2012 Melody of Love Novel ContestThe Music City Romance Writers’ RWA chapter is happy to announce the winners of their annual Melody of Love romance novel contest. The placements in the four categories are: CONTEMPORARY judged by Libby Murphy of Entangled Publishing
HISTORICAL judged by Deb Dixon of Belle Bridge Books
PARANORMAL judged by Dana Hamilton of Harlequin
YOUNG ADULT judged by Kristen Rens of Harper Collins
********** MCRW’s 2012 Melody of Love Romance Novel Contest, now in its 14th year! Entries are now closed – Updates will be posted soon. Categories and Final Round Judges: Contemporary – Libby Murphy, Entangled Publishing Paranormal – Dana Hamilton, Harlequin Nocturne Historical – Debra Dixon, BelleBooks YA – Kristin Daly Rens, Balzer & Bray/Harper Collins Entry Fees and Eligibility: * Entry fee for MCRW Members: $22 * Entry fee for RWA Members: $27 * Entry fee for non-RWA Members: $32 * All entries must be received by September 5, 2012 (a Wednesday) * Author can be published, including in the category entered. * Manuscript being entered cannot have been published and cannot be currently contracted to be published via any means at any time, including self or subsidy publishing. * Manuscript should be a romance or romantic elements novel of 40,000 words or more. * Questions? Contest Coordinator Jody Wallace: contest(at)mcrw.com Submission: Your entry must have the following three elements: 1) Payment Via check or PayPal. 2) A completed entry form. 3) Your manuscript’s first 25 (or fewer) pages, no synopsis, emailed to contest coordinator as an attachment. We recommend but do not require that you omit prologues and end your partial at a cliffhanger, even if it means you don’t send 25 whole pages. (Note: finalists may need to provide a short synopsis at the request of the final round judges.) Send your entry to contest coordinator Jody Wallace at: contest(at)mcrw.com by September 5, 2012. Entry Specifics: 1) All entries must be electronic and in standard manuscript format: 12 point standard font (TNR, Courier New), double-spaced, indented paragraphs (ie not block style), 1-inch margins. Pages should be numbered and include a header which states title and category of manuscript. Your name should not appear on the entry. We have uploaded a properly formatted .rtf document as an example. The document is not intended to be an example of anything besides formatting! This is a sample used in the past by our contest coordinator for training judges. It contains a number of grammatical errors, painful anachronisms and crimes against the English language. 2) Coordinator will send emails to confirm receipt of entries. Please allow 5 working days (ie, not weekends or holidays) before you ask the coordinator whether the entry has been received. Email address for questions is contest(at)mcrw.com and the contest coordinator is Jody Wallace. 3) Contest limited to 75 total entries, in order of receipt of all three parts. The optional subgenres (Fiction w/Romantic Elements; Erotic; Inspirational) on the entry form are used only to determine the best judges for your work and do not affect scoring or final round editor assignment. 4) While it is acceptable to submit the entry form and payment before you submit your pages, all three parts (pages, entry form, payment) must be received by September 5, 2012, or your entry will not be counted in the contest. Your entry fee will be reimbursed if this happens. The entry form alone is insufficient to “reserve your spot” should the contest fill up; payment must be included as well. 5) Scoresheets and/or critiques will be emailed to contestants. You will be asked on the entry form if judges may employ Microsoft Word’s “Comments” feature on your manuscript. Agreement is not required. If you are assigned a judge who prefers to print her entries out, MCRW will cover the cost of postage to return the paper copies via USPS. Document Formatting Tidbits:
* Your chapter should be in .rtf or .doc format. Please do not send .docx files. * Be aware that your name may be in the document properties as the document’s creator because of software settings. If you don’t know how to change it, the coordinator can delete this for you with your permission. * Do not paste the chapter into the body of the email. * Use a standard font and standard formatting, as described above. * Your entry will be test-opened upon receipt; if there are issues, you will be notified. If you do not respond to the notification before the contest deadline and work with the coordinator to rectify the issues, your manuscript may be disqualified. With your permission, the coordinator can standardize the format of the manuscript for you. *** Judging Specifics 1) First round judged by trained judges. Final round judged by editors and agents. All judges’ decisions are final. 2) Barring unforeseen circumstances, finalists will be announced mid October 2012. Finalists may be asked to provide a short synopsis. Finalists will be notified via e-mail and posted on the MCRW website, http://www.mcrw.com. First round scores of finalists will be mailed or emailed as soon as possible; finalists may submit a revised draft electronically before it is forwarded to the final round judges, with a deadline to be specified at that time. Finalists also have the option of consulting with MCRW’s “Grammar Wench” about revisions during that two week period. 3) Other scores will be released within 30 days after the finalists are announced. Winners will be announced shortly after all final round judges return their scores, hopefully December 2012. Winners in each category receive: 1st place, $50, certificate, and special prize; 2nd and 3rd place, certificate and special prize. *** Fine print: (left in 12 pt font for ease of reading) 1) Entries received that are found to have been published by any means will be disqualified. No entry may be withdrawn after being submitted to the contest with one exception (see below). Entry fees from disqualified entrants will not be refunded. Entrants who finaled in our contest previously may enter again, but don’t re-enter the finaling manuscript. Membership status of entrants who claim RWA membership will be verified with RWA. For the purpose of this contest, published is defined as available for sale by any means or as a free download via retail sites such as Smashwords and Amazon. Entry fees will be refunded to entrants in any category that does not receive the minimum number of entries unless they request placement in another category. Any entries over the contest limit of 75, or those received after the due date, will be returned along with the entry fees. 2) Here is the one exception about withdrawing your entry. If you receive a contract for your submission or self publish it before the contest deadline of September 5, 2012, you may withdraw your entry with proof of contract or publication and your fee will be returned. 3) Some more fine print, this time about prizes: An optional benefit for finalists is a one year membership to MCRW. Due to RWA rules, this benefit can only apply to current members of RWA or members who join RWA within a couple months of finaling in the Melody of Love contest. We are not authorized to extend membership to anyone who is not a member of RWA National.
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