When I saw this contest, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. All I knew was that I had to give it a try. I have always been a little down on myself when it came to my writing. Lately, I have been trying to step out of my comfort zone and step into a few places in my world that may be just a little scary to me. the Page Turner Awards was my first foray into trying to put myself out there in the world as a novelist.
The experience was one of the most interesting and wonderful experiences with my writing to date. The platform that is used to post our work was one of the easier one's to use. I think what I liked the most about it was that there were instructions at nearly every turn. I didn't feel as if they were condescending or telling me step by step like I wouldn't understand. It made me feel like they cared. While I could only afford to enter the writing award due to my funds being extremely low; I was excited to see all the other choices I could add on if I had the funds for it. some of them were down right awesome. It was nice to have the option and see them even though I was unable to participate in them.
A major plus was the ability to be in contact with a member of the Page Turner Awards team. I am sure that I wasn't the only person she offered patient assurance to. I wrote her once thinking the links were not working and she wrote me back and kindly reminded me that I needed to sign in. I rolled my eyes at myself and slapped myself in the forehead like a cartoon character and wrote her sheepish thank you response. She was gracious and helpful throughout this process. A big thank you to our contact!
The best prize of all was the building of my confidence throughout this process. I remember feeling strange and unusual as I created my sign-in profile and put in my author biography. I submitted my first ten pages. I even trembled a little as I pushed the submission button. Then, I waited. The truth is that I was excited to see Page Turner Awards in my inbox whenever they were there. Then, I was named as a finalist, and I kind of squeal-screamed and tears formed at the corners of my eyes. I'll forever be thankful to Page Turner Awards for making me feel not only special by offering a hands-on approach to this process but making me feel like a winner before any of the winners were ever announced.
Clennell Anthony
