Thanks for the link to non-romance writing contests!

Elizabeth, thanks! I almost always write thank yous because I appreciate the volunteers giving their time and expertise. And that some of those judges may remember my name and buy my books is a perk. Was super fun when a judge in the Sheila signed her name and we later became Golden Heart sisters. She cheered super loud when that manuscript won because she'd read it and loved it.

Thanks, Kay!! Yes, you learn from judging. Easier to see "flaws" in other's work than our own. Kind of the no baby is ugly to it's mama scenario. 😉 And you can learn to be a kinder judge over time and getting feedback.

I helped coordinate that contest so I love to follow names I recognize and see how much success they have. I accepted your Facebook request!

Oh, what a great idea, Tracy! Thanks for working on that!

I admit I was disappointed that the Maggie gives no scoresheet feedback and to hear you're seeing that with other contests. I do look at the scoresheet to see if it lines up with what I'm looking for before I enter a contest. I was frustrated with one contest where I judged and it didn't include plotting issues. Didn't judge in it again.

Thanks for stopping in and I'm flattered you remembered me from the OCC. Let's be friends. 😀

Denise, so glad to hear you got good feedback and that you used it to learn and improve your manuscript! That's a win. The rules say "The Golden Heart contest is open to RWA members who have not accepted a publishing offer for, or Self-Published, a work of original fictional narrative prose of 20,000 words or more by January 11, 2019." Hope you can finish that manuscript and enter if your short short is under 20k. Good luck!

Hi, Luna! Glad you've gotten good feedback. Second to the Golden Heart sisterhood, that's been the biggest perk of entering contests for me.

Good luck in the Golden Heart! I say enter both. You might final with both and I've had several friends who said they've entered multiple manuscripts and it was the one they didn't expect to final that did. Can't say it enough, but contests and judging is SUBJECTIVE.