Writing a novel or memoir is a long haul. Many of us spend years with a story and its characters, a process that takes patience, diligence, and no small amount of faith. At times we might wonder if the project to which we have devoted so much energy will ever transform from a file on our computers into a published book. Along this journey, writing contests for excerpts—or those that welcome excerpts as stand-alone short prose—can help you keep up the momentum. Submitting to such a contest offers a chance to look at part of your work with fresh eyes and polish it for publication. And if you’re selected as a winner or finalist, the recognition can be a much-needed vote of confidence that your project resonates with readers. But how can writers pare down their longer work to create a compelling excerpt that grabs judges’ attention? Here are eight expert tips to ensure your excerpt stands out.
From left: Denne Michele Norris, Zeeva Bukai, Ian S. Maloney, and Catherine Carberry. (Credit: Norris: Nicholas Nichols; Bukai: Ghila Krajzman; Maloney: Lauren G. Maloney)
Do your research. Before submitting to a contest, spend time getting to know the publication or organization sponsoring it. “Read through the recent winning and finalist excerpts to get a sense of the kind of work the journal is publishing,” says Cole Meyer, editor in chief of the Masters Review, an online and print publication that hosts contests throughout the year. This research will help you determine whether your project might be a good match. “Our primary interest is character-driven stories,” Meyer explains, “which means a high-fantasy novel excerpt might be a future best-seller, but it’s probably not a great fit for the Masters Review.”
You should also carefully review the submission guidelines. As Courtney Harler, editor in chief of Craft literary magazine, says, “Different literary markets may have very different guidelines, even for similar types of contests.” Ian S. Maloney, program director of New Literary Project’s Jack Hazard Fellowships, which offer support to writers who are full-time high school teachers, agrees. Maloney says juries inevitably receive excerpts that far exceed the competition’s stated word or page limit—entries that must be deemed ineligible. While it may seem obvious, following directions is essential, especially when some contests receive hundreds of submissions.
View your excerpt as its own entity. You’ve likely invested a significant amount of time developing the arc of your novel or memoir. However, when you are selecting an excerpt for a contest, “you have to consciously abandon the arc of the longer project in favor of the smaller arc that will fit into the publication,” says Denne Michele Norris, editor in chief of Electric Literature and author of the novel When the Harvest Comes (Random House, 2025). For Norris this means “doing everything in your power to make sure the excerpt stands alone and reads as a completed piece of writing.”
To create an excerpt that feels self-contained, it may be wise to select a section other than the opening. “First chapters are often providing the setup; they’re introducing us to characters, giving context and backstory,” says Meyer, “but that doesn’t always result in the most compelling excerpt.” Much like stand-alone short stories and essays, the strongest excerpts typically provide “a sense of change—a feeling that our characters have faced a conflict and come out the other side with new understandings of themselves or the world they inhabit.”
Of course, some contests specifically request the beginning of a manuscript. For example, Craft’s First Chapters Contest asks writers to submit the openings of their novels. For these types of contests, it’s less about creating a stand-alone piece than about leaving judges wanting more. “What we’re looking for is exceptional promise: a strong hook, compelling characters, exciting language, and literary style,” Harler says. “In short, a novel we want to keep reading.”
Select pages only you could have written. Although there’s no secret sauce for winning excerpts, judges generally look for something that feels new and different. “Tell us a story we haven’t heard before in a manner or style we haven’t seen,” Meyer says. “Do something that’s uniquely you.” Whether it’s a voice that jumps off the page, an unusual plot, a richly drawn world, or all of the above, judges want to see “a little bit of magic,” as Maloney puts it, that only you could have created.
Prune and polish. Once you’ve selected your excerpt, edit your pages to create the strongest possible submission. Structurally “you’ll need to do some massaging,” advises Zeeva Bukai, a former Center for Fiction fellow and the author of the novel The Anatomy of Exile (Delphinium Books, 2025). An early version of Bukai’s first chapter won December magazine’s Curt Johnson Prose Award, judged by Lily King. Bukai says it may be necessary to cut certain scenes or details while inserting others: “Make sure there are no references to things that don’t pertain to the action in that section. You may also need to add material to create a flow.” Like Norris and Meyer, Bukai believes a self-contained excerpt should have its own arc, with rising and falling action and a resolution at the end.
Read your work aloud. Reading your excerpt out loud—to yourself or to an invested audience—is a crucial step in the revision process. “As hokey as it sounds, sit in your study or wherever you’re writing and just read the pages,” says Maloney, who is also the author of the novel South Brooklyn Exterminating (Spuyten Duyvil, 2024). “You’ll hear the cadences and whether your excerpt has an impact.” Many submissions have “wonderful intentions,” he adds, yet the dialogue may be tinny or the piece may contain too much exposition. As you read aloud, Harler recommends “listening for extraneous words and interrupted stylistic flow of language. If you pause or stumble while reading a particular passage, it likely needs revision before contest submission.” Put your best foot forward by taking the time to revise.
Play the role of a “benevolent but distracted reader.” As you refine your excerpt, try to find ways to look at it with fresh eyes. “As a writer, you have a PhD in empathy and imagination, so use it!” says Catherine Carberry, winner of the 2023 James Jones First Novel Fellowship, “Put your pages in a PDF, print them out, change the font, do something to make them look fresh, and play the part of someone who is reading them cold.” Carberry likes to think of this stranger as a “benevolent but distracted reader” who wants to cheer you on yet is also looking for an excuse to pick up the next submission. Consider which lines will captivate the reader—and which ones will make them move on. “As I revised my own pages I tried to balance being generous with being critical, putting myself in the shoes of that imaginary reader,” she says.
Don’t overthink your synopsis. Some contests ask for a summary of the longer work—and writers may wonder about the best approach. When it comes to your synopsis, experts agree: Aim for clarity over creativity. “You don’t have to worry about being flowery or artful. Just focus on being clear about the nature of the bigger project,” says Norris, a past judge of the Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest sponsored by Winning Writers. Carberry, who has also judged submissions for contests and residencies, concurs. While writers tend to “over-intellectualize” their synopses, the most effective summaries prioritize “the circumstances of the characters and the emotional arc.” In other words, “What happens, to whom, and why should we care?” The goal is to offer straightforward answers, so that judges understand your vision. Leave the artistry for the excerpt itself.
Build your book-publishing muscles. While it takes time and effort to craft an excerpt for a contest, it’s a worthwhile endeavor. Journals often publish winning entries, which is not only a morale booster, but also a way to attract the attention of literary agents and editors. Even if your submission doesn’t place, learning to adapt your longer work for a contest is a valuable skill. “It’s exercising a muscle you don’t often use if you’re working on one project for a sustained period of time,” Norris says. Once you’re in the process of publishing your book, you or your marketing team may be pitching excerpts to publications to generate interest. And authors often help come up with jacket copy, so honing your ability to write a succinct summary will come in handy. No matter the result, there’s something to be gained, so polish those pages…and submit.
Kate Schmier is a writer and editor who hails from Metro Detroit and lives in New York City. Her short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Tin House, Apogee Journal, Lilith, and Paper Brigade, among other journals. She is at work on a novel.
Thumbnail credit: Matthew David Roberts