunately, rude, abrasive comments are also a hazard of contests. A few tactless judges have called my
heroes profanities and mocked the notion that I possessed an ounce
talent. Many contest
coordinators make a sincere effort to prevent this type of feedback
and appreciate being alerted to these kinds of comments so they can
adjust their judging list for the following year. In my experience, good critiques far
outweigh the bad—and the bit of harshness I’ve received has helped
develop the rhino skin of a writer.
The fact is, not everyone will love our work. Even best-selling authors find
themselves the target of scathing reviews and reader criticism. This is also why I suggest entering
more than one contests; a wider range of feedback will emphasize
constructive critiques and expose any crackpot comments as just
that. Apply any feedback you
deem beneficial and dump the rest.
- If you happen to be one of those entrants getting
really high scores and one rotten score that knocks you from the
finals, it can be maddening, but don’t get discouraged. Celebrate the readers responding to
your work and keep at it!
- MOST IMPORTANT: Don’t lose sight of the whole
story. Be sure to apply any
helpful feedback to the entire manuscript. A glowing first chapter and a wonderful
synopsis won’t result in a SALE.
FINISH the manuscript and SUBMIT. Then write another one.
II. CONTEST SELECTION: Breaking down contest components
to find the best fit and increase your odds to final.
What’s
the best contest to enter? Frankly,
the quality of a contest can change from year to year—and coordinators are
always revising and working to improve contest formats. With so many contests (and entry fees),
there are many different components to be considered.
- Final Judge(s): Are they someone you’d want
a REQUEST from, a house you’re targeting?
- Preliminary (first-round) Judges: How many
do you get--1, 2, 3, 4? When entering for feedback, this can
make a huge difference. The
more judges, the more critique you get for your buck, and the more
likely they are to drop the lowest score (always a great
aspect!). Having more judges also helps when evaluating
feedback and comparing comments.
- Page Count: 10, 20 , 30, 50 page
contest? Does that include a synopsis? Personally, I
prefer the higher counts (20 pages and over), with a synopsis requirement--in
my experience, those yield higher REQUESTS. As painful as the
synopsis is to write, they are a key marketing tool, so the sooner
it’s written and critiqued, the better. Also, if a hero and heroine don’t
meet until page 40 or so, that manuscript is likely to score best in a
50 page contest like Golden Rose: www.rosecityromancewriter.com,The
Golden Gateway: www.fthrw.com, or The
Golden Pen: www.thegoldennetwork.com.
- Final Score Equation: Do they offer
discrepancy judges or drop the lowest score? A frequent recipient of love/hate
reactions from readers/judges—I’m a huge fan of discrepancy judges. Although, in some contests, the low
score is averaged in with the discrepancy score, which still hurts the
final total, and in most cases, prevents a final. In my opinion, the BEST contests
have 3 or more preliminary judges and a built-in discrepancy by
dropping the lowest score.
- Score sheet: Is it compatible with your entry? This can make a difference in
reaching the final round. Most
contests will post the scoresheets on their website. If the scoresheet focuses on strong
romantic elements between the H/H in the first chapter, but your H/H
don't get together until chapter 2, that contest may not work best for
that ms.
- Convenience is a new issue. More contests are offering online
entry and payment, such as TGN’s Golden Pen http://www.thegoldennetwork.com
, FTHRW’s Golden Gateway http://www.fthrw.com/contest/goldengateway/
and HHRW’s Romance Through the Ages http://www.heartsthroughhistory.com/contest.htm
offer a big savings in time and postage for the writers.
- Time Frame: Does it have a fast turn
around, or will I have to wait forever and a day to get the
results? Some contests return
packets in as soon as two months, others can take up to seven months. If patience is an issue, this might
be something to consider.
III. HEADERS, HOOKS & RULES: Entry preparation—every point
counts!
Cracking the Header Code
Contest header requirements
can be tricky buggers because they vary from contest to contest, so be sure
to follow rule specifications.
Seems no two contests want the same info.
Tips:
- DO NOT leave your name in the header—a big
contest no-no. This is grounds
for instant disqualification.
- Place header within the one inch margin. I set my header at .3 in Page Set
Up—this gives a nice gap between the header and the body of the
text.
- CAP your title—no bold.
- Keep header info on one line.
- Page number on the far left side—nothing fancy,
JUST the number.
- Font should be the same size and font as used in
the body of the document.
- Separation dashes are up to the author’s
discretion. I’ve used *, ~, -,
/ without incident.
Formatting
examples of different header requirements:
Title, category and page count:
THE COUNTESS AND THE COWBOY~ Historical ~ 110,000 words
Title, category, sub genre:
TOO HOT TO HANDLE – Contemporary – Desire
Title, category, page count, targeted market:
TAKING CHANCES/ Single Title/ 90,000 words/ Avon, Pocket . . .
