{"id":1493,"date":"2019-09-18T02:58:35","date_gmt":"2019-09-18T09:58:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/?p=1493"},"modified":"2019-09-18T02:58:35","modified_gmt":"2019-09-18T09:58:35","slug":"contest-queen-mfrwauthor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/18\/contest-queen-mfrwauthor\/","title":{"rendered":"Contest Queen #MFRWauthor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1495\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/18\/contest-queen-mfrwauthor\/woman-writing-in-the-notebook\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Depositphotos_19677259_s-2019_EnteringContest.jpg?fit=689%2C1000&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"689,1000\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;13&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;DSLR-A900&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;attractive blond woman writing in the notebook&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1352297428&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;85&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;woman writing in the notebook&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"woman writing in the notebook\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Depositphotos_19677259_s-2019_EnteringContest.jpg?fit=689%2C1000&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-1495\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Depositphotos_19677259_s-2019_EnteringContest.jpg?resize=129%2C187&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Entering a writing contest\" width=\"129\" height=\"187\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Depositphotos_19677259_s-2019_EnteringContest.jpg?resize=207%2C300&amp;ssl=1 207w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Depositphotos_19677259_s-2019_EnteringContest.jpg?w=689&amp;ssl=1 689w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 129px) 85vw, 129px\" \/>Personally, I think it\u2019s worth entering writing contests. I am a Contest Queen. Or least a Princess. Or\u2026okay, a Duchess. But I do like contests. I don\u2019t enter a <em>huge<\/em> number of them because the cost can run up. But I did enter the <a href=\"http:\/\/solawriters.org\">Dixie Kane Memorial Contest<\/a>\u00a0for several years running (placing 1st for three years), and also the <a href=\"http:\/\/garomancewriters.org\">Maggie Contest<\/a>, where I\u2019ve placed 1st, 3rd, and Honorable Mention. I need that 2nd place spot for a full house! This year my novel <strong><em>Only a Good Man Will Do<\/em><\/strong> placed 1st in the <a href=\"http:\/\/lvrwa.org\">I Heart Indie<\/a> contest!!<\/p>\n<p>What are the positives of entering contests?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The sense of affirmation you get if your book is honored. This isn\u2019t a small thing\u2014we all need the pat on the back.<\/li>\n<li>For winning both the Maggie and the Dixie Kane contests, my work was requested by agents. Having your work read by an agent was the 1st place prize in the Dixie Kane. (Sadly, I took a hiatus from writing for a few years and it looks like the Dixie Kane might not be held any longer.)<\/li>\n<li>You get (usually) useful feedback about your work. There are always ways to improve and the judges will tell you what they see.<\/li>\n<li>It gets your name in front of people\u2014sometimes influential people. Judges are readers, too, and if they like what they read of yours they might try a book and tell their friends, who (guess what!) are also readers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So what\u2019s against entering contests?<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1494\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/18\/contest-queen-mfrwauthor\/gold-pencil-trophy-isolated-on-white-background-3d-illustration\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Depositphotos_230099552_s-2019_Award.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1000,667\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Gold pencil trophy isolated on white background 3D illustration.&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Gold pencil trophy isolated on white background 3D illustration.&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Gold pencil trophy isolated on white background 3D illustration.\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Depositphotos_230099552_s-2019_Award.jpg?fit=840%2C560&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-image-1494 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Depositphotos_230099552_s-2019_Award.jpg?resize=227%2C151&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Writing contest award\" width=\"227\" height=\"151\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Depositphotos_230099552_s-2019_Award.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Depositphotos_230099552_s-2019_Award.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Depositphotos_230099552_s-2019_Award.jpg?w=1000&amp;ssl=1 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 227px) 85vw, 227px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>They all require a fee. I\u2019ve paid as little as $15, but the average cost\u2014especially if you are entering a contest sponsored by an RWA chapter to which you don\u2019t belong\u2014is about $30. I looked into a national contest last spring that required $100 to enter!!<\/li>\n<li>Some contests don\u2019t give feedback. The judges assign a score for story traits but don\u2019t add anything to say what you did well or poorly.<\/li>\n<li>It takes time to gather the material you need to enter. Every contest is different and they ask for different things.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For me, the benefits outweigh the negatives. I\u2019ve entered four contests this year and when my new book is released (<strong><em>One Woman Only<\/em><\/strong> in October), I\u2019ll be entering it in contests. Jump in! Most of the chapters (or other organizations) use contests to make the money they need to offer events to their members, so it helps them and you!<\/p>\n<p>Read the next blog in the blog hop by going <a href=\"http:\/\/mfrw52week.blogspot.com\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nomadauthors.com\/deesknight\/\">Dee<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/322Ziq3\">Mystic Desire<\/a>: A collection of supernatural tales sure to keep you up at night, peering into the shadows! Or just wide awake, reading.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2q7ovi4\">Only a Good Man Will Do<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2q7Jp0S\">Naval Maneuvers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Personally, I think it\u2019s worth entering writing contests. I am a Contest Queen. Or least a Princess. Or\u2026okay, a Duchess. But I do like contests. I don\u2019t enter a huge number of them because the cost can run up. But I did enter the Dixie Kane Memorial Contest\u00a0for several years running (placing 1st for three &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/18\/contest-queen-mfrwauthor\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Contest Queen #MFRWauthor&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5,3,1],"tags":[801,804,803,805,802,806,800],"class_list":["post-1493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-author-information","category-general","category-uncategorized","tag-dixie-kane-memorial-contest","tag-georgia-romance-writers","tag-i-heart-indie","tag-las-vegas-rwa","tag-maggie-contest","tag-southern-louisiana-writers","tag-writing-contests"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9wA33-o5","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1493"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1509,"href":"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1493\/revisions\/1509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}