 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| All site contents are owned and copyrighted under Crystal Bright. Use of any content on this site without express permission of the owner is prohibited. But go ahead and test me. I don't spend enough time in court now as it is. © 2002-2015 |
:: "The 'Real' Contest World" ::
The Real “Contest” World
“This is the true story…”
“…of ten strangers…”
“…picked to compete in a writing competition…”
“…and have their work judged in front of millions (okay thousands) of readers…”
“…and find out what happens…”
“…when readers stop being polite…”
“…and start getting REAL!”
AMERICAN TITLE!
Okay, so that was a cheesy opening. But what can I say? That show, “The Real World” is the benchmark
for successful reality TV shows. And since I am a reality TV junkie, I fell in love with the idea of a reality TV-
type of competition for writers. That contest is Romantic Times BOOKclub Magazine’s “American Title”
contest.
Ten contestants are competing for a book contract with Dorchester Publishing with yours truly vying for
her own spot as the first, yes first, “American Title” winner. But what would a reality competition be without
its stars, the contestants, or in this case, the finalists.
The finalists range from previous RWA Golden Heart finalists and current winner, multi-contest finalists
and winners, and a new author who has just signed her first book contract with another publisher shortly
after hearing that she made it as a finalist in this contest.
Unlike the other reality TV shows, “American Title” finalists weren’t meant to converse with one another.
However, after group e-mails went out, we slowly started e-mailing back and forth until one of us created a
Yahoo chat loop so that we all stay connected.
And although the finalists span from Canada to California to Virginia, we have all found some
commonalities between us. Two of us share the same birthday, February 13th (be sure to mark that on
your calendar). A few have the same anniversaries. Some even grew up in the same area. Kind of
reminds me of that movie with John Cusack called “Identity” where everyone in this run-down hotel had the
same birth date. Hmm, if I don’t make it out of this contest alive, please notify my next of kin.
Except for shows like “American Idol”, the “American Title” finalists, or AT finalists as we call ourselves,
weren’t meant to be supportive of one another. But we are.
Just to give you a brief contest overview, each month, readers will vote in different categories: best
opening line, best hero and heroine, best story summary, best dialogue scene and best romantic scene.
Based on votes, each month two people will be eliminated.
Before the contest started, we all compared notes on how our entries would look, the type of headshot we
should send, even what our bios should say. When we were given a sneak preview of what the first round
would look like on the website and the magazine, we vented, we cheered, we consoled, and we worried as
a team.
Think about this. We AT finalists are doing what published authors go through on a daily basis: criticisms,
good and bad, from both industry professionals and readers. The kicker is we’re not published. Now I
know what Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard and Fantasia Barrino all felt like the weeks they competed on
“American Idol”. (Did you notice I compared myself to the past winners?)
Even with the criticisms (saw my first one on the RT message board the other day) and the slings and
arrows I’ll undoubtedly get from the AT judges, I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. My work is
being seen by thousands of readers. Whether they like my work or not, they’re reading it. I have my face
and name on the Romantic Times website and magazine. I couldn’t buy that type of publicity even if I
dated Donald Trump. And believe it or not, I am having fun.
This contest is teaching me so many things. For one, I’m learning to get thick-skinned to accept
comments about my work. Secondly, I’m learning how to promote myself. I have no problem handing
people flyers, putting them up in libraries and at work, and generally being a royal pain, if not an adorable
one.
But the one thing I cherish is the friendships I have made with the other finalists. I know when it the time
comes to eliminate contestants, it will be truly difficult on all of us because we’ve gotten so close. When it’
s my time to go, if I do go before the final round, I’m going to be on the loop to cheer on the remaining
finalists. I will continue to vote with no hard feelings and I know the other ladies would do the same.
Yeah, I know. No catfights. No drama. Nothing like “Survivor” or “The Amazing Race”. But sometimes
competitions aren’t about who wins. It’s about how you get to the finish line.
Someone once said that 90 percent of success is just showing up. I’m here.
“This is the true story…”
“…of ten strangers…”
“…picked to compete in a writing competition…”
“…and have their work judged in front of millions (okay thousands) of readers…”
“…and find out what happens…”
“…when readers stop being polite…”
“…and start getting REAL!”
AMERICAN TITLE!
Okay, so that was a cheesy opening. But what can I say? That show, “The Real World” is the benchmark
for successful reality TV shows. And since I am a reality TV junkie, I fell in love with the idea of a reality TV-
type of competition for writers. That contest is Romantic Times BOOKclub Magazine’s “American Title”
contest.
Ten contestants are competing for a book contract with Dorchester Publishing with yours truly vying for
her own spot as the first, yes first, “American Title” winner. But what would a reality competition be without
its stars, the contestants, or in this case, the finalists.
The finalists range from previous RWA Golden Heart finalists and current winner, multi-contest finalists
and winners, and a new author who has just signed her first book contract with another publisher shortly
after hearing that she made it as a finalist in this contest.
Unlike the other reality TV shows, “American Title” finalists weren’t meant to converse with one another.
However, after group e-mails went out, we slowly started e-mailing back and forth until one of us created a
Yahoo chat loop so that we all stay connected.
And although the finalists span from Canada to California to Virginia, we have all found some
commonalities between us. Two of us share the same birthday, February 13th (be sure to mark that on
your calendar). A few have the same anniversaries. Some even grew up in the same area. Kind of
reminds me of that movie with John Cusack called “Identity” where everyone in this run-down hotel had the
same birth date. Hmm, if I don’t make it out of this contest alive, please notify my next of kin.
Except for shows like “American Idol”, the “American Title” finalists, or AT finalists as we call ourselves,
weren’t meant to be supportive of one another. But we are.
Just to give you a brief contest overview, each month, readers will vote in different categories: best
opening line, best hero and heroine, best story summary, best dialogue scene and best romantic scene.
Based on votes, each month two people will be eliminated.
Before the contest started, we all compared notes on how our entries would look, the type of headshot we
should send, even what our bios should say. When we were given a sneak preview of what the first round
would look like on the website and the magazine, we vented, we cheered, we consoled, and we worried as
a team.
Think about this. We AT finalists are doing what published authors go through on a daily basis: criticisms,
good and bad, from both industry professionals and readers. The kicker is we’re not published. Now I
know what Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard and Fantasia Barrino all felt like the weeks they competed on
“American Idol”. (Did you notice I compared myself to the past winners?)
Even with the criticisms (saw my first one on the RT message board the other day) and the slings and
arrows I’ll undoubtedly get from the AT judges, I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. My work is
being seen by thousands of readers. Whether they like my work or not, they’re reading it. I have my face
and name on the Romantic Times website and magazine. I couldn’t buy that type of publicity even if I
dated Donald Trump. And believe it or not, I am having fun.
This contest is teaching me so many things. For one, I’m learning to get thick-skinned to accept
comments about my work. Secondly, I’m learning how to promote myself. I have no problem handing
people flyers, putting them up in libraries and at work, and generally being a royal pain, if not an adorable
one.
But the one thing I cherish is the friendships I have made with the other finalists. I know when it the time
comes to eliminate contestants, it will be truly difficult on all of us because we’ve gotten so close. When it’
s my time to go, if I do go before the final round, I’m going to be on the loop to cheer on the remaining
finalists. I will continue to vote with no hard feelings and I know the other ladies would do the same.
Yeah, I know. No catfights. No drama. Nothing like “Survivor” or “The Amazing Race”. But sometimes
competitions aren’t about who wins. It’s about how you get to the finish line.
Someone once said that 90 percent of success is just showing up. I’m here.