I’ll Be the Judge of That!
This article originally appeared as a blog at the Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood in December 2009.
Many members of the Sisterhood are breathing easy now that their ms/s in the 2010 Golden Heart are safely tucked in at RWA’s Texas headquarters. Kudos to our determined Diana Layne, who took charge when the postal service let her down. She drove 300-odd miles to Houston and dropped off her entry to beat the deadline. That’s dedication!
Spare a thought now for the judges. Come December 31, RWA will distribute a maximum of 1,200 55-page entries among judges scattered around the globe. So who judges the Golden Heart? In the preliminary round, my understanding is they’re our RWA peers. They’re sacrificing time with loved ones and their own writing commitments. It can be a big, thankless task, but volunteering to judge does have its rewards.
Advantages of judging the GH:
You don’t have to know all there is about writing to be a contest judge, but there are a few things to consider:
Many members of the Sisterhood are breathing easy now that their ms/s in the 2010 Golden Heart are safely tucked in at RWA’s Texas headquarters. Kudos to our determined Diana Layne, who took charge when the postal service let her down. She drove 300-odd miles to Houston and dropped off her entry to beat the deadline. That’s dedication!
Spare a thought now for the judges. Come December 31, RWA will distribute a maximum of 1,200 55-page entries among judges scattered around the globe. So who judges the Golden Heart? In the preliminary round, my understanding is they’re our RWA peers. They’re sacrificing time with loved ones and their own writing commitments. It can be a big, thankless task, but volunteering to judge does have its rewards.
Advantages of judging the GH:
- Looking at other people’s work (okay, I’ll say it – other people’s mistakes) might make you more aware of your strengths and weaknesses.
- A chance to study a variety of writing styles that you may not have encountered before.
- Builds good karma. I judged the GH for the first time in 2009 and finaled in the same year. Coincidence? Hmm…
- Along a similar vein, judging is one way to give back to RWA. Sure, we pay our annual dues, but the organisation would not be as strong as it is without the support of volunteers. Share your expertise and contribute to the growth of the romance genre.
- You can enter the GH and still be a judge, however, you can’t judge a category in which you’re entered.
- Imagine the thrill of seeing an entry you loved reach the finals and beyond, thus validating what exquisite taste you have.
You don’t have to know all there is about writing to be a contest judge, but there are a few things to consider:
- Can you be objective when reading a genre or writing style that you normally dislike or are unfamiliar with?
- Are you an avid reader of the category you’ve chosen to judge? Contest coordinators will generally ask what you’re interested in; this gives each entry the best possible chance to score well in the competition.
- Can you give each entry the full attention it deserves?
- If the contest calls for feedback, are you confident of conveying constructive criticism?
- Take advantage of any training courses offered by chapters or online classes.
- Don’t jump be so determined to nitpick every little thing the author did wrong. Be equally invested in finding what the author did right.
- Don’t be one of those judges who won’t give perfect scores just because they believe there’s no such thing as perfection.
- Don’t leave judging duties till the last minute. Entrants pour a lot of sweat and money into contests. Give yourself adequate time to read their work carefully.
- Don’t take on more than you can handle. I won’t lie—judging is time consuming and it’s hard work. Know your limits.
- Don’t expect a thank-you from entrants in chapter contests, even if coordinators encourage the practice. Sad but true. I’ve judged many contests over the years and have received only three or four thank-you notes ever. This is mystifying, especially since I’ve given full marks to a few people, but you can’t dwell on it or swear off judging just because no one overtly appreciates your efforts.
- Do be flexible. If there are one or two typos in an otherwise clean ms, I don’t think that’s cause to give the entrant a score of zero for spelling.
- Do read recently published books to keep on top of what’s marketable.
- Do trust the author’s vision. The more you judge, the more adept you become at sorting authors who know their craft from those who aren’t quite there yet.
- Do remember you’re judging the author’s ability to construct a story and create believable characters.
- Do let the coordinator know if the subject matter of a manuscript is so objectionable that you don’t believe you can judge it fairly. They may be able to pass it onto another judge instead.
- Do know that writing rules can be bent, twisted or even broken, as long as this rebellion is executed well.