Recently, I discovered that my fourth novel Jenna has been shortlisted in a competition for Christian authors. Now I’m very happy about that, of course. Even if I don’t make the finals list, at least I’ve succeeded in getting this far. Yet as I read the names of the other authors whose novels are on the shortlist, I began to have second thoughts about the whole idea. You see, I discovered I know some of the other authors personally – and that raises some issues for me. I expect each of them entered this competition in the hope they would at least be shortlisted. And I also expect that they, like me, are now waiting rather nervously to see if they have made that finals list. But if my novel makes it and theirs doesn’t, how will I feel then? I’m not sure I want to be involved in bringing such disappointment and perhaps even discouragement to a fellow author.
On the other hand, however, no one forced me to be part of the competition in the first place. Rightly or wrongly, I was the one who filled out that form and sent my books off. Perhaps I should have put more thought into it then and emulated a good friend of mine who does not even like to play board games because of their competitive nature. She became quite distressed on the one occasion I suggested we play a game of Scrabble together and simply could not find it within herself to try to trounce me – something I suspect she could easily have done. Perhaps her strong dislike of such competition is rooted in the heated arguments she and her siblings had over such games in the past, but whatever the cause, she finds it very hard to think of gaining any satisfaction from winning over someone else.
There were several reasons I decided to enter this competition. I believe in my novels – I feel they contain good stories, interesting characters many people can relate to and also clear messages about God and faith and related matters. I would not spend a large part of my time writing them if I did not feel they were worthwhile. Secondly, there is the publicity aspect to be considered, as mentioned. And last but not least, like any Christian author I know, I would be very grateful for any monetary prize this competition offers!
So what’s to be done? Perhaps the best way forward in it all is to trust God with the results, whoever makes that finals list and ultimately wins, and leave it at that. But also, I suspect this might be a good opportunity for me to take on board a little more of that humility Jesus showed in making himself nothing, coming to this earth for our sake and giving his very life for us that Paul writes about in Philippians 2. Come to think of it, Paul’s earlier instructions wouldn’t go astray either:
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Phil 2:3-4)
So however competitive or non-competitive we might be in life, let’s make sure we have the heart attitude God would want us to have. Let’s be glad when others succeed and gracious in defeat. And above all, win or lose, let’s learn to be completely humble, just as Jesus was.
Thanks for such a thought provoking post, Jo-Anne. The word competition didn’t enter my head when I entered this CALEB Prize. I don’t see it as a compeition. It’s an opportunity for me as a writers to showcase my best work and share part of myself with my readers who are also on the journey of life. I’m sure my readers will also teach me a thing or three.
The important thing for me is to remain posiitve in all that I do and reach out to others on the journey. Negativity cuts off the potential in all of us, and once we allow that to happen we lose sight of where Jesus wants us to be.
God gave me the gift of writing. I use my gift to bring glory to him, and in doing so reach out and help others. For me, it’s not about winning or losing, but about an opportunity to stretch and grow in the next part of my journey to make me a better person.
Hi Laura! Thanks for your thoughtful comments too. Yes, I totally agree it’s good to remain positive so we can fully be the person God intended us to be. I know that’s something I have to work on ie not to be the ‘glass half empty’ person! And I agree with you too that these CALEB awards are a way of bringing glory to God and of reaching out and touching more readers. I love your positive attitude in it all. But I also hope I didn’t offend you by my comments! My apologies if I did. God bless!
Last year my junior novel “Water or Goo” was a shortlisted title and I was nervous about the same thing. I remember meeting Rosie Boom the morning before the award was announced and wondering how I was supposed to react to her as my “competition”. But as I sat at the table at the awards night with her, and other authors, there was very much a sense of “we all want each other to win, and we all want to win”. The whole point of CALEB is to lift each other up, to push the bar of Christians writing. When the winner last year was announced I was thrilled! Genuinely. Yes, I wanted my book to win too, but there was something really beautiful about that night and Rosie’s book IS a winner.
