The First 500 Words

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

This is me, running around the house.

These are my nails. Except I bit them all off.

What is the cause of all this commotion? I will tell you.

You know the upcoming $1000 WriteOnCon contest? {You do know about this, don't you? Well, if you don't, let me be the bearer of good news. Enter the first 500 words of your manuscript. Winner gets $1000, an author profile page on The Reading Room, and a manuscript look-over by agent Catherine Drayton. This is a big deal, because I actually know who Catherine Drayton is.}

Anyway, I want to enter. You should enter, too. Or maybe you shouldn't, because it could be harmful to your nails.

See, most of the time contests come around and I've got nothing to offer. Send in your query! {Ain't got one yet.} Send us your MS! {Um, no, it's not edited.} Your first 500 words - let us read your first 500 words! {Are you kidding me? Those are my worst!}

But I just rewrote my beginning. And I kinda, maybe, possibly like it. There may be, you know, an off-chance that it's my favorite-est beginning ever. {That's not saying much. I can't remember an beginning I've actually liked.}

I wanted a second opinion before I threw it to the wolves. So I emailed my epically awesome beta reader {who has returned to the blogosphere after hiatus! hooray!} and asked if she'd spare a few to read over my first 500 words. She most graciously obliged, and I sent it off.

And bit my nails. Aaaaghh! It wasn't supposed to be this hard the second time around {she most excellently critiqued my previous MS}.

And that is why I have no nails. Figuratively speaking.

Anyone else excited about WriteOnCon?? Anyone else enduring the sending-out of manuscripts? Please sympathize... :)