I'm a finalist! Woo Hoo! I have finally reached the finals in a contest.
To date I have entered my current finished work, Island Runaway, in five contests. The first three were not finalists, but today I heard back from the Fire & Ice contest put on by the Chicago North RWA and I have advanced to the final round. I gave out an audible gasp in the dealership waiting area when I read the email. I even had to read it twice to make sure I wasn't missing the word not in the phrase "you are a finalist."
So now that I've made it to this point in the contest, what does that mean. As a finalist I will get a certificate and a mention in the RWR, the monthly magazine put out by the national RWA. It gets my name out there. If I win, I get all of $30 (my entry fee was $20). But again, it gets my name out there and perhaps in front of just the people I need to get me published. IF nothing else, this accolade gives me more cred when seeking out a potential agent. Basically it's one more step along this journey.
And it couldn't have come at a better time. I had just received the results from another contest last week and while I have to admit I was starting to get frustrated. I knew what I was doing wrong, but I didn't know how to fix it. Wait, that's not true. I do, it just felt so daunting. And I was wondering if it was really worth it, as in, would it ever really happen for me. It hasn't happened yet, but this is just the boost I needed to keep going. It WILL happen. I just need to be patient and keep trudging along. My hard work will pay off.
The bad news is that they are announcing winners at the National convention that I was originally planning on attending. But in an effort to save money, I decided to skip it this year and just go to the Emerald City Conference here in Seattle that I hear is pretty awesome and half the price. Not attending the conference won't affect my chances of winning, but it would put not only my name, but me personally in front of people. I'd find a way to scrape together the money and go anyways, except that we have already booked our trip to Wisconsin and come home in the middle of the conference. Oh well. Like I said. This IS going to happen. It's just a matter of time.
To date I have entered my current finished work, Island Runaway, in five contests. The first three were not finalists, but today I heard back from the Fire & Ice contest put on by the Chicago North RWA and I have advanced to the final round. I gave out an audible gasp in the dealership waiting area when I read the email. I even had to read it twice to make sure I wasn't missing the word not in the phrase "you are a finalist."
So now that I've made it to this point in the contest, what does that mean. As a finalist I will get a certificate and a mention in the RWR, the monthly magazine put out by the national RWA. It gets my name out there. If I win, I get all of $30 (my entry fee was $20). But again, it gets my name out there and perhaps in front of just the people I need to get me published. IF nothing else, this accolade gives me more cred when seeking out a potential agent. Basically it's one more step along this journey.
And it couldn't have come at a better time. I had just received the results from another contest last week and while I have to admit I was starting to get frustrated. I knew what I was doing wrong, but I didn't know how to fix it. Wait, that's not true. I do, it just felt so daunting. And I was wondering if it was really worth it, as in, would it ever really happen for me. It hasn't happened yet, but this is just the boost I needed to keep going. It WILL happen. I just need to be patient and keep trudging along. My hard work will pay off.
The bad news is that they are announcing winners at the National convention that I was originally planning on attending. But in an effort to save money, I decided to skip it this year and just go to the Emerald City Conference here in Seattle that I hear is pretty awesome and half the price. Not attending the conference won't affect my chances of winning, but it would put not only my name, but me personally in front of people. I'd find a way to scrape together the money and go anyways, except that we have already booked our trip to Wisconsin and come home in the middle of the conference. Oh well. Like I said. This IS going to happen. It's just a matter of time.
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