My RWA Chapter's 3rd Annual “Finish the Damn Book!” Contest is OPEN! #writemotivation

(Reblogged from my RWA sister, Jenna Jaxon. Ohhh, guess what?? My lovely agent Terrie Wolf is one of the final judges!!!!)

For those of you who don’t know, I’m a member of the Chesapeake Romance Writers, my local chapter of Romance Writers of America.  Two years ago we inaugurated an annual writing contest in memory of our long-time member Judi McCoy, author of fourteen romances and the very popular “Dogwalker” romantic mystery series.

Judi was a driving force in our chapter, a mentor to new writers, a great critique partner, and an avid dog lover.  Her beloved bichon frise, Rudy, was a rescue dog and Judy supported the Tidewater Bichon Frise Rescue organization where she adopted him.

To honor the memory of Judi and Rudy, Chesapeake Romance Writers is once again holding our “Finish the Damn Book!” Contest. That was one of Judi’s favorite pieces of advice to all of us writers and we thought it an apropos title for this contest.  If you’ve finished a book, at least 55K in length, please consider submitting it to our contest.  A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Tidewater Bichon Frise Rescue organization in memory of Judi and Rudy.

Complete details on the contest are now available on our Chesapeake Romance Writers website or you can email me (Jenna) crwc@rocketmail.com with any questions, but I’ll give you the highlights here.

The contest is open to both published and unpublished authors, although the work submitted must be unpublished AND remain unpublished or uncontracted until after the contest.  Should an entered work become contracted or published before the contest ends, the work will be withdrawn from consideration and the entry fee will not be refunded.

To enter you need to submit the first and last chapters of your unpublished 55K+ manuscript (no prologues or epilogues), plus a two-page synopsis of the entire work that will not be judged.  Total submission must not exceed 40 pages.

This year we are going GREEN–only electronic entries will be accepted.  You should submit two things: 1) the Contest Entry Form, available on the CRW website, and 2) the first and last chapters plus a two-page synopsis of the book in one single (1) Rich Text file.

Entrants will receive the First Round Judges’ Score Sheets with comments.  No comments will be made on the manuscripts themselves.  The three top scoring works in each category will advance to the Finals Round and will be ranked by the Category Finals Judge.

Contest opens:  August 1, 2014
Deadline for Entry Fee and Submission:  Midnight, September 30, 2014
Categories include:  Contemporary, Paranormal, Historical, Mainstream with Romantic Elements, Young Adult/New Adult, and this year we are adding EROTIC ROMANCE.

Finalist Judges for the contest are still being confirmed and will be announced shortly.
Winners will be announced at our chapter  meeting on January 10, 2015.
Entry Fee:  $15.00 for RWA members, $25.00 for non-RWA members

All Finalists will receive a certificate and a banner for their website.
First place Winners in each category will receive a Rudy Statuette and a check for $50.00.
I hope you will consider entering our 3rd annual “Finish the Damn Book!” Contest.  You’ll get great feedback and the chance to get your work before some excellent agents and editors in the publishing industry.  If you have questions for me, you can ask via comments or my Contact Me page.
I hope to see your name on a finalist list come October 31!

COME ON!  FINISH THAT DAMNED BOOK! :)