by First Chapters Administrator
Member since:
January 9, 2007

The Gather.com First Chapters Writing Competition Official Rules

January 10, 2007 01:48 PM UTC (Updated: April 03, 2007 11:33 AM UTC)
views: 0 | comments: 66
Submissions may only be made in or from and by legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia and submissions originating from any other jurisdiction are not eligible for entry.  This Competition is governed exclusively by the laws of Delaware and of the United States. You are not authorized to participate in the Competition if you are not located within the 50 United States or the District of Columbia.  To be eligible, you must at least 18 years of age as of January 11, 2007.  You are not authorized to participate in the Competition if you are not at least 18 years of age.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. The Gather.com First Chapters Writing Competition (the "Competition") is sponsored by Gather Inc. ("Gather"), 85 Devonshire Street, 3rd floor, Boston, MA, 02109.

1.   Competition Period: The 2007 Gather.com First Chapters Writing Competition (the "Competition") manuscript entry period runs from 9:00 AM EST, Thursday, January 11, 2007 to 11:59 PM EST, Thursday, March 15, 2007. Sponsor’s computer clock governs time stamp.

2.    Eligibility: (a) Published and unpublished writers are eligible to compete in the Competition.  Employees, officers, directors, agents and representatives of Gather Inc. ("Sponsor"), American Public Media Group, Minnesota Public Radio, Southern California Public Radio, The Hearst Corporation, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Simon & Schuster and their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, promotion, advertising, design, web design, web hosting, publicity, production and print production agencies and anyone connected with the production, hosting and distribution of this Competition (collectively, " Competition Entities"), their immediate family members (parents, children, siblings, spouse and each of their respective spouses, regardless of where they live) and members of any of their households are not eligible to enter or be awarded a prize.  Void outside of the fifty United States and D.C., and where prohibited, taxed or restricted by law.  All federal, state and/or local laws, rules and regulations apply.

(b)   Manuscript submissions (hereafter the “Submissions”) must be original, previously unpublished book, completed book length manuscripts in the commercial fiction genre from authors who have not previously published a full length book (excluding self published and vanity press).  All Submissions must be in English.  Submissions must not violate copyright laws; must contain properly cited material, if applicable; and must be previously unpublished (except on Gather.com or as previously noted), original material. You must be 18 years of age or older as of January 11, 2007 and must be a legal resident of the United States or the District of Columbia to be eligible to enter. Submissions may not be submitted elsewhere unless and until the entrant has been eliminated from the Competition. By entering your Submission in the Competition, you hereby give Touchstone/Fireside (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) first publication rights to your manuscript until such time as you are eliminated from the Competition. Writers cannot submit more than one Submission in the Competition. This Competition is run only on the Internet.  By entering this Competition, you agree that if you are selected as the Grand Prize Winner, you will sign Simon & Schuster’s standard publishing agreement within five days of receipt of the agreement.

3.    How to Enter: Before 11:59 PM (EST) Thursday, March 15, 2007, you must complete three (3) activities in order to enter this Competition. 1) If any excerpt from your Submission has been previously published on Gather.com, remove it from the site. 2) Send your Submission as an MS Word file attachment or equivalent to: firstchapters@gatherinc.com. The document must be delivered in complete form, drafted in 12 pt. Times New Roman font, 1 inch margins throughout, paginated and double-spaced and must include numbered chapter breaks. You must also break out the first three (3) chapters, sequentially, in a separate document so that they may be posted on Gather.com. The chapters should be clearly numbered and be between 2,000 and 10,000 words in length.   The chapters will be posted in sequential order, chapters 1 through 3 only.  The subject of your email should read First Chapters Competition Entry. In the email you must include your name (first, last), email address, manuscript title, manuscript word count, brief 500-750 word synopsis of the plot, 500 word or less author bio. We will email all entrants to confirm receipt of their Submissions. If you have entered the Competition and have not received a confirmation notice of your Submission within three business days, please email firstchapters@gatherinc.com. 3) To complete your entry, you must click on the link in your confirmation email to join the First Chapters Competition group on Gather.com. If you have any trouble registering for the site and the First Chapters group, please email firstchapters@gatherinc.com for help. The Competition administrator will post your entry to Gather.com within 2 business days. Submissions will not be returned.   

Note: In the event that less than 200 Submissions meeting the minimum standard criteria of the Competition are timely received by Gather, Simon & Schuster reserves the right to not award the publishing prize.

