Sunday, January 20, 2013

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest


Today concludes my posts on entering the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest, which is sponsored by CreateSpace, the book-publishing arm of Amazon.
         The contest opened on Monday, January 14, at 12:00:01 AM—United States EST. For me that was Sunday, 11:00:01 PM, because I live in the Central Standard Time zone. When I entered before—in 2010—I had to keep trying for nearly two hours before I could get on line and submit my entry.
         Remembering that, I camped out late last Sunday in front of the computer with a pot of hot Chinese oolong tea and three freshly baked scones, ready for a long wait.


         You’ll understand my saying that the words Submit Entry startled me when they appeared within ten minutes of my going on line. In fact, I dropped a half-eaten fruity scone on the floor, where the crumbles remained for the next forty-five minutes while I completed my entry.
         What took me so long? The saga of entry!
         The entry form had four sections. The first section asked for my name, the name of the book, whether it had been previously published by me, and a “description.” The latter hadn’t been mentioned in the contest rules and so came as an unwelcomed surprise.
         Thinking that the word description was perhaps another word for pitch, I inserted those 264 words, over which I’d labored for a week.
         Then I filled out the second section of the form and got to the third, which asked for the pitch, excerpt, and completed manuscript.
         Clearly, the pitch and the description differed.
         Returning to section one, I deleted what I’d inserted just a few moments before and went to Microsoft Word so I could write a spur-of-the-moment description/plot synopsis.
         Fortunately, the synopsis I’d been sending out with query letters to literary agents needed only a little tweaking to get it less than 300 words. That done, I pasted the 287-word description into section one and returned to section three to insert the three entry requirements: the 264-word pitch, the 4848-word excerpt, and the 122,074-word manuscript.
         I had trouble with the latter because it wasn’t in a docx form. But once I figured out how to do that, the form accepted the upload. I breathed a sign of relief, clicked on save, and completed my entry.
         So, it’s done. I’m officially entered in the contest and now eagerly await February 13.
         Here’s the calendar of events, which I’ve copied for Amazon’s website:
Jan 14 - Entry period opened at 12:00:01 AM (U.S. EST)
Jan 27 - Entry period ends at 11:59:59 PM
(U.S. EST)*
Feb 13 - Round 2 entries are announced
Mar 12 - Quarter-Finalists are announced
Apr 16 - Semi-Finalists are announced
May 21 - Finalists are announced. Customer voting begins on Amazon.com
May 21-29 - Customers vote on Amazon.com
Jun 15 - Awards ceremony and Grand Prize winner announcement
The maximum number of entries is 10,000.
         As you can see, the next important date is Wednesday, February 13. That’s when I’ll discover whether I’ll be in the second round of the contest. During the first round—from January 27 to February 13—the judges read only the 10,000 pitches and choose 2,000 entries to continue in the contest. That’s the first elimination. You can be assured I’ll let you know what happens.                                                                                                                            
If I’m eliminated in this contest—at whatever stage—I’ll simply continue to work on the novel that’s engrossing me now. Perhaps I’ll have it ready next January for entry into the 2014 contest. We’ll see whether the words come, the characters share themselves with me, and the plot “thickens.” If all that happens, the book will complete itself and the teapot will be replenished often and ever.                                                                                    

Are any of you writing a novel or considering doing so? If so, are you thinking about entering this contest next year? I’d so enjoy sharing all this excitement with you. Peace.
         

24 comments:

  1. Congratulations on being ready in time to be a really early entrant, Dee. You've done all you can for the contest, so now it's time to relax and turn to other things. I hope you had a wonderful time with your visitors.

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    1. Dear Perpetua, I hope that being able to enter so easily is some kind of a sign that I'm going to do well! But we all know that we can make "signs" out of almost anything.

      I had a wonderful time with my two visitors--a mother and her eleven-year-old daughter. After they left the cats and I both snoozed away the rest of the day. It doesn't take much to weary these old bones! Peace.

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  2. YAAAAY, YOU'RE IN!!! Awkward though it may be, I'll try to keep EVERYTHING crossed until February!

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    1. Dear Fishducky, I'm able to keep everything crossed even your suggestion last week--you witty one you! Peace.

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  3. You did it! Feb. 13 will bring wonderful news to you, I just know. Getting it all ready was a major feat unto itself, but what a feeling of accomplishment you must have! I hope you are getting some rest now. Can't wait to hear~

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    1. Dear Shelly, I do so appreciate all your cheerleading for me and your belief that I'd get entered and that something good will happen. I do have a feeling of accomplishment and I'm looking forward to that Feb. 13th posted list of those who made it into the second round. If that doesn't happen, I'll still be feeling great because my pitch will be helps in finding a literary agent who will want to read the manuscript. It is in a much better condition now that I spent many days in the new year polishing. Polishing. Polishing!

