"Marcher Lord Select is American Idol meets book acquisitions," said MLP Publisher Jeff Gerke. "We're presenting upwards of 40 completed manuscripts and letting the people decide which one should be published."

The contest will proceed in phases, in which voters will receive larger glimpses of the competing manuscripts for each subsequent round, Gerke said. The first phase will consist of the book's title, genre, length, a 20-word premise and a 100-word back cover copy teaser blurb. Voters will then cut the Christian fantasy and science fiction entries from 40 to 20.

The following rounds will provide voters with a one-page synopsis, the first 500 words of the book, the first 30 pages of the book and the first 60 pages of the book in the final round. The manuscript receiving the most votes in the final round will be published by MLP in spring 2010.

"We want to show authors that getting published involves more than simply writing a great novel," Gerke said. "There are marketing skills to be developed-and you've got to hook the reader with a good premise."

Click here for more information about the Marcher Lord Select contest, which began earlier this week and runs until February 2010.