Manuscript Guidelines to Win ECPA Membership

Manuscript Critique Form and Guidelines

CLASS Christian Writers Conference

November 10-14, 2010

Want to win a submission in the ECPA’s ChristianManuscriptSubmission.com database?

Two CLASS CWC attendees will be awarded a free placement in the database for six months—a $98 value! Each person who submits a book proposal for paid critique or who attends Book Proposal Blitz on Wednesday will be entered into the contest. Proposals will be judged and the top two will be winners. Only attendees of the conference are eligible. Check the website for more information on ECPA’s Christian Manuscript Submissions services. http://www.christianmanuscriptsubmissions.com/ 

Paid Manuscript Submission Guidelines               

Choosing our paid critique service has shown your commitment to becoming the best professional writer you can be. An expert critiquer will review your manuscript; however, no one can guarantee publication of your work. Each critique expert will give a thorough review of the strengths and weaknesses, offer suggestions for improvement, and help you identify potential markets.

Each member of the team has a heart for encouraging you as a writer, wherever you are in your career development. Your paid critique entitles you to a 20-minute consultation with the individual who reviews your manuscript. During your appointment you can discuss the critiquer's comments and suggestions, ask questions, and clarify your next step for the manuscript. The critique team member who reviews your manuscript will return it during your consultation.

Only registered conferees may submit their manuscripts for critique. Please keep your submission within the following guidelines.

Nonfiction book proposals for adults, teens or children: Cover letter to editor, chapter outline/synopsis, and first 10 pages of manuscript.

Curriculum for adults, teens or children: Table of Contents and first 10 pages of manuscript.

Novels for adults/teens/children: Submit 1-2 page synopsis and first 10 pages.

Younger Children's Books: (Picture Book, Early Reader, Chapter Book) 1800-word limit.

Articles and short stories for adults or teens: 1800-word limit.

Children's articles and short stories: 1200-word limit.

Activity books or individual pages for children: Up to 10 pages.

Daily devotions/book reviews: 400-word limit, up to 5 devotions or reviews per paid critique. ($50 per five devotions or book reviews).

Greeting cards: 5 cards equal one critique ($50 per five greeting cards).

Songs: 3 songs equal one critique ($50 per three songs).

Plays/skits/monologues for adults, teens or children: Send a two-line synopsis and up to 10 pages of script. You may send more than one script as long as the total of all scripts is no more than 10 pages.

Poetry for adults or children: 40-line limit per poem, 5 poems equal one critique. ($50 for up to five poems)

For all manuscripts: Use double space/standard manuscript format. Number all pages with your name on each page. Do not bind or staple your manuscript. You MUST submit completed form below for acceptance of your manuscript.

NEVER SEND YOUR ONLY COPY OR ORIGINAL ART WORK. Critique team members will write comments directly on your manuscript. 

Questions? Contact Vonda Skelton at vondaskelton@charter.net.

Manuscript Critique Form

Please complete the following form for each manuscript submitted for critique. Place the manuscript and completed form in a 9" X 12" envelope and bring it with you to the conference. No manuscripts will be accepted prior to the conference (Walk-ins only). The $50 critique fee may be paid by check or credit card at the conference when you submit your manuscript. Critique includes a 20-minute consultation with your critiquer. We will begin accepting manuscripts during registration. Look for Vonda Skelton at a table near the registration table. Her table will be marked “Paid Critique Submissions.”

Please follow submission guidelines (above) for complete instructions and complete the form (below) for each paid critique.

Paid Manuscript Critique Form (Please complete one form for each critique)

Name: (as it appears on conference registration)

 

 

Address:

Phone: (      )

Fax: (      )

E-mail:

Title of Manuscript:

____Adult Nonfiction Book Proposal

____Teen/Juvenile Nonfiction Book Proposal

____Bible Study 

____Devotion

____Article/Column

____Nonfiction Article/True Story

____Curriculum

____Book Reviews

____Activity Book/Pages

____Adult Novel

____Teen/YA Novel

____Juvenile Novel
____Early Reader/Chapter Book

______Picture Book
____Adult Short Story
____Juvenile Short Story
____Humor
____Greeting Cards
____Plays/Skits
____Monologues
____Poetry
____Songs
____Other

 What do you hope to receive from this critique?




What are your writing needs?







Other Comments:

Remember, as an added value, each writer who submits a book proposal for critique will be entered into the drawing for a six-month manuscript placement in the ECPA
ChristianManuscriptSubmissions.com database.

