As participation in our contests increases, I thought it might be helpful to offer some advice outside of our guidelines. I've never been a big fan of long intricate specifics when it comes to guidelines, so I devised ours to be as basic and uniform as possible and plan to keep them that way. What this page offers would come under the heading of advice.

This advice is designed specifically for Main Street Rag contests, but may also prove helpful and applicable to other contests. I do not pretend to speak for other contests; however.

I've broken this page down into the categories which experience has demonstrated need the most attention:
Deadlines, Length, Manuscript Appearance, Organization, and Shipping.

Because so many of those who have entered manuscripts into one of our contests have expressed a desire for feedback and it really isn't possible to offer individual feedback, I've included a section labeled Judges' Feedback to give people an idea of some of the things judges say that may have swayed their decision one way or another. Most are not specific to any one manuscript, but the most notable and repeated items that have influenced us in the past to choose one manuscript over another.

DEADLINES
Every contest has deadlines. Their most important purpose is to keep the process moving in an orderly fashion and permit enough time for a fair reading. Reading manuscripts for contests is not leisure reading, it's frantic.

Every reader in the chain has his or her own obligations outside of this contest. Given that and given that there is always a mad rush (by authors) to mail manuscripts on the deadline date (as much as I would like it to be otherwise), common sense says it does not benefit an author to wait until the last minute to mail a manuscript.

Having said that, here are some statistics I've compiled over years of running a contest that seem to remain a constant:

1) Almost exactly half of those who enter wait until the final week to do so.
2) 80% of the last weekers (between 35 and 40% of the total entries) mail their manuscript on the final date.

Since we have received as many as 150 manuscripts in a single day, this creates the inevitable logjam that rushes every reader in the chain to meet their individual deadlines.

My Recommendation: Don't wait until the last minute to mail your manuscript.

We read in groups of 15 and start almost as soon as we have enough for a group. That often means that early entries get a better look than those who enter last minute. It's human nature! Consider this: If an individual has only a small amount of work to do, he or she will do it more casually. If that individual has what feels like an oppressive amount of work to do in a limited amount of time, he or she is more likely to be less thorough. Again, it's human nature.

But I believe in examining root causes. The question I think an author has to ask him or her self is: If it takes until the very last day to get my manuscript ready, is the manuscript really ready?

I will touch on deadlines again in the shipping/postage area.

 

LENGTH
Our guidelines (for full-length) call for between 48 and 80 pages. Most often, the manuscripts that become finalists are in the 60 page range because the author has culled out the weaker pieces rather than concentrate on filling the maximum number of pages. Often the deciding factor between quality manuscripts can come down to one or two or a handful of poems that don't seem to belong with the rest. It's that competitive.

Again for the full-length contest, some folks will tie a group of chaps together and submit them as a book. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. The deciding factor can be whether there is some connection or overlap between these sections.

My recommendation: Instead of concentrating on filling the page requirements, edit for quality, strength, connectivity.

 

MANUSCRIPT APPEARANCE
I have had manuscripts arrive in every format from saddle-stitched booklets with colored covers to something resembling a stack of post cards. We will read them all because we did not place a guideline that specifies a page size. Unless it specifically appears in our guideline (which some do) consider the following to be suggestions.

Recommendations:

 

ORGANIZATION
How you organize your work can be a deciding factor. We get many very good manuscripts, sometimes it is the sequence in which the material within a particular entry is read that makes it more or less appealing to the reader. That may mean having separate segments, but it may also mean sequencing in a more interesting format to create a rhythm or a sense of anticipation.

Other ways to organize your entry. Make sure you have reliable contact information on a separate cover letter and nowhere else on the manuscript. Save your acknowledgements for if/when you are selected. Many people who enter contests have wonderful credits and credentials, but if they include their acknowledgements, we toss that information away at check in. Without reading it. Straight to the trash. Why? Because I believe that contests such as ours owe it to those who enter to be fair. A manuscript should be judged on the basis of its quality, not on the basis of who wrote it or what their reputation is.

If acknowledgements or anything that identifies the author get missed at check in (and it has happened) first round readers are instructed to disqualify the manuscript.

 

SHIPPING/POSTAGE
Contests are expensive enough, why add to the cost by using expensive postage? I've recieved things Overnighted ($14) and 2nd Day Air ($10+).

