Missy Tippens
I recently did a blog interview where I was asked about my first Seekerville post. I thought I would do something fun today. I'm sharing that first post from October 23, 2007! I think it can be encouragement for new writers or any writers having a hard time.
So, here's old Missy (or should I say YOUNG Missy?!)...
How hard was it to send out your first contest entry?
Well, I eventually got over the trauma of mailing that thing off. And my positive nature took over. Surely, everything was perfect. They would love my baby. My heart and soul had gone into the story, and I just knew it would final, an editor would love it, and I would make my first sale.
WRONG! When the time came for finalist calls (yes, at the time I posted sticky notes on my monitor that had the date of each contest announcement), did I get a call? No. I didn't. I was disappointed, but not devastated. Maybe next time. I bet I came close.
Obviously, I managed to keep going. I'm too hard-headed. And I just loved writing too much. So I tossed that envelope in a pile in the basement and moved forward. It was a good while before I entered another contest, though. I joined a critique group, then entered a couple of contests soon after revising the story. And it wasn't long before I finaled in the Laurie. What a thrill! And what a reward for staying on the course, even through the devastation. I remember that at the time I finaled in the Laurie, I was once again considering quitting (I don't remember why). I decided at the time that God had placed that final at the just the right time to encourage me. So I kept going. (But, hey, that topic is for another post.)
Anyway, tell us what mailing your first contest entry like. Did you nearly throw up on the poor postal worker like I almost did? :)
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New, older Missy again (notice I didn't say old!)...
So writers, tell me about your first contest entry! And readers, can you share a time where you put yourself out there and took a risk? Something I keep thinking about after reading this post so many years later: WHAT IF I HAD GIVEN UP THEN? I hope this can be a call for all of us to push through the discouragement and hard times and KEEP GOING.
After more than 10 years of pursuing her dream of publication, Missy Tippens, a pastor’s wife and mom of three from near Atlanta, Georgia, made her first sale to Harlequin Love Inspired in 2007. Her books have since been nominated for the Booksellers Best, Holt Medallion, American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award, Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, Maggie Award, Beacon Contest, RT Reviewer’s Choice Award, and the Romance Writers of America RITA® Award. Visit Missy at www.missytippens.com, https://twitter.com/, www.facebook.com/missy.tippens.readers.
I recently did a blog interview where I was asked about my first Seekerville post. I thought I would do something fun today. I'm sharing that first post from October 23, 2007! I think it can be encouragement for new writers or any writers having a hard time.
So, here's old Missy (or should I say YOUNG Missy?!)...
Okay, admission time. I'm nervous about this post. Let's face it, I'm in very good company among these Seeker ladies. They're funny (as in Julie's hormonal story), clever and great writers. So as I've been thinking and worrying for the past week about what to write (and checking out the other posts to see what I have to live up to!), it hit me that what I'm having is kind of like first-contest jitters.
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| Photo of Missy from 2007! |
Oh my goodness, I can't even begin to describe the terror. For one thing, at the time, I printed my entry, then went to the store or the church to make copies. Don't ask my why I never thought to print 4 or 5 copies. I made those trips to a copier for at least a year or two. And of course, that meant checking each copy to make sure everything had copied correctly (it didn't always).
So on that first trip to make copies for my first contest, I spread stacks all over the floor, checking the pages as I went. Then I bound everything with the exact kind of binder clips the contest required. Then I filled out and signed the entry form, once again reading each and every little rule to make sure I had complied--margins, font, spacing, page numbers, headings, name nowhere in sight. Then I labeled the package (mailed in the required envelope with no signature required), inserted the return envelope (no metered postage!), and finally read and re-read the address I was mailing it to. By the time I finished, my stomach hurt from the stress. Then when the postal man took it, I really thought I might throw up on him. What had I done? What if I had 26 lines on one page?! What if my name was on the synopsis?! Mary has a term for this--Senders Remorse (or something like that).
Well, I eventually got over the trauma of mailing that thing off. And my positive nature took over. Surely, everything was perfect. They would love my baby. My heart and soul had gone into the story, and I just knew it would final, an editor would love it, and I would make my first sale.
WRONG! When the time came for finalist calls (yes, at the time I posted sticky notes on my monitor that had the date of each contest announcement), did I get a call? No. I didn't. I was disappointed, but not devastated. Maybe next time. I bet I came close.
