SPFBO 9 is underway and I hate myself!

[R. R. Hunter]

Demesnedenoir
Congratulations on getting in before the 41-minute mark! That was crazy.

We ended up in the same bracket. "R. R. Hunter - The Untold Prophecy" is like six spaces away from yours.
I felt really good about going in on this one, but now, not so much. lol

Tell you what, if you make it to the Top 10, I'll buy your book.

Did anyone else make it in?

 

[pmmg]

Not even on my radar screen.

Heres a link:
The Official Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off homepage #SPFBO SPFBO

I've a suspicion I would not compete well. But never know.

 

[pmmg]

Notice the language about AI.

The rules are:

i) No book that was entered in a previous SPFBO can be reentered.
ii) The book must be #1 in a series or a stand-alone.
iii) The book must actually be self-published(*) by the start date, not something you're considering self-publishing in future.

(*) - for the purposes of this contest "self-published" means that when a paper or e-copy of the book sells, the fraction of the money that is not taken by the vendor (Amazon, Waterstones, Barnes & Noble etc) goes directly to the author. If it goes to a 2nd party that then pays out royalties, it's not self-published.
- if the book is published by a publisher that the author owns entirely, then it is self-published. In the case of multiple authors, the authors need to equally own the publisher to count as self-published. You can have different arrangements with the audiobook & still count as self-published if the paper/e-book meet the criteria.

A book only on Wattpad or some similar site does not count as self-published for the purposes of this contest. It must be on sale or free on a site where books are sold.

iv) It must be a fantasy book. (If you say it's fantasy then it is. But if it isn't really it won't get far. (There is a different contest for sci-fi.))
v) One book per author.
vi) No anthologies/collections.
vii) No short stories - books must be 40,000 words or longer.
viii) The book must be entirely human-written. No AI writing is allowed.
ix) If the cover contains AI art it won't be included in the cover contest.
x) Your manuscript must be uploaded via the online form as a .epub file when you apply to enter the contest. You will not be allowed to update or change it.
xi) Don't contact the blog to which you've been assigned. You can contact me about important issues.

 

[R. R. Hunter]

Do you have any self-published work? I thought you were traditional.
Yeah, I submitted it with my AI art and claimed it as such.
Look at some of the other covers in recent years... they are all insanely good!

 

[pmmg]

Nope, I am in the self publishing process ATM. I am waiting on an editor and getting all the tools ready. But...I am delayed. I think I will hear back in about a week.

Well, actually, I do have one out there that did go through a publisher, but its not my fav.

The Ruby Cage

I had nothing to do with the cover art, and I think the title was changed. I had called it the ruby cage. Anyway...I suspect it does not get many sales

 

[pmmg]

Unless I did the art for the cover, I am not sure why it is scored anyway. The artist did not enter the contest.

 

[pmmg]

Why do you hate yourself?

 

[R. R. Hunter]

Why do you hate yourself?

It makes me sad that I'm going to be stealing the Top 10 spot from James
I just wish I was in a different bracket than James L. Rice, because I know he deserves that top 10 slot!

 

[pmmg]

How thoughtful....

But deserves got nuthin to do with it.

 

[ThinkerX]

300 entries in 41 minutes...that is a testament to how many fantasy books are out there...

 

[Ned Marcus]

I thought entering the contest was stressful last year. It took about 6 hours to fill, I think. You need to be organised to enter. Next year it should be fun!

 

[pmmg]

I am actually surprised it does not fill up in 90 seconds. My guess is its not as well known as it could be.

 

[Ned Marcus]

I am actually surprised it does not fill up in 90 seconds. My guess is its not as well known as it could be.

I think it will be in under 10 minutes next time. Get organised to enter.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Now you're one of my favorite people

Contests are a crapshoot based on a single reader in this case, at least until reaching the finals. In these heated times, say one wrong word and you could get the ax, LOL.

Good luck! I'll be checking your book out now.

It makes me sad that I'm going to be stealing the Top 10 spot from James
I just wish I was in a different bracket than James L. Rice, because I know he deserves that top 10 slot!

 

[Demesnedenoir]

As an addendum... The Shining by Stanley Kubrick was nominated for 2 Razzies. Later, it was voted one of the top 75 movies of all time. Critics and by extension, judges, don't mean shit other than a single opinion. Unless of course you win or they love you, then their opinions are everything, heh heh.

 

[R. R. Hunter]

Critics and by extension, judges, don't mean shit other than a single opinion.

I knew that was the biggest flaw with this contest, at least with making it into the top 10. For example, if someone wrote a REALLY good litRPG, but the blogger it was handed to hated litRPG's, it would never make it into the spotlight and could never be resubmitted.

I had to downgrade my expectations for this one, and I'm treating it like I would if I handed my manuscript to any other reviewer/blogger site. And that's literally what this is lol

I'll be checking your book out as well. Best of luck, my friend!

 

[pmmg]

There was is always a subjective nature. When i used to judge contests. There was usually a wode berth between stories i could not pass or those that might compete. It was my job to be objective so i trief to be as best i could. I hope the same comes from any who evaluate.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Sadly, much of what was once subjectivity people tried to recognize and overcome has become dogma and righteousness.

There was is always a subjective nature. When i used to judge contests. There was usually a wode berth between stories i could not pass or those that might compete. It was my job to be objective so i trief to be as best i could. I hope the same comes from any who evaluate.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

I got my SPFBO entry email reply 6 minutes after it opened. Last year I was on an airplane the day of entries and would've been screwed, LOL.

The contest kind of started out more dark epic in nature, but has turned way more generic fantasy. The book that knocked out Eve of Snows last year had no shot in hell at winning in my mind; it floored me. But hey, that's the way it goes. From what I can ascertain, the more literary and picky about the writing the judge is, the better I do. The more "I read everything and love it" they are, the worse my books do, LOL.

May the wind ever be in your sails.

I knew that was the biggest flaw with this contest, at least with making it into the top 10. For example, if someone wrote a REALLY good litRPG, but the blogger it was handed to hated litRPG's, it would never make it into the spotlight and could never be resubmitted.

I had to downgrade my expectations for this one, and I'm treating it like I would if I handed my manuscript to any other reviewer/blogger site. And that's literally what this is lol

I'll be checking your book out as well. Best of luck, my friend!

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Hey, at least we start out with different reviewers! LOL.