SECRET AGENT CONTEST -- Coming Up!

Hello, writing friends!

Submissions for our next Secret Agent Contest are 3 weeks from yesterday (where has the summer gone?). Here's everything you need to know:

(Please note: This is NOT the call for submissions! The contest will open on Monday, August 24.)

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES (please read carefully):

*To enter, please use THE SUBMISSION FORM HERE.
*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.
* 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 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.
* You may submit A DIFFERENT MANUSCRIPT if you've participated in any previous Secret Agent contests in the past year.
* Only ONE ENTRY per person per contest. If you send more than one, your subsequent entry(ies) will be rejected.
* 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.

As always, there is no fee to enter the Secret Agent contest.

This month's contest will include the following genres:

MG and YA Historical Fiction

MG  and YA Fantasy

MG and YA Narrative Nonfiction

MG and YA Epistolary

Adult Upmarket (NO genre fiction--high fantasy, romance, etc.)

Please ask your questions below!

Secret Agent Contest Early Info

Please note: This is NOT the call for submissions! The contest will open next Monday, April 13.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES (please read carefully):

*To enter, please use THE SUBMISSION FORM HERE.
*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.
* 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.
* You may submit A DIFFERENT MANUSCRIPT if you've participated in any previous Secret Agent contests in the past year.
* Only ONE ENTRY per person per contest. If you send more than one, your subsequent entry(ies) will be rejected.
* 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.

As always, there is no fee to enter the Secret Agent contest.

This month's contest will include the following genres:

ADULT

• High-concept women's fiction
• Rom-com
• Mainstream with a hint of magic

YA

• Fantasy
• Magical Realism
• Historical
• Contemporary
• Thriller
• Mystery

MG

• Contemporary
• Mystery
• Light fantasy
• Light magical realism

Please ask your questions below, or hunt me down on Twitter!

TALKIN' HEADS -- SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN!

Go HERE to enter your lead-in and 250-word excerpt. Remember--TALKIN' HEADS focuses on passages that are DIALOGUE-RICH.


GUIDELINES:

*Submissions will be open from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM this Thursday, October 31.
*Submit an up-to-30-word lead-in plus 250 words of dialogue-rich story. (Look for a passage that is *more than 50 percent dialogue.)
*Submit HERE.
*This will be a lottery; the bot will choose 20 entries at random after the submission window has closed.
*Entries will post on Monday, November 4 for public critique.

PLEASE NOTE: The lead-in is important because it will help us to understand what's going on in your scene. If you want the most helpful feedback possible, please don't neglect to include this!

HOOK THE EDITOR: Submission Guidelines

Here we go, everyone--submission guidelines for HOOK THE EDITOR (please note: this is not the call for submissions, which will take place on September 24):

1. All genres of fiction are welcome, except erotica or erotic romance.
2. Submit a (maximum-75-word) pitch and your first TWO SENTENCES.
3. Go HERE to submit.
4. Submission window: Tuesday, September 24, from noon to 7:00 pm EDT.
5. This will be a LOTTERY. At the close of submissions, the bot will randomly choose 50 entries.
6. The winning entries will post on the blog on Tuesday, October 1 for voting.

OVERVIEW OF THE ROUNDS:

1. ROUND ONE: Readers will vote YES or NO on the 50 pitches that post on October 1. The 5 entries with the most YES votes will go on to the next round.

2. ROUND TWO: The 5 winning entries will be invited to submit their first 250 words, along with their original pitches. Readers will critique, and Elayne will read, leave comments, and then choose her favorite.

THE WINNER will receive a free 10-page edit from Elayne!

PITCH FOR THE WIN!

Hey, lovelies! I've got a new contest for you!

PITCH FOR THE WIN is just what it sounds like--you'll enter a pitch for your (completed) novel to see if it wins the attention of one of our participating published authors.

