Do you think your MR or YA is contest material?

[wurdwise]

I found a link last week for a contest by Delacorte Yearling, a division of Random House, for unpublished middle reader or YA novelist. I have decided to enter it, and now the doubts have started creeping in, that little devil in the back of my mind saying, "are you nuts? your novel isn't good enough to win a contest, least not one of that caliber."

Is anyone else here entering? If so, do you feel this way? If you aren't entering, why not?

[Christine N.]

I can't - if it's the contest I'm thinking of, it's for first time authors only. :( I would love to, though!

[cwgranny]

I think you should sub. The Delacorte is a great contest and it'll get your feet wet for the submission process. After all, the worst that can happen is that you won't win and really no matter how great your novel is -- there's always that chance.

gran

[wurdwise]

Thanks, Granny. I am going to do it, but I have no illusions of winning. I'd probably die of heart failure! :faint: Still, the deadline and the thought that it's for a contest are making me work harder to get it finished and try to make it better as I go. One thing, though. I do hold a sliver of hope that someone might take notice and pass my manuscript along to someone else!

[cwgranny]

I have heard from folks who DIDN'T win contests like that but who did get asked by editors to revise and resubmit to them for possible publication...so one never knows.

gran

[wurdwise]

Cool!

[JoeEkaitis]

Too late for me. Gotta contract under my belt already.

[cwgranny]

Which is also very cool.

gran

[imaginelane]

If I had one ready, oh yes, I would. If it's a big contest or company, I would like that better than smaller time. I would see it as more of a chance to really be able to do what I wanted. But, yes, rejection stinks, too, though, then again, with a bigger company, the sting really isn't so big, because you can figure that they just had loads of really good entries. I am really wanting to get mine done when I hear of opportunities like big contests! I am doing illustrations that are detailed and I want them 'just so', which means even if I were actively working on the YA, I wouldn't be done anytime soon.:Shrug: