.gif)
PRESENTING
INDIANA’S GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY 2008
IGO Entry Form
IGO Score Sheet
The Indiana Chapter of RWA® offers detailed, encouraging feedback and a chance to bypass the dreaded slush pile in an acquiring editor’s office. Our four-page score sheet can help you identify which elements of storytelling you already excel at and which elements you might want to work on. Both mail-in and electronic entries are accepted.
Entry Receipt Deadline: July 1, 2008
CONTEST CATEGORIES AND FINAL JUDGES FOR 2008
Contemporary Series.............Diana Ventimiglia, Assoc. Editor, Silhouette Desire
Mainstream/Single Title..........Megan McKeever, Assist. Editor, Pocket
Books
Historical...............................Tessa Woodward, Assist.
Editor, Avon Books
Paranormal............................Kerry Donovan, Assist. Editor, NAL
Romantic Suspense................Heather Osborn, Editor, Tor
Best of the Best *..................Allison Brandau, Ed. Assist.,
Berkley
(*The 1st Place winners in each of the 5 categories, as picked by the final round editor judges, go on to the Best of the Best round.)
AWARDS
| 1st Place: $35.00 and certificate |
 |
| 2nd Place: $30.00 and certificate | |
| 3rd Place: $25.00 and certificate |
Best of the Best Award: The entry judged best overall 1st-place winner will win a Neo by AlphaSmart
ELIGIBILITY
Open to RWA® members who
are not yet published in novel-length romance with an RWA®-recognized/RITA-eligible
publisher.
NOTE: Members of the Indiana chapter
of Romance Writers of America (IRWA) are NOT eligible for entry. If
you're an Indiana resident and a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA®),
but not a member of the Indiana chapter of RWA®, you ARE
ELIGIBLE to enter.
CONTEST RULES
Deadline: Entries must be received by July 1, 2008.
Entries are limited to the first 40 entries in each category. A category may be dropped if less than 10 entries are received. If this occurs, you have the option of having your entry (fee included) returned, or you can choose to place your entry in a secondary category. Your preference can be noted on the entry form.
Entry fee: $30.00 if you pay by check or money order. (Payable to INDIANA ROMANCE WRITERS.) If you prefer using PayPal, the entry fee is $32.00
Return postage is included in your entry fee. Non-U.S. entrants, please add $5.00 U.S. for return postage. Only scored entry forms will be returned. Unused entries will be destroyed to control postage costs.
Mail-in Entries:
Do not mail your entry by any means that requires a signature.
Entries MUST include:
1) One (1) completed entry form.
2) One (1) self-addressed label for return of score sheets and scored entries. NOTE: Do not include a return envelope or postage. Your entry fee includes return postage.
3) One (1) check or money order for $30.00 made out to INDIANA ROMANCE WRITERS. (Or use the Pay Pal option to pay online and indicate this on the entry form.)
4) 4 copies of your entry—limit 35 pages**, each copy. The entry should include 4 copies of your synopsis (no more than 10 pages each copy**) and 4 copies of the opening of your manuscript, including prologue if there is one.
a. For example, if your synopsis is 7 pages long, you may submit the first 28 pages of your manuscript, for a total of 35 pages.
b. The title and page number must appear on each page. To ensure anonymity, your name must not appear on any page or your entry may be disqualified.
(**Change from previous years.)
Manuscripts will be judged on how
well they adhere to RWA’s Golden Heart style sheet:
1" margins, all double-spaced, a readable font such as Times New Roman
or one of the Courier fonts. Please use a 12-point typeface.
Please use binder clips. Do not use staples. Judged entries will be returned. Finalist entries will be sent to the appropriate editors and unused entries will be destroyed.
If you want notification of receipt of your entry, include an SAS postcard.
You may enter more than one manuscript, but each entry must be sent in a separate envelope with entry fee.
You may enter a previously entered manuscript that has been revised if it did not previously place in this contest.
Electronic Entries:
1) Fill out the entry form found on the website and save it in .doc (Word) or .rtf format.
a. Give it the filename (category) (short title) entryform.doc. or (category) (short title) entryform.rtf. Example: historical desperado entryform.doc
2) Put manuscript pages and synopsis into a single document that conforms to the contest regulations stated above (double-spaced, no author names on pages, etc.) Synopsis should be at the end. The combined document should total no more than 35 pages**.
a. If you can, leave a little room at the end (that is, 34 pages instead of 35) as formatting occasionally changes between computers.
b. In the header, put the contest category, the title, and page number. Save it as a .doc or .rtf file. Please name it this filename: (category) (short title) pages.doc Example: historical desperado pages.doc.
c. If you are not in the US, please still use US page size (8.5 by 11 inch page). You can do this easily in Word in File-Page Setup. This allows us to make sure the page count is accurate.
3) Send both files to the coordinator of your category (listed below).
4) Pay using the Paypal button on the contest page of the indianarwa.com website. (We must charge $32.00 to provide for Paypal fees, but remember how much you're saving in postage.)
a. If you cannot use Paypal, email the coordinator for instructions on mailing a check. Please allow plenty of time if you are mailing a check. Also be aware that we cannot accept non US-denominated checks. If you are entering from outside the US, please use the Paypal option.
5) Everything will be done in email--that is, you will get the scoresheets and judged entries back as .doc files. If you are a finalist, we will print out a copy to send to the final judge. There is no need to add money for return postage.
6) If you have any questions, email your category coordinator.
(**Change from previous years.)
Click here for Entry Form.
JUDGING
Two (2) experienced judges including published writers, Golden Heart, and Rita judges will judge each entry. IRWA requires all judges to undergo chapter-hosted training. Please remember, all judging is subjective. IRWA insists that our contest judges provide constructive critiques. If the contest coordinators feel that a judge’s comments do not meet this policy, an alternate judge will be asked to review the entry.
If there is a disparity of more than 75 points between two scores, the entry will go to a third judge for discrepancy judging, and the final score will be the total of the two scores closest to each other. In such cases, all three judged entries and score sheets will be returned.
The top three (3) scoring entries in each category will be sent to the editor for final ranking. The First Place winner from each category (i.e., five (5) entries) will then be sent to an editor to determine the Best of the Best winner
NOTIFICATION OF WINNERS AND ENTRY RETURN
Finalists will be notified on or near September 15th* when their manuscripts are forwarded to the editor. Winners will be announced around October 15th.*
Non-finalist entries will be returned around the end of September.
*Notification dates are tentative. We always try to get finalist & winning results back before the deadline, but due to circumstances beyond our control, we cannot guarantee it.
CATEGORY COORDINATORS
Mail or email your entry (and entry fee if mailing) to the appropriate category coordinator listed below:
CONTEMPORARY SERIES
Leshia Stolt
|
HISTORICAL/REGENCY
Jan Aldridge
|
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
Sally Morrison
|
PARANORMAL/TIME TRAVEL
Jodi Minton
|
SINGLE TITLE/MAINSTREAM
Kathy Maeglin
|
|
Questions?
Contact Contest
Chair at
contest@indianarwa.com
or send an SASE
to
Oberon Wonch
10774 Weston
Drive
Carmel, IN
46032
ARTICLES
Confessions of a Contest
Queen
The benefits and pitfalls
of contesting.
Writers Block
If you're finding that
your internal editor is leaching all the joy out of your writing; if you
think you write too slowly; if you want to write a "don't look down"
first draft without editing at all; if you want to encourage a friend to
write, try the 10-Minute Burst. Your reward could be more pages and
more fun.
Writing the Synopsis
Another informative
article to ease you through the 'synopsis' process.
View previous winners by clicking here.
Questions?
Contact our
Contest Chair at
contest@indianarwa.com
or send an SASE
to
Oberon Wonch
10774 Weston
Drive
Carmel, IN
46032
|
Want to join
IRWA? Contact
us |