Writing Contest

I received the scores from the contest I entered last December for my novel "A Series of Scandals." It just makes my disappointment all that much more final. The highest and lowest scores were disqualified. But even with that . . . .it was only the first three chapters. And it seems it is not actually a true contest with only five people reading those chapters. And only three scores counting. 

It's weird because I read fourteen different entries in another category when I was a judge. Even the ones I gave high 8's and 9's to didn't make the semi-finals. Maybe we are all horrible writers and no one wants to read what pours forth onto the pages. Or. . . maybe the judges weren't as objective as they should have been. I've heard of contests where friends read each other's manuscripts and gave high ratings. I hope that was not the case.

I don't know what to think. 
A friend read my book last year in May and said, she couldn't put it down. I had forgotten that I had sent it to her, and she had forgotten that it was in her inbox. Months went by and then she called me up and gave such rave reviews. 

Maybe she wasn't as objective either.      

In my category someone did win. So I guess I'm just ranting. 

Historical Romance	Judge 1	Judge 2	Judge 3	Judge 4	Judge 5
Score	8.00	4.10	7.00	8.00	8.70
Is the love story the main focus of the book?	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Is the resolution of the romance emotionally satisfying and optimistic?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Final Score: 7.666666667