I really didn't intend to post about the FanLit contest again, but I'm going to, and I'm going to do so with my head held high.
Today, Fan Lit has announced that they're awarding me with the Editorial Grand Prize for the contest. You can see all the prizes laid out here, but the simple explanation is this: I get to pitch ideas at Fox TV, and if they like one, possibly have it developed into something bigger.
The question of whether I'm going to accept has come up. The answer is: Yes.
Why?
My complaint with Fan Lit was that the voting system was flawed and should be repaired. I still believe that there were issues with the voting process. I stopped submitting or reading chapters at the end of week four. It wasn't any fun to submit a chapter and not know whether it failed to make the finals because it legitimately didn't belong there, or because there were duplicate accounts and unfair voting going on. That's why I stopped participating in the weekly rounds.
The Editorial Grand Prize was not given as a result of voting by the participants in the contest. This prize was determined by the editorial team at Fan Lit. My complaint was never about the editorial process at either Avon or Fan Lit. Therefore I don't feel there is an ethical conflict involved in accepting the prize. I'm flattered that my writing stood out enough to catch the editors' attention, and I'll keep people up to date with how it goes.
I haven't talked about it for a while, but I write screenplays as well. This is a fantastic opportunity to pursue something I've wanted to do for some time.
Thank you to everyone who's sent their congratulations. If anyone wants to question my decision, I'm willing to answer those who sign their names.
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20 comments:
My only question is: How much do you rock? A lot, or a hell of a lot?
You go, girl.
Just wanted to say... much congratulations sent to ya! I'm anxious to see what you come up with so please keep us posted. Good luck!
Congratulations, Sara! :-)
That's so cool, Sara. I'm super proud of you. You deserve it, you're an amazing writer!
Sienna (Sara)-
Just wanted to add a big CONGRATS to winning the Fox deal (and I'm thinking, truly, thank goodness it wasn't me!). With your screenwriting experience, I think the prize went to the best person. Most of all, I just want to say ENJOY!
WOW!!!
Congrats, Sara! That's so awesome! You deserve this so much. :D
Very cool, Sara! Congrats to you!!!
That's awesome Sara! Congrats! Tell any naysayers to take a hike. ;)
Fantastic Sara!!!! You totally deserve it. Like this award was meant for you. Now go out and make good use of it. This could be the start of an entire career!
Alice
Congratulations, Sara! Have a fabulous time -- I'm so thrilled Avon chose someone with such enormous talent!
Rebecca (aka Cosima)
Congratulations! That is so awesome for you! Hope you have a great time, learn a lot, and that we get to see something you wrote/pitched on the screen soon! Great job and good luck!
I was really happy that you won until I found out who you actually were, then I wasn't so happy after all. I think Avonfanlit. has done a terrible thing to us all by picking you. Yhe final joke was truly on us! The reason I say this is because you announced to everyone on the forum that this contest was a scam and that you were withdrawing from the contest. I applauded you for your decision, your ethics and your wisdom afterall you have many years of computer experience and had concrete evidence that cheating was going on! And now you post on your blog that you are accepting this offer? You also make up some mumbo jumbo story of why you are accepting this, bull if it had nothing to do with avon...they are setting the rules and that means the voting as well!
It is a shame that people like you are so desperate to climb that ladder that they forget their integrity. And do you think that you really won because of your writing? I guess you are the one who has to live with yourself. What goes around comes around!
you my dear are a hypocrit!
Heh. Looks like you've picked up a troll, Sara. I know -- and share, obviously -- your concerns about voting integrity in FanLit, and I applaud your decision to accept the Fox prize. For a number of reasons, I was very pleased to hear that they awarded it to you.
To Anonymous, I have the following to say: Catching sock puppets is all about pattern recognition. ;-)
Sara! Sara! Sienna~!
Yay~!!!!!!!! I am so proud of you for sticking with this~! You were so much fun @ AFL, and even though you weren't there after round four, I hope everyone knows that she was in the background cheering me on and giving me tons of encouragement~! There is no question in my mind that they could have given this award to anyone else~!
Did you see~! all of those roses annon? They truly meant something spectacular. And that something was Sienna...
now,sara, if i could just figure out how to convince you to give us a new Firefly TV show :O) lol.
I have your blog on my favorites list, Sara. Are they going to fly you out to California? how cool~!!!! Congrats again~!!!
Lori, it's really big of you to apologize. I think your feelings are very understandable after finaling four times.
FWIW, it's really hard to get to an Avon editor via a query letter. Avon's big enough that it's practically impossible to get a partial request without an agent or a face-to-face with an editor at a convention.
So don't give up hope just because your query didn't go anywhere at Avon. The fact that you finaled four times should tell you you have a ton of talent (I only managed to final once and found that plenty vindicating, LOL!). If you're not already querying agents and doing RWA conferences, then it's time to start. Because you're going places. It may not seem at the moment like you got anything out of FanLit, but I'm guessing you're mistaken about that!
Lori and I spoke privately, and there are no hard feelings. But to echo what Jacqueline said, it takes a lot of courage to apologize and I want to thank you for it, Lori.
And thank all of you who've offered your support and congratulations. I'll be making a more official thank you post soon. :)
Another way to get a manuscript in front of an Avon editor is to final in an RWA contest. In fact, I just saw a contest announcement the other day where May Chen of Avon was listed as the final round editor for historical. A lot of authors have sold books or found agents this way. Donna Caubarreaux maintains a list of RWA and non-RWA contest deadlines and links at the Contest Divas web site.
Lynne has a good point about the RWA contests. I have a manuscript at Kensington with Hilary Sares right now because I finaled in the Portland Golden Rose. And I entered another contest through the Connecticut RWA chapter that has finalists judged by Tessa Woodward at Avon. I'll know whether I finaled by the end of this week or early next, I think.
I don't really expect anything of import to come of either of these contests (i.e., I'm not expecting a request for a full from either), but it's good to get in front of an editor and get feedback on what's lacking that could perhaps get me over the top next time. This is, after all, only my first manuscript!
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