Cynthea Liu's Blog, page 6
April 21, 2016
RLGL Round 6-Longer Works is OPEN until Friday, 4/29/16 CST, New entrants may enter anytime
Round 6 for this year’s Red Light, Green Light contest is OPEN for submissions! Remember, this is only for longer works; we are no longer accepting entries for picture books. New entrants to the longer works category may enter at any time so long as the round is open. Woof!!
To expedite our review process, and given the volume of entries we are receiving, we are reinstating feedback codes to deliver your results. There’s no time to be able to tailor our responses as much as we’d like. But this should still give you a good idea. Check out this page for common reasons why your manuscript may be sent back to start. If you receive a code, you can look it up on this page to find out what went wrong. Thanks for understanding!*
This does not mean that we are done returning ALL results from the previous round. It just means this round is open for new entrants and any existing entrants who have received their results from the previous round.
When we have returned all results, that will be noted in this post. So please don’t ask about your submission until it is clear that all results have been returned. Thank you! Finally, to help us keep better track of your submission, please submit your work to the right category.
BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING, look at our Rules and Regulations.
Once you’ve got that all figured out, click that submit button at the bottom of this post.
This round will be closing submissions on Friday, 04/29/16 @ 11:59 CST. New entrants can enter anytime though, even if you miss a Round.
Anything can happen in this game, so get in when a round is open. Please help us make this even more fun by letting others know what’s going on and inviting them to join in on the competition! #RLGL is the official tag.
Good luck, everyone! WOOF!
We have our RLGL Picture Book and Early Reader Category Winner!
Thank you to all of the Picture Book/Early Reader authors who participated in RLGL. Kissy loved digging through all of your submissions. Along the way he read stories with awesome hooks, tales with wonderful characters, and narratives that made him howl at the moon with joy!
After weeks of searching, sniffing, and thoroughly pawing through all of the entries for RLGL (along with some breaks for bacon!), Kissy has found a Picture Book/Early Reader manuscript that he really wants to sink his teeth into. He has sent out an email to the winner, so make sure to check your inbox to see if Kissy sent you a special email outlining how you will claim your prize!
If you already submitted your Picture Book or Early Reader manuscripts to round 5 of RLGL, Kissy will still be providing you with feedback. However, for round 6 and beyond only manuscripts for longer works will be accepted. If you have any questions, feel free to leave us a comment down below. Kissy will get to them as soon as he can!
Again, a big thank you to everyone who participated! And if you’re still in the race for the longer works category, Kissy wishes you the best of luck. Woof!
March 11, 2016
RLGL Round 5 is OPEN until Thursday, 4/21/16 CST, New entrants may enter anytime
Hello, everyone! We swear we’re not trying to torture all of you lovely folks waiting for your RLGL Round 4 feedback, but between Cynthea’s recent 2016 Oklahoma Book Award win for Bike On, Bear!, her radio appearance this last Monday,an upcoming school visit, and training some new interns on how to give proper belly rubs, Kissy has been extremely busy. Now that things have calmed down a little, Kissy will be digging through your submissions over the next few days. Thank you for your utmost patience. For those of you who have not received your round 4 feedback yet: do NOT submit your manuscript to round 5 until you know Kissy’s verdict. He’ll make sure you get your feedback before round 5 closes!
Round 5 for this year’s Red Light, Green Light contest is OPEN for submissions! New entrants may enter at any time so long as the round is open. It’s going to be a slow round so I’m thanking you in advanced for your patience. Woof!!
To expedite our review process, and given the volume of entries we are receiving, we are reinstating feedback codes to deliver your results. There’s no time to be able to tailor our responses as much as we’d like. But this should still give you a good idea. Check out this page for common reasons why your manuscript may be sent back to start. If you receive a code, you can look it up on this page to find out what went wrong. Thanks for understanding!*
This does not mean that we are done returning ALL results from the previous round. It just means this round is open for new entrants and any existing entrants who have received their results from the previous round.
When we have returned all results, that will be noted in this post. So please don’t ask about your submission until it is clear that all results have been returned. Thank you!
Finally, to help us keep better track of your submission, please submit your work to the right category. Picture books and ER have their own bucket so we can keep track of the # of entrants vying for that prize. Longer works go in the other category so we can do the same for those folks too.
BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING, look at our Rules and Regulations.
Once you’ve got that all figured out, click that submit button at the bottom of this post.
This round will be closing submissions on Thursday, 04/21/16 @ 11:59 CST.
New entrants can enter anytime though, even if you miss a Round.
Anything can happen in this game, so get in when a round is open. Please help us make this even more fun by letting others know what’s going on and inviting them to join in on the competition! #RLGL is the official tag.
