Anyone entering any of the comps?

[Hobbiestwriter]

I've submitted for Bridport, now umming and ahhing at the Blue pencil agency one. Never submit to bath as the bombared me with emails every year about it, and the same sort of things seem to win every year there. Anyone else?

I found it useful when I entered before. It's included in your fee and I think they obviously can't do a full report for that, it would be hundreds of pounds. But it is useful to see why they didn't like it I think. Not that they put it like that 😂
What I find more challneging is when the feedback is things like show, don't tell and then the winner is telling and not showing, etc. I think then what it comes down to is: this had aaa hook that the agent thought they could sell easier than yours, which is a very depressing reflection of the publishing world

It says on the Chesire Prize website that they'll be releasing 'snippets' during the last week of August. Any idea where?

Hi @EveInEden Yes, I've tried looking for them too. I know they decided they needed longer for the judging process this year. Perhaps the 'snippets' will be late too ... Since entering the competition I've embarked on a pretty major rewrite so I'm now feeling a little detached about the outcome, but wish you the very best of luck. 🤞

This week was the updated date. Hopefully they'll keep to it.

According to X/ Twitter, they’ve decided not to do the snippets this year because they don’t get enough views to justify the time spent. Bit of a shame, I was really looking forward to them.

I really need to get another X account. Haven't bothered since Twitter. Must have been a recent decision.

The Bath Novel Award released their snippets on BlueSky. For obvious reasons there's been a move away from X as a platform. The Cheshire Novel Prize actually commented on it in one of their posts I think, and it might be one of the reasons why there have apparently been far fewer entries this year. It's a shame about the snippets. All in all, it feels like it's been a rather wobbly year for the Cheshire Prize.

Anyone successful with Cheshire? I wasn't.

Me neither.

But I’m questioning the professionalism of this competition as one of the titles on the longlist was listed as ‘phycoligical suspense’. Surely checking for typos is the bare minimum you’d expect for someone running a paid competition…

I'm really wondering whether the fact that my major hook/inciting incident isn't within the first few pages is an issue for competitions, or actually for publishing in general.

@EveInEden I'm wondering the same too. My 'inciting incident' - the arrival of a guest - certainly happens within the first few pages, but the story as such doesn't really kick off until the end of Act One with a further reveal. As I said, I've just started a big rewrite, so I thought I wouldn't care much either way, and honestly wasn't expecting to make the long list. I would have been thrilled to make the Top 100 however, just for a much needed confidence boost. I swore off competitions for a while because failure to be listed always makes me question my work in progress. But perhaps that's all to the good. It's a bloody tricky market at the moment, by all accounts ... But yes, having to pick myself off the floor confidence wise this afternoon. Sorry you and @messymaple didn't have better luck. It's tough, isn't it?

No joy for me from Cheshire either. Ah well. @EveInEden and @Hazelwood63 I tossed my draft around to cram in that inciting incident as early as possible, but I’m getting tired of this strict code and am wondering how important it is if the story is unfolding naturally. It’s just a competition, anyway. It’s very, very subjective. If the judges didn’t pick our entries, well, then our books are just not for them. Another day, another judge, and maybe we’d have been in there. Keep going.

I was going to post something about that, too, but then wondered if the thriller really is something to do with the study of algae… You never know.

My inciting incident occurs at the 9% mark which is 10k words in. It fits in with the general writing advice I've read and it is all set up way before hand, but Cheshire say within 2k words. So now I'm sulking and am concerned it is way too late. Moving it means chopping chapters.

It's hard isn't it. I think I'll be OK, then wham! It hits your confidence. Top 100 is all I really want, for that confidence boost.

Has anyone had feedback from the Cheshire Prize yet? I had an email to say it would be sent out from 1 November – wondering if anyone’s heard and has found the feedback useful.

Nope. I'd actually forgotten I was expecting feedback. Sending my MS to a beta this week and am so scared that they think I can't write or it's underdeveloped and I'm unaware.

I’ve entered the National Poetry Comp!

The feedback dates keep changing so it’s confusing. Now they’re saying it will go out November until the end of January. Don’t know anyone who has had it yet.

I don't think I'll enter again. It"s been such a long gap between submission and receiving feedback, I don't know how useful it will be. And too many changes to dates. The other comps I entered stuck to timelines.

The Cheshire situation is odd, isn't it? I’ve had emails about their new podcast and seen social media posts about it, but I too had forgotten about the competition feedback we’d all paid for.

It seems a bit of a mess tbh. I googled and found a thread on another site where entrants were criticising the constant changing dates etc. The founder went on there and ranted at them and it turned a bit combative. All very strange and don’t think I’d enter again.

Any feedback yet?

Not for me. How about you? Under the circs, I’m not eagerly anticipating anything they might have to say about my efforts.

No nothing. Thinking probably won't receive anything until the end of January.

Anyone entering Discoveries?

No feedback for me either. So bored waiting for it now.

I’m thinking of entering Discoveries now I’ve given my manuscript a big edit since the last time.