The second is the word count requirement for entries.
For the short story category, the word count is 5,000 words.
For the long-length category, the final word count requirement is 150,000-300,000 words.
No one would object to this. The organizers don't force you to choose between the short story and long fiction categories; contestants can choose based on their own circumstances. Experienced authors can try their hand at long fiction, but newcomers struggle to grasp the rhythm of a novel, so submitting to the short story category is the best option. The two categories are separate.
The third is the competition process.
The short story category has a one-month cycle, from November 15th to December 15th of the publication date. The manuscripts sent to the magazine during this period are the first cycle. The manuscripts sent from December 15th to January 15th, 2006 will automatically be included in the next cycle, and so on. There will be a total of four preliminary cycles. In each issue, three judges will select three excellent manuscripts to enter the semi-finals!
The three manuscripts selected in the first cycle before December 15 will be published in the third issue of "Xinghuo" on January 15, 2006. The selected manuscripts in the second cycle will be published in the fourth issue of the magazine, and so on. A total of 12 manuscripts in the short story group will enter the semi-finals. The entire preliminary round will last for nearly half a year.
Will this take too long?
If you ask Wen Ying, Yuan Fenghui, or even Mrs. Wang this question, they will get a unanimous answer: Of course not long!
If it weren't for the consideration that if it took more than half a year, the contestants and readers would lose interest and the publicity costs would be too high, Wen Ying felt that it wouldn't matter if this preliminary round lasted a year!
As for why the manuscripts should be evaluated on a cyclical basis rather than in one big summary every six months, this was the result reached by Wen Ying and others after many discussions.
A summary of the past six months, too little interaction with readers!
Half a year is such a long time that readers may have already forgotten about the essay competition, so the 12 semi-final manuscripts were split and published separately. Since January 2006, each issue of "Xinghuo" has published the latest selected excellent manuscripts, which has kept readers' interest piqued and increased their participation.
For the judges, this split also reduces the pressure of reading the manuscript.
Of course, the main purpose is to mobilize participation, expand the influence of the competition, and promote "Spark".
Not selected in the first round?
It doesn’t matter, just keep submitting your work, and submit to the second and third issues. If you participate in every issue, there will always be a chance to be selected!
After all the entries that entered the semi-finals were published, the readers' voting for the short story group began, and the readers decided the ranking of the 12 outstanding works.
The voting method has not been announced yet, but the organizers have promised that the counting process will be notarized by a notary public to ensure that the results of the essay competition are fair and just!
By the evening of the 15th, almost all literary enthusiasts who were interested in the essay competition got the first issue of "Spark" as soon as possible, studied it for a whole day, and thought they had almost mastered the rules of the competition.
In the evening, a group of authors under the banyan tree gathered in the QQ group to discuss.
This time everyone had no disagreement and all had the same opinion: the organizers were really smart in setting up the competition system for the short story group!
In comparison, the long-form group does not have these tricks. There is no staged selection. If it is good, it is good, and if it is not, it is not. The list of candidates entering the semi-finals will be directly announced in the April 2006 issue of "Xinghuo".
There are 12 manuscripts in the short story group that can enter the semi-finals, while there are only 6 in the long story group.
This is not discrimination against the long-form group, but the threshold for the long-form group is high, and the number of contestants is far less than that of the short-form group!
But let’s be honest, the Spark Cup organizers are really sincere about the competition reward settings, which are of most concern to all literary lovers:
"In the short story category, there will be one first prize winner, receiving a cash prize of 200,000 yuan; three second prize winners, each receiving a cash prize of 100,000 yuan; three third prize winners, each receiving a cash prize of 50,000 yuan; and five excellence prize winners, each receiving a cash prize of 20,000 yuan... There are 12 spots in total. This means that as long as you make it to the semi-finals, you'll at least receive a cash prize of 20,000 yuan."
It's really sincere.
After all, according to the standard of 5,000-word entries for the short story group, with an upper limit of 10,000 words, even if you only get an Excellence Award after entering the semi-finals, you will receive a manuscript fee of 2,000 yuan per thousand words. At the moment, there are only a handful of big names in China who can reach this manuscript fee standard!
If you can win the first prize of 200,000 yuan, the standard payment for the manuscript will be raised to 20,000 yuan per thousand words, which is a highlight moment in the life of any author.
In the QQ group, a group of authors under the banyan tree are still having a heated discussion.
Now that the bonus is paid, no one cares about other minor details.
For the sake of the prize money, everyone can forgive the organizers for splitting the preliminary round into four rounds.
"In the novel category, there will be one first prize winner, each receiving a publishing contract for a first print run of 70,000 copies; two second prize winners, each receiving a publishing contract for a first print run of 50,000 copies; and three third prize winners, each receiving a publishing contract for a first print run of 30,000 copies."
The cash reward of up to 200,000 yuan for the short story group made the authors excited.
The first prize in the novel category, with a publishing contract for a first print run of 70,000 copies, made the authors' hearts beat wildly.
For example, an annual bestseller like "Teenage Idol" has an initial print run of 100,000 copies. A first print run of 70,000 copies has already given it the initial status of a bestseller!
And this is just the first print run.
If the book is reprinted in the future, the author will also receive income.
The long-form group really has high input and high output!
Whether it is the short film group or the long film group, there is a line of words behind the specific reward method: If the work is favored by a film and television company, the film and television copyright fee will be paid separately.
Well, this really is giving money to the authors.
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