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I assumed that these days publishers specify terrestrial and extraterrestrial rights in contracts, just in case we ever colonize Mars.
Funny!!
I assumed that these days publishers specify terrestrial and extraterrestrial rights in contracts, just in case we ever colonize Mars.
I assumed that these days publishers specify terrestrial and extraterrestrial rights in contracts, just in case we ever colonize Mars.
Believe me, all the majors are very interested in ebooks. If it weren't an impropriety, I'd quote you some startling statistics on the rise in ebook sales over the past year. The time when a strong focus on ebooks was a distinguishing mark for a publisher has passed. What I'll take that announcement to mean is that First One has no plans to make itself a presence in brick-and-mortar publishing -- which is where the majority of books are still sold.This one is just out of the oven: First One Publishing.
Its about us sounds oddly familiar, it reminds me of Carina Press, Harlequin's digital-first imprint. Besides it’s interesting the way it states, “First One Publishing is the first major publisher to put the ebook first.” Bold is mine. It started this morning and is already major.
Meanwhile, it’s introduced accurately by Paul Biba like this, “First One Digital Publishing is a new brand of publishing company focused on publishing literary content primarily for digital e-reader outlets and devices.” [read story here]
That's more than the administrative costs of running the contest. Since First One is using out-of-house editors (which I'll admit is a strange thing to do), my assumption is that most of the $149 fee is meant to pay the editor/judges. If so, it's still not right.xccorpio said:I was enthusiastic about it until I read its writing contest rules. Specially this part: FEES: There will be a $149.00 entrance fee for each submission. The fee must be paid online before the manuscript will be accepted.
Yes, I know many literary contests charge a fee, but I personally think this is too much.
As I believe Digital Medievalist pointed out, it's copyright infringement that's illegal, not plagiarism.
First One Publishing Writing Contest
1. All entries must be original works, in English. Plagiarism, which includes the use of third-party poetry, song lyrics, characters or another person's universe, without written permission will result in disqualification.
I don't see the difference between disqualification and not winning the competition. And if First One has strong feelings about excessive sax 'n' violins, it would be a good idea for them to say more about where they draw the line.Excessive violence or sex, determined by the judges, will result in disqualification.
Is it quibbling to point out that many outstanding "works intended for children' are prose, or that many not-entirely-prose illustrated books and graphic novels aren't aimed at children?2. To be eligible, entries must be works of prose. We regret that we cannot consider poetry, or works intended for children for this contest.
Rather short by current standards.FORMAT: Entries must not be more than 65,000 words long --
They said that already.
and must not have been previously published.
RTF is our friend. And if First One is allowing contestants to submit work as MSWord documents, it would be a good idea for them to refer contestants to some small technical document that explains all the clever MSWord features and formats they are not to use in their manuscripts.Entries must be sent as Microsoft Word documents.
The font must be Times New Roman, 12-point size. Do not justify right-side margin. Along with the cover letter, the author’s name, address, email address and phone number must appear on the first page.
The meaning of this escapes me. Surely a manuscript that's incomplete in part is also incomplete in whole, and one that's incomplete in whole is also incomplete in some or all of its parts?5. All submissions must be in English. Entries are void if they are in whole or in part incomplete, --
Is this another hardcopy rule? Whatever it is, it's unnecessary. If the judges can't read the manuscript, the manuscript can't win.or damaged, --
Say what? Last we heard, the rule was "no excessive sex or violence." Now "vulgarity" has been added to the mix, and the ban on excessive violence has morphed into a ban on promoting violence. At minimum, this calls for a more detailed explanation of what the publisher has in mind.or if they do not conform to any of the requirements specified herein. Sponsor reserves the right, in its absolute and sole discretion, to reject any entries for any reason, including but not limited to based on sexual content, vulgarity, and/or promotion of violence.
That's definitely a hardcopy rule.Each entry may be submitted only once. Please retain a copy of your submission.
8. PRIZES: One Grand-Prize Winner will receive:
• First One Publishing contract for terrestrial and digital publication of winning book.
Where, exactly, are they planning to have the little-known author of a little-known work make personal appearances in support of an e-publication?• Five thousand ($5,000) cash
• A complete marketing and publicity tour tied to the winning book.
