The Raffle Doll
With our longlist due to be announced in three days, I wanted to tell you a story about the raffle doll. From the age of five to eleven, I had one mission at my primary school fête: win the raffle doll.
She came with an entire wardrobe of handmade clothes. All I had to do was guess her name. I entered religiously every year, and every year somebody else took her home. And every year, I was devastated.
Eventually I realised that only one person could win. My chances were a mixture of luck and whether my guess happened to match the name someone else had chosen. Losing didn’t mean I was bad at naming dolls. (Although, after six attempts, I may have considered a new strategy.)
If you’ve entered our writing competition this year and your work hasn’t been listed, I know it can feel much bigger than just a result on a page. You put time, hope and a little piece of yourself into that entry. It’s at times like this when you think, “what’s the point?’ Or “everyone else is better than me.” Or ‘I’m kidding myself I can ever do this.”
There are lots of successful published writers who have documented their disappointments: numerous rejections from agents before they secured one who then took them on to achieve the Sunday Times Bestseller lists, books that failed on submission, but the next one went on to huge success, agents who dropped them, publishers who didn’t renew their contracts. But all of these writers have one thing in common. They kept going despite their disappointments and you can too.
Here are six things that can help you to move forward:
1. Let yourself be disappointed.
You don’t have to leap straight to “Everything happens for a reason!” Try: I really wanted this, and I’m sad it didn’t happen. Have a moan to a trusted friend. Go for a walk. Eat the nice biscuit or a slice of your favourite cake. Give yourself time to feel the feelings and acknowledge the disappointment.
2. Separate the result from your writing.
“Not listed” tells you what happened in this competition, this year. It doesn’t tell you what your work is worth or what might happen elsewhere. When your brain says, My novel is rubbish, try the more accurate version: This entry wasn’t selected this time. And you can re-enter the same novel next year. Lots of our writers, including past winners, have entered three or four times before they were listed.
3. Remember much depends on the reader and the field.
A longlist has limited space, and judges and readers respond to different things at different times. A story that misses out for this year’s competition may connect with another reader next year. Make a note of other suitable opportunities, but wait until the initial sting has faded before deciding where to send it or what to do next.
4. Look for one useful lesson, if there is one.
Study our feedback when you feel ready. Pick one specific thing from the feedback to explore: perhaps the opening takes too long to reach the action, or the stakes could be clearer. If you’ve entered another competition or queried your novel and there’s no feedback, resist inventing a detailed verdict on the judges’ behalf. You cannot revise against reasons you haven’t actually received.
5. Reconnect with the part of writing you enjoy.
Competitions can make writing feel like a test. Give yourself 20 minutes to write something with no entry form attached: a scene you’ve been itching to try, a conversation between two characters, a short story or a gloriously messy new idea. You’re allowed to have fun on the page as well as take it seriously.
6. Choose one small step forward.
You don’t need a grand comeback plan by teatime on the day of longlisting. You might put the novel away for a week or a month, ask a writing friend to read it, or open your manuscript tomorrow and work on one point of feedback or one paragraph. Every small step counts and you have to do what is right for you. The good news is we are the only competition worldwide that offers feedback to every entry for the entry fee, so you will have something tangible to work with as soon as the longlist is announced. This year, we’ve been working really hard to make sure our feedback goes out within 3 months of the longlist announcement, and lots of you will have your feedback by the end of November, latest.
And in terms of that doll? I still think about her. I still remember how much I wanted her, but I think that little girl was allowed to be upset. And so are you.
When you’re ready, the good news is you get to decide what happens next with your writing. And you get to carry on. How exciting is that?
If you’d like help executing your feedback, improving your craft or adding some structure, support and company for your next steps, then Spring into a writing Reset is my six-week, live taught writing course starting in November. It’s a chance to make time for your writing, learn with me in live sessions and build momentum alongside other writers. Plus, it’s as cheap as chips at £149 and its great fun. Plus we have a private forum where you can chat and share work/homework with your writing cohort.
The early bird price is available for three more days. After that, it rises to £190. Go to our writing courses page to book. https://cheshirenovelprize.com/writing-workshops