More on Contests, April Mystery Agent Lottery, and Nestpitch

I really enjoyed Aimee's post yesterday about contests--and I agree that they're a great opportunity for writers to get their work in front of agents and editors.

I also agree that organizing contests is a lot of hard work--and I'm lucky to have all my Operation Awesome operatives to help when we run pitch contests here (have you entered the April Mystery Agent Lottery yet? Time is running short!)

I'd also like to plug another contest I'm involved in from the other side--Nestpitch, which will be commencing April 1. It's a pitch contest with an Easter theme.

Though I'm sure the judges will be more tolerant than this egg.

More information on Nestpitch can be found here, but here's a brief run-down:

The submission consists of:

(i)    35-word pitch

(ii)    Answer to this question: If YOUR MC was an Easter Egg, what flavor would s/he be? (no more than 15 words)

(iii)   1st 300-words of your manuscript

Throughout the month of April, multiple teams will look at the entries and pick their favorites. Yours could be one of them.

And of course, you should still enter the April Mystery Lottery too, if you can.

Finally, here are some tips if you plan to enter a contest:

• Make sure you have something ready and polished. Nothing like getting a request for half-done manuscript!
• Make sure your pitch includes your protagonist, what they want/need more than anything, and what gets in their way
• Make sure you follow all the contest specifications, especially submission guidelines, which can vary greatly 

And here are some tips if you plan to be a contest judge:

• Make sure you know the full extent of what's expected
• Make sure the timetable fits into your schedule, and that you are clear on what is supposed to happen when
• Make sure that you can glean/learn something from the experience

Question for all: What has been your experience with contests?