Win a manuscript appraisal or partial edit (worth $480)

Get on board and show me some love! Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/eelssej_/406623767/sizes/s/in/photostream/

Those of you who drop by regularly will know that I recently released my first ever self-published e-books Growth (a poetry collection) and Cage Life (a book of two short stories). As part of promoting those little babies, so they don’t just vanish into the ether, I’m running a competition here on the blog to promote Cage Life.

Trade-published author I may be, but I’m also a professional editor who has worked in publishing for more than 14 years. I have edited books in a number of genres, both fiction and non-fiction, and I offer a freelance editorial and manuscript appraisal service. Most recently I edited David Gaughran’s short stories and indispensable self-publishing guide Let’s Get Digital, and you can check out what he has to say about me here.

As such, I’ve come up with what I hope will be a win-win situation for me to get my work out there and you to get a professional critique on your manuscript of 100,000 words or fewer. I normally charge $480 for this service, but the winner will get it for FREE! (Alternatively, if the winner doesn’t want an appraisal of the entire manuscript, they will get 11 hours of actual copy-editing on their manuscript, which is about 11,000 words worth).

There will also be other prizes awarded for creativity.

Here’s how it will work:

1. Grab a copy of my work, just .99c from Smashwords or Amazon (or, for the first 20 who request a FREE copy in the comments below, I’ll email with a code for a FREE copy from smashwords). Once you’ve got a copy, please “like” it on Amazon  (if indeed you do like it—let’s be ethical here!).

2. You then set about promoting/publicising it in whichever way you like. Promote it somewhere, anywhere — your blog, your magazine, your twitter profile, facebook, your billboard, in christmas lights on your house. The bigger the better. If you feel the urge to spend a week in a cage in Times Square screaming it to the masses don’t let me stop you. (Disclaimer: I probably won’t bail you out of jail, though).
If you tweet it please include the hashtag #CageLife (or use @Authorandeditor) so I can see that you have. You can use this tweet if you like:

Did you guess the twist in @Authorandeditor Karin Cox’s e-book “Cage Life”?  http://amzn.to/p54ckn #CageLife

3. If you post it on a blog, review it on Amazon or otherwise promote it, please pop back here and, in the comments, let me know where and how you promoted, providing a link to your “promo” or to a photo of your promo. (No need to do this for tweets, as long as you hashtag it #CageLife)

4. All verified promoters (those who have reviewed, blogged, posted a link in comments or tweeted or otherwise) will then go into a random draw. Every instance counts as an entry, e.g. if you tweet, blog, facebook and review it on Amazon you have 4 entries. Be sure to let me know every time you promote, either in the comments or on twitter using @Authorandeditor and #CageLife.

5. There will also be a few spot prizes (a free giveaway of my other ebook, or a free Amazon blurb edit, or a 1000-word edit) for those I think have done an exceptional job of spreading the word, or for creativity and originality.

The competition will run for 6 weeks. Entries close on 31 August 2011. Remember, EVERY promotional effort counts as an entry, so for instance, if you tweet, post a review on Amazon, post a review on Smashwords and promote on your blog that will be 4 entries of yours that go into my crazy cowboy hat I bought in Phuket.

The winner will be drawn on 1 September and will be contacted by email and announced here on the blog. I’ll then email them to arrange to do the appraisal/partial edit. (Assuming I like the book, I’ll even give them a little plug here on the blog and on my twitter and facebook).

Please feel free to also promote the competition by directing people back here (which will also count as an extra entry if you let me know about it).

Good luck!  And get promoting.

P.S if I don’t respond to FREE requests in comments straight away I’m probably asleep. Don’t worry, the first 20 commenters who want a freebie will get one.