3. How do I enter the contest?
4. Should I register if I’m NOT going to submit an entry to the video, essay, or one-liner contest?
6. How do I enter my Confessions From the Fast Lane essay?
7. How do I enter my “I knew I was living in the fast lane when…” one-liner?
6. Can I enter as often as I wish?
9. How will the winners be decided?
11. How do I vote in the contest?
14. What is the deadline for entering the contest?
15. When does voting for the winners begin?
16. When will the winners be announced?
1. Who’s Karen Quinn?
Karen Quinn is the author of the bestselling novel, The Ivy Chronicles, a satire based on her experiences helping wealthy Manhattanites get their little darlings into the city’s best private kindergartens. Her newest book, Wife in the Fast Lane, is about Christy Hayes, a woman who seems to have it all - fame, money, a gorgeous and powerful CEO husband - but when she takes on motherhood, her world starts to fall apart.
In 2000, Karen was downsized from a big corporate job, so she started a private school admissions advisory business called Smart City Kids. After three years, she couldn’t take all the tears (from the parents, not the children), so she tried her hand at writing a novel about her crazy kindergarten admissions experience. The Ivy Chronicles was the result. It was optioned to Warner Brothers with Catherine Zeta Jones to star and Jerry Weintraub to produce. Wife in the Fast Lane will be released in the U.S. in March, 2007.
2. When you talk about writing an essay, “Confessions from the Fast Lane,” or a one-liner, “I knew I was living in the fast lane when,” or a filming a video showing your view from the fast lane, what do you mean by “fast lane?”
Wife in the Fast Lane is about a woman trying to do it all - taking care of her husband, her children, her business, her volunteer work, herself - and dropping balls left and right. That’s my life and it’s the life of every woman I know (men too!). You don’t have to be married to be living in the fast lane. In fact, life can be even more of a challenge when you’re trying to date while raising kids on your own. The fast lane is this crazy life so many of us are leading where our days are filled with work, working out, taking kids to school, walking the dog, doing housework, cooking, running errands, caring for parents, haircuts, doctor’s appoinments, romantic entanglements, checking emails, shopping, keeping up with the latest anti-aging products (or is that just me?), you get the picture. How are you managing it all? Have their been some absurd juggling moments where balls were dropped and if you didn’t laugh, you’d cry? What’s your fast lane truth? Tell us via video, an essay or a one-liner - whichever method sparks your creative juices.
3. How do I enter the contest?
First, you’ll want to register. You only need to do this once. When you register, you’ll choose a username and password. Use that username and password to submit entries to the video, essay, and/or one-liner contest. The password will also get you into the site to vote for your favorites after the top ten in each category have been selected. Deadline for entries is February 28th.
4. Should I register if I’m NOT going to submit an entry to the video, essay, or one-liner contest?
YES! Only those who have registered will be notified about special incentives we’ll be offering along the way where EVERYONE REGISTERED can win wonderful prizes.
5. How do I enter my video? Video uploads will be running soon…
6. How do I enter my Confessions From the Fast Lane essay?
Go to the Enter Essay page. Input your essay directly into the form, along with your username and password and hit send. It’s that easy. Remember to make sure that your essay is no more than 800 words.
7. How do I enter my “I knew I was living in the fast lane when…” one-liner?
Go to the Enter One-Liner page. Input your one-liner directly into the form, along with your username and password and hit send. Make sure your one-liner is no more than 50 words. That’s all there is to it.
6. Can I enter as often as I wish?
Yes, there is no limit to the number of videos, essays and one-liners you can enter.
9. How will the winners be decided?
It’s a two step process. First, there will be a panel of judges for each category. They will rate all the entries in their category. Here is the criteria they will use: 1) Originality - 25 points, 2) Humor - 25 points, 3) Quality - 25 points, 4) Sense of truth - 25 points; the scale for awarding points within the criteria are 0-5 points - poor, 6-10 points - fair, 11-15 points - good, 16-20 points - excellent, 21-25 points - extraordinary. The judges’ scores will be averaged and the top ten submissions in each category will be posted on the site by March 5, 2007.
Once the top tens have been posted, you (and everyone else who has registered with the contest) will be invited to vote for your favorite submission among the top ten in each category between March 5 - March 12, 2007. Registrants can vote once in each category.
In the event of a tie, we will follow the process outlined in the Official Rules to break the tie and select a winner.
We are looking for volunteers who understand what it’s like to live in the fast lane to judge the top ten submissions in each category. To volunteer, you must believe that you are living in the fast lane. We can take up to ten volunteers in each category. Volunteers will receive a personally signed copy of Wife in the Fast Lane. If you’d like to learn more about being a judge, go to the volunteer page.
11. How do I vote in the contest?
Between March 5 - 12, 2007, you will be invited to vote for your favorite entry in each category. Note: this is not like American Idol - you may only vote once per entry.
12. Who can enter?
You must be 18-years-old by January 9, 2007. Only legal residents of the US (except Puerto Rico), the District of Columbia, and Canada (except Quebec) are eligible to win. If you do not meet these residency requirements, you can still submit videos, one liners, and essays for the purpose of having your work seen, but unfortunately, it won’t be eligible to win. You can also vote, volunteer to judge, and enjoy reading and viewing all the submissions no matter where you live.
13. I forgot my username / password
Use the password recovery form and we’ll email you a reminder.
14. What is the deadline for entering the contest?
The deadline for entries is February 28th.
15. When does voting for the winners begin?
March 5 - March 12, 2007 – YOU VOTE for your favorite entries in each category
16. When will the winners be announced?
March 13 – WINNERS ARE ANNOUNCED
