GCLS. Judging Process Training !

Transcription

1 GCLS Judging Process Training ! 1

2 In this session Changes to the Awards How to Judge Evaluation Criteria Scoring & Comments Training Materials! 2

3 Awards Changes 3

4 2018 Changes Traditional Contemporary Romance is split into 3 categories according to word count: o Short 40,000 to 70,000 words o Mid-Length 70,001 to 85,000 words o Long over 85,000 words Debut Novel replaces Debut Author Dramatic/General is renamed General Fiction Creative Non-Fiction is renamed General Non-Fiction Minimum 40,000 words for Novels 4

5 2018 Changes 25%-10% Rule:" o 25% of eligible entries will be finalists" o 10% of eligible entries will be winners" o Normal rounding rules" For example, if there are 25 total entries:" o Top 6 are finalists" o Top 3 are winners" If fewer than 6 entries, will be merged with another category to the extent possible, or category will be eliminated this year " 5

6 2018 Changes Judges who complete their assignments three years in a row will enjoy one free year of GCLS membership " o returning 2017 judges have one year in their ʻreward cardʼ already" Judgesʼ names will be published at Awards Ceremony (unless opted out)" 6

7 2019 Changes (Planned) Comprehensive review of evaluation forms" Process to discard poor quality books" Implement new category structure" Add new categories e.g., Humor" Debut Novel will not be a judged category scores from eligible debut novels submitted across genres will be consolidated to identify Finalists / Winners" 7

8 How to Judge 8

9 How to Judge Be committed to the process and act with: due diligence fairness ethics honesty Read / answer s Communicate any issues to the Awards Administrators (e.g., if you need to drop out, tell us asap, not on the last day of judging or completely disappear)! 9

10 How to Judge Confidentiality: Do not disclose you are a 2018 judge until the Awards Ceremony in July 2018 This is the only thing you can reveal Do not talk about your scores, deliberations, results EVER! 10

11 How to Judge Judging vs leisure reading: Read carefully Be objective Be familiar with evaluation criteria Evaluate against questions, not other books in category Evaluate the book, not the author s body of work or your opinion of author (positive or negative) Read the whole book Take notes! 11

12 How to Judge Time Management:! Complete all evaluations in a timely manner Plan your reading schedule (holidays, travel, other commitments) Aim at being at least 1/3 done by the end of the year We will monitor and report high level progress to the group and Board All forms must be completed by 23:59 Pacific on 15 April

13 How to Judge ebooks can be accessed after completion of both training sessions Physical books will be shipped in batches Books will arrive in batches to match nomination deadlines Last group of nominations is Jan 2018 You will receive an when new books are assigned to your reading queue 13

14 How to Judge We may send gift vouchers in lieu of physical books so you can purchase the ebook If you drop out, you are required to return all physical books sent to you or pay the GCLS to buy copies (we don t have spares to give to replacement judges) 14

15 Evaluation Criteria 15

16 Evaluation Criteria Books are judged based on these criteria: Overall impression Opening Plot Premise Setting, World Building Characterization Dialogue Narrative, Structure, Show vs Tell Style, Voice, Point of View Genre-specific criteria Lesbian content! Refer to Training Materials for further explanation! 16

17 Evaluation Criteria Format: Cover, title page, copyright page, page numbers, chapters (some pdfs may not have covers, that s fine provided rest of book is well organized) Properly formatted (line breaks, page breaks, margins, fits on screen)! 17

18 Evaluation Criteria Opening: Did you want to continue reading? Good and bad example:! It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice Corinne considered the colors (palest green, gray and lavender) and texture (downy as the finest velvet) and wondered, How long have these cold cuts been in my refrigerator? Bulwer-Lytton Contest for worst opening lines 18

19 Evaluation Criteria Plot Premise: Focus of the story, consistent and plausible, no plot holes Subplots support but do not overrun main plot Main plot: 11-year old boy finds out he is a wizard, goes to wizard school and battles against ultimate evil Subplot: Harry learns Quidditch and gets into the house team J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher s Stone 19

20 Evaluation Criteria Setting / world building: Realistic sense of place and circumstance Imagery, mood, tone enable reader to suspend belief! The cabin was warm and bright with the light Diana Holland and Vivian Kaufman had seen from a distance on the winding mountain road, friendly yellow light radiating into a black night, onto glowing snow. Katherine V. Forrest, Curious Wine 20

