Does anyone have any views on this one - it's had big coverage in the Telegraph, but i have distinct reservations.
Children's fiction, very unattractive erms and conditions. Details only available from Wstones stores. Prize is a publsihing contract with Faber, but no advance.
Any views?

Evening,

I thought there was an advance of £1000, which although not a stonking amount isn't so unusual in the miserly world of children's fiction (with a few exceptions naturally). I think to be published by Faber would be a dream come true, for me at least. Maybe my standards are lower than yours?! I haven't read the smallprint however...but if I thought I could finish my book by September I would be entering.

Do you have a full mss to enter?

Myrtle

I've not heard abot it - could you post a link to any iternet site about it? Couldn't find one myself.

Maybe, I'm mad but i decided not to enter because
a) prize is only £1,000 (but they're looking for the next rowling)
b) on 30th Sept, 13 shortlisted writers have to send in the full mss
c) 12 will be thrown in the bin and the 1 winner announced in December
d) the book will be on sale only in Wstones and there is no guarantee of promotion or publicity or marketing

My mss isn't ready, and I am still hurting from the Richard & Judy comp - which in contrast showed a massive investment from Macmillan.

But a contract with Faber would be fab. I know, I know.....
Helen

Hi there
There doesn't appear to be anything on the web. i saw it in the telegraph, a half page feature.
Wstones evidently want us to go into the store because application forms are only available in store, you can't post or email an entry, only hand deliver it to a store between 15th and 31st July.

Read the small print though, and I've also read that Wstones are really struggling at the mo. This is obviously part of a marketing strategy for them
But all publishing opportunities are good for thirsty, hungry, desperate writers like me. If only I could get it out of my blood and go and get a proper job again. (Who'd believe i once had a top career in industry, and now work full time earning peanuts as a writer! Guess that makes me a monkey!)

Ah, but I see you are already published...maybe that's why it doesn't seem so attractive to you. It might be a good foot-in for someone unpublished.

M

Myrtle
it is attractive - an for some reason i head for competitions like a lemming to cliffs,
But you're right, my first book came with an advance of £1,500 even though they are one of the teeniest publishers in the UK.
I can't help thinking that if Wstones OR FAber truly believed they were on to something here, they'd put up the cash, as Macmillan did (£50k for winner and 4 x £20k for runner-up.)

love helen

It seems to me that this competition will find a book which actually appeals to the market from the outset. Bypassing the traditional route of literary agents and publishers could yield a very different type of book. We've all heard of how allegedly hard it was to sell 'Harry Potter' to the publishers. But in the market, it cooked up a storm. I think 'Harry Potter' would have won a competition like this.

As for the deal: 7.5% of royalties for a book sold and promoted in the front-of-store of every Waterstones, rising to 10% over 40,000 copies, well that sounds pretty good to me.

Am I being very naive?


<Added>

Sorry that should read 7.5% of sales

probably not -
i'm probably being very dense,
but 7.5% of £4.99 x (no guarantees) doesn't add up to a lot without a marketing push to promote the book.

And this is being judged by Mr Wstones, Mr Faber, and one other - why do you think it will produce the kind of book readers want? I'd be keen to know, but think I'm probably not eligible as I've been published, tho not in this sector.
hhhmmmm

Promoted in the front-of-store of every Waterstones is good, though?

Frances

also, the entries are being judged by groups of readers, then the 13 regional finalists will be forwarded to the judges...

It's the fact that regional finalists are selected by readers that attracts me.

You can't predict a Harry Potter or a Da Vinci Code. All you know for sure is that one day, it will happen again.

The final judging panel may or not be able to pick the monster success out of the 13. I'd bet they could. The mass success of both HP and DVC lay in their ability to operate amongst some group consciousness.

It seems to me like a good way to pick a book will succeed in the marketplace. As for the financial rewards, they'd be paid on delivery of the promise to sell.

Seems only fair.

The thing to look into would be the extent to which the author signs away intellectual property rights.

If you get to the last thirteen and did not win - it would be something to put in subsequent submissions letters.

I have no idea what the normal amount you would receive for a children's book is? The royalties do not seem a great deal to me either - but the springboard effect would be fantastic.

I would love to know what the average amount an author receives for a novel is. I imagine many would answer that there is no 'average'. But there must be. I feel that there is a great deal of smoke and mirrors in the publishing industry.

Nikki

What do they mean by 'unpublished children's writer'? I've had online short stories published in lit fiction, sf/f, murder. Nothing in children's fiction. They don't give any contact details.

Don't know. i think it is fair to assume they mean unpublished in childrens fiction. My view is always - enter anyway. If they love you, they'll publish you outside of the competition.
Obviously not by flouting the rules, but this one is certainly open to interpretation. Helen