There have been enough questions to warrant a quick post.
1. Your header must look EXACTLY LIKE THIS:
SCREEN NAME: (type it here and be sure you included the colon)
TITLE: (type it here and be sure you included the colon)
GENRE: (type it here and be sure you included the colon)
2. You may have typed yours EXACTLY as stated above and still got bot-booted. So here's the trick: TYPE THIS SECTION INTO YOUR EMAIL BY HAND. That way, if Word is creating weird, invisible characters when you cut-and-paste, you'll avoid that problem altogether.
3. PLAIN TEXT.
It's hard enough to get through the door; I hate knowing that some of you have been tripped up by formatting glitches! :(
Miss Snark's First Victim
hope this isn't a stupid question, but Screen Name? As in, my Screen Name?
ReplyDeleteYes, so yours would say
ReplyDeleteSCREEN NAME: Jen
Mine says SCREEN NAME: coffeelvnmom
To anyone else having problems, I gave up trying to paste anything from Word - I type it all out myself into the email, instead. And make sure there isn't anything bolded or italicized - the bot will boot it!
GOOD LUCK! =)
Jessica
so if you miss one window you have to retype everything again into a new email for the next window? I know it is only 350 words but still...is there no cutting and pasting from the first plain text, hand typed into the email, email? help please I have tryed SOOOO many times and have gotten shot down each and everyone.
ReplyDeleteTheresa,
ReplyDeleteJust hand-type the headers. Cut-and-paste the rest but make sure it's into a PLAIN TEXT EMAIL.
Safer bet is to hand-type the whole thing, especially if you're using an older email like yahoo or hotmail. They both kinda suck. :P
Gmail is your best bet for email for these contests.
Good luck!
I'm really glad you are doing this Authoress... this whole blog is such a help for aspiring authors, and this contest shortens the wait time for normal queries considerably. (Plus I think it's a little more direct and personable). Thanks again! And please keep it up!
ReplyDeleteHi Authoress~
ReplyDeleteYour DONATE button isn't showing up on my screen...sorry if this is a silly question, but where should I be looking?
Thanks :)
Hi Authoress,
ReplyDeleteI submitted, but I never get bot emails from you for some reason. I was hoping you can look and see if my entry is there. You looked for me once before and I didn't get a bot and I was the first entry,
I know you are incredibly busy, but the suspense is killing me. my email is mculi(at)aol.com. I would really appreciate it.
Michael
Jess, I took the button down during submissions.
ReplyDeleteMichael, I didn't see you in there...
thanks authoress you totally rock, I'm sure you know this, but, just saying it again.
ReplyDeleteThanks Authoress, I appreciate you looking. I'll try again on the 6pm draw.
ReplyDeleteYes this is a wonderful blog and a lot of fun for us. (A lot of work for you) But I know many appreciate the hard work you've put into this to make it successful. I know I certainly do.
ReplyDeleteI did have a question. How do we know if we made it in the first batch? Because if I didn't I wanted to try again at the next round.
What email do we use?? Is it facelesswords (at) gmail.com ?
ReplyDeleteNo Annie,
ReplyDeleteIt's the other one... listed on this post: http://misssnarksfirstvictim.blogspot.com/2010/10/submission-dates-bakers-dozen-agent.html
Jessica
Two comments:
ReplyDeleteI formatted Word in plain text, cut & paste to email, then made sure the email was plain text as well. This has always worked.
Second. Because there is so much interest in MSFV,and time is of the essence, I edited any word my spellcheck might question that would delay my entry.
Good thing I did! I waited 1 second and hit the send button and barely got on the roster.
This is a great opportunity! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteMy question: I received a message saying my entry was accepted, but my post number is 97. Weren't only the first 50 selected in the first batch? Or does the post number not reflect the order your e-mail was received?
I want to be sure my entry was in fact accepted in the first batch so I don't have to try again tonight.
Thanks!
You're in, Joshua. The numbering continued from the first section of the subs. :)
ReplyDeleteFor subject do we put submission.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Don
that's fine. :)
ReplyDeleteAs far as the bot rejecting, I had this issue with my submission into a Secret Agent contest. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong...then I figured out I had put two spaces after the : So for those of you having issues, make sure you only put one space between the : and your name or title or genre.
ReplyDeleteGood luck everyone!
I saved as Plain Text and pasted it into a Plain Text email, but there are no indentations for paragraphs/dialogue. Should I insert those or will that get me ejected?
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Indentations are not necessary. A double space between paragraphs would be perfect.
ReplyDeleteHey guys,
ReplyDeleteI've found the best way to do this is by either typing everything in notepad or copying your work from work and pasting into notepad. Notepad removes all formatting! Hope that helps.
Thanks for everything Authoress!
Thanks for the tips everyone, I made it on the 6 PM submission. Whew! I never thought I needed blood pressure meds but...
ReplyDeleteI made it, I made it, I made it! dance a little crazy dance
ReplyDeleteDespite the fact that it's past midnight over here. Thank you so much authoress. The feedback we get here is soooooooooooo valuable. I can't donate enough to make up for it.