Check the website for more information on ECPA’s Christian Manuscript Submissions service offerings. http://www.christianmanuscriptsubmissions.com/ 

40 Days of Prayerperation

By Gerry Wakeland

On September 30th we embarked on a journey, a forty day journey of preparation for the CLASS Christian Writers Conference in Abiquiu, NM. A big part of that preparation is prayer. We like to call it prayerperation. We invite you to join us on this journey. We want you to be a part of what God has planned for the all those who gather at the Ghost Ranch this year.

More importantly, we need you to be part of this journey. Years of experience have taught us that when God's people join their hearts and their minds together in prayer, seeking God's will and His favor, He will be faithful to answer and provide.

Throughout the ages Christians have clung to the promises of the Lord regarding prayer. Repeatedly the scripture tells us to ask. Why is it that we do not ask? Pride? Busyness? Self-reliance? Maybe you think that God is too busy or too important to listen. These are but a few of the reasons. You know your excuses and I know mine. For the next forty days we are asking that you set aside these excuses and be part of a tremendous outpouring to the Lord.

As we arrive at the Ghost Ranch we will hear and see the answers to our prayers. We will stand in awe of the mighty God we worship and serve. Evelyn Davison has prepared our 2010 prayer calendar. This will help you focus your prayers. As you can see it is designed so that we will all be praying daily in one accord. I encourage you to use this prayer calendar as a tool for the next forty days.

My prayer for you is that as you pray for the many details and the personnel of the conference that the Lord would speak to you in a special way. Perhaps through one of the scriptures Evelyn has selected or in some other incredible way. May you be blessed as you bless others with your prayers.

Download prayer calendar »

ASK THE CONFERENCE DIRECTOR

Q & A with Writers Conference Director
by Linda Gilden
Q: For us to speak to publishers about a book project, is it correct form to have two chapters ready to show each publisher? Is that what they like to see? Is an article that summarizes the theme of the book acceptable or not?

A: Our publishers, editors, and professional writers are there to help you in any way they can. Of course, we all come to the conference hoping to go away with a contract. But many times the more valuable take-away is the advice and suggestions you get as to how to make your proposal/article stronger BEFORE you actually submit to them or anyone else.

Bring whatever you have to show them or bring a well-thought-out idea and let them help you refine it. If you have chapters that are highly polished and would like to bring them, that helps them see your writing style and whether or not it will fit in with their publishing houses. An article or synopsis of your theme is also helpful.

However, if your work-in-progress is not finished and carefully edited, I wouldn't show that to the editors. This will be the first time they meet you and what you show them or say will be the impression they remember. So rather than show a fairly rough draft of your work, I would show a polished or published example of your work and then share your dynamite idea.

A book proposal with two or three chapters along with table of contents/summaries is what you usually send unless this is your first fiction book. Then the editors want to see the entire manuscript. There are specific things that should be included in a book proposal. You can find good examples online. We also offer a full-day workshop on Wednesday before the conference called "Book Proposal Blitz." That class not only helps you polish and perfect your book proposal but also offers suggestions for presenting it to editors in a clear and concise way. This workshop has an additional $150 charge.

If this is your first conference you may want to consider "On Ramp." This full-day Wednesday class is for people who are not familiar with how a conference works and gives excellent tips for navigating the conference and making the most of your experience. The class also includes tips on how to interact with editors and how to get your work ready for the editor's eyes! There is no cost for this workshop (only your personal costs for lodging and food).

We are so glad you will be joining us at the Ghost Ranch.

Looking forward to meeting you. Please let me know if you have any more questions.

The Weight of Words

I google the titles of my books sometimes to see what readers are saying about them. Over the weekend, I found a blog entitled, A Mess Called Amrie's Life, written by a woman named Marie Annie, featuring a series of posts about my singles book, Single Servings. It sounds like she plans to blog all the way through the book. I'm excited to see what God does with her series as she digs into the various Bible passages I wrote about in the book. I'm also quite moved that somebody is taking something I've written so seriously. It reminded me of something that happened five years ago. I spoke in a coffee shop, along with another author, about the subject of unmet expectations (most of us expected to be married shortly after graduating from high school or college) as a single person. Afterward, a woman who was carrying a tattered, beat up copy of Single Servings approached me and asked me to sign it. That is every author's dream. Well, maybe that, or seeing somebody sitting on a plane or in a coffee shop reading your book. Both of these examples remind me about the weight of words. Writers produce tens of thousands of words in every book, a thousand or so in every article, and many more thousands in blog posts every month. Once they are out there, it's nearly impossible to get them back. That doesn't mean we don't change our minds or grow over time. We certainly do. But for one moment in time, we recorded our thoughts about something, turned them loose and then moved on to write about something else. Five years later, someone might just pick them up and begin writing a series of blog posts about them. Or, in my case, I'm reading The Accidental Tourist, written in 1986 -- 24 years ago. Imagine writing something today that somebody might pick up and read in 2034. Kind of puts things into perspective, doesn't it?

