Monday, 9 July 2012

THE SUBMISSION WINDOW IS OPEN!

 THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!


If you're late to the party, here are posts one, two and three on #XmasinJuly.

The submission window is open 6am to 3pm EST and you'll receive an auto response to let you know we received your entry. If you don't get one, leave a comment and I'll fish it out of the spam : )

The email address is lottiehumphries14(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk

Format it as if you're sending to an agent: Query and then first 500 words in the body of the email. Put your name, the name of the ms, and the genre in the subject line please. It should look like this:

Ruth Lauren Steven: THE CRACKS IN EVERYTHING (YA contemporary)

You can address your query 'Dear Agents' - as long as you promise to NEVER, EVER do this in an actual query to an agent!

You won't be ignored/disqualified/paraded through the streets in shame if you were at work or something and didn't see this post. If you get the auto response, we have your entry and we promise to read it.

Another thing you need to know is that if you're one of our 30 and Judith Engracia makes a request for your work PLEASE SEND IT STRAIGHT AWAY! (I know, that's going to be tough, right?) She's coming over to London on the 20th and wants her Kindle loaded up with the material beforehand. (On a related note HOW COOL IS THAT?!)

Good luck all. See you on the other side of the slushpile!


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64 comments:

  1. Veronica Bartles9 July 2012 at 11:06

    If I have 2 manuscripts (a picture book and a YA contemporary novel), can I enter twice, or should I choose one?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ruth9 July 2012 at 11:08

      Choose one please - some people might have ten different mss and my eyes will die if everyone gets more than one chance :)

      Delete
    2. Veronica Bartles9 July 2012 at 11:41

      That's what I thought. I just had to ask :)

      Thanks so much for hosting this!!

      Delete
  2. Annette T. Dodd9 July 2012 at 11:08

    Prepare to be inundated, lol!

    Thanks for the opportunity, and good luck to everyone who enters!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Artemis Grey9 July 2012 at 11:40

    I presume rounding up to the end of the sentence is okay?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Heather Hawke9 July 2012 at 12:17

    How much contact info should we put in? I'm guessing email, twitter handle and website, but not address or phone. Thank you!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Amber9 July 2012 at 12:29

    Thank you, thank you. This is such a wonderful opportunity. Can't wait to read the top entries in a few days (and hoping mine is one of them). I always love seeing the great ideas and stellar writing, then watching agents come by and scoop them up. So fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Amber9 July 2012 at 12:41

      Great! Just realized I have a huge typo in the second sentence of my query. That's what I get for changes at the last minute. Ugh! *squirms* *hangs head in shame*

      Delete
    2. Ruth9 July 2012 at 12:51

      Don't worry. We can clean it up if you're one of the 30. It happens :)

      Delete
  6. Elli9 July 2012 at 13:03

    What a fantastic opportunity! I'm so glad I saw this on Twitter. Just a quick question: if I'm submitting a picture book manuscript and the total length is 634, does the strict 500 word limit still apply? I hope that's not too cheeky a question. Thanks so much.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ruth9 July 2012 at 14:02

      Take it to the nearest full sentence :)

      Delete
    2. Elli Woollard9 July 2012 at 14:03

      Thanks. I'll submit in a bit. I hope the crux of the story fits into 500 words.

      Delete
  7. Anita Saxena9 July 2012 at 13:22

    Thank you for hosting this!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Kelsey9 July 2012 at 13:55

    Good morning! I'm not sure how "instant" the auto responder should be, but I may have landed in the trash bin. :) My entry went out about 30 minutes ago. My name is Kelsey Macke. Thanks so much for hosting!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Cortney Pearson9 July 2012 at 14:07

    Morning! Thanks for hosting this! I didn't get the auto response either, so I might have landed in the trash bin too. I'm not sure how *instant* it's supposed to be, but I just barely submitted a few minutes ago. My name is Cortney Pearson. Should I resend? :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous9 July 2012 at 14:13

    Thanks for hosting this contest.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Unknown9 July 2012 at 14:47

    Great contest, great agents, and great hosts, what more could we ask for? Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous9 July 2012 at 14:51

    Thank you for hosting this wonderful contest! I've been looking forward to it for about a month now!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jennifer Rowan9 July 2012 at 15:09

    Okay, silly question about the query's format. Normally one would address a query to a specific agent but... since there are 10 of them, how do we handle that?

    Also, thanks for hosting this contest. It gave me a reason to write my query in the first place, aside from an opportunity to get it in front of an agent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jen's Kitchen9 July 2012 at 15:15

      Oops, never mind. Just answered my own question.

