Gather First Chapters – Round Two

Over at gather.com the second round of the contest has started. Amid much hullabaloo, the 20 chosen out of 2,800 entries have moved on and will be available for voting until April 25th.

To those that entered the contest and didn’t make it ahead, much success to you on getting your novels published elsewhere, and to those that are in the top 20–much luck to you in the competition!

I received this e-mail from Eric D. Goodman, among the 20 to move ahead, and will pass it along here:

From Eric D. Goodman:

Hello!

First, I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to read, rate, and comment on chapter one of TRACKS in the novel contest called “American Idol” for writers by the New York Times. The winner gets a book contract with Simon and Schuster!

Second, I’d like to share my good news …

Out of more that 2,800 entries, only 20 chapters were selected to move on to round two.

TRACKS, my novel in stories, was one of them!

A press release with our names and chapters will hit the newspapers tomorrow. But I wanted to let you know first.

And I’d like to ask you to help me make it to round three.

Just read and rate chapter two, “A Good Beer Needs a Good Stein.” Since this is a novel in stories, you can read chapter two without having read chapter one first.

If you’ve already joined Gather, just log in with your username and password.

If not, it only takes a minute to register. You can do so at www.gather.com.

Then, go to this link where you can read and rate TRACKS:

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976948471

Rate it on a scale of one to 10 on the bar between the text and the comments. The closer to the right of the bar, the better.

And feel free to leave a comment, too!

Thanks again for your support — and wish me luck!

Take care,

Eric

P.S. Here’s the announcement from Gather, in case you’d like to read it.

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976949061

Gather First Chapters – TRACKS

I received this from Eric D. Goodman, author of Tracks, and would like to pass it along to all of the readers, writers, authors, etc. that visit The Writers’ Block. You can visit his blog, www.writeful.blogspot.com, to read more about him and his work.

***
Hello! I need your help, and it will only take a moment.

Tracks, my novel in stories, is a contestant in what The New York Times called “American Idol” for writers. Winning would mean a book contract with Simon and Schuster.

I need you to read and rate chapter one. Just go to the link below, register (it only takes a minute). Then read & rate chapter one of Tracks.

Here’s the link.

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976929638

Tracks takes place on an Amtrak train traveling from Baltimore to Chicago . Each chapter is told from the perspective of a passenger on the train.

The chapters stand alone as stories, but they become stronger when linked together. A secondary character in one chapter becomes the main character in another. Some stories offer new insights on others. The stories look at the decisions each character faces and how those decisions, as well as each character’s interactions with the other passengers, alter the path ahead and cast past experiences and choices in a new light.

Chapter one, “Reset,” Opens with Gene Silverman, a shady character who has learned to restart his life when he needs to. Before the novel ends, he’ll need to reset his course once more. Tracks focuses on Gene again in chapter three … through another character’s eyes.

Although entirely unique, Tracks is similar in nature to Joan Silber’s National Book Award finalist Ideas of Heaven: a ring of stories.

Hop aboard! Visit the link to read and rate Chapter one of Tracks! Invite your friends to do the same.

I hope you enjoy the ride.

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976929638

Sincerely,

Eric D. Goodman

www.writeful.blogspot.com

Are most writing contests even worth it anymore?

On the Poets & Writers website, there is an article (click here to read it in full) about a contest that has some writers that submitted to it up in arms. Supposedly the sponsor promised that each manuscript would receive an individual, personal critique from him. The entry fees for the contest were $35 for poetry and $45 for fiction. He would publish the winning manuscripts.

But instead of giving the authors personal reviews, he decided to create several different form letters that he felt would address issues in any work submitted. This plan backfired when writers received letters with different titles listed and when some that had entered decided to compare notes and realized that their “personal critiques” were identical except for the name of the work.

On top of that, he sent some of the entrants a request for $300 in exchange for more critiquing. Some were told that their submissions would be entered into the running for another prize and would automatically move ahead in the first round of judging, even though that particular contest is supposed to be judged blind.

This article interested me because the subject of contest worth came up today during a free critiquing session I attended. Before we started giving feedback on one another’s work, one of the other writer’s asked about a contest that he’s never heard of (prior to a few days ago) but offers several thousand dollars as the prize. He’s going to look into it, figure out whether or not the contest is worth his money before he enters–which is probably the best anyone can do.

I think that there are some contests out there that are valid and well worth the money to enter, within reason (or budget…), but the problem sometimes isn’t just the cost. Some competitions, not unlike the one mentioned in the Poets & Writers article, seem to be a gateway for the sponsors to ask the writers for even more money or even all of the rights to the submitted work.

Years ago I overheard a one-sided conversation on a bus. The man was talking on a cell phone and said: “Yeah, I know I should feel bad that I’m probably taking the girl’s life savings, but if she’s stupid enough to pay for it, I’m going to take her money.”

That seems to be the way some of these sponsors operate. Maybe they start out with good intentions, maybe they don’t and feel a little guilty about that fact, but is the guilt going to stop them?

Payment aside (because there are some legitimate reasons for fees, such as administrative costs), what about simply not giving guarantees that can’t be kept, or at least letting the entrants know immediately when things turn out differently than expected? Such simple notice can help, and it doesn’t take anything away from the legitimacy of the contest. But something as complicated as making up form letters and sending them out as personal reviews does.

I try to always look into any contest I’m paying to enter. How many years it’s been around, how many people have won, and whether or not there have been issues like the ones mentioned above. It may not be a flawless system, but if there have been a lot of substantial and negative issues surrounding the contest, I’m going to do my best to not be “stupid enough to pay for it.”