VIC In-House Writing Contest
1) The deadline has been extended to 14 November 2009 to allow for personally handing in entries at the chapter meeting.
2) All entries, in addition to the paper copies, must also be submitted electronically to the Contest Coordinator.
Questions? Direct them to the contest coordinator.
Introduction
This is a friendly, in-family
contest, intended to encourage VIC members to write and submit work, and to
help them develop their skills. This is a good place for beginners to try
their wings as well as for the experienced to reach high.
There is no submission fee. Entries will be submitted in paper format. Experienced judges (at least 2 published) will judge each entry and provide detailed feedback.
Who may enter
The contest is open to all VIC
members in good standing who have been unpublished in book-length romance
fiction for the last ten years. “Unpublished” is judged by VIC standards
rather than RWA National standards – i.e., if VIC has awarded a rose, the
member is “published” for the purposes of the contest.
The contest is for book-length
works of fiction, not short stories. The book need not be a pure
“romance” but must have a sufficient romantic element that it would qualify for
entry in RWA’s Golden Heart contest (for information on Golden Heart
categories, see www.rwanational.org)
or other RWA chapter contests. For example, a romantic suspense is
eligible; a mystery or thriller with no romance is not eligible. The
intent of the contest is to be as inclusive as possible. If you have any
doubts as to whether your manuscript qualifies, check with the contest
coordinator rather than assuming that it doesn’t meet the requirements.
A member may enter one manuscript only. S/he may enter a manuscript that’s been entered in other contests and/or submitted to a publisher or agent.
Contest Preparation
Critiques (optional)
All entrants will be awarded
the choice of signing up for a VIC Contest Prep yahoo group, where they will
critique each other during August and September in order to polish their
contest entries.
As a
special reward for the hard work of critiquing, in October, an expert (in 2009,
this will be Alicia Rasley) will join those who have been part of the critique
group to give feedback on their revised first page. If there are a large number of entrants, the number of first
page critiques may be restricted.
Rules and guidelines for the critique group will be posted on the contest prep yahoo group.
Contest
Requirements
The entry is a “novel
beginning” – i.e., the opening pages of the book.
Submit 2000 words
(approximately 8 double-spaced manuscript pages) from the beginning of the
novel. Ten percent over or under will be forgiven, but words in excess of 10%
over will not be read, and marks will be docked. Entries must be
double-spaced. In terms of judging format, the judges will be as lenient
as most editors are. The major factor is how easy the entry is to read
and how close it is to standard submission guidelines. Marks will be lost
for unacceptable presentation.
It is not necessary to
complete a scene for it to be judged fairly. The judges are looking more
for a sense of the characters and situation, for instant energy and interest
for the novel opening and story concept.
Also submit a synopsis no
longer than 500 words (i.e., 2 pages). The judges will mark the synopsis
for the sense of a book being possible. It will only be a small
percentage of the marks.
The author’s name must not
appear anywhere on the entry. The header of each page of the entry should
set out the title of the book, the target market and/or line (e.g., “long
contemporary” or “long contemporary – Harlequin Superromance”), and the page
number (of the entry, not the page number in the book itself). The author
must provide a separate sheet with her name, the title of the book, and whether
she is a first time entrant in this contest.
There are no submission
categories.
Contest entries are
anonymous. The cover page will not go to the judges, and the Coordinator
will not in any other way identify the entrant to the judges.
Submit four copies of the entry in paper format.
Format
- a single sheet with your name, the book’s title, and whether you are a first time entrant
- 4 copies of the opening pages of your novel up to 2000 words (a romance or novel with romantic elements), double-spaced, with each page header setting out the title, target market and/or line, and page number
- 4 copies of a synopsis up to 500 words
Deadline
The deadline for entries is 14 November 2009 (the November meeting).
Judging
The judges will use a scoring system based on a total possible score of
100 points. A new process for comments will be used in 2009 to generate
clearer objective thinking and significantly reduce judging time. The comments,
compulsory and self-timed, will categorize the individual judge’s impression of
an entry into five distinctive thought processes outlined consecutively. Any judge questions will be directed to
the coordinator.
Results/awards
The results will be announced
at the Valentine’s Day awards ceremony.
First Prize - A (temporary) trophy and $50 Cdn. toward GH entry fee
Second Prize - A certificate and $20 Cdn. toward RWA sponsored contest
fee
Third
Prize - A certificate and $10 Cdn. toward RWA sponsored contest fee
All
entrants - A flower for courage
Good Luck!