Operation First Novel FAQ

A: Entries for the contest must be received by September 15.

A: The winning entry will be chosen from the finalists and announced at the 2011 Writing for the Soul Conference in Denver, CO.

A: Semifinalists and finalists will be notified by the Guild office as soon as decisions are made. All entrants will be notified about their contest status.

A: The finalists are acknowledged in the Guild’s newsletter, on the website, and at the conference. Their status as a finalist certainly won’t hurt in pitching their novel to editors and agents.

A: The contest rules don’t specify a word-processing program, but they require that files be either in the .doc or .rtf format. Microsoft Word 2007, the version compatible with the Vista operating system, automatically saves files in the .docx format, which is unreadable by older computers. Use the “save-as” feature of Word to format all the contest files in the required .doc or .rtf format.

A: It’s fine to send a backup CD. In past years, a few disks that weren’t properly packed have arrived broken. Also, before mailing the CD, test the disk in a different computer to assure it contains readable files. Some contestants have failed to complete the process of burning the disk and therefore sent ones that were blank.

A: There’s no need to include the book title in the names of the chapter files. But it’s good practice to include it in the headers. Be sure also to use a marker to label the disk with the book title. That reduces the risk of it getting mixed with someone else’s entry.

A: It’s best if the numbering continues from chapter to chapter. If chapter one ends with page 17, begin the numbering of chapter two with page 18. (To insert page numbers on non-Vista versions of Word, click “Insert,” then “Page Numbers.” Click “Format” to specify the beginning page number for the document.)

A: It depends on the translation and how many verses you use. For example, the copyright page of an NIV Bible, along with information on how to give credit in published works, states:

“The NIV text may be quoted in any form … up to and inclusive of five hundred … verses without express written permission of the publisher, providing the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible nor do the verses quoted account for 25 percent or more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted.”

Whichever version you use (unless it’s one in public domain) check the copyright page.

A: It isn’t necessary to include such information in the contest files. Should your story win, Worthy Publishing has its own copyright terminology for the page that follows the title page.

A: Absolutely. The 2008 Operation First Novel winner placed as a semifinalist in a previous year with an earlier version of her manuscript.

A: Set your word processor on double spacing, but hit “enter” only once after each paragraph, unless there’s a break between scenes. That’s standard practice for any material submitted for publication.

A: Having your proposal available for publishers to consider through such a service does not disqualify you. But if your full proposal and/or manuscript is requested for scrutiny by a company’s publication board after you have entered, you should notify the Guild.

A: Not if that is the only format in which it’s available. The contest considers someone published only if he or she has had physical copies of a book produced by a royalty publishing house. Similarly, self-publishing, co-publishing, and print-on-demand (P.O.D.) do not count as publishing.

A: No. Under U.S. law, as soon as you write something, all rights to it belong to you. (If you want to make sure others know that, you can include a line that says copyright 2009 by Writer Name. Nothing else is needed.) If you want to take further action, you can pay $35 or $45 to have your copyright registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. For answers to common questions about copyright, as well as abundant details on how to register a work, visit the Copyright Office website: Copyright.gov

A: Technically, yes. But Worthy Publishing is looking for a 75,000- to 100,000-word novel that fits its general fiction line. So the novel would need to appeal to both an adult and young adult audience.

A: Yes. But allow enough time for the package with your disk to arrive at our office by the contest deadline.

A: While we’d love to have you attend Writing for the Soul, it’s not a condition for entering or winning the contest. But if you get an email from our office in December notifying you that you’re one of four or five finalists, you may want to reconsider.

A: Include the actual word count rather than an estimate. To obtain that number (if you’re using a non-Vista version of Word), click “Tools” then “Word Count.”

A: No, we can’t reconsider the minimum word count. The 75,000 to 100,000 word count is a publisher mandate. And they’re the experts at knowing how many words a reader expects.

A: Worthy Publishing, which co-sponsors the contest, requires a length in the 75,000- to 100,000-word range so the book will fit its fiction line.

A: To trim ten percent from your manuscript, first make sure each chapter and scene is necessary. After making those cuts, be willing to delete redundant or unnecessary paragraphs, sentences, phrases, and words. The result will be a more forceful novel.

For example, this is the original, 58-word version of that question: My word count is over 100k (closer to 110k). Must I get the word count down below the 100k mark? How strict is this rule. I’ve been racking my brain to figure out how I could trim the word count down, i.e. what material could be removed, but it lessens the impact of the story, in my opinion.

Editing reduced the question to 33 words.