The Short-Listers were announced today. Congratulations everyone!
I checked my name on their website three times or was it four? … Nope, not there!
In May, I applied for EMERGING QLD AUTHOR ─ MANUSCRIPT AWARD, with my heart full of hope and my head full of dreams.
PRIZE: $20,000 with a Publishing contract with Queensland University Press.
Winner announced on 4th September.
Of course I feel disappointed ─ actually more like devastation.
A friend asked me, do I feel embarrassed announcing a non-win?
I’d feel more humiliated if I didn’t bother trying!
Would I apply for this award again? You betcha!
But next time I’d make sure my submission was fully Edited and Polished.
(I simply ran out of time back then.) … With every competition, I’m learning valuable lessons.
I’m resolved to take every opportunity presented to me, to apply for competitions and publications.
The Australian Writer’s Marketplace is my Bible, well thumbed and high-lighted.
With each application I become more Industry Savvy, increasing my chances with the next round.
And I have another round or two of ammunition planned!
Next week I’m instigating a fresh Strategy …Tell you more soon.
PS. Here’s the QLD PREMIER AWARDS Link … http:///www.literaryawards.qld.gov.au
It takes guts to announce a Non-Win.I admire your courage and tenacity. Keep moving forward!
Good on you Karen! Your determination and persistence are fantastic. Bryce Courtenay says ‘bum glue’ is the writer’s key to success – gluing your bum to your chair and staying there – persistence, in other words. Your break is coming.
I once entered a writing competition that I was CERTAIN I would win. The day the winners were announced I got up super early to check the website. I was incredulous when my name wasn’t there and my shock was actually a physical response. I was later short-listed in a different competition with the same story. When you believe in something the results do come…eventually.
Thanx Jayne, for your support. I hope BUM-GLUE is the key as I’m spending hours chained to the computer, honing my skills, and praying for that BIG BREAK.
Karen
Hang in there and keep perservering
Marian
You have a great inner strength Karen. You’ll get there when the time is right.
Hi Karen,
I don’t see this as a non-win. Think of all you learned in order to submit. And think of the guts and determination you showed in having a crack at it. You believed in your book and yourself. How can that be a non-win? Didn’t Thomas Edison say ” I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”
You’re gonna run rings around that Edison fella. Like you mentioned – you already know how to do it better next time. You have already learned the lesson. There’s no way this book will remain unpublished.