tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post6437423516528342749..comments2023-04-29T08:19:51.746+01:00Comments on Butterflies - Rachael Dunlop's blog: The Writer Worms Have TurnedRachael Dunlophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01867623861097641597noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-24276650778384195362013-05-01T19:13:18.746+01:002013-05-01T19:13:18.746+01:00Hi Rachael - as you know, I take part in the bante...Hi Rachael - as you know, I take part in the banter about comp rules on Twitter with a combination of amusement and frustration. I love your and Guy's manifesto and really hope competition organisers have seen it. <br /><br />Hate to say it, but I think novel competition rules are even worse! I've just checked the rules for 3 novel or First Chapter comps I hope to enter and here's a handful of dilemmas for a start: completed or incomplete? (I have one of each) - you might think this detail worth mentioning! How long should the synopsis be and is it included in wordcount? First chapter only, or can up submit the maximum wordcount (important if your first chapter is only 1,500, say, and someone else's is the max. 5,000) I could go on. And on. It's such a waste of time and energy. BUT all power to the comps who get it right and THANK YOU!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-13476482986991599642013-05-01T17:46:42.571+01:002013-05-01T17:46:42.571+01:00I have just entered the Worcestershire literary fe...I have just entered the Worcestershire literary festival flash comp. Having just sent them 3 stories, I am too tired to write out all the rules, but you can read them here:<br />http://www.worcslitfest.com/wlf-flash-fiction-2013/<br /><br />I'm particularly fond of the following rules:it must be in Times New Roman 12, single spacing, attached document must be in .doc, email must be headed bla bla. Sorry, as I said, just too exhausted. Oh, and just when you think you've finished with the rules they want you to send a circa 50 word bio. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-86206924468505192482013-04-09T23:32:06.394+01:002013-04-09T23:32:06.394+01:00Where will the shortlist appear? (i) On the websit...Where will the shortlist appear? (i) On the website competition page, (ii) on another page (iii) email (iv) Facebook, amid a mass of blue links (v) only in an issue of a magazine that you have to pay for? Just asking because (v) is depressing. <br /><br />And just to note... one year, the longlist will be 50 stories and the shortlist 12, the following year, the longlist will be 350 and the shortlist 112. Because judges have different number of fingers. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-26743856183460777012013-03-27T14:46:32.180+00:002013-03-27T14:46:32.180+00:00Indeed, Rachael. Since the T&Cs form a legal c...Indeed, Rachael. Since the T&Cs form a legal contract, then they should be clear what they mean - beware assumptions! The best time to argue the details of a contract, is before you've entered into it. Everyone has the right to make a bad contract, and once you're in it, you're in it. <br />I'm sorry if this sounds too anal - the result of one career as a researcher and a subsequent one as an analyst. I like details :) <br /><br />I agree that unless the organisers intend to fill out their webpages with free content (as in your example), they're unlikely to use your story unless you're placed. That's why I worried about the 'threat' of publication, rather than actual publication. Because most other comps state that the story shouldn't have been accepted for publication elsewhere - and if someone else has the option to publish your tale (whether or not they actually do), then you can't truthfully enter it anywhere, ever again.<br />Shutting up, now :)Whiskshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17511717013005006342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-22710022237311367822013-03-26T16:08:15.216+00:002013-03-26T16:08:15.216+00:00Another excellent point, Whisks. I've seen tha...Another excellent point, Whisks. I've seen that clause and assumed it meant for the duration of the contest and only if you were a winner or runner-up. I never thought it meant 'in perpetuity'. Do the same contests allow simultaneous submissions? If so, the two rules are in direct conflict with each other. I don't think any competition organiser would be in a position to enforce this. If your story wasn't one of the winners, it's doubtful that they've held on to a copy. How would they know you'd published elsewhere? But I agree, it's an invidious clause that need to be specific about how and when it expires. Keep fighting the good fight!<br /><br />It really does pay to read the small print. I entered a competition not realising that only the winner got a prize. The runners-up are 'published' online and in an app. Users of the app pay a subscription. So the writers are giving away their story for free, while the app owners charge people to read the stories. I don't think the app owners are out to cheat anyone - the subscription is very low and probably just covers what they have to pay to Apple. But it's still doesn't feel right. <br /><br />Rachael Dunlophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01867623861097641597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-31971261851087363822013-03-26T12:04:41.298+00:002013-03-26T12:04:41.298+00:00I've just remembered another insidious clause ...I've just remembered another insidious clause that's creeping in to comp rules, here and there. <br />Along the lines of: 'By entering, you grant xxx the non-exclusive right