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Post by ChrisLAdams on Jun 30, 2017 8:59:11 GMT -8
I received a link to this site in an email from Autocrit with active writing contests and thought I'd throw it out there in case there was any interest. www.inkitt.com/writing-contests-competitions
I'm not currently an Autocrit subscriber but I do receive their Weekly Writing Roundup, etc emails which are typically interesting (lots of writing advice).
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Ria Stone
SWF Writers
Posts: 1,055
Joined: Oct 30, 2013 14:12:26 GMT -8
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Post by Ria Stone on Oct 15, 2017 11:02:17 GMT -8
I received a link to this site in an email from Autocrit with active writing contests and thought I'd throw it out there in case there was any interest. www.inkitt.com/writing-contests-competitions
I'm not currently an Autocrit subscriber but I do receive their Weekly Writing Roundup, etc emails which are typically interesting (lots of writing advice). Hola Chris, I don´t know much about writing contests, the one time I attempted to participate, I found I had to pay a fee. That is when I realized that some writing contests are sort of closed lotteries, the participants pay a fee, the winners get a few bucks. My friend is always sending in plays to writing contests and other venues. She does it for motivation to meet a deadline. For myself, since I do not have an area of expertise nor great skill in fiction writing, I tend to write articles for media outlets that seek free submissions. I would love to have a long resume of submissions to various online or print media outlets but my resume in that regard is still scant.
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Post by Ted on Oct 25, 2017 4:23:22 GMT -8
What turned me off the contest was the winner would receive 25% royalties from ebook sales and 51% from print sales.
This section is worrisome: However, if Publisher fails to sell, license or otherwise exploit any of the (i) Film, Television and/or Dramatic rights, or (ii) Game Rights within eighteen (18) months after the Publishing Date (as defined below) (in each such instance, an “Unexploited Right”), Author may at any time thereafter make written demand on Publisher for reversion of the Unexploited Right to Author (the “Reversion Demand”). If Publisher fails to sell, license or otherwise exploit the Unexploited Right within six (6) months after receipt of such Reversion Demand (the “Reversion Cure Period”), without Publisher being hindered, constrained or otherwise impeded in its exploitation of the Unexploited Right by the Author’s actions or third party actions, based on or arising from allegations that, if proved, would constitute a breach of any of the Author’s representations and warranties under Section 4 (collectively “Impediments to Exploitation”), the requested Unexploited Rights shall automatically revert to Author.
They first say 18 months then tack on another 6 months if author makes a “Reversion Demand”.
This is also worrying. What if an author writes a series of works along the same theme. Does this clause restrain author from a series? "Within one (1) year after the Publishing Date hereunder, the Author shall not publish, or cause or permit to be published, any written work on the same or similar subject matter as the Work that would compete with or would be reasonably likely to affect prejudicially the sales of the Work or the exploitation of any rights or subsidiary rights in the Work granted to the Publisher under this Agreement. The Author shall cooperate with and not interfere with the Publisher’s distribution and sale of the Work herein specified provided, however, that nothing herein shall limit or restrict Author’s ability to pursue other works completely different from the Work published hereunder. The Publisher shall be entitled to all remedies available at law or in equity for a breach of this Section 9, including, without limitation, the right to seek injunctive relief, without the posting of a bond or other security."
And winner for the most scary section of contest agreement: Electronic Editions: With respect to any exploitation of all or any portion of the Work in electronic media (including e-book) by or on behalf of the Publisher, a royalty equal to twenty-five percent (25%) of Net Revenue (except that if the exploitation is pursuant to a license of rights in print or electronic media, the Author will earn a share under Section 10(iii) below in connection with such license and no royalty will be payable under this Section 10(ii) in connection therewith).
That's NET not GROSS not RETAIL PRICE. For example: Retail price 4.99, marketing = 50 cents, distribution = 2.00, advertising and promotion = 1.25 has a total of 3.75 That leaves $1.24 of which you get 25% or about 30 cents on every 4.99 book. Hmmmmmm.