Good luck, everyone! WOOF!
Click here if you’re submitting a picture book or Easy Reader!
Click here if you’re submitting a longer work!
RLGL Round 5 OPEN until Wednesday, 3/16/2016 @ 11:59 CST, New entrants may enter anytime
Round 5 for this year’s Red Light, Green Light contest is open for submissions! New entrants may enter at any time so long as the round is open. It’s going to be a slow round so I’m thanking you in advanced for your patience. Woof!!
To expedite our review process, and given the volume of entries we are receiving, we are reinstating feedback codes to deliver your results. There’s no time to be able to tailor our responses as much as we’d like. But this should still give you a good idea. Check out this page for common reasons why your manuscript may be sent back to start. If you receive a code, you can look it up on this page to find out what went wrong. Thanks for understanding!*
This does not mean that we are done returning ALL results from the previous round. It just means this round is open for new entrants and any existing entrants who have received their results from the previous round.
When we have returned all results, that will be noted in this post. So please don’t ask about your submission until it is clear that all results have been returned. Thank you!
Finally, to help us keep better track of your submission, please submit your work to the right category. Picture books and ER have their own bucket so we can keep track of the # of entrants vying for that prize. Longer works go in the other category so we can do the same for those folks too.
BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING, look at our Rules and Regulations.
Once you’ve got that all figured out, click that submit button at the bottom of this post.
This round will be closing submissions on Wednesday, 03/16/16 @ 11:59 CST.
New entrants can enter anytime though, even if you miss a Round.
Anything can happen in this game, so get in when a round is open. Please help us make this even more fun by letting others know what’s going on and inviting them to join in on the competition! #RLGL is the official tag.
Good luck, everyone! WOOF!
March 3, 2016
RLGL Round 4 OPEN extended until Wednesday, 3/9/2016 @ 11:59 CST, New entrants may enter anytime
****Pardon for the pooch’s clerical error! We are so busy over here we didn’t update the post and the round on Submittable! Due to unforeseen circumstances, Cynthea has been called away to deal with some things that required her immediate attention so …. Kissy decided to give everyone a free pass to the next round, unless the submitter was on their last page in which case he and Cynthea weighed in to determine if there was a winner. Sooo, don’t relax yet. Consider the free pass as an editor or agent having a good day and giving you the benefit of the doubt that the next page will truly wow. We are giving everyone extra time to turn in their next page. Also, because of personal circumstances, we appreciate your continued patience with the contest. The pooch will be jetsetting it to a hotel this weekend to be pampered with bacon and chew toys, which means the next round will be a very slow round. ****
Round 4 for this year’s Red Light, Green Light contest is open for submissions! New entrants may enter at any time so long as the round is open.
To expedite our review process, and given the volume of entries we are receiving, we are reinstating feedback codes to deliver your results. There’s no time to be able to tailor our responses as much as we’d like. But this should still give you a good idea. Check out this page for common reasons why your manuscript may be sent back to start. If you receive a code, you can look it up on this page to find out what went wrong. Thanks for understanding!*
This does not mean that we are done returning ALL results from the previous round. It just means this round is open for new entrants and any existing entrants who have received their results from the previous round.
When we have returned all results, that will be noted in this post. So please don’t ask about your submission until it is clear that all results have been returned. Thank you!
Finally, to help us keep better track of your submission, please submit your work to the right category. Picture books and ER have their own bucket so we can keep track of the # of entrants vying for that prize. Longer works go in the other category so we can do the same for those folks too.
BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING, look at our Rules and Regulations.
Once you’ve got that all figured out, click that submit button at the bottom of this post.
This round will be closing submissions on Wednesday, 03/09/16 @ 11:59 CST.
New entrants can enter anytime though, even if you miss a Round.
Anything can happen in this game, so get in when a round is open. Please help us make this even more fun by letting others know what’s going on and inviting them to join in on the competition! #RLGL is the official tag.
Good luck, everyone! WOOF!
RLGL Round 4 OPEN until Saturday, 3/5/2016 @ 11:59 CST, New entrants may enter anytime
Round 4 for this year’s Red Light, Green Light contest is open for submissions! New entrants may enter at any time so long as the round is open.
To expedite our review process, and given the volume of entries we are receiving, we are reinstating feedback codes to deliver your results. There’s no time to be able to tailor our responses as much as we’d like. But this should still give you a good idea. Check out this page for common reasons why your manuscript may be sent back to start. If you receive a code, you can look it up on this page to find out what went wrong. Thanks for understanding!*
This does not mean that we are done returning ALL results from the previous round. It just means this round is open for new entrants and any existing entrants who have received their results from the previous round.
