I'm on a time crunch with my word count today, so I'll throw this out quickly.
Several of you mentioned in Friday's comment box that 50 words might be better than 25. I find myself tantalized, but I want to be sure I take the pulse of the masses.
When we do this again (notice I said "when" and not "if"!), would you prefer we do the first 50?
Mind you, it's not going to be super soon. We've got a Secret Agent contest coming up in a couple of weeks, and I'm hoping my awesome automators will finish their work before I do another marathon like last week's. It's never too early to collect data, though, so please let me know.
Would 50 be better than 25?
Also, I think I'll have to limit the number of entries next time. I really (really really!) wanted everyone who entered to have a chance this time. I can't tell you how much I HATE sending those "I'm sorry, we've reached our limit" emails. (Which is another beauty of the upcoming automated system. I won't have to send them; it'll all happen automatically!)
So, first 50 words, first 100 entrants? How does that sound?
TALK! I'm uber-listening. :)
Miss Snark's First Victim
Sounds great to me. I think first 25 is important, but first 50 is doubly so...or is that backwards? Crap.
ReplyDeleteI vote yes to the new plan!
I vote yes as well! My true hook's within 50 words, but not the first 25, and I highly doubt I'm the only one in that boat.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Sounds like a good plan.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if 50 is better than 25. I think you could start getting into a place in your opening where you have to cut things off at a point where they don't make sense. It could impact the flow of the words.
ReplyDeleteTo me, the 25 words gives us just enough time to set a tone, maybe a pace. A bit of setting. A teaser if you will.
Maybe instead of saying 50 words, just go with your opening paragraph. Some will come in under 50 words if they are short opening paragraphs....but others will need slightly more than 50 words to include the entire first paragraph.
I feel that allowing the opening paragraph will be really helpful.
Does that make sense?
And this is really so great of you to do. I entered the first 25 words and it was so helpful.
I love the idea of the first 50. I also loved that you let me in as a PB genre author. Might you open the floodgates for that genre again? (if not, I uber-understand.)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a blast, bring it on!
ReplyDeleteI agree with justwritecat. I like the idea of the first paragraph.
ReplyDeleteI think 50 is WAY better! I usually give a book a little longer than one sentence before I put it down!
ReplyDeleteI got great feedback for my first 25 and now plan on doing a rewrite so it would be a great opportunity to see what people have to say!
My mother was born the day my father died. How's that for a short hook?
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I really, really don't think anyone ever judges something by the first 25.
ReplyDeleteI had weather in my first 25, and that weather plays a purpose in the first 50, but who could have known? :-)
Honestly, I don't care what the limit is, it's valuable feedback and I love to see what people think.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting these submission festivals! They're awesome no matter what the length.
I vote for 50. Far too many people were compelled to pick apart the first 25 words of entries, without any thought that those first few sentences might just be essential lead-up to what is coming next or that almost no one stops reading after 25 words (unless it's just plain dreadful, and very few of your entries were).
ReplyDeleteAnd a big thank-you. And a limit of 100 entries would be easier on all of us!
I really enjoyed the first 25 words, but the first 50 might be just as enjoyable. Or the first three sentences? Hmm!
ReplyDeleteAnd I can definitely understand not wanting to spend so much time with so many applicants, although it makes me personally a little sad, since I'm currently in France, and probably read most of the posts at a later time, and wouldn't be able to enter. Still though, I understand the necessity. :)
This won't help, but something between 25 and 50? I also like the idea of "first paragraph," but that could go on for pages (oh Lord, I hope not!).
ReplyDeleteMy entry was terribad, even though it hooked a few. But since last week's exercise, I rewrote the opening, and I have a much better hook in 25 words. I think it could be even stronger in 50.
Perhaps "first two sentences" with a 50-word limit. Yeah...I could go with that.
In the end, though, it's the challenge to set the hook within whatever limit that excites me.
Whatever works best for you.
ReplyDeleteI like 25. It forces us to be concise and get to the point.
ReplyDeleteI vote for 50, and I was wondering if I could make one more suggestion.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I'll go ahead and do it.
If you want to limit it to, say the 1st 100, can you do something like the 1st 50 received between 10am and 11am and then the 1st 50 between 7pm and 8pm? That way, the folks who can't submit from work have a shot when they get home? Or maybe do it on a weekend morning?
I sincerely appreciate you doing this at all!
I think the first 50 word, limiting it to the first 100 entrants would be all the better!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of fifty, but is there any way that we can fix it so they don't all end up in my rss reader? I just end up clicking all yours read and don't take the time to read a hundred entries. I can't think of a way off the top of my head or anything, I just know I wish it was different. :)
ReplyDelete50 words and 100 entries would be cool.
ReplyDeleteI think the first 50 words would be much more effective. Great idea!
