Win a Full Manuscript Critique from Me!

The Magic Words is now one week out from publication, and to mark the event, I'm upping the stakes for preorders: If you submit proof of purchase, you'll be entered to win a full manuscript critique from me! I'll read your ms., write up editorial notes or have a phone consultation with you (your choice), and line-edit ten pages of the text. To be entered to win:

  1. Purchase The Magic Words from a retailer of your choice by 12:01 a.m. on 9/11/2016. (If you've already bought it, great!) You can buy it from:
    1. The Strand (Order here if you're planning to come to my launch event at the Strand on September 7.)
    2. Reader's World in Lee's Summit, MO (Order here if you're planning to come to my launch event in Kansas City on September 20.)
    3. In person at the Bookmarks Festival in Winston-Salem, NC, on September 10. 
    4. Amazon
    5. Barnes & Noble
    6. Indiebound
    7. Apple
    8. Powell's
  2. Take a picture or screenshot of your receipt and e-mail it to asterisk [dot] bks [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line THE SQUIDS ARE COMING! [YOUR NAME] Do this by 12:01 a.m. on 9/12/2016. 
    1. (The subject line is a reference to a VERY old joke from my blog where I referred to submissions as SQUIDs, for Submissions, Queries, and Unidentified Interesting Documents.)
    2. Kindly do not be a smartass:  Change "[YOUR NAME]" to your actual name. 
  3. I'll hold the drawing a week later, on 9/19, and notify the winner shortly thereafter.
  4. Fine print:  This offer is entirely transferable if you want to give the opportunity to a friend. You do not have to have a completed ms. by 9/19; the ms. can be sent at a later date. I reserve the right to take four months from the day you send the ms. to read and respond. I will also happily critique manuscripts for adult readers, though it's not my expertise.
  5. The Preorder Question Offer also still applies! In short:  When you send me your e-mail, include any question you'd like to ask an editor, and I'll respond here or in my newsletter (which, hey, you can join at the bottom of this page).

want to get a taste of the book? Check out this excerpt, or the Booklist review. 

Thanks for your interest all around, and I hope you enjoy the book!