4.    Article Rights: By entering this Competition, you explicitly (i) certify that you meet the eligibility requirements as set forth in these Official Rules; (ii) grant to the Sponsor the right to use and publish excerpts from your Submission and the biographical information you provide (except street address, telephone number, and email address) during the Competition; iii) represent and warrant that you own or have  exclusive rights to the entirety of your Submission and have the right to grant to Sponsor temporary rights to post excerpts of your Submission; (iv) represent and warrant that you have not used licensed material or any material owned by someone other than you and that your Submission will not be libelous, or infringe or violate the rights of any third parties, including but not limited to copyrights, trademarks, or rights of publicity/privacy; and (v) represent and warrant that your Submission is original and you have not copied or plagiarized the content or portions of text for your Submission from other material.  You further agree that you will not submit your Submission to any other publisher or in any other competition until you have been notified by Gather that your Submission has been eliminated from the Competition. By entering this Competition you agree that if you are selected as the Grand Prize Winner, you will sign Simon & Schuster’s standard publishing agreement within five days of receipt of the agreement. If for any reason the Grand Prize Winner fails to execute the publishing agreement, the grand prize will be forfeited and may be awarded to the author of the next highest scoring manuscript.

Sponsor reserves the temporary publication rights to publish excerpts of all Submissions. Sponsor reserves the right to request that semifinalists (10) and finalists (5) engage in additional Competition related activities including but not limited to, author interviews, blog posts, recorded author readings, live chats with members, and/or video posts. 

5.    Judging and Winner Selection: The Competition will run in four (4) stages:

ROUND 1:

1/11/07: Launch of Competition: 60 day (approx) submission period for entrants to submit original, completed, book length manuscripts in the commercial fiction genre.

Chapter one of each entrant’s manuscript will be posted for a voting period of 14 days for Gather members to read and rate the entries on a scale of one (1) through ten (10).

3/15/07: At 11:59 pm EST the Submission period officially closes, but voting continues on chapters received in the final days.

3/30/07: Voting period ends.

4/3/07: 20 Round 1 winners are announced, 15 based on the highest number of votes and ratings from members of Gather.com and 5 selected by the Gather editorial team.

ROUND 2:

4/3/07: 20 second chapters from the Round 1 winners’ manuscripts are posted by the Competition administrator and are live on the site for a three week reading and rating period.

4/25/07: Voting period ends.

5/1/07: 10 Round 2 winners are announced, 7 based on the highest number of votes and ratings from members of Gather.com, and 3 selected by a Gather editorial team.

ROUND 3:

 5/2/07: 10 third chapters from the Semifinalists’ entries are posted by the Competition administrator and are live on the site for a two week reading and rating period.

5/16/07: Voting period ends.

5/22/07: 5 Competition Finalists are announced, 4 based on the highest number of votes and ratings from members of Gather.com and 1 selected by a Gather editorial team.  

ROUND 4:

The Submissions of the 5 finalists will be sent to the Grand Prize judging panel on 5/23/07. The Grand Prize judging panel (Carolyn K. Reidy, President of the Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group, Mark Gompertz, Executive Vice President and Publisher of Touchstone, Borders Group CEO George Jones and Gather.com Founder and CEO, Tom Gerace) will select 1 Grand Prize Winner to receive a $5,000 cash prize from Gather.com, and publication of his/her Submission by Touchstone/Fireside (an imprint of Simon & Schuster). 

The four runners up will receive $500 cash.  

5/31/07: Grand Prize Winner Announced

If the Panel determines that there are no Submissions of publishable quality from the Round 4 finalists, Simon & Schuster reserves the right to review all Submissions from Round 3 (i.e. the 10 semifinalists) to determine the Grand Prize winner.  In the event that the Grand Prize winner is selected from among the Round 3 semifinalists that did not qualify as one of the original Round 4 finalists, then all Round 4 finalists will be deemed runners up and each will receive the $500 cash prize. 

Notes on Judging: Gather will monitor the Competition for irregular voting patterns and fraud, and will disqualify votes and entrants if, in the Sponsor’s sole judgment, they determine that the integrity or fairness of the Competition has been, or could be, compromised. Entrants are eligible to vote in the Competition but are expected to do so fairly and in the spirit of the competition.

The “editors’pick” winners throughout the competition will be selected at the Gather.com editorial team’s discretion, and will be selected independent of member ratings and number of votes.  The editorial team will judge entries on the criteria listed below.

 All members who vote in the Competition as well as the Grand Prize judging panel must consider the following criteria equally when judging: 1) Quality of writing (including grammar and spelling); 2) Author’s ability to engage the reader; 3) Originality of the author's voice; 4) Potential of the finished book in the marketplace.

6.    Quantity, Prize, Approximate Retail Value (ARV):

(1) Grand Prize:

$5,000 cash prize from Gather.com

All taxes are the sole responsibility of the winner; the value of the prize will be treated as ordinary income to prize recipient.

