Monday, July 14, 2014

IN WITH THE NEW Submission Time


CLOSED!!


The submission window for IN WITH THE NEW runs today only from noon until 8:00 pm!! (That's Eastern time.)




One entry per person. We accept MG, YA, NA, and Adult, but check our agents' wish lists for genres. EDIT: Will accept Picture Books, but send 50 words and not 250 in the entry.

Manuscripts should be complete and polished.


What's a contest without a party?

Here's some suggestions for a daily twitter party (#NewAgent) all about the new. (Oh! And you don't have to enter the contest to be part of the party. You are welcome to play along!)

Monday: You're new to the contest. After you enter please stop by #NewAgent and shout out your genre and let us know you entered. And do please keep shouting out your thanks to the agents. 

Tuesday: It's all about the new faces. Tell us about that nasty boy (or girl) love interest your MC meets. Or friend if you don't have any romance (I'm looking at you MG). 

Wednesday: Any new places? Shout out a new place your MC visits in your story. It can be simple like a restaurant or a store or huge like Paris. 

Thursday: Your book is new. Unseen by the general public. Tell us that new and fresh first line.

Friday: New person. Your MC should follow a character arc that makes them learn and grow. What does your MC learn and how do they grow?

Saturday: New troubles. Describe a new trouble/problem that hits your MC during the story. It can be the main plot or a side plot.

Sunday: New friends. We hope you've made some new friends on twitter over the week. If you're looking for a new CP or beta reader take this opportunity to ask.


Also, we'll be hinting there and at #Newslush all week.


Please follow the submission instructions carefully. And don't forget to continue to welcome and thank the agents! 



Entries will be sent to:  NewAgentContestJuly (at) gmail (dot) com

Formatting guidelines:

Font: Times New Roman, 12pt font, single-spaced with spaces between each paragraph. No indents. (If you can’t get Times New Roman in your email, use whatever is closest. Formatting problems will not eliminate you from contention but missing pieces of an entry will.)

Subject line of the Email: Title: Genre (audience included). Do not skip this step or your entry will be deleted. 

(ex. Pygmy Hazards: MG Humor) You need both an age category and a genre.

In the body of the email (with examples):
Name: Michelle Hauck
Email address: MichelleHauck@loveher.com

Title: Pygmy Hazards
Word count: 34,000
Genre: MG Humor

Query:

Tom, the classroom hamster, wants to escape from the h-e double hockey sticks otherwise known as school. His old military pet shop days didn't include playing house or being sentenced to a boot camp of never-ending show ‘n tell, math facts rap, and story time. But he’s learned a lot behind the bars of his cage. For example, if you want to keep breathing, never trust a pygmy who has earned the nickname Squeezer. Somehow he has to get away before the pygmies dress him as Strawberry Shortcake again or worse.

When a “subspatoot” fills in, Tom sees his chance to put Operation Escape the Pygmies into action. He makes a run for the border, hamster style. Bad news. The principal says Tom is a distraction to learning and better off flushed. The way out is turned into a battlefield of snapping mousetraps, sticky snares, and poisoned pellets.

Tom seems doomed until the friendless Squeezer lends an over-excited hand. She quickly goes from supervillain to super sidekick. Now, the greatest obstacle to his freedom may be Tom’s soft spot for this lonely pygmy.

(Only include the meat of your query. No bio. No Dear, and no sincerely. No comps. Just the good stuff. Queries may be up to 350 words, but 250 is preferred.)

First 250 words:

First 250 words. Don't include the chapter title, they eat up words. And please, don't stop in the middle of a sentence. 255 words are fine. 260 are too much.

Also, no indentations. Indentations are evil. Put line spaces between paragraphs please!

Please read, reread, and rereread your submission before you hit send. You have time to polish your work. Take advantage of it. Competition will be fierce.

Thank the people running this contest-- In order to enter the contest, you MUST follow all Pyrotechnics and contest host on twitterAnd you must follow host’s blog. You can find all about the Pyrotechnics here! You'll want to follow their tweets about #NewSlush.

Good luck and see you here with the final picks on Monday, July 21st. 

6 comments:

  1. Got my entry in, as far as I know. O_o Good luck, everyone!

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  2. Tuesday: Are they nasty like, "Ew, icky, a BOY!" lol Just for clarification. ;)

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    Replies
    1. I was thinking nasty like Miss Jackson's song. Nasty boys. I guess that would depend on your view. Either nasty like hot or nasty like ew. :-)

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  3. I'm not participating in this contest (not this time anyway), but I'm enjoying the teasers on Twitter. And after reading the query for Pygmy Hazards, I have to get it for my husband! His name is Tom, he's in the military, and his first pet was a hamster. No, he's not middle grade. But I'd bet he'd get a kick out of reading it to our sons!

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