The Five Stages of a Dragon Award nomination (or Political) Campaign – with apologies to Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

I mentioned in my previous post that self-promotion to get a work on an award ballot reminded me of running for public office.

After some reflection, I realized the stages in the both processes are the same, so I thought I’d put them down:

First Stage: EXCITEMENT
You’ve decided you’re going to toss your hat in the ring. You’re looking forward to the campaign. It’s going to be exciting and you look forward to doing great things. Your friends are all behind you, and with some elbow grease and a little luck, you’re a shoo-in.

Second Stage: REALITY SINKS IN
OK, you’ve begun to realize what you’ve gotten yourself into. It’s a lot more work than you anticipated, and you wonder if you are up to it. This is going to be real work, and you wonder if you have the time. The initial euphoria has worn off.

Third Stage: SELF-DOUBT
Now that you’ve been campaigning for a while, you’ve gotten to know the competition, and realize they are good – maybe better than you. Plus now you’ve learned some people you thought would help you have other plans, and some have decided to support other candidates. What have you gotten yourself into?

Fourth Stage: DEPRESSION
OK, now you see that you bit off more than you can chew. You’re strapped for time, you’ve lost supporters, and you have to admit there are other perfectly qualified candidates who could legitimately beat you. They’re just as good, if not better, and have better networks and connection than you do. You begin to think of your concession speech.

Fifth Stage: FATALISM
Election Day (or the deadline for nominations) nears, and you realize that, no matter what, this will all be over soon, and you’ll be able to relax. You decide to make one last push and pull out all the stops for a get-out-the-vote (or nomination) effort. You want to be able to say, at least for your supporters if not for yourself, that you gave it your best shot, and can hold your head high regardless of the outcome.