Category Archives: Contest Review

HSC Contest Reviews – Duel on the Delta Contest

Posted in Blog, Contest Review, HSC Contest Reviews, Uncategorized, Writing by

Duel on the Delta Contest

http://www.rivercityromancewriters.org/duel.html

Presented by:

River City Romance Writers

Fees: $25

Entry: Opening 20 pages

Closed for entries:  April 15th

Winners will be notified on or around June 30th

OVERVIEW:

Pros:

Top prize is cash

Finalists have time to make changes to their manuscript before final round judging

Synopsis is not judged

Three first round judges

Final round judges are industry professionals

Cons:

No classes offered for judges

There will be a limited number of entries admitted

No mention of how many finalists

Review:

The Good –

The top prize is $25 cash and a Duel on the Delta pin.  Who can’t use cash in this economy?

Finalists have one week to make changes before submitting for the final round judging.  Excellent!  Anything to improve a manuscript can only be a good thing.

You can send in an optional one page synopsis, but it is not judged.  The work stands on its own merits.

There are 3 first round judges.  This eliminates the chance of discrepancy scores.  Excellent!

Final round judges are all industry professionals.  They are:

Contemporary judged by Aubrey Pope of Sourcebooks

Erotic judged by Angela James of Carina Press

Historical judged by Deborah Nemeth of Carina Press

Inspirational judged by Sarah Long of Bethany House

Paranormal/Urban Fantasy judged by Jill Marsal of Marsal Lyon Literacy Agency

Romantic Suspense judged by Liz Bass of Carina Press

Young Adult judged by Liz Pelletier of Entangled Publishing

The Bad –

The River City Romance Writers holds no classes for their judges.  I can’t stress how important it is for contests to realize the importance of having their judges trained. 

On the website it states “There will be a limited number of entries admitted”.  It does not tell what the cap is.  It states “The Duel on the Delta Contest Chair will determine the maximum number of entries based upon category volume”.  Seems logical, but how many and what is the determining factor? 

There is no indication on the website of how many finalists there are.  On the page of past winners, it looks to be anywhere from 3 to 5 finalists per category.  Very confusing.

 

As far as the Duel on the Delta Contest is concerned, it’s pretty average.  With a fee of $25, you get three first round judges and the chance at cash prizes!  However, the lack of training classes for the judges and the unknown amount of finalists puts a real element of concern on this writing contest. 

 

HSC Contest Review – Southern Heat Contest

Posted in Blog, Contest Review, HSC Contest Reviews, Uncategorized by

Southern Heat Contest

http://easttexasrwa.com/html/southern_heat.php

Presented by:

East Texas Chapter of Romance Writers of America

Opens for entries:  February 14th

Fees: $20 for members of RWA-ETC, $25 for members of RWA, $30 non-members

Entry: Opening 15 pages plus 5 page max synopsis

Closed for entries:  March 31st

Contest winners announced July 15, 2012

 

OVERVIEW:

Pros:

Judges are encouraged to give feedback if they give a score of 3 or below

Final round judges are industry professionals

 

Cons:

Only two first round judges

Synopsis is judged

Entries may be limited to the first 30 entries in each category

Doesn’t say how many finalists

No training for the judges

 

Review:

The Good –

Judges are encouraged to comment on the manuscript as well as the score sheet.  They are also encouraged to provide feedback, especially in the areas scored 3 or less.  This is great so the entrants know why a score of 3 or lower was given.

The final round judges are industry professionals.  They are: Paranormal judged by Ethan Ellenberg from Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency and Ann Leslie Tuttle from Harlequin, Historical judged by Courtney Miller-Callihan from Sanford J. Greenburger Associates and Laura Bradford from Bradford Literary Agency, Contemporary Single Title judged by Rebecca Strause from McIntosh & Otis, Inc. and Rhonda Penders from the Wild Rose Press, Inspirational judged by Mary Sue Seymour from the Seymour Agency and Melissa Endlich from Harlequin Inspirational, Contemporary Series judged by Nicole Resciniti from the Seymour Agency and Alicia Condon from Kensington Books, Romantic Suspense judged by Aubrey Poole from Sourcebooks and Maria Carvainis from Maria Carvainis Agency, Inc., and Young Adult judged by Elaine Spencer from the Knight Agency and Leticia Gomez from Sawy Literary Services.

