Writing ‘Competitions’ warning - No, not here on Steemit

This is happening out there in the big wide world of publishing.

I know there are a lot of talented writers here and if this post stops someone getting ‘burned’ then that’ll be great.

Before entering a writing competition, there are a lot of things to consider, to protect yourself and your writing.

Is the competition run by a reputable company or person?

Find out who is running it and go to the search function (just to the left of the POST top right of the page) type the name of the company and then scam – so it would be IndiePressPublishing scam – and hit Enter.

The first few posts say quite a lot about the search – if there are a lot including the word ‘scam’ then run away and hide your manuscript. Don’t dismiss the warnings and don’t think you could be the one to buck the trend. The advice is real, dismiss it at your peril.

What are the rewards – genuine or with a few hidden agendas?

For example, the competition here has ONE great prize of a publishing contract and then the runners-up get landed with a self-publishing deal from Archway Publishing and accordingly, that’s not a prize you want to receive. Entering this competition opens you up to all manner of dubious practices.

This competition is being run with a fantastic prize and a few lesser-but-equally stupendous prizes (at least that’s how it seems).

By submitting to this contest, authors are agreeing to get sales calls from Author Solutions, a notorious high-pressure-sales self-publishing company – also known as ‘Vanity Press’. Not worth it, in my opinion.

What are your rights with regards to your work?

Be wary! Some competitions state that if you enter the competition, the company can hold onto your work for a set amount of time whether you win or not. Depending on those terms, you may or may not be allowed to send it to other competitions or publications. Read the small print.

When do you get your prize?

Is it a drip-feed kind of thing or an all-in-one-go presentation and award thing?

Sometimes, the prize is drip-fed and dependent on a number of criteria. Be careful, you may ‘win’ but you may not necessarily qualify for the prize.

I entered a competition where the First Prize was a £50,000 publishing contract. BUT the prize was divided into separate parts.

Part 1 – Published in Print (Paperback, I believe) – Every Author’s dream – unfortunately, without the backing and marketing to go with it, a paperback can sink like a stone. You may find your book at the bottom of the Bargain Basement Basket in the supermarket.

Part 2 – Published in Hardback – but dependent on whether they were happy with the paperback sales. IF you were REALLY lucky and they made back their investment of the paperback print costs, you may find they offer the second part of the prize (starting to look a little like more hard work, isn’t it?).

Part 3 – The cash – whatever is left over from the paperback and hardback printing costs, you may get a cheque. If you’ve done really well and made back their investment, you may even get a second book contract and/or royalties, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Also, even if this is not part of a competition and prize, whenever you send your manuscript away, protect yourself and your writing.

In the UK there’s no need to pay for copyright because we have the most stringent copyright laws in the world.

Don't we, Big Fella?

The trouble is, if someone does decide to steal your work, you have to prove the loss. In other words, if you’re a nobody and a BIG Somebody stole your work, the fact that they make £53 million (plus film rights) from it does NOT mean you’d get that all awarded to you.

What you’d get is a calculation of what the book would have done if YOUR name was on it – which, let’s face it, without the marketing and promotion, you’d be lucky to sell it to all your friends and family – at least half would expect it for Christmas. Then you’ll be paying your Lawyer back forever and a day…

WHEN you get that publishing contract (I’m being optimistic here, it can happen) you still need to keep your wits about you.

The Advance you’re handed is not payment for your work. Nope, it’s actually an advance on promoting your book. That’s right. You need to spend that money to promote your book to help make it a success.

Playing The Devil's Advocate here...

Not only can the publisher cease and desist with the book if they so choose, they can also DEMAND their money back! Yes, even if you’ve spent it. If the book doesn’t make back their investment, they can (and frequently do) go back to the author and ask for their advance back.

If you have a two-book deal with them, they can also stuff that up for you too. Once they purchase the rights to your book, you have to hope it does well because otherwise, that series is buried and you no longer have the right to write about any of the characters you’ve created.

As the site is named: Writer Beware

Pictures from Google free to use search