Get your Stiletto in the Door!

As promised, I want to tell you about a great contest, exclusively for chick lit writers. At ChicklitWriters.com, a chapter of Romance Writers of America, chick lit is what it is. There is no shame or hiding behind other lables.

And the good news for us is that they hold an annual chick lit contest. It's called Get Your Stiletto in the Door (catchy, or what?) No Women's fiction or sappy romance allowed. This contest is for chick lit ONLY.

My novel, Mind over Madi, finaled in the 2007 Stiletto contest (Inspirational category) and my full MS was requested by one of the final round judges (an agent). Unfortunately, at the time, my MS wasn't nearly finished and I never did end up submitting. And also unfortunately, the OTHER final round judge basically hated my entry and scored me so low that I ended up finishing 4th of the the 4 finalists.

Sigh...

Anyway, that's over and done. Not wallowing. Really, I'm not!

Not sure if you qualify for this contest? Here's how the website describes chick lit:

Has your manuscript been shredded in other RWA contests because it's not quite romance? Do you write fun, sassy, contemporary fiction centering around the journey of the heroine? (Maybe you don't even have a hero at all.) Do your manuscripts not play by the romance rules?

Please note that this is a Chick Lit specific contest, not a romance contest. Our categories aren't suited for Regency entries. Contemporary Single Title, Paranormal romance, or Romantic Suspense won't do well unless the focus is on a plucky heroine with a true Chick Lit voice.

OK, now that I gave you the good news about this great contest, here's the bad: the deadline is June 15.

Yes, that is only 5 days from now. But don't panic. I haven't entered yet either. I still need to put together a synopsis (up to 5 pages), which is required as part of the submission. But I have faith in us! We can do it!

Some basic details:

• There are 5 categories: Classic Lit, Chick Thrill, Paranormal Chick, Inspirational Lit, and Young Adult Lit.
• Entry fee is: $10 for CLW RWA members (Please include RWA member number.),$20 for other RWA members (Please include RWA member number.), and $30 for non-RWA members
• Finalists are notified by August 25.
• Winners are announced by November 5

Get complete details, including the two final-round judges for each category, here: STILETTO CONTEST DETAILS.

If you enter, come back and let me know so I can cheer you on!

Long live Chick Lit!