Writing contest - 48 Hour Flash Fiction 2017

AlexH said:
Fair enough to both of you, though I hope you wouldn't assume that for all writing competitions @Cathbad? I think it'd be a bad precedent if that was the accepted standard.
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Not all. But this one gave the concept, title, line of dialog. That pretty much made it theirs; not mine.
 
There is also the need to consider that this story was written in 50 hours maximum from flash to delivery. Unless a writer is very lucky or inexperienced, they would not normally be satisfied with a 2000 word story written in that time limit.

So whilst SFL may 'own' the story and published and use it at will, a real writer would probably if they thought the story was good enough improve on it anyway. [Which makes the situation rather different from photography.]
 
I saw that, but it also said you were free to publish the story elsewhere. And since they don't seem to publish more than the top finalists (and only print, as opposed to link to, the winner), it didn't seem likely that it would be a problem. Only problem is if you made the links but didn't win, because someone else might not want to publish a story that's sitting there linked, but you didn't get paid for it.

I certainly plan to shop mine out if it doesn't win.
 
Cathbad said:
Not all. But this one gave the concept, title, line of dialog. That pretty much made it theirs; not mine.
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I strongly disagree - it doesn't make it theirs at all. 2000 different entries will all be unique. And as I said, it was hardly a unique concept or title. I've never been to a writing workshop where the tutor has claimed ownership of the stories they inspire with their triggers, and we're given almost as much with the challenges here (as a "picture is worth a thousand words," maybe more ;)).

Serendipity said:
There is also the need to consider that this story was written in 50 hours maximum from flash to delivery. Unless a writer is very lucky or inexperienced, they would not normally be satisfied with a 2000 word story written in that time limit.

So whilst SFL may 'own' the story and published and use it at will, a real writer would probably if they thought the story was good enough improve on it anyway. [Which makes the situation rather different from photography.]
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Of course, but at the least the base of the story and characters would still be there. I think 50 hours is pretty reasonable to get a fully formed story, with probably a few tweaks required.

TheDustyZebra said:
And since they don't seem to publish more than the top finalists (and only print, as opposed to link to, the winner), it didn't seem likely that it would be a problem.
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Which raises my point about why that line of the terms needs to be there.

Anyway, I don't think I have any more to say. I just wanted to make people aware in case it's something that'd prevent them from entering in future.
 
AlexH said:
I strongly disagree
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I may feel the way I do, because I'm not a Sci-Fi writer. And the few attempts I've made to get a sci-fi story in anthologies failed.

I am first and foremost a fantasy writer. I enjoy reading Sci-Fi, but writing it gets a bit too complex.
 
@AlexH most of the ones I've seen so far have that sort of note. I pick and choose the comps I enter. So far I've got a 100% record of wins.

1 for 1 ;p Judge Dredd Megazine competition last year.

Unfortunately the majority of competitions are pay to enter and those I ignore.
 
While it's not in the rules, the FAQ is where I got the other part about the rights to the stories:


Q: Can I sell, publish or develop my film or story after submitting to the challenge?

A: Yes. It's yours and you own own it, so exploit away! However, please remember by taking part you grant us an in-perpetuity, world-wide, royalty free, non-exclusive licence to promote, publish, sample and sub-licence the work. We will never charge any money for the story or film, but we will offer it free to anyone who wants to show it. The intellectual property in the work is yours and we do not make any claim on this, so we wont take the world or characters you develop without permission.

Q: I would like to submit my film to another festival, can I?

A: See above... it's yours so do what you like. One thing though, why not tell us what is happening so we can help promote it!

Q: Can I publish my short story elsewhere?

A: Yes. By submitting you give us rights to publish the story, but it is still yours and you can do what you like with it.
 
Cathbad said:
I am first and foremost a fantasy writer. I enjoy reading Sci-Fi, but writing it gets a bit too complex.
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Same here with sci-fi. I try to write from the POV of non-sciencey characters, so I don't have to explain it, but it can get difficult sometimes, especially when I need to know the science behind something for my own piece of mind.

TheDustyZebra said:
Q: Can I sell, publish or develop my film or story after submitting to the challenge?

A: Yes. It's yours and you own own it, so exploit away! However, please remember by taking part you grant us an in-perpetuity, world-wide, royalty free, non-exclusive licence to promote, publish, sample and sub-licence the work. We will never charge any money for the story or film, but we will offer it free to anyone who wants to show it. The intellectual property in the work is yours and we do not make any claim on this, so we wont take the world or characters you develop without permission.
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I'm not sure if you're implying it does, but it doesn't make any difference does it? When they say "We will never charge any money for the story or film", that's also referring to the film competition they ran. They can still make one of the short stories into a film or TV series and make loads of money from it, without the short story author seeing a penny.

Although lots of places do it, it can be confusing having the separate FAQ and terms - it could come across as disingenuous but I doubt they would have intended it that way. I wonder if there's some sort of powerful writer's guild that point out unfair conditions like this. I know Amateur Photographer Magazine do the same thing for photographers, and have successfully influenced the terms to be amended for some big competitions.
 
I can say without a doubt that I would never have developed my short story (any of them) into a film myself, so more power to them. They can do the work, I'd make the same amount of money either way, and I'd come out ahead on the publicity from it. Seems like a win to me.

That said, I can't see them going to the trouble, really. Tapping a bunch of amateurs for stories written in less than two days, on the off chance that there will be a gem that they can effectively steal for a movie and do all the work to make it so they can be sued over confusing terms about rights? Hardly worth it.
 
TheDustyZebra said:
That said, I can't see them going to the trouble, really. Tapping a bunch of amateurs for stories written in less than two days, on the off chance that there will be a gem that they can effectively steal for a movie and do all the work to make it so they can be sued over confusing terms about rights? Hardly worth it.
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Now there's a story @TheDustyZebra
 
....so rumor has it we'll be getting results today? Hrmmm???
 
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SCI-FI-LONDON FILM‏ @scifilondon Apr 22


Replying to @scifilondon @partychronicles and


The #SFL48hrFlash winner will be announced at the same #SFL48HR May 4 ceremony & the #SFL48hrFlash prize is honoured This message will self-
 
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