Contests: Why should I enter them?

SP: The judging of entries is highly subjective. You're totally at the mercy of what the judges are looking for, whether you wrote a solid piece or not. I guess it depends on what contests you're entering and coming up empty in. If you're not scoring at least a third or something in the state sports writers contest, well, that could be a problem. If you're going up against bigger papers with more experienced writers in a state or regional contest, well, sometimes you have to just keep plugging.

As for the ol' resume, I think I have one sentence on there that says "award-winning journalist." Unless you're winning something national, man it's a sentence. I'm not trying to be flip, but I discovered a third-place state award lying in a stack of junk on my never-used office desk. Somewhere, there's an award that serves as a bookend.

They are what you want them to be. Just focus on your writing and it will come.

 

My mistake is either getting my hopes up, not understanding how good you really have to be to win one of these damned things (or at least place), or not taking a look at what actually does win to see what it really takes.
It's probably a combination of all three.
I've earned a few HMs and one first in the company wide contest (though for the longest time I was beside myself when my better work kept falling short). Now I'm going through the same thing with NEPA. I've never been a finalist, ever. I'll admit, I don't enter a lot of things, but I've always felt (and had other people back up those feelings) that the stuff I entered had a legitimate shot.
I suppose no matter how good you are there's always someone better. That's life. As I said, I suppose coming up empty in these things keeps you humble, but after a while it just feels like a kick in the nuts.
Sorry to repeat myself.

 

Potatoes, it's a crapshoot. I sent in something to NEPA this year and was notified I'm top 3. I sent in what I thought was a solid section. The editor thought I should send in something more representative of what I do on a year-round basis (during the HS season I usually go 12-16 pages, and during summer 6-8 pages). I really liked this section, though, and went with my gut instinct. Lo and behold, I'm top 3. You never know why something will be deemed good. But it's all a crapshoot because you never know who exactly is doing the judging. Also, just because we win something doesn't mean we're all of a sudden good. In the grand scheme of this business, I suck compared with the giants. I do it because I love it, which is why we should do it in the first place.

 

I was making an analogy as to how should forget that you entered and dwell on it so that if you won, you'll be surprised.

Man, you are one depressing dude. You sound like somebody who needs to have his hand held and his neck caressed. "There, there, Smallpotatoes. The mean ol' Awards Monster won't get you as long as I'm here ..."

Here's my advice: Don't enter contests. You're too fragile to handle not only the rejection, but probably the excitement. The winner's guilt would consume you.

And stop asking for suggestions on what you should do since you already have made up your mind that you'll never win anything and that you most certainly will contract syphyllis and die a miserable and lonely death, your body not found for weeks because your family and friends stopped caring long ago, unable to endure such a dour SOB.

 

What blondebomber said.

Sheesh.

 

I celebrate your entire catalog of posts.

 

blondebomber,

You are way off base here. How in the hell do you reckon smallpotatoes is gonna contract syphillis?

 

Good point. If he can't bring himself to enter a contest, how in the world would he have enough confidence to enter a woman?

 

You never know who's winning those things. I've turned in columns that I thought were ringers and won nothing and turned in duds that won first. A few years ago I entered several columns, and the one I just threw in to fill out the requirements won.

One suggestion: If you find out the judges are from Texas, slip in a rodeo reference or two, or include a rodeo photo with the story.

 

Thanks guys.

 

potatoes...

some of the criticism here is over the top. i think that goes without saying. but if you can, try to see what some people are saying without paying much attention to *how* they are saying it.

this job isn't just about writing, and neither are winning awards. more than half of what we do is being adept in an array of social situations and being able to deal and build trust with a variety of personalities from the strong-willed to the shy. and that never happens on the first try; it is the product of patience and persistence and our own personality.

it seems like every now and then you post something on here about how you can't get along with this coach, or that coach, or how a parent's complaint has you all flustered, and so on. we all run into it, but we deal. it seems like you aren't able to just shrug those sort of things off. i'm not going to cite examples, but i think the general consensus around here would agree to that sentiment.

you're a good dude. you're passionate, informed, and have aspirations in this business. who can fault you for that? but from afar, i'd say trust yourself a little bit more, be confident in your decisions, realize rejection is part of life -- and the essence of being a writer -- and don't let the woe-is-me dramatics define who you are. it'll probably improve your relationships with sources, thus your reporting, thus your chance come hardware time.

the bottom line is, if you don't have the thick skin for handling the disappointment come awards time (and yeah, it sucks) how can you do the job the right way on a day-to-day grind?

my two cents, hope it helps

 

Why are you so hung up on this? Contests don't measure your day-to-day performance, and they are incredibly subjective. Still, it's nice to place in -- or win -- one, especially an APSE or SPJ, and they don't look bad on a resume. They're not easy to win, and the field is crowded. If you place, it's a nice accomplishment. If not, no big deal. But you never know. There have been years where I thought I had APSE-worthy stuff that did not win or was not entered because I switched papers. The last time I placed, I was (pleasantly) stunned. If you don't enter, you'll just stay stuck on zero, so you have nothing to lose.