Showing posts with label What Do You Do When You Lose a Writing Contest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label What Do You Do When You Lose a Writing Contest. Show all posts

Monday, April 28, 2025

What Do You Do When You Lose a Writing Contest?


by Ane Mulligan @AneMulligan

You kick the cabinets.
You whack the tops off your roses.
You burn the bacon.
You kick the cat … well maybe not this one. But you'd like to when they raise their smug eyes to yours. You know they're calling you a loser. But cats will do that even if you win. 

The thing is, we all get a little defensive about our babies, even if you have seasoned rhino skin. You need to release some of the angst, let off some of the steam before you blow. Then you can go back and analyze why you lost the contest or agent or contract.

Let's face it, nobody wins all the time. Besides, we're in a business that is highly subjective. So what do you do?