Read and Vote Now on First Chapters Romance Entries
August 21, 2007 03:12 PM UTC
(Updated: September 04, 2007 02:10 PM UTC)
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comments: 189
The Round One reading and voting period for the First Chapters Romance Writing Competition has officially begun! Below, please find all the eligible entries listed in alphabetical order by book title.
From now through September 18, 2007, you may read and vote for as many entries as you like. The fifteen chapters with the most "10" votes will proceed to Round Two, along with the ten chapters selected by the Gather Editorial Team.
Questions on how to vote? Check out our Voting Guidelines. Also, some authors have flagged their chapters for mature audiences. If you have trouble viewing any of the chapters, please click on "my account" at the top of any Gather page, and change your "Guarded Viewing" setting to "off."
(in)sanity Lisastevens  29-Year Itch, The Klarussa  A Chance To Soar kaitlin2010 Â
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aDORKable darthamanda  Aiden Omccomsey  Altar Ego SuzanH13  Always freyja528  Amy's Recovery Loricat  An Accidental Romance Sarabeara  Andy and Maddie Carrbethany  Angel In Training Lindseybrookes  Animal Attraction Wdegolier  Another Lifetime Ago Abuholz  Architect of Seduction, The sas141  Aurora Thewordsmith  Bad Influence, A Moonshadow36  Badeaux Knights Angelsuep  Bainbridge House Lgavini  Bear Country Dalecoz  Beauty and the Geek sarah1107  Best Friends pmyodb1  Best In Whole Wide World, The Writerswrite  Better Late than Never Theresaruth  Beyond the Shadow of Fear Siadanzo  Birthright Helen1  Black Scorpion, The gbhoward  Bound By Blood: The Awakening belovedisis  Boundaries of the Heart alexawalker  Brave Destiny zenword  Bridges And Royalties junrob2003  Broken Covenant heartchild  Cabin In The Woods sastoneromance  Can You Hear Me? Inside A
Woman's Mind kidcrazy16  Chocolatier's Wife, The cindylynn  Climbing Through Windows kansctdjt  Coincidence grgiall  Connie's Legacy jim08301943  Copeland Sisters, The highdesert  Cornflower Blue kathynursewriter  Courage of Fear barboyer  Cradle of Love prisakiss  Crushed Rose, The susandudicsdean  Crystal Dreams crystalraine  Curtain Call mollyhelen  Daily News breakneckbetty  Daine’s Dream joyalan  Dancing Souls tracy2135  Dancing With My Dream denamarie  Dangerous Paradise debwriter13  Dark Obsession terrimo  Dark Side of the Moon witchflower  Dark Waters jessicagoatgirl  Deadly Tango longinus  Death Is Divine Atergo  Deceive Not My Heart Kweenie  Delicious Bit of Intrigue, A amberayala  Devon Diversion, A gizmology  Discreet Encounters HAnnUlrich  Dismissing A Duke lcaskey06  Don't Look Back vwt  Dr. Wonderful kansaskathy  Dragon trudywschuett  Dream in Big Moon, A eltury  Dreams and Wishes amy428  Dreams of Heaven on Earth patriciapanther  Drunk Dialing ysly  Eclipse of the Heart bookgirlac  Edge of Storm, The mom2threepickles  Elevated Risk crazeywriter  Elf and the Princess dreamweaver123  Elizabeth Peacock and the Body
on Abbey Road MaryCat1025  Embracing Love parulsrivastava  Enchanting the Earl allisonnewman  Even Hippos Can Drown lynn709  Every Mile a Memory JLRaulerson  Extraordinary Will trishedmisten  Faerie Fate silverjames  Fallen Angel (Risen Devil) rolando19552001  Falling Out of Love drsulliv  False Dreams cherawgirl  False Worlds, The lordaugust  Fate and Destiny tracy2beme  Fear for Hire neggeman  Feminine Touch, A aregard  Fifty is Nifty mfach  Finally Home hpng2brtr  Finding Beatrice globetrotter2  Fixer, The hopeofglory  Flip-Flop Lattitude, A desireehardin  Flow Blue dunnymama  For Better or Worse prussavage  For Love of Isabella suemoseley  For Meredith's Love smet68  Forever A Rogue eb100  Forgiving Dad coloradowriter  Forgotten Reins mrschadt  Fortunes Told jwstahl  Forty Lovers princesse  Fresh Start, A joann12 Â
