Q:
Your website states the deadline
for Operation First Novel is October
1, 2010. Does this mean postmarked
by October 1 or received by October
1?
A: Entries for the contest must
be received
at the Christian Writers Guild office
by October 1.
Q:
When will the winner of Operation
First Novel 2010 be announced?
A: The winning entry will be chosen
from the finalists and announced
at the 2011 Writing for the Soul
Conference in Denver, CO.
Q: My computer uses Vista. Is
that a program that will be accepted?
A. The contest rules don't specify
a word-processing program, but they
require that files be either in
the .doc or .rtf format. Microsoft
Word 2007, the version compatible
with the Vista operating system,
automatically saves files in the
.docx format, which is unreadable
by older computers. Use the “save-as”
feature of Word to format all the
contest files in the required .doc
or .rtf format.
Q: Is it acceptable to send
a backup disk in case the first
is unreadable?
A. It's fine to send a backup CD.
In past years, a few disks that
weren't properly packed have arrived
broken. Also, before mailing the
CD, test the disk in a different
computer to assure it contains readable
files. Some contestants have failed
to complete the process of burning
the disk and therefore sent ones
that were blank.
Q: In regard to consecutive
page numbering, should the first
page of each new chapter begin with
the number following the last page
of the previous chapter?
A. It's best if the numbering continues
from chapter to chapter. If chapter
one ends with page 17, begin the
numbering of chapter two with page
18. (To insert page numbers on non-Vista
versions of Word, click “Insert,”
then “Page Numbers.” Click “Format”
to specify the beginning page number
for the document.)
Q : I have revised my entry
for last year. May I resubmit it
this year?
A. Absolutely. The 2008 Operation
First Novel winner placed as a semifinalist
in a previous year with an earlier
version of her manuscript.
Q : The rules say to have 1.5
or double spacing, but the rule
directly following that says to
have no extra spaces after paragraphs…
A. Set your word processor on 1.5
or double spacing, but hit “enter”
only once after each paragraph,
unless there's a break between scenes.
That's standard practice for any
material submitted for publication.
Q: When will a list of finalists
be published?
A. Look for a list of contest finalists
in the December Word from the Springs
newsletter and on our Christian
Writers Guild website. The Guild
office also notifies all contestant
in November whether they made the
list of semifinalists, then finalists.
Q: May someone living outside
the United States join the Guild
and enter a contest.
A. Yes. But allow enough time for
the package with your disk to arrive
at our office by the contest deadline.
Q: Will I need to obtain permission
from a publisher for quoting directly
from the Bible?
A: It depends on the translation
and how many verses you use. For
example, the copyright page of my
NIV, along with information on how
to give credit in published works,
states:
“The
NIV text may be quoted in any form
… up to and inclusive of five hundred
… verses without express written
permission of the publisher, providing
the verses quoted do not amount
to a complete book of the Bible
nor do the verses quoted account
for 25 percent or more of the total
text of the work in which they are
quoted.”
Whichever
version you use (unless it's one
in public domain) check the copyright
page.
Q: In my novel I use quotations
from the NIV, KJV, and NLT. They
do not exceed the amounts the publishers
allow, however I am not sure where
to insert the notice of copyright.
A : It isn't necessary to include
such information in the contest
files. Should your story win, Tyndale
has its own copyright terminology
for the page that follows the title
page.
Q: Before learning of your contest,
I submitted information about my
book to a service that screens material,
then posts it for possible review
by publishers. Does that disqualify
me from entering?
A: Having your proposal available
for publishers to consider through
such a service does not disqualify
you. But if your full proposal and/or
manuscript is requested for scrutiny
by a company's publication board
after you have entered, you should
notify the Guild.
Q: For purposes of your contest,
does listing a story for sale in
Amazon's Kindle bookstore count
as publishing?
A: Not if that is the only format
in which it's available. The contest
considers someone published only
if he or she has had physical copies
of a book produced by a royalty
publishing house. Similarly, self-publishing,
co-publishing, and print-on-demand
(P.O.D.) do not count as publishing.
Q: I know the manuscript must
be between 75,000 and 100,000 words.
Would you like to know the actual
number of words in the document
or an approximate count based on
an average of 250 words per page?
A: Include the actual word count
rather than an estimate. To obtain
that number (if you're using a non-Vista
version of Word), click “Tools”
then “Word Count.”
Q: I'm interested in your contest,
but my short novel (52,000 words)
is complete as is. Could you reconsider
the minimum word count?
A:
No, we can't reconsider the minimum
word count. The 75,000 to 100,000
word count is a publisher mandate.
And they're the experts at knowing
how many words a reader expects.
Q: I've cut my novel as much
as I can, and it's still 107,000
words. Can you waive the maximum
word count?
A: Tyndale House Publishers, which
co-sponsors the contest, requires
a length in the 75,000- to 100,000-word
range so the book will fit its fiction
line.
Q : My word count is close to
110k. Must I get the count below
100k? I've been racking my brain
to figure how I could trim the word
count without lessening the story's
impact.
A: To trim ten percent from your
manuscript, first make sure each
chapter and scene is necessary.
After making those cuts, be willing
to delete redundant or unnecessary
paragraphs, sentences, phrases,
and words. The result will be a
more forceful novel.
For
example, this is the original, 58-word
version of that question:
My
word count is over 100k (closer
to 110k). Must I get the word
count down below the 100k mark?
How strict is this rule. I've
been racking my brain to figure
out how I could trim the word count
down, i.e. what material could be
removed, but it lessens the impact
of the story, in my opinion.
Editing
reduced the question to 33 words.
Q: Do I need to copyright my
novel before submitting it to the
contest?
A: No. Under U.S. law, as soon as
you write something, all rights
to it belong to you. (If you want
to make sure others know that, you
can include a line that says copyright
2009 by Writer Name. Nothing else
is needed.) If you want to take
further action, you can pay $35
or $45 to have your copyright registered
with the U.S. Copyright Office.
For answers to common questions
about copyright, as well as abundant
details on how to register a work,
visit the Copyright Office website:
Copyright.gov
Q: Is young adult fiction allowed?
A: Technically, yes. But Tyndale
is looking for a 75,000- to 100,000-word
novel that fits its general fiction
line. So the novel would need to
appeal to both an adult and young
adult audience.
Q: The website says to include
a printout with certain information,
including the title. Should I also
put the title on the CD files, perhaps
in the header, or not at all?
A: There's no need to include the
book title in the names of the chapter
files. But it's good practice to
include it in the headers. Be sure
also to use a marker to label the
disk with the book title. That reduces
the risk of it getting mixed with
someone else's entry.
Q: It is mandatory to attend
the conference to qualify? I live
on the East Coast and, as much as
I would love to, I am not certain
I will be able to attend.
A: While we'd love to have you attend
Writing for the Soul, it's not a
condition for entering or winning
the contest. But if you get an email
from our office in December notifying
you that you're one of four or five
finalists, you may want to reconsider.
Q: Is there a concession prize
for the nonwinning finalists?
A: The finalists are acknowledged
in the Guild's newsletter, on the
website, and at the conference.
Their status as a finalist certainly
won't hurt in pitching their novel
to editors and agents.
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