Saturday, June 11, 2005
American Title Contest ramblingsAs the deadline for entering American Title II draws near, I look back over the last year of my life and first, wonder where it went, and second, can't believe the wild ride I've had.
When I entered the first American Title contest, my goal was NOT to be the first one kicked off the proverbial island. Never in a million years did I really think a small town girl from Tennessee had a shot at winning the whole shebang. I still have trouble believing and am wondering when it'll start to feel real.
On March 7th, I found out I had indeed won. And was sworn to secrecy until April 28. Talk about your torture. Imagine winning a contest like this, selling your first book, and mum is the word for over a month & a half. Yowzars.
I have opinions on the contest. Good and bad. Some aspects were phenomenal (ie. winning, getting fan e-mail from around the world, etc.) but some parts were very hard on me. I gained 15 pounds during the contest (which I worked darned hard to lose & had shed 10 of between 3/7 & 4/28 and have since lost the other 5). My cholesterol shot up by 50 points (might have to do with that 15 pounds I'd gained). I couldn't sleep and started having headaches for the first time in my life. Oh, and I developed an eye twitch.
I am not a nervous kind of gal. I work as a nurse and never had problems like these while studying for boards or working a code or any other major work/life stressor. Literally, this contest was the hardest thing I've ever put myself through (grad school included).
During the contest, real life doesn't stop, which can be a problem. On the first day of voting during round one, my mother told me she had cancer. Let's just say I was distracted during that round. Very distracted. Yet, I knew I couldn't let that show & made sure my posts were upbeat even though on the inside my world was crumbling. Round two, day two, my oldest son was hospitalized with possible Meningitis. How do you stay positive to the world when your baby is seriously ill? Especially when you haven't shared that information except with a select few. The world expects perkiness and you just feel like crying. Somehow, I made it through that round--but only because I have great friends (which is honestly how I made it through every round). Round three, day three, I got sick with the flu. I have never had the flu, did have one of the rare flu vaccines, but none the less I spent a miserable, miserable week being yucky sick. And somehow, I hid all the 'real' craziness from the world and just smiled and posted perky posts. I didn't want sympathy votes, nor did I want to whine. What I really wanted was for all the bad to just go away. I guess, in a way, it did, as my mom is currently cancer free thanks to modern medicine. My son completely recovered & so did I. Round 4 & 5 were uneventful, but I'd be lying if I was't paranoid on round 4, day 4 and round 5, day 5.
Would I do it again? YES. If I hadn't won, would I do it again? YES. My hope and dream is that the publicity payoff will be worth every smidge of stress. Plus, it was great prep for a writer's life. I feel prepared for any bad reviews (and hey, everybody has a few) or unpleasant Amazon posts. My skin has definitely toughened, plus, I learned some valuable lessons about trust and am not nearly as niave as I was when I mailed my American Title entry last June.
I find my heart going out to those who've entered AT II or who plan to enter before the deadline closes. I'll definitely be following the contest and sending lots of luck and nerves of steele their way.
Janice Lynn
Jane Millionaire~American Title Winner
