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Showing posts from June, 2018

The Joy of Mentor Contest Fails

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I entered the popular Twitter contest #pitchwars last summer on a whim at the last minute. Surprisingly, I got a full request! It didn't pan out, but it whet my appetite for more contests. I kept my eye out for other Twitter mentorship contests and continued to enter. Spoiler alert: I didn't get selected for any of them. This spring, not only did I enter contests, but I also started participating in the community surrounding the contest. I chatted with others on Twitter and swapped critiques. I joined Facebook groups with other entrants to share questions and encouragement. I researched and followed the potential mentors, gaining the bits of wisdom they would share. Prepping for entering the contests was a learning experience in itself. When a contest allows you to enter only the first five pages of your manuscript, you start really examining whether those pages do the job of selling the book. Creating a synopsis and query letter helps to identify (or show the lack of) the