I’m glad you entered your novel Jo-Anne. I don’t think you’ll find CALEB so much about the competition than about celebration. And humility is an easy partner in that. 🙂
Hi Penny! Thanks for your insightful comments from someone who has ‘been there’! I remember when the winner of the children’s book was announced last year – I think you were at the next table to me. I know I really wished you had won!! But then Rosie’s book does look lovely, and although I didn’t meet her personally, she seemed really warm and friendly. That’s so good you found the other authors so supportive and the whole night so uplifting. And I agree the CALEB awards is about raising the bar of Christian writing and supporting one another, which is wonderful. I guess I’m thinking about all of this again at the moment because of having to prepare my workshop ‘Keeping God in the Writing Journey’, so the blog was just some thoughts I had along the way. God bless. Your new books look great. My granddaughters are a bit old now for them, but we have another grandchild coming!
Win or not, Jo-Anne, you are to be congratulated. It’s a great affirmation and I think that’s the best thing about competitions. They can give encouragement that we’re on the right track. Our writing is being read and appreciated. Well done. Take all the encouragement you can!
Thanks, Carol! And congratulations to you too! I was so glad to see ‘Mary’s Guardian’ there on the list. And yes, I agree that one really helpful thing about competitions is that affirmation that we are doing okay. Writers certainly do need all the encouragement they can get! I made the short-list last year with ‘Laura’, but not the finals list, so we’ll see what happens this year.
Hi Jo-Anne,
I’m so glad you mentioned this. One thing I struggle with over the whole nature of competitions is the implicit message that the winner is the “best” when each of the books are so different from each other. When I look over this year’s fiction shortlist, I think what a collection of rare gems, each with different hues and highlights, and each reflecting the essence of the authors who wrote them. The thought of singling out a couple to be most praised, and ultimately one to showcase does repel me in a way. One of the reasons I decided to homeschool my children rather than leave them in “the system” stems back to very similar feelings about competition among friends which I could ramble on about but won’t. I grapple with the thought that maybe I’m showing my kids double standards by submitting my novels to the CALEB prize each year.
I admit that after putting so much loving toil into “Best Forgotten”, my gut response when I read the other books shortlisted was nervousness for it. I don’t want my baby to be pushed aside, but among so much other great drama, the judges might decide not to go for emo guy gets amnesia. That’s a very real possibility.
Then I remember what I learned last year. I’d unconsciously approached the whole prize anxiously wondering whether “Picking up the Pieces” would be found to be “THE BEST” Then when Amanda’s book won and she was so happy, I couldn’t help smiling too. I knew at that moment that I’d been coming from it with a ridiculous mindset because there can’t be two more dis-similar fictions than “Picking up the Pieces” and “The Game.” It’s like comparing a meal of fine, silver-service dining with a rustic, full-flavoured banquet. They’re both great but totally different. It wasn’t about rejection at all, but celebration. The judges decided to go for colonial romance on the menu and that in no way demotes the others! (After reading Penny’s comment above, I’d have to say the same thing applies for “Water or Goo” and “Where the Lion Roars at Night.” Both enjoyable but to different to really be compared.)
I’ve read “Jenna” and once again, it’s poles apart from “Best Forgotten” so it’s not a matter of “Let the best book win” but we’ve all put our best efforts forward and all deserve kudos because they all reflect the beauty and uniqueness God has placed in our hearts.
(Sorry this turned out to be such a long comment. My fingers just kept typing away. Seems I rambled on long enough)
Hi Paula! Thanks so much for all your excellent comments – what more can I say? I think your comment ‘It wasn’t about rejection at all, but celebration’ is hugely important and I will remember that. Also I loved your insight that choosing one novel to win doesn’t demote the others – so well put. When I looked at the shortlist, I too wondered how on earth these novels could be ‘compared’ because they were so vastly different – I don’t envy the judges! I actually had a long paragraph in my blog about that, but then cut it out. Maybe one day when the CALEB Awards has lots more entrants, there will be a category for each different genre. And yes, I have to admit that even now I’d be very happy if any of the other entrants won in our section, just like you were for Amanda – particularly since I know most of them!
Hi Jo-Anne. I completely relate to your mixed feelings on the “competition”. When I entered last year, I had no thought of actually winning. To me it was just an avenue to promote my novel. I was extremely honoured to find myself short-listed along with some of my favourite authors. Then to find myself the “winner” I was suddenly feeling apologetic. Those other ladies had worked hard for years, with many books to their names – I thought one of them surely deserved the prize! I felt uncomfortable, awkward and happy all at once.
