So, you've entered a writing competition...

Written by Ascent Novel Prize founder and competition addict, Hayley King

The first time I entered a writing competition, I obsessively checked the dates. When was the long list going to be announced? When would I know how good my story was? A few years in, and I’d receive an email saying I’d been long listed for a competition I’d forgotten I’d entered. So, conscious you could be anywhere on that spectrum, I’ve designed a self-assessment tool that will help you find the right level of advice:

It's my first entry into a competition, and I’m terrified:

Firstly, congratulations. You wrote a book. You kept going when the voice in your head told you to stop. You even kept typing when you were certain that everything you’d written was terrible. Our judge, Liza Deblock knows how nerve wracking sharing your work for the first time can be, and she’s honoured to be one of the first people who experience your story. She loves finding authors who have something beautiful to say, and that started when you trusted her to read your work. Thank you for that trust. And thank you for writing a story that only you could ever tell. Someone somewhere, is waiting to read your words. And if you’ve been brave enough to enter Ascent Novel Prize, you’ll be brave enough to release your hard-won words into the world so that your future fans can fall in love with your work.

I’m the writer who will define a generation (but on a bad day you may catch me burning my manuscript on a metaphorical fire, Little Women style):

There’ve been moments you’ve sat back, imagining who will be cast as your lead character when Netflix purchases the rights. How will you spend all that money? What lovely writer’s house will you move into? The next day, you reread the opening, and nothing works. What even is this drivel? You consider hurling your laptop out of an upstairs window. If this is you, know that your talent lies between these extremes. It is so difficult to judge the quality of your own work. You’re too close to it. So find trusted beta readers, and when you want to hit delete, walk away for a while. Your writing is never as bad as it seems.  

I’m a level-headed pragmatist.

I wish I were you. May I recommend our YouTube channel ‘Conversations on Craft’ as some light entertainment as you go about your well-ordered day.

This isn’t my first rodeo.

After entering a few competitions, you are ready for a mixed bag of results. Sometimes you win; sometimes you lose. Paradoxically, the goal of getting published or finding an agent can seem further away than when you began. To coin a fellow writer’s phrase: ‘every time you go on social media, someone’s sneezed out a book that’s in all the pretty bookshops.’ Luckily, this cynicism will prepare you perfectly for a life in publishing, so hold on to that and keep going.

I enter so many writing competitions, an intervention is needed.

Oh, this is my category. The thrill of the submission. The real-life deadline. The unexpected email announcing you’ve listed. Writing competitions are great for assessing how far your writing has come. When I first started entering writing competitions, I never listed and then, after using them to hone my craft, I made the top one hundred. The following year, I made several long-lists. The year after that, won highly commended. My progress as a writer was there in black and white. And yes, there were times I didn’t list at all. And yes, there were unexpected losses as well as the wins. But I was getting closer, because, in this subjective business of writing, perseverance pays off in the end.

Whatever your self-diagnosis, writing is a craft that can be learned. Read the best books the world has to offer. Deconstruct how it’s done. Read the extracts from people who won last year. How do they capture your attention? How do they balance action, dialogue and description? What’s in that first line? Is it description or interiority or a mix of both? And most importantly, keep going.  

After entering a writing competition, celebrate. Whatever the outcome, you did the work and shipped it. Your part is done. Your story exists, and there is no greater accolade than that. You’re one step closer to making your dream come true. Then, once the celebration is over, keep going. Open that laptop and start again. Because when someone falls in love with your work, they’re going to want to buy your next book! If you need some advice on how to keep going, check out our YouTube short with writer, Pim Wangtechawat.

Advice from Ascent Novel Prize reader, Pim Wangtechawat.

Click to watch full video

What happens if I don’t list?

As Seth Godin says: “You are not your work. Your work is a series of choices made with generous intent to cause something to happen. We can always learn to make better choices.”

Writing competitions can offer a huge amount of validation for writers. They can be a sign that your work is of great quality. But not listing doesn’t mean you can’t write. All readers have their own individual preferences. Imagine going into a bookshop, and you’ve got the money for one book. What do you choose? How do you begin? You read the blurbs. Look at front covers. Or perhaps there’s a writer you can trust. When you’ve selected THE ONE, you’ve essentially rejected thousands of other books. You didn’t want Shakespeare. Or Agatha Christie. You rejected New York Times Bestselling authors, and you rejected the book you promised your best friend you’d read. This doesn’t mean these writers are terrible or their books unworthy. It’s simply that you had money only for one book. The same is true of writing competitions. There are a few spots on that shortlist, and the decision of why some writers make it and others don’t is entirely subjective.

This business is about art, and how it's perceived. It is impossible to say why my favourite author is Daphne Du Maurier and my husband’s is Mick Herron. But if you have a story you want to tell, all I can say is that it belongs in this world, whether or not it wins a competition. Your story counts. It deserves to exist. So whatever validation you need, give it to yourself. Because you deserve it.

So many people say they want to write a book, and so few actually do. You’ve crossed a finish line others only dream of. You fought self-doubt and forgave the extra lie in; you spent time away from your children or didn’t go out with friends; you’ve made the sacrifice it takes to produce something beautiful. I want to thank you for making something that could change this world for the better, perhaps a story about a forgotten past, or a character arc that could help someone change. And for those who entered Ascent Novel Prize this year, I want to thank you for the courage it took to share your words.

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