New Writing Contest Announcements

Writers, the Books of Hope Contest is now over, and judging will begin on Monday! We had a wide variety of entries in both the fiction and nonfiction categories, and we look forward to discovering the winning entries.

Some of the comments I received during the contest, from numerous folks, was that the idea of pitching a series, rather than a single book, was "too daunting" or "intimidating." We listened. We heard.

Today, we announce two NEW contests - and both are for single books! (If it's part of a series, you can still enter - just let us know when you submit.)

For the "One Hope" contest:

One Fiction winner will receive $250 and our standard publishing contract of his or her book.

One Nonfiction winner will receive $250 and our standard publishing contract for his or her book.


We are also announcing a special Christmas Hope Contest today, too, so be sure to check out that page if you have a Christmas manuscript ready to go!

Now for the details of the "One Hope" contest. Books for this contest may be fiction or nonfiction, any genre, but they must offer hope to the reader in some way.

There will be two rounds of judging.

For Round One:

1) Entries must include ALL of the following and be submitted by deadline of July 20, 2012. (These are just the basics - see the Nitty-Gritty details at the bottom of the post.)

• Submit a one-page synopsis for the book.
• Submit a 100-word blurb for the book.
• Submit the first chapter of the book.
• Entry fees: $25 Entry Fee. Fees must be paid through Paypal, using the links or e-mail address method below. Be sure to write down the PayPal Transaction ID# because the Paypal Transaction ID# must be placed on the Cover Page of your entry, along with your Name, Address, Phone, E-mail, Website, Contest Category, and Book Title.

2) Finalists will be selected from these entries and notified by August 31st. 


In Round Two:

• Finalists will be required to submit a completed manuscript by December 31st. Full manuscripts should not be submitted prior to your being notified as a finalist.
• Instructions for submitting final manuscript will be sent with finalist notification.

Final Winners will be notified in February 2013.

Now for the Nitty-Gritty details (and these have been deal-breakers in the past, so please follow the guidelines - they're here for a reason):

• Use Times New Roman font, size 12.
• Use double-line spacing, except for the synopsis and blurbs.
• Pages should have 1" margins all around.
• Use black ink.
• Include a header on each page (except the cover page) that includes your last name and page number in top right corner.
• In the subject line of the e-mail entry, please indicate - ONE HOPE: Fiction or ONE HOPE: Nonfiction, so the manuscripts are routed properly.
• Entries should be submitted in a Word document, attached to the e-mail (editor [at] writeintegrity [dot] com).
• The e-mail itself should serve as an introduction - tell us who you are and a little about you. Nothing formal, fancy, or lengthy - just let us get to know you a little.

Your attached entry should include:

• Cover page with Name, Address, Phone, E-mail, Website, Book Title and Category and Paypal Transaction  ID#.
• One page, single-spaced synopsis of the book. Give us the ending, don't leave us guessing.
• One 100-word description of the book.
• The first chapter (approximately 2500-5000 words in length, not precise - we'll give a leeway of 10% either way.) If your book has a prologue before Chapter One, please send it with the first chapter, but it will not be counted in the word count guidelines.

Final manuscripts should be in the 40,000-90,000 word range. We are trying to keep all of these books uniform in size, so please follow the word count guidelines.

• This contest is open to published and unpublished authors. 
• Previously published books are not considered. UPDATE 6/19/12: To clarify, this means books do not qualify if they have been published by or through any publisher - traditional, self-published, or hybrid.
• You may enter more than one manuscript into the contest (in either or both categories), but a separate entry and entry fee must be made for each book.
• Your book may be a stand-alone or it may be part of a series - you can let us know in the cover letter if it's part of a series.

Be sure to check our FAQ page for other questions, but if you can't find the answer, drop me an e-mail.




Submit your Entry Fee below.

Entry Fee$25.00 USD

PLEASE NOTE: We have learned that the Chrome browser does not play well with Paypal, so if you use Chrome and have problems submitting your entry free, you may want to either try another browser, or just send payment directly through Paypal, using editor [at] writeintegrity [dot] com as the recipient address. If you choose to do it that way, just make sure to put your Book Title and whether your submission is Fiction or Nonfiction in the "Notes" section when you send payment.

You will receive a confirmation of receipt within 24 hours of payment. (48 hours on weekends.)

Thanks!