Here's how it will work:

1. Submissions will be on Monday, June 24, from 12:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT.
2. To enter, submit the title, genre, and a pitch (75 words or fewer) HERE.
3. All genres will be accepted EXCEPT erotica and erotic romance.
4. The bot will choose 50 entries.
5. Once the entries post (on Wednesday the 26th), our community will begin to critique them. AT THE SAME TIME, our visiting authors will be reading and choosing their favorites.
6. The authors, in NBA lottery draft style, will each get to choose a pitch that grabbed their attention. The winning entrants will be invited to email their first 250 words for critique by the authors who chose them.
7. These critiques will be posted here for all to see (and learn from!).
8. Others may also weigh in on their critique of these winning entries.

I'll be announcing our authors this week, so stay tuned! Please ask your questions below--and spread the word! You've got a week to fine-tune your pitch.

Let the fun begin!

Critique Round: Drop the Needle

It's time to drop the needle and read excerpts from anywhere in your (completed or WIP) novel!

For those of you who are new to this term: "Drop the Needle" was an inhumane way for college music professors to test us to see if we knew the piece and composer. It's much harder to identify something you don't know well if you don't start at the beginning!

We're going to make things easier for our readers, though, by including a brief lead-in to each scene, to help ground us in the moment.

The focus of the scene: ANGER

Anger has so many forms--explosive, slow-and-burning, vindictive, righteous, stuffed-deep-inside. Show us a scene where your character is expressing ANGER.

Here are the submission guidelines:

*To enter, please use THE SUBMISSION FORM HERE.
*THIS WILL BE A LOTTERY (because last time submissions filled up pretty quickly): The submission window will be open from NOON to 7:00 PM EDT THIS FRIDAY, after which the bot will randomly select 25 entries.
*Send a 250-word scene that displays ANGER in one or more of your characters.
*IMPORTANT: Include a 30-40 word lead-in to set the scene for us.
*Only ONE ENTRY per person per contest. If you send more than one, your subsequent entry(ies) will be rejected.
*250 words is the maximum, not the requirement. Please do not stop in the middle of a
*Posts will go live on MONDAY (May 27) for public critique.

GO HERE to submit via our web form.

Ask your questions below! (Or on Twitter. I'll see them more quickly there.)

Coming Up: In-House Critique!

Ages ago, I hosted a 50-word round, where entrants had the opportunity to see if their first 50 words could draw readers in.

I've decided to double that to make the focus more about VOICE than about HOOK (though, a good voice is undeniably a good hook).

So here's what's up:

1. This WEDNESDAY, submissions will open at noon EDT and will close at 7 pm EDT.
2. Submit the FIRST 100 WORDS of your manuscript HERE.
3. PLEASE NOTE: This can be from a WIP, but BE SURE THE WORDS ARE POLISHED!
4. I will accept up to 25 entries. No lottery.
5. This critique round is open to ALL genres and categories EXCEPT erotica/erotic romance.
6. Entries will post on Thursday (May 2) for public critique.

Remember: This is about VOICE, the ever-elusive thing that's hard to teach but easy to spot (because it really does draw us in). If you'd like some honest feedback on your work, this critique round is for you!

If your entry is accepted, please be sure to critique 3 other entries, as your way of giving back.

Any questions? Ask them below!

Secret Agent Contest Early Info

Please note: This is NOT the call for submissions! The contest will open next Monday, April 1.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES (please read carefully):

*To enter, please use THE SUBMISSION FORM HERE.
*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.
* 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.
* You may submit A DIFFERENT MANUSCRIPT if you've participated in any previous Secret Agent contests in the past year.
* Only ONE ENTRY per person per contest. If you send more than one, your subsequent entry(ies) will be rejected.
* 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.

As always, there is no fee to enter the Secret Agent contest.

This month's contest will include the following genres:

• Middle Grade -- especially adventure stories and historical fiction
• YA contemporary romance
• YA magical realism
• Women's Fiction
• Thriller/Suspense
• Literary Fiction
• General Fiction

Ask your questions below!

January Secret Agent Contest: Early Info

Please note: This is NOT the call for submissions! The contest will open next Monday, January 21.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES (please read carefully):

*To enter, please use THE SUBMISSION FORM HERE.
*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.
* 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.
* You may submit A DIFFERENT MANUSCRIPT if you've participated in any previous Secret Agent contests in the past year.
* Only ONE ENTRY per person per contest. If you send more than one, your subsequent entry(ies) will be rejected.
* 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.

