Contest Instructions (rules, regs, etc)

Very simple. Send me the first 300 words of your manuscript (please, mystery/crime fiction only) in the comment box provided below by March 31, 2006. I will judge among the contestants and announce a winner. The winner gets to send me 50 pages of a manuscript (approximately 15,000 words), which I will then critique.

What are my criteria you ask? I'm looking for a first page that gets me interested in reading 49 other pages. Like I said: simple.

If you're looking for a keen eye, if you're looking for a real edit, if you're looking for serious feedback that digs deep and asks you to do the same, this is the contest to enter. If you're looking for someone to simply pass over the faults and hit the praise button, I can do that too. Just send a brief email, no manuscript, and I will produce several paragraphs of the highest non-discriminating praise for your consumption.

Seriously, if I were to sell my critiquing services, I'd get at least ten cents a page, maybe more. What are you waiting for?