Author Topic: Pseudopod Flash Fiction Contest IV Rules  (Read 65425 times)

Bdoomed

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on: July 20, 2015, 09:43:22 PM
A special Flash Fiction contest portal will open on Submittable at midnight EDT on 8/15 and close at midnight on 9/15. If the portal disappears, submissions are formally closed and will not reopen.



In order to be a valid submission to the contest, each story must adhere to the following rules:

1. The story must be no more than 500 words long, not including its title. Do not use the title to skirt around the word count. Word count will be determined using Google Docs.  

2. The story must adhere to the general Pseudopod submission guidelines. Most importantly, it needs to be a horror story; other genres, including science fiction and fantasy, are discouraged. As a general rule, we will take a very liberal view of what constitutes horror, but authors should note that past experience shows that stories which attempt to skirt the genre restriction tend to fare badly in the voting.

3. The story must be original and previously unpublished. Stories will be posted on a members-only portion of the forum, so first publication rights will not be spent if your story does not win.

The person submitting the story must be the story's author (or acting for the author with express permission) and hold full publishing rights to the story. A story that is derived from a previous published work in another format (i.e. not a short story) is fine (assuming doing so isn't in violation of copyright, obviously).

If you are not sure whether your story counts as published or not (for example, if an earlier version has appeared on your blog but nowhere else), please write (PM or send a query to brian@escapeartists.net with the subjectline "QUERY") and ask before submitting. Please do not submit stories that have been entries in a previous Escape Artists contest.

4. The story should be submitted in its final form, as the author intends it to be read by the voting public. We may or may not allow minor typo corrections if those slip in, but as a general rule, we will not allow authors to submit changes to stories, especially not after submissions are closed.

5. Each author may submit up to two stories.

Included the body of the submission should be the title and the text of your story. Any byline will be stripped when the stories are posted in the contest, and will be revealed when either the story fails to advance, or ultimately wins. Feel free to request a pseudonym for the byline, but we will need a legal name if you win for prize purposes.

Please blog, tweet, email, send postcards, telephone, summon demons, and otherwise get the word out.
« Last Edit: July 21, 2015, 12:34:16 AM by Bdoomed »

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


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Reply #1 on: August 14, 2015, 06:09:53 PM
How much are the winners paid?



Fenrix

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Reply #2 on: August 14, 2015, 06:59:36 PM
How much are the winners paid?

$30, so pro pay.

All cat stories start with this statement: “My mother, who was the first cat, told me this...”


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Drewbikscube

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Reply #4 on: August 15, 2015, 04:54:53 AM
First timer. Is there a prompt for this contest?



Fenrix

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Reply #5 on: August 15, 2015, 05:07:44 AM
First timer. Is there a prompt for this contest?

No prompt, other than horror. Check out the previous three rounds to get some ideas of what has been successful before.

Submittable portal is here: https://pseudopod.submittable.com/submit/43701

All cat stories start with this statement: “My mother, who was the first cat, told me this...”


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Reply #6 on: August 15, 2015, 05:21:26 AM
First timer. Is there a prompt for this contest?

No prompt, other than horror. Check out the previous three rounds to get some ideas of what has been successful before.

Submittable portal is here: https://pseudopod.submittable.com/submit/43701

Thanks! :D



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Reply #7 on: August 21, 2015, 06:31:07 PM
1.  Any chance the official Submittable guidelines can be updated with the pay rate so potential entrants don't assume a lower amount than is offered?  The pro pay is a good hook for getting more entrants, should tout that proudly, I think.
2.  Are manuscripts supposed to have names stripped off them?  I did for mine because I wasn't sure.



Bdoomed

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Reply #8 on: August 21, 2015, 08:51:04 PM
1.  Any chance the official Submittable guidelines can be updated with the pay rate so potential entrants don't assume a lower amount than is offered?  The pro pay is a good hook for getting more entrants, should tout that proudly, I think.
2.  Are manuscripts supposed to have names stripped off them?  I did for mine because I wasn't sure.

1. Good idea, will pass this up.

2. All manuscripts are scrubbed of names before they're posted, but please do include them, as we'll use them once the story either wins or loses (unless specifically requested otherwise).

Quote
Any byline will be stripped when the stories are posted in the contest, and will be revealed when either the story fails to advance, or ultimately wins.