As always, there is no fee to enter the Secret Agent contest.

This month's contest will include the following genres:

*women's fiction
*mystery
*suspense
*historical fiction
*YA (all genres)

May Secret Agent Early Info

Please note: This is NOT the call for submissions! The contest will open next Monday, May 14.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES (please read carefully):

*To enter, please use THE SUBMISSION FORM HERE. (Please note: email submissions are no longer accepted.)
*Submissions will open at NOON EDT on MONDAY, MAY 14 and close at 6:00 PM EDT.
*The first 50 qualifying entries will be accepted. THIS IS NOT A LOTTERY.
* 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 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.
* Only ONE ENTRY per person per contest. If you send more than one, your subsequent entry(ies) will be rejected.
* 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.

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)
*YA (all genres except high fantasy and hard SF)
*adult (all genres except women's fiction)

ALL THE FUN To Celebrate Miss Snark's First Victim's TENTH BIRTHDAY!

Ten years, my friends. On April 4, 2018, it will be AN ENTIRE DECADE since I wrote my first BLOG POST here.  Naturally, I want to celebrate!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THE FOLLOWING TEN-YEAR CELEBRATORY EVENTS:

1. SNEAKY AGENT BLOGPITCH 

When: Thursday, March 29

What:  50 pitches to be posted for public critique and possible requests from agents

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

*Submissions will open Monday, March 26 at 9:00 am EDT and will close on Tuesday, March 27 at 9:00 am EDT.

*After the close of submissions, the bot will randomly select 50 entries to be posted on the blog.

*ALL CATEGORIES AND GENRES--except erotica or erotic romance--will be included.

*Your entry should consist of a tight, 75-words-or-fewer pitch for your completed, polished novel. (Do not enter this contest if your manuscript is not agent-ready.) Remember--the fewer words, the better.

*Submit your entry HERE.

*The 50 winning entries will post on Thursday, March 29.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN:

Two wonderful things!

1. Your pitch will receive critique from this lovely blog community AND several published authors.

2.  SNEAKY AGENTS will also be reading the pitches! If they see anything they like, THEY WILL MAKE REQUESTS IN THE COMMENT BOXES.

So basically, if your entry is chosen for this blogpitch round, your pitch will be read by agents who are currently open to new clients. The agent response to my invitation to this contest has been delightfully positive so far!

If you have any questions about this contest, please leave them in the comment box below.

2. Q&A WITH ELAYNE BECKER, Associate Editor at Tor Teen

On Wednesday, April 4 -- MSFV's 10th birthday -- I will share an exclusive interview with Elayne Becker, my fabulous editor and rising star at Tor Teen and Tor/Forge Books.  In the comment box of the interview, Elayne will field your questions! The comment box will be open for 24 hours, during which time you may post your questions to Elayne. She will take up to 3 days to answer ALL questions posted!

Note: This is a GREAT opportunity to get insight from the inside. Mark your calendars!

WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

Elayne will be giving away a box o'books from Tor to one lucky winner. YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS!  Details on the giveaway are forthcoming.

I hope you'll join us for the celebration! I'm thankful for these past ten years, and I'm glad you've been a part of them.

March Secret Agent Early Info

Please note: This is NOT the call for submissions! The contest will open next Monday, March 5.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES (please read carefully):

*To enter, please use THE SUBMISSION FORM HERE.  (Please note: email submissions are no longer accepted.)
*THIS WILL BE A LOTTERY: The submission window will be open from NOON to 11:59 PM EDT, after which the bot will randomly select 50 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 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.
* 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.

As always, there is no fee to enter the Secret Agent contest.

This month's contest will include the following genres:

Mystery
Thriller
Literary Fiction (family saga, immigrant stories, etc.)
Upmarket Women's Fiction
YA (literary and commercial)

(Please do not submit your work if it does not fall under one of these genres.)

ON THE BLOCK: Submissions This Thursday!

WE'RE 2 DAYS AWAY FROM SUBMISSIONS!