P.S. I recommend using googlemail for these contests. I tried several different mail programs, and in this specific case, googlemail seems to deliver the mail a tad faster than the others, especially from overseas.
Well, I was splattered in both submission windows so I'll just have to pacify myself by rooting for everyone who did get in.
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR WORK AUTHORESS! And please pass that on to everyone helping you. I seriously do not envy you in trying to sort through all the entries who made it... :)
Good luck everyone!
I'll join you with the blood pressure meds! What a ride! But squee!! So excited I got in!!! :D
ReplyDeleteBest of luck everyone!! :D
Drat. Bot'd out. :-( ahh, that's life. I send after a ten count from my droid alarm, but I might have hit it too soon. Or I worried I had format wrong and I midafternoon tested it and wonder if that rejected it.
ReplyDeleteI did send as I've sent in the past, which is not the plain text. When I tried testing those this afternoon, they all came out with lines wrong etc. So took the chance that a word doc would make it. If that pushed me out, that's okay. I'd rather know the format was as I wanted it. :-)
In hopes I was early, and all else worked, I resent from the work computer at 9 minutes after, but I'm sure it was way too late.
Whatever happens, I SO APPRECIATE what you do on your website!
Best wishes to all the entrants!
Meg
whee!! i thought my chances were toast when gmail crapped out in the midst of sending my entry (i did NOT expect that!) but even with getting my browser reloaded i somehow still got in!
ReplyDeletethx authoress so much for setting this up!
Thanks, Authoress. You truly do rock. I didn't make it at 12:00 or 6:00... Too late the first time and booted the second. Bummer. Still appreciate all you do. I'll keep trying. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteI typed everything by hand in plain text gmail and got four different bot rejections.
ReplyDeleteFirst at noon exactly saying too many entries already accepted.
Second at 5:59 EST saying contest not yet open
Third at 6:01 saying too many words which I double checked was 351, not as the bot calculated at 357.
Last try at 6:04 after deleting 2 words, but of course got the all the entries had been accepted bot rejection.
Yeah, I think I'll go jump out the window.
Just kidding.
But I think I'll stick with traditional query methods and avoid a hernia.
I'm with you, Anonymous. I worked on this ALL day and got bot-rejected. I do appreciate all that's being done here, but it's a heartbreaker to miss out after following all the guidelines.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Authoress, for all your efforts. Best wishes to all who made it in.
Yay! I made it in this time.
ReplyDeleteAuthoress, there's a lot of confusion as to how many entries for YA/MG were accepted in the end. Right now it's sounding like 250. O.O
Hi Everybody!
ReplyDeleteI learned an important lesson in my efforts to submit: you must set your email client to send plain text. I use Thunderbird at home and Outlook at work, and both default to send html. I'm guessing the glut of entries stacks up on itself and the plain text filters through to the receiving end more quickly than the non-plain text.
If you copy from Word, paste without formatting. I got bot'd out of both submission windows Tuesday, but made it today (whoohoo!). Some of the more sophisticated email clients (like Outlook) also have a "send later" feature where you can set the delivery date/time, which should help those of us who can't park our fannies in front of the computer at a precise time due to work or whatever.
Thank you for putting this awesome event together, Authoress. I can only imagine the time it costs you to make this blog such fun. Good luck to all who made it, and may the ones who didn't persevere. We will all learn a lot from this.
I got in! I'm so thrilled. :) But I never imagined the level of angst I would feel today. For everyone who did not get in, I'm sending you a mountain of cyber name-your-poison. I sincerely understand your pain.
ReplyDeleteAnd now we wait to see who makes the final cut!
ReplyDeleteThis is stacking up to be a great contest, and I'm looking forward to reading submissions, watching the bidding, and learning from the feedback. =)
Woohoo! Made it in time for the second round! Thank you so much Authoress - Your blog contests are an invaluable resource. Can't wait to see who makes the cut!
ReplyDeleteAnxiety ridden and heart thumping but WOW, what a rush. I haven't been that nervous since the moment right before my first kiss.:D Thanks for that!! You are SOOOOOO appreciated!!!!!!! Have fun in the slush.
ReplyDeleteRejected both times for submitting too early. I waited until the clock was precisely on the hour. When I got the rejection and immediately resubmitted, there were already 100 entries. Within two minutes.
ReplyDeleteTrying not to be depressed. Failing, so far.
Wow, what a day! Was rejected at 12:00 and spent the next six hours in class holding back tears. Got in the second time and startled everyone in the library with my squeal of unbridled delight, and made a spectacle of myself with my subsequent victory dance. But, I don't care. I made it! Happy dance:D
ReplyDeleteAh, so that's what happened to my entry. I was wondering why I got DQed for that because I did have the sn, title, and genre as the header. Bummer. :(
ReplyDeleteEven so, you're awesome for doing this contest, Authoress! I look forward to seeing what comes of it for those that got in. Good luck, everyone!
I think my email took a slow route through some french cables, as I sent as soon as the clock turned to 12:00:00, but c'est la vie. This contest was always going to be HUGE, and I think that even spectators will get a lot out of it.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to everybody who got in, I can't wait to see all the entries! (Also, looking forward to hearing the final count for how many MG/YA entries there were!)