Monday, October 29, 2012

Baker's Dozen ADULT SUBMISSIONS

It's the first Big Week!  Tuesday and Thursday are our submission windows for the ADULT CATEGORY ONLY.  If yours is MG or YA, your submission windows are NEXT week.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
  • Adult submissions will be open on TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30 and THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm EDT.
  • During the appropriate submission window, send your LOGLINE and the first 250 words of your COMPLETED AND POLISHED MANUSCRIPT. 
  • The word count is set at 310.  This allows for a maximum of 60 words for your logline.  (Most loglines are shorter than this.)
  • To submit, GO HERE and follow the directions. Be sure to check your word count and preview your entry before hitting "submit."
  • YES, you may submit your entry if you were in any Secret Agent contests this year.
  • NO, you MAY NOT submit if you were one of last year's 60 Baker's Dozen entrants...UNLESS it is a DIFFERENT MANUSCRIPT.
  • NO, you MAY NOT submit more than one manuscript in the same category.  You may, however, submit one entry in each category (1 adult and 1 MG/YA).
  • All entrants must pay an $10 entry fee. You will be asked to pay before your entry is completed. You do not need a Paypal account to pay the fee (you should be given the option to use a credit card), though it's certainly easier when you do have an account.
  • Please do not enter if you are already agented.
  • Please notify me if you receive an offer of representation prior to the announcement of winners.  Also, please understand that the entry fee is non-refundable.
  • By entering this contest, you are giving implicit permission to have your work posted and publicly critiqued.
  • All non-winning entries will be given the option for public critique at a later date.  Details to be announced.
ADDENDUM ONE:

There has been some interest among potential entrants in submitting 1 YA and 1 MG in next week's submission window.  As of now, I have the contest set to accept ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON.  I am loath to change that, since I really want to limit entries in each category to one per person.  If you are personally interested in submitting one MG and one YA, please let me know in the comment box below.  I'll see if I can come up with something.

ADDENDUM TWO:

There is a huge storm coming!  (Oh, you knew about this? ;P)  If there is widespread submission chaos in the Northeast due to power outages, I WILL PROVIDE A THIRD, STORM-FREE WINDOW.  So please don't panic.  I'll be keeping my eye on this.

13 comments:

  1. If your entry is a little under 250 (say, to not end in the middle of sentence) can your logline be a few words over (like, 63?), so long as the whole thing comes under 310? Or is it set up separately as 60 and 250?

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  2. Oh, I am soooo excited!!

    Despite your very clear guidelines I still have a question regarding word count. Is 310 the absolute maximun, meaning if I hit more than 310 I'll be kicked out? I'm asking because my first 250 end in the middle of a sentence and I'm not sure if I'm allowed to finish it or if I should better cut the entry at a previous sentence to not reach more than 310 altogether. Hope you know what I mean...

    Thanks btw for hosting this amazing contest!!

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  3. 310 is the max, and there is no way to break it up. So you can have a 50-word logline and a 260-word excerpt.

    Though, really, you're all MUCH TO KIND to give Jodi and me MORE TO READ. Right? RIGHT?? ;-P

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  4. Oh goodness, hack and slash, hack and slash, and a bit of burning.... ok hit the word limit!

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  5. Hi Authoress,

    I am interested in the one MG, one YA submission (as I sent you in an email), however I have another option of doing an Adult submission and an MG submission. Either will work, just let me know by Thursday! ; )

    Rachel

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  6. Oh, no! I thought our logline limit was 75! And I was so happy to get it down to 69. Back to the drawing board!

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  7. I hope all you east coasters stay safe during the upcoming storm. We'll be praying for you and your families and pets!

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  8. Ack - thought I read 315 last week. Off to find 5 more words to cut! Can't wait for tomorrow - can't believe it's Baker's Dozen time already! :)

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  9. Ditto what DJ said. Stay safe and dry.

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  10. If the contest is already full today, will there still be another open submission on thursday?

    Good luck all!! Sheila

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  11. Yes -- I will open another 100 slots on Thursday. :)

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  12. I'm glad to hear MG is next week--I still don't have power but have escaped to my parent's home in north carolina and was afraid I'd missed the window!

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  13. So glad my electricity is back to enter. :)

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