Chapter two of Seven Archangels: Annihilation has been posted over at MindFlights Magazine.
In other writing news, with two days to go in the voting, “Winter Branches” is still sitting in the number two slot over at the Preditors and Editors SFF Short Story voting. I’m very pleased — I love the story, but I had no idea it would do that well!
It’s a snow day for the kids and the Patient Husband, but if I get a chance, today I’ll begin querying agents with whom I’ve had contact in the past. Wish me luck, say a prayer, and I hope God matches me up with a new agent soon.
I avoid most writing competitions and, on principle, refuse to go anywhere near one that charges an entry fee. The point,as I’ve often said, is that editors and publishers pay writers, NOT the other way around. But good luck with the contest, clearly you’ve got a story that folks are relating to and that’s the most important aspect…
Fortunately, this contest doesn’t require an entrance fee. Anyone can nominate any story right on the voting page.
“Winter Branches” was second place winner in a contest that *did* require an entrance fee, but I knew the magazine really well and I’m enchanted with their vision and goals, so I entered. I forget the amount, but it wasn’t much. I’d probably have donated them that much anyhow.
On the whole, I agree that “entrance fee contests” aren’t for the best, although there are some circumstances where they work out well. But that’s a blog entry in and of itself…
Too many magazines and publications (print or electronic) use writing contests to subsidize themselves because they publish work no one wants to read, make no effort to present prose in an attractive, readable format or fail to promote and publicize their rags. A writer paying for someone to read or comment on their work is acting out of desperation (and stupidity, in most cases). If more writers refused to participate in this process, it would be better for all concerned (well, except for the idiot editors at those aforementioned “rags” and who the hell cares about THEM?)…
The “bad” contests for writers are the ones where the writer signs away the right for the magazine or forum running the contest to print honorable mentions etc for no cost. That’s with or without an entrance fee — the magazine is basically asking for free content, and people provide it.
If a reputable magazine such as Writers Digest holds a contest, and the entrance fee is a fraction of the winning payment, and they pay for honorable mentions to be printed, I fail to see the problem. As with any submission, a writer needs to do his homework.
There’s a terrific article about writing contests that are either scams or else really bad deals for the entrants here:
http://www.writing-world.com/rights/contests.shtml