Wednesday, June 16, 2010

And the Winner Is...

Not me. Not this time, anyway. The Highlights for Children's 2010 Fiction Contest is over for this year, and I just got a letter in the mail announcing the three winners. I can't wait to read the three stories. One thing I love about Highlights is their quality fiction. I'm sure these three winning stories were good ones.

And yet, I felt like a winner too, because my form letter from Highlights had a little note scrawled in the bottom right hand.

Dear Ms. MacKinney,
We like your writing . Please try us again!
Best wishes,
Joƫlle Dujardin

Just a few words, but great encouragement for a writer. Editors have zero time. Likewise, associate editors are busier than proverbial bees. A hand written note means a lot. Also, I realized later that if a SASE wasn't included (and I didn't include one) they stated they would not return your manuscript or respond. It was a surprise to hear from the editor under these conditions.

So I'm dedicating this post to Ms. Dujardin. Yeah, I didn't win this year, but it made my day to know that she enjoyed my story. I felt like a winner, because what greater pleasure is there for a writer beyond knowing that she wrote something that provided reading enjoyment for a reader? Ms. Dujardin, thank you for spending a little of your valuable time and some postage on that short note! It encouraged me!

3 comments:

  1. Wow!
    That's an incredible encoragement
    and you didn't even leave a SASE!
    Awesome...
    and they like you writing
    Boy, how nice were those butterflies? lol

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  2. Again, so happy for you!!! You GO girl!

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  3. So glad you are encouraged. You know that we all love your stories! Now, it's good to know that someone else does too!

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