Bestseller Author Novel Competition

[Mouse]

Yahoo!

Just seen this. Not sure what to think. I kinda roll my eyes at it... And can Richard and Judy write? How can Richard have a book out at Christmas but he's not started it yet - how will it be any good??

edit (because somehow I missed this) there's a 50k advance.

 

[Bowler1]

If you have a finished book pop it along, you never know.

As to Richards Christmas deadline, I think he may be in for a surprise, or his ghost writer will be - that's a tight deadline. Most of this is TV waffle, but one person will get lucky out of it so good luck to them I say.

As to writing being rock and roll, it's the first I've heard of it.

 

[HareBrain]

One of the terms: entrants may not

1.4: have not previously submitted your partial novel (the “Extract”) to a publishing company or literary agency, and have not previously had a novel published or released into the public domain in any format, including but not limited to the internet;

If they actually enforce this (though I'm not sure how they would) then you can't enter a novel you've even submitted to an agent. That's pretty restrictive.

 

[ctg]

Surely they are going to talk about each entry to the publishing companies and agents. If you believe that I have a bridge to sell.

 

[Glitch]

You can read the full terms and conditions on the website. Search For A Bestseller Form - Richard and Judy Book Club | WHSmith

A few to draw attention to

1.5: have not had any other novel published in any format whether under the entrant’s name or a pseudonym;

1.6: are not represented by a literary agent;

1.8: the Extract must be a piece of original fiction, excluding children’s and teenage fiction;

I guess that rules our YA?

 

[Phyrebrat]

You can read the full terms and conditions on the website. Search For A Bestseller Form - Richard and Judy Book Club | WHSmith

A few to draw attention to



I guess that rules our YA?

Yup the blurb says 'adult' literature or fiction

pH

 

[ctg]

A question: How likely it is that they're going to pick a literary novel over genre ones?

And as the search is so broad, how likely it is that they're going to be swamped by ten thousand entries that will take them ages to sort out, and by the time of Christmas, they haven't even managed to form a short-list.

 

[Boneman]

If you have a finished book pop it along, you never know.

Actually the faqs on the side of the entry form page say it doesn't have to be a finished novel:

Does my novel have to be finished?
No. It’s fine to only have completed 10,000 at this stage.

ctg: Quercus publish all kinds, but Jo Fletcher does do horror, sciFi and Fantasy, so there might be a reasonable chance for us!!

 

[Phyrebrat]

...how likely it is that they're going to be swamped by ten thousand entries that will take them ages to sort out, and by the time of Christmas, they haven't even managed to form a short-list.

Isn't it a little worrying that Dick has to produce a book by Yule and hasn't started, and they're searching for manuscripts

pH

 

[ctg]

Does my novel have to be finished?
No. It’s fine to only have completed 10,000 at this stage.

ctg: Quercus publish all kinds, but Jo Fletcher does do horror, sciFi and Fantasy, so there might be a reasonable chance for us!!

Well Boneman this one makes interesting...

If I make it to the shortlist, how long does my novel have to be?
At least 80,000 words in length.

...as from my personal experience it's really hard to say how long one's story is going to be before it's finished.

 

[Kissmequick]

Note -- due to the no subbing to agents thing, does this mean (and I think it does) that your MS will be tied up on an exclusive until at least March? If you make the short list, but don't win, it'll be tied up for a year

Mind, it doesn't explicitly say you can't sub it elsewhere after you've subbed it here, but I think that's heavily implied (they might DQ you if they find you've subbed to other agents before they've finished looking at them)

And a minimum six month exclusive...yeah. I wouldn't go for that. If your book is that good, you can get an agent/deal anyway.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Note -- due to the no subbing to agents thing, does this mean (and I think it does) that your MS will be tied up on an exclusive until at least March? If you make the short list, but don't win, it'll be tied up for a year

Mind, it doesn't explicitly say you can't sub it elsewhere after you've subbed it here, but I think that's heavily implied (they might DQ you if they find you've subbed to other agents before they've finished looking at them)

And a minimum six month exclusive...yeah. I wouldn't go for that. If your book is that good, you can get an agent/deal anyway.

That would be my take on it, too, KMQ. It's a long time to ask for an exclusive for a completely new book. And competitions -- especially one like this -- are like sticking a tail in the donkey; you have no idea what they're looking for.

For me, it's a pass.

 

[lauren$77]

It is pretty vague, how many will they shortlist? It doesn't say! Its a shame their aren't any runner up prizes - that would make the wait of 9 months possibly worth it if you were short listed.

Also I get the feeling a lot depends on your biography - perhaps you need a good sob story to go with your perfect book!

 

[Kissmequick]

I'd also note re the agency that none of the agents say they rep SFF. For this book they may not need to, but if your next book is SFF, will they have the contacts to sell it? In othre words, would they be the right agent for you?

Now, R&J have looked at SFF books (The Shining Girls was one of their picks iirc) but if the agency doesn't rep what you write....and you're tied into them for your next book....

 

[Mouse]

Cos, tis restrictive isn't it! I only had a quick shoofty before work this morning.

This:
1.4: have not previously submitted your partial novel (the “Extract”) to a publishing company or literary agency, and have not previously had a novel published or released into the public domain in any format, including but not limited to the internet.

Rules me right out then. For entering anything.

 

[prizzley]

I looked at this a couple of weeks ago and ruled it out because of the lack of clarity, having an agent foisted on you and their rights to your next book.

 

[Anne Lyle]

As far as I can see, novel competitions are rarely much cop - restrictive contracts and much longer odds than grabbing the attention of an agent. To me, they always look like a marketing ploy designed to snag a naive writer (who happens to have a really commercial manuscript) on the cheap.

Also, call me cynical, but unless a competition is specifically looking for SFF, I very much doubt the chances of such a book, especially for a mainstream outlet like Richard & Judy. Crime, women's fiction, sure - SFF, snowball's chance in hell.

 

[Glitch]

It also looks like good publicity for Richards new book (which he hasn't started yet)

 

[Jo Zebedee]

It also looks like good publicity for Richards new book (which he hasn't started yet)

But no doubt already has an agent and publisher for.

 

[SciFrac]

...call me cynical, but unless a competition is specifically looking for SFF, I very much doubt the chances of such a book, especially for a mainstream outlet like Richard & Judy. Crime, women's fiction, sure - SFF, snowball's chance in hell.

I second this.