On contests

part I out of II

This entry was inspired by a post by the lovely Storm Owl. You can check it out (and the rest of her blog) here. 

I recently surprised myself by entering two pitch contests (Nestpitch and Pitchslam). Why? Because I'm always a pessimist when it comes to contests--all contests, not just writing ones.

I'm not a competitive person. I never liked applying for scholarships, internships, or anything where the chances of receiving something are low because you have a thousand other people, just as qualified as you, vying for your spot. I convince myself that the statistics are against me, and that I might as well not compete. After all, there are other methods of getting to places, methods that don't require contests.

However, being pessimistic also helps sometimes, for me at least. As in when I do enter, I have zero expectations. Obviously they'll rise every now and then, but I'm quick to squash them.

I was been extremely fortunate to be chosen as a finalist in Pitchslam, and even more fortunate for HESPERIA, my YA fantasy, to garner some interest from agents.

But the key is here is fortunate. Because I know what I'm going up against when it comes to pitch contests. I'll generalize and say that writers are really hard-working, smart, motivated people, and they make for fierce competition. They're cognizant of the market, able to whip out some super high-concept, hooky premises and even hookier pitches, no matter the length.

Generally speaking, a lot of writers' first pages rock.

Which is why I was nervous entering the ring with HESPERIA. Having written my own share of gripping (or my attempts at) first pages, I knew where HESPERIA would be at a disadvantage.

Voice: Hesperia herself as a character is more subtle. Her voice is naturally muted, suppressed by the years she's been groomed to become queen.

Pacing/Action/Intrigue: She's running from the imperial maids. No one has died yet, no wars have broken out. No one mysterious or dangerous has appeared. Hesperia's actions could easily be interpreted as frolicking through the gardens.

Pitch: My comp titles (which weren't even included) are TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD meets GAME OF THRONES. Needless to say, the two don't exactly seem to mesh that well together at first glance and can leave the reader scratching her head. When it comes down to it, it's hard to package HESPERIA into a neat bundle of 35 words without stripping it down to its barest of bones and leaving stuff out--a lot of stuff out.

Do these things make HESPERIA a bad novel? No. The novel is certainly not perfect, but it accomplished my writer's vision and does what it needs to do.

The aforementioned things do not at all make HESPERIA a bad novel.

They DO, however, make it a harder novel to do well with in contests.

There will always be the manuscripts that are made for contests, just by nature of the premise, genre, characters, voice, etc. Granted, they may need some rewrites. They may need new beginnings. But at their cores, they can be contest-ready with some polish and shine.

Then there are the other manuscripts, the ones that aren't as photogenic in contests.

To clarify, I don't mean that these manuscripts will flounder and fail. First off, many are brilliant. Many of them will actually make it to the final rounds--I've seen it. But they require more work. Whatever the reason may be--bad timing, oversaturated genre, not as relatable characters--they are not as cooperative when you as a writer are trying to fit them into their best suits and dresses.

At that point, you have two choices. You can always (and I mean always) whip your manuscript into spectacular contest shape with the work. But sometimes, this may call for you to adjust your authorial vision. You might have to relinquish bits and pieces that you love. For example, you and your CP might love your first page, but it's not really doing its job in contests.

Do you change it? If you do, the contest-version first page might not necessarily be better that the first. It'll be better for contests and for the competitive contest atmosphere.

To sum up, always remember that "better" is relative once you've already poured the tears and sweat over your novel. You can't make everyone happy. Certain types of novels absolutely bask in contests and in front of audiences. And other types of novels are just as good but will fare better through different channels of achieving an agent/publication.

Have you ever had a novel that you worked hard on and personally loved, but didn't end up resonating with others?