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Post by ChrisLAdams on Oct 25, 2017 8:35:48 GMT -8
I can't see placing a piece in one of these so-called contests that I intended to bring to market myself. My initial take, though, was that for stuff I was going to offer for free it might be a good way to get some traction for the story, and hence, get your name out there. Like many others, I feel like I have written some stories that similar-minded folks would like to read, but suffer from finding a way to get it in front of them. And when you do land your title in front of someone it always arrives with 50 to 1000000 others that, to this person you're hoping will click yours, all look alike. It's a tough racket to break into. I've made enough off Amazon sales to buy a twinkie and a Frosty. And recently Amazon did me a huuuuuge solid by taking all the ebooks I had struggled to get listed for free and changed the pricing to $0.99 in all markets, from US to Timbuktu (that's www.Amazon.Buktu). Boy, now I'll have even MORE potential readers! All those people who hate downloading free ebooks, and were eagerly looking for stories they could blow a buck on, will now have their wish come true. Simsalabim! Be honest - how many hovered their mouse over that fake link? The Inkitt 'writing contest' was a wicked way to waste time - 172 "chapter reads" (whatever the frig that means), and with 100 of the 100 free copies still available - not a review, nada. Big waste of time. So how have 12 chapters been read 172 times but no downloads? Lord knows. I'm not wasting any more white matter trying to figure that one out. Oh well. Holding out hope. Maybe Conan will get some downloads when I finish. Had an idea to improve a scene, give it more impact, and have been rewriting a couple chapters because of those changes. Nearly done. Have to hurry. The world awaits.
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Post by djmills on Oct 25, 2017 14:44:32 GMT -8
Remember, money flows to the author, not from the author. :-)
Any competition where you pay money, and/or lose all rights for life + 70 years, or for a few years only, is NOT worth entering.
You would be better off sending your story to a magazine or two to see if they accept and pay anything from $0.06 - $0.01 per word when published. And you get your rights back between 6 - 12 months later so you can then put on eBook sites and earn $0.99 every sale. Or bundle 10 short stories into one book and sell for $3.99 or higher. This is how some authors make a full time living writing short stories. :-)
Or, you can offer your short story free on signup to your mail list, and offer another free to your mail list every few months, along with publishing collections. :-) Other than that, FREE is not working anymore on Amazon, but $0.99 IS STILL WORKING. Note: I am not yelling, just stressing the parts that are important. :-)
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Post by Ted on Oct 25, 2017 17:00:55 GMT -8
... Note: I am not yelling, just stressing the parts that are important. :-) Me too. Save
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chelsfield
SWF Writers
Posts: 700
Joined: Mar 28, 2012 3:07:24 GMT -8
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Post by chelsfield on Oct 25, 2017 23:15:06 GMT -8
Yes, better to get your writing into publications without payment where you could actually gain and audience and build a portfolio, than pay for submission, maybe win a prize, but lose your rights. AND probably not be read by anybody. Has anyone ever seen one of these volumes that are products of these writing contests, aside from on the coffee table of someone who entered?
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Post by Ted on Oct 26, 2017 3:59:09 GMT -8
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Post by ChrisLAdams on Oct 26, 2017 5:16:51 GMT -8
The Inkitt writing contest I submitted to DID NOT CHARGE to enter. Not yelling - just stressing that there was no payment involved. It just didn't 'pan out' is all. Although it didn't COST A CENT it didn't reap anything either. I feel $0.99 will rarely be paid for a single short story. My stories are so varied I don't know if they'd work bundled if I ever get enough together to do so. I wish Amazon and Smashwords offered a special value price point on abbreviated material - like 25¢ if it's under so many words, maybe. But both sites have the $0.99 minimum. What'd I'd like to do is offer the first in a series for free (for me those tend to be shorter pilot stories), and then offer the sequels at a buck. For instance, in my Despair series, the first is 24k in length, while the sequel is 3x that. This will hold true for my Tomahawk series where the opening yarn is 17k while the sequel I'm still fiddling with will be of much greater length. Those Facebook groups, also, are a joke. I'm talking about the 'Promote your Free eBook' groups. You're simply posting in a group that consists only of others just like you and your post is quickly submerged in a quagmire of other eBooks that are just as free as yours. It's not like those groups (it seemed to me) are perused by readers avidly seeking free material. The hope there, as with the writing contest, was that if you could snag a few hundred folks into reading your bait material, some of them just might eventually purchase the stuff that isn't free. While I'm disparaging the lackluster and utter waste of time of writing contests and FB groups, there are the other elements that you're told are utter necessities if you're going to be an author. You must have a website, you must blog, you must ... Well, I've now got a website, I started a blog on Goodreads and added the rss feed to Amazon. I've seen no significant difference. Now, these are just some observations. And while they might sound negative it does not impact me in any way other than it drives me to keep trying. And if at some point I decide to quit writing it will only be to pursue another creative outlet. I really enjoy painting now ( just added an outre, Lovecraftian piece of black, rubbery night-gaunts fluttering over the cold wastes of Kadath to my Deviant site) but even should it pale there's always my old standby to which I always return - playing guitar.