Gather.com CASH  PRIZE ARV: — $5,000

Book deal with Touchstone/Fireside (an imprint of Simon & Schuster): Touchstone/Fireside will have the exclusive rights to and commits to publication of the winning manuscript; provided that the Grand Prize winning author executes Simon & Schuster’s standard publishing agreement.  The acquisition editor from Touchstone/Fireside will contact the winner to handle all contractual agreements associated with the publication of the book once the winner is announced and notified.  In order to be published, the Grand Prize winner must sign Simon & Schuster’s standard publishing agreement within five days of receipt of the agreement. Upon execution of the standard publishing agreement, Simon & Schuster will pay the Grand Prize Winner $5,000. The $5,000 payment is an advance against the royalties to be earned by the Grand Prize winning author under the Simon & Schuster publishing agreement.  Touchstone/Fireside will determine the royalty rates to be paid under the publishing agreement; such rates will depend on the format in which the book will be published.

BOOK DEAL ARV: — $5,000 advance

The winning Submission will be published no later than February of 2008.  The book will be published in either hard cover or trade paperback at Simon & Schuster’s discretion.

(4) Runners Up:

(4) $500 cash prize from Gather.com

All taxes are the sole responsibility of each winner; the value of the prize will be treated as ordinary income to prize recipient.

CASH PRIZE ARV: — $500

7.    General: Competition administration and verification will be supervised by Gather, whose decisions are final.  By participating in this Competition, you agree to have your submission judged as described in these Official Rules and to be bound by these Official Rules, Gather's privacy policy and the decisions of the judges and Sponsor, whose decisions are final. The submission of entries will be conducted on the Internet at www.gather.com only. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, illegible, misdirected, incomplete or garbled entries; for those who cannot access the Internet or cannot click-through for any period of time; for messages that are garbled; if entry is not captured correctly, or for any technical, hardware, software, telephone, Internet, virus contamination, network, human error, electronic malfunctions, Force Majeure or any other problems; and for delay, failure or malfunction for any reason. Sponsor assumes no liability for damage caused to entrant's or any other person's/entity's computer hardware, software or communications network, regardless of cause. Sponsor reserves the right to terminate/cancel or modify the online entering process or disqualify any entrant if, in Sponsor’s sole judgment, it determines that the integrity or fairness of the Competition has been, or could be, compromised or that the Competition is not capable of running as planned or fairly, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention (hacking), fraud, technical failures, Force Majeure or any other cause. Should this Competition be terminated/canceled during the Competition Entry Period, judging will take place in the manner detailed above from all Submissions received up to the point of termination/cancellation. In the case of a dispute regarding the identity of the person submitting an online entry, the entry will be deemed submitted by the name on the registration form. By entering this Competition, an entrant explicitly releases, discharges and holds harmless the Competition Entities (as defined below) and their shareholders, successors and assigns, one and all, from any and all liability, actions, causes of action, damages, actual, incidental or consequential, claims and demands whatsoever in law or equity, including all "costs," which he/she now has or may acquire, by reason of any personal injury, death, loss of or damage to property, or any reason, occurring during or arising out of his/her participation in the Competition.  The Competition Entities and their respective officers, directors, employees, affiliates, related entities, partners, partnerships, principals, representatives, agents, licensees, successors and assigns (i) make no warranty, guarantee or representation of any kind concerning the prizes; and (ii) disclaim any implied warranty. The right to receive any prize is non-assignable and non-transferable and no prize substitution, extension, transfer, exchange or cash equivalent will be allowed. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.  Winners may be required to sign Affidavits of Eligibility and publicity, liability release forms prior to being awarded their prizes. 

As used herein the term “Competition Entities” shall mean: Sponsor and Simon & Schuster.

CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEB SITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. 

8.    Miscellaneous.  If any provision of this Competition shall be deemed to violate any federal, state or municipal law, it shall be amended to conform to such law and all other provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

Sponsor, and all production and hosting agencies shall not be responsible for technical, pictorial, typographical or editorial errors or omissions in any marketing materials or these Official Rules. This Competition is conducted in American English.

9.         Dispute Resolution / Choice of Law. Except where prohibited by law, by participating in this Competition, entrant agrees that: All issues and questions concerning the Competition and these Official Rules shall be governed by Delaware law without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law of any jurisdiction. Entrant agrees that any action at law or in equity arising out of or relating to this Competition shall be filed only in the state or federal courts located in Delaware and entrant hereby consents and submits to the personal jurisdiction of such courts for the purposes of litigating any such action. Except where prohibited by law, by participating in this Competition, entrant agrees that: (a) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Competition shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; and (b) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with participating in this Competition but in no event attorneys' fees; and (c) under no circumstances will any entrant be permitted to obtain awards for and hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased.

            By entering this Competition, each entrant agrees that any and all disputes, claims, actions and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Competition or the prize awarded and all issues and questions concerning the validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively in a court of competent jurisdiction sitting in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred and never shall include consequential, incidental or punitive damages, and in no event attorneys' fees or "costs." Some jurisdictions do not allow the limitation or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages, so the above may not apply to you.

