Monday, August 6, 2012

August Secret Agent Early Info

Please note: This is NOT the call for submissions! The contest will open next Monday, August 13.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES (please read carefully):

*There are TWO WAYS to enter: a) via email to authoress.submissions(at)gmail.com OR via web form at msfv.thoughbin.org
* There will be TWO SUBMISSION WINDOWS: 9:00-11:00 am EDT for the first 25, and 7:00-9:00 pm EDT for the second 25 plus alternates. (This is NOT a lottery.)
* 2 alternates will also be accepted, for a total of 52 entries.
* PLEASE NOTE: You are responsible for figuring out your own time zone. "Time Zone differences" are NOT a reason for not getting your entry in.
* Submissions received before the contest opens will be rejected.
* Submissions are for COMPLETED MANUSCRIPTS ONLY. If you wouldn't want an agent to read the entire thing, DON'T SEND IT. If an "entire thing" doesn't exist, you shouldn't even be reading these rules.
* Manuscripts THAT HAVE BEEN IN A SECRET AGENT CONTEST DURING THE PAST SIX MONTHS (February-July) will not be accepted.
* You may submit A DIFFERENT MANUSCRIPT if you've participated in any previous Secret Agent contests.
* Only ONE ENTRY per person per contest. If you send more than one, your subsequent entry(ies) will be rejected.
* If you WON A CONTEST WITHIN THE PAST 12 MONTHS (i.e., offered any kind of prize from a Secret Agent), please DO NOT ENTER THIS CONTEST. (Unless it's a different manuscript.)
* Submissions are for THE FIRST 250 WORDS of your manuscript. Please do not stop in the middle of a GO HERE to submit via our web form. If you choose to submit via email, your submission for this contest should be formatted EXACTLY as follows: SCREEN NAME: Your Screen Name Here TITLE: Your Title Here GENRE: Your Genre Here (Followed by the excerpt here.)
 * No "chapter one," chapter titles, etc.
* You will receive a confirmation email with your lottery number.
* Submissions go to authoress.submissions(at)gmail.com. They DO NOT GO to my facelesswords address. Or any other address.
*It doesn't matter what you put in the subject line. The only thing you MUST NOT do is to use "RE:" The bot will think you are attempting to respond to an email, and will reject you. As always, there is no fee to enter the Secret Agent contest. This month's contest will include the following genres:

  • Commercial fiction
  • Upscale fiction
  • Women's fiction
  • Romance (all types)
  • Mystery
  • Thriller
  • Inspirational/Christian
  • Psychological suspense
Please note:  NO children's fiction this month.  All subs must be for adult novels.


11 comments:

  1. Is Paranormal Mystery okay? I know some agents don't do paranormal and I don't want to waste our agent's time if they're not interested, nor take a space from a qualified entry.

    Thanks!

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  2. Jane Err (LOVE the name!!) -- I would go ahead and sub. This agent does not take SF/F, but since yours is primarily a mystery, it should be okay. If you feel like it's heavier on the SF/F, then best not. But I'm thinking it's worth a go.

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  3. Thanks Authoress, but I just remembered I did the Danielle mystery-only one back in April or so. Totally slipped my mind! I was hoping to test out my new intro, but now is not the time.

    I'm actually a regular under another name, but sometimes I like using one of my aliases. I figure YOU would understand!:)

    Looking forward to some good entries!

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  4. The Danielle one wasn't a Secret Agent contest -- so you're eligible! :)

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  5. Oh wow, that's great! I think! I was a lot braver when I thought I didn't qualify!

    Time to get out the body armor and wake up the moat monster to protect my soon-to-be-battered little ego.

    Tell me again, WHY do we do this? :)

    As always, THANKS!

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  6. SO excited that this contest is for Adult Fiction!
    Thanks for the opportunity.
    Rolling up my sleeves...
    Good luck to all.

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  7. Yes, I am excited about an adult fiction and even more, Inspirational/Christian. I'm *really* hoping to make this because this is a tough genre to find openings.
    Thanks so much for hosting this one:)
    Talynn

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  8. Authoress, I haven't used the web submission form before. When does the link open up so you can get the submission ready?

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  9. Never mind! I found my answer. Thank you.

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  10. So, no paranormal? Or does paranormal fall under one of these genres? My MS *could* be considered paranormal romance, but I usually just label it paranormal fiction and leave it at that.
    Thanks so much for all of these great contests!

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