How Valuable is Feedback to an Author? by Carol Malone
It’s been a long standing tradition that writing contests are not only good for finding those story jewels ready to be published, but they serve as a great platform for feedback even if the author doesn’t win the contest.
I know this from firsthand experience because I’ve entered and judged a number of contests during my writing career. I have received and given extremely thorough technical and emotional feedback so the writers will know what’s working well, what’s lacking, and what needs attention.
For that reason I love a good writing contest.
And speaking of great writing contests, my book coach and friend, Beth Barany and I have put our heads together and come up with a plan to help first-time novelists and all those aspiring authors out there in writer wonderland the opportunity to get valuable feedback on their first novels.
We are offering you the chance to enter a contest where your work will be in front of a judge, peer, reader, reviewer, and industry professional – ME!
I am an experienced contest judge. I love to read the sub-genres of romance and I review books for my website. I’m a creative coach and editor in training with Beth.
As a judge, peer, reader, and professional, I’ll be looking for an opening that will hook the reader and provide a setting that is clearly established quickly and concisely. I’ll be looking for characters who are unique, multi-dimensional, and sympathetic. I want them to face insurmountable conflicts and become stronger because of them. I’m looking for strong secondary characters – the best friend, the moms and dads, and the co-workers who love the main characters and want them to succeed. I’m looking for dialogue that moves the story forward, but is confrontational and doesn’t sound like you and me speaking at a coffee shop.
I’ll also be looking for a strong plot, a fresh style and your distinctive voice. Of course I’ll be looking for those pesky grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors. But I’m not expecting perfection. In fact, I usually determine that the writer with the greatest needs is the one I can help the most. Will you be that author who I will have the pleasure to critique and help?
But you won’t know if you’re the lucky winner unless you enter the contest.
We invite you to come to Beth’s website Writer’s Fun Zone and check out the requirements for the Romance Genre Contest for Aspiring Authors running now till December 18th.
If you are a beginning romance novelist who is unpublished either traditionally or self-published, this is the contest for you. It only costs $10.00 for our administrative fees and the gift certificates, but the feedback you’ll receive is priceless.
The real reward to authors who enter and participate in writing contests such as our Romance Genre Contest for Aspiring Authors is the chance for honest and sincere feedback from people who love to read and write, and in the long run, that sort of feedback can be worth more than the cost of the small entry fee we’re charging.
We hope you’ll enter the contest and receive that invaluable feedback on your writing. Good luck.
Click here to ENTER.
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About the Author
An award winning novelist, Carol Malone writes romantic suspense, rocketing readers into the past to uncover a hard-fought happily-ever-after. Based in coastal California, when not hammering out new tales, Carol reads, watches sports, the Food Network or HGTV, or spends time with her author husband. She loves to connect with her readers on her website, Twitter, and on Facebook.
Check out her books here:
Fight Card Romance: Ladies Night
