Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Pay It Forward Writing Contest

I wanted to do something really awesome to celebrate the publication of Unraveling. After all, it's my first book (or at least the first one anyone wanted to publish). But I wasn't sure what.

Thankfully, my lovely agent, Janet Reid, thought up a great idea.

We're holding a contest for all unagented and unpublished writers. The road to publication is long and daunting and I shed several tears along the way (the good and bad kind), so now that I have a book coming out, I want to try to help someone else who was in my position.

Janet wants to find the next debut writer with a great voice and energetic prose. (So that she can try to sign and sell them of course.)

Here are the details:

The contest is open to American writers who are not published in novel-length form (published includes self-published) and who are not represented by an agent.

The prize is:

1. Registration for the Backspace Writing Conference in NYC (May 24-26)
2. Hotel for three nights (Thurs, Fri, Sat)
3. Travel stipend of $300
4. Lunch with Janet Reid

The winner will be announced on April 24, 2012th to celebrate the release of Unraveling.

Here's how to enter:
(Janet's big on directions so read them all)

1. EMAIL your query letter and your finished novel to Janet@fineprintlit.com
The subject line must be: Liz Norris Pay It Forward Contest entry.
The query must be in the body of the email.
The novel must be an attachment in .doc form

2 SEND between March 1, 2012 and March 15, 2012. Entries received before or after those dates will not be considered.

3. Your entry will be acknowledged by email.

4. Your manuscript must be in English.

5. Your manuscript must be properly formatted: 1" margins, TNR font 12 pt.

We do not accept any responsibility for manuscripts that cannot be opened or read.
The contest is open to novels in any category or genre.

You are not eligible to enter if you have an agent, or have been published in novel-length form.

You agree we can publicize your name, the title of your book and your photo for publicity purposes.


Questions? Post in the comment section of this blog post OR tweet to me @liz_norris or Janet @janet_reid

Contest opens March 1!

16 comments:

Anita Saxena said...

What a fun contest! Thank you for the opportunity.

Hope Roberson said...

Congrats on the upcoming release! So awesome! I look forward to reading it :) I'm going to try to get my ms polished by March 15th, great contest idea!

Angelica R. Jackson said...

What a great idea and way to pay it forward! Thank you for helping give someone else a foot in the door. And I love the blurb about Unraveling that says, "If Veronica Mars snatched a case from Mulder and Scully, you’d get this fast-paced page-turner." I'm sold!

Sher A. Hart said...

Awesome idea! I wish I wasn't at the start of a rewrite into 1st person. There's a lot more than converting pronouns or I would try to beat the deadline. I may still try.

Anonymous said...

What a great idea. Thanks. I'm Canadian, but live in the states and have my greencard. Can I still enter or is it just for American citizens? Thanks.

All the best with your book.

Rachel said...

Such a great idea. How exciting! I jumped over to Janet's site and the genre of my manuscript is not listed as what she's looking for. Should I still enter, or does she prefer those types she's already seeking?

elizabeth norris said...

Ladonna, I'm checking with Janet.

Rachel, definitely enter. Janet wasn't looking for YA until I came around :)

elizabeth norris said...

Ladonna, I'm sorry, Janet is sticking to "American only" for the contest. You could still query any of the lovely agents at FinePrint. The crazy talented Brooks Sherman is accepting queries and looking to really build his client list. :)

Anonymous said...

Rats! Okay, thanks. I'll still pass it on as it is a great opportunity.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your debut! I can't wait to read it and see what else you have in store for us. Thank you for such an amazing opportunity.

Good luck and keep writing!

Liz

elizabeth norris said...

Liz, Thank you so much :) Good luck to you as well!

Unknown said...

I'm blogging about this tomorrow morning and sending in my entry this weekend. Such a cool idea. Thanks so much for inspiring it! UNRAVELING sounds amazing.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this opportunity. When formatting should I double space all text?

Anonymous said...

Yes, double space? perhaps a stupid question, but important.

elizabeth norris said...

Yes, double space!

Carolynnwith2Ns said...

I'm in.
So very, very happy for you. These days leading up to your 'special-day' are what dreams, and hard work, are made of.

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