Barbara is offering to evaluate a full manuscript for free - a service for which she normally charges $1,200. Second and third place winners can have portions of their manuscripts evaluated.
Your manuscript does not have to be complete to enter. If you win, you will have a full year to submit. The deadline is December 31, 2015.
Good luck!
___________________________________
CONTEST! Win a Manuscript Evaluation
Want an expert critique of your manuscript? Then this contest is for you.
It’s open to anyone with a work of fiction or narrative non-fiction. All genres are welcome. There is no fee to enter the contest.
And here’s the great thing. If you win, you’ll have up to a year to send me your manuscript. If it’s ready now, that’s fine, send it as soon as you hear you’ve won. But if you need more time to complete it, that’s fine too. Contest winners will have up to a year to send me their manuscript.
I’ll choose three winners based on writing samples that suggest the writer’s work has a good chance of succeeding in the publishing marketplace. Agents and publishers want books that sell, and my goal is to help you move forward in your writing career. I want you to land that agent. I want you to sign that book deal.
* value based on a manuscript of 450 pages
PRIZES
Grand Prize: my evaluation of a full manuscript – a $1,200 value
Second Prize: my evaluation of a manuscript’s first 50 pages
Third Prize: my evaluation of a manuscript’s first 25 pages
The manuscript evaluation will be conducted in a discussion with me by Skype or by phone.
The Grand Prize winner will get a 1.5-hour (one and a half hour) discussion with me. The
Second Prize winner and Third Prize winner will each get a half-hour discussion with me.
The evaluation will consist of my in-depth analysis in which I’ll pinpoint the manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses with regard to premise, story structure, character development, voice, dialogue, setting, pacing, POV, and marketability. I’ll also offer suggestions on how any weaknesses might be improved.
CONTEST RULES
The deadline for entering is 12:00 midnight EST on 31 December 2015.
There is no fee to enter.
To enter, complete the contest entry form (click the “Register Here” button below) and attach your writing sample. Maximum length of the sample: 1,500 words.
Only one entry per person.
The 3 winners will be announced on 21 January 2016 and their names will be posted on my website and in my Newsletter for Writers.
The 3 winners can send me their manuscripts as soon as they have been notified that they have won, or they can take up to 12 months to do so. (So, if you win, there’s lots of time to finish your manuscript if you need it.)
For the Grand Prize winner, the maximum length of the full manuscript to be evaluated is 120,000 words. The manuscript must be double-spaced in 12-point font.
For the Second Prize winner, the maximum length of the manuscript to be evaluated is 50 pages, double-spaced in 12-point font.
For the Third Prize winner, the maximum length of the manuscript to be evaluated is 25 pages double-spaced in 12-point font.
Ready to enter? Great! Here’s how.
HOW TO ENTER THE CONTEST
Complete the entry form (click the “Register Here” button below) and attach to it your writing sample.
• Maximum length of the sample: 1,500 words. Format: double-spaced
• The sample can be from your work-in-progress or a previous work
• Attach your sample as a Word document or PDF
Deadline to enter is midnight on 31 December 2015.
Click here to enter the contest.