to reproduce your story for any purpose in connection with the competition at any time in any media without compensation.' <br /><br />Just by *entering*? Really? This seems punitive. Fair enough that the organisers want to reserve the story for the duration of the competition, and fair enough if the writer has won or been placed; at least they'll have something for their efforts. But JUST BY ENTERING? It means in effect, that you give away your story for nothing, in perpetuity. And if you haven't won, then they're unlikely to do anything with it, aren't they? But the fact still remains that you can never use that story again, for anything, since the threat - and only the threat - of publication will hang over it forever. <br />I did query this clause with a big comp recently, and received assurances that they did really mean to reserve the stories only for the duration of the comp and thereafter, only the winning entries; they said that they would amend their T&Cs for next year. So it was worth querying it. <br />I've just read the T&Cs for another comp I'm considering and that clause is there too. Have sent them an email to clarify, but if they don't reassure me, I won't enter. <br />Statistically at least, each of us is extremely unlikely to win any competition, so it's a very harsh clause.Whiskshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17511717013005006342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-46922966154676714582013-03-25T19:07:13.270+00:002013-03-25T19:07:13.270+00:00I think you'll get different answers depending...I think you'll get different answers depending on the context. If a competition is only for published writers (like BBC Short Story Award) they are very specific that this means having something published by a 'proper' publisher or magazine. The publisher must publish books with ISBNs, publish a range of authors and sell their books through a variety of physical as well as online retail outlets. In other words they set the bar high because that's where they want it.<br /><br />From the other side, I've seen competitions where they are looking for UNpublished authors, and having one story in one anthology will also not count as published. Again, being 'published' means a track record with an established publisher.<br /><br />Beyond the world of competitions, though, if I was published in one of your anthologies, I would definitely list it as a credit, and would emphasis that it was not-self-publishing and that the judging constituted an editorial process.Rachael Dunlophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01867623861097641597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-4816251630219091852013-03-25T10:46:16.459+00:002013-03-25T10:46:16.459+00:00I'm glad the comp is getting a good reputation...I'm glad the comp is getting a good reputation already! I will be e-publishing the anthology but under the RW name rather than my own and all winners will get profit share. The hope is that it will make them some money, although prob not enough to retire on! Re publishing credit - I think the fact that it's a competition run by an organisation and judged by published authors would mean that was a yes. What do you think?Amanda Sainthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00048199293487068879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-69600576302816377662013-03-23T09:58:42.335+00:002013-03-23T09:58:42.335+00:00Thanks for reading, Amanda. I've heard good th...Thanks for reading, Amanda. I've heard good things about the Retreat West competition - you might even get an entry from me in the future! It's great to get this conversation going between writers and organisers (although lots of organisers are writers too, of course). With so many new competitions out there, developing goodwill is essential to a comp's success. I think the Bath Short Story Award have done an excellent job with engaging writers and being very organised and responsive. In the past I've been afraid to ask comps for clarification of the rules, thinking I shouldn't be bothering them!<br /><br />I like your last comment about hoping writers can make money from being in your anthology. Too often the 'prize' for runners-up is to be published on-line, which to me is quite the opposite of a prize. It doesn't give you a publishing credit and effectively prevents that story being used again. So the writer gets nothing, but the organisers get to fill their web pages. Print anthologies are better, as you get a publishing credit. But again, writers usually get nothing from the sales of the anthology (although to be fair, the publishers usually make little either). And what if the anthology is effectively self-published by the comp organiser? Does that give the writer a credit or not? Rachael Dunlophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01867623861097641597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-76733394194207625742013-03-23T08:50:41.937+00:002013-03-23T08:50:41.937+00:00Great post, Rachel. I have recently launched a sho...Great post, Rachel. I have recently launched a short story comp (http://www.retreatwest.co.uk/competition)and would like to think my rules aren't too onerous. I will now be adding the timezone to the deadline though! For me unpublished means not published online as part of another competition, or whole on a blog, or in print - but workshopping online is fine. I'll also make this clearer. I'm on a learning curve so its great to get feedback and any other comments people want to make on the comp rules will be most welcome. Rules aside though I wanted to give writers a chance to get published in an anthology and hopefully make some money from it.Amanda Sainthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00048199293487068879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-71580977692321730202013-03-22T19:54:57.716+00:002013-03-22T19:54:57.716+00:00Another good question.