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


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Reply #9 on: August 21, 2015, 08:53:37 PM
1.  Any chance the official Submittable guidelines can be updated with the pay rate so potential entrants don't assume a lower amount than is offered?  The pro pay is a good hook for getting more entrants, should tout that proudly, I think.
2.  Are manuscripts supposed to have names stripped off them?  I did for mine because I wasn't sure.

1. Good idea, will pass this up.

2. All manuscripts are scrubbed of names before they're posted, but please do include them, as we'll use them once the story either wins or loses (unless specifically requested otherwise).

Quote
Any byline will be stripped when the stories are posted in the contest, and will be revealed when either the story fails to advance, or ultimately wins.

So... if I have already submitted, and did so with name scrubbed from the manuscript, then what should I do?  Leave it be?  Resubmit?  Submittable should still have my name associated with it, just not within the body of the file itself.



Bdoomed

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Reply #10 on: August 21, 2015, 08:57:38 PM
Don't worry about it.  Like you said, lovely thing about Submittable is that your name is attached to it anyway.  If you win, however, we'll be asking for a byline along with other things.

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


SpareInch

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Reply #11 on: August 22, 2015, 01:49:49 PM
Oh right. I stripped off all the header info from the MS for my first entry, apart from the title. But not to worry, eh? As said, it's all in my submittable account anyway, so you still get it.

I just put my second in with it all there. You'll have to be happy with one of 'em, right? :P

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Bdoomed

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Reply #12 on: August 22, 2015, 10:16:06 PM
:)

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


Schrodingrr

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Reply #13 on: August 28, 2015, 01:02:54 AM
Just submitted my first entry! :D
Big thanks to the mods who organize this thing every year. It's always a fun time!

This sentence serves no purpose, so you don't have to read it if you don't want to.


Bdoomed

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Reply #14 on: August 28, 2015, 06:43:11 PM
Psh, big thanks to you and everyone else who enters!  Wouldn't be much fun without our contestants!

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


Chicken Ghost

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Reply #15 on: August 30, 2015, 08:23:32 AM
Heard the call this morning.  Wrote.  Submitted. 



tracyp039

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Reply #16 on: August 30, 2015, 09:47:53 PM
I'm a first timer about to submit as well. Everything is win win, personally, even if I don't get published I'm pumped to hear the winners. Good luck everyone  :)



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Reply #17 on: September 02, 2015, 10:35:12 PM
Hadn't checked the forums in quite a while, and Woo Hoo!  Another contest!

First story is half written... madly brainstorming for the second.



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Reply #18 on: September 03, 2015, 02:20:31 AM
In previous runs, it's been nice when the rounds of the contest could be set up so that a writer's two entries wouldn't compete directly against each other unless they both managed to make it to the finals.  Is that going to be the case this time?



Bdoomed

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Reply #19 on: September 03, 2015, 07:03:48 AM
I do try to keep same-author entries from competing against each other for as long as possible.

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


DoWhileNot

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Reply #20 on: September 04, 2015, 05:35:16 PM
Looks like I'll have a couple family members participating like last time.  We assume we'll be following the same rules as before and will not be voting for each other's stories.  Bdoomed, I'll let you know privately who we are.

Thanks!



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Reply #21 on: September 07, 2015, 03:13:34 AM
So the voices in my head weren't kidding.  Flash IV is out and about and shaking its naughty junk in everybody's face.

And with only a little more than a week left, I...don't know if I can get anything out. 

* Portrait in Flesh shakes tiny fist at the sky

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Reply #22 on: September 08, 2015, 01:26:43 AM
Just submitted my first entry!  Thanks to all at Pseudopod for the opportunity!



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Reply #23 on: September 09, 2015, 07:40:50 PM
Not to put the cart before the horse, but is there an idea of what the schedule for the Podcastle and Escape Pod contests will be?  To have an idea when I need to have written my entry stories. :)



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Reply #24 on: September 09, 2015, 08:25:56 PM
Not to put the cart before the horse, but is there an idea of what the schedule for the Podcastle and Escape Pod contests will be?  To have an idea when I need to have written my entry stories. :)

2016  :)

All cat stories start with this statement: “My mother, who was the first cat, told me this...”