Notes From Elaine

I had a discussion with a writer at a library event where I was a speaker. She said she was torn between wanting to enter the competition and trying her luck with the big publishers first. I asked her what she ultimately wanted, her book published and sold, or validation from a major publishing company. She said she wanted her book published, but still she hesitated. I understand that unpublished writers feel the need for this confirmation, and I encourage those that do to please pursue this avenue first. But if all you want is to publish and sell your books, or you are a writer who has done the rounds, and become disenchanted with the result, give yourself chance of achieving your dream and enter the competition. I can assure you we will be doing all that we can to make sure your sales are as high as they would be anywhere else. After all, we will have a financial stake in the outcome.  

The first couple of weeks of our competition have produced many entries. I was not expecting so many this month. Normally, people enter competitions at the last moment. Having these early entries is good from our judges’ point of view. It helps us to space the reading so we all have time to read each entry carefully and comment. The standard is high, so already I can see that the final decision will be difficult. However, if there is more than five that impress us, we will discuss with the writer the possibility of publishing them later. We still need more entries in the lower age children’s stories, so if you are sitting on a gem, don’t forget to put it in. Even if it doesn’t make it to the top five, you will be given constructive comments that can help you improve it.