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Saturday, February 5, 2011

Missed It By That Much

Picture me holding my thumb and forefinger a hairsbreadth apart, and saying the words in Maxwell Smart's whiny, high voice.
I entered Zane in the specialized category of the Great Expectations contest as a test. It's been doing well in the romantic suspense category, but from what I'm seeing on the contest circuit--very few romantic suspense entries are requested by their final editor/agent judge. On the other hand, a ton of entries from the paranormal categories are requested by their final agent/editor judge. Since Zane's premise is based on a paranormal aspect, I decided to throw it into the specialized category and see how it did.


It did very well, actually. Got a 99, 98 and a 90 for a combined score of 287 which placed it 7th out of 45 entries in the specialized category. But it needed at least a 291 to final. Thus the missed it by that much. (In Don Adam's high pitched whine.) One of the judges did mention it was in the wrong category, and to be honest I'm not sure the paranormal aspect is strong enough for the entry to stand out amid all the outstanding paranormal entries on the circuit. (I’ve been judging paranormals for the last few months) At heart Zane is all Romantic Suspense.

Depending on final editor/agent judges I'll probably go ahead and enter it in the paranormal category again. It did well enough in the specialized category this time it’s worth another shoot. From what I remember, there are several upcoming contests where the romantic suspense final editor isn't one I am interested in, but the final judge in the paranormal category is. So I'll probably throw it in the paranormal category in those contests.

The entry got top scores on the query letter though. All three judges commented on how good it was, so it looks like my query is ready to fly.

I'm doing the read through on the manuscript this weekend. And hoping that it holds together as well as Vee said, and isn't going to require more major lifting revisions.

Btw, how many of you remember the old Get Smart show from the 60s? Any of you catch it in reruns? I used to love that show. . . .

10 comments:

  1. So close but a great result none the less. Congrats on the great score. Good luck in the future.

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  2. Yeah, enter it again! It's a great story, with a whole series of hot guys whose stories need to be told :-)

    And I do remember Get Smart. Watched it with my Mom, who turns 83 in March. :-)

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  3. I judged the specialized category for the GE. Out of 4 entries, I had 2 that were great, 1 that was pretty good, and one okay. One of the best contests I judged. I was shocked that none of my entries finalled. This must have been a very tight contest.

    I just checked and none of the heroes was named Zane. The one that I marked the highest--a 99--was a paranormal, so that wouldn't have bothered me.

    Congratulations on your high scores!

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  4. Thanks Dawn,
    Contests are quite the gamble, but I'm not complaining. I've been very lucky so far.

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  5. Vee, I'm itching to write Cosky's story. . . assuming he lives of course.

    I used to love Get Smart as a kid, but I can remember my mom rolling her eyes and mumbling about her children's intelligence. LOL

    This eye rolling and mumbling got worse when we discovered The Far Side and Monty Python.

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  6. Edie,

    I judged the Romantic Suspense category in the G.E. this time. And I had two excellent entries as well, plus a couple of quite good ones. One of my favorite entries did final, which was nice to see.

    I judged the paranormal category in the past few contests since I was entering the RS. And the quality of entries has been extemely high. There have been several that I just loved, and really wanted to buy the book. LOL

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  7. WTG Trish. It's great results, you should be proud of yourself!

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  8. Thanks, Zee.

    I've been really happy with how well Zane's been doing in contests.

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  9. Now I'm going to be saying that all day....missed it by THAT much....lol...

    great job on the scores Trish...ya done good! =)

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  10. Hi Carrie,

    Thanks for stopping by! "Missed it by that much" is the line from the Old Get Smart sitcom that immediately comes to mind when I think of the show. I think the character said it at least once in every show. LOL He was constantly screwing up, so lots of opportunity for him to "Miss it by THAT much."

    It's funny how certain memories make you smile. I don't remember the actual circumstances, but the phrase still makes me smile.

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