It used to be that I’d send manuscripts out to agents as soon as I thought they were ready. I did it with Infinity’s Heir back at the end of 2016, and again with Aiko’s Dive with a few “test queries” nearer to the beginning of 2018. In both cases, I was sorely mistaken about how ready these manuscripts were, but I wasn’t able to fully realize that until recently.

And I have contests to thank for that.

Twitter contests #Revpit, #WriteMentor, and #QueryKombat all focus on different things, but each is geared towards making the submitted manuscript better. A few weeks ago, Infinity’s Heir was rejected from #Revpit, and I seem to be on track for Aiko’s Dive to be passed over by #QueryKombat (Edit: I was so wrong!). The #WriteMentor Mentors won’t reveal their picks until next Thursday, so I’m crossing my fingers until then.

But, being accepted isn’t the point.

The bottom line is that, whether a “winner” or not, participating in each of these contests has taught me more than I ever could have hoped to learn on my own.

Here are a few of the lessons I’ve been able to take away:

1. Your work likely isn’t ready yet (but it probably almost is)! As much as I’d like to insist that every novel I write is ready to be published, chances are, there are things that I’ve overlooked that will keep that from happening. In the case of Infinity’s Heir, there are some issues with the query letter and shortcomings in the first few chapters that need to be fixed. But, without any kind of guidance, it would have been impossible for me to pinpoint these shortcomings on my own. From participating in #Revpit, #QueryKombat, and #WriteMentor, I’ve come to realize that most of what holds a novel back are small mistakes that are easily fixed with a little bit of focus. This doesn’t mean that every manuscript will get published with enough polish, but it does mean that there are places each writer can focus to make their chances of publication that much better.
2. Look for (and pay attention to) feedback! Usually, in the days leading up to final picks, the generous folks running a contest give feedback on submitted work. This feedback won’t identify the writer, but it’s often descriptive enough to be generally helpful. Paying attention to these feeds, and digesting the feedback given in them, is immensely helpful. It can help pinpoint mistakes that can be fixed even if you don’t get selected.
3. Participation is key! It isn’t enough to enter a contest or pay attention to feedback. Becoming a part of the community is as important as vying for a “winning” spot in the contest. These communities are robust, and they often continue to be engaging even after the contests have ended.

The biggest lesson I’ve taken away from the contests I’ve applied to this year is that there is so much more I can be doing to improve my craft. I spend a lot of time writing, and editing, and tweaking, but doing only that isn’t enough for my writing to reach the next level. If anything, being a part of a community (or three), with access to other writers who are going through the same paces as I, does, far and away, more for my development than slaving away in a vacuum.

That’s not to say that what I’ve been doing so far isn’t worthwhile. On the contrary, I believe that my writing is so good because I’ve spent so much time focusing on it, but the many helping hands of a community boosts it to another level.

And can really help allay the desire to send work out too early.

More than anything, I wind up sending out queries too early out of fear: of wasting time, of being left behind, of failure. And the haste bred by all of that fear acts almost like self-sabotage.

But all that’s starting to change.

For anyone reading this, I want to say thank you; something I don’t say enough to the people who walk with me on my writing journey.

I don’t know when I’ll get published – hell, I don’t know if I’ll ever get published – but the support I receive from everyone who takes the time to reach out makes the journey that much easier.

Moving forward, I plan to be more active on this blog and on social media. That will take some time away from writing, but after realizing how much positive impact participating in a community can have on my mood, and writing, I think it’s a worthwhile endeavor.

As always, I’ll keep everyone updated as things progress. I hope to have another post up soon about the Infinity’s Heir revision. And maybe I’ll have some good news from #QueryKombat later this afternoon.

Thanks again!

-Chase