      Delete
  14. Julie Dao9 July 2012 at 15:22

    Thank you so much for hosting this contest! I'm so excited to read the chosen entries!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Katie Dodge9 July 2012 at 15:39

    Best contest ever! Thanks for hosting this!!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. AngiNicole9 July 2012 at 15:39

    Hi there, I didn't get the auto response yet. Angi Black - Love In Real Life. Should I resend? And thanks for hosting! I'm excited!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Feaky Snucker9 July 2012 at 15:40

    I entered and got the auto response. AHHHH! Scary but exciting! *Kermit flails*

    ReplyDelete
  18. Philip Siegel9 July 2012 at 16:03

    I was so excited to submit, that I forgot to include my blog and twitter links. If we make it to the next round, can we add those in?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous9 July 2012 at 16:16

    I hope address and tel number on the query letter doesn't disqualify you, mine is...

    ReplyDelete
  20. Lisa9 July 2012 at 16:39

    I didn't get the auto-response either. It's Lisa Rosenman -Outside In. Would you mind checking on it for me? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ruth9 July 2012 at 16:51

      I can't find that one at all. Resend please :)

      Delete
    2. Lisa9 July 2012 at 17:38

      Sent it again and got the auto-response. Thanks for checking!

      Delete
  21. Kathryn Rose9 July 2012 at 16:47

    This is so exciting! I got my auto-response! Now to sit here and wait for five days. :P

    Thanks so much for hosting this! :D

    ReplyDelete
  22. Chantele Sedgwick9 July 2012 at 16:54

    I didn't get an auto-response either. :) Just making sure you got it. Sorry to bug you! I'm sure you've gotten a million today! :) And thanks SO much for hosting! It's Chantele Sedgwick -Embrace.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Katie Dodge9 July 2012 at 17:18

    OK, sorry to bug you as well, I never got an auto-response either. Do you mind checking? (as if you don't have enough to do already.;)) Katie Dodge-When The Mockingbird Sings. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ruth9 July 2012 at 17:24

      I can't find you Katie - please resend :)

      Delete
    2. Katie Dodge9 July 2012 at 17:42

      OK- I just sent again. Keeping my fingers crossed you get it this time. ;)

      Delete
  24. Anonymous9 July 2012 at 18:49

    Thank you for this amazing opportunity! I just sent in my entry. :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. greta garbo9 July 2012 at 18:53

    Hi and thanks for the great contest.

    I sent an entry 30 min ago and don't have an auto-resonse. The subject line was Bonnar Spring: Disappeared (suspense).

    Did you receive it?

    ReplyDelete
  26. greta garbo9 July 2012 at 18:55

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Traci VW9 July 2012 at 19:01

    Yay! I gathered the courage and hit the send key, and I got the auto response. I'm so excited. Thanks a million for this wonderful contest. I hope I will be able to continue working on my next WIP with my fingers crossed.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Margo Rowder9 July 2012 at 19:18

    Thank you, Ruth. You and this contest rock the house.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Becca9 July 2012 at 19:35

    I sent mine in but didn't get an auto-response. Could you check for Rebecca Buss: ECHO (YA suspense)? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Artemis Grey9 July 2012 at 20:06

    THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HOSTING THIS CONTEST RUTH!!! And thanks to everyone else involved too :)

    ReplyDelete
  31. Jean Healey9 July 2012 at 20:56

    I can't wait to see who you pick for your top 30. Apart from getting paranoid at your tweets (the passes and accepts) I am still excited. Thanks again for this opportunity :-)

    ReplyDelete
  32. ana otaru9 July 2012 at 21:17

    I am in a completely different timezone and I just saw this! I just emailed you my query and got an automated response letting me the submission is now closed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ruth11 July 2012 at 09:30

      Sorry you missed out :( We had the largest submission window we thought we could cope with and advertised the contest three weeks in advance. But we do hope to do more contests in the future.

      Delete
  33. Unknown10 July 2012 at 02:05

    I fear you'll read some duplicitous intent into my comment here, but really, honestly, this is just so freakin' fun. In or out or winner's circle, I'm very grateful that you organized this. You rock.

    ReplyDelete
  34. csoontornvat10 July 2012 at 02:45

    Christmas always was my favorite holiday! Thanks for hosting this fun contest!

    ReplyDelete
  35. TW10 July 2012 at 03:44

    Thanks for rounding up great agents and for hosting. I noticed that all of the agents/agencies are currently accepting submissions...is the advantage of the contest that a writer just wouldn't need to query each individually?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ruth10 July 2012 at 10:45

      Yes, that's one of them. Plus we'll be editing the 30 'winners' work with them. There may be lurking agents other than the ten. You might get a faster response than waiting in the individual slushpiles of the agents. You might meet some nice people here on the blog or over on twitter. You might just do this for fun.

      :)

      Delete
  36. Anonymous10 July 2012 at 13:24

    I guess I'm an idiot. I'm subscribed to your site so that I'd be right on top of this when it was time to submit. And your post from yesterday didn't hit my inbox until this morning. I got the announcement -- so exciting! But then read "now closed" on the top of it. Not your fault obviously, but I'm mad at Blogger for delaying subscription emails 24 hours!!!

    ReplyDelete
  37. Jean Healey11 July 2012 at 18:11

    That sounds good - there may be other lurking agents other than the ten :-)

    ReplyDelete

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