WVW Contest F.A.Q. #33

Continuing the series of Frequently Asked Questions about the West Virginia Writers, Inc., Annual Writing Competitions.  To see all of the questions, please click HERE.
  
QUESTION:  Can I submit a collection of my poems as my entry to Emerging Writers Poetry?

ANSWER:  No, unfortunately not.  We do not have a category for poetry collections, though it's not a bad idea to consider in the future.  As it stands, though, submitting a collection of poetry in a category dedicated to single poems allows an entrant to "sneak through" more poems for the $10 fee, whereas all of the other poetry entrants would have paid $10 per poem.  Doing this would not be fair to those entrants nor would it be fair to our poetry judges, who are contracted to jury single poems, comparing them against each other to determine the ones they feel are best.

We will consider a poetry collection category for the future, though, because, like Book Length Prose, there should be room for larger works of poetry as well as prose.

WVW Contest F.A.Q. #32

Continuing the series of Frequently Asked Questions about the West Virginia Writers, Inc., Annual Writing Competitions.  To see all of the questions, please click HERE.


QUESTION:  I won 1st Place last year in Emerging Writer's Poetry.  Can I submit to Emerging Writer's Prose this year? 

ANSWER:  Once you've placed in any WV Writers contest category, you have officially emerged and the Emerging Writers categories are forever more off limits. 

WVW Contest F.A.Q. #31

Continuing the series of Frequently Asked Questions about the West Virginia Writers, Inc., Annual Writing Competitions.  To see all of the questions, please click HERE.

QUESTION: Is it permissible to re-enter a work that was rejected last year?

ANSWER:  You may certainly resubmit something from a previous year.  In all but one instance of the times I ever placed in the WVW contest, it was with a stories that had not placed in previous years.  This is not uncommon.  We have completely different judges from year to year, so it can be a matter of a piece finding a receptive judicial home.

WVW Contest F.A.Q. #30

Continuing the series of Frequently Asked Questions about the West Virginia Writers, Inc., Annual Writing Competitions.  To see all of the questions, please click HERE.

QUESTION:  I would like to know if a teacher or parent is allowed to make edits and recommendations on a student's writings?

ANSWER:  Having an outside proofreader is a longstanding tradition for writers of all stripes.  I would suggest that anyone offering editing suggestions explain them to the student and allow them to make the changes.  This way they pick up grammar tips for the future, in addition to having a cleaner story or poem.

WVW Contest F.A.Q. #29

Continuing the series of Frequently Asked Questions about the West Virginia Writers, Inc., Annual Writing Competitions.  To see all of the questions, please click HERE.

QUESTION:  Does the word count include the title, or just the body of the piece of writing?

ANSWER:  Word count doesn't include the title.  Or "The End" in case you've added that.  It also doesn't include the category and word count number at the top right of the first page of your entry, so you can just count the bare bones of the story and write that number in for the word count.

 

WVW Contest F.A.Q. #28

Continuing the series of Frequently Asked Questions about the West Virginia Writers, Inc., Annual Writing Competitions.  To see all of the questions, please click HERE.

A contest entrant from Maine writes:

QUESTION:  For membership, should I send my membership application form (which provides a different address) with the membership fee and contest submission, or should I send the membership application separately to its own address with a note that the fee was sent with the contest submission?

ANSWER:  If you were in-state it wouldn't really matter which address you sent your membership to (the one on the membership application for our website or the one on the contest entry form).  However, because we require organizational membership for people entering our contest who live out-of-state it's important that the contest coordinator (me) know that you're a member when processing your entry.  Rather than me needing to contact the secretary to confirm it with her, it's easier if you include your membership membership as part of your contest entry fees.  This way I will immediately know you're paid up and eligible.  I'll then forward the membership information on to the secretary and your check to our treasurer.

(When you're a volunteer organization with officers spread across the state, it gets tricky sometimes.)

WVW Contest F.A.Q. #27

Continuing the series of Frequently Asked Questions about the West Virginia Writers, Inc., Annual Writing Competitions.  To see all of the questions, please click HERE.

QUESTION:  What should go on the title page?

