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Anyone else submitting for the ABNA?

1K views 19 replies 14 participants last post by  HeidiHall 
#1 ·
My forced absence from writing (AKA: my life) really set my momentum back into the stone ages. Before, I really had no desire to enter my books into contests, especially one with a trad pub contract attached. But I figured it could only help at this point. Anyone else entering? I haven't seen anything about it on the boards...

If you are, I'd love to know all about it - which book, what category, etc. And if you want to post your "Pitch," I'd love to see that (scope out the competition ;)), too.

If anyone's interested, I entered Flirting with Death into the competition in the Mystery/Thriller category. My pitch is below. If you have feedback, I'd love to hear it!


Kayla McKenna is a kick-*ss covert operative — and she loves it. After her father was murdered by terrorists she was consumed by the need for retribution, and landing her dream job as a CIA assassin seemed like the perfect gateway drug to avenge the heartaches of the past. Until one botched mission earns Kayla a burn notice, a bullet hole and a one-way ticket back to suburbia via the amnesia train.

Banished to her childhood stomping grounds, Kayla is determined to unravel the events leading up to her exile, while continuing to keep her spy status a secret from her suddenly ever-present and meddling family. But her mother’s matchmaking attempts turn out to be the least of her worries. Someone does not want her to remember, and every new clue leads to more unanswered questions.

In an effort to break the cycle, she decides to embrace the horrors of surviving her new girl-next-door status. And aside from a few missteps along the way, Kayla begins to realize there may be more to life than contract killing. Okay, so puppy theft, psychic healers and sexy Greek arms dealers are not exactly standard fare in the 'burbs. Still, normal could totally be the new black…ops.

Combining mystery, edgy chick-lit and a dash of paranormal, FLIRTING WITH DEATH is a foray into the life of a snarky ex-hitwoman who discovers that living a "normal" life may just be her most difficult mission so far. After all, there isn't a twelve-step program for recovering assassins...yet. Then the note arrives.

Combining mystery, edgy chick-lit and a dash of paranormal, FLIRTING WITH DEATH is a foray into the life of a snarky ex-hitwoman who quickly discovers that living a "normal" life may just be her most difficult mission so far. After all, there isn't a twelve-step program for recovering assassins...yet.
 
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Discussion starter · #16 ·
RuthMadison said:
I want to enter, but my manuscript is just not quite ready. Grrrrrr. I stayed up until Midnight Jan 13th wanting to get it to a point where I could submit, but I just cant :(
The contest is still open... just sayin'. But I wouldn't want to rush something just to enter a contest either. There's always next year (and, I'm sure, a million other contests coming up).

TexasGirl said:
I entered as a way to get exposure. No downside to that element. The likelihood of winning seems low for me, but to advance is another line item on the sales page.
Yup, me too. Even if I advance one round, the possibility of extra eyes on my book can only be a good thing. Great pitch, BTW!

David Kazzie said:
This isn't entirely accurate -- the rules say your book is eligible if you hold the worldwide distribution rights and it's not currently or previously been subject to a publishing agreement. It doesn't say you can't shop it to publishers or agents.
That's correct -- you must allow Amazon first right of refusal though if you receive a higher offer. Wouldn't that be amazing?!?!

Best of luck to all of you and I'd love to see any other pitches from KBers... I find the members here (past and present) to be the cream of the crop, so I'd prefer it if not many of you were entering. Tee hee! Just kidding! ;)
 
Discussion starter · #20 ·
If nothing else, these pitches have just made my TBR list a whole lot longer! ;D Does anyone know if a KBer has ever made the finals?

kathrynoh said:
I was thinking about it until I read the bit about no sexually explicit material in the rules :mad:
I hear ya. Are there other contests for erotica? I guess I can understand, in a way, how an erotic novel might be harder for them to push if one were to win. But after 50 Shades, the buying public has spoken, IMHO. I do wonder though if length is as much an issue as content - aren't most shorter works? I know the minimum word count is 50k for ABNA. If your book fits their length (no pun intended :eek:) criteria and has a theme outside of the sexual aspect as well, I think the "explicit material" is highly subjective.
 
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