What Can I Do With My Novel?

by Rosemary Johnson

What does a novelist do when he or she has finished writing his/her novel?  (This is the situation in which I find myself now.)  He/she should edit and revise it.  Of course.  And he/she should find beta-readers to read and suggest edits.  But then what?  One of the novelist’s options is to enter competitions. 

Although it is not possible to compare the number of entries received in novel competitions with the number of regular submissions arriving on publishers' desks, the competition judge must read your work in order to judge it.  (Of course, if he/she forms the opinion after a few pages that your novel is not a runner he/she will put it down immediately.)  Editors and publishers on the other hand may throw regular submissions from new and unpublished writers straight on to the slush pile, unread.  Another reason for considering comps is that most novel competition prizes include some sort of professional editing or critique.  A writer paying for editing himself/herself may part with several grand. 

The novel competition which is at the moment being promoted most effectively is the Curtis Brown First Novel Prize.  This is open only to UK or Ireland residents who are not currently represented by a literary agent and whose novels are currently unpublished.  The prizes are to die for, six in total and the first-placed winner will be offered representation by Curtis Brown plus a prize of £3000.  The deadline is midday on 1 August 2019.  To enter, submit the first ten thousand words, plus a synopsis of up to 400 words.  Ah, the synopsis!  The synopsis, oh dear!

Another novel competition worth looking into is the Page 100 Writing Competition, promoted by Louise Walters Books.  The winner will receive a full editorial report of their first three chapters or first 30 pages.  For this comp, which closes on 29 September 2019, submit page 100 only, even if it begins or ends mid-sentence (as it probably will) or if page 100 is only a few lines at the end of a chapter.  No synopsis, then!

There are many other competitions for novelists, with greater and lesser prizes to be won.  Christopher Fielden is a good place to look for them.  Most novel comp prizes include representation, publication or editing and most submissions include synopses.  Oh dear, again.

Me, I hate synopses.  There is much advice – far too much advice – about writing synopses on the internet, and I wouldn’t dream of adding to it - except for this.  At the ACW Writers Day in Bath last March, we were tasked to write a summary of a piece (novel, short story or whatever) in one sentence, and to make it interesting enough for a publisher or editor to want to pick it up.  This is a useful challenge.  If my novel doesn’t work in one sentence, it doesn’t work at all.  Another point to note is that Curtis Brown suggest that their entrants display their full creativity in their synopses.  Happy writing.  Happy writing indeed.

Meanwhile, don’t forget the ACW Writing for Children Competition.  (This is a short story competition, of course.)  ACW is offering three first prizes (£25 book tokens) for the best entries in three age categories (0-5 years, 5-8 years and 9-12 years).  For more information, visit the ACW website.  

Rosemary Johnson has had many short stories published, in print and online, amongst other places, Cafe Lit, The Copperfield Review and 101 Words.  She has also contributed to Together magazine.  In real life, she is a part-time IT tutor, living in Suffolk with her husband and cat.  Her cat supports her writing by sitting on her keyboard and deleting large portions of text.