For “civilians”—non-writers who have never entered a writing
contest—let me clue you in here. Contest judges can be kind, helpful,
constructive, encouraging and on occasion make a suggestion that takes the
writing to a whole new level. Other judges can be picky, petty, hurtful and
even downright nasty in their criticism. Unfortunately, my entry had gotten a
more than its share of the latter in previous contests and I was getting discouraged.
Then I got back the entry Hank judged. It was a hardcopy
back then and I still have it. She gave it a very high score, but not a perfect
one, however, it was her comments that showed she “got it.” She
said she loved my writing and would like to read the rest of the story and gave
her name and contact information—very unusual for a judge. I emailed her a
thank you and got a lovely reply asking me to keep in touch and let her know
how the submission was going. And I have.
When I introduced myself on Saturday, Hank immediately
remembered DEYROLLE, the oringal title of the story, and told me again how
much she loved my writing. I admitted that it hasn’t sold yet and I was getting
a bit discouraged. Her reply? “You’ll sell and one day we’ll laugh about this.”
And her sincerity made me believe her.
Hank is only one of the generous authors I’ve met on this
writer’s journey. In what other industry do successful professionals give their
time, knowledge and friendship to newcomers trying to break in? And yet, go to
any RWA meeting and published authors do just that. Like Hank, so many author
friends have gone out of their way to help me along the road to publication. Extraordinary women like Sophie Jordan, Tera Lynn Childs, Colleen Thompson, Shana Galen, Dee Gist—just to
name a few—have given me and so many others the encouragement and tools to
follow our dreams. What a priceless gift!
Give a shout out to someone in your life who has given you a
lift when you needed it!