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Post by djmills on Oct 26, 2017 14:04:12 GMT -8
Ted, I love your article on your local author giving misleading information. :-)
Chris, enter as many free competitions/writing contests that you can. It is all free advertising of your writing style. :-) Also, set whatever price you want, give it 6 months before checking. If no sales, could be overpriced, or the cover needs updating, or the blurb needs updating. If loads of sales, well and good. Write the next story and get it up. Experiment with the price on it. Keep writing and publishing, because this is a long term business. The more books published, the better our chances of one story taking off and earning us money. :-)
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chelsfield
SWF Writers
Posts: 700
Joined: Mar 28, 2012 3:07:24 GMT -8
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Post by chelsfield on Oct 26, 2017 23:01:22 GMT -8
Ted, fair comment about this author's work and get-rich presentations. I'd of felt the same way. But I wonder at the phrase 'vanity press'?
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Post by jjmainor on Oct 27, 2017 4:21:25 GMT -8
I can't see placing a piece in one of these so-called contests that I intended to bring to market myself. My initial take, though, was that for stuff I was going to offer for free it might be a good way to get some traction for the story, and hence, get your name out there. Like many others, I feel like I have written some stories that similar-minded folks would like to read, but suffer from finding a way to get it in front of them. And when you do land your title in front of someone it always arrives with 50 to 1000000 others that, to this person you're hoping will click yours, all look alike. It's a tough racket to break into. I've made enough off Amazon sales to buy a twinkie and a Frosty. And recently Amazon did me a huuuuuge solid by taking all the ebooks I had struggled to get listed for free and changed the pricing to $0.99 in all markets, from US to Timbuktu (that's www.Amazon.Buktu). Boy, now I'll have even MORE potential readers! All those people who hate downloading free ebooks, and were eagerly looking for stories they could blow a buck on, will now have their wish come true. Simsalabim! Be honest - how many hovered their mouse over that fake link? The Inkitt 'writing contest' was a wicked way to waste time - 172 "chapter reads" (whatever the frig that means), and with 100 of the 100 free copies still available - not a review, nada. Big waste of time. So how have 12 chapters been read 172 times but no downloads? Lord knows. I'm not wasting any more white matter trying to figure that one out. Oh well. Holding out hope. Maybe Conan will get some downloads when I finish. Had an idea to improve a scene, give it more impact, and have been rewriting a couple chapters because of those changes. Nearly done. Have to hurry. The world awaits. I'm trying to list an experimental, disposable piece on Amazon and for some reason, they won't let me list it at $.99 under the 35% royalty option...never mind trying to get a piece free.
