By Joanna Campbell Slan, @joannaslan
Over the years I’ve entered and judged a variety of contests. Since we’ve recently opened our call for entries to the 2016 FREDDIE AWARD for WRITING EXCELLENCE (FAWE) competition sponsored by the Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, I thought I’d share a little of what I’ve learned.
- First impressions matter. Fortunately, the FAWE is electronic files only. But back in the day when I judged the St. Martin’s Minotaur contest, a woman sent me a stack of papers tied together with an old, dirty shoelace. Sure, I overlooked the grunge when I read her work, but I’ll admit it was hard to separate the visual introduction from the words on the page. Think a minute about the impressions you’re leaving as you work your way through the contest process.
- Follow the rules. When you’re staring at a stack of entries, the fastest and fairest way to winnow them down is by checking to see if folks followed the rules. Personally, I like to print out the rules and check them off as I submit.
- Transparency for communication helps. Do you have multiple addresses? Write under a pen name? Use a variety of email addresses? Are you planning a long vacation in Africa where you’ll be unavailable for months? Don’t make it difficult for the administrators to contact you.
- Readability is essential. Of course, this won’t matter if your file is electronic, but I’ll never forget the contest manuscript that arrived in bright green ink. Ever. And there’s a lesson there. If you hand-write an entry form, is it legible? Did you use that favorite purple pen of yours? Don’t.