Launching a Star 2010
Rules & Regulations
Deadline: Received through email by Midnight (EDT) September 8th, 2010
1. The contest is open to any author unpublished in book-length fiction, or any author who is not a member of PAN or considered PAN-eligible under current RWA rules.
- Specifically, any author who has not received $1000 or more, either as an advance or in actual earnings, for any single work of fiction within the last five years is eligible for this contest.
- Authors who have been offered or signed a book-length fiction contract which provides an advance of $1000 or more by the contest deadline are not eligible.
- Winning category entries (first place) from previous years are not eligible. However, a winner may submit a new entry if all other eligibility requirements are met.
2. Each entry will consist of up to the first twenty-five pages of an unpublished manuscript. Contestants may include a Prologue (if one exists) as long as the total submission does not exceed twenty-five pages.
3. The eight categories are: Historical, General Paranormal, Futuristic/Fantasy, Single Title (Contemporary, including Women’s Fictions), Single Title Romantic Suspense, Single Title Inspirational, Series Contemporary (Category length), and Young Adult.
4. All entries must comply with the format guidelines and be MS Word compatible.
5. Each entry must include a completed entry form , plus entry fee (paypal or a check or money order sent to Launching a Star Contest, STAR, PO Box 410787, Melbourne, FL 32941-0787.
6. Contestants may enter more than once, but the same manuscript shall not be entered in more than one category. For example: a historical novel that has strong YA elements may be entered in the Historical Category or the YA Category, but not both. There is no limit to the number of eligible manuscripts an author may enter. Separate entry forms and fees are required for each entry.
7. Manuscripts should be neatly typed in size 12 Courier New or Times New Roman font, double spaced, with 1″ margins. No more than 25 lines per page, excluding header info. The name of the entry, the category and the page number must appear at the top of each page. THE AUTHOR’S NAME MUST NOT APPEAR ON ANY PORTION OF THE MANUSCRIPT.
8. NUMBER OF COPIES: Electronic entries require only one copy of the manuscript.
9. FEES: SpacecoasT Authors of Romance members: $25. Non-members:$30 for each entry. Check, money order or payment via PayPal is acceptable.
10. Entries (see Rule #4) must be emailed on or before September 8, 2010, and received no later than Midnight Eastern Time, September 8, 2010. Entries emailed after that time will not be judged. Entrants will be notified by email once their entry has been logged in.
11. E-MAILING INSTRUCTIONS:
Attach 2 separate attachments –
1. ENTRY FORM ( ms .doc or .rtf files only – no .docx files from Office 2007 users) and
2. CONTEST ENTRY (ms .doc or .rtf files only – no .docx files from Office 2007 ) to an email with LAUNCHING A STAR CONTEST in the subject line and send to: contest@authorsofromance.com
Each file name should include the category and the name of the manuscript.
Example: ApplicationSingle Title Gone with the Wind .doc
EntrySingle Title Gone with the Wind.doc
12. ENTRY CAP – STAR reserves the right to cap the number of entries at 120. The first 120 received entries will be entered into the contest automatically. Any entries beyond 120 will be numbered and every reasonable effort will be made to accept them into the contest. However, if STAR is unable to provide enough trained, experienced judges to handle the overflow, entries numbered 121 and above will be returned.
13. NOTIFICATION: Finalists will be notified by e-mail or telephone by November 7th. Winners will be notified by email or telephone in mid-December. The results will be posted on the STAR website (www.authorsofromance.com) and in RWR.
14. The overall contest winner will have a star named for them through the International Star Registry. The winner of each category will receive an engraved STAR paperweight. Rankings (first through fifth) for all categories will be determined and certificates awarded to all finalists.
15. Frequently Asked Questions – Please refer to the Contest page of the STAR website (www.authorsofromance.com) for answers to frequently asked questions.
16. Should any category fail to receive a minimum of five entries, that category will be canceled. Entrants will be given the option of moving their entry into a different category or having their entries and fees returned.
17. The preliminary round will be judged by at least two judges, one of whom is published in romance. Unpublished judges will be experienced contest judges or have completed judges’ training. Judges are encouraged to provide positive feedback and comments.
18. Determination of Preliminary Scores: Scores of the two preliminary judges will be added together to determine a final score in the preliminary round, as follows: a + b = final score
19. Discrepancy Judging: In the event of a difference of 40 points or more between preliminary judge scores, a discrepancy judge will also judge the entry.
20. Determination of Discrepancy Score: The score closest to the Discrepancy Judge’s score will be added to the Discrepancy Judge’s score for a final score. (e.g. If Judge A gives a 100, Judge B gives a 145 and the Discrepancy Judge gives a 140, then the 145 and 140 would be added together for the final score of 285. Likewise, if the Discrepancy Judge gave a 105, then the 100 and 105 would be added together for a final score of 205. The score that does not match the Discrepancy Judge’s will be deemed to be “Judged in Error”.
21. Determination of Finalists: The top five entries attaining a score of 130 or more will be considered finalists and will be sent to the final round judges. In the event that there are more than 5 finalists in any category, the selection of the entries to send to the final round judges will be at the Contest Coordinator’s discretion.
22. Determination of Category Winners: If both final round judges in the category score the entry using the STAR scoresheet, the 2 scores will be totaled and the highest score will be determined the winner of the category. If one or both judges ‘rank’ the entries within a category, the rankings will be averaged to determine the winner. In the event of a tie, the editor’s rankings/scores will outweigh the agent’s.
23. Determination of the Overall Contest Winner: At the Contest Coordinator’s discretion the winner will be determined by a) utilizing the preliminary round scores, or b) sending all category first place winning entries to a multi-published STAR member who will select the best-of-the-best as the overall contest winner.
If you have questions, please see our list of Frequently Asked Questions on the STAR website (www.authorsofromance.com). If you still have questions, email them to the Contest Coordinators at questions@authorsofromance.com.