      For four days this past week, I had visitors and we so enjoyed ourselves that I didn't even think of the contest. After they left I got a mild flu but am fine today.
      So tomorrow I'm going to take down the Christmas tree and decorations. Then on Tuesday I hope to begin reading blogs again and resume the routine of my life. Peace.

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  4. Congratulations! I'm amazed the cats didn't finish the scone for you.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. Dear Janie, they were asleep at 11 pm. They've never shown much interest in the office and computer in late evening. And when I'm sleeping at night, I think they wander the house, knocking various things on the floor! So both I and the cats have a secret life! Peace.

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  5. Yay. Wobbly little dances of glee are being performed for you here. And I still have everything crossed for you.

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    1. Dear EC, are those dances wobbly because you've been sick???? The flu here has hit epidemic proportions, so I was really relieved when I had a new flu medicine that lessened the symptoms to only two days. (I"d had the flu shot.)

      You've got to uncross "everything." I've just figured out that's the reason the dance was wobbly!!!! Peace.

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    2. MS means that my balance is shot, so ALL my dances are wobbly. Happy yes, stable no. I am really thrilled that you did get it lodged and will be more than happy to both do my wobbly dances and to cross everthing.

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    3. Dear EC, I had forgotten that you have MS and yet I did know that from the infrequent times you've mentioned your health on your blog. I have another dear friend, whom I've known for 37 years, who has MS and her balance as well as her handwriting is "shot."

      I love to think of you doing those wobbly dances. Let's hope you'll be dancing after the Amzon first-elimination list is posted on February 13!!!!! Peace.

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  6. Oh, I can imagine your anxiety submitting your entry. All of us wish you the best. You write so beautifully, I am sure you will make it through the next round.

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    1. Dear Arleen, I really was anxious and I still am because I have no idea whether historical fiction will appeal to any of the judges. I just know that the work I've done will not be for naught because both my pitch and my manuscript are in much better shape than they were at the beginning of the new year when I decided to enter the contest. Thank you for your belief in my writing. Peace.

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  7. I am so hoping that you will get good news on February 13. You are officially entered now! I've got my fingers crossed for you, Dee. :-)

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    1. Dear DJan, like you, I'm hoping that February 13 will bring good news. With 10,000 entries being winnowed down to 2,000 I'm concerned about all the competition in the genre "General Fiction." I entered that genre because the four other ones were Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Science Fiction/Fantasy, and Young Adult. Since mine was historical fiction, it seemed to fit only under General Fiction. Perhaps the competition in that genre will be formidable. But I did the best I could and so that's all I can ask of myself. Thanks for those crossed fingers, DJan. Peace.

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  8. I'm so glad to hear that you cleared the deadline and that you're making such excellent progress on your novel, Dee. I have thought of you often and hoped it was going well. No, I'm not writing any novel and don't have any plans for a writing competition, but that leaves me 100% free to cheer others on. Go Dee! :-)

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    1. Dear Debra, I'm so glad that you're cheering me on. I feel so grateful and humbled also by all the encouragement that you and other bloggers have given me. Now that I've completed "The Reluctant Spy" I'm starting to do research and writing on another historical--"Three Roads Diverged." It takes place in Bronze-Age Greece. I have the first third of the ms. written in sixth draft. Now I need to do the research for the second third. I'll research as I write. The third or last part of the manuscript will require little new research and so I'm hoping that I can have a good draft by the end of this year. I'm trying "to go with the flow." Please keep cheering. Peace.

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    1. Dear Elisa, thanks for being excited for me. I'm trying not to think about February 13, but that sort of like trying not to think of an elephant!!! Peace.

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  10. Three cheers, Dee! You've done it, getting in and doing it early in the game and now, here's to the wait for February 13. I'm rooting for you.

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    1. Dear Penny, thanks for rooting!!!! I'm hoping that February 13 will bring good news, but as I've said in an earlier comment to someone, even if that doesn't happen, the manuscript is in much better shape and the pitch will help with the query letter, so I'm ahead!!! Peace.

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  11. The entry process sounds like an exam! I don't know whether I'd be able to keep my cool at 11pm at night! Lucky you only spilled the scone and not your hot drink!

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    1. Dear Rosie, it does sound like an exam! I'm now both anxious and eager about February 13th! Peace.

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