Here's the big news you've been waiting for!
The call for submissions for our next Secret Agent contest will be this coming Monday, August 25th.
Please do not send submissions early. Submissions will open as soon as I post the call, and will close in 24 hours.
Full submission guidelines will be posted. I'm reminding you once again to please follow them carefully.
IMPORTANT: This Secret Agent round will include ONLY the following genres:
Commercial fiction (no fantasy or sci/fi)
Literary fiction with a commercial edge
Thrillers
Mysteries
Historical romances
ABSOLUTELY NO CHILDREN'S BOOKS (any age).
(I know, I know. I write children's books, too. But not all the Secret Agents who come to play are going to rep children's books. You'll get your day in the sun. I promise.)
Ask your questions here and now. But remember that the details will be included on the actual call.
Just polish your first page and get ready to submit!
Oh, and please be kind and refrain from asking me to further define the above genres. You know what you write and you know where it belongs. If you're not sure about the name of a sub-sub-sub-genre, then I'm sure as heck not going to know what you're talking about, either. *wink*
And the countdown begins!
Miss Snark's First Victim
I'm going to go join the other ostracized SpecFic writers and cry in a corner now. :_(
ReplyDeleteBut, I'll still read the other entries, and good luck to everyone!
Okay, this is going to be a STUPID question...but, I'm gonna ask anyway!
ReplyDeleteWhen submitting for this contest, would it be wrong, or bad, or dishonest to submit the first page of Chapter ONE, if you have a prologue?
:) Terri
bummer... :(
ReplyDeleteI'll try to look in and comment where I can. Good luck to everyone!
Fantastic! I'm excited! I regret not entering the last one.
ReplyDeleteAnd hey, I write historical fiction. :-)
Best of luck, everyon!
When submitting for this contest, would it be wrong, or bad, or dishonest to submit the first page of Chapter ONE, if you have a prologue?
ReplyDeleteYou know, Terri, that may be the million-dollar question. Miss Snark would say send the prologue. I say, prologues can give a misleading read as to the actual start of the story. But then, I'm not an agent.
So honestly? Send the first page of chapter one, since that seems to be what your gut is telling you to do. The main thing is "hooking" so send what you think will "hook" -- bearing in mind that when you start subbing to agents, you will probably have to send the prologue and not the first page of chapter one.
Aww. No children's books so I'll have to sit this one out, but I look forward to reading the other submissions!
ReplyDelete*joins the spec fic writers corner* :P
ReplyDeleteWhat, you mean all SAs don't do fantasy and sci fi and horror too? Oh, the pain! The shock! The horror!
*snickers*
I'll be sitting this one out submission wise but will do my best to comment on entries sometime... I work all that week so depending on how sleep-deprived I am will depend on how much commenting I do. ;)
Good luck, everyone!
~Merc
What, you mean all SAs don't do fantasy and sci fi and horror too? Oh, the pain! The shock! The horror!
ReplyDeleteHeck, one wonders why ALL agents don't do fantasy and sci/fi.
Gee whiz. ;)
I would like to say that waiting an entire WEEK is killing me! I am so into instant gratification. Now I will over think EVERYTHING! I will stress about wording, and probably revise again (for the 79th time).
ReplyDeleteThe pain! The agony! The excitement!
***Have I mentioned how much I LOVE this blog?!?!
:) Terri
***There was no sarcasm intended in that statement.
I didn't perceive any sarcasm. :)
ReplyDeleteI perceived borderline addictive personality disorder with a penchant for masochistic blog reading behavior, but definitely no sarcasm.
Am I really that transparent?
ReplyDeleteI'll have to try to hide my deficiencies better in the future!
:) Terri
Terrirainer,
ReplyDeleteI struggled with your "stupid question" (which I didn't think was stupid at all) during the last contest.
I entered Chapter One because it was the part I was most curious about. This time, though, I'm entering the prologue. And I'm not going to feel bad or dishonest about it. ;-)
Wow, no spec fic? LOL! Disappointing, but I'll still read the entries. I wasn't planning to enter either way, but I do love to read spec fic. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteGood luck, everyone! 8^)
Assuming in all unliklihood that my page is hugely liked, my question is this:
ReplyDeletemy MS isn't yet fully revised and edited.