Wrong again. Eventually, the packet came in the mail. I was actually a little excited to see the feedback. But nothing prepared me for finding a sheet of paper that told the standing of all the entries (by number, of course, not name). I tied for 35th place out of 37 entries. Or gosh, there may have only been 36 entries. (See, Janet, I feel your pain with the similar results!)
I can't begin to tell you how humiliated I was. I remember my face burning. And I cried. I told myself I would NEVER, EVER enter another contest again. Of course, I wasn't going to ever write again anyway, so it wouldn't even matter. Surely, if I was bad enough to fall that low in the pack, then I didn't need to be writing anyway.
Obviously, I managed to keep going. I'm too hard-headed. And I just loved writing too much. So I tossed that envelope in a pile in the basement and moved forward. It was a good while before I entered another contest, though. I joined a critique group, then entered a couple of contests soon after revising the story. And it wasn't long before I finaled in the Laurie. What a thrill! And what a reward for staying on the course, even through the devastation. I remember that at the time I finaled in the Laurie, I was once again considering quitting (I don't remember why). I decided at the time that God had placed that final at the just the right time to encourage me. So I kept going. (But, hey, that topic is for another post.)
Anyway, tell us what mailing your first contest entry like. Did you nearly throw up on the poor postal worker like I almost did? :)
New, older Missy again (notice I didn't say old!)...
So writers, tell me about your first contest entry! And readers, can you share a time where you put yourself out there and took a risk? Something I keep thinking about after reading this post so many years later: WHAT IF I HAD GIVEN UP THEN? I hope this can be a call for all of us to push through the discouragement and hard times and KEEP GOING.
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| Current photo! |
"If there was one thing Josie Miller knew, it was the smell of a rich man. And whoever had just walked into the diner smelled like Fort Knox."
ReplyDeleteHi Missy:
If you had given up back then I would have never got the opportunity to read one of my all time favorite first sentences in a romance! The above quote is from your, "Her Unlikely Family", and that is still one of my favorite romances.
Now my first contest was at the urging of Tina. I did it and thought I was going to win. But I finished about halfway down the list. That was a wake up call. I woke up and discovered that they provided the grading sheets if you looked hard enough for them.
At first I thought having the grading sheets was very close to cheating. If you know what the judges want, then just give it to them.
My next contest was very odd. I got an 'F' and an 'A'. One judge hated it and thought I was making fun of the romance genre. The other judge 'got' what I was doing and was delighted with my chapters. There was a third judge and she gave me a 'C'. Overall I did not do very well. I had similar results in the next few contests except the third judge was giving me a little high than a 'C'.
I did manage to final in one contest but did not win. I didn't give up but the contests seemed to indicate that readers either liked what I was doing or hated it.
Now I think with Indy publishing that making half the readers happy, or at least one third of them happy, might be enough to be somewhat successful.
I think I need to enter a few more contests to check the waters again.
I'm still happy you did not give up then but I am worried that you may 'retire' now. :(
Vince
Vince, you have just described life as an author. Some will love... some will hate... some will say "meh".... and shrug you off.
DeleteBut with 300 million people, if we get 10,000 avid readers, that's a win!
And a tiny, tiny, tiny percentage. In the end, so much of all of this comes down to numbers.
But here's where you hit "GENIUS" in my book, my friend: You don't even have to make 33% of readers happy with independent publishing if you're a good and productive author.
You can make a living wage by making 5% of the readers happy because the world is a huge place, and I have readers on multiple continents and for some reason I can't explain, all of a sudden India has discovered me...
GO INDIA!!!!!
This new industry is amazing, and if we keep working hard and producing beautiful or funny or evocative or inspiring stuff, we claim our niche.
There are no real puzzles in writing, especially now.
Writers write.
A blessing of the job is flexibility, but too much flexibility makes folks way too relaxed. (This is not a worry here. We know this. :) I find the concept of relaxing to be quite annoying. Such a New Yorker!!!!)
Vince, how fun that you remember that opening line!! It's still my favorite opening line as well. My critique partner Lindi Peterson helped me by suggesting the Fort Knox part (since I'm from KY). :)
DeleteNo retirement for me yet! I'm not feeling led to do that. I'm just slowly pushing through while caregiving for a family member, and still dealing with some grief after losing my father last year. But I'm trying to make goals again and keep going on a story I plotted in a class last fall. Couldn't sleep last night so was plotting it in my head during the insomnia. :)
I also meant to say I agree with Ruthy!
