I’ve been a contest ‘ho before and probably will be again.  What I’ve learned is that entering contests is like playing the lottery.  Results should not be taken too seriously.  If you win one or even get a chance to be read by an editor, that’s great, but don’t spend too much emotional or professional energy on them.  Beware:  do not allow yourself to be discouraged.  Discouragement is very bad for writers.  It’s not motivating and the most important thing you do as a writer is show up at your keyboard and write.

If you’re unpublished, you can use contests as one of several tools to get an intro to an editor.  In my opinion, more often than not, getting published requires a multi-prong approach.  Think of it as a fork.  Before you get the fork, however, you need to finish the book and get it into the best shape you can.

Then you’re ready for your fork, the prongs of which can represent different approaches to cracking into publishing.  One prong could be making editor appointments at conferences.  Another could be contests.  Another could be learning to write outstanding query letters (a skill I never learned).

Other news, wedding is over.  My daughter and her husband are on their island honeymoon.  Here’s a pic from the wedding.  So sweet and so happy.  I jumped the fence and blogged more about the wedding, etc over at www.loveisanexplodingcigar.com   Come over and comment! 

Next up, RWA CONFERENCE IN SAN FRANCISCO!  At the literacy bookfair on Thursday at 5:30pm, I think the babes are doing Babe Bingo with PRIZES!   Don’t miss it!  I’m also giving away “Scandalicious” t-shirts to the first 10 people who say to me BILLIONAIRE’S MARRIAGE BARGAIN! 

 Babe Rhonda and I are giving a workshop “Got Problems?  We’ve Got Solutions” at 4:30 pm on Thursday where we will be holding drawings.  Yes, it’s gonna be fun and amazingly productive!  So come see us!

I’ll close with a quote falsely attributed to Mark Twain, but true all the same.  “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.”  Pack your sweater.

xo,

Leanne Banks

BILLIONAIRE’S MARRIAGE BARGAIN  coming in August!