This round will be slightly different from the ones we've done in the past. Instead of having a guest author read the Round 2 winners and choose 5 favorites, we're going to have a PANEL OF AGENTS do the voting! The details:
- Use the WEB FORM to submit ONLY THE FIRST SENTENCE of your novel. The novel may be complete or a WIP, but do make sure your work is carefully proofread before submitting.
- All genres except erotica will be accepted.
- The submission window will be open from NOON to 3:00 PM EST on Tuesday, April 8 (that's tomorrow!). This will be a lottery. When the submission window closes, the bot will choose 30 winners.
- These 30 entries will be posted on THURSDAY MORNING.
- As soon as the entries are posted, readers may vote YES (for hooked) or NO (for not hooked) and leave feedback ACCORDING TO THE SPECIFIC RULES BELOW.
- The 15 entries that received the most YES comments will be invited to submit their FIRST THREE SENTENCES for round two. The Round 2 winners will post on Monday, April 14, at which time our PANEL OF AGENTS will vote (privately) for their 5 favorites to go on to the FINAL ROUND on Thursday, April 17.
HERE ARE THE RULES FOR CRITIQUE:
- Each comment must begin with YES or NO, followed by a brief explanation of WHY you were either hooked (YES) or not hooked (NO).
- YES or NO comments without an explanation behind them WILL BE DISCOUNTED.
- Only ONE comment per reader per entry! Multiple comments by the same person on the same entry will be ignored.
- NO ANONYMOUS COMMENTS! Please use your regular screen name or Blogger account (if you have one).
What's the prize for the 5 winning entries, you ask? The 5 winners will be invited to submit their first 3 pages to the blog for public critique from our PARTICIPATING AGENTS. (Readers may also offer critique at this time.)
Post your questions below--and spread the word!
Post your questions below--and spread the word!
What if your first sentence is only four words long?
ReplyDeleteThen that is what you submit. :)
ReplyDeleteIs it one submission per person? I imagine that would be most fair, but I thought I'd check.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's one submission per person -- thanks for asking!
ReplyDeleteOkay. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteOoh i'm so excited to do some voting!
ReplyDeleteWhat about agented/non-agented submissions? I assume NA, since agents will be critiquing?
Correct, Sarah. Because I told the agents they could ask for anything they really liked.
ReplyDeleteOoh, this is the one I was hoping you'd do again! I love commenting on these. And since I now have something I think is worth entering, I'm doubly excited.
ReplyDeleteWill genre be indicated in the submission form, or should we include it with the line? Or is it all a surprise :)
ReplyDeleteDo you ever have contests that include memoir?
ReplyDeleteCan voting on the first line be done by anyone (as long as they aren't anonymous) or only those selected for the contest?
ReplyDeleteVoting is for everyone!
ReplyDeleteAs for memoirs -- it's always okay to submit those to in-house crits. They are only included in SAs when the participating agent reps them.
Congrats on the sixth blog birthday! :)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNever mind. I just found the answer to my own question.
ReplyDelete