The results are in! I participated in one of Sixfold’s reader-voted
writing contests, and I found it a fascinating experience.
Unlike most contests, each entry is judged by other entrants
in three rounds of voting. After I submitted my batch of poems, I received an
email telling me when voting began. Then I was able to read six collections of
poetry, rank them 1 – 6, and share comments.
Two more rounds followed, each a week apart. Just today, the
final results were shared. The first-place winner was a collection that I had
read and ranked highly, so that was cool to see!
My own ranking was lower than I had hoped—somewhere in the
middle—and I received a few comments, some helpful and some not-so.
(Respectful, just not specific enough for me to use in revisions. Though one
was glowing, so that was nice!)
I really liked the experience of a peer-reviewed contest,
and I thought the winners deserved their prizes. It’s a different feeling to
see how other writers in similar circumstances receive your work, and to have
the chance to read and comment on other submissions. I like the egalitarian
aspect of this system very much.
If you’re new to submitting your work, I suggest doing
something like this to give you the opportunity to read and critique other
writers’ efforts. It’s incredibly helpful to recognize the strengths and
weaknesses in someone else’s writing in order to improve your own—not to
mention sharing insights with others.
At the same time, it was a bit of work, and I didn’t receive
as much helpful commentary as I had hoped. Next time, I’ll try to choose a
submission time when I’m not feeling so under the wire (the holidays have enough
going on!).
Curious to discover other egalitarian-based and/or
peer-reviewed literary journals or contests. Do any build into a real community
of writers and reviewers? Which ones have you tried?
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