Keep the Writer Contests Going
Donation protected
I very much love running contests for writers and helping authors come together with literary agents. It's so gratifying to have a blog that people visit when they are doing something other than writing. Interacting on twitter and meeting new writers is so much fun. There's nothing I like better than being able to help.
And speaking of help, I also love my day job working with children, specifically special needs children. I want to go on doing this forever!
Unfortunately, we don't always get what we want as the Rolling Stones said.
It's time for a decision. Due to various economic influences, I've started a donation campaign to see if I can continue doing what I love. The hard facts of life are I either have to do this or look for a second job. Let me lay out the facts.
As you can guess, hosting writer contests and doing daily posts on my blog as well as writing my own stories is very time consuming. During a submission week I can easily spend thirty hours just on contest work. Even a mini-contest like the Picture Book Party takes so much time to coordinate, not to mention answering questions and finding agents. There's no way I could manage that and still have time to write with two jobs. True, most contest host have day jobs. One I have managed. Two would be impossible.
It's only fair to my Hubs and family that I do more than I am. Especially with two kids heading to college this fall.
Rather than require a fee of ten dollars to enter my writing contests, thus making helping me out mandatory, I'd rather see how a fund campaign for my contests and blog goes.
What I have to offer:
-Numerous writer contests per year: Query Kombat, Nightmare on Query, New Agent, Sun versus Snow, PB Party, other mini-contests. I also take part in Pitchslam and PitchWars.
-Mentors from those contests providing feedback.
-Various giveaways of new books
-Critique workshops and Critique blog hops to help with query letters and first pitches.
-Posts with Advice for Querying Writers
-Posts with Editing Advice on such things as filtering and plot holes
-Inspirational posts from guest authors about their Call with literary agents
-Interviews about query slush from over thirty literary agents
You can find my blog here: http://www.michelle4laughs.blogspot.com/
Just in the last month, four former contest picks of mine have signed with agents. Last year's Query Kombat had almost twelve success stories alone. That doesn't include all the writers who have met and found critique partners from my twitter parties.
I promise one hundred percent of any donations will go toward expenses that keep me working for you, such as electricity for my laptop, a roof over my head, internet to keep me blogging. It will not be used for buying books or going out to dinner.
This was not an easy decision, nor a happy one. If you have entered one of my contests or plan to in the future I'd love your support. If you find my blog a valuable resource and wish to see it continue in full, consider helping out. This is totally your choice. I'll do my best to continue as much as I can of my activities no matter what.
Sometimes we all need a little help from our friends.
Thank you everyone.
And speaking of help, I also love my day job working with children, specifically special needs children. I want to go on doing this forever!
Unfortunately, we don't always get what we want as the Rolling Stones said.
It's time for a decision. Due to various economic influences, I've started a donation campaign to see if I can continue doing what I love. The hard facts of life are I either have to do this or look for a second job. Let me lay out the facts.
As you can guess, hosting writer contests and doing daily posts on my blog as well as writing my own stories is very time consuming. During a submission week I can easily spend thirty hours just on contest work. Even a mini-contest like the Picture Book Party takes so much time to coordinate, not to mention answering questions and finding agents. There's no way I could manage that and still have time to write with two jobs. True, most contest host have day jobs. One I have managed. Two would be impossible.
It's only fair to my Hubs and family that I do more than I am. Especially with two kids heading to college this fall.
Rather than require a fee of ten dollars to enter my writing contests, thus making helping me out mandatory, I'd rather see how a fund campaign for my contests and blog goes.
What I have to offer:
-Numerous writer contests per year: Query Kombat, Nightmare on Query, New Agent, Sun versus Snow, PB Party, other mini-contests. I also take part in Pitchslam and PitchWars.
-Mentors from those contests providing feedback.
-Various giveaways of new books
-Critique workshops and Critique blog hops to help with query letters and first pitches.
-Posts with Advice for Querying Writers
-Posts with Editing Advice on such things as filtering and plot holes
-Inspirational posts from guest authors about their Call with literary agents
-Interviews about query slush from over thirty literary agents
You can find my blog here: http://www.michelle4laughs.blogspot.com/
Just in the last month, four former contest picks of mine have signed with agents. Last year's Query Kombat had almost twelve success stories alone. That doesn't include all the writers who have met and found critique partners from my twitter parties.
I promise one hundred percent of any donations will go toward expenses that keep me working for you, such as electricity for my laptop, a roof over my head, internet to keep me blogging. It will not be used for buying books or going out to dinner.
This was not an easy decision, nor a happy one. If you have entered one of my contests or plan to in the future I'd love your support. If you find my blog a valuable resource and wish to see it continue in full, consider helping out. This is totally your choice. I'll do my best to continue as much as I can of my activities no matter what.
Sometimes we all need a little help from our friends.
Thank you everyone.
Organizer
Michelle Hauck
Organizer
Mishawaka, IN