This is the result of the second Grabber Contest at Ralan.com. This year's contest only got sixty entries, which was partly my fault. I didn't hype it like I did last year when I got eighty-two entries. I felt that the process dragged on in the first contest, that I held onto writers' stories too long. This year I tried to do it faster; two months start to finish, with the web site going live a month after that. But my planned promotion went by the wayside with the shock of the sudden death of my mother in the beginning of July. Of course, I dropped everything to be with my family. By the time I was home, and thinking again, it was time for the entries to start rolling in.

There may be other reasons for the low number of entries: the economy, a negative feeling about writing contests by some writers. I'm not sure. The main thing is that this is the only way for Ralan.com to get the funds needed to continue for another year. And sixty entries just weren't going to do it. But then someone asked me if they could donate instead of entering. I'd never considered donations, but they are what put me over this time. Once the “Donate” button went up, thanks once again to the rock-solid support I get from Jon Hodges at ProjectPulp.com and Blindside.net, many writers used it to let me know that my efforts are not unappreciated.

Of course, the effectiveness of my efforts is based largely on you. The editors and publishers who keep me up to date on what's happening at their publications. And the writers out there in the trenches: finding closed markets, digging up new ones, reporting changes in guidelines, whatever—and then writing me with the news. For this I reward you with a “Tip Thanks” and month's link to a web site of your choice. A small price. But you also have the thanks of the hundreds of writers, editors, and publishers who traffic Ralan.com every day.

To those who didn't make it into the five winning spots, don't take that as a bad sign. This year nearly all the entries were of a high caliber. Picking the top ten was more than difficult and, of course, shaded by my own personal likes and dislikes. But that's the way it is for every editor, and it's the reason that writers should never give up. Keep on submitting until you find an editor who appreciates that particular story. The next editor, or judge, you send it to could pick yours. I had sixty excellent entries, but many magazines have several times that amount every month. Don't be discouraged. I submitted for six years before getting my first sale. Other writers have beaten my “record” by double and more. If you want that sale bad enough, you have to keep trying. Most often the publication race goes not to the fleet rabbit, but to the determined turtle.

As for last year's winners ... well, they're all still with us, although the authors are free to request their removal at any time. Look for the 2003 link to the right of the menu above and you'll be whisked away to last year. There's also a corresponding 2004 link on those pages of the past. Can't have a time machine without a reliable return capability, can we?

Piers Anthony’s description of his Grabber Contest judging experience:

“I received the (top) ten Grabber entries in good order, read them, ranked them, pondered, and asked my wife to read them. Sure enough, we agreed only on the #1 entry; the others varied wildly. What bothers me is that there would surely be similarly wild differences with any judge, so that it becomes largely a matter of chance which ones win or lose. I like humor, drama, magic, Hell, zombies, dragons, and such, being a fantasy writer. My wife likes the mundane female perspective. So I have ranked them according to whether they grabbed me, but with the disclaimer that the grabbing has more to do with personal taste than with objective merit. Had my wife been ranking them, the one I ranked #10 would have been #2. So I hope no one’s feelings are hurt by the rankings; all the entries are good and closely spaced.”

And after the judging, upon learning who the author’s were:

“Interesting that the same author did the top two. I must like his style. It was the startling ideas that grabbed me—a child seriously seeking to slay a dragon, a princess wanting to marry a real frog.”