A No-Fee Zombie Fiction Writing Contetst

[The Jinxmedic]

In conjunction with the 2012 Tacoma Zombie "festerval" and Preparedness Expo, Three Ravens Books is hosting a zombie-themed writing contest for new writers.(details on the event website: http://www.tacomazombpocalypse.com/Writ ... _GOVE.html )

If you are a budding but as-of-yet unpublished writer, this contest is a great way to get published in an anthology of stories. The publisher is fronting all costs (and risks) for this promotion in exchange for all rights for a period of five years. This is a NO ENTRANCE FEE contest, and you don't have to attend the event to participate. Prizes are simple- pays in copy with free promotion of your story- (and bragging rights, of course.)

The submission deadline is August 17th, 2012- as the finished anthology will be available for sale at the Tacoma Zombie Festerval on September 29th.

Do you have a zombie hunter story that you want to share? Now is your chance!

(The 2012 Tacoma Zombie Festerval and Preparedness Expo is a non-profit event, with all profits being donated to the Wounded Warrior Project.)


The 2012 Zombie Festerval Color poster 8-5x11 - REVISED by Haus Maus Fibers, Farthings, and More, on Flickr

[sigboy40]

Hmmm...very tempting....

[TacAir]

So, if I win - you get exclusive rights to the story for five years - and I get paid -- with a copy of the publication you sell?

The plus is - I don't have to pay you to use my work? Yes?

****

Sounds harsh, but a lot of 'writing contests' actually have an entry fee and the prize is, in fact, a copy of the publication to be sold. The offer in this post is, in reality, not all that bad an offer. My assumption is that the author will receive some editing advice and professional feedback.

Other publications will pay in copies of the published material. See current edition of the "Writer Market" series (Children, Shorts, etc, etc) for details. Breaking into the print media is a serpentine process at best.

And now you might see where Kindle/Nook/et al self-publishing is becoming a growing industry. Two years ago, Amazon sold more ebooks than paper books, the trend continues.

I'm going to enter a piece. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[sigboy40]

Yeah, I caught all that too, pondered it, and decided that for >10,000 words, I didnt have much to lose but a bit of my time.

[Okelly]

guess Ill take a shot at this, especially considering what the event is for. besides LOL I already have more than half a million words in several storys Im sure I can find one I've finished or write one at ten thousand.

[TacAir]

Sent mine in, and nobody has acknowledged receipt as yet.

Odd - would you let me know of they ack your submission?

thx

[Jeriah]

On it. Oh, man, this is going to be so good...

[TacAir]

On it. Oh, man, this is going to be so good...

LOL
SO long as it doesn't start out..."It was a dark and stormy night...."

[Jeriah]

On it. Oh, man, this is going to be so good...

LOL
SO long as it doesn't start out..."It was a dark and stormy night...."

What? How did you know? DID YOU HACK MICROSOFT WORD?!?!

[sigboy40]

On it. Oh, man, this is going to be so good...

LOL
SO long as it doesn't start out..."It was a dark and stormy night...."

What? How did you know? DID YOU HACK MICROSOFT WORD?!?!

He got mine too!

[TacAir]

On it. Oh, man, this is going to be so good...

LOL
SO long as it doesn't start out..."It was a dark and stormy night...."

What? How did you know? DID YOU HACK MICROSOFT WORD?!?!

There is a Bad Writing Contest each year -
based o this bit of famous prose -
“It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.” — Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, Paul Clifford (1830)

Hence its name - the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest.

Fun, but not easy, being the best at 'bad' takes a lot of work.

Past winners include this bit of handy prose -

Detective Bart Lasiter was in his office studying the light from his one small window falling on his super burrito when the door swung open to reveal a woman whose body said you've had your last burrito for a while, whose face said angels did exist, and whose eyes said she could make you dig your own grave and lick the shovel clean.
(Credit to Jim Guigli Carmichael, CA)

[The Jinxmedic]

I just spoke with Three Ravens Books, the publisher that is sponsoring the writing contest. On your submissions, make sure that your story is contained completely within the body of the email- their anti-virus system deletes all emails with attachments (I am told this is pretty common in the publishing industry anymore.)

