The
Magic Bullet: Q&A for Writers
Posted: January 12, 2007
© Jane Friedman
Q: I have read a lot of books in my time and find the
stories that are entered in contests are not that interesting. Doesn't
the winner depend on what the judge likes? Also, how do I know if
I am good, or how I can do better, if I can't let an authority read
it? Thank you, Roxanne
A: Writing contests definitely have personalities, and the quality
of the winners often depends upon the type of contest. Is it a large-scale
national contest that attracts thousands of entries? Or is it a
modest regional contest that may attract only a few dozen entries?
The size of the entry pool matters a lot to the quality of the winner,
as does the prestige of winning the contest. Just as you would match
up your work to the right market—when attempting to publish
a piece—you should match up your work with the right contest
for your genre and experience.
You're right that contest judges do matter. Their bios/backgrounds
often give you an idea of the level or tone of the contest. If you've
read or enjoyed the work of a particular judge (assuming he or she
is a published author), and you think your work shares the same
sensibility, then all the better. (That's not to say that judges
don't make surprising choices or go against the grain in their selections.)
I had the opportunity to manage several different types of contests
run by Writer's Digest. We often used first-round judges who sifted
through thousands of entries in an effort to pull out the cream
of the crop (e.g., the top one or two percent). Then a big-name
judge would make final selections. In some cases, a group of editors
would decide the grand-prize winner, and rarely did everyone in
the room agree. I've often seen the best piece (in my opinion) lose
out to a more crowd-pleasing piece. It can be quite subjective.
Recently, there has been some controversy surrounding writing contests.
Some writers feel they unscrupulously profit from entry fees and/or
use biased judges. One site, www.Foetry.com,
has attempted to raise a red flag on some contests, though their
efforts have been highly criticized and controversial as well. But
I think it is a needed wake-up call.
As far as knowing if you're any good, you might never know for
sure. And nobody can tell you—even if they could, would it
really matter? Wouldn't you still have the same question the next
day (or with the next piece)? One thing's for sure: You'll write
crap for a long time before you write something good. Even published
writers struggle to write something good; everyone has shitty first
drafts, as Anne Lamott says. You might want to read a book like
Bird by Bird by Lamott to help you understand and work through
this problem—because it's not going away any time soon.
However, I don't advise you to write in a vacuum; eventually you
will need outside readers to tell you what's working and what's
not. But an authority is hardly required; all you need is one, insightful
reader who will give you an honest opinion.
___
Jane Friedman is an editorial director at F+W
Publications, where she oversees several imprints, including Writer's
Digest Books and Writer's Market Books. She is the author of The
Beginning Writer's Answer Book (Writer's Digest Books, 2006).
Past Q&A Columns:
December 21, 2006
December 13, 2006
November 30, 2006
November 20, 2006
September 7, 2006
August 31, 2006
August 25, 2006
August 18, 2006
August 9, 2006
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