Fixing the First Page Giveaway #8

Photo credit: mbshane on Flickr
Hey everyone, it's that time again! I'm posting this on a usually non-post day because I maybe forgot February has less days than the rest of the months and I'm determined to squeeze in a first page critique this month. So yay spontaneous post! Anyway.

For those who’ve missed it in the past, the Fixing the First Page features is a public first 250 word critique. Using the lovely rafflecopter widget, anyone interested in winning a PUBLIC (as in, featured in a post on this blog) first page critique can enter.

For an example of what this critique will look like, here's the last Fixing the First Page post.

Rules!

  • ONLY the first 250 words will be critiqued (up to finishing the sentence). If you win and send me more, I will crop it myself. No exceptions.

  • ONLY the first page. I don’t want 250 random words from your manuscript, or from chapter 3. If you win the critique and send me anything other than the first 250 words of your manuscript, I will choose someone else.

  • I will actually critique it. Here. On the blog. I will say things as nicely as I can, but I do tend to be a little blunt. If you’re not sure you can handle a public critique, then you may want to take some time to think about it before you enter.

  • Genre restrictions. I'm most experienced with YA & NA, but I will still accept MG and Adult. HOWEVER. If your first page has any erotic content on it, I ask that you don’t enter. I want to be able to post the critique and the first 250 in its entirety without making anyone uncomfortable, and if you win and you enter a page with erotic content, I will choose someone else.

  • You must have your first page ready. Should you win, you need to be able to submit your first page within 48 hours of my contacting you to let you know you won. If 48 hours pass and I haven’t heard from you, again, I will choose someone else.

  • You’ll get the most out of this if it isn’t a first draft. Obviously, I have no way of knowing if you’re handing me a first draft (though I will probably suspect because it’s usually not that difficult to tell). I won’t refuse your page if it’s a first draft, but you should know that this critique will likely be of more use if you’ve already had your betas/CPs look over it. Why? Because if you don’t, the critique I give you will probably contain a lot of notes that your betas & CPs could have/would have told you.

  • There will not be a round 2 (unless you win again in a future contest). I hate to have to say this, but if you win a critique, it’s NOT an invitation to send me a bunch of your revisions. I wish I had the time available to be able to look at revisions, but sadly, I don’t. If you try to break this rule, I will nicely say no, and also remember to choose someone else should you win a second contest. Which would make me sad. :(

So that’s it! If you’re okay with all of the above and would like to enter to be the eighth public critique on Writability, do the thing with the rafflecopter widget below. You have until Sunday, February 22 at 11:59 EST to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

26 comments:

Farida Mestek said...

My YA Fantasy))

@Cpoe2Books said...

As always, thank you for the generous opportunity.

Sam Taylor said...

I would submit one of my YA Fantasy manuscripts. (Yes, I can say "one of" now!)

kellydevos said...

Thanks for another great giveaway!! I'm hoping to win a critique of the first page of my YA Thriller THE SIX. :)

Linda Strawn said...

This sounds fun, so I'm entering.

Linda Strawn said...

Forgot to say what my ms is. It's a contemporary Christian fiction.

Ava Jae said...

Good luck, Farida! :)

Ava Jae said...

You're very welcome! On a side note, if you need help determining if your WIP is YA or NA (as they're very different), I might have a post that could help you! Just let me know if you'd like to see it. :)


Good luck!

Ava Jae said...

Looks like YA Fantasies are a popular choice this time around. :) And also congratulations! And yay! And good luck! :D

Ava Jae said...

Nice! You're so welcome—good luck!

Ava Jae said...

Woot!

Ava Jae said...

Awesome! Good luck! :)

Angela Mayfair said...

I saw this and thought, "I shouldn't enter this I already know there's something wrong with my first 250 and I don't know what it is--wait." so I'm entering, in the hopes that you can help me figure out what it needs to do instead of what it's doing.

Ava Jae said...

Awesome! That's a perfect reason to get critiqued. :) Good luck, Angela!

Jessica Vasko said...

I'd use this on my current WIP.

Emilee said...

What a good idea for a contest! I'd share my current WIP - the first page is a little bland, and I'd love for some ideas to spice it up a bit

Angelie Renee said...

Upper MG Maya inspired adventure fantasy

Ava Jae said...

Good luck!

Ava Jae said...

Thanks, Emilee! Good luck! :)

Ava Jae said...

Oh, that sounds awesome! Good luck, Angelie! :D

Tasha Seegmiller said...

Whether I get in or not (WF with magic realism), I'd like to thank you in advance for your willingness to pay it forward. It's extra work, but benefits many.

Ava Jae said...

Aw, you're so welcome, Tasha! I really do enjoy doing this, and I'm happy to help however I can. :)


Good luck!

Rebecca Her said...

Thanks for giving us this chance! :D I just found your blog today and I'm really excited about poking around and seeing what advice and inspiration I can find here. Some of your older posts about developing author and character voices are super helpful and have encouraged me to delve more deeply into my other characters. Thanks again!

Leila said...

I think I just read that post...Thank you so much! It's the first thing I've read that finally cleared up the ya/na angst I've had since I finished my first draft and realised it probably wasn't the straightforward adult work I'd assumed it was. Looks like it's na, which clears a big old fug of revision stress over character development. Also relieved not having to edit out all the s#@!- ton of swearing my characters keep doing! 😀

Ava Jae said...

You're so welcome, Rebecca! And welcome to Writability! I'm so happy to hear you've been finding some of my posts helpful! If you have any questions, let me know! :)

Ava Jae said...

You're so welcome! It can be a little confusing at first, so I'm glad it helped clear things up for you. :)

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