Friends Like These monkeyinamansuit  G. Angels amyshankland  General Counsel isabar  Ghost Not Forgotten jdallen  Grasping for the Wind ugotmlk  Guilty Until Proven Innocent debsj  Hand-Me-Down Bride julietw  Handyman jesalexander  Hannah's Heart maiadawn  He Will Carry Me grintmania77  Heart of Texas chloepalov  Heathen Heart hankt  Heaven's Circle bobbann  Here Comes The Wedding Planner Kriswall  Hero I Know, The debest  Hideaway Cashan  His Hotness kywoman  His Keeper cjanisse  Hitch-Hiker And Lady, The iamleon  Hollywood Rob ramzybsweis  Home of my Heart robbinscabin  Hope Rose, The maldonadol  Hot Shot maryf  I Met You at the Crossroads beachtowel26  I shall die before I marry: The
Marriage of a Duke to a Countess Hatecrime  Iberian Nights, A Romantic Thriller enricolit  Identical Deception mamabearr47  Illusions SherHT  In Between Dreams cindersnashes  In Over Her Head golions87  In the Time it Takes to Dream danny4442  Indian Summer Wabidasse  Indian Summer DellaniOakes  Infinity Clan amayathorne  Inopportune Reunion, The tinsle  Intertwined apfaffnc  Into the Dreaming lindsayj24  Introduction to Love and Self janair1  JAKE & ANNA: Don’t Look Back bkwdsname  Jessica's Wish barbfreethy  Jessie's Leading Man lisaaustin  Just South of Heaven yoopnewz  Kat's Escape jkawalsh  KayCee's Song dkhauf826  Keating Script, The sheehantom  Kick Start cchelms  Kincaid Magic ua1vm  Labyrinth's Reply, The sebastian122  Lacey Took a Holiday willhodam   | Lady and Matador, The mexicandelight  Lady of Forest, The Collegekid2006  Lara’s Soldier Marykg  Leaping Hearts bmcgregor  Legal Liaison tsherrer  Like Sex in the Afternoon jilliandowns  Like the Whole World Was Summer pickledherring  Lord of Abydos: Chronicles of Isis and Osiris isetra  Love Me Now, Forever liketowrite  Love of a Lifetime, The anote  Love Out of Time, A mbvw  Love Plus One Geevie  Love Spun yarnagogo  Love Thy Neighbor misskate1  Love,Set,Match nmromancewriter  Lovemaker onen0vel  Loving Lydia mimi62  Magic Mountain meganstaab  Manna Tree bana05  Marienbad My Love Masterpiece1  Marriage of Convenience, A jeweld8  Master of Fate, The jaimerutl  Match Made In Heaven, A eadarainn  Maximum Mayhem ellepampuro  Me, Myself and Murphy's Law drab  Meant to Be meanderinglaina  Miller Island fogartykristin   Mind Sweep celestialtimes  Mission of Love lindamae2  Model A, The nanaaleatajoygil  Moonlight Passions dearydearmom  Morning Coffee ElizabethAlan  Mouthful of Ashes, A fairybellz  Murder Under the Mistletoe magolla  My Fantasy Spy Gina116  My Hardest Goodbye stinkyittles  My Time diandee  Mystic Garden writingfool  Naked chattel  Necessary Heir, A vacanciere  Never Too Late For Love jwrite  Never, Never, and Forever snowie  New Beginnings kat79  Night and Day sherrieh  Night Slave rorie0905  Nora's Soul Margay1122  Not a Flower mcvang0250  Not at the Office diamondalamode  Not Far From the Tree deemari3913  Of Chains & Conquest curiousliz  Of the Ashes kristentaber   One In A Million ajullman  One Love in a Lifetime starwsh  On the Verge paulnolan97  Only You rlrjones  Operation Escape Goat giftedchild  Operation Get-A-Life Libby67  Ovarian Warrior gelicalcat  Painted Lady jfaver  Painting Naked thimble  Partners in Passion mstanley  Passion for Golf, A lblank132  Passionate Magic daddonizio  Past Legacy allyd  Patriot and Privateer, The angelou24  Peace, Love and Chocolate cocomerlin  Penny For Your Thoughts, A dacs  Perfect Life, A deehutch  Polk's Justice Starwriter  Pride and a Prayer charliesoto  Princess bamabrat  Princess Under Rose, The jmsstrauss  Random Marriage Research Project, The laron  Red Hot Salsa teesa  Relic Defender: Seal of Solomon cassiel  Rescuers, The leonlinfield  Reunion sb1  Reunion For The First Time kmdaughters  Ribbons of Moonlight ryvah  Ride This Day Down Into Night gerrydodge  Road That Leads Home, The stirthestars  Rose in the Glass storyline  Run To Me EJ456  Runaway vividlyalive  Safe Harbor dragonldy  Safe Haven msjturner  Safe Sex and Home Repair laughsing  Sandy and Esta: A Tale of Young Love and Loss martylivingston  Scandalous Overture, A princessjewel78  Scotland donnasue  Second Chances southernrose  Second Chances Christle74  Secrets kgrace  Secrets and Wives jodiep  Seed In The Wind, A lyndajsmith  Seeking Sydney paristjd Â
