Here's a little rant for you.

For the third time this week (it's Tuesday, people) I "entered" a blog contest, and for the second time this week (it's TUESDAY!) I felt like the author is trying to con me.
I won't name names, but know this: If you dangle a carrot, one surefire way to never see me again, is to try and make me sign up for something. Anything. I don't mind if it's a newsletter or something, fine. But if you try to make me sign up for something where I have to hand over my personal details, you can go and take a very long walk off a very short pier.

I will not sign up for anything, unless I want to, and yes, I don't have to, I realize that.

But if the only way I can enter a contest is to sign up for something first… ferget it. Not going to happen and your name is mud with me.
I'm serious.
You can ask politely if I would leave details or sign up for something, but if you make it a condition of entry… no.
Ever seen the "No purchase necessary" parts of competitions? You're making me purchase. Sure, you're not asking me for money. You're actually asking me to part with something far far more valuable — and usually on an unencrypted page!!!

Authors, in this day and age, asking people for personal details — regardless of what they are — is a no-no. And anyone asking for them should raise a red flag with people.

Hand over personal details?

Just. Say. No.

Authors, there is a difference between promoting and phishing. And if you ask for my full name, mailing address, post code and phone number, then I'm afraid… you're phishing. You don't need that information, and I have to ask what you will use it for. Hm? Care to tell me?

Where are you storing that info?
Is it secure?
Do you have permission to even ask for this information? (It is illegal to store personal data of Europeans outside Europe without express permission.)
What is the information used for?
Can I trust you with my information?
What are your privacy rules?
Is your site secure, or do my details get transmitted unencrypted?

One of the biggest growing crimes is Identity Theft / Fraud.
Think before you ask for those details.
Think about who has access to those details.
Think about where you'll store those details.
Think about your READERS!!!

And if you answered "Uh. I don't know." to anything I've raised here, then don't ever ask for anyone's personal data.

Please.

And if you team up with some company who sponsors your contest, then ask those questions of THEM before you say yes.

For the record… there are probably about 20 people total who have my real email address.
Everyone else gets secondary ones, or aliases I can kill off the second they get spammed.

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This is to remind people that today is the day for entering the Agent-judged Contest – Twitter Style! at QueryTracker.

It's a 24hr period, starting at noon today, so I hope you have your entry ready!

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More info on the Querytracker Contest

Agent-judged Contest – Twitter Style!

Suzie Townsend of FinePrint Literary Management has graciously agreed to judge an adult fiction contest. (For completed manuscripts only.)

What to enter: A Twitter-style pitch (140 characters or less, including spaces)

Entry period will be 24 hours: From noon Tuesday, July 6 – noon Wednesday, July 7.

These are the genres Ms. Townsend will be judging:

• Adult Science Fiction
• Adult Fantasy
• Adult Urban Fantasy
• All subgenres of Adult Romance
• Adult Thrillers

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There will be a new contest on the QueryTracker Blog.
Keep your eyes open for the adult fiction contest, which will open on Tuesday, July 6th.

There is also an online conference being held soon. WriteOnCon is free, and registration opens on the 1st July 2010

WriteOnCon is an Online Children’s Writers Conference (rated MC-18, for Main Characters under 18 only) created by writers, for writers.

When: Tuesday – Thursday, August 10 – 12, 2010

Where: http://www.writeoncon.com

Cost: Free!

Who: That’s the best part—it’s for EVERYONE!

For more information visit their blog.

Well it's not for everyone, really, since it's Children's Writers only, but I thought I'll give a heads up on it.

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Chuck Sambuchino from Guide to Literary Agents is hosting the third "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest.

Here is the gist of it:

This will be a recurring online contest with agent judges and super-cool prizes. Here's the deal: With every contest, the details are essentially the same, but the niche itself changes—meaning each contest is focused around a specific category or two. So if you're writing a novel-length work of urban fantasy or paranormal romance, this third contest is for you!

But don't just listen to me… go check it out for yourself!

Click here to see what it's all about.

Good luck to those who take part!

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Anya Bast is currently running a heck of a contest.

To enter, click below.

So…. that sparked the question… what DO I want to read?

Oh.. gosh.

I'll list them later!

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I have been slack.

Not just writing wise, but blogging wise too.
Though I did manage to finish the "Short" story.
I’m letting it stew at the moment, because I’m not happy with the ending. Not much time though, the thing needs to go out of the door soon.

In other news, I had the judging sheets from the Rebecca back.
93 from one judge, 68 from another.
One was published, one wasn’t.
(No, I don’t know who they are.)
Seems to me one judge got the story, the other didn’t.

The annoying thing is, the stuff I got marked down for wasn’t reflected in the comments. The comments of the lower score… well. I don’t put backstory into the first twenty pages, because it doesn’t belong there.
I don’t make dialog changes from sensible to downright idiotic sounding. (Sorry, Judge. The suggestions were simply stupid and sounded awful — and I’m not the only one who thought so.)
There is some telling, yes, but nowhere near as much as this judge claimed. Yeah, the low score pissed me off. The comments even more so because I didn’t agree with 90% of them.
Nor did I appreciate the condescending "I’m published and you’re not therefore I’m right and you’re wrong." tone at the end of the sheet.
I’ve I told that author whose work I’ve edited, she would probably faint.

Saying that, I still appreciate the time taken to judge the entry and make detailed comments, even if I didn’t agree with them.  
We can’t win them all!

The other score sheet was better. The changes suggested were a great help, the catches were all reflected in the score. Most of all, she got it. She got the story, the characters, the world, and that makes all the difference. Thank you, Judge 15, whoever you are. I will be making some of those changes you suggested.
Oddly, the changes suggested by J15, were partly the ones I agreed with from the other judge. Funny that. Both caught the same things, and those I will address. (Cliche’s mostly.)

What else?

TTT – I got as far as the first 5 lines round, a few fellow critters did too. I’m proud of us.

So as September nears, I will get back into writing and blogging.

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