There are many people in the marketplace ripping people off, which is why we decided to do the contest in the first place.
Well, that's good and all, but:
The fee: $149, is to eliminate anyone who thinks they want to be published from entering.
First, it's
not going to eliminate anyone who thinks they want to be published from entering, whatever that means.
I'm assuming that you're talking about people who enter, think they're going to be published, whether win or lose. That's where
you, the contest holder, acknowledges that only the
grand prize winner gets the publishing deal, or what have you and whatever you want for the prizes to be. $149 does
not eliminate this AT ALL.
If anything, it invites those who are
willing to pay such a ridiculous fee.
We hope to have only serious authors apply.
See above.
You're going to have more people who are willing to spend $149 than actual serious writers for this. Willing to pay $149 =/= serious writers/authors.
And the $149 entry fee will make someone think before just uploading any old manuscript. Also, we have professional editors from major publishing houses judging the books we receive and they are being paid for their work.
True, it will make people think, however, anyone serious about a contest and winning a publishing contract, at that, are going to think about what manuscript to upload/submit besides any old one.
Where are you going to get the amount for the $5,000 and pay all your professional editors "from major publishing houses"? Are you going to use that from the $149 you're going to supposedly get from "serious" writers? And what happens if you only get two or three entries?
If you have attempted to publish a book via one of the self-publishing arenas, you will pay considerably more than $149.
Yes, but that doesn't justify your amount. Self-publishing is different than a
contest.
We plan to publish many runners-up, and with that will come marketing, publicity and all of the things a person attempting to publish themselves simply will not have. As an author myself, I put a lot of thought into the kind of contest I would like to participate in and this is what I came up with.
You would want to participate in a contest that charges $149 for EACH entry? Seriously?
Most writers
do not have $149 for each entry. How are you not trying to scam the writers out with that amount of money? That
alone holds a red flag. When I read your contest, I had to reread it to make sure I was reading it right.
I mean, really? $149 for EACH entry?
Either you really would enter such a contest or you're trying to get a writer who will fall into this and pay $149 for such a contest; maybe you're both, I don't know. I don't know you or anything, especially since you started a couple of days ago.
Also:
all of the things a person attempting to publish themselves simply will not have.
What do you mean by that?
Care to explain what other things a person might not have that YOU do?
Whatever is telling you that something is amiss, is lying to you.
So,
you're lying to us? Something here isn't right. I'm getting a lot of red flags from reading your contest and your rules, especially the amount you're wanting for each entry.
And we accept your apology because you are wrong as it relates to the contest.
Oh really?
To judge a book before you've read it is unfair. Let us launch the contest (Feb. 11). Join it. And if you have a problem, then you have a right to criticize. But it's not even officially launched yet.
One: follow your own advice. "Don't judge a book before you've read it." You're judging us by saying we're wrong and that you accept our apology, let alone the person you responded to. I don't see an apology to you ANYWHERE in his/her posts, whatsoever.
Two: It's fair game if you post it
PUBLICLY on the internet. Sorry to burst your bubble.
AND third: WHY should we join it if you plan to have sole ownership of the manuscripts (JUST BY what your 13th rule says)? Why should we enter when we have to spend $149 for not the whole entry, for
every single one?
Regarding rights. We will not take anyone's copyright. If you enter and do not win or are not a finalist, you are free to do whatever you want with your book.
You're right. You're not taking anyone's copyright because from what I remember reading, you said that we MUST remove such rights.
From your website, YOUR OWN WORDS, may I add:
"All submissions become sole property of Sponsor and
will not be acknowledged or returned. By submitting an entry,
all entrants grant Sponsor the absolute and unconditional right and authority to copy, edit, publish, promote, broadcast, or otherwise use, in whole or in part, their entries, in perpetuity, in any manner without further permission, notice or compensation. Entries that
contain copyrighted material must include a release from the copyright holder."
Each bold and color points out what's wrong with what you've said above. It contradicts, and it contradicts well. And not a good kind of contradicting,
either.
It's all good and done if you're going to release it back to the owners to do what they will with it, but with what you have for your 13th rule, how can I go by what you say here? If you want people to believe that they're getting their manuscripts back and can do what they want with it after this and do not win, then for the love of your intentions of what you said here, CHANGE THE DAMN RULE to compensate with what you've just told us.
PLEASE.
(Btw, I have taken a screen shot of your rule, just for proof measures and just in case.
)
If you are a finalist, we want the right to pitch your book for movie, TV, webisode opportunities. We want the right to garner sponsorships and any method to push your book into the marketplace?
Okay, great, but again, it contradicts with what you've said in your rules.
Your. Own. Rules.
Explain that to us, as to why it does that. Please.
Also, why the question mark at the end? You're not asking a question. Is it a rhetorical question? A grammatical mistake? What is it?
Are you questioning
your goals as to what you want to do with our manuscripts?
We are better equipped to that than an individual,
Who says? You?
What makes you more equipped to do it better than the individual? Hm?
You just started.
so we would like the right to put your book and you as an author into the marketplace to the best of our ability.
Okay, great. Again, as much as I must STRESS this, your rules contradict this.
Some of the other concerns are well taken and fortunately, we have about a month to address them.
If you have a month, then don't publish this contest until you're ready. You're clearly not ready for this and it's quite sad. You have about a month to address them, but a month is when people send in entries. It's when people are getting ready to do this.
What makes this so strange and bewildering is that you think this is just a game where you can change what you want in such a time when the writer reads these rules before hand, might not see you change the rules to whatever you change them to by the time of the submissions. The idea of doing something like this or anything in general that is major is to be prepared. You can't just do things on the whim and then say, "Oh we have a month to do this. No worries."
Thing is, there IS a worry when it comes to this, especially a contest that is so important, as you put it. Would you really enter this contest yourself?
So if you have any suggestions on how to make it stronger and better, let us know. We're going to keep doing these contest because we believe that there are so many great writers out there who would never be seen on a major level, if not for this.
Great, but there's other contests out there that does the exact same thing. What makes yours so different from theirs?
First One will deliver the next Stephen King, Nicholas Sparks, and Stephenie Meyer.
Okay, but you can't necessarily say that. You don't know what will happen in the end. You don't know how well everything will sell, especially with such promoting. You don't know what's going to happen. That's like a writer saying he or she is the next big thing and will sell millions when querying to literary agents.
You simply don't know that.
I'm sorry if this seems harsh and like I'm beating a dead horse because everyone brought this up, but it really bothers me as a writer and as a reader. I take myself as a serious writer and when I take myself as a serious one, I must judge quickly and see the signs that are there before I go ahead and do anything. If there's red flags popping up everywhere, telling me to stay away, then I'm going to listen to my gut, and sadly, it's telling me to do that
right now with your contest.