Words & Music:

A Literary Feast in New Orleans

2011 Manuscript & Workshop Critique Guidelines

Agent & Editor Critiques

If you wish to submit work for critiques by an agent and editor, please note that the rules have changed! We require that everything be submitted electronically, along with one hard copy of documents MAILED TO OUR OFFICE.

Those authors registered for the Writers' Tuition Package or All Events Package have as part of their packages one agent critique and one editor critique. For writers who already are represented, we can offer two critiques by editors. Only the seven winners of the Faulkner Society's literary competition and those Louisiana authors accepted as scholarship/volunteers are eligible for a complimentary tuition packages with the critiques. Runners-up and Finalists of the competition are eligible for a discount on the writers' tuitition package, as are students of Louisiana colleges and universities.

In addition to the two critiques included in the Writers' Tuition and All Events packages, those registered for such packages may opt to pay an additional fee for additional critiques. Each additional critique, whether an agent or an editor, requires an additional fee of $75.

Writers not registered for either package may register for an editor or agent critique at a
cost of $100 per critique.

Payment of fees is required at the time writers sign up for critiques. Prior to submitting,
Please review the guidelines below. Agents and editors are assigned on a first-come,
first -serve basis of requests and according to type of work submitted.

1. Write a cover letter in the body of your email to Words & Music stating that you are attending the conference and wish to have manuscript critiques and consultations. You may name the editor and agent you wish to speak with, but please remember, these assignments are on a first-come, first-served basis. We also attempt, as far as possible, to place manuscripts with appropriate professionals. (This cover letter also will be the first page of your snail-mailed copy.)

2. With the email letter, you will need to include the following as a single word.doc or pdf attachment as follows:  

A. For Novel, novella, or novel in progress, memoir, history, biography: Contact sheet (your name and all contact info, name of work, type of work, estimated word count of completed manuscript); synopsis (not more than one page single spaced or two pages double-spaced) and 25 to 30 pages, usually first couple of chapters, or some pages you feel are the
best example of your writing skills. Total submission 7,500 words, double-spaced,
one-inch margins.

B. For Short Story, Essay, Journalistic Feature (such as travel writing), or Criticism: Contact sheet, and entire manuscript, double-spaced, one-inch margins.

C. For Poetry: Contact sheet, and selection of three poems.

Please Note: Do not use the type font "Cambria" as it is an unstable font and frequently comes across as gobbledygook in transmission.

NOTE: DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS CHANGED TO OCTOBER 1

3. All submissions must be in our hands by October 1, 2011, drop dead deadline. Send your electronic submission to: faulkhouse@aol.com and put "Manuscript Critiques" in your message header. Put your cover letter in the body of the email. For the hard copy, mail your cover letter and all applicable documents to: Manuscript Critiques, Faulkner Society, 624 Pirate's Alley, New Orleans, LA 70116

Important! General Guideline for all Categories

Urgent Please note: when you art naming your attachments, use your first and last name for the contact page (e.g. Rosemary James.doc) and for your entry use abbreviated title and category (e.g. Blind Love/Novel.doc). It is not necessary to put a variation of "Faulkner Competition" in the title, as this has caused us lots of separating and filing problems, and a lot of extra work changing the titles so we can easily recognize the documents.

Again, you must register with applicable fees before or simultaneously with this electronic submission.  Only competition winners, and Louisiana writers approved by sponsors for scholarship participation may submit for manuscript critiques without paying applicable fees. For pricing details, Click Here!

When you come to the conference, bring several hard copies of your submission. Also bring several copies of completed manuscripts being critiqued in the event the editor or agent wants to see the entire work.

Guidelines for:

Limited Registration Workshop Writing Samples

There will be three Limited Registration Workshops During Words & Music, 2011. Submissions for these workshops should not be confused with the manuscript submissions for advance critique by editors and agents and one-on-one consultations with these agents and editors to whom you are assigned. For each of the three Limited Registration Workshops,
the basic guidelines are the same, only the subject matter changes. So, if you are signing
up for all three limited registration workshops, you will need to plan on submitting three different writing samples.

Each of the three workshops will involve subject matter applicable to both narrative non-fiction and fiction.  Each class will be limited to 15 people and run two hours. Each class will be $50 per person. These limited registration workshops will not run concurrently and writers will be assigned on a paid first-come, first-serve basis. It is not necessary to purchase a writers package to register for these workshops.There are no scholarship positions for these classes and no discounts.  All three classes require contact pages plus five-page submissions on the subject of the class for critique during the workshop, double-spaced, one-inch margins.The submissions must e-mailed to us by September 25 in word.doc or pdf format. Please bring two hard copies of the relevant sample with you to each of the workshops.

Workshop One
Wednesday, November 9
Michael Murphy& Rosemary Daniell
Getting The Gravedigger. 
The term comes from a melding of the Shakespearian sense by which his grave digger characters used their wit and insights to appraise a situation and get the better of their social superiors -- along with the literal meaning from Jimmy Breslin's profile of Clifton Pollard, a grave digger for the National Cemetery at Arlington.  After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Breslin's story stood out from all the waves of other stories about JFK and Lee Harvey Oswald in that Breslin's completely non-sensationalized piece captured all the feelings of the American people through the thoughts of the man hired to dig JFK's grave. For every exploited O.J. Simpson or Charlie Sheen "event,"  there's always a side window for a writer to enter the material and create a much more interesting piece. This applies to both non-fiction and fiction. A famous writer has said:

Nothing has been written about so often that there is not something new to be said.

The attendees will write about an open ended topic where they feel the excess of words already tossed at the topic is an issue.  Participating writers should choose a subject they feel has its ability to capture the attention of readers because it has been overworked to death. Then, come up with a totally new angle and write five pages from the new angle.  Examples of overworked subjects are Katrina, Celebrity Culture, Vampires, political polarization, eccentric southern families, a life lesson teaching dog, a woman going through a divorce, a family coping with cancer, paternal abuse of a daughter. Without some unique intellectual twist to such topics, in this tight publishing market the story simply is not going to get published.

The trick is to find the previously undiscovered back or side door into the story.

Workshop Two
Thursday, November 10
Michael Murphy and Chris Chambers
How to Get the Reader’s Attention in the First Five Pages
There are two audiences the author must consider when writing the opening chapter of a book: agents and editors on one hand, who are the first important readers, those who will determine the fate of a manuscript, and, then the general reading public. If the author fails to grab both types of readersin the first few pages, the manuscript will never make it beyond the vanity publishing level.

Participating writers will submit five-page openings for critique during the workshop.

Participating writers will submit five-page samples introducing a character within a scene, which will be critiqued during the workshop. If you have specific questions about

If you have specific questions about any of the required submissions, contact Michael
Murphy at Mmurphy@MaxLit.com.

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