Would that be a problem if the Agent is totally entranced with my work?
Carole,
ReplyDeleteWell, this contest isn't the same as subbing to an agent, of course. But I would imagine it would be a problem if our SA DID fall into a state of ecstasy over your first page. That's why I encourage entrants to submit pages from completed works that are in good shape. Not something you wouldn't want an agent to see the rest of, KWIM?
Ultimately, it's your call. I mean, you DO have a week. :D
anon,
ReplyDeleteI entered page one of my prologue last time, but I think page one of the first chapter is so much better (IMHO).
The sad part is that I NEED the prologue, it sets up the conflict, but it doesn't have ANY of my MC or even SC in it.
I love Authoress for doing this, it's such great feedback.
The negative feedback is usually the most helpful, which I find strange saying, but it's those out there who are honest that often point out things that friends and family won't or can't.
I have to keep that in mind while doing feedback for others, because I find myself WANTING to say something nice.
:) Terri
*goes to the corner to cry*
ReplyDeleteI really don't have anything other than sci-fi and fantasy. The closest I've ever gotten to modern "literary" fiction is a short story.
I'll drop by and crit but I think I'll have to sit this contest out.
Terri- most agents ask that sample chapters not include the prologue so I think you're safe submitting chapter 1 instead.
Wait.... Historical Romance?
ReplyDelete*huddles in corner with cronies to conspire*
Betrayal is historical and has romantic elements... would that count? I mean, no sex, but he falls in love. That's kind of romantic- isn't it?
Uh, I guess us Skiffy Rommers are out. *Takes seat in corner to watch*
ReplyDeleteI have a question. The first page I want to use is confusing. It is an adult mainstream book and throughtout all except the first chapter, the MC is 22. In the first chapter, she is 12. Hwever, it is still geared toward adults. Would that be permissible? Or since the MC is a child, is it disqualified?
ReplyDeleteCaptain Hook,
ReplyDeleteIt's adult fiction, so you can submit. When you start subbing to agents, you'll be presenting it as adult fiction then, right? And when you include the first 3 to 5 pages with each query, your MC is going to be 12. That's the way your story begins, and it's going to have to hook an agent regardless of how old your MC is.
So go for it. :)
Dang! My stuff is either adult urban fantasy or YA. I'll drop by to do some crits though. It was enlightening last time around.
ReplyDeleteAll fantasy from me, but I will sit in the corner with my fellow SpecFic writers and enjoy the show. :-)
ReplyDeleteGood luck to everyone planning to enter!
*joins the ostracized writer's corner*
ReplyDelete:( I'm a sci-fi writer, so I'm out. (Don't really have anything finished anyways.)
I'll enjoy reading and critting, though.
Good luck, everyone.
Aw, shucks. I'm out. I write SFF. But narrowing the genres is probably a really good idea for keeping the number of submissions under control.
ReplyDeleteAuthoress-
ReplyDeleteWhat's the format? I'm doing some major polishing- can I get away with sending in one page single spaced? Or even, 1.5 spaces? What a rule breaker, I know... lol :-)
Jessica -- heh!
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be by word count, which is 250 words to a page. So it matters not how you space it....words are words.
*evil grin*
*sob* I hate your rules!
ReplyDeleteJoking, joking...but really. 250 words? Ouch. You should do 300...or 500... *bug bug*
*sigh* :-P
Tell you what...
ReplyDeleteYou come on over and do all the cutting and pasting and posting.
Then pop on over to our Secret Agent's lair and do all the reading critting and judging.
Then tell me to make it 500 words a piece. :P
*whaps a slice of no-whine tape over jessica's lips* :D
Sure. Great. Gladly. Just give me the necessary papers to qualify for being "experienced" enough to crit! *sniggers*
ReplyDelete*yanks off the no-whine tape*...oww.
Ah well...I'll trim it a little. But here I was, thinkin it was a whole page...way to make me face reality. :-)