For a refresher on the rules and guidlines, here is the link with the instructions: http://www.tacomazombpocalypse.com/Writ ... _GOVE.html

Deadline is 17 August 2012.

[TacAir]

I got a note today from the three ravens folks. They have read the story submitted.

Hope I win the awesome color poster!

[sigboy40]

I wish I had a better grasp of PG-13

[TacAir]

I wish I had a better grasp of PG-13

Were they specific, or one of those "doesn't meet our standards (fills in a block)" kind of rejections?

[sigboy40]

I havent submitted yet, but that is what I am hung up about. I have two scenes that are close.

[TacAir]

I havent submitted yet, but that is what I am hung up about. I have two scenes that are close.

PG-13 — Parents Strongly Cautioned. Some Material May Be Inappropriate For Children Under 13.
A PG-13 rating is a sterner warning by the Rating Board to parents to determine whether their children under age 13 should view the motion picture, as some material might not be suited for them.
A PG-13 motion picture may go beyond the PG rating in theme, violence, nudity, sensuality, language, adult activities or other elements, but does not reach the restricted R category.

The theme of the motion picture by itself will not result in a rating greater than PG-13, although depictions of activities related to a mature theme may result in a restricted rating for the motion picture.

Any drug use will initially require at least a PG-13 rating. More than brief nudity will require at least a PG-13 rating, but such nudity in a PG-13 rated motion picture generally will not be sexually oriented.

There may be depictions of violence in a PG-13 movie, but generally not both realistic and extreme or persistent violence.

A motion picture’s single use of one of the harsher sexually-derived words, though only as an expletive, initially requires at least a PG-13 rating. More than one such expletive requires an R rating, as must even one of those words used in a sexual context.

The Rating Board nevertheless may rate such a motion picture PG-13 if, based on a special vote by a two-thirds majority, the Raters feel that most American parents would believe that a PG-13 rating is appropriate because of the context or manner in which the words are used or because the use of those words in the motion picture is inconspicuous.

Violence, drugs or sex?

I normally keep sex out of my writing, as it generally adds little to the characters.
Drugs - same, tho I did have my main character in the submission as a recovered alcoholic. Spent a few sentences on the effects of alcohol abuse.

As for the violence, I described the *results* rather than write a step by step of doing in a Zombie with a baseball bat, as an example. That is - the protagonist sees the bullet riddled cars, but not the shooting part.

That help?

[sigboy40]

TacAir,
What is your opinion on word count and entries? A 3k story and a 10k story are two seperate entities. I'm shooting for 7-8k on this one (yes I know it should be done by now. Why do you think I'm up so late? Tomorrow we edit!), and I am wondering if they work off a quota, 3-3k, 2-4k, 1-10k, etc. If 70-100k words is your average book, It doesnt take many stories to fill that space.

[TacAir]

TacAir,
What is your opinion on word count and entries? A 3k story and a 10k story are two seperate entities. I'm shooting for 7-8k on this one (yes I know it should be done by now. Why do you think I'm up so late? Tomorrow we edit!), and I am wondering if they work off a quota, 3-3k, 2-4k, 1-10k, etc. If 70-100k words is your average book, It doesnt take many stories to fill that space.

Hard to say. Most scifi (and I assume Zomiefic = scifi) starts at 100K - IOW, anything less than 100K is considered a juvie book - why, I don't know.

More than a few of the books out run 200K and some as much as (gasp) 500K+.

This looks like the folks at Three Ravens will be the publisher.

One of the reasons I jumped on this one is because --

"Officially founded in September 2010, Three Ravens Books is a vision born from the desire to make publishing about the author. We are not a Print on Demand publishing house. When we say we are utilizing print on demand technology it means we are using that as our press – the actual printing process. While POD is not new, this is a new way to use it. It is no longer just the venue of vanity press. Larger companies are beginning to use POD for their older catalog offerings because it reduces waste and provides products quickly without having to maintain a warehouse of books. We don't do what many so-called POD publishing houses do either, and that is let you publish your book then start adding on the costs of marketing etc to make your book more visible.

We are endeavoring to create an atmosphere for the new author that gets their works out there and, in the end, perhaps will even get them noticed by a larger publishing house. Yes, we are a small start up house, but we do have a wide distribution. Including, just recently, being added to Kalahari Books which is the Amazon for South Africa."

