I am so grateful for the deadline! It makes my husband prioritize the weekend so that he watches the kids as much as possible so that I can work two full days on my novel. My experience last year inspires me to try again. When my classwork overwhelmed me, and I told a few friends I might not make the deadline, one responded, "You won't!?!?" (Thanks, Cherilyn!)
Even if it's only for this week, I'm glad to place my novel first. Even if I don't do so again until this summer, write at this moment, for the next few days at least, my writing is a priority.
If I could only make it a priority every day.
So, any of you trying out the Amazon.com contest? Anyone working under another deadline?
Nope
ReplyDeleteI don't do deadlines but I have never heard of the Amazon thing what is it?
ReplyDeleteI have not thought about any contest as of yet, because my work is so far off being done.
ReplyDeleteOnce I complete my work and revisions, I might consider it. I am working under my own deadline, but that really doesn't mean anything.
I am having the same problems putting my book as a top priority... but I will work on it every day, even if it's only for 30mins, I will do it!!!
I know you can do whatever you set your mind to... keep your head down and believe your work can win, have dreams of winning have hopes of being the writer you know you can be...
if you ever need someone to read your work, count me in. I suck at grammar, of course you don't need help there... but I can give advice where it went cold or what I didn't see coming through clear. Or what scenes brought me in or left me wanting…
Either way, good luck and I know you have what it takes to do it. You’ll be in my prayers…
Understood, Stephanie.
ReplyDeleteWalking Man, the Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Contest is free to enter, but you must have a completed manuscript. Ten thousand entries are allowed (it closes once the entries reach that number), and once you've entered you can get all your friends and fellow writers to read a three-chapter selection which gets posted. Based upon the three-chapter selection, and its comments, 100 novels are chosen to be reviewed by Publisher's Weekly. (Mine was hardly read by others, but it still made the final 100 last year). PW skewers it, pointing out a bunch of weaknesses (ouch!), but then the top 10 make it to the finals. The one that wins is published through traditional means (and also sold via Amazon.com in e-book format). Kind of "American Idol" for writers.
It's never a sure thing, and I might very well not get my novel into the top 100, but it's a deadline, and a free one at that, I appreciate it for those two reasons. Also, the other writers I met through the contest were very, very friendly. Most reviewers weren't snarky--most were quite polite yet helpful.
Thanks for the encouragement, Jeff! I can't wait to hear that your first draft is all finished... and consider me a reader in return. I'll let you know when I need a pair of eyes (and a brain) to look at something. I'll also post once my entry is done, so that you can read the first few chapters.