Michelle's corner

When you look at someone like me, you're looking at someone whose default position is to fall through the cracks. There are many that I fall down, trust me; and it only takes one crack to disqualify entry to some competition or other. I don't actually recall entered a writing competition to date, because of various things that are against me.

Take this competition ... http://www.graziadaily.co.uk/2015/04/calling-all-new-writers-it-s-the-baileys-first-chapter-competition#.VS_cXkpwbcu ... I, for one, would love to land a book deal. All my work has been written, completed and then put out there to see what happens and, like the majority, I've never made it big. I'm never likely to, either!

Firstly, this competition is for women. I'm a post-operative transsexual. That would knacker me for a start; the controversy if someone like me entered could be significant. It's actually the same if the competition was for men only; I am effectively barred from any sex/gender specific competition. Someone, somewhere, could readily cry foul.

Secondly, my first book was published in 1995. Massive gap between then, and Companion's launch in October last year, (yes, it is a bit more complex than that!) but what classifies you as a, "new," writer? If you keep it to someone who has never had a book deal before then things are wide open, but if you start to tie down dates, or exclude someone who put the work in to joining a small press as opposed to restricting themselves to self-pubbing on Amazon, then you close the door to people who have been trying for years to get their work in front of, "the biggest names in literature."

What if you're one of the eager people who has a website, invested in business cards and gone to the effort to take yourself seriously and put some effort in. Does something like that disqualify you against someone who just decides to try their hand on the fly? And in this, I'm not talking about this competition, but about many of them which have rules that someone like me just manages to slip through.

*sigh* .. story of my life! I've come to accept that nothing is fair in life, and I am outside the main stream in many ways, not just in my writing but also my person. So ... back to the drawing board, I guess...

Extra Note - this is actually true for people like me throughout different spheres including one of my other passions, photography. It is also true for others who have tried hard for years at their specific goals, only to be trumped by someone who decided to have a crack at something. Fair? No such thing! It's just life.

I won't lie to you. I used to be bitter about it, yes; and it would be great if there were more competitions that I could actually compete in without fear that someone will point and cry foul. But not now. I just crack on with life. After all, there are others out there who are worse off than me ... and I've met some of them! "Count your blessings..." ... :-D