ANSWER:  The title page is kind of optional.  Some people choose to do a separate title page with just the title centered and the category and word count in the upper right corner.  Others choose to let the first page serve as the title page, with the category and word count in the upper right corner, the title centered below that and then the story or poem beginning immediately after.  Either way is acceptable.

WVW Contest F.A.Q. #26

Continuing the series of Frequently Asked Questions about the West Virginia Writers, Inc., Annual Writing Competitions.  To see all of the questions, please click HERE.


QUESTION:  I know the excerpt has to be double-spaced, but does the synopsis have to be, as well? I'm having trouble fitting the synopsis onto a single-spaced page as it is, but I have managed to pull it off, thankfully.

ANSWER:  The synopsis page may be single-spaced, but must fit on one side of its single printed page.

WVW Contest F.A.Q. #25

Continuing the series of Frequently Asked Questions about the West Virginia Writers, Inc., Annual Writing Competitions.  To see all of the questions, please click HERE.

QUESTION:  I read that the entrant's name should be nowhere except the entry form. How do judges and contest officials know which entry belongs to each person?

ANSWER:  Part of the duties of the contest coordinator is to maintain a database for the contest which includes cataloging each entry as it arrives, using the information supplied on the contest entry form.  The coordinator assigns each contest entry its own individual code which is written on the first page of that entry before being placed in the box for the contest category for that entry.  (Basically, in my office are 16 category boxes in which the entries are stored until it is time to send them out to judges.)  So only the contest coordinator knows which entries are by which authors.  The judges never know who the author is, so they can remain completely impartial in their evaluation of the entries for their category.  At the end of their evaluation, they send only the codes for the winning and honorable mention stories, indicating the ranking order.

WVW Contest F.A.Q. #24

Continuing the series of Frequently Asked Questions about the West Virginia Writers, Inc., Annual Writing Competitions.  To see all of the questions, please click HERE.

QUESTION #1:  I recognize the fact that there are two contests--one specifically for students, and the other just a 'writing contest'. I am interested in entering the regular writing contest, because the young writers one does not include book-length prose. There didn't appear to be any guidelines against me entering the regular contest, but I wanted to be sure before I submitted anything, just in case.

ANSWER #1:  You are right: there are no rules against student-aged humans entering the regular "adult" contest.  Students are welcome to do so, but should remember that they'll be competing with adult writers some of whom have quite a bit of experience.  Unlike the New Mountain Voices Student Contest, which is free, the adult contest does come with fees.  And whereas we notify the student winners in advance of the awards banquet at our Summer Conference so they can attend if the wish, the earliest that winners of the adult contest will learn of their win is at the awards banquet itself (June 14, 2014).  Which brings me to...

QUESTION #2:  In order to enter, must you be positive that you will be at the awards banquet?

ANSWER #2:   You do not have to attend the awards banquet to win.  I'd say probably half of the winners do attend, but it is certainly not required.  We mail out certificates and prize money to the winners early in the week following the awards banquet.  And we try to have the winners listed on our website and via email to entrants by Sunday night of that weekend.  Last year we had them listed immediately following the awards banquet. 

WVW Contest F.A.Q. #23

Continuing the series of Frequently Asked Questions about the West Virginia Writers, Inc., Annual Writing Competitions.  To see all of the questions, please click HERE.

QUESTION:  For the Pearl S. Buck Award for Writing for Social Change category, the entry form says "nonfiction or poetry...on a topic related to social change," and what I'm wondering is whether nonfiction submissions need to be creative (like poetry) or whether academic, journalistic, and/or otherwise persuasive nonfiction would be acceptable?  Would you address this question for me? Perhaps you could answer by referring to the previous winning pieces.

ANSWER:  The category itself has a lot of range when it comes to subject matter.  Basically anything that isn't outright fiction is fair game.  Academic/journalistic and persuasive nonfiction essays are completely acceptable.  These don't have to be creative, but that approach would be fine as well.  The judge for the category is Meredith Sue Willis.  She's the sort of writer who would be open to many different approaches.

