Phew... What a marathon! We definitely took on more than expected by critiquing entries this season. Pages of the Chicago Manual of Style and Self-Editing for Fiction Writers are officially dog-eared and bookmarked. It's strange to say, but reading and scoring entries is much different than actually critiquing them. When critiquing, you aren't simply reading for pleasure, you're looking for mistakes. It puts you in a different mindset. When you think you find a mistake, you have to make sure you're correct by referencing one of the aforementioned books. Don't get me wrong, it's fun and all...but add impending magazine issue deadlines, Premium-Green Ebook deadlines, editorial, and day-to-day operations, and...wholly guacamole sister! We probably spent over an hour on each entry: formatting, reading, critiquing, deliberating, and emailing. I know Annette wants to beat me with a wet noodle--the whole thing was my idea. Well, we gave it a shot. And perhaps, when we get more womanpower in the future, we'll be able to pull it off without holding up the contest results!
Oh, and if you slid under the deadline, before we removed the critique purchase option for the Summer '08 Flash Fiction Contest, you'll still get a critique. We had the option up for the month of June, but had to take it down. We don't want to be late with the contest results again!
Okay, here's the good news: we've sent out all the critiques for the Spring 2008 contest. If you purchased a critique, you should have received it already. Oy! There were so many wonderful entries this season! We are proud to have such a talented bunch of contestants! If you didn't receive your critique, for some odd reason, please let us know and we'll check into it.
We have officially notified the Top 10 and Honorable Mentions for the Spring FF Contest. We sent out email notifications this morning (around 8:30 AM EST), so check your inboxes. If you did not receive an email...I'm very sorry. Those of you who know me, know how much that kills me. Like I said, there were so many wonderful entries that little things like punctuation etc. made all the difference. Our Webmaster will be working on formatting the contest winner's page, and our esteemed guest judge, literary agent Wendy Sherman, is choosing her top three as we speak. When we get the contest page up, we will send out an email announcement to those on our "Contest Newsletter" with a live link to the page. We will also post an announcement here.
Thank you to all who participated in the Spring 2008 Contest. We truly enjoyed reading your stories. Please keep writing and working on the craft. You are all winners for completing a story and entering. You have what it takes, so write on!
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Remember, this is the last season for the OPEN prompt! Enter the Summer 2008 Flash Fiction Contest with guest judge, Elise Capron, here: http://wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php
Deadline: August 31, 2008 (Midnight, Pacific Time)
Congratulations to all the winners!!!
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