Normally "contests' cost money to submit - sucks, but that's the way it is. Someone has to read the submissions and that costs $$$. If they like the work, most new authors require editing, more $$$. So, there you are.

I looked at POD and took a pass for now. Amazon offered the absolute lowest cost way to get my work out on the market. No need for a ISBN number even....

So, IF I'm good enough to get my work picked up on this contest, it will be out there in a wider market, and hopefully, folks with connect the name to my other work.

As for size - the story should drive the size, chapter breaks and so on. So, send it in - if they want to make changes, they will contact you and maybe, if you are lucky, offer some editorial advice.


Good luck!

[liquid_lexicon]

I thought the PG13 requirement and some of the descriptions of the rating to be a little odd. When it says "All entries must be PG-13 I.E. NO graphic sex, rape or violence." do they mean no violence at all or no graphic violence? I think it could be worded a little different to be more clear. It does seem funny to be putting a restriction on violence on a zombie themed story though.

If it means don't go overboard or too disturbing that's one thing but another altogether if they want you to somehow only allude to any violence. Zombies are most likely trying to tear apart the living. The living are most likely trying to blow the brains out of the zombies. That's an important element to the genre, though the chapter I'm submitting only has one brief scene of violence.

I'm going to send in a version of the story I posted in the Fiction section but with a different ending tacked on. I was both under the minimum word requirement and the ending wasn't sufficient for a stand alone story. The ending might not have been sufficient for a chapter ending either. Hopefully what I came up with works well enough.

Good luck everyone who sent, or plans to send something in. Hopefully the ZS will be properly represented.

[TacAir]

I thought the PG13 requirement and some of the descriptions of the rating to be a little odd. When it says "All entries must be PG-13 I.E. NO graphic sex, rape or violence." do they mean no violence at all or no graphic violence? I think it could be worded a little different to be more clear. It does seem funny to be putting a restriction on violence on a zombie themed story though.

If it means don't go overboard or too disturbing that's one thing but another altogether if they want you to somehow only allude to any violence. Zombies are most likely trying to tear apart the living. The living are most likely trying to blow the brains out of the zombies. That's an important element to the genre, though the chapter I'm submitting only has one brief scene of violence.

I'm going to send in a version of the story I posted in the Fiction section but with a different ending tacked on. I was both under the minimum word requirement and the ending wasn't sufficient for a stand alone story. The ending might not have been sufficient for a chapter ending either. Hopefully what I came up with works well enough.

Good luck everyone who sent, or plans to send something in. Hopefully the ZS will be properly represented.

I suspect Three Ravens will market this collection at the ZombieCon (Tacoma) which itself is being marketed as a family friendly event.

The key word is graphic. I've read your earlier posting, I don't think you'll have any issues on that part. If the 3R folks otherwise like the story, but find something a bit much, they might contact you for a slight edit.
Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.

[sigboy40]

The key word is graphic. I've read your earlier posting, I don't think you'll have any issues on that part. If the 3R folks otherwise like the story, but find something a bit much, they might contact you for a slight edit.
Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.

Good job Liquid.....TacAir all but lambasted mine as being too violent and unfeeling....

[TacAir]

The key word is graphic. I've read your earlier posting, I don't think you'll have any issues on that part. If the 3R folks otherwise like the story, but find something a bit much, they might contact you for a slight edit.
Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.

Good job Liquid.....TacAir all but lambasted mine as being too violent and unfeeling....

Well. come on, I just pointed out that graphically described filicide and a family oriented ZombieCon were a bad match. I also suggested a possible way around it while keeping the plot point.

If we can't help each other improve our writing, why post to the board?

FWIW, I think both of your submissions will rate far higher with the editors than mine. Which is why I was hoping for some editorial feedback from the 3R folks....

I pinged the folks running the contest for a firm "winners announced" date - I've not heard back as yet.

I would hope that others from ZS put something in the contest as well.

Liquid/SigBoy - have you gotten anything back from the contest folks?

[liquid_lexicon]

I have some issues to fix before sending mine in. Just some issues with tense and the new ending but I plan to send it in tonight. You'll be the first to hear if I get a response.