Just wondered if anyone knew what the advantage is with writing competitions, i.e. a writing competition that is judged by a literary agent, like the Bath Novel Award or the Mslexia memoir competition?
Is it better just to save the competition fee and submit straight to the agent, or is there some advantage to be gained by sending in to one of the competitions - other than possibility of prize?
Hi again Lucy,
Why not post the first 3000 words of your novel on as a taster? You can then receive critiques from many people and although we are not all experts by any means, you may get something useful, perhaps a hint or an obvious flaw point out.
I've posted on here before, and also given my work to people who are neither close friends nor family. Even non-writers can point out something that we - the authors - have missed.
Let's have a glimpse. I think you'll find people on here are almost exclusively constructive.
Look forward to a submission from you.
Regards,
PabloJ.
I'm far from experienced in the subject of being published, having yet to finish my novel, but I would assume, given the apparent challenges of getting a deal, that there can be no harm in entering competitions.
As has been alluded to several times here, this is an entirely subjective field, and there must be an element of good fortune in having the right person view your work. Of course you can help manage that fortune by tailoring your submissions and audiences to your style, but if you never show your work, it'll never achieve anything.
So go for it, enter those competitions... what's the worst that can happen!
I think I understand where you're coming from, Lucy. I was long listed in the Mslexia novel comp and have subsequently had interest from agents. However it's difficult (impossible?) to know whether I'd have had the same level of interest without Mslexia. The winner of the first Mslexia novel comp two years ago was signed by an agent and went on to get a publishing contract, as did several others from the short and long lists.
The recent winner of the Bath Novel award was signed by the very good agent who judged it. My suspicion is that she'd still have been signed had she submitted directly to the agent. Sorry - not sure if that helps much!