TIME FOR A CHANGE-UP; WRITING CONTESTS

 Hello,

It’s been quite a while since I’ve had the opportunity to take a moment to relax and share what I’ve been up to. In my last blog post, I wrote about what I’d learned that agents look for in sample pages, as well as links to where I’d found the information. I truly hope those words have helped you.

Personally, I have put those suggestions into practice by going over my own work. As a result, I’ve had a couple of agents, and one small publishing house, request my full manuscript. I was so excited I couldn’t help but crow about it to a few of my close friends and family. (I hope I didn’t jinx myself…not that I’m superstitious!)

Now, I’m biting my nails waiting to hear back from them. It takes time. Agents and publishers alike are inundated with queries and they must sort through them all. The query is your introduction, so that’s where you have to sell your story. That’s step one. Step two, if they find your query intriguing and want to see more, they’ll request pages . . . And then you wait to hear from them again.

Here’s a little piece of advice while you’re waiting: IT'S TIME FOR A CHANGE-UP!

Perhaps, to get your mind off your insecurities and hope of getting that one big break, maybe it’s time to look into writing contests and the like. As a matter of fact, I’ve already entered several contests such as Reader’s Favorite; an international competition with incredible prospects to expand your readership, promotional and publishing opportunities and, for those few lucky souls, a movie contract! It isn’t just for Indie authors but for unpublished works as well. Here’s the link. https://readersfavorite.com Just FYI, Reader's Favorite also provides free reviews.

A couple of my books have received 5 star reviews from Reader's Favorite!  Here are links to some of them. 

https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/black-harvest

https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/the-weapons-they-use

 

New Apple Book Award for Excellence in Independent Publishing is another great opportunity to get your work noticed. In 2014 my Indie novel, BLACK HARVEST, won the award for the Mystery category. It was an incredible boost to not only my morale, but also for my sales. Though their 2021 competition hasn’t opened yet, here’s the link so you can get a little head start. http://newappleliterary.com/

Another contest I’d taken advantage of was the Tulip Tree Wild Women short story contest. Another great one. Here’s the link if you want to learn more. http://www.tuliptreepub.com/tuliptree-review.htm

These are just a few I wanted to share with you and there are so many more. You can Google writing contests to find the one that is right for you. But, be warned, you need to be extremely cautious when entering. Do your research! There are some that are free to enter and others that charge fees; most are legitimate. But, unfortunately, there are also those out there who prey on a writer’s ambition to get read and accepted.

As one with a box filled with story ideas, half-written drafts and more percolating in the back of my mind, I have a multitude of options to enter into contests. How about you?

If you’re like me, writing is something that you can’t not do. I am sitting at my laptop every morning, with a cup of coffee at my elbow, before heading out to my nine-to-five. I usually only have about thirty to forty-five minutes but it’s my time to delve into my manuscript, (and I can’t count how many times I’d almost run late because I just couldn’t pull myself back out of it. Thank goodness I have a great boss!) I also find time, in the evenings, to get back to it. My weekends, however, are a mixture of frustration and routine. I have more time to submerse myself in my writing. But, reality always seems to inflict itself on me with the need to do laundry, grocery shopping, house cleaning and all those other mundane chores that force me out of my own little world.

Alas, this is a writer’s life. It doesn’t matter that I have to work a “day-job” to make ends meet, so long as I have my writing. It also doesn’t matter what life throws at me because creating new worlds and new friends has already gotten me through some of the most trying times in my life and will continue doing so.

If there is a moral to this post, it’s this: Writers write to maintain their own sanity. Normal people may not understand us but our characters do so, who cares what normal—and that is a relative term, by the way—people think?

In summation, when an agent or publisher requests more pages or the full manuscript, to keep from biting your nails in anticipation it's time to ENTER THOSE CONTESTS!!!! You’ll thank yourself for it later.

Oh! I almost forgot. There is a new Facebook page I wanted to share with all my writing friends. It was created after a twitter pitch fest last year called #PitMad. The Facebook page is called PitMad Hatters. It's a place where writers can bounce ideas off each other, receive peer advice and share critiques of their queries as well as crows about their successes and support when you receive yet another rejection letter. It's a great way for writers to help each other and learn in the process.

Until the next time.

Kate

www.kate-porter.net