SUBMISSION GUIDELINES (please read carefully):
*There are TWO WAYS to enter: a) via email to authoress.submissions(at)gmail.com OR via web form at msfv.thoughbin.org
*THIS WILL BE A LOTTERY: The submission window will be open from NOON to 6:00 PM EDT, after which the bot will randomly select 50 entries.
* 2 alternates will also be accepted, for a total of 52 entries.
* PLEASE NOTE: You are responsible for figuring out your own time zone. "Time Zone differences" are NOT a reason for not getting your entry in.
* Submissions received before the contest opens will be rejected.
* Submissions are for COMPLETED MANUSCRIPTS ONLY. If you wouldn't want an agent to read the entire thing, DON'T SEND IT. If an "entire thing" doesn't exist, you shouldn't even be reading these rules.
* Manuscripts THAT HAVE BEEN IN EITHER OF THE LAST 2 SECRET AGENT CONTESTS (October or January) will not be accepted.
* You may submit A DIFFERENT MANUSCRIPT if you've participated in any previous Secret Agent contests.
* Only ONE ENTRY per person per contest. If you send more than one, your subsequent entry(ies) will be rejected.
* If you WON A CONTEST WITHIN THE PAST 12 MONTHS (i.e., offered any kind of prize from a Secret Agent), please DO NOT ENTER THIS CONTEST. (Unless it's a different manuscript.)
* Submissions are for THE FIRST 250 WORDS of your manuscript. Please do not stop in the middle of a
GO HERE to submit via our web form.
If you choose to submit via email, your submission for this contest should be formatted EXACTLY as follows:
SCREEN NAME: Your Screen Name Here
TITLE: Your Title Here
GENRE: Your Genre Here
(Followed by the excerpt here.)
* No "chapter one," chapter titles, etc.
* You will receive a confirmation email with your lottery number.
* Submissions go to authoress.submissions(at)gmail.com. They DO NOT GO to my facelesswords address. Or any other address.
*It doesn't matter what you put in the subject line. The only thing you MUST NOT do is to use "RE:" The bot will think you are attempting to respond to an email, and will reject you.
As always, there is no fee to enter the Secret Agent contest.
This month's contest will include the following genres:
- Middle Grade (all genres)
- Young Adult: Fantasy, Romance, Dystopian, Fairy Tale, Mystery
- Adult: Christian Fantasy, Christian Romantic Suspense, Romance, Romantic Suspense
I just had to say: the last submission guideline gave me a much-needed Monday laugh. Thank you! :-D
ReplyDeleteDoes being in the "Drop the Needle" contest in December count or just the secret agent ones? Just checking to be sure.
ReplyDeleteJust the Secret Agent ones. :)
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think maybe I should give the manuscripts a rest, but hey, it IS a different agent every time!
ReplyDeleteSO looking forward to this!
ReplyDeleteI believe I got rejected because I used my full name instead of my blog name, my initials and last name. Is my blog name same as my screen name? My blog name does show on your site where I commented. Once you get rejected there's no resubmitting?I'm new to your site. Thank you for any light you can shed on this.
ReplyDeleteNo C.E., the bot doesn't care what screen name you use. Read your rejection email -- it will you why your entry was rejected.
ReplyDeleteIf you entered via email, make sure your headers are correct:
SCREEN NAME: (here)
TITLE: (here)
GENRE: (here)
If it's not typed exactly like that, the bot will reject it.
It's much easier to just use the online submission form.