The Find Your Own Label Contest!

Now that you've met our wonderful guest judges, it's time to give you the details about our contest. The plan is to come up with a new name for the genre we love so much (yes, chick lit, but we're not supposed to mention that name, remember?). Again, we know we won't change the industry over night. That is not our intention (and neither is to kill Chick Lit, for sure). We just want to have fun, generate buzz and stir up the discussion, to let people know we love this genre, no matter what name they give it. Sounds good?

So, rewinding a little, the genre description is:

• It’s written by women and has them as one of its strongest target audiences;
• It’s contemporary;
• It can take place in any kind of setting and it’s not defined by geography or culture, even though those items might play an important role in the plot;
• It has a female main character facing issues that real women can relate to;
• The MC is usually an adult woman, but there is no age limit;
• The MC is complex and has more than one issue on her hands;
• It presents a humorous voice, wit and, more often than not, sarcasm;
• It can deal with serious issues and even make you cry sometimes, but it’s usually written in a more upbeat tone. In the end, it’s fun, even if it’s full of sad moments;
• Relationships, romantic or otherwise, are at the core of the plot and are very important to the MC (either for their existence or for the lack thereof);
• The MC can be single, married, divorced, widower, etc. Love has some importance in her life, but it might be that she can’t find it, or that she’s lost it, or that it’s fading away, or suffocating her… Any kind of relationship status and view towards love is acceptable;
• The MC’s family and friends usually have a relevant presence in her life and in the plot, as does her career;
• A knowledge of fashion by the MC is not a must-have, but having it won’t make the book unimportant;
• It doesn’t necessarily need a Happily Ever After ending, but it should end on a hopeful note. In the end, the MC should learn something and get closer to achieving her goals, or at least be in the right path.

And your task is to come up with a brilliant name for that genre! Ready? Great! On to the contest info then!



Come up with a name already!

The contest idea is simple: come up with a name for this beloved and unnamed genre. Something that reveals all its layers and complexities, and that will be able to own it some respect.

Names should be posted on twitter under the hashtag #ReChickLit (remember to use the hashtag or I'll never see your entry). Why #ReChickLit? It can mean a whole bunch of things. Rename Chick Lit? Repackage Chick Lit? Rethink, recover, recognize... That's what we're trying to do, right? So, #ReChickLit will get us started!

Contest will start on Monday, November 1st. Wait for my post saying it has officially started before you begin tweeting (names tweeted before that won't be considered). Names can be suggested until Friday, November 5th, midnight (EST). During that time, you can suggest as many names as you want!

You can either send an original name you come up with or an existing name you think should be used (like “women’s fiction” or “romantic comedy,” for instance). Names will be compiled and the judges will choose the top 10. Those ten semi-finalists will be announced on Monday, November 8th.

Next step

People in the top 10 will be notified through Twitter and asked to e-mail us a short (no more than 100 words) explanation to why they think that name should be used, what they think it represents and how the genre would benefit from it. Detailed guidelines for these explanations will be posted along with the top ten announcement, on November 8th.

If we choose a name that has been tweeted by more than two people, we will ask two people to send in explanations: the first person to tweet the name, plus one more person, chosen through random.org, to send in their explanations. The one person who will represent the name will be chosen based on the explanation. If a semi-finalist name has been tweeted by two people, both will get to send in their explanations so we can choose the one who will represent the name.

Your time to vote

After we get the explanations, it's your time to vote! The top 10 names and their explanations will be posted here on Wednesday, November 10th. And that is your cue! You get to vote for your favorite and make a difference in the choice! Voting will go on from November 10th to November 17th, midnight (EST). The five most voted will be our grand finalists! Finalists will be announced on Thursday, November 18th.

After you have chosen our grand finalists, the judges will choose our big winner! Results will be announced on Monday, November 22nd.

Sounds like a lot of steps? Don't worry. I'll have posts to guide you each step of the way. The most important thing is to have fun!

Judges and prizes

As you have seen on the interviews, I have asked a stellar team to help me judge this contest.

Chick Lit Shorties’ gals Julia and Jess

Published author Margo Candela

Published author Robyn Harding

Yes, the judges are great. And the prizes couldn’t be better!

Winner:

- A 10-page critique by Chick Lit Shorties' editor Jess McGill
- Margo Candela’s latest novel Goodbye to All That
- Robyn Harding’s latest novel Chronicles of a Midlife Crisis
- A $20 Amazon gift card
- An interview about the genre you re-named to be published on this blog

Runner-up:

- Margo Candela’s latest novel Goodbye to All That
- A $10 Amazon gift card
- A guest post on this blog

Are you in? So wait for the starting post and let out what you really think represents this genre.

In the meantime, feel free to discuss it on the comments. What genre is this, after all? And, of course, spread the word! Tweet, blog and facebook about it. The more the merrier!