Now, I am back to seeing it as a form of promotion – I can use the “award winner” title to promote future books, which is really handy. I would definitely do it again, in spite of those feelings of discomfort.
And this year, without a book to enter into the CALEB prize, I will freely enjoy and cheer on all you fantastic authors who are in the short-list. You all deserve to be there. Looking forward to the celebrations. XXOO
Thanks for your comments, Amanda – again, so valuable from someone who has ‘been there’. Yes, as I said in my blog, I saw the awards as a means of getting a little more publicity, but then the whole competition aspect dawned on me and I began to wonder! I really enjoyed the awards last year, as my book wasn’t in the finals list, so I could just rejoice with whoever – so have fun this year, Amanda! Look forward to seeing you all there.
I must say I love a good competition – I still play Basket ball every week, I love to play Monopoly with my kids, I hate to lose. It always feels like sweet victory if I can ever possibly beat my husband in a game of 500.
But the CALEB prize is not like any of this. It is as some of you have suggested, a celebration of some really good Australian writing. I think it is wonderful that the sponsors of CALEB take the time to actually go through our work, make careful analysis, and encourage us all by giving us a mention in the short list. If we make it to finalist, that works well in our promotional material, and if we win – even better. But I already know it’s not because my book is better than any of the others on the list. It is because CALEB want to encourage us, and to encourage readers to enjoy what their judging panel have obviously already enjoyed. Thanks CALEB prize organisers. I appreciate the opportunity to be part of the ‘Game’.
I’m with you, Meredith! I love all sorts of board games and don’t like to lose either – except with my grandchildren and then I kind of do it on purpose at times! Haven’t played 500 for years but I loved it when we did. I can see much more now from all of the comments here that the awards are more about celebrating Australian writing than competing and totally agree that the winning book isn’t necessarily ‘better’ than the others. Thanks for your thoughtful comments. I didn’t know I would stir up such a ‘hornets’ nest’ with this blog though!!
I feel very honoured (and humbled) to have ‘Blue Freedom’ considered alongside entries from some of Australia’s top Christian writers. As mentioned in some of the other comments, it’s a celebration of us all as writers, and a great promotional/publicity tool. And since the CALEB awards offer a wonderful platform to encourage and promote Australian writers, when one wins, we all win. 🙂
Hi Sandra! Thanks for your comments. I particularly love those words ‘when one wins, we all win’! That’s a great way of looking at it. God bless!
If I was able to vote, I’d vote for “Jenna” for sure. I loved that book!!!
Wow, Janet – what an encourager! Thanks so much. Aren’t you glad you’re NOT a judge though?!
Jo-Anne,
Jenna is a lovely, gentle story with a great message. If Jenna were to win, I’m sure the other authors you know in the competition would be nothing but delighted for you. I think the publicity aspect is possibly the most important aspect of entering a competition like that. Any artist has to work at promoting their own work – I don’t need to tell you that success doesn’t happen just on its own! Christian authors – and Aussie ones at that – need a higher profile. I wish you every success in the competition!
Thanks so much, Stephanie, for your lovely, encouraging comments! And I couldn’t agree more with you about Christian Aussie authors needing a higher profile. I can see too you understand the need to work hard at promotion – and that’s great. God bless you in your own writing!
Jo-Anne, I understand what you mean. I entered my MS in the “unpublished manuscript” section and encouraged our assistant minister to enter his. When the short list was announced, I looked for his name, but not my own. I was disappointed that his was not there, because I thought it was a great story. When I did a search for my own name, to my surprise (the queen of no confidence here) my name was listed. At church on Sunday, Andrew came rushing over and hugged me and said, “Well done!” I looked at him blankly for a moment and then he grinned and said, “On your short list.” He was genuinely as pleased for me as I was disappointed for him. This, I think, is the way it should be when we are Christian writers. After all, we are brothers and sisters in Christ first, and should be happy when they succeed.
Hi Lynne! Thanks for your comments – and well done to you for being shortlisted with your unpublished manuscript! Sounds like you have a lovely assistant minister there too. God bless!