The response from writers to the First Chapters Competition has been overwhelming. Hundreds of great manuscripts have already been posted to the First Chapters group, and aspiring novelists are currently vying for the 20 Round Two spots.
To celebrate the critical role that you, the readers, play in this competition, at the end of Round One, we’ll be rewarding the most insightful commenter on each of the 20 advancing submissions with a $500 Borders gift card! Even better news: you’re not limited to winning just once. If you’re the most thoughtful commenter on all of the top 20, you’ll win a total of $10,000 in Borders gift cards!
To read all current submissions, visit the First Chapters group and click on the "Recent Articles" link directly under the 4 "Featured Articles". You can also view all current submissions by clicking here.
Promotion Details:
- Deadline: This is a Round One promotion. All comments must be posted by 11:59 PM ET, April 3, 2007 to qualify for review
- Selection Criteria: At the end of Round One (on or about April 4, 2007), the Gather Editorial Team will select, at its sole discretion, the most thoughtful comment on each of the 20 contest submissions that have been chosen to advance to Round Two
- Reward: (20) $500 Borders gift cards
Join the First Chapters Competition Group.
For First Chapters Competition Rules, click here.
Please Note: Employees, officers, directors, agents and representatives of Gather Inc. and members of any of their households are not eligible for this promotion.
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Comments: 108
To clarify, ALL Gather members are eligible for this promotion. This includes members who have entered or plan to enter the First Chapters competition, as well as members who reside outside of the U.S.
But man, I thought about it. It's so difficult to write an entire book. And all of these people did - they wrote tens of thousands of (hopefully) connected words, they poured their vision into these electronic machines, they're hoping that we read what they share, hoping we leave a footprint that someone stopped to listen, that someone cares.
How cool is it that we live in such a world? A world filled with all this noisy artistic expression! These things give me great hope for our future.
I admire the purist(s); All persons should be true to their nature. But we are biological, (Even purists), and not logical. And at times, downright greedy.
Let me not exclude myself from the masses who clamor for recognition. You're out there; you know who you are. That's all that need be said about that.
But what I'm missing here, is the person who says "I love to read." (I do, but am busy writing.)
Now, with the money candle burning, those who are stuck in the revising rut, and can't see a way out for the moment, can come read, comment, and cash in. (At this point, I issue a dismissive sound.)
And why not?
Cairnwell
(C) 2006 F.H.G.K.R.A.C
http://www.scottgranteckert.com
also although in sports quantity breeds quality but that is not true in the case of writing. Thus some other format has to be earnestly thought of ... Thanks
For anyone who wins the $500 gift cards you can donate some to your local school to be used as an award or incentive for a contest. They are also good to give teachers as year end gifts and to therapists, aides, and other related school professionals.
Also on the other side I believe people buy and sell gift cards on ebay - I know I have done both.
Thanks to Gather for realizing that you have some great writers AND readers on this site. I can't think of anything better than a Borders card as a reward!
Just like Gather in general, I am reasonably sure that some methods for weeding out the legitimate votes are used. Also as an FYI, I am reading the entries from oldest to newest due to the 14 day display period. I would imagine other members are doing the same. So don't worry about some not having a lot of comments yet :)
Please, raters, don't do a drive-by rating and throw out a 1 without any explanation. My suspicion is that whoever did this to me (and others?) is trying to climb higher in the rankings. Chances are, such a person can't rely on talent alone to win this competition. Don't worry, in the end, the judges will throw out your trash. My story may not be good enough to win, but I won't take others down with me to make myself feel better.
Oh well, I guess thats just how it goes.
I can relate. I guess it is how it goes -- what can we do? Nothing, I suppose. Oh well. Good luck to you!
If you don't mind I would like to read your First Chapter submission. What is the title and entry date?
My submission is "To Uphold and Defend" dated 1/17 around 6pm. What/where is your entry?
S
I will try to read it tonight . Mine is "Virtual View Communications" it too was dated 1/17 around 6pm.
:)
Tony
I wonder if they will have the time or manpower to do so? It will be interesting to see if the editors pick any entries that are not in the top 20-50 rated submissions.
Did you submit an entry? If so, good luck to you!
Susan
Susan
Susan
I read your chapter and I have to tell you I thought it was very good. You certainly have a knack for writing. I would love to read more.
Tony
Thanks. :) I really enjoyed your submission. Not to repeat what I posted on your "page," (but I will anyway)...you have a great premise. That combined with excellent writing makes for a nice read.
Susan
Susan
Tony
I think they zapped all the "1" ratings. A few hours ago, the top stories were in the mid-6's, now they are in the low-7s. My story went from being a 6.3 with 10 ratings to being a 6.3 with 6 ratings. So they cut four ratings from my story. I think they have detected some voting fraud or drive-by raters who throw out ones to ruin everyone's day. I'm still not in the top 20, but I'm very glad to have honest ratings.
