Looking to sign your first book
contract, switch from a small press to a large publisher or
simply explore another genre of romantic fiction? Turn up
the heat on your writing career with the Hot Prospects
Contest.
Categories
and Final Round Judges (Editors/Literary Agencies):
1)
Historical/Regency Editor -
Talia Platz, Editorial Assistant, NAL
Agent -
Paige Wheeler, agent, Folio Literary
Manag.
2) Fantasy, Futuristic &
Paranormal Editor-
Leah Hultenschmidt, Editor,
Dorchester Publishing
Agent -
Michelle Grajkowski, 3 Seas Literary Agency
3) Romantic Suspense
Editor - Deb Werksman, editor,
Sourcebooks
Agent -
JL Stermer, agent, Donald Maass
Literary Agency
4) Contemporary Long/Single Title
Katherine N. Pelz, Edit.
Ass.Berkley Publishing Group
Sharene
Martin-Brown, Author Rep.resentative, Wylie- Merrick
Literary Agency
5) Series Contemporary
Editor -
Johanna Raisanen, Harlequin
Enterprises
Editor -
Leanne Morgena, Senior Editor,
the Wild Rose Press
6) Erotica
Editor - Theresa Stevens,
Managing Editor, Red Sage Publishing
Editor - Kelli Collins,
editor-in-chief, Ellora's Cave
GRAND PRIZE:
The winner can choose between a book trailer, static banner
and active banner from Bella Entertainment for the book of
their choice (a $300.00 value) or $100.00 USD.
Entry Fee: $30.00
(U.S. funds) per entry. $25.00 for VOS members. Make check payable to Valley of the
Sun RW or pay with Paypal. Fees are non-refundable.
Deadline:
Entries must be postmarked by September 1st, 2009.
Electronic entries must be received by 11:59pm PST September
1st, 2009.
Eligibility:
The Hot Prospects Contest is open to any RWA member in good
standing, including both published and unpublished
authors. The work of romantic fiction entered must
be uncontracted and unpublished at the time of entry.
Contents: A
synopsis (up to five pages) and the first 25 pages of the
manuscript.
The same entry cannot be placed
in more than one category.
Contestants may submit more than
one entry in a category or enter multiple categories, but
each entry must be accompanied by a separate Entry Form and
Fee.
Judging:
Each entry will be judged by two trained judges in the
preliminary round. Judges are published and unpublished
authors who have been through the chapter training for
contest judging. The preliminary judges are encouraged to
make comments directly on the manuscripts or in the
electronic files and each will provide a score sheet to be
attached to the manuscript for return to the contestant.
The total number of points
possible is 65. If the preliminary scores for any entry
vary as much as a 26 point spread, the entry will be judged
a third time and the lowest score (of the three) will be
thrown out.
NOTE:
All judging is confidential. The Contest Coordinators will
not reveal the names of the judges.
Finalists:
The top three finalists will be determined based on the
average of the two preliminary scores for each entry and
will be notified by
October 31st, 2009.
All finalists will have approximately 1 week to review
judges' critiques and make changes to her/his manuscript
before it goes to the final-round judge.
The synopsis and the revised
manuscript (or the original manuscript on file, if the
entrant does not revise) will be sent to the editor/agent
judge.
Winners:
Editors/Agents will read the top three manuscripts in each
category to determine final placements, which will be
returned to the contest coordinator via email. These
entries will not be returned, as the editors/agents
traditionally do not make any notes on them. So we have
modified the contest this year to ask the editors/agents to
shred those finalist entries rather than return them.
Those
entries that do not final will be returned approximately
November 7th, 2009 to help those who plan to enter RWA's
Golden Heart.
Prizes:
Grand Prize Winner:
The single highest
scoring first place entry across all categories can choose
between a book trailer, static banner and active banner from
Bella Entertainment for the book of their choice (a $300.00
value) or $100.00 USD.
All finalists in
each category will receive a certificate, a graphic for
their website and an acknowledgement in the Romance Writers
Report.
Approximate
date of winner notification is
December 15th, 2009.
Failure to Comply:
Any entry failing to comply with the rules as stated
herein will be disqualified and entry fee forfeited. No fees
will be refunded on the basis of disqualification or
withdrawal. The Hot Prospects Contest Chair reserves the
right to return any entry that does not comply with the
contest rules.
Categories:
Contemporary Series: Romantic novels, which may also include sensuality that may or may not
be intense. Projected word count: More than 50,000 words.
Long/Single Title- Romantic
novels released as individual titles, not usually part of a
series. Projected word count: over 70,000 words.
Romantic Suspense-
a
suspense/mystery/thriller plot is integrated within a
romantic novel. Projected word count: over 70,000 words.