Seven Deadly Sins: Pride Falls pamcogle  Shadow's Kiss, A meredithm  She Drives Me Crazy jackief4  Shrouded in Mystery retrobooks  Simple Wish, A allarius  Skimming The Surface Whatabookworm  Somewhere Down the Road drteacherlady  Songbird Andreabakerjazz  Sonya Recovered lejoyr  Soul Catcher yvlain  Stars Over London bill1475  Storytellers Garden, A lalarowe  Summer Days of Desire jrafferty  Sweet Interference jillynn  Swimming with Wings leelibro  Take A Chance On Me elyssa919  Taming the Dragon michelleinglesby  Taste of Desire laviniak  T-Contact And Counting gatherbowl  Texas Heat drb1152  Three Alarm Tenant Barefootbelle  Three Sixty tlampley  Tiber Wind serpententacle  Tim and Me ida234  Time in a Garden agriainc  To Be a Duchess joywindsor  Todd ♥’s Kristy starwarsfan  Tomorrow May Come slabri  Tory's Heart dianen  Touch of Ice, A pmtg  Tough Girl in Love Toughgirl  Treasure My Heart flowergirl10  True Love Ghosts dianad  Trust Me flicker  Twelve Nights 'Till Then khetala  Twisted Branches, Vines of Hope vision79  View From Saba, A hotsoup  Wages of Cyn writergal2007  Waiting For Us mers7479  Watch Your Back mandyroze  What Are You Waiting For? sgiggsy3  When Dawn Comes quiltcoach  When The Coyote Cries carolineohaire  Who Wants to Marry a Cowboy? shlafe  Why Birches Are White whybirchesare  Wife Seeking Wife fourears  Windsong: Nikolai Nikolai  Wolf Huntress, The chapmajm13  Woman of Choice, A ktualla  Woman of Good Reputation, A priscilladarcy Â
Your Gift To Me bonnielatino and bvale  Yours Till Niagara Falls pepp  |
For more information: Competition Announcement
Official Rules
Eligibility & Submission Guidelines
Competition Frequently Asked Questions
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Comments: 189
Success to the contestants and good reading to all.
Good luck, everyone.
The Wolf Huntress
Looking forward to reading the entries. Good luck to all!
Mine is My Fantasy Spy
My story is Brave Destiny. Good luck everyone!
Thank you
T. Leon
That happened because we released all the entries into the First Chapters Romance group at once. It won't happen again (until we let in the 25 second chapters in the next round). If you want to change your group email settings, you can click on "my account" at the top of any Gather page. Then scroll down to where it says "My Groups," and you can edit your email preferences for all of your groups. Thank you!
Unfortunately, you can no longer edit your entry, or risk disqualification. Thanks for your question!
I intend to read them all, and thank God you give us until September 18th to do so. My eyes are already blurring. I feel like I am back in the classroom, reading 5 classes of term papers. I am making a list of those I think deserve a 10 and why and then I will go back over them all and cast my vote. You guys have over TWO HUNDRED FULL MS to read, we just have over 200 chapters, again kudos to your separate judging panel--it must be like, life? What life?
QUESTIONS: I noticed that some Titles in your list are typed with darker blue than the others. Is there a reason? Are we allowed to post our second chapter under our articles or are we suppose to wait until after the 18th?
Sylvia
BEYOND THE SHADOW OF FEAR
The different color blues have no particular meaning - they are just titles that had broken links when I copied and pasted them into this article :o)
With regards to the second chapters, only the 25 semifinalists will be posting their second chapters. They will be contact by Gather after the voting has ended for Round 1 on September 18. So no need to publish your second chapter until you hear from us. Thank you!
