On a whim I pitched the plot to "pre://d.o.mai.n/theSagaof/MilesTorvalds to Abbott Press (A Writers Digest Company) and it was selected as one of 50 nationwide finalists in their #Pitch2Win contest!
I was considering not posting this news.....well, I already slathered it all over facebook but I was initially reticent about posting it here.
The reason being that my facebook page is not a "fan page", but my personal page with friends and family.
Friends and family will still accept you when you fail, and as this blog is as public as I can possibly make it (honestly, if you know someone who hasn't checked it out, please recommend it ;-), the possibility of having egg on my face is much greater.
Making a first cut can get peoples hopes up, only to bring them crashing down. Typically this happens after you've shouted from the rooftops to anyone that will hear your initial good fortune, only to have it be your undoing when the largely more probable outcome finally comes to pass.
Then I said to myself, "Frig it! I'm celebrating!"
There's no point in not enjoying what is likely to be the best news I will receive from this competition. As Tallahassee said in "Zombieland", "You've got to remember to appreciate the little things".
So even though it's just the finals so far, I'm enjoying the ride.
Don't get me wrong, I intend to do everything I can to win. I plan to scrutinize every word, distill my soul into every syllable until I feel that they would be crazy not to pick me.
I just recognize that art is a subjective, ethereal thing, and peoples tastes are even more insubstantial. I could write the best synopsis that 99% of the English speaking world has ever heard (hey, stop snickering, it could happen, LOL) but the 1% might contain the judges of the competition, and I would be sunk.
Preparedness gets you the 99%, luck gets you the other 1.
I plan to put my all into it, as any of the three publicity packages would give my fledgling writing career a huge boost.
The first place prize is a $8200 dollar publicity package to help launch my new book, and it includes more free copies of the winning book in hardcover and paperback to give away than my short story "Where I Can't Follow" has sold total.
I need to condense the plot, morals, themes, characters, whatever it is that makes my novel tick into 250 words-a synopsis.
Then I have to write a 100 word essay on why they should pick me over the other 49 candidates. I've looked into them, (like I said, preparedness) and the majority of them are professionals. Professionals as in established authors.
I do have a plan, and hopefully it works better than most of my plans. Hell, eventually one of them has to be a resounding success, so why not cock the hammer and let another hairbrained scheme fly and see where it lands?
I will post my entries here after the deadline has passed for everyone to pick apart and critique.
Of course, I can't post them before then for fear of someone stealing my brilliant ideas ;-P
Time to see if I'm half as smart as I hope I am.
I was considering not posting this news.....well, I already slathered it all over facebook but I was initially reticent about posting it here.
The reason being that my facebook page is not a "fan page", but my personal page with friends and family.
Friends and family will still accept you when you fail, and as this blog is as public as I can possibly make it (honestly, if you know someone who hasn't checked it out, please recommend it ;-), the possibility of having egg on my face is much greater.
Making a first cut can get peoples hopes up, only to bring them crashing down. Typically this happens after you've shouted from the rooftops to anyone that will hear your initial good fortune, only to have it be your undoing when the largely more probable outcome finally comes to pass.
Then I said to myself, "Frig it! I'm celebrating!"
There's no point in not enjoying what is likely to be the best news I will receive from this competition. As Tallahassee said in "Zombieland", "You've got to remember to appreciate the little things".
So even though it's just the finals so far, I'm enjoying the ride.
Don't get me wrong, I intend to do everything I can to win. I plan to scrutinize every word, distill my soul into every syllable until I feel that they would be crazy not to pick me.
I just recognize that art is a subjective, ethereal thing, and peoples tastes are even more insubstantial. I could write the best synopsis that 99% of the English speaking world has ever heard (hey, stop snickering, it could happen, LOL) but the 1% might contain the judges of the competition, and I would be sunk.
Preparedness gets you the 99%, luck gets you the other 1.
I plan to put my all into it, as any of the three publicity packages would give my fledgling writing career a huge boost.
The first place prize is a $8200 dollar publicity package to help launch my new book, and it includes more free copies of the winning book in hardcover and paperback to give away than my short story "Where I Can't Follow" has sold total.
I need to condense the plot, morals, themes, characters, whatever it is that makes my novel tick into 250 words-a synopsis.
Then I have to write a 100 word essay on why they should pick me over the other 49 candidates. I've looked into them, (like I said, preparedness) and the majority of them are professionals. Professionals as in established authors.
I do have a plan, and hopefully it works better than most of my plans. Hell, eventually one of them has to be a resounding success, so why not cock the hammer and let another hairbrained scheme fly and see where it lands?
I will post my entries here after the deadline has passed for everyone to pick apart and critique.
Of course, I can't post them before then for fear of someone stealing my brilliant ideas ;-P
Time to see if I'm half as smart as I hope I am.
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