10.       Use of Data.  Gather Inc. will be collecting personal data about participants online, in accordance with Gather Inc.’s privacy policy. Please review Gather Inc’s privacy policy at http://www.gather.com/privacy.jsp. By participating in the Competition, participants hereby agree to Gather Inc.'s collection and use of their personal information as set out in its Privacy Policy and in these official Rules and acknowledge that they have read and accepted Gather Inc.'s privacy policy.

11.       Simon & Schuster as Publisher.  Entrants acknowledge that Simon & Schuster and its respective parent, affiliate and subsidiary companies (collectively the “Designated Entities”) have extensive respective histories in creating, acquiring and developing literary, artistic, musical and other material, including stories, ideas, themes, plots, titles, screenplays, manuscripts, formats and other developments and other materials (collectively, the “Materials”).  Moreover the Materials which the Designated Entities may hereafter use may have originated with or may have been acquired from the Designated Entities’ employees or others and may duplicate, parallel or resemble an entrant’s Submission.

By submitting a manuscript, entrants acknowledge that they understand and agree that the Designated Entities’ use of material containing features and elements similar to or identical with those contained in their Submission do not entitle entrant to any compensation.  By entering, entrant waives any right of action against the Designated Entities or their successors and assigns in connection with the Designated Entities’ use of the Material (or any part thereof) whether or not the Material contains features or elements similar or identical to those contained in entrant’s Submission.

12.    For a Winners list, check the website monthly starting March 20, 2007 at http://firstchapters.gather.com.

13.    Sponsor: Gather Inc., 85 Devonshire Street, 3rd floor, Boston, MA 02109. 

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The use of certain products and services as prizes does not imply participation in, or approval of, this Competition by their respective companies.

Comments: 66

Bonnie Sayers Jan 10, 2007, 9:48pm UTC
When reading this do not overlook the Note between #3 and 4.
David R. Jan 11, 2007, 7:07am UTC
Where can we find a copy of "Simon and Schuster's standard publishing agreement?"
Josh W. Jan 11, 2007, 8:37am UTC
This sounds like a fantastic way to find diamonds in the rough. Cannot wait to see what bubbles up. Glad to see publishers are behind this. What a great idea.
Cynthia C. Jan 11, 2007, 8:41am UTC
It's a good idea for fiction writers and it would be great if you developed a contest for those of us who write nonfiction as well.
Tarek N. Jan 11, 2007, 10:13am UTC
"You must also break out the first three (3) chapters, sequentially, in a separate document so that they may be posted on Gather.com" .... Does this mean additional three separate Word docs for chapters 1, 2 and 3 (besides the original full manuscript)?
Anita Porterfield Jan 11, 2007, 11:35am UTC
Do I correctly understand that the winner's published novel will only be distributed through Borders? What about Independent Book Stores, Barnes & Noble, etc. It seems constricting to allow only one distributor access to the book. Please clarify. Thanks.
diane s. Jan 11, 2007, 12:46pm UTC
Can a middle grade novel be considered or is this for adult fiction? thanks!
aniko    Jan 11, 2007, 2:21pm UTC
I was going to ask the same question, Diane. I think "young adult" (which is what a middle grade novel is classified, and of course some kids read these as early as the third grade) is commercial fiction, but I don't know if Simon and Schuster publish any.

Mine isn't ready yet, anyway.... :-)
Rainy Dayz Jan 11, 2007, 3:19pm UTC
I was pondering the same thing Tarek, weather you have to put chapter one by itself, then chapter two by itself, and the chapter three by itself and then the rest of your book together in another.... makeing it four seperate documents? Also, I was wondering how you would submit this - if you have to submit 4 different entries? Or if you submitt them together and how you would do this, seeing how they need to be seperate? I never entered one of these contests yet, and so I am not really sure how they are wanting this? If someone knows, please share. LOL Sincerly rainydayz
Margaret B. Jan 11, 2007, 3:39pm UTC
I am an American writer who will be living in Australia during this competition. Will I be eligible to enter, or must I actually be IN the US at the time of submission?
Carol B. Jan 11, 2007, 4:16pm UTC
It appears that the entire submission has to be in one Word file. Am I reading that correctly? That could be a pretty hefty attachment. Also, please respond to Tarek's question, as I'm confused on that part, too.

Thanks!
Bob F. Jan 11, 2007, 5:00pm UTC
I'm not sure I understand the latest available date to send in the manuscript. Is it March 15th of this year? If so, and someone sends one in at that late date, is there any chance the chapters will even be read on gather?

-Thanks
Karen H. Jan 11, 2007, 5:03pm UTC
Is there a limit to the number of manuscripts that one author can submit?