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Post by djmills on Oct 27, 2017 12:22:02 GMT -8
jjmainor said: "I'm trying to list an experimental, disposable piece on Amazon and for some reason, they won't let me list it at $.99 under the 35% royalty option...never mind trying to get a piece free." This is extremely interesting. Amazon did allow $0.99 price at 35%. They may have changed their rules and are not allowing $0.99 any more. I checked. I have a 6152 word short story set at $0.99 and a first in series (12,305 word) for $0.99 with the other 5 in series set at $2.99, on all sites, including Amazon. Amazon have not yet sent me any notice about raising the prices. Maybe it is something to do with removing scammers from their ebooks and you got mixed up in the changes. You could contact Amazon support requesting they solve your issue of setting your book price to $0.99 at 35%. :-) Or, you could leave your story on all sites at $0.99, and on Amazon set it at whatever price they want, then wait for Amazon to price match. :-)
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Post by jjmainor on Oct 28, 2017 4:45:20 GMT -8
jjmainor said: "I'm trying to list an experimental, disposable piece on Amazon and for some reason, they won't let me list it at $.99 under the 35% royalty option...never mind trying to get a piece free." This is extremely interesting. Amazon did allow $0.99 price at 35%. They may have changed their rules and are not allowing $0.99 any more. I checked. I have a 6152 word short story set at $0.99 and a first in series (12,305 word) for $0.99 with the other 5 in series set at $2.99, on all sites, including Amazon. Amazon have not yet sent me any notice about raising the prices. Maybe it is something to do with removing scammers from their ebooks and you got mixed up in the changes. You could contact Amazon support requesting they solve your issue of setting your book price to $0.99 at 35%. :-) Or, you could leave your story on all sites at $0.99, and on Amazon set it at whatever price they want, then wait for Amazon to price match. :-) I too have books set at $.99 - in fact, I set most of my catalog to .99 as a test promotion. After uploading the final draft, it let me drop the price of the particular project to 1.99, but still can't get lower than that. I figure it might be the size of the file, and since it's a disposable, test piece anyway, I don't really care enough to dig into the why. I'm also throwing it into Select so if anyone grabs it just to flip through the pages, maybe I'll make a few cents on it.
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Ria Stone
SWF Writers
Posts: 1,055
Joined: Oct 30, 2013 14:12:26 GMT -8
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Post by Ria Stone on Oct 28, 2017 12:27:14 GMT -8
What turned me off the contest was the winner would receive 25% royalties from ebook sales and 51% from print sales. This section is worrisome: However, if Publisher fails to sell, license or otherwise exploit any of the (i) Film, Television and/or Dramatic rights, or (ii) Game Rights within eighteen (18) months after the Publishing Date (as defined below) (in each such instance, an “Unexploited Right”), Author may at any time thereafter make written demand on Publisher for reversion of the Unexploited Right to Author (the “Reversion Demand”). If Publisher fails to sell, license or otherwise exploit the Unexploited Right within six (6) months after receipt of such Reversion Demand (the “Reversion Cure Period”), without Publisher being hindered, constrained or otherwise impeded in its exploitation of the Unexploited Right by the Author’s actions or third party actions, based on or arising from allegations that, if proved, would constitute a breach of any of the Author’s representations and warranties under Section 4 (collectively “Impediments to Exploitation”), the requested Unexploited Rights shall automatically revert to Author. They first say 18 months then tack on another 6 months if author makes a “Reversion Demand”. This is also worrying. What if an author writes a series of works along the same theme. Does this clause restrain author from a series? "Within one (1) year after the Publishing Date hereunder, the Author shall not publish, or cause or permit to be published, any written work on the same or similar subject matter as the Work that would compete with or would be reasonably likely to affect prejudicially the sales of the Work or the exploitation of any rights or subsidiary rights in the Work granted to the Publisher under this Agreement. The Author shall cooperate with and not interfere with the Publisher’s distribution and sale of the Work herein specified provided, however, that nothing herein shall limit or restrict Author’s ability to pursue other works completely different from the Work published hereunder. The Publisher shall be entitled to all remedies available at law or in equity for a breach of this Section 9, including, without limitation, the right to seek injunctive relief, without the posting of a bond or other security." And winner for the most scary section of contest agreement: Electronic Editions: With respect to any exploitation of all or any portion of the Work in electronic media (including e-book) by or on behalf of the Publisher, a royalty equal to twenty-five percent (25%) of Net Revenue (except that if the exploitation is pursuant to a license of rights in print or electronic media, the Author will earn a share under Section 10(iii) below in connection with such license and no royalty will be payable under this Section 10(ii) in connection therewith). That's NET not GROSS not RETAIL PRICE. For example: Retail price 4.99, marketing = 50 cents, distribution = 2.00, advertising and promotion = 1.25 has a total of 3.75 That leaves $1.24 of which you get 25% or about 30 cents on every 4.99 book. Hmmmmmm. Wow, that funny fine print Thanks Ted for the details!
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