Heart of the Crystal Proofread

[marfisk]

Just a quick update on the Heart of the Crystal proofread

I have now completed the proofread of Heart of the Crystal and did a bit of tweaking. I take heart (;)) from the fact that I still enjoy the story after who knows how many passes. The characters are interesting and their troubles are compelling. Now only to convince an agent/editor of the same.

Oh, and I was doing some research on the Romance Writers of America site and discovered that I was correct on the category only rather than solely contemporary romance, this falls in the sensual romance category. That and I added a tweak to the query letter that I wish I'd thought of before sending any out.

I'm considering entering Heart in the RWA contest, but one thing concerned me. In reading about the contests and why to enter them, people say that the cost of the entrance fee is for the feedback you receive and that makes the fees/contests worth it even if your entry doesn't win. While I'd like to believe Heart would race to the top of any heap, at the same time having the backup value to the contest being feedback, especially since the rules require the judges to read the whole novel, makes sense.

However, RWA no longer provides feedback. The judges' FAQ explicitly speaks out against actual comments beyond the category based scores. And the reason for that is fear of being sued or the results being contested. Ouch. How we writers like to shoot each other and ourselves in the foot. Anyway, if anyone has an opinion on this, I'd appreciate it :).

Comments

[mikandra.livejournal.com]

I don't know much about this particular contest, but in the past few months, I've printed out the rules of a few contests with the idea to enter, but have decided against it each and every time.

I do not think you should pay to enter a contest.

Often contests require that you do not submit your work elsewhere while they decide.

If you submit to a number of agents, one or two might give you general advice for free.

These things have made me decide against submitting in contests.

[eimarra]

I wouldn't enter. But then, I don't like paying for contests. Printing and postage are enough for out-of-pocket costs.

Hooray on completing the proofread and tweaking the query letter. Good luck with it.

[marfisk]

Yeah, that's my general position, but this is the Golden Heart, https://www.rwanational.org/eweb/DynamicPage.aspx?Site=RWA&WebKey=357f2a57-5f2e-4bac-b000-b163b3aac033, and is known for producing published romance writers. And the trouble with agents is that 99% at this point it seems don't give feedback for the same reason as in the RWA contest guidelines and all they ever see is the query and a couple pages. If Heart were to win then any agent I subbed to would see that several someones read the whole thing and were wow'd :).
That's what makes it a tough call.

[marfisk]

Thanks :). And I've got time to decide...or find an agent without :D.

[marfisk]

Thanks :). And if all goes well, it'll be taken out of my hands :).

[(Anonymous)]

Congrats on the edits!

I've never been one to cater to high fee contests but I have heard that romance agents do pay attention to those wins. Two different friends of mine sent me copies of their queries that got them agents and each listed the contests where they had won first place.

First place in any RWA sponsored contest will get you noticed.

--By any chance you're not coming to the RWA conference in July are you? I still owe you a drink. :o)

Maria
www.mariazannini.blogspot.com

[marfisk]

Yeah, that's exactly what I'm seeing. And why I'm considering it.

However, there is no way I'm going to a convention this summer. I'm booked top, bottom, up, down, front AND back with kids stuff ;).

On the other hand, I am eyeballing Boston in February :).