DeleteRUTH!!!
DeleteIndia Claims to be the Second Largest English Speaking Country in the World with 125 Million English Speakers!
And India has discovered you!
WOW
RUTH
DeleteYour comments have inspired me! I have seven novels written that needed revisions and editing and now I think I could really sell them! (Selling Indy books to India. Who would have thunk it?)
I got to get to work!
Thanks.
Is it Irony?
DeleteI have found that the best plots developed while dealing with insomnia are the most likely to put me to sleep and thus be forgotten upon waking. Perhaps such dreams make insomnia jealous!
LOL, Vince! Maybe that's true. One book that hit me while falling asleep (and I got up and started typing the opening) is still sitting in a drawer. :)
DeleteI LOVE that this inspired you, Vince. You just never know what will do it.
DeleteRemember when we had to mail entries??? And when we had to MEASURE the margins to make sure they didn't break the contest rules? And waiting, waiting, waiting on that big envelope to come back... And the stunned feeling that you weren't the Next Big Thing???? WHAT????? :)
ReplyDeleteOh, this does bring back memories (more like night traumas and terrors in a few cases!!!!) and it was a long road to publication... But once there, the road has been more like a roller coaster and I love me some roller coasters!
Oh my stars, Missy, this was a fun look back...
And now I've got about 90 minutes to 120 minutes of writing time before the day smacks me upside the head, so I'm buckling down... thank you for this!
Ruthy, I know what you mean about the trauma! Every little margin and line count. Oh my goodness. And I still laugh that it NEVER EVEN OCCURRED TO ME to just print 3 or 4 copies of my entries!!! LOL! Probably because I was so preoccupied with the nit picking details because every contest was different. And I entered so many! I was targeting Love Inspired so pretty much entered every contest that had an LI editor as judge. :)
DeleteHope your morning was productive! I have to head out soon for a doctor's appointment but will work when I get home.
I remember paper copies and manila envelopes too. I remember "white out." Now is better.
DeleteI remember most:
DeletePostage, Postage, and more Postage.
Kathy, I can remember whiting out an error or two after making copies! Like an extra period or a comma that wasn't needed. :)
DeleteVince, the postage was outrageous for a full manuscript! Plus, we had to send the return package with all those stamps on it. I can remember feeling guilty for taking money away from our family income to send out those first manuscripts!
DeleteWhat I remember most about that era, was trying to be a Mac girl in a contest world that wanted Word or Word Perfect. My pages NEVER lined up right. That was my big stress factor.
DeleteI've entered a few contests with short fiction, but only one with a full manuscript--the Blurb to Book contest several years ago. I made it to the finals and I remember having my finger poised over the "send" link, so nervous, but at that point it was like "I can't be the worst writer they've ever read, right?" and I hit send. Needless to say I never got "the call", but it was so good for me in so many ways. That contest got me writing again, and was actually the first manuscript I'd done from start to finish. I haven't entered another contest, but I haven't quit writing either, so maybe it's time to enter something again.
ReplyDeleteThanks for an encouraging post for all of us!
Glynis, I think having to hit send on a computer is about the most difficult thing to do!! It's scary as all get out, because once you hit that button, there's no getting it back. :)
DeleteYou'll have to let us know if you enter another contest so we can cheer you on!
I agree about the difficulty of hitting the send key. At least in the old days you always knew you could change your mind on the way to the post office. This was comforting even if it was like entering cold lake water one inch at a time. It took longer, it was more discomforting, but it tested your resolve in a way a send button never could. We are funny creatures. :)
DeleteI don't remember my first contest entry, but obviously it couldn't have been too traumatic or I too would not be here. I can remember my first FINAL, I think it was Unpublished Maggies, and how validating it was. That was when I started keeping the Encouragement File. And developing my two-out-of-three response to criticism. I am glad I stuck with it, although I made every mistake that there is to make.
ReplyDeleteJust got the edits for "Settler's Hope" and more information on "The Logger's Christmas Bride," which will be part of Pelican's "Christmas Extravaganza." So technically I have two pieces out this fall. Such joy! Wish it had been sooner, but God's perfect timing...
