Then it pours! And no I’m not referring to the latest non-stop rain event. I’m talking about when everything happens at once: the exciting, mixing it up with the mundane, then throwing in a writing competition to manage.
Yep – one year ago (almost to the day) I took an unprecedented ‘strategic’ approach to this whole publishing caper, deciding I needed to give back to the member organisation that has been so good to me – Romance Writers of Australia. While not a ‘genuine’ romance writer (I’m afraid my women’s fiction stories about love, life an second chances don’t always have that essential happy ever after element required to be ‘real’ romance) RWA is a wonderful group of non-discriminatory, caring, sharing writers – both published and aspiring.)
So this year I put my hand up, volunteering to manage one of the many competitions the organisation runs to help and develop members. I figured it was good karma.
PHEW! What a job. Massive.
I’ve entered my share of competitions over the last couple of years, and I’ve always thought I understood how much work was involved for those behind the scenes, but you really can’t appreciate it until you’ve managed a competition that follows the RWA’s comprehensive processes that ensure transparency and accountability.
Oh the pressure!
But as I stare at the computer for hours trying to allocate scores of entries to judges (many of whom request certain genres with or without certain elements – yes, they are allowed, they are also volunteers) I say to myself…
This is all part of the plan. It’s karma – what you do to others will come back an bite you. What you do for others will bless you. I’m hoping for the blessing!
'To' others will bite, 'for' others will bless. Nice thought.
What gos around, does come around, Jenn.
Managing is a heck of a lot of work, and there will be times you'll certify yourself as insane for volunteering but, the fun part is yet to come – notifying the finalists!
That is one amazing part of the job you won't want to miss. It made the hours an hassles worth it – you're making someone's day ringing them with that sort of news.
And the Critters-loop is a great support group – they have the answer to any question you might throw at them, and if not, they find one!
Enjoy the process – it certainly makes you all the more appreciative for Awards night know just what happens. And share tid-bits with others (not the confidential stuff) – it's a great way to get someone interested and putting their hand up to help.
Soapbox novel done,
Kylie 🙂
Go Jenn. You're a legend for doing this. I can imagine how complex and time consuming it all is. And you also want the entrants to have the best possible experience, so I think that matching them with judges who are interested in their genre is important (I'd never considered that might be part of the organiser's job).
I'm a judge in a New Zealand comp this year. That's as far as I could commit!
Good luck with it all. I know you'll do a stellar job.
Shayne
Good for you! I'm throwing my hat in the ring a tiny bit by judging – I can just imagine the hours of work in the organising!
Karma will be good to you!
Jenn,
Well done on your hard work with the contest,
Hope Karma is good to you,
Suzi
Go Jenn!!! Well done on volunteering – & thanks for volunteering!
Blessings to you 🙂
Jenn,
I hope everything goes well for you. I totally believe giving back will generate great karma for you. You deserve a massive pat on the back for your hard work.
Thanks for volunteering!
😉 Mon
I'm sure Karma is going to be very kind to you, Jenn!
Good on you for taking on the contest management role. People like you giving up their time to take on tasks like this are what makes the RWA great. You deserve a huge pat on the back…
…followed by a lovely fat publishing contract!
I think Karma has arrived. 🙂