I want to make sure everyone's on the same page for the submission process on Thursday, so let me just clear up a few things:
1. Pertaining to the Baker's Dozen: If you were IN the auction -- as in, your entry was one of the 60 winners posted on the blog so that agents could read it -- you MAY NOT ENTER THAT SAME MANUSCRIPT IN ON THE BLOCK. However, YOU MAY ENTER ANY OTHER COMPLETED MANUSCRIPT. It's not YOU I don't want to see -- it's repeat manuscripts! Of course you may enter something new, and I hope you will. But many of the agents participating in On the Block were involved in one or more Baker's Dozens in the past. They do not want to see entries they've already either bid on or ignored, and possibly rejected after winning. Capiche?
2. All genres are welcome except erotica and erotic fiction. Why? Because, since its inception, I've kept this blog PG-13, and I intend to keep doing so. (This is in honor of the youngest participant in one of the Secret Agent contests--a 13-year-old budding author from India whose father stayed up with her very late, waiting for the submission window to open. I will never forget that! And I want this place to always be appropriate for the younger spectrum of my readers.)
3. For the newbies: The critiques and contests on MSFV are for fiction only.
4. Because I got a wee bit tired of people not knowing what "genre" means, I've asked Michael to change the submission form so that category and genre are separate. YOU NEED TO KNOW BOTH. (As in, you need to know what it is that you are writing.) There are 4 categories: MG, YA, NA, and Adult. This will be a pull-down menu, and you have to pick one. (Hah! No more entries labeled MG/YA or YA/Adult -- because there is no such thing!) Then you will be able to type in your genre separately.
5. To clarify: There is no longer an email option for submissions to the blog (for On the Block and every subsequent contest and critique round). All submissions will be accepted through the online form. I will post the link to this form on Wednesday.
Please ask any further questions in the comment box below!
When it comes to formatting, do we use single space? And are paragraphs separated by a blank line or an indentation?
ReplyDeleteGood question, Suzan!
DeleteYes. single space with a double space between paragraphs. No indentions for paragraphs. This is blog formatting, so it's not going to be the same as if you were submitting to an agent.
I'm glad this came up! Thanks Suzan and Authoress! ;)
DeleteWill you be requesting the additional pages and the dreaded synopsis?
ReplyDeleteMy apologies, I'm late to the game. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat exactly is On the Block?
Many Thanks,
Joe
Joe, do a search for "On the Block" on the blog, and all related posts will show.
DeleteGreat ideas for separate form lines for genre and age category. In the other contests I've been a part of or helped with, this one always trips people up.
ReplyDeleteYes! And year after year with the Baker's Dozen, we had people listing categories with no genres, or mixed categories, or other strange things.
DeleteHi, can our log lines use comps?
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying no, but bear in mind that I won't get excited if u haven't read the comps.
DeleteHave you posted the link yet? Or will it not be posted until tomorrow morning?
ReplyDeletehttps://msfv.firebaseapp.com/#/
DeleteI was wondering the same thing! Is this still happening?
ReplyDeleteI was wondering the same thing! Is this still happening?
ReplyDelete