If you have a minute, I would appreciate comments on FLOW BLUE.
Good luck to all!
Thanks,
Deb Andrews
Dangerous Paradise
:-) Good luck everyone!
Thank you for all your hard work - it's appriciated! You've made it painless for those of us who are new to Gather.
Is there an easy way to see which articles have the least response or comments. I'd like to help out other memeber like me, who who haven't built up the network of people and friends to read and rate the books.
Good luck to everyone! (after reading a few of these entries...I will definitely need it!)
Terri Mo
Dark Obsession
We have some pretty sophisticated fraud reporting to track all that stuff...SO DON'T TRY IT!!! :o) Thanks for your question!
Good question. First off, I would encourage everyone to promote themselves and their chapters as much as possible. Post videos about your chapter, publish articles with a synopsis - whatever works for you to help people learn about your novel and be encouraged to read it. Also, as a reminder, we are editorially selecting ten authors to move onto the next round, so even if you're not well-connected on Gather (yet!) you still have a great shot at moving on to the next round.
Lastly, it is possible to organize the chapters by highest rated (so to find the lowest/least rated, just click next till you get to the last few pages). To do this, go to romancenovel.gather.com, and in the orange sub-navigation, click "articles." Then you have the option to sort by different criteria, including highest rated. Please let me know if you have any other questions - thanks!
forgive my ignorance, but what does that mean?
It means that of the 25 semifinalists that will move on to the next round, 15 will be the authors who received the most "10" ratings on Gather, and 10 will be selected by the Gather Editorial Team. Thanks for your question!
; )
I'm so looking forward to reading other stories. I hope everyone loves mine!
I've had several people tell me that they can't vote for me because everytime the do the site comes up that my article has been removed or it reads only certain people have permision to read it or vote for it. I choose the everyone circle when I set things up. Please help me get this straight. My First chapter is worth people reading it. (Twisted Branches, Vines of Hope) Vision79
Then I will return and read all of the entires I liked
Then I will vote 10 on the ones I liked most. This will take a while.
Ps I' am also a contestant.Lord august
Looking forward to reading more entries!
Terri
Dark Obsessioin
(a multicultural paranormal romantic suspense) say _that_ five times fast! ;-)
Jennifer Oliver
Wife Seeking Wife
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977080234
Click here to read my story: View from Saba
I, and several others, have not been able to access my wife's submission to the contest. Her book title is "Twisted Branches, Vines of Hope." There are also a few other submission on the list of titles which I was unable to access. Could you please correct this? I believe this may have something to do with the "Everyone May View" option not being on the submission page when we sent the chapter to you last week.
Thanks, Tom C.
You did a wonderful job in explaining the submission guidelines. You made the process easier for myself, and others to submit our first chapters. Thanks again.
I'm new here and still trying to find my way around. Thanks for setting up such a fun and exciting competition! Will the ratings be shown with the chapters, or will I need to check a list to see if my chapter has been rated?
Pam H.
His Hotness
This contest is off to a good start. My entry is Summer Days of Desire.
I encourage all who read this article to take the time to read several entries and tell your friends about the ones you like, so that the best entries go forward.
BTW Kristen - I am so glad that only votes of 10 count. I don't mind honest, constructive and even brutal criticism because it really helps me in my writing, but I'm noticing some drive by rather negative one liners and 1-star votes that are a little...uhmmm...not that nice. But oh well, got to develop a thick skin I suppose.
Good luck everyone!
Mai
Terri
Dark Obsession
article unavailable
You either do not have permission to view this article or it has been removed. If the article is private, you must be signed in for permission to access it.
How can this be fixed?
Lindsey
Entry: Angel in Training
Lindsey
: )
I have a few questions about the contest. An above poster asked how to rank the entries, and I still can't figure out how to do this. You said:
"Lastly, it is possible to organize the chapters by highest rated (so to find the lowest/least rated, just click next till you get to the last few pages). To do this, go to romancenovel.gather.com, and in the orange sub-navigation, click "articles." Then you have the option to sort by different criteria, including highest rated. Please let me know if you have any other questions - thanks!"
I still can't get to the manuscipts and in a rated order, and wonder what I'm doing wrong.