Naturally, there would have to be a publishing contract, but they sure aren't making it sound cute & friendly. Maybe it's just the fact that the author can't back out of the deal if they don't like the additional terms and conditions.• First One Publishing Library (20 books valued at $240.00)
• Grand-Prize Winner must sign the publishing contract, which contains additional terms and conditions in order to be published.
Oh yeah? Pull the other one, it's got bells on. No way is First One getting twenty publishable manuscripts out of the entries to this competition.Twenty Second-Prize Winners will receive:
• A First One Publishing contract for digital publication
All legitimate publishers promote their books. This should be standard procedure, not a one-time prize.• A complete marketing and publicity plan to promote the digital book as well as feature placement (bio, blog, etc.) on the First One Publishing website.
Terms and conditions aren't a bad thing when they're voluntary.• A First One Publishing Collection (10 books valued at $120)
• Second-Prize Winners must sign the publishing contract, which contains additional terms and conditions in order to be published.
Why not? If one of the winners has submitted two manuscripts, chances are they're both in the top echelon. Why not award a prize to the other one as well? Besides, the contest rules claim rights to all submissions in perpetuity. That hypothetical second book might as well be a published winner; there's nothing else the author can do with it. First One can't want to make a promising new author that unhappy.No contestant can win more than one prize
All books should be smart, thoughtful, and edifying. In the meantime, it would be nice if First One dropped some hints about target audience, fiction vs. nonfiction, short story collections vs. novels, general reading vs. hardcore genre, et cetera.BOOK THEME
We are not restricting books to any specific topic or genre, however they should embody what all First One Publishing authors encompass—they should smart, thoughtful, and edifying.
Either "criteria of" or "basis of," but not both. They're near-synonyms.9. JUDGING
Submissions will be judged on the equally weighted criteria of (a) basis of --
There is no guarantee in this world or the next that writing ability plus originality will add up to a publishable work. If they did, every novel-writing MFA out there would have a contract.-- writing ability and (b) the originality of the book.
A newly-launched line gains credibility and gets publicity by demonstrating its ability to pick winners. Hiring outside editors to judge the competition doesn't help.Professional judges will include editors, John Paine (The Book Doctor), Tracy Sherrod (former S&S editor), and overseen by best-selling author/publisher Karen Hunter. There will also be a slate of celebrity/author judges for the finals.
If I were a publisher trying to attract promising authors, I'd allow them the option of having some professional privacy.10. NOTIFICATION
Winners will be notified by email or phone on June 11, 2011. The Grand-Prize Winner must sign the publishing contract in order to be awarded the prize. All federal, local, and state taxes are the responsibility of the winner. A list of the winners will be available on June 11, 2011 on www.firstonepublishing.com.
11. PUBLICITY
Each WINNER grants to the Sponsor the right to use his or her name, likeness, and entry for any advertising, promotion, and publicity purposes without further compensation to or permission from such winner, except where prohibited by law.
This is what comes of letting Legal write technical documents.12. INTERNET
If for any reason this CONTEST is not capable of running as planned due to an infection by a computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of the Sponsor, which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Contest, the Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process, and to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the CONTEST. The sponsor assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft, or destruction, or unauthorized access to, or alteration of entries. The Sponsor is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunctions of any telephone network or telephone lines, computer on-line system servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any email or entry to be received by the Sponsor due to technical problems, human error or traffic, congestion on the internet or at any website, or any combination there-of, including any injury or damage to participant’s or any other person’s computer relating to or resulting from participating in this Contest or downloading any materials in this Contest.
Oh, no it isn't. I am damned well entitled to disagree with the contest, its aims, and the way it's being run, and to say so both in private conversations and public forums, whether or not the the contest is legitimate under all applicable laws.CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AD CIVIL LAWS --
Pound sand. My honestly expressed personal opinions are protected speech. And have I mentioned how much I dislike organizations that approve the use of paragraphs like that last one?AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE. THE SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES OR OTHER REMEDIES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON(S) RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ATTEMPT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
(Rolls eyes; bites tongue.)In the event of a dispute as to the identity or eligibility of a winner based on an email address, the winning entry will be declared made by the “Authorized Account Holder” of the email address submitted at time of entry. “Authorized Account Holder” is defined as the natural person 18 years of age and older who is assigned to an email address by an internet access provider, online service provider or other organization (ie. Business, education institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address. Use of automated devices is not valid for entry.
