last-minute tips for your #ACFWGenesis entry

Last Genesis

There’s still one week left to enter your unpublished, completed manuscript in the ACFW Genesis contest. A one-page synopsis plus the first 15 pages.

It. will. change. your. life. 

I’ve had the chance to edit some really great entries this year, so I know great things are going to happen in and through this contest. If you’re on the fence, I encourage you to make one of the bravest decisions of your writing career.

But before you do, here are my last-minute tips:

  • You need a high-resolution author photo, so call in a favor to that friend/brother/neighbor/cousin’s uncle with the DSLR camera and bake them a warm plate of cookies to capture a professional, high-quality photo for you!
  • Make sure you begin your story in the middle of the action. 15 pages of backstory will not cut it <3
  • Edit all instances of passive voice and make sure your story is in Deep POV. Kristen Kieffer of She’s Novel has a great post to help.
  • Do not press send without another set of eyes on your work.
  • After you’ve edited it within an inch of its life, do a final spelling and grammar check for rogue typos and extra spaces.
  • Don’t be afraid to end your entry a page or so early if it means you are leaving your judges at the edge of their seats, compelled to find out what happens next!
  • Make sure you have accepted all track changes, deleted all comments, and your manuscript is clean of all editorial notes. {Don’t ask me how I know this… *hides face from Pam Meyers in shame*}
  • Please don’t wait until the very last minute to upload your entry. You don’t know how many people have missed the deadline because their author photo wouldn’t upload properly. {Or hyperventilated trying to adjust it at the last minute.}

For rules and more info about the contest, click here.

Good luck! I believe in you!

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