That's one reason why we don't return manuscripts and ask for a #10 envelope for notification (if no email address is available), why we notify receipt of the manuscript by email, why we tell folks they don't need to bind their manuscripts or include any kind of clips, and why we accept entries via email. Weight equals cost.

Main Street Rag has a completely separate deadline for emailed manuscripts, but we do offer them. The primary purpose of providing this convenience is to allow us to get an early jump on reading. Still, every year since we started offering this option folks have inquired--right up to the final deadline--if we will make an exception for them.

It's a give and take world. Since I'm providing the toner, the paper and giving up part of the reading fee (emailed entries must be paid online or by credit card--both of which carry a processing fee for MSR), my benefit is getting an early start on reading. If the equation doesn't balance, there is no incentive to offer the option. In other words: no, we won't permit last minute entry via email.

My recommendation: Mail at least five business days before the post mark deadline. If you must wait until the last day to enter, send it USPS 2-3 Day to guarantee it arrives before our receipt deadline (see guidelines).

Other items worth mentioning:

When manuscripts arrive postage due, we send them back.

Standing in line to pick up a signature receipt manuscript is a major inconvenience, so we don't.

Regular postage on an average manuscript should be no more than $3.40. If you send it Media Mail, it's between $1.42 and $1.84 --BUT-- if you wait until the last day and send it Media Mail, your manuscript may not arrive in time to be judged (please consult guidelines). It happened once in 2003 and twice in 2004.

We won't return manuscripts regardless of what size envelope is sent. So why waste the cost of a manila envelope and the extra postage? Use a #10 business envelope.

 

JUDGE'S FEEDBACK
Below are some comments made by judges. Some are direct quotes, some are paraphrases of comments made by several judges.

Numbers to the right of each comment signify for which contest(s) the comment was made:

1) Poetry Book Award
2) Chapbook
3)Fiction.

 

  • Manuscript was longer than it needed to be. (1)
  • Good poems, but nothing binding them together as a group. (1, 2)
  • "There is a wonderful chapbook in here." (1)
  • "I wish some of these writers would learn to use spell-check." (1, 2, 3)
  • "This writer needs an editor." (1, 2, 3)
  • Uneven. Some beautiful poems, but others that don't seem to belong. (1, 2)
  • "The form and flow are nice, but the writer doesn't take any risks with the material." (1, 2, 3)
  • Nice sound quality to many of the poems, but they don't actually go anywhere or say anything new. (1, 2,)
  • "No plot or character development, this is not a short story." (3)
  • "I have no idea what this title is about." (1, 2, 3)
  • "I know this is an acceptable style of poetry but it has little if any punctuation so it just leaves words on a page..." (1)
  • "Has a lot to say, but isn't very poetic." (1, 2)
  • Too many incomplete sentences. (3)
  • Too preachy. (1, 2, 3)
  • The poet threw in a form (apparently) for demonstration sake because it didn't fit with the rest of the collection. (1,2)
  • There are a lot of epigraphs that show the author is familiar with other people's work, but they don't appear to have any purpose other than demonstrating how well-read the author is. (1, 2)
  • Paints pretty pictures without any emotional attachments. (1, 2)
  • Subject was vague and I couldn't relate to it. (1, 2)

2005 Comments the following "tips" are offered by short fiction contest judge Barbara Lawing (www.barbaralawing.com) based on discussions and comments made at the final meeting between her and S. Craig Renfroe.

Narrative voice is a key component in fiction. The storytelling voice holds the story together (provides continuity), and controls the pacing (suspense). The voice is the first thing fiction writers must create when making a fiction story. Be sure the voice is intriguing, witty, or whatever is needed to fit the tone of the story. It is this voice that draws the reader in and keeps the reader interested. Fiction writers should study narrative voice/perspective/point of view, and understand the options -- how a different voice changes the story. And by all means, be sure the voice very quickly -- preferably in the first paragraph -- gets the action to a present moment. No lengthy background information, please! Plunge us into the action and let us figure out what is happening.


Certainly there will be some who will read the above comments and say that they are negative and I suppose they would be right. The reason I have chosen to share them is because contest judging is a culling process first. What you see above represents some of the rationale used to eliminate manuscripts so that others may be elevated to the next level of reading.

I hope that those who read this page will consider this information the way that it is offered: as a reference to help them improve the quality of their manuscript and give it a better opportunity to be selected for publication.

 

M. Scott Douglass
Publisher/Managing Editor
Main Street Rag Publishing Company

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