Another one of those pesky rules that only make sense if you're dealing with hardcopy. Did First One not read these rules before publishing them?13. LEGAL Information
All submissions become sole property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned.
WTF?!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.
What kind of a release? This is puzzling. The indemnity clause in a standard contract should be all they need.Entries that contain copyrighted material must include a release from the copyright holder.
That would actually be a reasonable clause in an otherwise sane contract. The publisher can't stipulate every possible reason a book might be unsuitable for publication. They need an out. What makes the clause objectionable is that in the rest of the agreement the publisher demands everything of entrants, including control of valuable properties, while excusing itself from all responsibilities.Prizes are nontransferable. No substitutions or cash redemptions, except by Sponsor in the event of prize unavailability. Sponsor reserves the right to its sole discretion to not publish the winning entry for any reason whatsoever.
That's three different clauses, run in together and inadequately punctuated.In the event that there is an insufficient number of entries received that meet the minimum standards determined by the judges, all prizes will not be awarded. Winners will be required to complete and return an affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release, within 15 days of winning notification, or an alternate winner will be selected, in the event any winner is considered a minor in his/her state of residence, such winner’s parent/legal guardian will be required to sign and return all necessary paperwork.
Do I need to mention that standard publishing contracts don't require that authors release their publishers from liability for any and all misdeeds?By entering, entrants release judges and Sponsor(s), and its parent company, subsidiaries, production, and promotion agencies from any and all liability for any loss, harm, damages, costs, or expenses, including without limitation properly damages, personal injury, and/or death arising out of participation in this contest, the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any prize, claims based on publicity rights, defamation or invasion of privacy, merchandise delivery, or the violation of any intellectual property rights, including but not limited to copyright infringement and/or trademark infringement.
Unless it's a New Age book, in which case it should be Astral Plane rights.Darn it! I missed this in my contracts. Instead of 'World Wide English Language rights' I should have made it 'Universe Wide English Language rights'.
Even then, I'd probably only be able to read it with my third eye.Unless it's a New Age book, in which case it should be Astral Plane rights.
Nah. This is what comes of plagiarising wholesale another contest's rules.This is what comes of letting Legal write technical documents.
Nah. This is what comes of plagiarising wholesale another contest's rules.
The contest is open to nonprofessional writers who are legal residents of the United States over the age of 18 as of February 1, 2011.
This contest is void in Puerto Rico, Quebec, and wherever prohibited or restricted by law.
Quebec has their own set of rules on contests. Even Canadian contests void them.
Yep, the same is true of Wisconsin in the US.
The thing is that this contest is only open to the US, so the inclusion of 'except in Quebec' suggests that that bit of language was cut-and-pasted from the rules of some other contest that was open to both the US and CAN.
As indeed it was: http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=Ar-7z0Et5lYC&pg=PA358&lpg=#v=onepage&q&f=falseThe inclusion of 'except in Quebec' suggests that that bit of language was cut-and-pasted from the rules of some other contest that was open to both the US and CAN.
No, it means that Quebec isn't part of Canada.
I'm not as concerned as other commentators about the first sentence of these guidelines. It's a fairly common contest provision, and it just means that the contest sponsor takes physical possession of entries, and doesn't have to return them to the authors. It doesn't really belong in a contest where submissions are digital, rather than on paper--but it's not intended to refer to intellectual property.
But the middle sentence...that's a big problem. Simply by entering this contest, entrants are granting First One Publishing the right to use their entry in any manner whatsoever--including publishing it--for the life of copyright and without compensation or notice. It's not quite a surrender of copyright, but it's pretty close.
Hey, I'm a man -- and I like booze! This must be your lucky day.The whole $149 thing is a natural bar as far as I'm concerned...I could spend that on booze and men, for chrissakes