Much to do. Edits on second book due Sept. 15, debut novel out Sept. 20, and San Antonio after that. What fun! And such a privilege, as Ruthy often says.
Kaybee
Kathy, that's all so wonderful!! So much excitement in your career right now! I'm so glad you stuck with it!
DeleteKathy, I hear you on the wish it had been sooner. It took me 30 years of on again/off again playing at writing to finally sell to Harlequin. But I know it was God's perfect timing because I was writing something totally different then. It was only when I switched to Inspirational that I sold.
DeleteSo fun to read your first post, Missy, and see how far you have come. I have not entered any contests but hopefully I will be ready for that soon.
ReplyDeleteSandy, I hope we can encourage you! It's so scary to send that first contest entry. But the feedback can be very helpful.
DeleteThis is awesome, Missy! A trip down memory lane!
ReplyDeleteI remember stumbling upon Seekerville as a newbie writer and being in awe of all of you. Even though you were all "successful" in my eyes (because you had all actually finished writing a book, I loved the way all the Seekers shared the nitty-gritty of the publishing world and how to navigate those choppy waters.
And yes, I remember my first contest entry. It was electronic, but I wasn't as familiar with the ins and outs of Word as I am now. It was a steep learning curve! And that trembling fear before hitting the "send" button!
In fact, I used to have that same trepidation whenever I posted a comment on Seekerville. :-)
Jan, I was seriously terrified when my first Seeker post went live. I didn't sleep that much that night! Had terrible insomnia. I can also remember being anxious posting comments at other blogs. Isn't it funny how difficult it can be to put ourselves "out there" on the Internet?
DeleteMissy, I don't remember my first contest entry as much as I remember my first critique. I'd completed my manuscript before I ever joined a writers group. It was a local RWA chapter and at the first meeting I went to, they said they would be doing critiques the next month and told us where to send our first ten pages. I could hardly wait to get that critique. Never mind that I knew nothing about POV or GMC, I just knew they were going to love it. So I sat down with this published author, excitement bubbling inside of me. Then she looked at me and said, "This reads like a police report." My heart sank. Of course, she was right, but I still think she could have been a little kinder with her wording. At any rate, because I had already finished a manuscript, I knew what I had could be fixed. Yes, there was much I had to learn, but I kept at it. And I'm so glad I did.
ReplyDeleteWow, Mindy, that must've been tough! I'm so glad you hung in there and kept at it!
DeleteOh, Mindy! I'm hurting for you! I remember taking a break from writing while I went back to grad school. When I came back to it, I joined a writer's group and everyone was talking about GMC and I had NO clue what they meant.
DeleteMary Cate, I remember wishing I had a list of all the things I needed to know. But now, I think it's better to learn as you go. Otherwise, it would be too overwhelming. I think that's why God had me wait so long to join a writers group. If I had joined it first, I would have thrown up my hands and said, "There's no way I can do this."
DeleteOh, Missy, how are we friends? Or maybe it's just a good thing we are. :) My first contest experience was exactly the opposite of yours.
ReplyDeleteI was writing pretty much in a vacuum, knew no other writers, but I'd joined RWA National, and I heard they had this contest for unpublished writers called The Golden Heart. I had two babies under 3 at the time, and was squeezing writing in whenever I could. I remember my mother coming to help out the day of the deadline so I could finish up my entry. (You didn't need a full back then.) Yes, I did the papers all over the floor thing, and the search for the perfect binder clips, but I had to print out all my copies because it was something like ten o'clock at night.
My loving husband packed me and the babies in the car and drove me to the main post office on 34th street in NYC so I could postmark it before midnight!
I still recall the sense of accomplishment - and relief- that I felt walking down those GPO stairs. I'm actually tearing up a little remembering.
Several months late, I got the call that I did final (under my real name, not Cate). I was so over the moon. I went to the conference fully expecting to win. HAH! That was the last time I ever expected to win a contest, so I was always pleasantly surprised when I did.
That final gave me the encouragement to keep going with two babies to care for, even though it was many years before I sold the first book. I remember my reaction to my score sheets - because yes, you got detailed scores back then too.
They don't think I'm boring!
Yes, that was my GH takeaway.