Another question: Does the votes counted show your total of votes, or does it show only how many 10's you get.
Thanks for you help, and thanks for putting this contest together.
Lindsey
But I have to bid myself sometimes and always...
Kristen: thank you for the help earlier. I'm not sure if I'm the only one with this problem so I'll put it out to the group. I see my entry on the master list up top (which is great!) Drunk Dialing http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977094344
but when I try to organize my articles by the other categories, I don't see it after scrolling through all the pages. Any suggestions? I'm sure user error must be involved.;
Thanks for the help!
Yolanda
Lindsey
When I went to the page that shows the chapters by rank, I noticed that most of them have the first couple of sentences of the ms. along with the title. Mine (His Hotness) doesn't have anything but the title. Is that because I flagged it as intended for mature readers?
Pam H.
Thanks!
I had a question for you.
Now that my first chapter is available for everyone to read, comment and vote, I have been getting valuable inputs for revision.
I think I cannot make any changes to the first chapter posted in the competition. Am I right?
Can I revise portions of my work and publish them on other groups besides the romancenovel group for more feedback?
Can I send revisions as mails to my connections here on gather for feedback?
Please let me know.
And last but not the least, thanks for this wonderful ooportunity of a lifetime to showcase my work and learn from the inputs of the esteemed gather members.
My question is this: My co-author, bvale.gather.com, is listed on the bottom of my chapter--as you suggested when I inquired about co-authored works. Is it possible that both of us could be listed on the master list? We've both worked on this a LONG time. I feel guilty having only my name "out there" attached to Your Gift To Me.
Thanks!
Similarly, since you are probably logging IP addresses .. what happens in the case of a writer who works in an office where all of her/his co-workers want to vote? Will the votes get counted, or will there be only one vote per IP address?
Many thanks,
Moi.
Good luck all!
~Heidi
Hideaway took more than 8 years to finish, mainly due to the fact that I had to balance writing with being a single parent. Hopefully y'all love it!
There will be ads running on the homepage as well as other areas of the site directing people to this article. Thanks!
Best way I've found to navagate is make yourself part of the group or add friends then when you click on My Gather everyone is there(or under view all). Makes it a lot easier to more about and remember where everything is.
Good Luck and hope this helps.
SLEEP DEPRIVATION!
;-)
That being said, I'm very stingy with my 10's and only giving to those I feel deserve to move to the next level.
I would hope the Gather team does a great job of selecting the next level finalist. I really am looking forward to reading more of some of these stories. There is some publication quality manuscripts here.
Oh, and I wanted to thank you for all your hard work!
Pam H.
His Hotness (Romantic Comedy)
I'm so excited, I can't hide it.
Destin
T-Contact And Counting (tick tick, tick tick, tick tick, tick tick)
YaHOO!
Some of the entries (like mine) are intended for mature audiences. If you want to read those, you have to turn off the mature audiences guard in your "my account."
Pam H.
His Hotness (Romantic Comedy)
As someone who seems to be getting an abundance of drive-bys, I was thinking of a possible resolution. I know that the drive-by scores will be eliminated in this competition, but they still have the very real adverse effect of making people "pass" on an entry they might otherwise have read.
Maybe you could look into a little redesign before the next competition. How about putting the voting "stars" inside the "Post" box. Instead of two separate functions, voting and commenting, it would all be done together. That way, a person would own their vote whether or not they actually left a comment. It is the anonymity that fosters this kind of detrimental behavior. If someone wants to leave a "2", but just simply doesn't want to comment, they could still do so, but their signature tag would be visible inside the otherwise empty comment box. I think implementing a change like this would ultimately make the experience more enjoyable for all, as well as create a truly fair venue in terms of judging someone's work.
Everyone who has submitted a chapter in this contest, or any other contest Gather may sponsor, has poured their heart and soul into their work. No one wants to be on the receiving end of anonymous torpedoes. As my ranking drifts ever lower in contrast with the comments left, it is a sad and sobering experience.
Voting inside the box would also help newcomers who often don't realize it is a two-step process.
I'm just thinking out loud here. Gather has a reputation among many as a site that is not the most user-friendly. I think simplifying the voting procedure, for contests and any article, might be another step forward.
I'm not complaining, for I'm very grateful for this opportunity, but I do believe that if we all put our heads together, it can be even better the next time around.
