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Want to Know What an Agent’s Inbox Looks Like? Read Contest Entries!

January 25, 2011 by Nathan Bransford 66 Comments

If you haven’t already entered the 4th Annual Stupendously Ultimate First Paragraph Challenge, please do so in the official contest thread! Win partial consideration by Catherine Drayton and a signed ARC of JACOB WONDERBAR AND THE COSMIC SPACE KAPOW!

I’ve blogged before about how helpful it is to read slush to get a sense of what works and what doesn’t work, and to gain an appreciation for the difficulty of making snap judgments on a huge number of different works at once.

But short of getting a job at a literary agency, what’s the next best thing? Reading contest entries! The quality is similar, the experience of jumping from one world to the next is similar, and while after your first fifty the paragraphs may blur together, you’ll notice the good ones really standing out.

So I’d encourage people to go through the contest entries, see which ones are your favorite, and then think about why they’re your favorite.

There’s a lot to learn from having to decide which ones you think are the best.

Filed Under: Contests, Literary Agents Tagged With: contests

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Doug Pardee says

    January 25, 2011 at 10:57 pm

    Nathan: I believe that this article is about the upcoming site that anon@9:56 was talking about:

    New digital publishing blog/community launching soon: The Gatekeeper's Post

    Reply
  2. Carol Riggs says

    January 25, 2011 at 11:51 pm

    YES, I was doing that before I posted my entry yesterday. Like some paragraphs were okay, a lot were good, but THEN there were the ones that really stood out–and not just ones that started right off with rabid action, either. The voice itself was catchy, the words arranged in a poetic, clever, or unique way. I will intrigued to see your finalists, Nathan! (realizing it's somewhat subjective, but hey, good writing is good writing).

    Reply
  3. Anna says

    January 26, 2011 at 12:02 am

    Ah ha! I KNEW there was a learning element to the contest! Very sneaky Bransford, very sneaky.

    Reply
  4. Michael G-G says

    January 26, 2011 at 12:20 am

    Nathan, I do believe you're going to break the thousand comment barrier. It might take a while to judge, but I bet you're a fast reader.

    I read the first 870 or so and picked approximately 60 (just shy of 7%) I'd consider reading further. There were a few others that were written well, but the subject/genre didn't interest me. Now I know why agents say "not for me."

    A final thought: seems to be quite a bloodbath out there, folks. Hold onto your chainsaws.

    Reply
  5. Nathan Bransford says

    January 26, 2011 at 12:34 am

    A completed manuscript is not necessary to enter the contest.

    I will allow sommmmme flexibility with incorporating dialogue into the paragraph, but not endlessly so. At the end of the day a paragraph is a paragraph.

    Clear as mud, I know.

    Reply
  6. Anonymous says

    January 26, 2011 at 12:45 am

    OMG
    Just seeing how many…my head hurts.
    Why is the world would you put yourself through this?

    Yup…mine is the best !

    Reply
  7. Anonymous says

    January 26, 2011 at 12:56 am

    Thanks Nathan! Happy reading.

    (Anon @ 2:16)

    Reply
  8. Deniselle says

    January 26, 2011 at 1:33 pm

    Wow, 1000 entries! My Google Chrome keeps freezing, LOL! I must say it's always an education. Most of the entries just run together and then there are a few that really catch your eye. I entered, like last year, mostly to get my text out there. It's a feat of courage, since I haven't queried yet! But, like last year, I'm feeling humbled by all the talent I see there.

    Nathan – and the other participants: would it be OK to repost some of my favorite paragraphs at my LJ? (It's at https://livejournal.com/deniselleb)

    With linkage here, of course. Or would it be better manners to just link to the relevant page of comments and say which names I liked the best?

    Reply
  9. abc says

    January 26, 2011 at 2:43 pm

    I must say I'm feeling a bit chagrined to add my paragraph after 1000 or so, but charge on, child! I've been reading quite a few of the entries and while there are definitely some that are easy nos, it is amazing how many great ones there are.

    Reply
  10. Nathan Bransford says

    January 26, 2011 at 3:10 pm

    deniselle-

    Only with the author's permission, please.

    Reply
  11. Daniel Smith says

    January 26, 2011 at 4:37 pm

    Good advice. Thanks for the suggestion and opportunity.

    Reply
  12. Deniselle says

    January 26, 2011 at 5:37 pm

    Nathan – yeah, I'd like to be asked if it were me. I was thinking, it gets a bit complicated. I think I'll just link to the relevant comment pages. Thanks. 🙂

    Reply
  13. Kevin says

    January 26, 2011 at 6:24 pm

    Man oh man. How the heck do you pick finalists out of 1,000+ entries, many of which are good? I'm in awe of what agents do. I'm very curious your methods of madness…i.e. how you approach the task of widdling that massive pile into a manageable number. I just don't see how you folks do that on a daily basis. I was beating my face with my computer monitor after about the 300th paragraph, haha. Not that they're all horrendous…just couldn't handle the dizzying feeling of switching genres and styles EVERY fifteen seconds. Unbelievable.

    Reply
  14. Doug Pardee says

    January 26, 2011 at 7:46 pm

    Nathan: The Gatekeepers Post seems to be live now.

    Reply
  15. Vanessa K. Eccles says

    January 27, 2011 at 5:16 am

    I really enjoy your blog, by the way. I snatch up all kinds of good info on here.

    I am also really excited about the First Paragraph Contest. I think it's brilliant. It is a lot of fun reading everyone's unique styles, but I can see how the sheer volume of them can be overwhelming. I can’t wait to see who makes the finals. Happy reading. 😉

    Reply
  16. linda says

    January 29, 2011 at 11:13 am

    Hi Nathan! I've been reading your blog for a while but finally de-lurked to enter the contest. And then took your advice and read all 1500+ entries (being able to read fast is a really useful skill!). I managed to whittle them down to a shortlist of 15 entries, and it wasn't as painful as I expected. I understand so much more about agents now – the thrill of finding an amazing voice, how it doesn't take much to know if you like it or not, and why request rates are so low. It was fun, thanks so much for the opportunity!

    Reply
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Hi, I’m Nathan. I’m the author of How to Write a Novel and the Jacob Wonderbar series, which was published by Penguin. I used to be a literary agent at Curtis Brown Ltd. and I’m dedicated to helping authors achieve their dreams. Let me help you with your book!

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