In 2008, I entered the Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award competition. I didn't make it past the pitch phase with Breaking Threshholds. No big deal. Rejection is part of the game as an author. I reworked my manuscript, reworked my pitch, wrote a screenplay for it which I love (which has inspired me to rework the novel one more time), and now I'm back at it.
In 2010, this year, I attempted the Amazon (ABNA) competition again with Women Scorned. This year, I spent a lot of time on my pitch at least a few months before the start date for the contest.
And I made it past the first round! Yay! Now it's up to my 5,000 word excerpt. Will I make it to be a quarterfinalist? Only two Vine Reviewers on Amazon may tell. I hope I do. I've spent a lot of time polishing this novel, have gotten tons of feedback on it from various authors. To date, it's the best written work I have and I'm very proud of it.
But, if I don't make it through, it's okay. I will persist. Because that is what will get me through.
For other writers out there, I highly suggest you check out the forum on http://amazon.com/abna. There, you will find an incredibly talented group of authors, a supportive community, and some wonderful humor as we all go through the anxiety caused by waiting for results.
The results for quarterfinalists will be listed on the contest's main page (link above) on March 23rd. Please check in and celebrate with me on that day (whether I make it or not). Those who did make it deserve to be celebrated.
Also, I wanted to personally thank five authors from the website who volunteered to help me polish my novel Sanitarium (which I may have found an excellent publisher for...a small literary press that has already published some of my shorter work).
So, Chris Baglin, Allison Bieback, Sarah Lewis, Jeffery Getzin, and Christopher (last name unknown) thank you so much for helping a stranger. So far, the feedback I've gotten from them has been invaluable.
And a huge shout out to Claire L. Fishback and Matt Konopka! They have both been there for me, helping me polish my manuscripts time and time again. If it wasn't for them helping me find the flaws I wouldn't otherwise have seen, my writing would be no where near as solid as it is now.
And the biggest thank you, I love you, and SHOUT OUT! goes to my husband, Talal Alsaleem. His ability to be brutally honest has taken me from hack to professional. His support and commitment to my dream has allowed me to write on a full time basis. He allows me extra time when I have deadlines to meet, and he pushes me to write even when I don't feel like it. Without his support, I wouldn't be the writer I am today.
Please, everyone, go check out the contest. There are some incredibly talented writers there who deserve and need your support.
My excerpt for the contest is up on my site as well for those who would like to view it before the quarterfinalists are announced.
Much luck to all!
In 2010, this year, I attempted the Amazon (ABNA) competition again with Women Scorned. This year, I spent a lot of time on my pitch at least a few months before the start date for the contest.
And I made it past the first round! Yay! Now it's up to my 5,000 word excerpt. Will I make it to be a quarterfinalist? Only two Vine Reviewers on Amazon may tell. I hope I do. I've spent a lot of time polishing this novel, have gotten tons of feedback on it from various authors. To date, it's the best written work I have and I'm very proud of it.
But, if I don't make it through, it's okay. I will persist. Because that is what will get me through.
For other writers out there, I highly suggest you check out the forum on http://amazon.com/abna. There, you will find an incredibly talented group of authors, a supportive community, and some wonderful humor as we all go through the anxiety caused by waiting for results.
The results for quarterfinalists will be listed on the contest's main page (link above) on March 23rd. Please check in and celebrate with me on that day (whether I make it or not). Those who did make it deserve to be celebrated.
Also, I wanted to personally thank five authors from the website who volunteered to help me polish my novel Sanitarium (which I may have found an excellent publisher for...a small literary press that has already published some of my shorter work).
So, Chris Baglin, Allison Bieback, Sarah Lewis, Jeffery Getzin, and Christopher (last name unknown) thank you so much for helping a stranger. So far, the feedback I've gotten from them has been invaluable.
And a huge shout out to Claire L. Fishback and Matt Konopka! They have both been there for me, helping me polish my manuscripts time and time again. If it wasn't for them helping me find the flaws I wouldn't otherwise have seen, my writing would be no where near as solid as it is now.
And the biggest thank you, I love you, and SHOUT OUT! goes to my husband, Talal Alsaleem. His ability to be brutally honest has taken me from hack to professional. His support and commitment to my dream has allowed me to write on a full time basis. He allows me extra time when I have deadlines to meet, and he pushes me to write even when I don't feel like it. Without his support, I wouldn't be the writer I am today.
Please, everyone, go check out the contest. There are some incredibly talented writers there who deserve and need your support.
My excerpt for the contest is up on my site as well for those who would like to view it before the quarterfinalists are announced.
Much luck to all!