Contests In Perspective

This is a scan of a certificate I won in a synopsis contest sponsored by the Maine Romance Writers, RWA. My entry was Southern Man. It was entered in the Romantic Elements category. It was a second place finalist in that category, tied with another entry.

I'm absurdly delighted with the award. See, I'm wordy. It's hard for me to write short. That's why I'm not a good blogger. So for me to win a synopsis contest was truly remarkable.

This particular contest allowed a synopsis of no more than ten pages. Ten pages! That was startling to me. Most editors and agents specify that a synopsis that accompanies a query and/or sample chapters be no more than a page or two long. I'm still trying to figure out how you encapsulate over 100,000 words in a two-page synopsis.

Oh, well. I guess if you can capture a behemoth story like Southern Man in ten pages, you can figure out how to capture it in two. Or one.

Many thanks to the judges who scored my entry--and who offered such wonderful words of encouragement! I look forward to the next synopsis contest.