Search for AMERICA’S NEXT AUTHOR

American Idol set an all time record when 132 million votes were cast for the competition’s season finale. What if the publishing industry could capture similar buzz — excitement — even passion? eBookMall wants to give it a go …

Americas Next Author

Can Journalism Survive American Idol set an all time record when 132 million votes were cast for the competition’s season finale. What if the publishing industry could capture similar buzz — excitement — even passion? eBookMall is seeking submissions for an interactive writing contest that allows readers to cast their votes for “America’s Next Author”
… Read on for details…

Aspiring writers, take note: eBookMall.com is leading the cause to reinvent the traditional writing contest. eBookMall’s “America’s Next Author” competition begins Monday, September 17 and takes a play out of the American Idol playbook – readers will vote to advance their favorite submissions. Consider it the book industry’s answer to widely popular TV shows looking for music’s next superstar.

eBookMall Managing Director Martijn Leenders says

Quoting  begins This is not your average writing contest … In most writing contests, authors are left in the dark without ever knowing what other people entered or why they didn’t win, and the general public is often left out of the equation all together. This contest will be transparent, a social experience that reveals what real people really want to read. Quoting  ends

Writers will submit stories. Submissions should be between 2,500 and 5,000 words and feature only original material that has not been published anywhere else. Entering the contest is free and the grand prize is $5,000 – not to mention priceless exposure as an up-and-coming author. Two runners-up will receive $500.

As with traditional writing contests, eBookMall seeks submissions featuring well-written stories and engaging characters, but America’s Next Author is different in one very significant way: contestants can influence their chances of winning by mobilizing their fans through social media and word-of-mouth promotion. Encouraging friends, family, and fans to vote will be crucial to the winning author’s success.

Of course, it’s not designed to be a simple popularity contest. A panel of experienced professionals from the publishing industry (“the jury”) will oversee the competition. The jury will read entries and provide critical feedback to authors in a public forum. Like American Idol, this professional criticism may (or may not) impact voting. The jury will also award four wildcards, guaranteeing their preferred contestants will make it to the “finals” round of competition, and will choose the ultimate winner from three finalists in early December.

The contest

Submission period: starts September 17th – During this period, authors will submit their original short story. Submissions will not be immediately visible on the contest website, but authors will receive an email confirmation when their submission is accepted or rejected.

Nomination Round: October 9th – November 27th – During the nomination rounds, the public will have access to submissions while authors can enhance their profile page to win over fans and improve their chances of nabbing a nomination. Aspiring writers can continue to submit stories during the nomination round, but writers who submit early will have more time to garner support and increase their ranking. Readers can provide written reviews or quick star-reviews.

eBookMall officials will rank authors using an algorithm that incorporates ten distinct factors, including number of reviews, result of reviews, social media mentions (Facebook, Twitter) and news articles about the author and/or story. Ranking will be visible on the contest website and updated regularly. At the end of the nomination rounds, the jury will also select four “wildcard” authors to advance to the finals.

Finals: December 5th – December 11th – The final 12 nominees (eight from nomination rounds, four wildcards) will be positioned against each other in a bracket system. Readers can return to vote for their favorite author as he or she goes head to head with another nominee. The three candidates with the highest score from this round will make it into the final jury selection.

Jury Round (December 11th – December 18th) The members of the jury will read and review works submitted by three finalists and decide who will be crowned America’s Next Author. eBookMall will announce the grand prize winner and two runners-up on December 18, 2012.

GO ebookmall.com/americasnextauthor
GO www.ebookmall.com

Founded in 1999, eBookMall is a veteran in the growing e-book industry. The retailer offers digital books from the world’s biggest publishers, including Random House, Simon & Schuster, and MacMillan. Books are available in PDF and ePub formats for Windows and Mac computers, Android tablets, dedicated eReaders, and mobile phones.


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