“Operation Unmask the Agent”

Hello all,

I’ve called this post

“Operation Unmask the Agent”

– it’ll make more sense in a moment, and it’s going to be a bit of fun!

But first a reminder. The is a #pitch competition for all genres & all age-groups. Yep that’s right, PB, MG, YA, NA & Adult. And every genre.

The only exception is straight erotica.

Submissions will consist of :

A 35-word pitch, answering a question & the first 300=words of your MS & in the case of PB; that’s 100-words.

Now, there is nothing wrong with a bit of lovin’ and there’s nothing wrong with a lot of lovin’ everything from unquenched desires to steamy sex; where we draw the line is, how shall I put it, we’re not accepting submissions for sex-only novels.  In other words, if it’s in context, such as (for example) a historical-romance, go for it.  But we don’t want porn –sex for the sake of sex.

It should go without saying, but just in case it doesn’t, submissions with paedophilia, bestiality, cruelty to children or animals, unnecessary racism/bigotry, stories that condone or sensationalize rape… these will be automatically deleted.

Now, if your story is set, say in the 1800s and deals with racism, naturally that is accepted, as would be a story with a theme of xenophobia – and so forth, as long as it’s in context.  Sensationalism of any kind, where the one party is victim to another, simply for the sake of sensationalism, that will not wash.

I will be holding a Q&A (ref. below) and am happy to answer questions prior also.

For the entire Rules & Conditions to the previous post titled Rules & Conditions.

OK, for the fun part.

The pitch-competition will be a lot of fun in itself, with Secret Bunny Agents & Magic Bunyips etc, but there’s going to be more. To understand what these are and to meet the Nest Bloggers & Slush Bilbies, refer to previous posts.

OK, here we go!

When doing something, I think its always more exciting if there’s a carrot dangling. 

And yes, having awesome agents ready and willing to read your submissions is a pretty big carrot, but I wanted an even bigger one!  So, after the Secret Bunny Agents have filled their favourite nests, and before the Magic Bunyips start their lurking, the submission request numbers will be totalled and … the winner is…

The pitch, from all the Nest Bloggers, which gets the highest number of FULL REQUESTS, will receive a…

$25.00 (AUD) Amazon Gift Voucher.  If there’s two with the same number, the voucher will be split, If there’s more than two, then, the first time (time-line wise) will each get an Amazon Voucher for $12.50 (AUD)

And…

The highest total number of requests, regardless if they are partials or fulls, will receive a $10.00 AMAZON VOUCHER.  Again, if there are two, then the voucher will be split and if there are more than two, the first two time-line will each win a $5.00 (AUD) Amazon Voucher.

Isn’t that great!

The better your nest, the bigger the Easter Treats!

But, I have another little game up my sleeve.

I was thinking, how can we make this “FUN” for everyone,even those not participating, even those who participated but were not selected. 

And I came up with something.

We have nine (9) Secret Bunny Agents + four Magic Bunyips

How this will work.

At Agent Reveal Time, all participating Secret Bunny Agents names and brief bios will be shown, what you will not know is which mask they will wear.  This will be revealed after Easter.

To demonstrate.  Lets call my imaginary Agent Jo Bloggs.

Jo Bloggs is an Agent at ABC Literary specialising in MG & YA.  Jo is especially interested in adventure stories, think pirates. 

So, there will be 10 such agents.

It’ll be a guessing game if Jo is a Rapper Bunny or a Farmer Bunny or maybe a Football Bunny.  Not even the agents will know who is wearing what mask… everyone will have to guess.  But guessing is so much more fun if there’s a reward.

So, whether you submit or not, everyone can play.

Below is an example with made up names, and there’s only five.  It’s to demonstrate only. The idea is to match the agent with their bunny mask . The idea is to match the Agent to the mask.

Agent Name                                            Bunny Mask Name

Jo Bloggs                                                        Zorro Bunny

John C Smith                                                  Tech Bunny

Jayne Doe                                                       Rapper Bunny

Bobbie Brown                                                 Farmer Bunny

Sam Citizen                                                     Football Bunny

This is complete and utter fun and serves no purpose but to play along. 

I’ll give more detail as we get closer but you can do a chart or an (=) for example Jo Bloggs = Rapper Bunny, John Smith = Zorro Bunny (etc)  The entries will be sent through via email per the below schedule & I will be available for questions.

And the winner is…

The rules are simple.  The time-line you can submit your Unmask the Agent email will serve as both your entry and your entry time.

This competition/game is open to everyone.

Only one entry per person (please play fair, cheating just ruins it for everyone)

The winner will be the first person, time-line wise to guess and match all the agents with their masks.  If no one guesses right, then all who sent in an entry email will go into a draw with a random winner picked.  If more than one person guesses correctly, then the first correct entry received will be the winner.

And what do you win?  An Amazon $25.00 (AUD) gift voucher!

There will be more details as we get closer to the date, but for now, take a look at the Time-Line Schedule below (note Unmask the Agent submission is April 12^th):

Schedule: 

March 15^th      Introduce the Agents

Mar 20^th           Update the Bunny Masks

Mar 21st-29^th      Run a 35-word Pitch clinic

Follow @NestPitch & @Nik_Vukoja on Twitter for more information.

March 30th        Run Q&A on-line allowing people to ask questions

Follow @NestPitch & @Nik_Vukoja on Twitter for more information.

Mar 30^th           Post on Twitter submission window to open April 1^st

Apr 1^st -2^nd        Submission windows open 1^st April NOON USA EST until 11.59am 2^nd April USA EST (equiv. times in UK, Australia & Europe will be posted)

Apr 3^rd -10^th     1^st Round – Slush Bilbies select top 120 nests*

Apr 12^th           Match Agent to Bunny Mask window open 8am USA EST for 12 hours, until 8.00pm April 12^th USA EST (times diff for other countries will also be listed) – Emails must be received during this time to be eligible.

Apr 11^th -15^th  2^nd Round – Nest Bloggers  pick their 72 nests*

Apr 16^th              3rd Round – Nest Bloggers post their top choices

Apr 17^th -19^th   4th Round Secret Bunny Agents  stock *nests

Easter Sun.     Stocked *nests* revealed/Secret Bunny Agents identities revealed

Apr 21^st           Unmask the Agent Winner Revealed

Apr 22^nd          Bunyips can now offer belated presents*

Apr 23^rd           All #NestPitch requests should be received by Secret Bunny Agents.

Apr 28^th           All Bunyip requests should be made& sent

Apr 30^th           Special additional surprise revealed!

May 1^st            Update on #nestpitch Blog thanking everyone + a special <surprise>

So, spread the word, share the love, play nice, & don’t forget, there’s also #Pitchmadness with Brenda Drake in March… off you go, hop to it… & gave fun

Until Nest Time

          Super-Bunny- Power- Out!

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