Tips to Help Develop a Healthy Perspective on Winning Writing Awards

by Cindy K. Sproles @CindyDevoted

Let me begin this post by saying winning a writing award is always honey on the toast—but sweets can make us crave more. All right, I'm no famous philosopher, but hang with me. If you enter a contest (and you should) and you win—congratulations. That's wonderful. Share your joy. Accept your pat on the back. We don't always get those in the writing world. 

Writing is a long process, and the rewards come slowly, so to have a win is stupendous. Just keep the wins in perspective.

Writers need to enter contests whether they are newbies or well-published. The why is the same across the board. First, it's a practice in presenting your best. Entering a contest forces you to push hard to polish and shine your work-in-progress. Then, you're committed to opening your work and yourself to the world to be read. Next, it's a training session in meeting deadlines and following instructions—something all writers need to master. Contests are good.

For the well-published author, contests not only keep us practiced in presenting our work, but they also keep us humble. Everyone would agree that winning is wonderful, but we all need to learn to lose and gain lessons from that loss. Industry awards overflow with entries. To win out of hundreds is an honor. It's essential to put your work through the fire in order to refine it.

But what is the actual value of winning an award? Well, they look nice on the wall until they begin to clutter it (if only I could win that many awards!). My son walked into my office one day when he was visiting, and he gleaned through my small stash of plaques, only to remark, "Wow, Mom, I didn't know you won that many awards."

"First off," I said, "That's not a lot of awards. And secondly, I don't usually wave a flag. It's a sign of personal accomplishment. No one else really cares."

"Still, it makes me proud of you." He reached across and hugged me. "You've worked hard. So, let me ask you a question. When you kick the bucket, what should I do with those?" Though he was teasing me, the reality of awards came to light. And this is what spurs this post.

Here's the Reality of Winning a Writing Award: 

• Awards bring little to no additional sales to a published author. Sad but true. When consumers walk into a bookstore, they have no idea what the prestige of winning a Christy means. They pick books because they love them, not because they have won awards.

• Consumers have no idea what individual book awards mean. Unless it says Pulitzer, most folks could care less because they don't know what it is.

• Conference awards and industry awards don't guarantee a writer a contract. Again, sad, but true. Sales help bring contracts—the more sales and author garners, the more opportunity for additional contracts.

• And finally, what will happen to them when I die? My son, though teasing me, was right. What exactly do I plan for him to do with my writing awards? They aren't million-seller novels that rate beautifully framed book covers from the industry with huge notoriety, so they'll probably never adorn the walls of his home.

Now, let's look at what an award is. Awards are signs of personal accomplishment. As writers, we've set goals, worked toward them, and hopefully accomplished them. When we win an award, it's our pat on the back for remaining persistent, determined, and persevering. 

Awards challenge us personally to strive harder. I watched the 2024 Olympic track and field events and Sydney McLaughin-Levrone after her record-smashing 400 m hurdle win. In an interview with Nick McCarvel on www.olympics.com, McLaughin-Levrone said, "You know, there's always ways to improve. And I love trying to figure out what those are and push myself to break those barriers and boundaries."

Awards, wins, and successes challenge us to work harder, refine our craft, and make our work and ourselves the best possible. This is why you enter, even if you don't win. Contests will help spur you to do better, and when the win comes, there's that personal accomplishment.

Finally, contests and awards, whether you win or lose, help us learn and live humility. There is as much humility in the loss as is in the win. Everyone kept telling me that my first novel would win a Christy Award. I tried not to think about it. After all, I was a debut novelist, and just having the book nominated was a win. As announcements for the award finalists were made public, there was no sign of my novel. Despite all the folks around me assuring me I would win, I didn't even final. I wasn't disappointed. I was embarrassed that I'd allowed myself to feed into something no one could know. Though I'd not spent time telling others the book was entered into the Christy Awards, I learned a valuable lesson in humility. Stay grounded in the task. Work hard and then harder. Trust your success to God. 

When the book failed to win another hefty award, I felt a tap in my heart. "You promised me." And it hit me. My prayer over my book was that God would use it. That He would accept the glory, not me." Every loss was a reminder that I'd promised the glory to God. Now, before you throw me to the wolves, pay attention. That first novel came out in 2016 and is still selling well. When I walk into our local Books-a-Million store, and they ask who I am, their response is, "Mercy's Rain. We sell that book almost daily." God blesses the book, and the rewards come in other ways. It, along with others, has won their share of accolades, and I am blessed to see awards hang on my wall. Those awards remind me of the hard work that went into each word, but more so, they remind me to be humble. Share and help how I can with others. 

Awards are great, but the biggest thing you can remember when you hang one on your wall is that you are blessed to be a writer. Blessed to share your craft and pleased at the personal accomplishment. Pat yourself on the back as you stand in your office, and then walk out thanking the Father who gifted you with a gift and a win. 

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Tips to Help Develop a Healthy Perspective on Winning Writing Awards from @CindyDevoted on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Cindy K. Sproles is an author, speaker, and conference teacher. Having served for a number of years as a managing editor for Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas and Ironstream Media, Cindy now works as a mentor, coach, and freelance editor. She is the co-founder of Writing Right Author Mentoring Services with Lori Marett and she is the director of the Asheville Christian Writers Conference. Cindy is also the co-founder of Christian Devotions Ministries and WWW.CHRISTIANDEVOTIONS.US, as well as WWW.INSPIREAFIRE.COM. Her devotions are in newspapers and magazines nationwide, and her novels have become award-winning best-selling works. She is a popular speaker at conferences and a natural encourager. Cindy is a mountain girl, born and raised in the Appalachian mountains, where she and her husband still reside. She has raised four sons and now resorts to raising chickens where the pecking order is easier to manage. You can visit Cindy at WWW.CINDYSPROLES.COM or www.wramsforwriters.com.