It is difficult to address this in terms of what has won in the past, because any approach could be accomplished to a winning level.  From a sheer statistical point of view, most of last year's entries and honorable mentions were poetry, but again I don't believe this to be a determiner.  According to last year's judge, Lee Maynard, first and foremost the entries had to be about Social Change, not simply espousing a viewpoint; secondly, they had to be well-written to be considered for placement.  He said the poetry entries tended to be the better ones last year.  The winner of the first year the category was offered was "Lethal Silence" by Daleen Berry.  This was, from what I recall, an excerpt from a larger nonfiction work Berry was writing which I believe is now being developed as a nonfiction book. 

WVW Contest F.A.Q. #22

Continuing the series of Frequently Asked Questions about the West Virginia Writers, Inc., Annual Writing Competitions.  To see all of the questions, please click HERE. 

QUESTION:  I am planning to enter the Children's Book category and would like expanded definitions of the Picture book/First Reader/ Middle Grade categories. What is a Picture Book exactly? Or a First Reader? Or A Middle Grade book?

ANSWER:  Great question.   

Picture books are children's books that rely heavily on illustrations to help tell the story. They can have few words or many, but illustrations are a heavy component.  Examples of this would be The Cat in the Hat, Where the Wild Things Are, and Walter the Farting Dog.

First Reader books are, according to KidLit.com, "the earliest “chapter” stories that a kid can get. They’re very short in terms of manuscript length (1,500 words max) but are broken up into either chapters or vignettes that will give the reader the feeling of reading a book with real chapters in it. Your target audience for these is kids ages 4 to 8. Early readers feature a smaller trim size, some the size of or slightly bigger than a paperback novel, and can go from about 32 to 60 pages. The font size is smaller and they feature spot illustrations in either color or black and white instead of full color throughout, like a picture book. Some examples of early readers: LING AND TING: NOT EXACTLY THE SAME by Grace Lin (Little, Brown, 2010), the HarperCollins I Can Read! books, and the Random House Step Into Reading books."

Middle Grade books are, according to FromtheMixedUpFiles.com, "intended for readers ages 8-12, with the protagonist at the higher end of the age range.  The reason for this:  while an 8-year-old would have no problem reading about a 12-year-old protagonist, a 12-year-old may be reluctant to read a book about an 8-year-old.  Subject Matter: MG readers are learning about who they are, what they think, and where they fit in. They do well with books they can relate to. They are still focused inward and the conflicts in MG books usually reflect this. The themes can range from school situations, friendships, relationships with peers and siblings, and daily difficulties that may seem ordinary to the rest of us. The parents are usually seen and have some sort of an influence. Kids at this age are also easily distracted,  so you want a faster pace and short chapters.  Word Count:  Middle Grade used to be 20,000-40,000 words, some say around 50,000 words."

And while we're in the teen-lit topic area...

Young Adult books, according to FromtheMixedUpFiles.com "deal with underlying themes and more complicated plots. It allows teens to examine deeper issues, what their role in life is, the differences a person can make, the importance of relationships, coping with tragedy, etc.  Protagonists are usually searching for their identity, figuring out who they are as an individual and where they fit in. These books generally are more gritty and realistic and the teens choices and actions drive the story. You see less parental influence.  Young Adult word count is generally more around 55,000 to 80,000 words."  

 For 2014, Young Adult books may be submitted to our Book Length Prose category.

WVW Contest F.A.Q. #23

 Continuing the series of Frequently Asked Questions about the West Virginia Writers, Inc., Annual Writing Competitions.  To see all of the questions, please click HERE. 

QUESTION:  The entry form states that a current membership is required if not a resident of West Virginia.  I am now, and I always have been a West Virginia resident.  It is not clear as to whether WV residents must be members in order to enter the contest.  Is Membership in WV Writers required, to submit an entry?

ANSWER:  Membership is not required to enter the contest provided the entrant is a resident of West Virginia.  The only time membership in the organization is required is when the entrant is a resident of another state.  The origin of this particular rule is that until the early 2000s, only residents of West Virginia could enter the contest, regardless of whether or not they were members of WVW.  However, we had a number of former in-state members who moved to other states but still wished to be able to enter the contest.  In 2005 (if memory serves), we opened the contest to all residents of West Virginia and to non-residents who were members of WV Writers. 

