A New Milestone - Joe Flach's Blog

Every now and then, I go to my “Member Area” here on Poetry Soup and “View” my “Total Community Points” just to see where the numbers stand.

Currently, I am just 10 poems short of 1,000; I just passed 1,000 Unique Comments Made (sorry if none of them have made it your way); I am 8 comments short of 500 Blog Comments Made and I just reached the milestone of … drum roll, please … 200 Poems entered in a contest that did not finish in the top 10!!

Yup, it is 200 times now that I entered a contest and did not have my entry place in the top 10. 200 wonderful, terrific, astonishing poems that the contest sponsor did not like enough to place in their top 10. And, you know what? I am good with that.

Another statistic shows that I have sponsored 13 contests. I usually get about 35 entries in each contest. That means I have reviewed 455 poems and only placed 130 of them in my top 10. That means there are 325 wonderful, terrific, astonishing poems that you all entered in my contests that I did not rank in the top 10. So, I get it.

I am proud of each unranked, contest poem I entered. Honestly, some of them I understand why they did not rank; but, some of them I thought should have won. The key phrase there is, “I thought” – and, well, it doesn’t matter what I think when it comes to someone else’s contest. I get it.

Now, to be fair, I do have 378 poems that did finish in the top 10. Some of them, I am quite certain, should not have. I am just as proud of these poems.

Some of my unranked poems, I think, are some of the best poems I have ever written. I do not begrudge the fact that they were not ranked. In fact, I thank the contest sponsor for giving me the inspiration and motivation to pen the poem – a poem I would never have written in the first place if it were not for the challenge of competing in your contest. These contests have challenged me to write in styles I would not have tried otherwise and on topics I would have never thought of tackling.

So, thanks to all of you contest sponsors – those who liked my entries and those who have not. I owe you all a huge debt of thanks and gratitude.

I am currently entered in about 3 contests, so I am well on my way to the next 200 unranked poems. I love hitting new milestones.

Andrea Dietrich Date: 4/29/2014 6:07:00 PM I love milestones, JOe. Love your good attitude and perspective on things. Here's to MORE good rankings to you. Your poetry deserves it. Login to Reply Joe Flach Date: 4/29/2014 6:14:00 PM Thanks, Andrea. For anyone who has problems with how their poems finish in a contest, I would simply suggest that they run a contest of their own, it may help give them a differing point of view.

David Mohn Date: 4/29/2014 5:40:00 PM Love your perspective Joe...great blog Login to Reply Joe Flach Date: 4/29/2014 6:13:00 PM Thanks, David.

Nette Onclaud Date: 4/29/2014 4:47:00 PM glad you are on a roll, joe.. i don;t exactly kn ow what community points are; i'll check now and see how i'm faring.. hugs! Login to Reply Joe Flach Date: 4/29/2014 6:10:00 PM Thanks, Netter. Must be butter, because I'm on a roll!! PS calls the page Community Points because you earn points for the various things that you do. I don't care for the points I just like looking at the statistics that come along with them keeping track of how many poems I have written, etc.

Jan Allison Date: 4/29/2014 3:34:00 PM Excellent blog Joe - at one time I got disheartened (only been here 3 months lol) now I think well I tried - and I'm learning all the time having recently written a sonnet, tanka and ABC for the first time so I am glad of the opportunity to practice these skills - if i get a place its the icing on the cake Its not the winning its the taking part that matters. Hugs Jan xxxx Login to Reply Joe Flach Date: 4/29/2014 6:05:00 PM Thanks, Jan. I remember when I first started out how devastated I was entering these contests and never seeing my name on the winners list. I think it was about my 10th contest before I made the top 10 and about my 20th or so before I hit the top spot. It took awhile to develop a tough skin, but it happens. Now I look back and can't remember which poems won and which poems didn't. They are all my children and I love each the same.

Carrie Richards Date: 4/29/2014 2:19:00 PM Well said.......!! :) Login to Reply Joe Flach Date: 4/29/2014 6:02:00 PM Thanks, Carrie.