Historical-
Romantic novels set in a time period prior to 1945.
Projected word count: over 70,000 words.
Fantasy/Futuristic/Paranormal-
futuristic, fantasy, or paranormal elements are integrated
within the love story. Projected word count: over 70,000
words.
Erotic-Romantic
novels of any time period that incorporates an explicit or
graphic sensual quality. Projected word count: over 40,000
words.
Valley of the Sun RW reserves the
right to return all entries and fees if the minimum entry
number for each category (5) is not received. Entrants will
be contracted to see if they wish to place their entry in
another category before entries are returned.
HOW TO ENTER
Complete the entry form
below. If
submitting electronically, paste or attach the entry form to
an e-mail and type author name(s) on the signature line.
Manuscript and Synopsis
Format:
All entries, whether electronic
or print, must be in standard, professional format:
8.5 x 11 inch paper
1-inch margins all around
Double spaced
12 pt. Courier/Courier New or Times New Roman font
First page of prologue (if applicable) and of every chapter
must begin one-third of the page
Header information on every page should include category,
title and page number only
Author's name and/or personal information must NOT appear
anywhere on the manuscript or synopsis pages, or the entry
will be disqualified.
For hardcopy entries:
1) 1 signed copy of ENTRY
FORM
2) 3 copies of SYNOPSIS up
to 5 double-spaced pages.
3) 3 copies of MANUSCRIPT, up
to the first 25 double-spaced pages. Prologue, if included,
will be counted in entry pages, and total count cannot
exceed 25.
4) 1 CHECK payable to Valley
of the Sun Romance Writers for $30.00 USD, or $25.00 for VOS
members, or indication
that payment was made via PAYPAL.
Mail to:
Hot Prospects Contest
c/o Linda Andrews
2901 West Kathleen Road
Phoenix, Arizona 85053
USA
For Electronic
Submissions:
1) 1 copy of the ENTRY FORM
(submission of an electronic entry form is considered the
same as a signed hardcopy)
2) 1 copy of SYNOPSIS (same
rules as above)
3) 1 copy of MANUSCRIPT
(same rules as above)
4) 1 CHECK payable to
Valley of the Sun Romance Writers may be mailed separately
or indicate payment has been made via PAYPAL. Note: Entry
will not be accepted if PayPal payment cannot be verified
prior to cutoff date.
All documents attached to an
Electronic Submission must be in .rtf format.
Any document submitted in a format
other than .rtf will be returned to the contestant unopened.
Postage:
We pay the return postage and your preliminary judging
manuscripts of hardcopy entries will be returned to you
along with your score sheets. Acknowledgement of entry will
be sent via email. If you do not have an email address,
please include a stamped, self-addressed postcard.
ENTRY FORM
Read the
following legalese and sign below…
Contest Waiver. I hereby request that the
enclosed manuscripts, which I certify are my original work,
be entered in the 2009 Hot Prospects Contest. I understand
that contest judging is subjective by nature. In
consideration of Valley of the Sun’s acceptance of my entry,
I agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the chapter,
its officers, members and all judges of the Hot Prospects
Contest from liability for its/their actions arising from,
or relating to, judging and from liability for its/their
handling my entry and conducting, sponsoring and advertising
this contest, which expressly results from my entry.
Name of
Manuscript: ___________________________________________ Word
count:__________
(Word count
represents the total word count for the entire work; not
just the entry)
Preferred
Category:
_________________________________________________________________
Second
Choice Category:
____________________________________________________________
(used only if there are not enough entries in preferred
category)
Mailing
Address:
___________________________________________________________________
Phone
Number: ___________ Email Address:
___________________________________________
Print
Author’s Name:
______________________________________________ RWA
No:_________
Author’s
Signature:
_____________________________________________________ Date:
__/__/__
(typed name is considered
signature for electronic submissions)
If two
people are authors of this manuscript, both must sign this
waiver.
Print 2nd Author’s Name:
___________________________________________ RWA No:_________
2nd Author’s
Signature:___________________________________________________
Date:__/__/__
(typed name is
considered signature for electronic submissions)
Indicate
amount paid: $________ Check One:
Check___ Money Order___ Cash___
PayPal___
Mail
Hardcopy Submissions and checks To:
Hot Prospects Contest
Linda Andrews
2901 West Kathleen Rd
Phoenix, Arizona 85053
USA
Email
Electronic Submissions To:
nlandrews@prodigy.net
For more information
contact: nlandrews@prodigy.net
Permission to copy this form for entry purpose is granted to
all RWA chapters and members.
TO PAY WITH PAYPAL, CLICK
BELOW:
(Be sure to specify
author and entry name on PayPal transaction.