Lots of great questions, where are the answers posted?
Thanks
Bob F. Jan 11, 2007, 5:08pm UTC
I think only one is allowed per author.
Julia Star Jan 11, 2007, 5:10pm UTC
Am I reading this wrong? It seems odd that the final decision with regard to publication would be based on the first three chapters of any given novel even though I fully understand that a reader is hooked, or not, after the first page.

Otherwise, it seems like a great way to circumvent the thrashing floor. I feel like a needle in a haystack, but I also feel a little burned on the prior shorts contest. I may be totally delusional, and I understand that art is art and it lies in the eye of the beholder, but I also think my work was sabbatoged out the gate so it wouldn't have a chance and some of the tens others received had to be the result of buddy or self votes because "they weren't all that." While I really didn't take the low scores to heart, I was so embarrased by the ones that I didn't direct any of the folks who know me that I had intended to direct to view my work. It helps my self-esteem to hear others voice the same concern but it doesn't instill confidence this is the type of legitimate writing contest it could be.
Jerry Kays Jan 11, 2007, 5:16pm UTC
TJ is right I expect.
Julia Star Jan 11, 2007, 5:30pm UTC
Thanks, John. I missed Round Four. That makes more sense.

I hate to sound ungrateful because this could be sort of American Idol for writers, but "Moreover the Materials which the Designated Entities may hereafter use may have originated with or may have been acquired from the Designated Entities' employees or others and may duplicate, parallel or resemble an entrant's Submission.

"By submitting a manuscript, entrants acknowledge that they understand and agree that the Designated Entities' use of material containing features and elements similar to or identical with those contained in their Submission do not entitle entrant to any compensation. By entering, entrant waives any right of action against the Designated Entities or their successors and assigns in connection with the Designated Entities' use of the Material (or any part thereof) whether or not the Material contains features or elements similar or identical to those contained in entrant's Submission."

Someone is probably trying to prevent a lawsuit, but these submissions are other people's intellectual property. If an unpublished and desperate someone has formulated the seeds of the next Harry Potter series, how fair is it that the Designated Entities hereby appropriate the right to use material they don't otherwise have rights to, to say hand the concept over to a more marketable or already known author face?
Julia Star Jan 11, 2007, 5:50pm UTC
Is this an official interpretation of the ambiguity within the rule upon which I can rely? ;)
Rainy Dayz Jan 11, 2007, 11:04pm UTC
So as i understand it, you only file under two documents. Attach the two documents - one being chapters 1-3 and the other chapters 4+.... ? I guess an actual administrator is not going to answer our questions and we will have to rely on eachother. Sounds like fun. LOL
Esaiah Udhayakumar Jan 12, 2007, 1:26am UTC
Its a pity that people from around the globe are not considered to enter
Frugal 1stMillionAt33 Jan 12, 2007, 5:23am UTC
I doubt that they will get 200 submissions too.
Maybe just a little over 200 to let the contest continue.
Laurie W S. Jan 12, 2007, 8:54am UTC
Question: Can someone who has previously published a nonfiction book, yet has never had a book published in the commercial fiction genre, enter this contest?

The rules state: Manuscript submissions (hereafter the "Submissions") must be original, previously unpublished book, completed book length manuscripts in the commercial fiction genre from authors who have not previously published a full length book.
Jason W. Jan 12, 2007, 11:43am UTC
So, here's a question that I haven't seen yet - at least maybe not speaking directly that is. Anyway - My question is if you win, do the rights still remain with S&S if they decide they don't want to publish your work? Can you still take it somewhere else to publish?
Tim H. Jan 12, 2007, 2:37pm UTC
Has anyone who submitted a manuscript and the three chapter document received a confirming e-mail yet?
First Chapters Administrator Jan 12, 2007, 2:38pm UTC
Thank you to everyone for all of the great questions!

We have posted a separate article to answer some of the most frequently asked questions. We will continually update this article as new questions come in.
Paige C. Jan 12, 2007, 5:02pm UTC
According to Miss Snark, the Sobol writing competition received over 1000 entries AND paid an $85 entry fee. Miss Snark herself, snarkily wonderful person she is, received over 700 entries in 8 hours for a Hook Writing Extravaganza. So I predict a great interest in this, but I wish the time frame were more limited---say all entries had to be in by 1 February. Someone could throw together a crap book between now and March 15th and people would be honor-bound to give it a read, just to be fair.
First Chapters Administrator Jan 12, 2007, 6:32pm UTC
Some people have asked when the first entries will be available for reading and rating. We will post the first eligible entries starting Monday, January 15th.
Richard H. Jan 12, 2007, 6:42pm UTC
I will soon have the first three chapters, but am still working on the third draft of the rest. Should I sent what I have or wait until I have all of it?

Thanks.
Jon Merz Jan 12, 2007, 9:57pm UTC
So, hang on a sec - it says previously published writers can't enter but then in #2 above it says "published and unpublished writers may enter." Which is it?