The Bad –

There are only two judges, unless there’s a point spread of more then 25 points when one of those scores is at least 85 percent of the total points possible.  Then, a discrepancy judge will be used.  Two judges leave too much room for discrepancies.  Why not just have three judges from the beginning?

Synopsis is judged.  This does not let the work stand on its own merits.

Entries may be limited to the first 30 entries in each category.  This restricts the competition when a limit is imposed.

No indication on the website how many finalists there would be per category.  Under past finalists there was always 3 listed per category.  Uncertainty in this area is cause for hesitation.

There is no training for the judges in the Southern Heat Contest.  It is extremely important that there is training for the judges.  A class or instructions is vital to a great contest.

 

 

As far as the Southern Heat Contest is concerned, don’t expect too much.  With a $20 to $30 entry fee, you get encouraged feedback from the judges on scores of 3 or less on the score sheet.  However, with no training for the judges and no mention of how many finalists per category, the entrant really has no idea what they’re in for. 

 

HSC Contest Reviews – Spring Into Romance Contest

Posted in Blog, Contest Review, HSC Contest Reviews by

The Spring Into Romance Contest

http://rwasd.com/contest/index.html

Presented by:

Romance Writers of America’s San Diego Chapter

Fees: Romance Writers of America’s San Diego chapter members $20, non members $25, $35 for International entries

Entry: First 25 pages

Closed for entries:  Extended to March 31st

Winners will be notified by approximately June 16th, 2012

OVERVIEW:

Pros:

First Round judges include published authors and are trained

On the score sheet, a score of three or below requires a comment

The score sheets are very detailed

Final judges are industry professionals

Cons:

Only two first round judges

Confusing direction on what it takes to final

No electronic entries (except International entries)

Review:

The Good –

The First Round judges include published authors and/or PRO members and unpublished members that are trained.  The training consists of a Yahoo loop set up for the judges where they go over guidelines.  This loop is open during the judging time frame for questions.  There is also a guideline sheet given to each judge with the packet of entries they are to judge.  Wow.  This is spectacular!  The fact that the San Diego chapter puts so much time and commitment into the judging process can only attest to the professionalism of this contest. 

On the score sheet, there is a possible rating of 1-5 for each category.  Anything rated a 3 or below by the judge requires a comment.  This is excellent!  That way the entrant knows why the score was given. 

The 4 page score sheets for the Spring Into Romance Contest are very detailed.  They have categories like Plot/Conflict and Dialogue.  The Character category is broken into two parts, one for the hero, one for the heroine.  The categories are rated from 1-5 for each question under the category.  There is plenty of room for comments.  This score sheet is very complete and very impressive.  It touches on most aspects of a manuscript and is very impressive.  Nice job!

The Final judges are industry professionals.  They are: 

Angela James of Carina Press judging Contemporary Single Title Romance

Kevan Lyon from Marshal Lyon Literary Agency judging Novel with Strong Romantic Elements/Mainstream

Sarah McDaniel-Dyer of Harlequin judging Category or Series Romance

Sue Grimshaw of Random House judging Paranormal Romance

Laura Bradford from the Bradford Literary Agency judging Historical Romance

Leis Pederson of Berkley Publishing Group judging Romantic Suspense

Suzie Townsend of Nancy Coffey Literary & Media judging Young Adult

The Bad –

There are only 2 first round judges for each entry unless there’s a 50 point or more difference in scores.  Then another judge is brought in and the lowest score is dropped.  Two judges leave too much room for inconsistency.  Why not just have three judges from the beginning?

The explanation of who finals in each category is confusing.  In the Contest Rules it states the top four finalists in each category will be judged by the Final round judges.  It also states in the Contest Rules an entry must receive a minimum score of 120 out of a possible 150 points in order to final.  What happens if no entry receives a score of 120 points?  This is confusing.

This contest only accepts emailed entries from International entrants.  In this day of technology, ebooks and ereaders, it’s important to have an option for email entry.


