http://www.chapteronepromotions.com/competitions/novel-competition.htm

Prize is help to finish manuscript in 2 years and then get published.

£20 entry fee

Casey, this looks more like self-publishing - no?..

Trilby, my gut reaction was that it was something like that - it's a shame there are no more details about the publishers - but she is a kosher agent i've heard good things about, so i'd find it strange if it was simply self-publishing.

I think the 2 years input is a fantastic prize for a beginner.

However, probably best not to enter until you have been in touch and found out exactly what kind of publishing deal it is. Looks like a great opportunity but as we all know, it pays to be wary in this game...

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by 'you' i don't mean YOU of course, Trilby!

AbsoluteWrite advise against it.

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And for that amount amount of money one would expect to recieve a critique of the chapters, even if one didn't win.

Ooh, that's interesting, Naomi - what reasons do they give??

I don't know if Admin will leave it up, but the link is here: http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:PJ5DC5i2q9IJ:www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php%3Ft%3D46886+absolute+write+%22chapter+one+promotions%22&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk

Lordy, i wonder if Lorella knows about all that?

Thanks for the heads-up, Naomi.

"Old Hack" on Absolute Write is Jane Smith of How Publishing Really Works...

Emma

Casey, the two years' input is from an "editor" - name not specified - not Lorella Belli. As the company itself appears to be providing an unlikely combination of services (publishing, agenting and critiquing all in one), I'd be very wary.

The "prize" also raises a few questions for me:

Two years to complete the manuscript [what if the rest of the manuscript doesn't live up to the first three chapters?]
Work alongside an Editor to help bring the manuscript up to a publishable standard [again, who is this?]
Monthly online correspondence to check on progress [ok...]
Cover design agreed [what does this mean?]
100 copies printed [this sounds like POD or self-publishing]
Book sold online and through Amazon [ditto]
Copies sent to British Library [ok, so?..]
ISBN number allocated [anyone can buy an ISBN!]

All things considered, I'd strongly advise against this.

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£20 is also a pretty steep entry fee, considering there's no prize money or mention of advance/royalties.

I wasn't going to enter it, Trilby and i guess i saw the agent's name and assumed... well okay. I got it wrong.

*crawls away thinking should know better about these things by now...*

There's no shame in it, Casey

But yeah - almost certainly a case of "if it sounds too good to be true..."

Gosh, I hate the way these things work to lure in poor writers. I have just read the thread that Naomi posted and I'm staring open mouthed at my screen at the gall of these people. Can you imagine being told you've won first place then waiting two years or more for the prize money? There should be a greater sanction than a diss on a website. These people should be prosecuted for unfair trade. S

Someone in our CW class 'won' a writing competition, and her story ended up, not only unedited but completely mangled, as one of 12 short stories on a loose theme in a PoD published anthology. I was stunned. Especially when our tutor urged us all to submit something for the next anthology.

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Any publication, is not necessarily a 'writing credit'.

Shika, a few months ago I had a long talk with a Trading Standards officer about a company I suspected may be scamming writers. And if I remember correctly from what he said, it all comes down to whether or not a trader takes money from you for a product or service that he then fails to deliver. Unfortunately, looking at the list of what's offered as the 'prize' here, there doesn't appear to be much they couldn't actually deliver.

The Trading Standards guy talked about (perhaps similar) cases he'd looked at where people set themselves up as brokers for helping girls get taken on by model agencies. Such people flatter the subjects and take money for various services which amount to not very much. But, again, the key is are they charging for a service that they don't actually deliver? Obviously, if a girl has whatever it takes then a genuine model agency will take her on direct. But of course there is often a wider gap between a person's dream and the reality of achieving it than they realise; a gap which some, let's call them opportunistic, people are only too happy to fill.


Terry