I'm a Sheila finalist!

Is it possible to dance while seated in front of a laptop? You betcha, 'cause I'm doing it now.

Andrea Romero, contest coordinator, rang to inform me I'm a finalist in the RWA® Valley Forge Sheila contest (fantasy/futuristic/paranormal section) ... with all three manuscripts that I entered into the competition! Gob-smacking news. :-D

And even cooler news is that Sharon Fisher, a fellow RWA 2010 Golden Heart® finalist, has also finalled in this section! Congratulations, Sharon!

The top five entries in each section advance into the final round of judging. Alicia Condon from Kensington is the final judge for this round - another editor I've been aiming to get my work in front of.

When I decided to test the waters in the US contest circuit, I never thought that this year would reap these sorts of results. Am I thrilled? Yes, indoodee-deedy ...

RWAustralia EMERALD Award

Coming up on the RWAustralia contest calendar is the EMERALD Award for unpublished writers.

Why would you enter this competition over others? It's designed to mirror the submission process. The first round involves entering the first 18pgs of your manuscript. If your entry makes it to the second round then you have to submit a full manuscript. Three finalists from both sections then go on to the final judge for placings, usually an editor from a major publishing house.

It's also a dual competition - you can enter the category section or single title section (or both - some have done this). And you can enter multiple entries in each! :-)

So, what makes it really special? Your work is scored and judged by romance readers in the initial two rounds - not a writer in sight - they're your potential readership market.

The benefits? There are several.

The competition is specialized - a category section and single title section. While the genres may differ, you're competing against others who write the same length manuscript.

You're also learning the discipline of the craft; you're training yourself to meet deadlines while honing and practising your skills while learning how to cope with praise, criticism and rejection; there's the multiple judges feedback (invaluable when you compare that entry fee of $38.50/entry to an appraisal service).

If you final, you bypass the slush-pile/query process & your work gets in front of an editor; you add to your writing resume and that looks good in a query letter to prospective agents or editors when you submit.

Have I convinced you to enter yet? I hope so, it's certainly worth it. You can find the entry forms at www.romanceaustralia.com/emerald.html (NOTE: you do need to be a member of Romance Writers of Australia to enter.)

Entries close Novermber 27th 2009, so get your manuscript in - what have you got to lose? But, more importantly, think of all you can gain!

Formula for Failure

"I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure--which is: Try to please everybody."

~Herbert Bayard Swope~

A good one as a precursor of my next entry - RWA EMERALD Award.

Write the story of your heart, polish it based on the consensus feedback you get from contests but not just because Judge A said "this" and Judge B said "that" an Judge C said "something different".

The quote says it all - you can't please everybody - and if you try, you'll wreck a good story.

What are your favourite opening lines from a novel?

Over the next few posts I'm going to share some of my favourite opening paragraphs/sentences from a few books I have on my "keepers" bookshelf and look at why those beginnings grabbed my attention.
While I'm deciding which ones rate a mention (yes, there are THAT many), perhaps you'd like to share your favourite "grab you by the throat and won't let go" beginnings? Any genre, I don't mind.
What's prompting these postings? Having been a judge in a few contests, and having entered several myself ;-), I've come to realise just how important those opening few paragraphs are in hooking the readers attention.
Think about it - what do you do when you go into a bookstore and thumb through a potential buy? Unless you know the author and he/she is one of your favourites that you buy on name alone, how do you choose to spend your hard earned money? Is it based on the cover, the blurb or does the opening page or two become the deciding factor?
Share your opinion and your favourites - perhaps they might end up being one of mine. :-)