As far as the Spring Into Romance Contest is concerned, it’s worth entering.  With a $25 entry fee ($20 for members of the RWASD chapter and $35 for International entries), you get a phenomenal score sheet with trained judges commenting.  However, the confusion about what it takes to final takes away from the potential of this contest. 

 

HSC Contest Reviews – Romance Through The Ages Contest

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The Romance Through The Ages Contest

www.heartsthroughhistory.com

Presented by:

Hearts Through History Romance Writers

Fees: Hearts Through History chapter members $20, all others $25

Entry: First 30 pages (plus a 1-2 page synopsis that is not judged and not to be counted toward the 30 pages)

Closed for entries:  March 15th

All winners will be announced at Hearts Through History’s annual meeting at the RWA National conference in Anaheim, California

OVERVIEW:

Pros:

3 qualified judges for each first round entry

All scores with a rating of 3 or less will be explained on the score sheet

Added possibility to final in the Legend Award

Another possibility to win in the Best of the Best

Finalists in the First Round have the opportunity to incorporate the judges’ comments before the final round

Final round judges are industry professionals

Synopsis not judged

Cons:

Only 3 entries in each category are finalists 

No classes for judges

Score Sheet is not very in depth

Review:

The Good –

There are 3 judges for each first round entry and the lowest of the scores is dropped.  The remaining two scores are averaged to determine the final score.  Spectacular! 

On the score sheet, any item rated a 3 or below by the judge is explained.  This is great.  It explains to the entrant why the low score was given.

The Legend: A Man For All Reasons Award is a separate category picked from all the entries.  It is based on the entrants score in a special Legend category on the score sheet.  Basically, it is a separate category for your hero.  The highest Legend scores in each category will advance to the final round.  Another way to get your manuscript before an editor/agent.  Wonderful!!

The Best of the Best is a separate category for each category’s first place winners.  Another way for an entrant to get his/her entry before an agent/editor!  Well done.

The finalists in the first round have an allotted amount of time to review the first round judge’s comments and make desired changes to his/her manuscript before the final round.  Anything to give an entrant the opportunity to make his/her entry the best it can be is great!

Final round judges are industry professionals.  They are:

Ancient/Medieval/Renaissance (AMR) judged by Kevan Lyon of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency

Georgia/Regency/Victorian (GVR) judged by Elizabeth Winick Rubinstein of McIntosh & Otis Literary Agency

Colonial/Western/Civil War (CWW) judged by Rhonda Helms of Carina Press

Post Victorian/World War II (PVW) judged by Mary Sue Seymour of the Seymour Agency

Time Travel/Historical Paranormal (TTP) judged by Nicole D’Arienzo of The Wild Rose Press

Historical Erotic judged by Jessica Alvarez of BookEnds, LLC

Legend: A Man for all Reasons judged by Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary Agency

The synopsis is not judged, so the work stands on its own merit.

The Bad –

There are only 3 finalists in each category.  This exact number seems limited and unfair, especially if one category could have, say, 10 entries and still have 3 finalists, while another has 30 entries and has 3 finalists.  

There is no official training or classes for the judges.  However, a guideline is included with each packet of entries a judge receives.  The lack of a class for the Hearts Through History chapter’s judges is disheartening.  While it’s important to follow a guideline to story issues and character development paths, it is also very important that judges know how to deliver constructive criticism without crushing the entrant.

While there are guiding questions for the judges to answer, the score sheet itself is very general. 

As far as the Romance Through the Ages Contest is concerned, it’s pretty average.  With a reasonable $25 entry fee ($20 for HHRW members), you get 3 first round judges and an explanation for any scores of 3 or below.  The unique items about this contest are the added chances to get your work before an agent/editor with the Best of the Best and the Legend Award.  However, the limited number of finalists and the lack of classes for the judges only hinder the potential of this contest. 

NOTE:  The HHRW website has been down since the beginning of the weekend (March 10th).  I couldn’t look at the score sheet to give you examples of the questions.  Please take a look yourself.  Also, it is up to the Board whether or not to extend the deadline of the contest.  As of this printing, there is no word on an extension.