HOOKS – Where to end and
begin your entry
My advice pertains to
contests that begin with the first chapter/prologue. One great aspect about these contests is
they make you focus on those opening pages—the first sample of your work an
editor or agent will read.
Opening Hooks
Does the opening scene grab
the reader, pull them into the story?
Are setting and main character(s) established? Is enough conflict revealed to propel
your reader to read further? These
are all important aspects for hooking your reader.
Making It Fit
I do NOT recommend
chopping up your manuscript to fit a contest—changes should be made to
benefit the manuscript overall.
Maybe your first chapter is 21 pages and you really want to enter
the whole chapter in a 20-page
contest—editing it down might actually tighten the manuscript. Be sure any changes made are changes
you’d want to stick with. In the
same respect, if examining your manuscript for a contest has you wishing
you could start your entry with chapter two or three, because that’s where
the story really starts hopping, perhaps that’s an indicator for a stronger
opening to the story. Or not. This is just something to consider. Bottom line, polish the manuscript, not
the entry.
Ending Hooks
Never end an entry
mid-sentence. A fifteen, twenty or
thirty page contest represents the maximum allowed pages. Find the best ending within that frame,
preferably at a high point of tension or humor, even if this leaves your
entry a page or so short of the maximum total.
Standard Manuscript Format
Although header, font, and
page number requirements vary from contest to contest, proper industry
formatting used for submissions is standard for most contests. Here are some steps to ensure your entry
will look clean and professional:
- 1” margins on all sides.
- Double spaced—to provide 25 lines per page. For Word users, this is achieved by
going into Format and choosing ‘Exactly’ in the line spacing options,
and 25 for ‘pt.’ option.
- Be sure window orphans are OFF to ensure you’re
getting 25 lines per page.
Controls are in the Line and Page Break section, the tab behind
paragraph formatting for Word users.
- Header placed within the top 1” margin. I set my header at .3 in Page
Setup.
- Title of manuscript should be in all CAPS. Also, the header should be the same
font and size as the body of the document.
- Page number on left side of header. Nothing fancy. Just the number. Again, same font and size as the
body of the document.
- Always indicate italics by underling the
word(s).
- 12 pt. font, Courier or Times New Roman are
usually preferred. See font
segment below.
Times New Roman or
Courier?
- Check the RULES.
Some contests require Courier.
Others leave it up to the author to decide. Personally, if there is an option
between the two, I let the manuscript decide. Depending on the page count for the
contest, which font ends the entry with the best hook?
Spacing
after periods and em-dashes
· These two
points seem to draw the most debate.
Traditionally, a period is followed by two spaces in a
manuscript. Proponents of the
two-space rule argue that this has been the standard since Creation and a manuscript
is supposed to look as close to typed as possible, not typeset. Others say this rule no longer applies
and a single space after a period is fine.
You’ll have to decide which style you prefer. Just make it consistent.
- There doesn’t seem to be any real consensus on
the em-dash. The majority of
formatting sources will tell you to use a double hyphen (--) to
indicate an em-dash, but others contend a single hyphen is fine. It seems to be a matter of
style. Like the spacing after a
period, just be consistent with whatever style you decide to use. Also, there are no spaces between
the em-dash and the words on either side of it.
Example of First Page Setup
(Indent 1/3 down the page--approximately 8 returns)
THE COUNTESS AND THE COWBOY
Chapter One
Arizona Territory ~ 1871
It was a dark and stormy night . . .
Helpful Manuscript
Formatting websites:
HollyLisle.com – How to
Format a Manuscript by Holly Lisle
http://hollylisle.com/fm/Articles/manuscript_formatting.html
Manuscript Formatting for
Beginners – by Kent Brewster
www.speculations.com/format.htm
Manuscript Formatting – by
Lee Masterson
www.fictionfactor.com/articles/format.html
Proper Manuscript Format –
William Shunn
www.shunn.net/writing/coach/format.html
Manuscript Preparation – by
John Gregory Betancourt
www.sfwa.org/writing/format_betancourt.htm
*~* Special thanks to Carla
Capshaw of the TARA RWA chapter for providing these links and the above
segment on periods and em-dashes *~*
~**~**~**~**~**~**~
Stacey Kayne : A four-time Golden Heart finalist and
crowned Contest Diva in 2005, Stacey finalled in over sixty regional
writing contests with ten different manuscripts before selling her first
western historical romance to Harlequin Historical in 2006. Over the following year she sold all
eight of her western historical manuscripts. Stacey credits generous
contest judges for giving her important pointers with her first newbie
entries in 2001, and the motivation of the contest process for keeping her
focused on the next book and the next deadline during those tough
pre-published days. She proudly snubs her nose at those crackpot contest
judges who didn’t jive with her western heroes and were tactless enough to
tell her she’d never sale.
“Be true to your
voice, finish the book, polish your work, and SUBMIT—and then
always start the next book.” J