Personally, as someone who has had novels published and has more coming out, this thing reeks pretty bad. A $5,000 advance is pretty insulting. And some of the rights being requested are ridiculous. PLUS, if you win, you have but 5 days to look over the contract. That's not much time to run it past an agent or legal counsel to make sure you aren't signing away everything in perpetuity. I can certainly understand the desire to be published - I've been there. But this isn't really offering much.

Sheesh.
Richard Kovar Jan 13, 2007, 11:37am UTC
Where/how do I vote?
shaunak p. Jan 13, 2007, 1:57pm UTC
why should it be only for usa?
Colleen D. Jan 13, 2007, 4:16pm UTC
Point #11 is a standard, boilerplate clause in ALL manuscript or screenplay release forms. I know from personal experience; I've entered (and won) a LOT of writing contests. Yes, the clause sounds scary, but despite the phrasing it does NOT actually give them license to steal your work. Such a clause is there to protect the publisher (or film studio, etc) in the event that they happened to have a very similar work already. For instance, if they were about to publish "Harry Potter" and somehow you got your hands on the unpublished manuscript, photocopied it, and submitted it as your own, with the purpose of then claiming they stole it from you and suing them.

Despite the clause, it does not hold up in court if they do in fact steal your work. This is why it's important to submit your work to the copyright office before submitting to a contest or submitting to publishers.

And the truth is, if your work is worth stealing, it's worth paying for (from a publisher's point of view). They don't want to deal with bad PR and lawsuits. If they like your work, they'll buy it. Your energy is better spent worrying about whether your writing is good and whether you can get it read, not whether it will be stolen.

Best of luck.
Annie B. Jan 13, 2007, 5:26pm UTC
Thanks, Colleen! That is the answer for which I've been searching.
Sarah E. Jan 13, 2007, 11:37pm UTC
What I don't think some people realize is that yes the advance might be low but royalties count for more. Plus if you win you have your foot in the door and have a better chance of getting more books published in the future. That's what most authors are aiming for when they are unknown within the publishing world. The added bonus to all this is the publicity from having your first chapters of your novel out there for people to read. What's to say that other agents, and publishers are reading this and liking what they're reading. Free publicity is wonderful for a first-time author. But this is just my way of looking at it. What ever way you see it, you can always think of it as a learning experience.
BS Murthy Jan 14, 2007, 6:36am UTC
If in spite of Tom Gerace's pan Gatherer plea, Touchstone were to stick to its American Idol idea, here is a via media.

Following the Oscar model, there can be a "foreign firstchapters" competition sans prize money from the Gather.com and that which relieves M/s. Simon & Schuster from any obligation to publish.
First Chapters Administrator Jan 14, 2007, 12:43pm UTC
Thank you again, everyone, for all of the great comments and questions. Be sure to check out the continually-updated FAQ's article for many of your answers.

Some of you have asked about this contest only being open to U.S. residents. The laws governing content & copyrights vary from country to country. The First Chapters contest is governed by the contests and sweepstakes laws specific to the United States. Thus, we are not able to accept international entries.

In the future, however, Gather does plan on having separate writing competitions for specific counties with large Gather.com memberships.
sally r. Jan 15, 2007, 10:11am UTC
Please, I've offered to read a friend's first chapters before she posts, but her chapters are less than 2000 words. Would she be disqualified if she posts with less than 2000 words?

Thanks for the help.

Babytoothmama
Paul B. Jan 15, 2007, 4:42pm UTC
Contrary to what Colleen D. is telling you, article 11 is NOT a standard clause in all book contracts. I published a book with John Wiley & Sons in 1991, and my contract contained no such clause. This clause is bothersome because of the words "identical with". I have asked Gather numerous times for an explanation of this clause, but they refuse to answer me.
Pauline R. Jan 15, 2007, 5:57pm UTC
Hello and greetings all! May two authors submit work we have written together, or is this limited to single authorship?
Kevin M. Jan 17, 2007, 12:15am UTC
Why doesn't the administrator answer questions? Early on it was asked what the definition of "commercial fiction is". How about it? Does fantasy qualify? How about other genres?
Nancy V. Jan 18, 2007, 10:22pm UTC
At the point where a reader does the rating (when the stars are showing) you desperately need to clarify whether 1 or 10 is the highest rating. Your results are going to be suspect if readers are making assumptions about which number represents the high and low end of your rating scheme.
Lou D. Jan 21, 2007, 10:18am UTC
According to the rules, "20 Round 1 winners are announced, 15 based on the highest number of votes and ratings from members of Gather.com and 5 selected by the Gather editorial team."