21 Evaluation Criteria Characterization: Memorable main character(s) who act consistently and grow with the story Distinctive secondary characters It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived. Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird 21

22 Evaluation Criteria Dialogue: Realistic, natural-sounding, enhances the story Example of bad dialogue:! I m looking for a store, Mary said worriedly. There s one over there. Jack went there. Jack is my brother, Jane answered assuredly. Do they sell pencils? Mary whispered. Yes, they sell pencils, Jane said confidently. Do they sell red pencils? Mary asked again. Yes, they sell red pencils, Jane said cheerfully. 22

23 Narrative / Structure: Show vs Tell Evaluation Criteria Tell: She was angry. Show: She slammed her hands on the surface of the table. Her jaw tightened and her eyes flashed. She hissed at me, I will not forget this. Balance between narrative desriptions and dialogue Pacing and flow Timeline is easily followed 23

24 Evaluation Criteria Style / Voice: Clear point of view, perspective, no head-hopping: Mary peeked through the curtains, watching as Jane walked up the driveway. Her heart beat faster in anticipation. Jane walked behind the trees, wary about approaching the house in plain view. Mary rushed through the house, tidying as much as she could. Enjoyable to read No / few typos, grammatical errors! 24

25 Evaluation Criteria Genre specific: Anthologies: clear theme throughout, each piece unique yet written / edited to consistent standard Erotica: sufficiently provocative, alluring and sexy with believable sex scenes General Non-fiction: clear theme, well researched Historical: story takes place more than 50 years ago Paranormal, horror, science fiction, fantasy: author has successfully integrated applicable elements Poetry: consistent theme, uses appropriate poetic devices, follows form and rules Young Adult: focused toward readers aged 12-17! 25

26 Evaluation Criteria Lesbian content: Main character identifies as lesbian Main character is or ends up in a lesbian relationship Theme or plot deals with lesbian issues and/or lesbian life 26

27 Scoring & Comments 27

28 Scoring & Comments Assign a point value to each question : 5 Excellent: Minimal flaws, a joy to read 4 Above Average: Few flaws; Minor technical flaws did not detract from reading 3 Average: Some flaws present; Needed further editing or reworking in key aspects 2 Below Average: Needs improvement in enough aspects that the reading was not as smooth as it should have been 1 Poor/Unacceptable: Serious flaws; Needs such major revision/rewriting that it did not provide for a good reading! 28

29 Scoring & Comments Provide explanatory and constructive comments at the end of each section Consistently writing no comment may lead to ALL your evaluations being discarded Examples:! Good descriptions of the setting and environment. There were enough details and descriptions that a reader can easily imagine themselves in the town the story is set in.! The structure is good but predictable. Author does a decent job of keeping the story moving. The timeline is sometimes confusing and jumps backward and forward.! 29

30 Scoring & Comments The system will automatically tally your scores and combine with other judgesʼ scores" At the end of judging, the Awards Administrators run a report with all scores" 25%-10% rule will be applied:" o 25% of eligible entries will be finalists" o 10% of eligible entries will be winners" For example, if there are 25 total entries:" o Top 6 are finalists" o Top 3 are winners" " 30

31 Training Materials 31

32 Training Materials This presentation Video on how to use the awards system Definitions and Explanations Sample evaluation form with comments Category Descriptions & Judging Guidelines FAQ! 32

33 Next Steps You should already know your category Complete both training sessions by 30-Sep-2017 You will be granted access to the system after completing training Start reading as soon as books are added to your reading queue We will follow up by end of the year if you have not started entering evaluations into the system All evaluations must be completed by 23:59 Pacific on 15-Apr-2018! 33

34 Thank You The Board of Directors understands the level of commitment required to fulfill the role of volunteer judge for the GCLS Literary Awards. This is a serious commitment of time and effort on your part The Board will have no way of knowing who you are until the Awards Ceremony, so we will never be able to thank you personally during the year We want to thank you for your willingness to support the GCLS in this endeavor, and more importantly your willingness to support and recognize lesbian fiction and non-fiction 34

35 Questions Refer to training materials FAQ on GCLS website 35