Every person has an opinion, but that’s all it is, just an opinion.
Keep writing!

Terrio, I think overall the feedback has been more helpful than not, but I’ve been really judicious where I’ve entered, looking at the final judges first and foremost. But I have to watch the wallet, and I believe I’m done. Right now I only care what my agent thinks, and she’s been great where I need to strengthen, etc.

And even worse than the judges who give comments, are the ones who just check off boxes on the score sheet without any comments at all.

About the only thing everyone agreed on was that I write well. Gee, thanks.

My contest days are over. Now the RWA considers me a “Published Author” so I can’t enter the GH. BUT I can’t enter the Rita, either, because my novella is e-pubbed, and the Rita only wants paper, and paper from large publishers, too.

Here’s a blog post by Elizabeth Boyle.

http://romanticinks.com/2008/08/24/what-contests-can-and-cant-do-for-your-writing/

She doesn’t think much of contests, either.

I can’t get over the thing about Tiff needing to do more research. She researches more than most anyone I know. Crazy I tell ya. CRAZY!!

I’ve only entered one contest and won’t enter anything else for at least another year. I’m aiming for GH 2010. Fingers crossed.

I have gotten helpful contest feedback, though. So it’s not all discouraging. I managed to clean my synopsis up when multiple people said the story ended to easy-smeasy. And I can say I’ve pleased more people with HB than with the last book I entered in contests–though those cruel words made the final burial for that book rather… justified.

You just have to know when to listen, right?

Gillian, one thing about the GH is that it’s JUST scores, which, depending on your point of view, is either a good thing or a bad thing. If I thought I could finish my current WIP in time (which I could—about 13,000 words to go, but I’m not going to put pressure on myself to do so), I might have entered this year. I do have something finished but don’t think it’s quite right.

Janga, good luck to you, and yay that you took the plunge! Your writing is wonderful and I hope your scores are sky-high!

Tiff, two words I never expect to hear about you again—weak and boring! You’ve just got to laugh. And it’s true: the only people who ultimately count at this stage are agents and editors.

I like the writer’s style and writing ability, I did not find the characters at all believable. With such a graceful style, I know the author could put together a more original story. The harem theme has great potential, more historical research would enable the author to enrich her characters.

The writer is very readable in terms of word usage and grammar. The writing flows. The manuscript is well written. The writing style is mature and it is obvious the author has the ability to write a good story.

I found the story line extremely weak and the characters dull and predictable. The opening sequence was an attempt at a seductive scene, but in my mind fell short. With such good writing skills the author should do more historical research to enrich the sense of place and exotic locale scenes. The same for the characters, more detail about their personality and motivation.

The synopsis was well written, and well developed, but the plot is unsurprising and stale.

The author is a good writer; this particular story is weak and boring.

With academic writing and poetry, it is editors who play judge, but I have had my share of praise that left me elated and fault-finding that either left me running for cover or longing to have the editor and a stun gun in the room with me.

It’s one thing for a judge to identify what he/she sees as weaknesses in a writer’s work. I suppose we ask for that when we enter contests. But I think the kind of comments Ely got from judge #1 say more about the judge than they say about the entry. People who pride themselves on their clever cutdowns (and you can almost see her gloating) have problems more serious than writing flaws. She clearly knows less about teaching than she thinks she does, and her own prose could use some judicious revision. Writers should not be asked to pay for that kind of malicious commentary.