Launch Pad Contest Update

In case you missed the announcement, the 2013 edition of our Launch Pad Contest: Boosting You Out of the Slush Pile is under way.

Last year’s Grand Prize Winner, Rachelle Harp (shown here displaying her trophy), is as happy about it as she looks. She told us:

The feedback I received from the Launch Pad Contest judges has been invaluable to me. Through this experience, I've revised my book to make it stronger and gained more confidence in seeking publication. Even the day I found out about the win, there was already an agent interested in my work - that had never happened before.

The team at Novel Rocket has been so supportive and encouraging. The opportunity to work with an amazing writer like Gina Holmes is truly an honor. She has a heart to help unpublished authors get their work out there, which I'm so grateful for.

Now, you have the opportunity to get in on the fun.

As we explained last month, we’ve made a couple of changes in the categories. Namely:

1) Consolidation of  historical fiction with the other genres. That is, if you’ve written a historical thriller, you’ll submit it to the Suspense/Crime/Mystery/Thriller category; if yours is historical romance, that goes in the Romance category; etc.

2) Addition of a Nonfiction category and revising our submission requirements accordingly. For Nonfiction only, we ask for a summary rather than a synopsis. A subtle difference, to be sure, but a chapter-by-chapter summary is more suitable for nonfiction entries than the traditional novel synopsis.

You'll find a complete explanation of these changes, along with all the official rules and definitions of each category, on the Launch Pad tab.

We’re now taking entries in every genre. However, each category has a different submission deadline, so take note and mark these on your calendar:

• Suspense/Crime/Mystery/Thriller. Submission deadline: April 10, 2013; winner announced May 13, 2013.
• General Fiction. Submission deadline: May 10, 2013; winner announced June 10, 2013.
• Nonfiction: Submission deadline: June 10, 2013; winner announced July 8, 2013.
• Middle Grade/Young Adult Fiction: Submission deadline: July 10, 2013; winner announced August 12, 2013.
• Romance: Submission deadline: August 10, 2013; winner announced September 9, 2013.
• Speculative: Submission deadline: September 10, 2013; winner announced October 14, 2013.

In the words of Grand Prizewinner Rachelle:

To any writer who's thinking about entering, I say go for it. Everyone gets a critique from professionals in the field. That's worth so much more than the entry fee. And as I found out, you never know what's possible if you don't try. For me, I'm looking forward to this year of writing and what's to come. Good luck to all the participants this year!

We here at Novel Rocket think that’s good advice.