By Debb Hackett @debb_hackett

We’re in contest season and it’s always proposal and submission season. But not everyone wins or gets offered a contract. Disappointment is as much a part of writing, as breathing. Therefore, managing your actions and feelings when you’re not successful is crucial. Over the years I’ve won a couple of writing awards and not won even more. I hope my ways of handling let downs are helpful.

1 Give it to the Lord

The first thing to do when you send an entry or proposal in, is to pray. Remember whose glory you’re writing for. It’s perfectly okay to ask for your work to find favor but do take care not to expect that. I try to focus on my part and trust God will use what I do however he sees fit.

2 Champion others

This is a big one for me. When any Christian work is published or wins an award, the Kingdom wins. When an author is encouraged, the Kingdom wins. But we are all fallen humans, and every now and then, it stings when someone else is successful and we aren’t. The best way to avoid this feeling, is to earnestly enjoy it. Champion those who are finalists and winners. Cheer them on publicly or privately.

3 See the loss for what it is

This is a very important lesson. Writing contests are subjective. And publishing houses look for very specific things. If you’re writing an allegory about Kermit and Miss Piggy and what they learned while walking on the yellow brick road to Mandalay, you might not sell that, even if it’s stunningly well written. Losing out isn’t the end. It’s a ‘not yet’ from the Lord. Think back about all the times you didn’t get what you wanted and reflect on how your life would be different if you had. It’s probably not a picture of perfection.

4 Guard your heart

As I mentioned before, sometimes seeing others succeed when you don’t, stings. That’s a completely human response and I think when you feel that way, it’s important to share that feeling with the Lord and, if you’re discouraged, a trusted writing mentor or wise friend within the writing world. Following the first two steps here should help protect you from bitterness or envy. Those responses will tear you down and that’s what the enemy wants.

5 Learn from the judges carefully

This is where discernment kicks in, so please bathe this in prayer. Judges train for their roles, but not all judges have the same experience or education. When their comments come in, see what makes sense to you, and where you disagree. If anything isn’t clear, you can go back to the contest director and ask for a judge to clarify. Or take the comment to a trusted writing friend, ideally with more experience than you, and ask their opinion.

6 Up your game

Now for the exciting part. If you’re ticked off about not finaling or selling, don’t stay in that place. Do something about it. Pour over a recommended craft book on an area you need to strengthen, enroll in some online classes, attend a writer’s conference, read and take notes on what works in the most successful books of your genre. Get your game face on.

7 Acknowledge you are successful

Finally, like in the first step, remember who you’re writing for. Did the Lord tell you to go win a Christy or sign a five-book deal with a major house? Or did he call you to write? I’m going to bet it’s option two. In this instance, take a breath and hear this, your work may not have found its way to glory this time, but that’s not what God asked. You did what you were told. You obeyed, and in my corner of the theology world, that equals worship. In God’s eyes, you’re a winner.

Well done, good and faithful writer.

Writer, broadcaster and speaker Debb Hackett has been a radio journalist for more than twenty years. Married to a Royal Air Force test pilot, Debb has written a Bible study for military wives.

A regular contributor to the Advanced Writers and Speakers Devotional Arise Daily, she’s also been privileged to writer chapters for Write Well Sell Well. For now, based near London, England she’s having lots of fun working on a contemporary romance series and was an ACFW Genesis award semi-finalist in 2020.

When she’s not writing, Debb can be found leading worship, playing bass or skiing. If you can swing by her house while she’s making scones, that would also be a win.