I wanted to share today about my first venture of submitting for the contest at ACFW. I don't do alot with the group, and probably should do more. But this year I wanted to try the Genesis contest.
I sent in the required pages from the second book I wrote, an inspirational romance. And then I forgot about it. But this week, after finding out I didn't place(didn't expect to!) they sent out the scores from the three judges.
It was money well spent. Each judge scored my entry from 1-5. They added detailed comments about story, characterization, conflict, dialogue and my strengths and weaknesses. Plus, they went through the story and added comments there as well.
I've mentioned before how inadequate I feel in the area of fiction. After getting back my results, all I can say is thank you to them for their abundance of encouragement and wonderful feedback. I think maybe they saved me from giving up on fiction.
I may not have made the cut but I received something even better--renewed hope that someday one of my books will be published:)
If you are debating whether or not to join ACFW, consider doing it for the Genesis contest alone if nothing else. I plan to submit again next year, and will hopefully have a cleaner, better manuscript to share.
13 comments:
Cool. I will have to look this up and see what it is all about. I love a good contest. Can you tell I am competetive?
Yay! I'm so glad you got great feedback. :-)
Good to know, as I've been considering membership. Thanks for the tip, and congrats on the great feedback!
I'm so glad to hear that the contest encouraged you!! So often we hear the opposite! And I agree, ACFW is a wonderful organization for Christian fiction writers.
I need to do more contests. Thank you. Blessings and prayers, andrea
PS: Hope things are going well. I have been thinking about you and praying for you!
Thanks for the feedback on your experience. It's wonderful that it's turned into an opportunity for growth. I keep wavering back on forth on joining ACFW. I can't enter the contest, but I know there will be other benefits. I just keep getting little nudgings toward "yes" so I think I'll do it.
Sounds like a good experience for you, and thanks for sharing it with your readers.
Little by little, step by step, line upon line ... it's the route taken by each every great. Ask Abraham Lincoln, or Walt Disney, or Beethovan.
You're on your way. That's huge. Congratulations!
Kathleen
Terri, that's what entering is all about, getting that invaluable feedback. I so appreciate judges who take that time to comment throughout the entry to give me some very real direction. Each year I've gained wonderful lessons from the judges.
Terri:
This is great! I'm so glad for you.
Feedback is the lifeblood of a writer, i think!
Jen
That's encouraging news! I'm so glad you received constructive feedback. It's so good to know that it's worth pursuing. So very happy for you!
that's how we improve through critiques and then revising-it's quite a process and encouragement certainly helps...I submit 12 poems last year to our writer's contest and didn't receive any rewards but I've redone many of them and am resubmitting them plus some articles in another category. Just that process focuses your work and improves your output.
If you find a contest beneficial, then you really got a great result! Contests can be a real crapshoot.
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