A word of advice from O'Abby

I thought that this week, instead of our usual programming, I'd write about something I noticed during the entry period for our latest Pass or Pages contest because a lot of entries - far more than in previous rounds - were disqualified.

Whenever you enter a contest, whether it's for writing or anything else, read the instructions.  

This particular round of Pass or Pages was for a specific genre: romance, with the sub-category friends or enemies to lovers.  The agents we have reading the entries are looking for books in this genre and category.  They may also represent other genres, but for this contest, they are looking for friends or enemies to lovers.

So all the entries that were not of this genre and category were disqualified and will not be seen by the agents.

It's not just contests either.  Most agents who are queried with books outside the category they represent will delete the query un-read.  They know they are not the best person to represent that book and don't have the right publishing contacts to pitch that book to.  So do your research before you send that query.  Make sure the agent you are querying actually represents your genre.

Querying is hard enough when you do follow directions so do yourself a favour and follow any guidelines you are given.  You will give yourself a far better chance of having your query read and considered.

And if you have a particular genre you think we should seek out for our next Pass or Pages contest, let us know in the comments.

X O'Abby