When we have returned all results, that will be noted in this post. So please don’t ask about your submission until it is clear that all results have been returned. Thank you!
Finally, to help us keep better track of your submission, please submit your work to the right category. Picture books and ER have their own bucket so we can keep track of the # of entrants vying for that prize. Longer works go in the other category so we can do the same for those folks too.
BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING, look at our Rules and Regulations.
Once you’ve got that all figured out, click that submit button at the bottom of this post.
This round will be closing submissions on Saturday 3/5/16 @ 11:59 CST.
New entrants can enter anytime though, even if you miss a Round.
Anything can happen in this game, so get in when a round is open. Please help us make this even more fun by letting others know what’s going on and inviting them to join in on the competition! #RLGL is the official tag.
Good luck, everyone! WOOF!
February 26, 2016
RLGL Round 3 OPEN extended to Tuesday, 3/1/2016 @ 11:59 CST, New entrants may enter anytime
*I want to thank you all for your patience with receiving feedback! I’ve got so much to munch on. I’m extending the round until March 1st (11:59pm CST) so that everyone can get their Round 3 submissions in. Keep an eye on your inboxes! Feedback is on the way! Woof!!
Round 3 for this year’s Red Light, Green Light contest is open for submissions! New entrants may enter at any time so long as the round is open.
To expedite our review process, and given the volume of entries we are receiving, we are reinstating feedback codes to deliver your results. There’s no time to be able to tailor our responses as much as we’d like. But this should still give you a good idea. Check out this page for common reasons why your manuscript may be sent back to start. If you receive a code, you can look it up on this page to find out what went wrong. Thanks for understanding!*
This does not mean that we are done returning ALL results from the previous round. It just means this round is open for new entrants and any existing entrants who have received their results from the previous round.
When we have returned all results, that will be noted in this post. So please don’t ask about your submission until it is clear that all results have been returned. Thank you!
Finally, to help us keep better track of your submission, please submit your work to the right category. Picture books and ER have their own bucket so we can keep track of the # of entrants vying for that prize. Longer works go in the other category so we can do the same for those folks too.
BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING, look at our Rules and Regulations.
Once you’ve got that all figured out, click that submit button at the bottom of this post.
This round will be closing submissions on Sunday 2/28/16 @ 11:59 CST.
New entrants can enter anytime though, even if you miss a Round.
Anything can happen in this game, so get in when a round is open. Please help us make this even more fun by letting others know what’s going on and inviting them to join in on the competition! #RLGL is the official tag.
Good luck, everyone! WOOF!
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RLGL Round 3 Open through Sunday, Feb 28 @ 11:59 CST, New entrants may enter anytime
Round 3 for this year’s Red Light, Green Light contest is open for submissions! New entrants may enter at any time so long as the round is open.
To expedite our review process, and given the volume of entries we are receiving, we are reinstating feedback codes to deliver your results. There’s no time to be able to tailor our responses as much as we’d like. But this should still give you a good idea. Check out this page for common reasons why your manuscript may be sent back to start. If you receive a code, you can look it up on this page to find out what went wrong. Thanks for understanding!*
This does not mean that we are done returning ALL results from the previous round. It just means this round is open for new entrants and any existing entrants who have received their results from the previous round.
When we have returned all results, that will be noted in this post. So please don’t ask about your submission until it is clear that all results have been returned. Thank you!
Finally, to help us keep better track of your submission, please submit your work to the right category. Picture books and ER have their own bucket so we can keep track of the # of entrants vying for that prize. Longer works go in the other category so we can do the same for those folks too.
BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING, look at our Rules and Regulations.
Once you’ve got that all figured out, click that submit button at the bottom of this post.
This round will be closing submissions on Sunday 2/28/16 @ 11:59 CST.
New entrants can enter anytime though, even if you miss a Round.
Anything can happen in this game, so get in when a round is open. Please help us make this even more fun by letting others know what’s going on and inviting them to join in on the competition! #RLGL is the official tag.
Good luck, everyone! WOOF!
February 22, 2016
RLGL – ROUND 2 OPEN extended until Wed 2/24/16 @ 11:59 PM CST, New Entrants Welcome
The second Round for this year’s Red Light, Green Light contest is open for submissions!
*Update posted 2/24 at 5:30PM CST: All Round 1 results have been given. If you didn’t hear anything on your ROUND 1 submission, let us know. Round 2 closes tonight so get your next page in if you passed.
