Contest Entry Discussion

[Dan Hocker]

I've looked into the "leaders" thoroughly, and tbh I've found only one (since the other one turned himself in) suspicious person among them. Lets be honest here though, these kind of contests always have a tendency to turn into popularity contests. If I held them in a way that they couldn't well then that would defeat the whole purpose of the contest. As I said before, if even one person out of ever 20 who comes here just to vote stays and participates, then the contest has done it's job.

[RJHubbard53]

I've looked into the "leaders" thoroughly, and tbh I've found only one (since the other one turned himself in) suspicious person among them. Lets be honest here though, these kind of contests always have a tendency to turn into popularity contests. If I held them in a way that they couldn't well then that would defeat the whole purpose of the contest. As I said before, if even one person out of ever 20 who comes here just to vote stays and participates, then the contest has done it's job.

only way around it is to remove names from teh entries. But as you said, it served it purpose for both CD and many of the participants. I know I'm not alone in saying this has somewhat inspired me to write more. So now, not only does CD take my money by offering so many signed special editions, but now you take my time as well

[Dan Hocker]

only way around it is to remove names from teh entries. But as you said, it served it purpose for both CD and many of the participants. I know I'm not alone in saying this has somewhat inspired me to write more. So now, not only does CD take my money by offering so many signed special editions, but now you take my time as well

Well at least we haven't taken your soul yet, although I do have a form you can fill out for that if you want....

[peteOcha]

Well at least we haven't taken your soul yet, although I do have a form you can fill out for that if you want....

Will i get a lifetime membership that includes all the special editions you publish??

[mlouisdixon]

...if even one person out of ever 20 who comes here just to vote stays and participates, then the contest has done it's job.

I hear you Dan. There is an obvious bump in activity over here. For all intents and purposes, this contest is a huge success. Sorry if I came off sounding like a downer. The best thing about this whole experience is finding a new place to hang out and talk "shop". Thanks for making it possible.

MLD

[weirdosayswhat]

To be a little more clear on this, I don't think having mass votes is indicative of cheating. There are some with a lot of votes that I think got them on the strenth of a good story. I think a poorly written entry with mass votes is indicative of cheating...

Agreed.

[RJHubbard53]

Well at least we haven't taken your soul yet, although I do have a form you can fill out for that if you want....

Will if finally get my signed Big Book of Necon if I complete said form?

[Craig Wallwork]

I understand and sympathise with what's been said here. I've never entered a competition like this before, or any competition. Firstly, it's a great idea to get new voices out there, and I can understand, being that this is Cemetery Dance, the urge to push stories is going to be cranked up. Every writer whores. Every writer here wants that chance so much to be featured in one of CD's editions. This is one of those opportunities that don't come along that often. Writers will try their best not to waste that opportunity. If other stories are suffering because of "fixing", then that's bad. But surely not every leading story in each group is bad? I voted for a few recently that were not leading, but I read the leaders (well, most), and felt that some were very good, just not my taste. I mentioned earlier that I feel sick when i come on here. Partly this is because of excitement, and the thought that the writers on here, some of whom I know about, and some of whom I'm getting to know and already admire in terms of their publication background, maybe reading my work. And the other reason I feel sick is because listening to the feedback so far, being in the lead is inching toward something to be ashamed of. I'm not bitter, angry, or resentful toward anyone here. I admire you all for having the guts to be part of this, and allowing peers of great talent to review your work. It's not an easy thing to do. I think part of me will be happy when the process is over, or it's in the next stage, which is when the stories will be measured for what they are. Hopefully for those concerned, the final 11 will have some good stories, if not all of them will be GREAT. Sorry for blurting this stuff out. Hopefully I'm not alone in my thinking.

[Brian James Freeman]

Here's the big thing to take away from this: even if you don't win, a lot of REAL readers took the time to read your story. And some of those readers happen to be Cemetery Dance employees, and we have LONG memories for what we like... so the next time your name comes up in the submission pile, your entry here could be the thing that makes us say, "I remember liking his/her stuff!" That name recognition doesn't guarantee a sale, but trust me, it's a lot better than your name ringing a bell because you're the person who gave Dan a hard time about your content entry...

Also, say your entry was about zombie robots attacking Japan... and we were working on a new anthology with that theme... If your story was awesome, we'll remember it and say, "Hey, you know who writes great stories about zombie robots attacking Japan?" That could lead to a submission invite you otherwise wouldn't get.

And, of course, there's nothing in the rules that says we can't make offers on entries that we liked that didn't get the most votes for whatever reason... There's always another chapbook, issue of the magazine, or anthology in the works...!

Brian

[Dan Hocker]

I hear you Dan. There is an obvious bump in activity over here. For all intents and purposes, this contest is a huge success. Sorry if I came off sounding like a downer. The best thing about this whole experience is finding a new place to hang out and talk "shop". Thanks for making it possible.

MLD

You're welcome, and for the record I am very happy to see how this "Writer's Corner" has taken off. It was a fairly last minute idea of Brian and mine, and activity was fairly low until the contest. Your concerns are a lot of the same concerns that others have had, which is why we are doing the final round a bit differently and why I will be running future contests slightly differently as well.

[Dan Hocker]

Will i get a lifetime membership that includes all the special editions you publish??

Ha, no the form is actually a "job application"

[Dan Hocker]

Will if finally get my signed Big Book of Necon if I complete said form?

You'll get that weather or not you complete the form. You'll have to ask Brian for a production update though, not my department.

[peteOcha]

Here's the big thing to take away from this: even if you don't win, a lot of REAL readers took the time to read your story. And some of those readers happen to be Cemetery Dance employees, and we have LONG memories for what we like... so the next time your name comes up in the submission pile, your entry here could be the thing that makes us say, "I remember liking his/her stuff!" That name recognition doesn't guarantee a sale, but trust me, it's a lot better than your name ringing a bell because you're the person who gave Dan a hard time about your content entry...

Also, say your entry was about zombie robots attacking Japan... and we were working on a new anthology with that theme... If your story was awesome, we'll remember it and say, "Hey, you know who writes great stories about zombie robots attacking Japan?" That could lead to as submission invite you otherwise wouldn't get.

And, of course, there's nothing in the rules that says we can't make offers on entries that we liked that didn't get the most votes for whatever reason... There's always another chapbook, issue of the magazine, or anthology in the works...!

Brian

Speaking of submissions, when will you open again?

[Dan Hocker]

Also, say your entry was about zombie robots attacking Japan... and we were working on a new anthology with that theme... If your story was awesome, we'll remember it and say, "Hey, you know who writes great stories about zombie robots attacking Japan?" That could lead to as submission invite you otherwise wouldn't get.

I want a story about Zombie robots attacking japan. Who accepts my challenge...... lol

[peteOcha]