The Standouts - A Critique Contest by PAULAPDX (Summer 2019 Edition)

RULES, LOGISTICS, & PRIZES - Summer 2019 Edition

So, if the precursor to this bit intrigued you, please read on.

🛑 The Standouts Contest is NOW CLOSED. Thanks for your interest! 🛑

IMPORTANT NOTE - And I'm gonna be upfront about this. If what you're really after is for me to confirm your brilliance and tell you what a fantastic writer you are - DON'T ENTER THIS CONTEST!!! 

I was--and am--really nice to everyone, but I'm also honest. I'm not here to stroke your ego. I'm not here to tell you that the only reason you've been overlooked or haven't garnered the success you feel you deserve is because you're a serious writer who writes for adults, and not for teeny-boppers. And I'm not here to elevate any genre, nor any storytelling medium or approach, over another. 

Just because I write YA, doesn't mean that I don't enjoy and can't assess adult fiction--literary or commercial. Trust me. If you could see me back in my university and graduate school days, you'd know that I've read a surprising amount of erudite and literary fiction and once I got out of school, I devoured genre fiction of all sorts. In short, I'm a very open and eclectic reader. However, if you're essentially a writing snob, seriously, please don't enter this contest because you're not really looking for my honest feedback and you'll just be wasting your time and mine.

SECOND NOTE - If you participated in the last Standouts contest, I am letting folks re-enter, BUT there are only three (3) slots available for what I'm calling back-to-backers and those are first come first served. Also, I'd prefer to see a different work from you this time. I do this because I'd like to get exposure to as many new works as possible. 

Alrighty then, let's get started. 😊

RULES

1. Follow me so that I can find you and so that you get announcements. You're free to unfollow me after the contest ends.

2. Add this book to both your LIBRARY and a READING LIST so that you get notifications and also so we can get some good exposure.

3. Fill out the form below and enter your answers into the comments section of this chapter. ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON!

4. Tag five friends in the form. You can certainly tag more, but five is the minimum. If you don't know five people you can tag, PM me.

5. You can be from any country, BUT YOUR STORY MUST BE IN ENGLISH.

6. All genres are welcome EXCEPT FOR - 🛑 Non-Fiction 🛑 Fanfiction 🛑 Poetry 🛑Erotica 🛑 Smut and/or Kink. I mean no shade to fanfiction or poetry or any of the above, I'm just not the best person to evaluate your work. Mature stories are fine, but if it's all about the sex, then it's not right for this contest.

7. DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, get pissy or super defensive or argumentative with me. This contest offers one litmus test AMONG MANY that you can get for your work if you want to pursue writing professionally. It's not the end-all-be-all. But, it does offer a rather unique perspective, so if you can't appreciate that or if you don't like that approach, that's perfectly fine--don't enter.

Whew! Okay, now that we've gotten that out of the way, here's the contest form:

CONTEST ENTRY FORM

Username:

Story Title:

Story Link or URL:

Logline:
(Up to three sentences on what your story is about)

Genre:

Feedback Level:
(Do you want Wattpad-Level feedback [more forgiving] or Submission-Level Feedback [tough because you'll be competing in a larger, tougher marketplace]?)

Password: P.S. It's: Let's do this!

Tag Five Interested Friends:

LOGISTICS & PRIZES

1. There will be a total of 20 entries chosen. The first five (5) entries THAT HAVE FOLLOWED THE RULES AND QUALIFY will be chosen automatically, first come first serve. This is to ensure that writers at any level can participate. Three (3) entries will be chosen, first-come-first-serve, from any entrants who entered last year. The remaining twelve (12) will be chosen by me from all other entries that come in by the deadline. If I don't get 3 back-to-backers, then those slots will be filled by works of my choosing from the remaining entries.

My goal is to get a variety of genres and find works I feel I can help. For example, while I can assess and enjoy some Science Fiction, I'm probably not the best person to assess your militaristic space opera. I like grounded, near-future Sci-Fi. I can assess story for either, but as far as assessing market viability, that's a bit tougher because genre markets have their own expectations. So, the market need and criteria for hardcore Sci-Fi is actually different from what I call more "generally accessible" Sci-Fi. That's not to say don't enter your hardcore Sci-Fi, just that I may have more information for you on your story and less information about its market viability.

2. I will read the FIRST CHAPTER of all chosen entries by roughly Saturday, July 6th 2019; although I reserve the right to delay that deadline if necessary. AND ALL CHOSEN ENTRIES WILL GET SOME SORT OF FEEDBACK, PRIVATELY and be added to a reading list on my profile. All contestants will receive a rating from (1) Needs a lot of work to (5) Outstanding and a quick few lines about my reasoning for the score on the following:

★ - A Strong Concept - Does your work stand out? Is it unique? Or, perhaps, does it have a great hook that makes it ripe for publication or adaptation? Is it different from other Wattpad works in the genre and what's currently in the marketplace (i.e.: Amazon.)

★ - A Strong Voice - Does your writing have a unique flair? Do your characters feel and sound real? Is the narrative immersive, poetic, or powerful?

★ - Strong Storytelling - Are your first chapters compelling? Do they pull a reader in? Do they set you apart, in some ways, from other stories? Do they compel a reader to want to read on?

3. Next, I will choose five (5) entries out of the lot and provide more feedback on your second chapter. This won't be a full-blown critique, but it will cover more ground in terms of what I think of the work and what you can improve. The 5 stories will be announced on or around Saturday, August 4th, 2019 and will go onto a reading list, high on my profile.

4. The last step is that I will choose one (1) out of those five semi-finalists and provide you with a critique of your third chapter. This will be sometime in Sept, 2019 but I haven't set a date for that yet. Agents often ask for your first three chapters when they're considering your submission; and although Wattpad chapters and a chapter for a submission aren't entirely equal, the arc of your story should be roughly the same.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

1. This contest offers only one person's opinion. I'm skilled enough to know how to approach a work pretty objectively, but what I see as outstanding may be boring or fairly "meh" to another reader or reviewer and vice-versa. THE KEY TO A WRITER'S SUCCESS IS PRODUCING THE BEST WORK YOU CAN AND FINDING YOUR AUDIENCE!

2. The purpose of this contest is to help give you a sense of what about your work stands out, if anything. There are PLENTY of serviceable stories that go on to great success and rack up millions of reads. This contest won't predict any of that, which means that if you get okay scores, you can still easily go on to blow us out of the water with your success and popularity. 😃

3. If you're a regular reader of mine and I've already provided you with feedback or a critique, you're free to enter, just be sure to enter with a different work.

4. If you're a regular reader of mine, don't hate me if the feedback you get isn't all "puppy dogs and rainbows." I don't always have time to be super-gentle and/or diplomatic, but you know I love you and I want to see you succeed. Plus, I don't want your participation in this contest to alter our awesome relationship. 😁

That's all, so now let's get to work!

❤️ ~Paula