Ready…Aim…Fire! Targeting Contests As Part of Your Career Plan

Presenter’s Biography:

2008 Golden Heart® finalist Amy Atwell has experienced every aspect of writing contests.  Having entered over 60 contests over the past ten years, her manuscripts have won the Winter Rose, Great Expectations, Beacon, Golden Gateway, Heart of Outreach contests and Award of Excellence.  She has over 25 contest finals to her credit, including The Maggie, The Sheila and The Daphne du Maurier contests.  Amy’s also judged numerous contests including Romance Through The Ages, Great Expectations, The Golden Pen, The Barclay Sterling, More Than Magic, and she coordinated the 2009 Golden Pen Contest.   When not writing single title romantic suspense, contemporary romance or mainstream historicals, Amy runs the WritingGIAM community of loops to help “PRO equivalent and up” writers achieve their writing goals.  Read more about Amy at her website:  http://www.amyatwell.com.

Workshop Description:

Overwhelmed by the number of writing contests out there?  Unsure whether to enter?  Unclear about why you should enter?  This class is geared for unpublished writers seeking feedback and/or a chance to final in the hundreds of writing contests offered through RWA® chapters.

Contests offer opportunities for feedback from published authors, agents and editors.  But contests cost money and valuable writing time.  This interactive workshop will include handouts, examples and open Q&A to help writers understand what they can expect to gain from entering a contest.  The workshop will provide an overview of the contest process, sources for researching contests, help writers identify their motives for entering a contest, and even give tips on preparing your contest entry.