ReplyDeleteFirst 50 sounds great. I've entered a first para contest, and believe you me, some paras were a mile long. There has to be a word limit
ReplyDeleteAuthoress, we're pretty much ready to jump on your bandwagon wherever it's headed:)
ReplyDeleteAnd I gave you an award over on my blog today. I'm sure you get those all the time, but one more's always good, right?
sounds good to me. could there be like a five word leeway n case we have long-ish sentences? jw
ReplyDeleteThe more the merrier.
ReplyDeleteI think that's a great idea. It would give a much more representative sample.
ReplyDeleteIf it were 25 words would you take the first 200 people, giving me a better change of getting in?
ReplyDeleteWhatever jiggles your jello is fine with me.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, 50 words and 100 entries sounds great.
Sure! I thought this was a wonderful process. Fifty would be fun! :-)
ReplyDelete50 WORDS.
ReplyDelete100 ENTRANTS.
That's my vote!
....But I'd vote for doin' the 25 WORD thing again soon, cuz it boils the opening straight down to its essence: THE HOOK! ㋡
I'm not sure it would be a lot better than 25, but I think it's fun to keep mixing it up. So I vote for it.
ReplyDelete50 Words
100 Entrants.
I think it's great to say, "opening sentence/opening paragraph up to XX words," so if you use 50, it helps those with longer initial phrasing but doesn't penalize those who don't need it.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be okay to do 25 one time and 50 another.
ReplyDeleteThanks for doing the 25 words, 50 words will be great! I totally understand putting a limit though. I had 18 entries on a little critiquing post on my blog and it took a lot of time to notify each person their post number and to thank them for entering. It took about an hour to post each of them and subscribe to the link and to make a comment on each of the entries. I have a feeling you know how to use technology better than I do, but still, you had around 200 entries...THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR WORK! And thanks to all of the people who took it seriously and made lots of helpful comments. :)
ReplyDeleteIf you upped it to 50, I would definitely enter. I didn't at 25 just because the beginnings of my novels didn't make sense without words 26-35. I already knew the 25 alone wouldn't hook anybody. They wouldn't have made sense.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely not the first paragraph. While my first paragraph was 15 words (the same length as my entry this time round), I've read some on one contest that were 500 words!
ReplyDeleteBut you know what? It doesn't matter how long it is, someone is bound to want the kitchen sink included in the entry. ;)
Thanks again for doing this, Authoress.
(ps. I'm unplugged and on vacation this week so this comment is a figment of your imagination.)
First, thanks for all the work it took to put the first 25 together. The constructive criticisim I recieved was most appreciated.
ReplyDeleteSecond, I think a first 50 would be nice as well. It would give the long winded amongst us, such as myself, a bit more time to set the tone.
I admit I had to condense to get my entry down to 25, but maybe that was a lesson in itself.
ReplyDeleteEither way you decide is good with me. The feedback was so helpful.
50 sounds great to me. Whatever contests you dream up, I'm there.
ReplyDeleteAuthoress, I think that's a WONDERFUL idea! Loved the feedback from the 25 and 50 would probably be even better. I'm in!
ReplyDelete50 sounds great. Never dull!!
ReplyDelete50 words, 100 entrants. Great idea!
ReplyDelete"50 words" gets my vote. While most of the comments made on my 25 words were helpful, some weren't even relevant, in part because the readers couldn't critique beyond the 25 words. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteFirst 50 - first 100 writers sounds good.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your generosity.
50 words sounds awesome. Limiting the number of entries would probably make it easier to do more contests, right? Or maybe just a sooner cut-off time?
ReplyDelete50 words and less entrants would work very well - give the commenters more to work with, and more time to spend on each one.
ReplyDeleteGood idea, and thanks for doing these! I work on websites, I know how much time it takes to handle a project like this :)
I think 50 would give us a much better feel for an opening than 25. Thanks for all you do.
ReplyDeleteI think 50 words is better. Some hooks need leading up to and 25 words doesn't cut it.
ReplyDeleteI'll go with the flow.
Thanks for all the time and effort you put into your site. We all benefit, whether as a participant or just a reader.
I'd suggest first two sentences. It'll average out at about 30 words each.
ReplyDeleteLoved this critique and wrote about it on my blog.
50 is much better. But how about taking all people posting, but just split it up into different times over a couple of weeks or three?????
ReplyDeleteI vote for the 50 word contest next time with two windows of 50 entrants each.
ReplyDeleteI missed out entering this time for two reasons. One was because of time zone differences,and the second was that 25 words was too short for the hook in my story.
A third reason was that I mistyped the email address and contacted someone else entirely. But let's not go into that!
But I found the contest really valuable and enjoyable - and I want to thank you for setting it up for us.