How should you cope when your novel doesn’t place in a contest? When thousands of works compete for only a handful of spots, you’re far more likely to be eliminated than selected, and apart from the work itself, the other variables are out of your control. Utsudo’s older work also failed to place once. She suggests not dwelling on whether the judges were unfair; instead of getting angry, submit the manuscript to other publishers or put your energy into your next work, turning negative feelings into motivation.

Translated from Utsudo’s original Chinese column.

A major award’s second-round results spark controversy

Recently, the second-round results of a certain major award came out and seemed to cause an uproar for various reasons.

I won’t go into details. Although I’ve heard someone explain why it blew up, I still think both sides have their positions and there’s not much to discuss. I don’t want to start a fight, so I’ll leave it there.

I didn’t place either

I entered one of my older works in this contest too, but it wasn’t selected. Honestly, I was a little disappointed, but it didn’t affect me much. In contests, besides your work being good enough, the judges have to like it, and there are the organizer’s commercial considerations and so on.

Apart from the quality of the manuscript itself, these variables are beyond our control, so don’t be too discouraged if you don’t place. I’ve had contest entries that weren’t selected but were later published after I submitted them elsewhere. So don’t assume a manuscript that wasn’t chosen must be bad.

Think about it: this contest had thousands of entries and only a few were selected. With so many competing for so little, you’re far more likely to be eliminated than chosen. Does not placing negate everything? Of course not. No need to be so pessimistic.

I know how hard you worked before submitting, endured the tedium of revision, and finally entered your beloved work in the award. After so much effort, expecting a reward is natural. But denying all your efforts just because you weren’t selected goes too far.

No need to fret over whether the judges were unfair

Don’t worry, and don’t blame the judges for being unfair. They must have their reasons for their choices. As for whether there was any behind-the-scenes manipulation or controversy, I don’t think we need to dig into it. The result is what it is; you have to accept it whether you like it or not. What good would protesting do?

Rather than getting angry and upset over these things, quickly submit your manuscript to another publisher, or put your energy into writing your next work. That’s more constructive.

Turn negative feelings into motivation

Life rarely goes as we wish. But if we can shift our mindset and turn negative emotions and energy into motivation to move forward, that may be a better way. At least, that’s how I’ve made it this far.

Get ready, give it your all at the next contest, and just make sure you don’t let yourself down.

You worked very hard this time. Next time will be better.

Let’s keep going together!

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Further reading

• Previous: Hey! I Heard You’re a Writer on Ghost Island #164: Where Do Creators Go from Here in the Age of AI?
• Start from the beginning: Hey! I Heard You’re a Writer on Ghost Island #01: Utsudo’s Debut — A Road to the Dream Covered in Frost
• Utsudo’s books

About the author

Utsudo is a Taiwanese light novelist and novelist VTuber with more than ten years in the industry and 40 commercially published print books. Her novel 《遺失的情書》 received a 2022 Ministry of Culture youth creative award. The 《嘿！聽說妳在鬼島當作家》 series records her experiences as a novelist in Taiwan.