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Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Call For Submissions: What's Broken?

Okay, here's something new.

We're going to have a round for manuscripts in distress.  In other words, you've got a COMPLETED story, you've done a lot of revising, but you've got a scene or a section or an opening or a transition or SOMETHING that just isn't working.

Today's your lucky day.  I will take 5 submissions of 500 words of whatever's broken.

And then, hopefully, you'll receive enough critique to help you fix it.

PLEASE NOTE:  This is the honor system.  If your manuscript IS NOT FINISHED, or if you honestly don't have something that isn't working for you no matter how hard you've worked on it, please don't submit.

I want to target folks who are really wringing their hands over something.

So.  Here are the submission guidelines:


  • Submit an excerpt of up to 500 words of your COMPLETED MANUSCRIPT.
  • Include a few sentences to set up the scene, so we understand what's going on.  (Yes, the 500 words includes the set-up, so BE BRIEF!)
  • Send your submission to authoress.submissions(at)gmail.com
  • Submissions will open at NOON EDT today.
  • Only 5 will be accepted.  Please do not submit if you know you do not qualify.
  • I will accept 1 alternate in case one of the 5 for some reason does not qualify.
  • Same format as always:
SCREEN NAME: type it here
TITLE: type it here
GENRE: type it here

Type your brief lead-in here.

Type your excerpt here.

Okay? Questions below!

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9 comments:

  1. CourtneyCMay 4, 2011 at 10:53 AM

    Awesome idea! It took me 5 months of ignoring my finished MS to realize what my problem was and figure out how to fix it -- at least I *think* I know. Gotta revise and see what the response is to find out whether I fixed it. So, I won't enter this contest, but want to thank you for providing this opportunity. We in the trenches appreciate all you do with us in mind! :-)

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  2. Josin L. McQueinMay 4, 2011 at 11:11 AM

    This is a great idea. I figured out what was plaguing my MS (the heroine turned TSTL for about forty pages, then her brain grew back) so I won't try and take a slot from someone else, but it's still an amazing tool for someone who's stuck.

    Good luck to those seeking help.

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  3. tarakMay 4, 2011 at 11:25 AM

    Wow. I'm working on a revise and resubmit for an agent and have a scene that has been plaguing me.

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  4. AnonymousMay 4, 2011 at 12:49 PM

    I'm still writing my current wip so I won't be entering but this is extremely generous of you. Like always.

    Violet Ingram

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  5. Jeanne RyanMay 4, 2011 at 3:30 PM

    What a great idea! I'm not at a point where I'll enter anything this time around, but I think that critiquing these will be just as informative as being critiqued.

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  6. duwarrMay 4, 2011 at 3:35 PM

    Just 500 words? How about the entire middle third?

    Just kidding. I would love to enter this if I could narrow the problem down to 500 words.

    Authoress, thanks for doing so much to help writers!

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  7. AnonymousMay 4, 2011 at 4:20 PM

    This will be fun! I do not have anything to submit, but I love to read and try to come up with helpful comments.

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  8. Write LifeMay 4, 2011 at 5:29 PM

    You mean noon tomorrow right?! hehehe

    ReplyDelete
  9. BronMay 4, 2011 at 11:15 PM

    Ooh what a good idea! My MS is finished, but what is currently plaguing me is my query letter, rather than the MS itself :-) So I'll critique from the sidelines, but I hope you make this a regular feature.

    ReplyDelete