Some stats to give you some idea of where you stand:
Chances of publication among the general populous in real life:
In RLGL, Over 50% of entries in Round 1 were sent back to Start. This means we cut a lot of people breaks if we felt that there was enough there to warrant flipping the page. But over 1/2 of the entries was Kissy fodder in the first 125 words. (The percentage of PB manuscripts that were sent back is probably much higher than novels. We’re going to make that easier to report in the future. But for now, just know many more PBs got sent back because you don’t have that many words to work with to get Kissy’s attention. )
As you might guess, as Kissy reads the next page, even more submissions will become dessert when our suspicions that the work won’t be strong enough to go to the next page hold true. So look over those codes and think about all the reasons why a manuscript can get rejected. Are you doing any of that? Can you save your work in the next page? Only time will tell!
*Another update posted 2/24 at 3:15PM CST: To expedite our review process, and given the volume of entries we are receiving, we are reinstating feedback codes to deliver your results. There’s no time to be able to tailor our responses as much as we’d like. But this should still give you a good idea. Check out this page for common reasons why your manuscript may be sent back to start. If you receive a code, you can look it up on this page to find out what went wrong. Thanks for understanding!*
*This does not mean that we are done returning ALL results from Round 1. It just means Round 2 is open for new entrants and any previous entrants who have received their results from Round 1.
When we have returned all results, that will be noted in this post. So please don’t ask about your submission until it is clear that all results have been returned. Thank you!*
Also a number of you are not formatting the title of your files properly. See Step 9 in the Rules. Don’t change it now but in the next Round you enter, (if Kissy isn’t fed up by then), be sure to name that file correctly. All files should be named something like “PB Kissy Needs You to Title Your FILES More Specifically.doc or “MG The Way The Bacon Crumbles.doc” or “YA I Just Ate Something That Didn’t Agree with Me.doc”
Another Update for future Rounds: I think Kissy forgot to put in the rules that works submitted to RLGL should be Fiction or Creative Nonfiction works meant for the PB, ER, CB, MG, and YA formats and also a major trade publisher like a Penguin Random, HarperCollins, S&S, along with others like Candlewick and so on who sell into schools, retail bookstores like Barnes & Noble, and indies.
If you have a magazine story, board book, or nonfiction work, do not submit it to this contest as Kissy does not have those particular hats on when reviewing your submissions. Also board books, by nature of their brevity, won’t work well for this contest and in general, are ghostwritten or written in-house, derived from a PB format or other work, or written by writers who are already established with a major trade publishing house. In other words, unless you already have an in, it’s tough to break into that market and/or get an agent with a board book manuscript.
Magazine stories are not Kissy or Cynthea’s specialty, and this website is focused on major trade publication and not how to get published with Highlights, Cricket and so on which falls under the Children’s magazine market – which has its own market dynamics and considerations. So we don’t feel like we should be trying to advise people on their magazine stories. Do not try to force fit your magazine story into this contest. We can spot short stories versus PBs pretty quickly and you will get sent back to start.
Finally, we will not look at nonfiction work either as that is a whole other beast to contend with and has it’s own unique qualities and styles. Creative nonfiction, however, is okay as usually it is the story itself that drives the work more so than all the other elements that makes good straight-up nonfiction, great. *
BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING, look at our Rules and Regulations.
Once you’ve got that all figured out, click that submit button at the bottom of this post.
Round 2 will be closing submissions on Wednesday instead now (2/24/16) @ 11:59 CST to give Kissy more time to work through the manuscripts.
New entrants can enter anytime though, even if you miss a Round.
Anything can happen in this game, so get in when a round is open. Please help us make this even more fun by letting others know what’s going on and inviting them to join in on the competition! #RLGL is the official tag.
Good luck, everyone! WOOF!
RLGL – Red Light, Green Light, ROUND 2 OPEN until Tue 2/23/16 @ 11:59 CST
The second Round for this year’s Red Light, Green Light contest is open for submissions!
*This does not mean that we are done returning ALL results from Round 1. It just means Round 2 is open for new entrants and any previous entrants who have received their results from Round 1.
When we have returned all results, that will be noted in this post. So please don’t ask about your submission until it is clear that all results have been returned. Thank you!*
BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING, look at our Rules and Regulations.
Once you’ve got that all figured out, click that submit button at the bottom of this post.
Round 2 will be closing submissions on Tuesday (2/23/16) @ 11:59 CST so get those manuscripts in!
New entrants can enter anytime though, even if you miss a Round.
Anything can happen in this game, so get in when a round is open. Please help us make this even more fun by letting others know what’s going on and inviting them to join in on the competition! #RLGL is the official tag.
Good luck, everyone! WOOF!
