Janice Sage became the owner of a picturesque Maine inn 22 years ago , after entering a writing contest . Now the 68-year-old innkeeper is ready to retire and plans to hand off the keys to the Center Lovell Inn and Restaurant to a new owner with a new contest . Ms Sage announced the contest late last year , and expects to receive 7,500 entries from prospective new owners by the May 7 deadline . On Monday , the Daily Mail Online spoke with Ms Sage about her decision to finally step away from the inn she 's toiled at and invested $ 500,000 into for renovations . All this could be yours : The owner of the Center Lovell Inn and Restaurant in Maine is holding a contest , with the winner getting to take over ownership of the historic inn built in 1805 . ' I 've been in the business 38 years so it 's time to retire , ' Ms Sage said , adding that she 's looking forward to doing nothing in her retirement after years of 17-hour workdays . Ms Sage says she ca n't reveal the essay that won her the inn in 1993 , but she believes her 16 years running a restaurant in Maryland helped . 'One of the judges told me they chose me because they saw that I could carry on the inn and make it a viable business , ' Ms Sage said . While Ms Sage has the right to sell the business , as the outright owner , she has decided to give it away with a new essay contest out of goodwill . ' I just want to pass it on to somebody else who is looking for an inn , who possibly ca n't own it on their own outright and I think this is a good way to pay it forward , ' she said . Ms Sage hopes to read all of the applications by May 17 , and says she 'll be impressed by grammatically correct entries that show a passion for work . Current owner : Janice Sage ( pictured above ) has owned the Center Lovell Inn since 1993 , when she won a similar contest . Deadline approaching : Prospective owners can apply to take over the inn by submitting a 200-word essay and $ 125 by the deadline of May 7 . The prompt for the essay is simple : 'Why I would like to own and operate a country inn . ' Prospective new owners must answer the question in a pithy 200 words , and pay $ 125 to enter the contest . Ms Sage will be keeping the money from the application , which could exceed the inn 's estimated value of $ 900,000 . Ms Sage wo n't choose the winner , though . Instead , she 'll whittle down the list to the top 20 candidates and then let a two-person team who have no stake in the inn select the winner by May 21 . The inn will then transfer to the new owner within 30 days , along with $ 20,000 to jumpstart the business . However , the new owners must agree to keep the inn , which dates back to 1805 , painted white with green or black trim . They must also run the property as an inn for at least one year after the handover . Busy , busy : The inn , located three hours north of Boston , is open year round and its seven rooms are routinely booked up seven days a week in the high season . While the new owners can revel in self-employment , the job of keeping up the inn is no easy work , Ms Sage warns . The inn , located three hours north of Boston , is open year round and its seven rooms are routinely booked up seven days a week in the high season . Everyday , Ms Sage and about 10 employees work to cook breakfast , clean rooms , take reservations , check out guests and serve dinner . 'Unless you raise 14 kids , you ’ re not going to be used to this , ' Ms Sage told the Boston Globe . 'Look , this is something you start when you ’ re young . It takes a lot of stamina . ' Ms Sage was 46 when she took over the inn , having never visited Maine before in her life . When she learned she was the lucky winner , she brought along her parents to help with the new place ( her father has since passed and mother is now in a nursing home ) . Ms Sage grew to love Maine and plans to remain in the area for the time being .
Lovell Inn , current owner of the Center Janice Sage , won the inn in a 1993 essay contest . After running the inn for 22 years , 68-year-old Sage is ready to retire . She expects to receive 7,500 applications by the May 7 deadline .