On Sunday morning, the number of annotations of the last dozen submissions runs like this:

63
41
31
11
12
8
9
4
4
2
2
1
1

Since the number of votes roughly parallels the number of annotations, and since the number of votes is a factor in winning), being among the last posted submissions gives one a terrific advantage (esp. on a Friday!). What's the difference between getting 63 annotations and just one? Approximately twenty minutes.
James K. Jan 23, 2007, 5:58pm UTC
I have two questions:
1) What protects our rights to the copy, if we do not win the contest?
2) Regarding Commercial Fiction- In light of recent pulishing issues, is a book based on real incidents, but with fictionalized situations (ie. names, dates, details) become fiction?
Janet B. Jan 26, 2007, 3:56pm UTC
I asked this by email yesterday, but I didn't ask it in this public forum: why does it say open only to "those who have not previously pubished a BOOK"? It should say NOVEL. If one has published a scientific monograph, an art book, a cookbook, and the like, that should not disqualify one from submitting to a fiction contest.
Mark Y. Jan 29, 2007, 8:03pm UTC
"What about submitting to agents?"

They don't say that either, but how would they know? No agent would tell them if they asked.
frank babrove Feb 3, 2007, 9:51pm UTC
what if i do not have an entire manuscript, but more like 5 or 6 chapters? can i submitt it, or does it have to be done entirely?
Wayne A. Feb 5, 2007, 9:29pm UTC
Hi, guys.
I'm from New Zealand.
I love the idea of this competition, but the organisers have severely limited themselves.
With all the political and corporate hoohay around about 'going global", why not extend this fabulous competition to the world. That way, you will pick up the "Creme de la Creme" of writers. Look at all the great writers of fiction who never lived in the States.
Imagine finding another Shakespeare and the kuedos the organisers would get from such a discovery.
Not to say there is not a large pool of talent in the USA.
Best of luck for the finalists.
Waynea
Richard W. Feb 6, 2007, 12:05am UTC
For those of you who need to consolidate your novel, simply create a new document; then "select all" and drag each chapter to the new document until you have three chapters for the first document or all of them for the entire manuscript. You should scroll through and modify the chapter breaks so that each new chapter begins on a new page. Your software should allow you to number the pages.

As for question, I too have submitted questions regarding the contest with no response. What irks me the most, is that the email link from the "rules" page is not a functional email address. It would appear that gather is not interested in feedback.
Ann W. Feb 10, 2007, 3:47am UTC
Dianne,

In response to your question about Select All. When you choose Select all in your edit menu, the entire document will highlight. When that happens, open edit again and hit copy and then open a new, blank document open the edit menu and hit paste. Your chapter will then be copied to that new document. Then go back and open your document for Chapter Two, do the same thing and then go back to your new document (which will eventually be your entire novel) and paste it in after Chapter One.
Lillie L. Mar 1, 2007, 6:41pm UTC
Amen, Brad B! No critiques to be given by IP's - First round judges not qualified, IMHO - Not good. I'll take my toys and go home, thank you.
Helen L. Mar 4, 2007, 11:51am UTC
Why can't non fiction be submitted???
Will there ever be non fiction???
KL P. Mar 5, 2007, 2:17pm UTC
What is standard book length?
Travis B. Mar 5, 2007, 2:20pm UTC
KL..the last writer's panel I went to, the writers seemd to agree about 78,000 words. This may or may not be right. Hopefully one of our published people can say one way or another.
Mark K. Mar 6, 2007, 3:42pm UTC
Has anyone heard about prologues? With mine, it's only a few paragraphs but without it, the punch of the first three chapters can be missed... I suppose I could just submit it with the prologue and hope for the best.
Daniel S. Mar 8, 2007, 10:26am UTC
>> To Mark K and others on the subject of prolouges. Here is an important and crucial tip. Prologues (and Preludes) are absolutely essential to setting the stage, tone, mood and/or background (and providing the "punch"), so I followed the instructions when I submitted my novel, Boxes RIP: Where Truth Lies, and included a Prelude prior to the start of Chapter 1.
>> But here's what happened: When the first chapter was posted Sat Mar 3, the process deleted the page break between the end of the Prelude and the beginning of Chapter 1 so that it's hard to tell where the Pelude ended and the chapter began. My very first reader actually commented on this and marked me down for what was essentially a mechanical difficulty with the computer posting process.
>> I wrote the FC-Admin to see about getting it fixed but no reply as yet.
>>So, here is what I think might work better: When you end your Prologue or Prelude, double-space at least twice after the last paragraph (DO NOT use a section or page break). Then type the words CHAPTER 1 in boldface and all caps on a single line. If Ch 1 has a title then I'd add an extra line space or two above and below.
Eddie Resner Mar 16, 2007, 11:55am UTC
Hey, gather, why can the DC people, but not the 'Ricans submit first chapters????
Mike O. Mar 18, 2007, 11:29pm UTC
Thank you Nancy V. I thought I was being stupid not knowing whether to give a good story a "1" or a "10." I'm guessing it is like the Olympics (10 is top). If not, I just screwed a great first chapter's point count.
Thomas T. Mar 19, 2007, 8:29am UTC
My entry in your first chapters contest was messed up by whoever set it up.