What a wonderful thing, Mary Cate!! If I had known you then, I would have been so jealous! hahaha I entered the GH for many years before I ever finaled (2006). And I was so crushed every year when I didn't get a call. I finally got wise enough to quit putting contest announcement dates on my calendar! LOL
DeleteHi Missy:
DeleteCate's comment about 'detailed scores' really jogged my memory. Some contests gave letter grades and some exact scores. You know, like, you got 5 points for doing x and 9 points for doing y, and a total score of 90 out of 100.
I thought that grading system was great except at the top were grades like 99.5, 99, 98.5, and my 90 was like 25 out of 30 entries!
That's when I was told that some contestants kept entering the same entry to one contest after another, with corrections of course, while always checking to see if the judges were different.
In the above situation it makes it very difficult to final. It's like competing with professional contestants! One Seeker here challenged me to a contest duel. We'd both enter the same contest and then compare scores. I asked what she would enter as the deadline seemed too close to finish it in time. She said, "I'll just dust off one of my high scoring entries, polish it up a bit, and have it ready to mail in a day or two."
I knew then that was not a duel I wanted to enter!
True story.
MORAL: If you are new to contests, select your first contest wisely.
Vince
Vince, I can only imagine how you felt after thinking you got a 90% only to find out it was 90 out of some other larger total. :)
DeleteYeah, I can remember entering contests only to find out some other people I knew from the contest circuit had entered (a lot of the time future Seekers), and knowing that they would probably beat me out! :)
The first contest I entered was the Barclay, and my first contest judge was none other than RUTHY! This was in...2005 or 2006 maybe?
ReplyDeleteShe was honest and kind, and I finished somewhere around 8 out of 10? I knew nothing of what it took to be a good writer, and Ruthy pointed this out with her educational comments. :)
Rather than make me want to quit, it made me want to hoe right in and get better, to crack the top five of some contest somewhere, then maybe to win one, and then to get that book contract.
Perhaps it is my stubborn nature, or the feeling that I could do this if I really tried, but I've never considered quitting.
Probably hard-headed stubbornness
Erica, that's such a fun story!! I love that connection you two have from way back many years ago! :)
DeleteYou know, I've been to the point of quitting several times, yet I think my stubbornness kept me from actually doing so. That, and God bringing encouragement at just the right time.
My very first stab at a writing contest goes back to Gr. 5, but I don't remember that far back. LOL Three years ago, I wanted to see if I had what it took to be a writer so on a whim I entered Writer's Digest Magazine's writing contest. I'd written an article for our Parents of Multiples (Twins Club) Magazine about our journey with Childhood Apraxia of Speech. My article received an honorable mention (I was totally floored!) and it was just the thing I needed to confirm that I had what it took to become a writer. Shortly after that Harlequin had their romance blitz - never wrote a romance before but I studied, and studied, and thought I could do it. My full manuscript from that blitz was requested and is still "In-Progress" mode. I'm praying that God will open the doors in His timing. Let me tell you though, my stomach is in knots every time I think about an editor reading and critiquing my stuff. I must be a sucker for punishment, my second manuscript is almost done (hoping this week to finish!), with the first few chapters in various forms being judged by four different contests. I found that entering the same manuscript in several contests with various criteria for word count teaches one A LOT about self-editing, and it also taught me to let go of those great turns of phrases since they were too wordy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for re-posting your first post Missy. It's encouraging to hear your story knowing how many books you have under your belt now. :) Perhaps one day soon, in God's time and will, I will have the blessing of encouraging other hopeful writers through sharing my own story to setting sail from Unpubbed Island.
Lee-Ann, it sounds like you're so close to that first sale! I'm so glad you've kept working on the next story. That's one of the things I really wish I had done. Wishing you the best in those contests and with the submission at the publisher!
DeleteMissy, great encouraging post! It's been awhile since I entered anything. Maybe I should get back at it. Sometimes the feedback is hard to get through.
ReplyDeleteSally, I can remember getting packets back (back when we had the printed entries) and just setting them aside unopened. I had to be ready to look them over--sometimes a good while later when I decided I was ready for feedback on a manuscript. So I understand. Often, though, with some distance from the disappointment of not finaling or winning, I was able to get some great nuggets to help me polish the manuscript. I especially liked it when more than one judge said the same thing--which was really helpful feedback.
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