A B N A Vets Forum Semifinal notices out - Post ..

0-hour has arrived.  The semi-finalists are being notified even as I type.

Here's the url for my entry 

Peter, if you didn't get a rejection letter, you shouldn't give up hope.  It took weeks for some people to get the notification that they'd been accepted the first time.

Chrys -- I know the "list" is somewhere on Amazon, but do you have the url? I can't find it in those crazy threads on the forum.

Doug -- Congrats!

Congratulation Leah and Doug! Anyone else?

I'm not on the list but I haven't received an email yet.

Gayna 

And all a good night...  My name is not on the list either, and no email...

I apparently didn't make the cut, but some others did that have me--like Peter--scratching my head and wondering if Ebeneezer Scrooge was my reviewer. LOL

The thing is, I know my book is damn good. If the Amazon reviewer/s can't see that, not my fault. They only read 5,000 words. I have 170,000 more they missed out on (yep, it's long).

I'm dusting off my query letters that have been in cyber-storage, and getting out my red pencil to find those typos I know are there, and I'm taking it to a more deserving venue. The contest was great, but it reminded me a little of American Idol: amateurs voting on amateurs. As soon as I saw that in the contest info, I thought, "That can't be good!"

And if I can't get an agent or a publisher, I'll publish the silly thing myself. There will always be traditional publishing houses, but I think they need to look out below, because a lot of quality writers are POD publishing a lot of quality work; they may need to rethink the way they're selecting.

Seriously folks, all who didn't make the cut: If James Patterson can be published, SO CAN YOU!!! (sorry you JP fans, but his writing is mediocre at best).

Cheers,

Sharon

Sharon, I couldn't agree with you more -- there's so much junk being sold these days, any of us could do better.

I've felt a little funny about the contest for the very reasons you mention, but on the whole it doesn't seem much less fair than the usual querying/slush pile procedure.  It's just that it's public, so easier to hold up to criticism or even ridicule.

I've looked at some of the entries in my category, and they're competent at best, mediocre or downright ill-written and unoriginal at worst.  Nothing shines.  I'm sure some do, but I haven't found 'em.  (Except for mine, of course. <winks>)

Anyhow, I want to see that PW review.  That's what I'm in this for -- something I can quote to an agent in a query.

Just a note -- it's easy to say this contest sucks if you didn't make the cut, and if you did, you might wish to defend it.  I made it, and I say it sucks, just like all of traditional publishing sucks.  But if it's an avenue to getting published, or at least a learning experience, then I'm more for it than against it.