Susan
If you trust the editorial board to filter the comments on chapters and make appropriate judgements on the best ones, then the gift card contest can only increase the supply of comments, providing more information for the judges and all of us. More information can only be better.
Hi all,
I decided not to invite friends/family to read my submission b/c I wanted people who have no connection to me to vote honestly on my work. I am also brand new to gather.com so I don't have any allies here to vote favorably for my story. Maybe this is why I only have nine ratings after 10 days? Have I made a huge blunder? Guess I'll find out in the end. Right now, I have a 6.6 rating for "To Uphold and Defend" (posted 1/17 at 6:11 pm). We'll see if it holds up. Now that I've posted this, I'll probably have a few drive-by-raters shoot some 1's at me. Alas.... :)
Susan
I just finished reading your submission. I thought it was very well written. After reading your's and Susan's submission, I feel I still have much to learn about writing.
Your story flowed very well and your discritive writing paints a very vivid picture. My interest was captured after the first few lines.
I hope both you and Susan make it to the second round. You certainly deserve it.
Tony
Birdie has rightly summed up that emotion, "How cool is it that we live in such a world? A world filled with all this noisy artistic expression! These things give me great hope for our future."
Some questions, however, remain to be answered. First, as Magi pointed out, there is an obvious discrepancy and discrimination in the fact that the non-American Gatherites are excluded from the main contest but are allowed to comment and get rewarded. Secondly, as TJ and others have voiced their concern, it is the practical utility of gift cards vs. cash.
In a democratic world of people's internet it is possible to harness people's voice by placing appropriate riders in order to get a meaningful direction. So, I see no express demerit in picking up a creative work through "people's choice" rather than through "experts' choice".
The possibility of the reward motivation setting in an element of selective mentality, as Leah pointed out, can give a wobbling effect to the contest.
Not that self-aggrandizement is going to do anyone any good in the long run. S&S will pick the winner, and they're not going to pick a book that isn't marketable.
Thanks for running a great contest.
From here, I can only see that this is a site that will continue to improve, and lately I really feel more at will to set an example.
Since Borders is here, the site is that much more attractive and interesting, and the people here are mostly friendly, not superficial, cynical, rude, obnoxious, uneducated, and trivial as on chat.
I've joined the contest, and I was extremely confident, then nervous because the low ratings brought me to think maybe my work wasn't worth it to some people, and I guess once we get past that, it's okay. Some people were helpful enough that my manuscript overall has become much more than it was, but other people don't have a certain focus to comprehend what they're reading.
10-my friend's entry
9-my friend's entry, but don't want to be too obvious
1-might beat my friend's entry
2-might beat my friend's entry, but worried that 1s might get tossed
Anyway, half of the people enjoyed my entry, which is why it was somewhere around 5 or 6. Most of the people I didn't know, and some I was able to connect with through Gather. If I were to move on to the next round, I would still try to get some of my friends and family to join Gather, but I really don't have enough people of my own to come in and read it for the first time, as others do. And I would expect the same effect in the next round, where people just can't get into my work, or undermine the whole entry based on one thing they didn't like.
i'm like Susan O. i'm new too and don't have any allies yet. so i could use a few people passing by too. if anyone is interested in giving comments, my novel is 'Ramblings of mad man' located at http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976922213. i've gotten a few good suggestion and a few fly by 1's that didn't leave any comments. i think that if you hate something bad enough to give it a 1 then you should at least tell the author why you hated that badly.
hey Susan O. i'm going to go try to find your entry right now.
Does anyone have a favorite article to suggest here?
There have been so many entries that I feel as if mine has gotten lost in the mass, hence this bit of (semi-shamelessly) self promotion. I've gotten two comments, both from people I know, and while I'm extremely pleased to know my friends and family like the book, their opinions are . . . well, suspect. :-)
And, since getting opinions on my work is one of the reasons I entered this contest, I would very much like to get honest feedback from people who don't love me.
So, if you're interested, you can find the first chapter of my fantasy novel A Sign in Blood at the following link.
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976932639
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.
Good luck to all.
From what I've been reading, it seems that the biggest complaint from first chapter submitters is that entrants and their friends are down-rating other entrants. So it seems to me that this should really have been separate, parallel contests, with some different rules.
1. If you have an entry, you can comment, but not rate, other entries.
2. If you have no entry, you can both review and rate. Enforce a rule that no rating is accepted without a comment.
And as far as I'm concerned, if there's a prize being offered, a third contest should have been created, called "Rate the Reviewer", where only first chapter entrants get to vote, and rate the readers. This would be a much better reflection on who actually provided useful feedback, rather than who happened to have a comment on a highly rated entry.
I mean, this comment thread IS about the readers, right?
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.
Thanks
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.