Thanks,
Tricia
Badeaux Knights
I'm new to Gather and don't really know anyone here, so I can read all of these entries with a fresh eye and judge accordingly. But, how I judge an entry has nothing to do with how everyone else perceives the story. I've had judges training through RWA so I base my scores on the story itself and as I think an agent or editor might recieve the story. I'll admit I haven't given out a lot of tens, but I'm not going to list them and I wouldn't want to see my name next to a lower score....especially since I am a contestant.
Just my thoughts (which don't seem to make me very popular here.) *sigh*
Terri
Dark Obsession
A procedural question: unique comments will be used as a tie-breaker. Do comments filed prior to the official beginning of the contest count?
Good luck to everyone!
Cashan (my entry is Hideaway).
I know ten-fifteen years ago I couldnt have done it. Now though I've got a nice thick skin... at least normally.
If you feel down because of the competition, just think you can always try again.
Look up how many rejections your favorite writer got before someone said they loved it.
One last addition. It may be cliche... You never know unless you try.
Comments made prior to August 27th will not count in the case of a tie-breaker. Thanks!
thanks!
You, Diana, and the entire Team Gather have done a phenomenal job putting this competition together and dealing with the questions, the glitches, and the natural competitiveness of people.
Stressed out author of The Wolf Huntress.
And Kristen, is it too late to change my title to "Aardvark Huntress, An"? As MJ says, it gets kind of lonely down here at the bottom of the list. My title starts with a "W"! What was I thinking?
Badeaux Knights
My title "Andy and Maddie" has been the same since 2004 when I finished the book. Although everyone keeps telling me it's terribly bland, I think maybe starting with an "A" might be a good thing, now.
Above, you said "...we successfully unflagged any articles that were flagged by the authors for mature audiences. This was completed around 10:30am ET on Friday, August 31. ..."
What do you mean by this, exactly. As of this writing, several entries remain flagged, for example "Amy's Recovery".
??
So it looks like the bottom half of the alphabet is attracting slightly more attention.
I invite everyone to read and comment on my entry, "A Marriage of Convenience." I am open to honest constructive critiques that would improve my writing.
Here's the link: www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977091094
Thank you for your time.
Rating the contestants, a place to share ideas on your approaches to rating the entries.
First Chapters People Someone to Talk To an ongoing thread where you can chat about your FCR experiences.
A place for contestants to introduce themselves
First Chapter Summaries A central place to put summaries and links. There are a little over summaries there, so it should be helpful to both contestants and readers.
A lot of people found their way to one or more of these, but quite a few people haven't so feel free to take advantage of them.
Thanks
dale c. - author of Bear Country, a science fiction/suspense romance
I commend anyone who reads all of the submissions. Anyone here work for gather? Anyone here HAVE to read these submissions for their job? I think that would be a very fun job! I'm available, just in case anybody cares!
FCR Scores
And here are some stats on comment behavior:
FCR Comment Statistics
With that said, if you want a good laugh go read Random Marriage Research Project.
Just saying. laughed my bum off.
Badeaux Knights
I began reading from the beginning of the list and thought that perhaps that if I ran out of time, I'd never make it to the end of the alphabet, so I reversed and began reading from the end of the list first. I thought perhaps folks at the end of the alphabet might miss out on votes for that reason...boy was I happy to find out others have begun reading the back half, too!
I must admit to all who have complained about those who have voted without commenting, I am one. Since I'm new at this, I've been unsure just how to 'grade' some of the chapters. Some I've commented and voted on, and some I've graded only and some I've commented on only. Some I was unsure how I felt about the story and wanted to think about it a bit, so I make a note on the list and plan to come back after I've had time to absorb some of the necessary thought processes to make my decision. Maybe others have had the same feeling of inexperience and hesitation as I've had and that's why the vote count and the comment count have not matched. I plan on re-visiting the chapters where I've withheld comment or rating. Thank goodness the next round will have only 25 entries!
From 'Scotland' thanks to everyone for making this a delightful experience.
Just a suggestion for the next First Chapters contest. I think it may be a good idea when people comment on entries, only people who entered be allowed to see their comments. But everyone be allowed to see the ratings. I'm seeing in this contests people who read and rate entries, look and see how others commented. It seems they tend to comment the same way others comment on entries. Instead of commenting and rating how they really feel about the story. Doing it that way brings one's rating down.
