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Let me start by apologizing for not being on here much lately. I just moved. It sucked. Hard. End of rant. Wait, I need to add that dads are awesome to have around. Mine has been a lifesaver with this move. And my cute little house is ADORABLE. I'll post pictures.
On to the main reason for this post: another contest entry. I entered two contests about the same time. The feedback from the first results I got back were helpful. There was criticism, but it was constructive. So I'm ok with that.
You know how people always say that contest feedback ranges quite a bit. And how everyone will probably get feedback from one judge that maybe went a little too far. Well, I'm proud to say I'm a member of that club. I just got results from the other contest I entered - same entry as the other. I was judged by two people, one was published in something outside of romance and the other was unpublished.
This contest included a sheet with scores and rankings for all of the other entrants in that category. I received the lowest score the published author gave, 15 points below the next lowest. I was middle of the pack for the unpublished author. However, the average between the two put me in last place because of the published author's score. Oh well, I wasn't in it to win. I was in it for feedback.
But this feedback - yikes! I'm going to break it down for you. First of all, the scorings were a scale of 1-5, 5 being the best. Everything was 1s and 2s except I got a 5 on "do you as a reader feel the emotions of the main characters" (sweet!) and I got a 3 on "do you get a vivid picture from the writing." I felt good about that, obviously compared to everything else those were things that this person liked. And those were things I didn't think I did well, so maybe I did better than I thought.
These are direct quote comments from the published author of something other than romance (I cut out a lot of comments directly relating to events in the story or plot points, this is general stuff):
* like about heroine - "she knows a hottie when she sees one"
* dislike about heroine - "she's a lemming. No brains. A chick lit bimbo"
* favorite parts of story - "description of the hottie; good sexual tension"
* parts of the story that didn't resonate - "her voice - standard chick lit with no originality; her stupidity; excessive efforts to be sassy; plot is dumb"
* "if you stop trying to imitate a chick lit voice you will find you already have a voice that works fine (but what if my voice is naturally chick lit-ish?)"
* "lot to like here but it's 'like' totally buried in chick lit bullshit verbiage"
* "cut all the explaining, the head chatter and the girly-girl crap"
I whole-heartedly appreciate the time this person put into the feedback and for pointing out holes in the story. He/she filled out the score sheet thoroughly and took extra time to write suggestions and comments on the back of two pages. And this person practically line edited the entry. I'm really thankful for that, especially with the number of entrants in the category.
The unpublished author gave me a much higher score, but didn't leave any comments or suggestions. I would have liked to know why some of the things worked for this person. Even though I was a bit put off by the published author's brashness, this person took a lot of time and energy on my entry. Thank you.
So, there's a contest entry folks. I made it through another one. My skin must be thicker than I gave it credit for because I'm not in the least deterred by it or upset that someone thought it didn't do well.
Monday, July 03, 2006
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9 comments:
Oh. My. God.
I can't believe that. That judge should be removed from judging. Words like "chick-lit bullshit verbiae" and "girly-girl crap" are completely unprofessional. Personally, I'd send the contest coordinator a note with direct quotes from your entry. That's not right.
I'm sorry that happened. In my experience (limited as it is), published judges are less-harsh than unpublished ones. In this case it might be that this person is published in something other than romance, is trying to break into romance and therefore feels she needs to be doubly-harsh on unpubs. It happens a lot.
Good for you having such a good attitude though. And glad to hear the move went well.
You know, maybe the published writer wasn't into chick-lit or hated that genre, and thought you could work it into something that was funny and sassy with falling into the chick-lit thing. Honest feedbacks from published writers tend to be a bit brach and opinionated, but if you really look at what they're saying, most of the time you'll see that they are right on the money. That has been my experience with my CPs. *shrugs*
But then again, this is your story. You do what it feels right to you in the end. *g*
Lisa:
I think it's disgusting that someone would write comments like that in a judging forum. My writers' group has been in existence for 12 years--and we're ruthless (and consequently, most of us have gone on to be published or agented)--ruthless in that we work really hard to better our writing. But we don't tolerate anything less than graciousness.
To me, if you fail to be honest but gracious, all you are doing is elevating yourself by denigrating another. It's no way to judge, and no way to go through life.
I realize I might be in the minority, probably, but this is like the fourth writers' blog I have read in which the writer has gotten comments bordering on rude--or crossing the line into what I call cruel.
And, Silma, I respectifully disagree. Being published doesn't mean your opinion is worth terribly more than anyone else's. As a published author, I've met gems--and idiots. Opinions are like you-know-what---everyone's got one. AND, I respect people who can express them with a modicum of dignity and grace.
E
> dislike about heroine - "she's a lemming. No brains. A chick lit bimbo
Elisabeth, I'm with you. OH. MY. GOD. THat is unduly harsh. And the "plot is crap" part??? Jesus, where does this person get off? If she were a real writer, she'd know how to criticize effectively without coming off as such an arrogant jerkoff.
Good think you're not stinking mad cause I am on your behalf. You are a much more calm, balanced person than me!
Don't get me wrong, I was pissed at first read. Then I talked myself into being okay with it by thinking, well, at least they spent a lot of time on comments. And buried under harshness were some good suggestions.
But, reading what you all have to say, I guess I have a right to be a little P.O.d. At first I felt like I was being ultra-sensitive, however I couldn't get past the thought of what if my voice is chick lit? I'm not trying for the voice I write with, it's what comes natural to me.
Oh well. Such is life. I guess it's the risk I take by entering contests :-)
Thanks for the comments!
I like your attitude! You have to take the feedback you get from contests and use what makes sense and dump the rest. In this case, the judge was harsh. Though if she gave you that much feedback, she wasn't doing it with evil in mind, I think she/he may just be a brash person and not realize how it came across. Take what resonants and forget the rest.
In this biz, you have to have a thick skin or you'll belittle your self every time you write a sentence.
Goodness! That's tough feedback. I'm quite surprised that they were so unkind about the things they didn't like about your work. Honesty about a manuscript's shortcomings is one thing - rudeness and lack of professional behavior are another (particularly the swearing!). Take heart - most judges in the big romance contests are kinder AND just as thorough. Glad to see you are keeping your chin up about the whole thing.
Personally I don't care much about contests. Although some say the feedback is good, I feel I get the same from my CPs. Sorry to hear this hasn't been such a good experience.
Oh Lisa! Where did you move? What part of Oregon are you living in now?
Remember, I'm in EXTREME Northern CA. I'm just wondering if you're close.
I love your stuff, and I know contests can be confusing. Sounds like you got a few "unprofessional" comments. Who knows what goes on in a judges mind. It's just like editors. Maybe a bad day. Maybe a personal preference or dislike. *shrugs*.
Your writing is very good. Only the comments that apply to the writing matter, IMHO, not the personal preference stuff.
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