WVW Contest F.A.Q. #21

Continuing the series of Frequently Asked Questions about the West Virginia Writers, Inc., Annual Writing Competitions.  To see all of the questions, please click HERE.  



QUESTION: Will the judges pick a subset of the best Book-Length entries and then request the full manuscripts to complete the judging or do they make their decision solely on the submitted excerpts?

ANSWER:  No, the judge will base decisions solely on the excerpts and synopses.

WV Writers Contest F.A.Q.#20

Continuing the series of Frequently Asked Questions about the West Virginia Writers, Inc., Annual Writing Competitions.  To see all of the questions, please click HERE.  

QUESTION:  When submitting an excerpt, should the word count on the cover page indicate the number of words in the excerpt or the total number of words in the entire work?
 
ANSWER:  Number of words in the excerpt.  

WV Writers Contest F.A.Q.#19

Continuing the series of Frequently Asked Questions about the West Virginia Writers, Inc., Annual Writing Competitions.  To see all of the questions, please click HERE.  

QUESTION: I have a piece that I would like to submit for the contest but I have also submitted it for publication. If it is accepted, it won't be published until late spring. Who/how does one make the call on that as to the guidelines for the contest?

ANSWER:  As long as the piece was not published before January 2, 2014, you're good to go.  Even if it's accepted for publication, it won't be published until later in the year at the earliest, so you're still within the guidelines of the contest.

WV Writers Contest F.A.Q.#18

Continuing the series of Frequently Asked Questions about the West Virginia Writers, Inc., Annual Writing Competitions.  To see all of the questions, please click HERE.  

QUESTION:  I have an entry which is ready now for the 2014 WVW contest, and I would like to send it off.  However, I think I may want to enter one or two other categories once I have a chance to polish my entries a little more.  On the entry form it says "Only one entry form per person is necessary."  But what if I send entries at different times before the contest deadline?  Should I include a separate entry form for each mailing, or just attach a note to subsequent entries saying that I have already filled out an entry form with my first submission?

ANSWER:  You may send a separate entry form for any additional submissions sent later.  It's basically one form per packet of entries.  The "one entry form per person" thing is mainly to indicate that it doesn't have to be one form per entry within a given submission shipment.  You can always send more later with a separate form.

WV Writers Contest F.A.Q.#17

Continuing the series of Frequently Asked Questions about the West Virginia Writers, Inc., Annual Writing Competitions.  To see all of the questions, please click HERE. 



QUESTION: Should the one-page synopsis be more like the "teaser" summaries that explain what a book is about without spoiling the ending or should it try to tell as much as possible about how the story ends?

ANSWER:  No, it should definitely spoil the ending.  For a synopsis you need to describe the entire plot of the book, in thumbnail form, in one page.  The judge has to be able to see the overall arc of the book's plot, which will help them see how the excerpt submission fits into that picture.
 

WV Writers Contest F.A.Q.#16

Continuing the series of Frequently Asked Questions about the West Virginia Writers, Inc., Annual Writing Competitions.  To see all of the questions, please click HERE. 


QUESTION:  For Book Length Prose, I know that the cover page must have the title, category and word count on it, but should the narrative also begin on the cover page or on the second page? Should any other "front matter" be included, such as dedications or attributions for quotations from public domain sources? Is the title and other front matter included in the word count? (My first chapter happens to be just under 5,000 words.)
 
ANSWER:  Cover pages are not necessary, though would not count against you either.  Our standard formatting is to just put the category and word count at the top of the first page, leaving the title for just above the beginning of the text.  I would not encourage including dedications or attributions.  They just eat into your word limit and are not necessary to the judging. 

WV Writers Contest F.A.Q.#15

Continuing the series of Frequently Asked Questions about the West Virginia Writers, Inc., Annual Writing Competitions.  To see all of the questions, please click HERE. 


QUESTION: Should manuscripts be stapled or paper-clipped?

ANSWER:  Both are acceptable, though stapling the entry pages together and affixing the entry form and check with a paperclip is preferred.  How ever the entries arrive, I'll deal with it.  But stapled entry pages reduce the risk of any pages getting lost in the shuffle.  If I feel like a manuscript needs a staple, I'll add one at no charge.