“Easy reading is damn hard writing.”
Nathaniel Hawthorne

However hard we work at our writing, there comes a time for many of us when we’ve pushed a draft as far as it can go and we need help beyond what’s available through our writing group or friends. If you have a well-polished draft, but you think it may still have problems in plotting or pacing, you may benefit from expert feedback.

If so, then I’ve just come across information about a contest that I wanted to share with you and which you may want to check out: It could win you an in-depth analysis of your project from Barbara Kyle, an award-winning author and teacher who has helped launch a number of writers’ careers. You can find out more about her background at wwww.BarbaraKyle.com.

Here are the basics: There’s no fee for the contest and it’s open to all genres and to works of either fiction or narrative nonfiction. The deadline: April 30th. Winners can send their manuscript right away or take up to a year before sending it for review.

The Grand Prize (valued at $1200) is an evaluation of a full manuscript. Second Prize, an evaluation of the first 50 pages and Third Prize, evaluation of a manuscript’s first 25 pages. In each evaluation, Barbara will identify story’s strengths and weaknesses in terms of structure, character development, pacing, point of view, style, and marketability. She’ll also suggest specific improvements.

The maximum length of a writing sample is 1,500 words, double-spaced, 12 point type. Send the sample in the body of your email or as an attachment in Word or PDF to manuscriptcontest@gmail.com. Be sure to include full contact information. The winners will be contacted on May 10, 2015. For contest specifics, check out: http://www.barbarakyle.com/manuscript-evaluations/.

If you’re excited about your project, but feel it needs expert help to get to the next level, this may be a valuable resource and you may want to consider throwing your hat in the ring. Write on!