Anyone want to join a Jan Feb competition thread?

[Peasnbeans]

I know that people say they are not a good thing but I do find they give me a boost and some needed validation that I'm not writing into a void.
I've set myself £150 to spend this year (2024) on entries when I have to pay. Some I refuse to enter for different reasons.
I've just sent off to Exeter Novel Prize - it's expensive but I was longlisted last year so it's worth another go with new work.
Anyone out there willing to be a virtual writerly friend?

Thank you @Hazelwood63 Good luck with your submissions too. Have you ever thought of sending directly to publishers? I did plan on proofreading the first few chapters of my novel ready for the competitions but I've been so busy at work this week that a rest day has taken over.

Does anyone know if you can enter the same novel to Cheshire that you entered on a previous year? I know you can for Bath but can't find an answer for Cheshire.

@GhostImposter I think you can - if you've looked at it again, and as long as you pay the entry fee I can't see why they'd say no.
Try tweeting them.

I'll do that. I'm actually thinking ahead of myself though. I'm thinking of entering the novel I'm currently working on because chunks of it are decently well polished. But I'm not confident it would all be to that standard by the time the full manuscript would be needed. Like it would definitely be at an ok standard but maybe not to what I know is my current best.

I'd hate to shoot myself in the foot if it would be significantly better next year but ineligible. But at the same time I like the idea of getting feedback this year.

Cheshire have confirmed to me that you can resubmit the same novel if you feel you've improved it following a previous submission. They even said that the 2023 winner was a resubmission from the previous year.

Well submitted to the Borough press/Times NF open submission competition with minutes to spare. Having read carefully the rules, I realised I had 50 pages, but too many words to had to edit heavily with less than an hour before the deadline. I’m not holding my breath, but it is a start…!

Averynicerejectionletter Good luck with your entry! It was thanks to your first post that I heard about this competition, and I've submitted too. Although I've finished the whole first draft, it still needs a very heavy edit, which seems just as time-consuming as the writing phase. I've not touched it since I submitted a couple of weeks ago... so my mission in February is to get back on it, so that I actually finish the book.

Ooh good luck to you too! @PreFabBroadBean I don’t even want to open the draft I sent last night in case I cringe 😂

Don't forget the Lucy Cavendish prize deadline this week.

Thanks @everythingcrossed - this caught me out, as it asks for 40-50 pages, but spaced 1.5 PT, which means I need to polish further into the opening of ms, make sure it breaks at a hooky point and write a much longer synopsis! Must not leave until last minutes.
AND closing time is NOON!

Hello everyone, I’ve just submitted my first ever competition entry to Lucy Cavendish. I’ve recently graduated as a mature student with an MA in CW and thought I’d be brave. Bricking it now. Really struggled to get my synopsis in five pages…I definitely need more practice with those. Can’t believe it still!!! Good luck to everyone!

@Dellabob123 well done you! 🤞

Quick question on the novel contests. Is there generally an over/under when they ask for the first 5000 words? That's pretty much my first two chapters but I'm polishing them up now and they are likely to come in under. I don't really want to add an extra few hundred words of filler to bulk them up. Nor do I want to add the first few hundred words of chapter three as that would just seem odd.

Congratulations @Dellabob123 There are some online guides about writing a synopsis, I'll look for some for you. Often people ask for a single side of A4 synopsis, or even a 300w max.
That's when it's tricky.
@GhostImposter when there's a word limit for anything I never cross it, as I know that's a quick route to the bin! So I'd suggest you stay under it, but break at a good place to keep them reading, or leave them with a question.
Ultimately, if they stop reading at a point where there haven't been many questions posed in your manuscript they'll stop reading and think 'meh' and put it to one side.
If they stop reading and think 'ohh! I want just a little bit more! Don't stop there!' then it'll go in a good pile.

It's radical, but I don't always break up my work into chapters until later. You could try reading your opening in a block and find the magic spot at 5000w?
Good luck!

There's usually something in the rules about wordcount, but generally it's fine to go under for a natural cut-off point. I would never go over, unless it explicitly states in the rules that there is leeway. I haven't been involved in any novel comps, but I've read for short story comps and going over the word count has always been an automatic disqualification. I don't think the disqualified writers would have been informed that they'd been disqualified, so if you go over the limit, you could well be throwing money away on entry fees and never even realising you've scuppered your chances.

@Peasnbeans It's radical, but I don't always break up my work into chapters until later. You could try reading your opening in a block and find the magic spot at 5000w?

Chapter 2 ends on quite a hook-y spot, so I think that's a good place to stop. I just find the idea of working to word counts a bit stressful as it adds a kind of false boundary to work within. Especially when some of the competitions ask for different word counts.

@Peasnbeans thank you! I really struggled and the thought of summarising into a shorter version terrifies me.

Has anybody heard anything back from Lucy Cavendish prize yet? I know in previous years they have sent out emails before longlist to say whether you were successful/unsuccessful.

Haven't had an email from LC either. Good luck...

The LC longlist has been announced, for those waiting.

@Averynicerejectionletter Did you ever hear anything from the Borough Press open submission? That galvanised me into actually submitting something, even though I obviously wasn't successful, as I've heard nothing. 😀However, I have now finished the first edit of the book, and think I need to do a lot of cutting!

Funnily enough I tried to check the dates we would be informed by on Monday but couldn’t find which day they would let us know. From prior years I think it was the end of May but a date in June sticks in my memory? Anyway, I haven’t heard so assume the same really.

Yes, onwards and upwards 🙂I think I need a deadline to motivate me though!

How do you deal with rejection? I have entered my first writing competition (essay not novel) and am waiting for the results, knowing that I am about to be upset at not winning 😄

I think you have to think about it in terms of job applications. You very rarely get 100% success rate in every position you apply for. Doesn’t mean you’re not a great candidate just the hirer preferred another. My memoir piece for this competition was quite amusing (think ‘this is gonna hurt’) but maybe it wasn’t to the taste of the reviewer. Or maybe it was just not good enough. We won’t know but as the old saying goes, ‘what is meant for you won’t pass you by’.

Keep going. Persistence and failure are not natural bedfellows.