2009 WTMB FAQs

I’m published by a small press/electronic press that’s not recognized by RWA. Can I enter Where the Magic Begins?

If the book was available for sale or download in any market, then you are considered a published author. However, you may enter a category in which you have not been published in the last three years. (For our purposes, a “book” is any published material in excess of 15,000 words.)

I entered and placed with a manuscript in last year’s contest. Can I enter that same manuscript in the same category this year?

If you placed second or third, yes. If you won, no.

What is the proper format for my entry?

Standard manuscript format: 1″ margins, an easily-readable font, such as Times New Roman, in 12 points or larger, double-spaced, with a header that contains your manuscript title and the page number. We will return anything that’s improperly formatted and ask you to resend it.

How do I enter?

You can submit the entry form found on this site, then pay online through PayPal (magicbegins.fee@rwi-rwa.com).

To pay by check, send a check made out to ROMANCE WRITERS INK to: Where the Magic Begins, P O Box 2021, Claremore OK  74017. Write the title of your entry on the check.

 

Please note: your entry is not officially accepted until payment has been received!

Why does it cost more to enter if I use PayPal?

PayPal charges payees a service charge. Like most businesses, we’ve had to pass that cost on to our contestants. But it’s a small price to pay for the convenience of entering online, avoiding trips to the post office and saving a few trees, right?

How do I submit my entry?

WTMB is an all-electronic contest, so entries must be saved as a Rich Text Format (RTF) attachment and sent to the category chair by e-mail.

To save as an RTF in Word: File pulls up a screen with lines for File Name and Save as Type. Enter your manuscript title as the file name, then scroll through the options on file type until you find RTF. 

To save as an RTF in WordPerfect: from File, click on Save As. When the new screen opens, name your file with your title, then click below on File Type. Again, scroll through until you find RTF and click on that.

Note: you must be able to receive attachments as well. If your e-mail protocol is set to prevent attachments, you must change the settings in order to receive your judged entry.

Why RTF?

It’s a format that can be read by most computer word processing programs. Our judges use a variety of programs, and while Word may not open a WordPerfect document or vice versa, both will virtually always open an RTF.

Will I get critiques from all of my judges?

We require our judges to make comments on both the manuscript and the score sheet. We particularly ask that they explain/comment on any portion of the score sheet where they give a lower-than-average score, however, we can’t promise that all of our judges will.

What if one judge hates my work and another loves it?

Each entry is scored by three judges in the preliminary round. The lowest score is then dropped. In case of a tie, the entry will be sent to a discrepancy judge. 

Additionally, as our editor/judges agree to judge three entries, if we wind up with a final four because of a tie, a tie-breaking judge will be brought in.

If I’m a finalist, will I get a critique from the editor judging my category?

Though some of our editors have critiqued manuscripts in the past, the answer is probably not. The real goal, though, isn’t to get an editor’s comments; it’s to get on that editor’s desk and to get read in a timely fashion. Many editors won’t look at unagented material unless it comes to them via a contest.

Have any WTMB winners ever sold?

Yes!! Heather Rogers, who both won and placed in the contest a few years ago, sold to Mills & Boon as a direct result of the contest: the editor who judged the category bought the book. Numerous finalist manuscripts have been requested by the editor/judges, and numerous other contestants have sold since their finals, including Margaret E. Reid, Susan Shay, P. J. Alderman,  J. R. Turner, and Elizabeth Pina.