Lee Warren is an author, editor and freelance writer, specializing in feature writing, NASCAR and baseball. He is also a fan of tennis, books, movies and coffee shops.

Writing a Query Letter and a Book Proposal

Writing a Query Letter

The first thing I learned in my extensive research (thankyouverymuch Google) is that publishing a book is nearly impossible without an agent.

The second thing I learned is that finding an agent willing to represent you is nearly impossible if you've never published a book before.

It's a catch-22.

I got discouraged for a bit, but, then started researching how to find an agent.

The first step is writing a query letter. Most agents get hundreds and hundreds of submissions every month, so they simply don't have time to read everyone's manuscript or book proposal. Instead, they read a few snippets from the email to decide if they're interested in knowing more. So, if you write an enticing query letter, that's your best chance at getting an agent to take notice.

Want more details on what a good query letter looks like? My agent Rachelle wrote a post on how to write a good query letter here.

But, of course, I didn't do that. I was naïve and clueless and I wrote a pretty horrible query letter. In fact, I just pulled out the query letter that I wrote to Rachelle and I'm surprised it didn't go straight into the trash file. This is it, copied verbatum from the email I sent Rachelle in February 2009.

Dear Ms. Gardner,

I'm looking for a literary agent to market my book "The Christian Mama's Guide to Having a Baby", a non-fiction book focused on helping Christian moms-to-be to survive their pregnancies. I have attached a table of contents, the preface and a sample chapter for your perusal. Please let me know if you would like any additional information or have any questions. Thank you.

But, obviously, it didn't go straight to the trash. Rachelle was nice enough to coach me through the process and help me write a formal book proposal.

Writing a Book Proposal

I told you about the horrible query letter that I sent my agent Rachelle. By the grace of God, Rachelle didn't send my email straight to her delete file.

Instead, Rachelle's response (dated two weeks later) was:

Dear Erin,

Thank you so much for submitting your query for our review. If you're still seeking representation, I love to discuss it.

I've attached our proposal template. If you could translate your proposal and sample chapters into this document, it would be helpful to me.

There are no guarantees, but I could get this into the hands of the right editors and see if there's interest out there in Christian publishing. Let me know if you're interested in discussing.

Thanks!

Many blessings,
Rachelle
Of COURSE I was interested in discussing. (Who wouldn't be?!) I emailed Rachelle right away and let her know that I was interested and that I'd start working on the book proposal right away.

At that point in my life, I had no idea what a book proposal was. (Did I mention that I was naïve?!) But with the possibility of representation dangling in front of me, I suddenly became a student on proposal writing. I read Rachelle's post on writing a good proposal along with about fifty others I found online. I also researched proposal writing on www.writersdigest.com and went to the library and checked out the book "Write the Perfect Book Proposal" I spent several weeks studying before I started working on my proposal.

What did I learn?
A good book proposal is more about the marketability of the book than the actual words in the book. I could be the most amazing writer ever, but without a solid marketing platform and an idea that stood out amongst thousands, my book would never sell.

So, what did I do?

1. I spent a lot of time thinking about my marketing platform. What groups am I a part of that could help me in marketing my book? Could I start a blog? Did I want to create a Twitter account or a Facebook fan page?

2. I spent a lot of time researching similar books. I studied the ones that did well and tried to figure out why they did so well. I looked at the ones that I'd never heard of and tried to figure out the reasons for that as well.

3. I went to hundreds of author blogs and looked at how they marketed their books.

4. I brainstormed ways that I could make my book stand out as different from the others on the market. My book is about a popular topic—pregnancy. The market is pretty much saturated. There are a million pregnancy books out there…from the short and funny (Vicki Iovine) to the informative (What to Expect). But there is nothing that's funny, easy-to-read and focused on pregnant Christian moms.

5. Once I found my niche, I made sure everything in my proposal pointed in that direction. I wasn't trying to appeal to every pregnant mom or every Christian mom, but to every newly pregnant Christian mom. And, with that in mind, I wrote my proposal with that audience in mind

Erin MacPherson spent five years as an editor for Nickelodeon before becoming a managing editor at WeAreTeachers.com.  She is the author of "The Christian Mama's Guide to Having a Baby" (coming March 2011 from Guideposts books) and a contributing author to "Daily Guideposts for New Moms" (coming April 2011 from Guideposts books).  She lives in Austin, TX with her husband, her two kids Joey (4) and Kate (3) and her Golden Retriver.