What To Expect When You Final in the Golden Heart
Musings from a 2x Winner
With calls going out next week and tension levels rising, some of you writers may be wondering what possessed you last November to enter the Golden Heart. For those of you who don't know, the Golden Heart contest is presented by Romance Writer's of America and is the Romance writing industry's combined Oscar, Golden Globe and Palme d'Or for its pre-published authors. In other words, it's a pretty big deal. If you don't final, no worries. The GH is not a mandatory step toward publication, but if you do final get ready for an awesome ride and RWA's National conference to be a whole lotta fun. ;-)
Why, you may ask, is it fun? To answer that, I have to back up a step or three and give some perspective. The Golden Heart is a hard nut to crack. For fifty bucks you get five judges who give you a subjective number and...that's it. No comments on how to make the manuscript better, no reasons for the cruddy score you totally didn't deserve, and no excuses for why she turned into a lunatic and grew fangs the day they judged GH manuscripts and totally missed the brilliance that is your story. Unfortunately, it only takes one troll, er, perfectly impartial judge to knock a great manuscript out of contention. In fact, given the subjectivity of the GH judging process (which bears an eerie resemblance to the real world book buying public) it's safe to say not every entry that deserves to final does. However, it's also safe to say that anyone who does final does deserves it.
If you do final--and I'm assuming all of you will :-) -- congratulations! You should be very happy. Your writing life has just begun an instant upswing. The months between finaling and the awards ceremony should not be squandered. You may never have as great an opportunity to generate interest in your pre-pubbed writing than you do in these next few golden months.
Does a GH final mean a sure fire sale? Unfortunately, no, but it does provide instant credibility with agents and editors, so get those query letters out there. Polish the partials and perfect the fulls because you will receive requests for them. That said, do not miss registration day for editor and agent appointments at RWA's national conference. IMO, the biggest perk of being a current GH finalist is that you get first pick at those all-important time slots. No group sessions for you. Do your homework. Pick your dream agent/editor and have your computer ready bright and early on sign-up day.
If you're a finalist, short of selling your first born to garner the necessary funds, do attend RWA's national shindig, this year being held in San Francisco. Conference signals the last few days of being able to work your "current Golden Heart finalist" status. Granted, I haven't been a Rita contender (here's hoping ;-), but having been a GH winner twice, I think it might be even more important for GHers to make the conference than Rita finalists. Where the Ritas are kudos for a job well done, the Golden Heart is serious business for those on the cusp of breaking into the fiercely competitive world of Romance Publishing. If you're committed to selling, the only way to do it is to make contact with the agents and editors who want to publish your work. IMHO, face to face contact works wonders and there's no better ice-breaker/door opener/interest wrangler for a pre-pub than being able to say you're up for that pretty golden bling.
Which brings me back to why conference is fun. From the moment you pick up your badge with "Golden Heart Finalist" in bold letters beneath your name, you're the belle of the ball. Along with all the business benefits and the cute golden heart pin you're given, there's the champagne reception, which is a blast even if you don't drink like me because you get to mingle and squeal with all your favorite authors and fellow finalists. The awards ceremony takes on a whole new level of excitement when you're sitting in the front rows. When the presenter reads off the finalists in your category, it's just plain fun seeing your picture on the jumbotron and hearing your name and book title announced before an audience of your peers.
When you get the call next week congratulating you on your Golden Heart final, pick yourself up off the floor from where you've fainted ;-), do a Snoopy dance with your critique partners and then get going. You've got a lot of work to do and a ton of fun to have in the coming months.
Blessings to each of you,
Why, you may ask, is it fun? To answer that, I have to back up a step or three and give some perspective. The Golden Heart is a hard nut to crack. For fifty bucks you get five judges who give you a subjective number and...that's it. No comments on how to make the manuscript better, no reasons for the cruddy score you totally didn't deserve, and no excuses for why she turned into a lunatic and grew fangs the day they judged GH manuscripts and totally missed the brilliance that is your story. Unfortunately, it only takes one troll, er, perfectly impartial judge to knock a great manuscript out of contention. In fact, given the subjectivity of the GH judging process (which bears an eerie resemblance to the real world book buying public) it's safe to say not every entry that deserves to final does. However, it's also safe to say that anyone who does final does deserves it.
If you do final--and I'm assuming all of you will :-) -- congratulations! You should be very happy. Your writing life has just begun an instant upswing. The months between finaling and the awards ceremony should not be squandered. You may never have as great an opportunity to generate interest in your pre-pubbed writing than you do in these next few golden months.
Does a GH final mean a sure fire sale? Unfortunately, no, but it does provide instant credibility with agents and editors, so get those query letters out there. Polish the partials and perfect the fulls because you will receive requests for them. That said, do not miss registration day for editor and agent appointments at RWA's national conference. IMO, the biggest perk of being a current GH finalist is that you get first pick at those all-important time slots. No group sessions for you. Do your homework. Pick your dream agent/editor and have your computer ready bright and early on sign-up day.
If you're a finalist, short of selling your first born to garner the necessary funds, do attend RWA's national shindig, this year being held in San Francisco. Conference signals the last few days of being able to work your "current Golden Heart finalist" status. Granted, I haven't been a Rita contender (here's hoping ;-), but having been a GH winner twice, I think it might be even more important for GHers to make the conference than Rita finalists. Where the Ritas are kudos for a job well done, the Golden Heart is serious business for those on the cusp of breaking into the fiercely competitive world of Romance Publishing. If you're committed to selling, the only way to do it is to make contact with the agents and editors who want to publish your work. IMHO, face to face contact works wonders and there's no better ice-breaker/door opener/interest wrangler for a pre-pub than being able to say you're up for that pretty golden bling.
Which brings me back to why conference is fun. From the moment you pick up your badge with "Golden Heart Finalist" in bold letters beneath your name, you're the belle of the ball. Along with all the business benefits and the cute golden heart pin you're given, there's the champagne reception, which is a blast even if you don't drink like me because you get to mingle and squeal with all your favorite authors and fellow finalists. The awards ceremony takes on a whole new level of excitement when you're sitting in the front rows. When the presenter reads off the finalists in your category, it's just plain fun seeing your picture on the jumbotron and hearing your name and book title announced before an audience of your peers.
When you get the call next week congratulating you on your Golden Heart final, pick yourself up off the floor from where you've fainted ;-), do a Snoopy dance with your critique partners and then get going. You've got a lot of work to do and a ton of fun to have in the coming months.
Blessings to each of you,
Carla Capshaw
Carla is promoting the new Love Inspired Historical line by giving away this month's releases. That's two books. One book to two names randomly drawn at 9 pm MST. Just comment on her post today and leave a method to reach you. For a peek at this month's releases: Love Inspired Historicals.
Visit Carla at http://www.carlacapshaw.com/
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2004 and 2007 Golden Heart winner, Florida native, Carla Capshaw has wanted to be a writer & world traveler since she was ten years old. A lover of passionate stories with compelling, nearly impossible conflicts, she's found Inspirational Historical Romance is the perfect vehicle to combine lush settings, vivid characters, and a Christian worldview. Her Roman set, debut novel will be published by Steeple Hill Love Inspired Historicals in June of 2009. Currently working on a sequel, she still lives in Florida, but is always planning her next trip...and plotting her next story.
