Oct 11, 2008 | Celebrations, Contests, Writing |
You can still sign up for my newsletter and enter yourself for a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card!
By signing up, you agree that you will receive emails from me on occasion. I promise not to share your address with anyone.
I'll draw for a winner on Tuesday, October 28th. I'll announce it on the blog and send you an email. You will have 48 hours to get in touch with me and give me your snail mail addy before I redraw.
Click to join lynnrayeharrisnews
What did I realize? I'm ineligible for the Golden Heart! Being a finalist last year was amazing, but now I'll never have a chance to win. Ah well. 🙂 I'll cheer my friends instead!
Oct 10, 2008 | Celebrations, Contests, Promotion |
Hey, I'm celebrating my two-book sale with my friends over at The Writing Playground today! Come on over and say hello!
I'm also having my first official contest!!
Sign up for my newsletter and I'll enter you in a drawing for a $25 Barnes & Noble Gift Card.
By signing up, you agree that you will receive emails from me on occasion. I promise not to share your address with anyone.
I'll draw for a winner on Tuesday, October 28th. I'll announce it on the blog and send you an email. You will have 48 hours to get in touch with me and give me your snail mail addy before I redraw.
Click to join lynnrayeharrisnews
Sign up and then come on over and party!
Jul 18, 2008 | Contests
Harlequin Mills & Boon are having another contest! This time, the category is Modern Heat. As the happy, lucky, astounded winner of the Presents contest, I can personally vouch for how fabulous it is to win an editor for a year!! It truly is the next best thing to selling the manuscript — the Call is as fabulous and wonderful and life-altering as the First Sale Call you've always imagined.
You can find all the details here. The only difference I can see this time is that you are limited to ONE entry. So make sure it's the best you can make it, the best one you have, and remember they are looking for Voice. Your words on paper (or screen) can and will be changed.
Good luck!
May 13, 2008 | Contests, Promotion, Writing
The Golden Heart finalists' pictures can be viewed with their book titles now! I think it's wonderful to put a face with a manuscript. Click over and see the Golden G8rs. And, if you're interested in some feedback, click over to Brenda Novak's auction and bid on a critique from 5 Golden Heart finalists in each of three categories. Five finalists will critique your 55 page mss/synop combo (just like you'd enter in the GH) — but unlike the contest, we'll give you feedback along with the score we'd have given you in the contest! The proceeds go to a good cause.
Apr 29, 2008 | Contests, Writing |
Folks are getting Golden Heart scores back this week. I won't get mine until after the winners are announced, since I'm a finalist this time, but I DO remember getting that envelope in the past. The fear of opening it. The burning desire to know how bad it is. Am I in the top 25% or the bottom 50%? Should I open it now or wait?
Only you can decide what's best for you. But, I gotta tell you, don't obsess more than a couple of days MAXIMUM over it! I entered 4 times. The 4th time was the charm. I've opened that envelope three times before, tremulous and scared, and then had to talk to myself about what was in it.
You simply can't let it stop you. You write a new book, or revise the one that didn't final, and get prepared for next year. The deadline is in November, y'all. Not so far away. I almost didn't enter this time. I almost let it go. I debated with myself — should I work this hard to get the book done quickly? What category should I enter? Am I ready for this? Is it a waste of money?
I entered before I finished the book, which gave me incentive. Money, as I've said before, is a big motivator for me. I wasn't losing that $50 for nothing! Then, of course, there was the cost of printing and postage. Yeah, I was a last minute Express Mail girl because I finished it right before the deadline. Can't remember what it cost, but it wasn't cheap. Forty dollars maybe?
So look at your scores with a grain of salt, a dash of hope, and a huge helping of determination. Just because you didn't final this time doesn't mean you won't EVER final. It also doesn't mean you won't sell. Plenty of best selling authors never finaled in the Golden Heart. Some people final never to be heard from again. And some end up selling a different book than the GH book.
Get upset or get happy about your scores, but also get over them. Keep writing. 🙂
Any interesting or frustrating contest experiences to share? Any lessons learned? Did you ever get advice that upset you, but later saw the value in it? I have. Someone told me my hero was a jerk and my heroine was juvenile — and then proceeded to tell me WHY. Dang if she wasn't right — once I got over it and could see the truth, of course. 🙂
Update: Found my GH scores from the first time I entered: 10, 8, 7, 8, 5. Yeah, they used to score to 10 and there were no fractions. Oh, and they used to give comments too. 🙂 This was the long historical category and I scored in the 2nd 25%. The following year, I entered two books. Can't find those scores, darn it.
Apr 10, 2008 | Contests, Revising, Writing |
Today, you can see what the editors think about my winning chapter and synopsis. Click over to I Heart Presents and have a look! This is truly a master class in romance writing!
