Comments on: Missed Opportunities

By: Cindy Procter-King

Cindy Procter-King — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 02:49:56 +0000

A.J., if you check back to this post, you have a great chance. You have just as much a chance as anyone else. There are those of us out here who do everything “right’ for years and make only teensy tiny baby steps in our careers regardless, and then there are others who hit one out of the park from the get-go. You just never know if that person will be you. The only way you will truly NOT know is if you don’t try. Honest.

By: Cindy Procter-King

Cindy Procter-King — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 02:47:43 +0000

Hey, I resemble those remarks!! How dare I get sick and miss even one day of your blog.

By: 70 Days of Sweat » Blog Archive » September 5th - Wednesday check-in

70 Days of Sweat » Blog Archive » September 5th - Wednesday check-in — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 16:16:36 +0000

[...] You know it’s a messed up holiday week when even Sven forgets it’s Wednesday! If you missed Sunday’s inspirational post by HelenKay Dimon, it’s not too late to check it out! Also, one of your sponsors is giving a class and giving away one tuition to a lucky writer! Details here! [...]

By: HelenKay

HelenKay — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 16:56:29 +0000

Stacy & Estella – Thanks. Honestly, I just hate to see people not follow through on their dreams. We’re all here to cheer each other on. Some days I need the pep talk. Other days I give ‘em.

AJ – Listen to your fiance. He’s a good man and knows what he’s talking about

Christina – You don’t have to have a contest win in your past to be ready. Really. There are folks who finaled in past Brava contests who never won any other contest (or even entered one) before that time. Some never submitted anything to an editor before they entered. It’s an opportunity. Grab it and give it a try. You really don’t have anything to lose.

Joely – Yes!!! That is the right attitude. And I’m very happy to hear that the Challenge worked for you…and that you worked the Challenge. We all need a push sometimes, don’t we?

By: Joely

Joely — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 16:34:45 +0000

I almost talked myself into not even trying the Brava contest, either. Oh, I had good excuses, like how would I know my *best* 3 pages if I didn’t have the darned thing finished? Contemporary romance is waaaay out of my typical project. Blah blah. Excuses. I’m going to enter whether I finish the current wip or not. Of course, I’ll be frantically working until the very last day of the deadline before entering….

Thanks for sponsoring Sweating with Sven — it has done wonders for my goals this year!

By: Christina

Christina — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 15:47:57 +0000

I agree when it comes to my buddies! But as for myself I don’t feel that I am quite ready. One of my buddies enters contest quite a bit and she seems to final in every other one she enters. So with her I say don’t miss that opportunity. Take advantage and run with it.

Great blog!

By: Stacy ~

Stacy ~ — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 12:53:26 +0000

HelenKay, you are a good friend. When your online buddy was wavering, you set her straight. Sometimes people need the tough love to get their butt in gear. Just because someone doesn’t win doesn’t mean they don’t have a chance at it – I’ve heard of people who don’t win contests but who get a contract anyway because their story was good, so it’s worth the chance you take.

By: AJ O'Donovan

AJ O'Donovan — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 22:08:20 +0000

My fiance pretty much just told me the same thing =D

but, as i have been officially threatened ( by one of the judges no less) i guess i have no excuses. *starts trying to think of a plot*

By: HelenKay

HelenKay — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 21:55:49 +0000

AJ – Now I am going to have to threaten you… Enter!!! So what if you don’t final? If nothing else happens, you think about a possible story and get started. That’s huge. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain here.

A lot of people with all different levels of experience are going to enter. The judges (of which I’m one) won’t know any of that. We’re reading three pages, not a resume. And, the fact others have been working on submissions for longer doesn’t matter either. When I finaled, I found out about the contest, wrote my pages and submitted all within 24 hours. Sylvia Day won the Reader’s Choice portion of the last contest and got a Brava contract and she wrote her submission in something like an hour. You’ve got plenty of time. No excuses – just enter. Really, you don’t want me to show up on your doorstep, do you ?

By: AJ O'Donovan

AJ O'Donovan — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 21:32:38 +0000

i agree, it’s wonderful, but youve pretty much convinced me not to enter if she’s entering lmao.
i only found out about it the day before yesterday, and loads of people would have had since march to write and polish their entires, do i really want to go up against that? i mean, i’m very young, what chance does my writing voice have against someone who has finalized and won all of those competitions?