Are you ready?

I'm looking for ALL GENRES (except erotica and erotic romance).

I'm looking for MG, YA, and Adult* fiction.  (7 of our 14 participating agents represent adult fiction.)

I'm looking for GOOD WRITING.  It trumps everything.  It even trumps a really lame logline.

I can't stress enough how important the writing is.  There seems to be a perception out there that I somehow "favor" YA or science fiction or fantasy, because it's what I write.  Um, no.  I favor STRONG WRITING.  I don't care what genre I'm reading--if the voice sings, I'm hooked.

(Also?  Why would I choose a mediocre YA Fantasy submission over a breathtaking Adult Historical?  I've got 14 agents to impress, right? :) )

The submission form is HERE.

Submissions will open at 8 am EDT on Thursday, September 8, and will remain open until 10 pm EDT.  This should make it convenient for folks in any time zone to find a time to submit that isn't the middle of the night.

(It also ensures that I'm awake during the submission window, in case there are any issues.)

NOTE ON WORD COUNT:

I've set the word count at 305 (to allow for sentence endings -- PLEASE DON'T END YOUR SUBMISSION IN THE MIDDLE OF A SENTENCE.)

50 words are allotted for the logline.  SHORTER IS BETTER.

The bot has no way to determine which part of your submission is the logline.  So, yanno, if you enter a 150-word logline and a 150-word excerpt, it'll go through.  But I won't be impressed.  So please keep your logline and excerpt within their respective word count parameters.

Still have questions?

READ THIS ON THE BLOCK PRIMER, which also contains links to other helpful blog posts.

Need to know something that doesn't seem to be covered anywhere else?  Ask your question here in the comment box!  I'll be checking regularly.

Yay!  Looking forward to seeing what you've got for me this year.

On your mark...get set...






*NA counts as Adult.  There is an "NA" choice on the web form, so your entry will be displayed as such.

Submissions are NOW OPEN

Submissions for NAME THAT GENRE are now open.

Please go HERE for submission guidelines and instructions.

March Secret Agent Early Info

Please note: This is NOT the call for submissions! The contest will open next Monday, March 28.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES (please read carefully):

*To enter, please use THE SUBMISSION FORM HERE.  (Please note: email submissions are no longer accepted.)
*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 THE 2015 ON THE BLOCK OR THE LAST SECRET AGENT CONTEST IN SEPTEMBER will not be accepted.
* You may submit A DIFFERENT MANUSCRIPT if you've participated in any previous Secret Agent contests (or ON THE BLOCK).
* 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 or were one of the 60 entries in the Baker's Dozen Agent Auction), 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.

As always, there is no fee to enter the Secret Agent contest.

This month's contest will include the following genres:

* Science Fiction
* Fantasy
* Romantic Suspense
* Mystery
* YA (all genres)

Good luck!

September Secret Agent Early Info

Please note: This is NOT the call for submissions! The contest will open next Monday, September 21.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES (please read carefully):

*To enter, please use THE SUBMISSION FORM HERE.  (Please note: email submissions are no longer accepted.)
*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 March or May) 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 or were one of the 60 entries in the Baker's Dozen Agent Auction), 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.

As always, there is no fee to enter the Secret Agent contest.

This month's contest will include the following genres:

*SF for all categories (MG, YA, NA, Adult)
*Fantasy for all categories (MG, YA, NA, Adult)
*Contemporary and Historical Romance (no Women's Fiction)

Good luck!

ON THE BLOCK: Submission Guidelines

Submissions for our first ON THE BLOCK auction are on Thursday, September 10--one week from today!

