Curiouser and Curiouser Contest Results

Tonight I came home and received my entry back from Prestigious Contest (names have been changed to protect the innocent). I didn’t final, which is fine–I enjoy reading the feedback. Prestigious Contest is a particularly nice one where the finalists presumably are read by Top Editors, sell their manuscripts, and go on to fortune and fame. Or so many tend to think.

I read my first page of feedback(3 total–wowzers!) and was pleasantly surprised that Multipublished Author said I had great style, good humor, and that I needed to explain more in the beginning. She had a few “Huh?” moments that she thought could easily be resolved with a little more attention to certain questions. Great. I love constructive feedback that tells me specifically what needs fixing. :hello2: Best of all, she said that she could imagine this selling with some cleaning up.

Then I looked at feedback from Author #2. She started out telling me that clearly I was a beginning author. After I picked up my shredded ego off the floor, she went on to tell me that she felt my entry needed better plot, better characters, and it would have been much stronger without the prologue.

Ah, the kicker. Because, you see, I didn’t write a prologue.

I checked it again. Yes, my title was clearly typed at the top of the page. But I have to wonder–is that truly my score sheet? Or did she send the same one with every entry she judged?

I didn’t write a prologue! There is no prologue! There never was a prologue! To quote Charlie Brown, “AAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!”

Was I ROBBED of finalist status because of a form contest feedback letter? (Cue the melodramatic music and swooning.)

I guess I shall never know.