Writer Advice

We've revived Writer Advice's Scintillating Starts Contest. 

It’s not news that the publishing world keeps changing. There are lots of opportunities available, but if you’re looking for an agent or trying to sell your work to a small press or a university press, Scintillating Starts will make your work more appealing to them. The market is extremely tight and everyone look at marketability as well as the quality of your work.

Keeping that in mind we want to read your first 5 pages or 1500 words of your completed manuscript or work in progress. We’ll read quickly, as an agent would, if you only want to be considered for a prize. Cost will be $6.50 and the payment will be $35 for everyone who is published.

If you’d like feedback, we ask for an extra $13.00, which is less than half of my normal editing rate for 1500 words (.02 cents per word which is very low). NOTE: You’re still eligible for the $35 if we publish your work.  

In addition you may submit your query letter for $5 if you only want to be considered for a prize. 

The cost is an additional $10 if you’d like feedback. Your query is your first impression, and I can tell you how an agent might react. It’s a given that your first paragraph will vary depending on how you found the agent or publisher. Remember you’re still eligible for a prize if we send you feedback. 

Most agents and submissions managers consider the following before looking at other factors:

1. Is this project marketable? Why or why not? Does it offer something new, trending, or intriguing that will create buzz and more attention?
2. Will the first page of the manuscript engage readers?
3. What are the stakes and why will they keep the audience reading?
4. What trips me (the agent or publisher) up?
5. Does the author’s voice resonate? Why or why not?
6. In the query does the author recognize her audience? Who is it? How much contact does s/he have with the audience?
7. Do the submitted materials show writing competency and professionalism? Does the author have a following? Does s/he need one?

We’ll have 2 categories of winners: Top queries  and top openings. It’s possible to be published in both categories. If that happens you’ll earn $70.

We do our best work with all kinds of fiction including contemporary, historical, romance, sci fi, women’s fiction, auto-fiction, book club fiction, literary fiction, YA, middle grade, and unlisted genres plus creative nonfiction, memoir, and any genre with an engaging story. 

FYI, we’re not looking for textbooks, scientific studies, academic work, board books, early readers, or poetry for this opportunity.

• Please submit through the Submittable link on this page. 
• Please put query or opening plus the title on each submission. 
• Each submission is separate and requires a separate fee.

Why are my fees so low? This is my gift to all writers who enter.

If anything is unclear, please ask questions using the contact box on the home page. If your question arrives that way, I’ll recognize that your e-mail needs my immediate attention.

A bit about me: I’ve listened to enough presentations from agents to know what they are looking for. Among other things they want to earn their commission with polished, original work that speaks to today’s audience. Companies that don’t require an agent also want to make sure they’re working with polished professionals. 

I’ve worked very briefly with two agents, published four books without agents, and have been running WriterAdvice.comsince 1997. Before starting Writer Advice, I taught English and drama in high school and college, which offered strong insights for creating believable characters. Good characters drive a story. My education includes a B.A. from Vassar College, an MA from San Francisco State University, and two teaching credentials. If you’re curious, you can learn more about me in my memoir, Never Too Late: From Wannabe to Wife at 62 or at https://writeradvice.com/meet-b-lynn-goodwin/.

The link for submissions is in the box with a black background below. We recommend that you read “For Best Results” towards the bottom of the page.

Questions? Please ask using the contact box on the home page. 

Additional tips and details are at https://writeradvice.com/latest-contest/.

We want to share your stories about your publishing journey and your writing life here. Write to entertain, to enlighten, and to advise (but not preach). Write to share your gratitude, amazement, and disbelief.

Share the good, the bad, and the silly, but don’t share them all in one submission. Think of a blog post or a short-short story. No epics.

No fiction here. These are real-life stories ranging from 250 to 750 words. Less is more. Make your point clearly and move on. 

Who knows what your experience might inspire?

New submissions will be added quarterly. Send through Submittable,  <!-- Link to the Writer Advice submission manager. --->

<a target = _blank href="https://writeradvice.submittable.com/submit"><img src="//manager.submittable.com/Public/Images/submittable-submit-button.png" alt="submit" border="0" /></a>

$6 submission fee covers our time, possible editing, and the decision-making process.

You get a credit for your resume plus a brief bio and the satisfaction of sharing your experience Sorry that we do not have the income to pay you at this time.