Like leaves before a storm, writing contests mount

 Did we writers imagine a pandemic could stop us? OK, maybe for a minute. But writing contests in particular laugh at shutdowns of in person events. I’ll start with a sample of those coming up in the next month. Write like the wind, my friends! 

These listing include samples from the new to me Kotobee digital publishing blog and other sites. Befitting the times, several of them focus on evil doings. As always, check the sites for details:

 

August 31: Midsummer Mystery Contest is accepting entries in mystery, thriller, crime, and related genres “that keep readers on the edge of their seats.” Ongoing and completed books accepted; 7,500-word minimum. No entry fee, cash prizes.

 

August 31: 2020 University of New Orleans Press Publishing Lab Prize is for book-length work -- novels and short story collections only. Entry fee: $28. Prize: $10,000 and publication.

 

August 31: I’ve mentioned the WOW! Women on Writing Flash Fiction Contest in earlier posts but here it is again with a chance to win cash prizes for your best 750 words. Entry fee: $10.

 

September 3: #PitMad is the quarterly Twitter pitch contest aimed at agents and editors. Tweet a 280-character pitch for a completed, polished, but unpublished manuscript between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. EDT.

 

September 5: Also a return from previous contest listings – Book Pipeline’s 2020 Unpublished Contest  seeking unpublished manuscripts across several genres of fiction and nonfiction. All entries must meet standard industry lengths – depending on the genre, this may vary from 50,000-120,000 words. Entry fee: $55. Prize: $15,000 and additional perks.

 

September 15: For writers who don’t share my fear of query letters, try TheQueryLetter.com Writing Contest. It’s actually about writing book blurbs (back cover copy) of 100 words or fewer that sets the stage for a novel. No entry fee. Prize €500.

 

September 27-29: Remember that #PitMad contest? Consider it a preview for Pitch Wars, the annual opportunity to gain a writing mentor in the publishing industry. Mentors have already been announced, with their wish lists to come September 12-26.

 

September 30: Writers of the Future welcomes all types of science fiction, fantasy, and dark fantasy. But not too dark, perhaps. Excessive violence or sex, as determined by the judges, will result in disqualification. No entry fee; cash prizes.

 

September 30: Finally, here’s the contest that’s kept me pounding the keyboard for the past month, the Watty Awards. I was wary of Wattpad, since it’s basically a non-paying platform but it’s provided a home for some of my previously published short stories. So why not try for the Watty – a contest for book-length manuscripts? Word count must be at least 50,000, with entries in 10 categories. No entry fee.

 

Since so many of these contests are nearing deadline, I’ll stop for now. For those who need more, check the Kotobee site, as well as old favorites – Ralan.com, New Pages, Publishing and other Forms of Insanity.

Image by Comfort from Pixabay

Give it our best pitch! Pitch Wars & #PitMad

For everybody (like me!) who thought there could be nothing more terrifying than formatting a nine-sentence literary query letter for a novel-length manuscript, contemplate condensing that pitch to Twitter’s 280-character format. Welcome to #PitMad – which I can only guess is Twitter-ese for pitching madness!

First, the long version – Pitch Wars, the annual scramble to gain the mentorship of established writers/editors/publishing industry interns who each pick one writer. They’ll read that writer’s entire manuscript and offer suggestions on how to make it – and a query letter -- shine for agents. Mentors on the Pitch Wars site are grouped by reader age category (middle grade, young adult and adult). Check out what they write, what they want to see, and pick up to four to pitch to.

The Pitch Wars submission site opens at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight time August 28 and closes at 10 p.m. EDT August 29. Mentor wishlists are already on line, along with links to their own social media sites for additional information on what they like.

Writers chosen by mentor will be announced October 12. Finally, February 6-11, 2019, literary agents will get their peek at those now-polished query letters and opening manuscript pages. 

Please note that Pitch Wars is only open to unpublished manuscripts that have not already found an agent. Submit only one manuscript, and be sure it’s as complete and polished as possible before being set before the eyes of potential mentors. See the Pitch Wars site for complete information and the submission form during the August 28-29 submission frenzy.

image: pixabay

No sooner had I stumbled onto Pitch Wars and gotten positive comments from fellow critique group members than somebody mentioned #PitMad. 

For something to do other than biting our nails while waiting for nibbles from Pitch Wars mentors (and later, possibly agents), log onto Twitter for the #PitMad pitch parties from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. EDT September 6 and 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. EST December 6. 

Again, only pitch complete, polished (but unagented) manuscripts, using the Twitter 280-character limit. For this one, writers may pitch multiple manuscripts, but no more than three tweets for each. Agents/editors may request manuscripts by favoriting tweets. See the site for details.

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Still writing your manuscript? Or maybe writing another? Don’t forget to check out the NaNoWriMo resources, including low-cost, online classes for past (or future) WriMos as mentioned in Tuesday's post. Classes start September 1 to allow time for completion before NaNoWriMo's official November 1 starting date.