Revising a manuscript can be a torturous, soul-sucking experience. At least it feels that way when you’re in the thick of it. Motivation wanes, and Netflix starts to look mighty tempting…which is why I was so pleased to learn that my romantic suspense work-in-progress, THE HUSTLER, recently finaled in two more RWA chapter contests!

THE HUSTLER placed 2nd in OCC RWA’s Orange Rose contest and 3rd in Central Ohio Fiction Writers’ Ignite the Flame contest.

These two awards came at just at the right time. I’m more than two-thirds complete with a massive second round of manuscript edits. My thoughts about it range daily from “OMG this is awesome!” to “why am I wasting my time with this garbage!” Recently, as I’ve been working through some difficult scenes, it’s been more of the latter than the former. While depending on external affirmation to keep you motivated is a recipe for long-term failure, sometimes it’s just the temporary boost we need to keep opening that document rather than turning on Netflix.

Beyond that, I now have two more rounds of feedback on my work to consider and possibly apply to my writing. The feedback I’ve received from all of the contests I’ve entered have been invaluable to shaping my work. While contest feedback is subjective, and some is more valid than others, if several judges tell me the same thing, i.e. to clarify a character’s motivation or cut an unbelievable scene, I take it to heart. And I like to think my manuscript is better for it.

There’s also the positive feedback I’ve received, which zaps me with little blissed-out jolts of happiness (“You like me! You really like me!”).

So I’ll just be over here, contest certificates pinned to my cork board, polishing this manuscript with my eyes on the biggest prize of all: publication.

For a complete list of THE HUSTLER’s contest wins, click here.