KATHLEEN BACUS: Another Contest Success Story

Many thanks to the ‘Seekers’ for inviting me to blog today. I visit this blog regularly and while I don’t always have time to leave a comment, I have been truly impressed by the support you all give each other as you work through the various stages of your writing careers. I’ve also noticed lots of discussion about writing contests. What contests you’ve entered. Who has finaled. Who’s won. I love the way you celebrate each other’s contest achievements. I’m a big fan of contests. I have to be. I’m published because of contests I entered. Let me explain.

Back when I first began to write for publication more years ago than I care to share with you nice folks, a divorced mom with a five-year-old and a set of three-year-old triplets, I wrote historical romances. Western Historical Romances to be precise. Raised with horses, liberal doses of Duke Wayne, and possessing an abundant imagination, I figured it was a good fit. I joined Romance Writers of America and my local chapter and set out to write the ‘Great American Western Romance Novel’. From my RWA membership I learned that there were fabulous contests aspiring author types like me could enter, garnering feedback from judges and, perhaps, even catching the eye of a final judge editor or agent. Sweet. So I polished up the first chapters of my rousing western and sent it off to the Fiction of the Heartland Contest sponsored by the Mid America Romance Authors chapter. Guess what? I finaled! But that wasn’t the best part. The published author who judged my entry had taken the time to enclose a lovely, complimentary handwritten note with my score sheets. That judge? None other than Cheryl St. John, Harlequin Historical author and RITA nominee. Cheryl’s letter of encouragement made me dare to believe I might actually be published some day. And, believe me. I needed a reason to believe back then.

I finished the book and began the arduous process of trying to find it a home. I had nibbles aplenty. Requests for partials and fulls. But no sale.

So much for the ‘Great American Western Novel’.

Never one to mope for long, however, I decided to try my hand at penning a Harlequin Romance. My first and only attempt was titled, CHANCE FOR A LIFETIME. In case you hadn’t guessed already, the hero’s name was ‘Chance’. I know. Lame. The manuscript is stuck away in the top of my closet rarely unlikely to see the light of day--unless I have a particularly masochistic moment and decide to drag it out just for ‘fun’.

At this point I decided I needed to go in yet another direction. I’d always tried to see the humor in any given situation, tried to keep things fun--and funny--for the kids during some pretty unfunny times. So, I turned my hand to humor. I wrote an off the wall romantic comedy titled FIANCÉ AT HER FINGERTIPS and began to send it out into the world.

While I was garnering rejections left and right, two things happened. One. I entered the Golden Heart and, two, my mother brought a newspaper article to my attention. The article was about a young man who borrowed his in-laws’ car and drove it to the mall to shop. He leaves the mall and drives back to his in-laws’ house, pulls up into their driveway and his father-in-law comes outside and says, “That’s not our car.” My mom thought the intriguing little fact that certain ignition keys also fit certain other vehicles might spark a story idea or two--and was she ever right! Once I found the perfect heroine--cockeyed cowgirl ‘Calamity Jayne’ Turner--I was off and running. In the interim I learned that I was a Golden Heart finalist for Fiancé at Her Fingertips. What a huge thrill.

With Calamity Jayne finished, I began the task of sending out queries. Again. In the meantime I noticed Dorchester Publishing and Romantic Times Book Review formerly known as RT BOOKclub were co-sponsoring the first American Title Contest with the first prize to be a book contract. How cool was that? The contest was seeking contemporary novels! What a coincidence!

So I entered Calamity Jayne and I was one of the ten finalists! It was a wild ride. Unfortunately, I was booted off the AT Island in the third round. Majorly disappointed, I came home from work one day for lunch to discover Alicia Condon, Editorial Director with Dorchester Publishing had left a message indicating Senior Editor Chris Keeslar had read CALAMITY JAYNE and really enjoyed it and would I please give him a call. Would I? Are you kidding?

The rest, as they say, is history. I’ve published seven books with Dorchester since the American Title Contest in 2005--six ‘Tressa Jayne Turner’ mysteries, plus my Golden Heart finaling FIANCÉ AT HER FINGERTIPS, released in late April which, coincidentally, had been rejected by my editor the year before. Just goes to show what persistence--and a rewrite--can do. My sixth ‘Tressa Jayne Turner mystery’ ANCHORS AWEIGH will ‘launch’ this coming November.

I didn’t win the Golden Heart back in 2005 but my life has been enriched in so many ways by the awesome group of ladies--and gentleman--who make up the 2005 Golden Heart nominees dubbed ‘The Wild Cards’. They are a constant source of support, encouragement, information, and inspiration. I count this as one of my most valued contest wins.

So, as you can see, in one way or another, contests have played a huge role in my success as a published author. Contests continue to be an important part of my writing and I’ve garnered wins and finals in a number of published contests.

Are you a contest junkie? What criteria do you use to decide whether to enter a contest--both published or unpublished? How many contests will you typically enter the same project in before you move on? Do you think the value of writing contests is declining? Are there too many contests out there?

And last, but certainly not least, any contest news to share???

Thanks again to the awesome ladies at Seekerville for inviting me to drop in. And, in the interest of full disclosure, I must state for the record that Glynna here is my wonderfully talented, brilliant cousin.

Hey. It runs in the family!

~Blessings!

Kathy Bacus
http://www.kathybacus.com/