If you won third place in ...Another good question.<br /><br />If you won third place in a competition, I'd say that story is now 'used'. Most competitions stipulate that you can't submit a story that has won or been placed in another competition. So even leaving aside the issue of online publishing, that story would probably not be eligible.<br /><br />In terms of you being able to publish it elsewhere (not for competitions), in my personal experience, publishing rights have reverted to me after a year. I don't know if this is industry standard, though.Rachael Dunlophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01867623861097641597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-74846288557848558642013-03-22T19:52:06.675+00:002013-03-22T19:52:06.675+00:00That's a really good point, Whisks. With more ...That's a really good point, Whisks. With more competitions starting up all the time, and the online world expanding for writers, it seems like this is an area where things are still very unclear. There is no one answer. I would say, though, that the bigger competitions are getting better at being very specific about what they mean by published online. Many say even publishing it on your blog counts. I think they do this to simplify matters. It's easier to draw the line right there, even though in the grand scheme of things that isn't really publishing, is it? But as you say, clarity is important, and having a blanket ban on having the story posted online makes the line easier to draw,<br /><br />I tend to take a pragmatic approach to this. If a story of mine was online but no longer is, in a discussion forum or some such, and has been rewritten or edited since, I treat it as unpublished. I will check first that I can't find it anywhere online, by searching for the title or a significant chunk of text (it's good to do that anyway on occasion to make sure no one has plagiarised your work).Rachael Dunlophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01867623861097641597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-28244425114601620072013-03-22T19:31:18.699+00:002013-03-22T19:31:18.699+00:00Sorry, me again. I'm on a roll.
And another t...Sorry, me again. I'm on a roll. <br />And another thing. Does the 'published' state expire? I'm thinking of a case where I won third place in a comp, and my story was on the comp's website for about six or nine months, and now isn't. Is that story now freed up to be entered elsewhere? Or is it 'spent'? <br /><br />Does removal of a story from the web make it now 'unpublished' for comp purposes? Whiskshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17511717013005006342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-91168868830641259292013-03-22T19:20:59.012+00:002013-03-22T19:20:59.012+00:00Great idea, Rachael. I'd like to add another c...Great idea, Rachael. I'd like to add another clause, if I may? <br /><br />How exactly do they define 'published', when they say it mustn't be? Near enough every competition I enter, I have to enquire. <br />Do they mean printed? By you? By someone else? Received money for? <br />Would it include a story where you've workshopped it online on a writers' forum, or where you've adapted a blog post that went down rather well? <br />Does 'published on-line' only include occasions where someone else has made an editorial decision to 'publish' it? i.e. it's been independently chosen? Or does that include instances where you've whacked up a draft to see what people think?<br />If the comp says it mustn't have been 'published' on-line, but you have put an earlier incarnation somewhere on the web, received feedback and subsequently edited it, is this then a 'different' story which then qualifies as an unpublished entry? How 'different' does it need to be? <br />Some say it's OK if the website is members only, others don't mind, yet more cringe at the thought of any entry that's been anywhere near the internet.<br />I've often asked individual comps this, and mostly received replies I understand and can work with. That's fine. Sometimes, however, the answer is so woolly that I'm none the wiser.<br />I accept that the web makes 'publishing' difficult to define, but it's an issue that won't go away. And how can you insist on rules that you can't define? Clarity is (nearly) everything.Whiskshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17511717013005006342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-9709760570708611502013-03-22T17:21:55.923+00:002013-03-22T17:21:55.923+00:00Ladies and gentlemen, we've been infiltrated b...Ladies and gentlemen, we've been infiltrated by the other side! But seriously, those are very good points, Vanessa. I know a few competitions where the judge waited for all the entries before reading, but most don't. It's great advice to submit early, although worrying for Last-Minute-Larrys like me who never start writing the story until the deadline is looming, sticking out its tongue and generally mocking me.