****UPDATED TO INCLUDE SUBMISSION LINK****

HOW TO SUBMIT

• Submissions are via WEB FORM ONLY.  Please note:  We still don't have a link for the web form, because we still have to run tests.  HERE IS THE SUBMISSION LINK.  
• Your entry will consist of a LOGLINE and the FIRST 250 WORDS of your COMPLETED, POLISHED MANUSCRIPT.  No WIPs.  If you wouldn't send it to an agent, please don't submit it to this contest.
• Your logline should be 50 WORDS OR FEWER.  You are allowed to have up to 75 words, but YOU ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO WHITTLE YOUR LOGLINE DOWN TO 50 WORDS OR FEWER.  (Note: The bot will not be able to distinguish between your logline and your submission.  So, if your logline is 125 words long and your submission takes up the rest, you won't be rejected--but I won't be too excited by your entry, either.  Same goes for having a really short logline and then adding more words to your first page.  My eyeballs are going to be tired.  Please don't make them MORE tired.)
• The submission window will open at 8:00 am EDT and will close at 10:00 pm EDT.
• All categories (MG, YA, NA, Adult) and all genres except erotica and erotic romance will be included.  Unlike the Baker's Dozen Auction, there will not be separate submissions dates for children and adult entries.  It all goes into one big pot, and I will pick the 24 strongest entries from that pot.
• There is a $21 entry fee, payable via Paypal.  (Note:  You do not have to have a Paypal account to enter.  You may choose the "use a card" option on the Paypal screen.)  Your entry will not be processed until your payment is received.
• You MAY ENTER if your entry was included in any Secret Agent Contest.
• You MAY NOT ENTER if you were in any of the Baker's Dozens.  WHY?  Because MANY of the agents from the Baker's Dozen are participating in On the Block.  They DO NOT want to see and bid on the same material!
• You MAY NOT ENTER if you are agented!  This contest is for unagented authors only.
• I will accept a maximum of 250 entries.  
• WINNERS will be notified by email on Monday, November 2.  If you do not receive an email, that means your entry was not chosen.  I regret that, because of time constraints, I will not be sending rejection emails.  If you enter the contest, please make sure to add facelesswords(at)gmail.com to your address book/contacts prior to entering the contest.
• The 24 winning entries will post on Friday, November 6.  At this time, the agents (and lurking editors) will start reading.  Also at this time, all readers may begin to leave feedback.  Each entry will be assigned A TIME SLOT for the actual auction.  This is the 10-minute window during which the agents will be bidding.
• On Tuesday, November 10, the entries will post in 10-minute intervals.  Bidding for each item will only be open for those 10 minutes.  
• Winning bids will be posted on Wednesday, November 11.

I THINK THAT COVERS IT!  If it doesn't, please ask your questions below.  I will modify these guidelines as necessary.

Once again, HERE IS THE AGENT LINE-UP!

This is going to be a high-energy fun time for all.  Seven days and counting!

May Secret Agent Early Info

Please note: This is NOT the call for submissions! The contest will open next Monday, May 18.

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 (January or March) 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 or were one of the 60 entries in the Baker's Dozen Agent Auction), 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 -- contemporary, romance, urban fantasy, light SF

Good luck!

March Secret Agent Early Info

Please note: This is NOT the call for submissions! The contest will open next Monday, March 9.

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 (September 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 or were one of the 60 entries in the Baker's Dozen Agent Auction), 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:

Women's Fiction (upmarket)
Mystery
Fantasy
Historical
YA (all genres, but especially contemporary)

Good luck!

First Kiss Critique Round Early Info

Okay, my lovelies!  Here are the submission guidelines for next week's FIRST KISS round:

• Submissions for the FIRST KISS CRITIQUE ROUND will be open from NOON to SIX EST on Monday, February 9.
• This is a lottery.  The bot will choose 30 entries (and 2 alternates) at random to post on the blog.  
• Please submit your up-to-250 words excerpt.  The scene should entail THE FIRST KISS or FIRST ALMOST-KISS of your main character and his or her love interest.  
• IMPORTANT: Please include a brief (up to 25 words) lead-in to set the scene.
• This is a PG-13 blog.  At my discretion, anything that's too erotic/graphic will be disqualified.
• Please use THIS WEB FORM to submit your entry.
• Agented and unagented authors are both welcomed.
• WIPs are welcomed.  But PLEASE PROOFREAD AND TIGHTEN YOUR EXCERPT before submitting.
• The 30 entries will post on Wednesday, February 11 for public critique.

Go find your smoochies and have at it!  Ask your questions below.