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Thursday, 9 of September of 2010

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Contest

ESPAN RWA is proud to announce our brand new econtest… Page One!

CONTEST NOW CLOSED

Is your first paragraph good enough to hook an editor? What about your second, third and fourth? In our contest you will be judged on your opening page, one paragraph at a time. Similar to a first line contest you will enter your first paragraph the first week and, for those who advance, a paragraph a week, until we have 10 finalists with a full four paragraphs (or 250 words MAX for the entire entry, which is based on the approx word count of one ms page – see rules for how we’ll allow dialogue to be counted as paragraphs). Those finalists will be judged by three of the finest editors in the epublishing industry: Angela James (Carina Press), Raelene Gorlinsky (Ellora’s Cave/Cerridwen), Laurie M. Rauch (Samhain).

  • The contest will begin April 16, 2010 with final judges receiving the full page from the finalists mid-May. The winner will be announced at the ESPAN AGM/Afternoon Tea at Nationals in Nashville, July 30, 2010.
  • Open to unpublished writers. Published for the purposes of this contest constitutes over 40k with a non-vanity/non-subsidized publisher.
  • Cost – $5 for each 1st paragraph entered (max. 2 entries per person). Payment accepted by Paypal only.
  • Entries must all be Romance and its various genres
  • All entrants will submit their first paragraph. Those selected to continue will enter their second paragraph the second week, and so on, up to four paragraphs in four weeks. (3-4 lines of dialogue can constitute a paragraph). Total final entry will max at 250 words.
  • This contest will have six phases, with ten (10) Page One Finalists moving on to final judging by our three editor judges. The first five phases are judged by ESPAN members on the private, members only, forum. The number cut each phase will depend on the entries, but the maximum number of entries to start the contest will be fifty (50).

The phases of this contest are as follows:

  • Phase 1: Entries of the first paragraph are accepted from April 16, 2010 at 9am Pacific to April 18, 2010 (extended) Friday, April 23, 2010 at 5pm Pacific.
  • Phase 2: From April 24th at 9am to April 29th at 5pm Pacific these entries will all be posted anonymously on both our blog and our forum. ESPAN members will vote in the forum on their favourite paragraphs and the top X number (number to be determined by amount of initial entries, but if we cap at 50 it will be the top 40) will be announced on our blog on April 30, 2010.
  • Phase 3: Those who have moved on have until May 2nd at 5pm Pacific to submit their original first paragraph (there can be no deviation from what was originally submitted) along with their 2nd paragraph. From May 3rd to 6th at 5pm Pacific these entries will all be posted anonymously as in Phase 2 and the top X number (number to be determined by amount of initial entries, but if we cap initial entry at 50 this phase will be top 30) will be announced on our blog on May 7, 2010.
  • Phase 4: Those who have moved on have until May 9th at 5pm Pacific to submit their original two paragraphs (there can be no deviation from what was originally submitted) along with their 3rd paragraph. From May 10th to 13th at 5pm Pacific these entries will all be posted anonymously as in Phase 2/3 and the top X number (number to be determined by amount of initial entries, but if we cap initial entry at 50 this phase will be top 20) will be announced on our blog on May 14, 2010.
  • Phase 5: Those who have moved on have until May 16th at 5pm Pacific to submit their original three paragraphs (there can be no deviation from what was originally submitted) along with their 4th (and last) paragraph. From May 17th to 20th at 5pm Pacific these entries will all be posted anonymously as in Phase 2/3/4 and the top 10 will be announced on our blog on May 21, 2010.
  • Phase 6: On May 23rd the top 10 finalists will all have their Page One entries sent to the final editors. These editors will have a scoresheet for each entry and will send back their scored entries to ESPAN by June 18, 2010. The scores will be compiled and the top 3 determined and annouced at the ESPAN AGM/Afternoon Tea in Nashville (RWA Nationals) on July 30, 2010.
  • Contest Prizes:  $25 for first place, $15 for second place and $5 for third place.
  • Please fill out the application/entry form HERE and submit payment (NB: Any contest entries received before 9am Pacific on April 16, 2010 will be deleted unread and payments refunded. Cleared payment must accompany all entries before they are accepted.)

ESPAN Members, please note:

  • All ESPAN members who judge each week will be entered into a poll for a weekly draw. The prize will be free attendance for one ESPAN workshop of the winners choice. At the end of the contest, all ESPAN members who voted each and every week will be entered into an additional drawing for one years ESPAN membership. All judging is held via poll on the ESPAN forum and each entry is anonymous.
  • ESPAN Board of Directors are not eligible for entry in the Page One contest