[patricia-brown Posts: 25 Status: Offline I'm a teacher and aspiring children's book author. WWW]

Hello to all of my fellow writers, 

I'm not sure if I'm able to submit an entire picture book manuscript to the Work in Progress/Cushman Late Bloomer contest. I have reached out through e-mail and haven't heard back. Since the deadline is April 15th I'd like to find out as soon as possible. Thanks in advance to anyone that can help me with this. Have a wonderful day! 

Pat

[Debbie Vilardi Posts: 6,943 Status: Offline Language is so cool! WWW]

Since all the regular WIP guidelines apply and that says picture book text, I think you can.

Also, hi from a fellow LI members.

[patricia-brown Posts: 25 Status: Offline I'm a teacher and aspiring children's book author. WWW]

Thanks Debbie,

I'm excited about entering the contest. It's nice to meet someone from Long Island.  Have a wonderful day!

Pat 

[patricia-brown Posts: 25 Status: Offline I'm a teacher and aspiring children's book author. WWW]

Hi,

I have tried to submit my manuscript as a PDF file and am unable to. I keep getting an error message that the PDF has to be less than 20 mb which it is. I'm so frustrated since the deadline for this contest is tomorrow. I've already reduced the file size and the link to the WIP Submission is not allowing me to upload my manuscript. I hope that someone is able to help me resolve this issue. Thanks in advance for your help. 

Pat 

[David Wright Posts: 963 Status: Offline Tell me that again.]

When you say it's less than 20MB, do you mean substantially? Files actually take more space than they show--although the difference is dependent on how the hard drive is setup.

Have you printed your PDF to Microsoft Print to PDF, to see if a brand new save works any better?

[Debbie Vilardi Posts: 6,943 Status: Offline Language is so cool! WWW]

If Dave's advice doesn't work, try emailing again. Send the message to whomever is listed as the contact for questions on the grant. And keep trying. Sometimes a total redo works and you never know the reason.

[patricia-brown Posts: 25 Status: Offline I'm a teacher and aspiring children's book author. WWW]

Thanks David and Debbie,

Unfortunately nothing has worked so far. When I go to info on the PDF it gives this information:

87,068 bytes (90 KB on disk)

I'm going to actually call the phone number of the contact person on the e-mail. I've already e-mailed her but haven't heard back.
I'm a little upset because I really want to submit to this contest. Hopefully I'll be able to get this figured out, thanks again. 

Pat 

[RebeccaL-G Posts: 1,434 Status: Offline RA SCBWI Cen-Cal WWW]

The SCBWI office is closed for Passover and Easter weekend. I haven't looked at the contest, but unless it says to send a PDF, perhaps sending it as a word document would solve the file size issue.

[patricia-brown Posts: 25 Status: Offline I'm a teacher and aspiring children's book author. WWW]

The SCBWI office is closed for Passover and Easter weekend. I haven't looked at the contest, but unless it says to send a PDF, perhaps sending it as a word document would solve the file size issue.

Hi Rebecca,

I should have realized they'd be closed because of the holiday, thanks for letting me know. The submission guidelines state only PDFs are allowed.
The good news is I have a manuscript that I feel is worthwhile sending in, the bad news is I might not be able to.  I'll keep trying, thanks again.

Pat

[Vijaya Posts: 7,379 Status: Offline Encourage WWW]

Patricia, I'm so sorry you're dealing with this issue--see this thread: https://www.scbwi.org/boards/index.php?topic=92372.0
I referenced it to another member who was able to make the necessary changes to get it to work. Good luck!

[patricia-brown Posts: 25 Status: Offline I'm a teacher and aspiring children's book author. WWW]

Hi Vijaya,

Thanks so much for sharing this information with me. I've decided that I will simply send the two PDFs to the e-mail mentioned in the thread, which is the same e-mail I have used to contact the person previously. I was going to call her today but won't because of the holiday. At this point, I feel it's best to explain what happened and send in my submission.  Fingers crossed lol. Thanks again to everyone who reached out to me. I hadn't posted on here for a long time but knew it was the right place to come to. 

Pat 

[Ree Posts: 345 Status: Offline No Boxes WWW]

Sorry, I am late to this. If you have an apostrophe in your file name, it won't take. I had the same problem. Removed my apostrophe and it worked.

Ree

[David Wright Posts: 963 Status: Offline Tell me that again.]

If you have an apostrophe in your file name, it won't take

Great suggestion -- Try to keep out all non-letter/numbers other than a space.

[patricia-brown Posts: 25 Status: Offline I'm a teacher and aspiring children's book author. WWW]

Thanks Ree,

That does make sense, although it's past the due date I'll certainly keep it in mind when I enter other contests. I sent my PDF entry in directly to the contact e-mail. I'm hoping it will be accepted. Fingers crossed!

Pat 

[Debbie Vilardi Posts: 6,943 Status: Offline Language is so cool! WWW]

Good luck.

[Ree Posts: 345 Status: Offline No Boxes WWW]

I hope they accommodate you!

Ree

[patricia-brown Posts: 25 Status: Offline I'm a teacher and aspiring children's book author. WWW]

Thanks so much. 

Pat