<br /><br />I've been guilty of shaving a few hundred words out of a story to slide it under the word count. Heavier edits than that always show. It only happens when I have failed to write something new (again) and rather than miss the deadline, trawl my writing bottom drawer for something to submit. It's never a good idea.Rachael Dunlophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01867623861097641597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-20961816062030442452013-03-22T17:11:26.290+00:002013-03-22T17:11:26.290+00:00Re deadlines... never ever let yourself wait until...Re deadlines... never ever let yourself wait until the deadline. Times on deadline dates... even worse. Why? Because every other manwriter womanwriter catwriter and dogwriter sends their stories in exactly then, and clog up the server, the printer, the office, the postbag. (yes, some writers don't use email... some still use manual typewriters. Yes, they do. Take it from me...I've read the results...)<br /><br />Always send your story ahead of the deadline. Always. Think about it - if you are judging, or reading to filter, you will be far more relaxed and able to focus with equanimity on a few stories each day, as opposed to the 2000 that pile in on that last moment. <br /><br />Re Wordcount. If it says 5000 upper limit, WHY do writers send in stories of 4,999 wds? Its nuts. Almost always, those 'almost on the dot' stories are badly edited... shouldn't we edit for sense and rhythm and story, not solely to get a wordcount below a particular thousand?<br /><br />I'll go away now. :)<br /><br />Vanessa Gebbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09088301040602803489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-50720762594008643542013-03-22T14:04:54.833+00:002013-03-22T14:04:54.833+00:00Oooh, I have one more. PLEASE send an acknowledgme...Oooh, I have one more. PLEASE send an acknowledgment, automatic will do, that the entry/entries have been received. I'm surprised and disgruntled that some competitions don't think it's important. I want to know that you have my money and I'm in the running!<br /><br />ps. Not having Word myself, I appreciate alternative formats being available.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-44262950775795725772013-03-22T13:54:34.790+00:002013-03-22T13:54:34.790+00:00Thanks for reading, and good luck with your projec...Thanks for reading, and good luck with your project!Rachael Dunlophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01867623861097641597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-2712228355760430892013-03-22T13:54:04.761+00:002013-03-22T13:54:04.761+00:00It all gets very confusing when parts of the US ha...It all gets very confusing when parts of the US have gone to Summer Time and we haven't and then it's four hours, but wait, has it gone back to five? Is it EST or PST? Or have I just got a bad case of PMS?Rachael Dunlophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01867623861097641597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-1220658537996564262013-03-22T13:52:16.745+00:002013-03-22T13:52:16.745+00:00Well, if you're planning to enter some competi...Well, if you're planning to enter some competitions, you should probably also read the post before this one. (If I can't plug my blog on my own blog, there's no justice in the world).Rachael Dunlophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01867623861097641597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-71723424131795950172013-03-22T13:50:40.065+00:002013-03-22T13:50:40.065+00:00Now that's just plain annoying!Now that's just plain annoying!<br />Rachael Dunlophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01867623861097641597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-15465102259790906572013-03-22T12:37:52.207+00:002013-03-22T12:37:52.207+00:00Dear Competition Organiser: Please don't writ...Dear Competition Organiser: Please don't write to me telling me you've been inundated with entries for your competition and if I don't hear from you further you wish me the best of luck next time. If you can only afford one postage stamp, let it be on the notification that tells me I'm now free to submit my baby elsewhere or at least when it will be safe to do so. Sandra Crookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00534491053812317718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-11832994796369523422013-03-21T14:09:04.575+00:002013-03-21T14:09:04.575+00:00Very interesting - and it helps me with a project ...Very interesting - and it helps me with a project I'm working on just now :)<br />I agree: rules should be clear and comprehensive and a lo of thought should go into them.<br />Great post xAnnette Thomsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08335345006341324680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-53946359271248734862013-03-21T10:30:28.854+00:002013-03-21T10:30:28.854+00:00The words 'chance' and 'fat' sprin...The words 'chance' and 'fat' spring nimbly to mind but you have to start somewhere and I agree, competition organisers do need to develop and adhere to some common standards. My only addition to yours would be time zone for #2. The number of times I have to ask whose 5pm we're talking about is beginning to exceed the number of times I'm willing to do so! More power to your manifesto :)<br />Now let's see if this thing will let me in ...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4306839904775162740.post-74826852224143924852013-03-20T22:53:56.327+00:002013-03-20T22:53:56.327+00:00Sometimes a lack of imagination can be an asset;-)...Sometimes a lack of imagination can be an asset;-) Seriously it can be a pain and I'd love there to be a standard set of rules. It would save a lot of time, printing off the rules and ticking them off to get it right! I've entered three competitions this week and they've all had completely different rules for formatting and submission.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com