So I guess this loops around, because people who don't follow the rules don't get to play in the sandbox.
I totally dig this and agree with you--and I'm as big a rule-breaker, which is why I didn't enter that many contests. Wasn't worth my while to follow all the damned rules and why waste my time and/or money?
However-- don't you think that some of the screaming frustration expressed by so many comes from seeing manuscripts that openly break rules (whatever the rule du jour happens to be) get noticed/published/receive acclaim?
You know, I don't know of that many mss that broke the rules that ended up published anyway.
Certainly I do not have any stories of people submitting on pink paper or sending me the entire ms. unsolicited who I published.
I know that Suzanne Brockmann's story of how she got her first book published is totally unorthodox, but I tend to see that as the 1% exception rather than the 99% rule, especially since she wasn't involved in the community of writers the way someone entering the Golden Heart contest is.
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I totally dig this and agree with you--and I'm as big a rule-breaker, which is why I didn't enter that many contests. Wasn't worth my while to follow all the damned rules and why waste my time and/or money?
However-- don't you think that some of the screaming frustration expressed by so many comes from seeing manuscripts that openly break rules (whatever the rule du jour happens to be) get noticed/published/receive acclaim?
I'm just playing a little Devil's Advocate here.
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Certainly I do not have any stories of people submitting on pink paper or sending me the entire ms. unsolicited who I published.
I know that Suzanne Brockmann's story of how she got her first book published is totally unorthodox, but I tend to see that as the 1% exception rather than the 99% rule, especially since she wasn't involved in the community of writers the way someone entering the Golden Heart contest is.