1. They gave it the wrong title.
In the synopsis it is clearly stated

SYNOPSIS

The Eleventh Hour
By
my name next and then the synopsis.


So why was it named In the Beginning of the Christion Era

2. Note how you spelled Christian.
3. My first paragraph is totally messed up in a double space format when it was sent in a single space.
This is totally unacceptable and unfair. My entry had three strikes against to from the jump.
I am not saying it would have won or even gotten past the first round but it would have been nice to see the correct title in big letters. Has it is, it is an abomination and I wish and beg you to remove it from your competition.

It has been violated and I feel I have been. I have deleted everything from my gather page with the exception of a group I started and that's only because I don't know how to end that group.

If I knew your contest would have such disregard for their entrants I would never subject myself to enter as it is Gather treated my work like parents that tell their children you will never amount to anything, your worthless and an accident. I'm sorry if this note takes any of your time. Your administration certainly killed mine.

If my assassinated child wasn't still up there for gather to leer and jeer at I would have already left this group. Please remove my entry and don't bother trying to make it right. You didn't bother in the first place.
Alexander F. Mar 24, 2007, 7:17pm UTC
Please Check out my story and rate. The address is: http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976930521

Here is a brief synopsis:

In Low California, Arthur seeks importance, greatness, and to be somebody's number one. At twenty-six, Arthur is out of work, 3,000 miles from home, whose only friend, Teresa, he treats poorly. However, his life changes when he becomes obsessed with a high school girl whom he mistakes for being someone his age. Arthur befriends Bina, a beautiful and talented musician, much to the dismay of his only friend, the not nearly as beautiful Teresa, who finds Arthur's friendship with Bina creepy. When Bina's mother dies, Arthur realizes that in the face of such a tragedy, he will never be as important. Instead of comforting Bina, he convinces himself that her mother hasn't died. For her part, Bina is in denial over her mother's death and convinces herself that her mom just ran away. Arthur comes to the rescue when he kidnaps Bina from school and they head down to Mexico. For good measure, he also kidnaps Calvin, a four year old who is always willing to offer Arthur moral support. Together they begin their quest to find Bina's dead mother in Mexico. Selfishly, Arthur begins his own quest to become important and great, and, finally, to be somebody's number one.
sofia a. Mar 28, 2007, 1:45pm UTC
I had a similiar experience with my novel, STRANGERS ON MORTAL SHORES, first chapter not being formatted correctly. It had no paragraph breaks. Wow! talk about hard to read.


And when they did fix it, it was incorrectly fixed with without indentation and some of the paragraph breaks not spaced at all, so you really can't read it well.


I think it is literally impossible to be fair with this format. No one person can read them all, and some are missed that are probably quite good works.

My novel is available on line, so people can read my whole book, but who would if it were lost in the scuffle?


And as to the first chapter, can you read the next ones if you are drawn in? I can't find it.

I think a novel needs to be read in entirety, if it is possible, and you should make the next two chapters at least available to interested readers.

I suggest a remake of the contest with 200 or so entries for two or three weeks all year long, if necessary. It would make for readers who could enjoy, and writers who could be read.

And then the contest should have monitors. Right now, I feel that the people who said mean things were probably contestants who wanted their works to be voted up high, by voting others down. Mean spirited competition has ruined your contest.
sofia a. Mar 28, 2007, 4:41pm UTC
can you read all three chapters of our novels on line? How? I can only read my first chapter on line.

Thanks, Strangers on Mortal Shores author, sofia
Katherine G. Mar 29, 2007, 12:38pm UTC
To be honest, I would not want my complete manuscript read online. I worked on it for 7 years and do not plan to "give it away." Otherwise, I would have set it up as an e-book. It's a little nerve-wracking as it is to put your work out there and I'm glad Gather is not making the complete manuscripts available. If anyone is really interested in reading one of the entries, I suppose they could send the author a message through Gather and dialogue with them -- but it should be up to the author if they want to send an individual their entire work for reading.
Shelly F. Mar 30, 2007, 4:45pm UTC
Can't wait to read all the 2nd chapters! I know mine won't be on the list, but I have already learned so much from reading many of the chapters and from the comments I have received on my submission. There is not much time left, but if anyone wants to read mine, and give me some helpful comments, that would be great! I haven't had many people stop by to read. It's called "Scattered Layers".

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976933537

Good luck to everyone!
Ian M. Apr 1, 2007, 7:32pm UTC
Well, I hope to find out who advances on the third before I go to Omaha that day.

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