* Mainstream/Single Title
* Historical
* Contemporary
* Paranormal / Fantasy
* Erotica
* Inspirational
Since many people seem uncomfortable when reading outside what they know. At least this would be useful in the first rounds of the competition, where you have "Best of Breed" and then work toward a "Best in Show"
Just a thought.
I think a major problem with this contest is that, from what I saw in looking at who's got what, is that the contemporaries far out strip anything else. I understand that S&S are looking for what sells, yadda yadda, but I think that saying this is a romance contest is just wrong. Maybe a genre contest would be a better idea. I know my wife perfers Regency (historical?) stories to contemporary ones, and I prefer fantasy and mysteries so clearly we're going to vote that way.
Anyway, not that it matters, but I do think this contest is unfair to those NOT writing contemporary.
So, it's a mixed bag for all of us.
I TOTALLY agree with what you wrote. I have been reading as many entries as possible, but have been afraid to post comments on the more popular ones, because I don't agree with the majority, and I don't want to be dragged down in retaliation. Some entries have such a presence on this site, there's no way a newbie can compete. It's a little frustrating actually.
Christle
There are some wonderful stories here that aren't getting the attention they deserve for whatever reason. Some of you seem relatively new to the novel business, so just remember, there are dozens of contests out there that you could and should enter. Many of them are judged by well known agents and editors, who often ask to see your manuscript after the competition. It's a good way to rise to the top of the slush pile. :-)
Get your stuff out into the world. The following site lists contests specifically for those writing romance:
http://www.contestdivas.blogspot.com/
Best of luck to all of you.
Please do visit and read my submission, HANDYMAN.
Thanks, hope to see you there.
Becca Wilson is on her own after eighteen years of marriage.
With Charlie, the love of her life, killed in a car accident, Becca finds herself trying to save "Heaven's Circle Ranch," raise three children and ward off her feelings for her neighbor, the dark eyed, dark haired, Cody Johnson. There is only one problem, her oldest son Matthew is dead set against her being with Cody.
Cody Johnson, owner of the "Jumping Jay Ranch" has been Becca and Charlie's friend and mentor since they moved to Heaven's Circle Ranch. Cody has silently loved Becca for years and now with Charlie gone, he might finally be able to tell Becca how he feels, but first, he has to over come the obstacle in his way before he reveals his feelings; Cody must win Matthew's trust and acceptance.
Just my observation.
Badeaux Knights
Anyway....whatever.....I have a question Kristin. If an entry makes it to the next round and the round after that.....would it *lock* the entry into an "exclusive" type read for S&S? Meaning....would the entrant have to wait on submitting the mms to other houses until after the contest?
Thanks
Terri
Dark Obsession
I have tried to read and rate all the chapters I can. I'm not a critic and I don't hand out advise on improving the stories. I believe all of the entries deserve to win but since this is a contest that can't be the case. I recieved a comment on my page from William H that he believed I could be more charitable in voting on the first chapters. I pointed out this is a contest not a charitable event. I vote according to how I like the story.
Where do they get the score that any member votes on a given story and where do they get who the leader is? I have already given more than 25 tens and I think this kind of comment on how one votes is not appropriate and and makes one wonder when you rate a chapter if you are going to recieve a posting. I'm not going to stop my ratings of those who I have not yet read as that would be unfair to them.
Barbara, I have to wonder about that, too. If people are going to call into question how we vote here, then doesn't this become more like a dictatorship than a democracy? Just because someone gets high praise from five other people doesn't mean I'm going to follow that mindset and vote a 10 just because everyone else did. I wonder how this gentleman would feel if we used his mindset for the upcoming presidential election. Could you imagine the chaos if we all started to call each other out on who we back/vote for President?
Click on this book cover
What I appreciate is the fact that the reviewer told me why they didn't rate it as a 10.
What I don't appreciate are the DB1s that really drop your score.
Thanks!
Christine L.
Somewhere Down the Road
This contest is an amazing vehicle promoting growth in reading and writing for authors and non-authors alike. I thank you immensely for providing us this unique tool.
In the beginning, I was also confused about the voting process. I was unaware (through my own negligence) that only 10's counted. It confused me that I could rank from 1-10, but only 10's would count (advance a score).
I would like to see this rating system changed for future contests. We, as voters, need to understand the voting system COMPLETELY, it order for our vote to reflect what we truly mean.
Again, I thank you. This contest has enabled me to grow as a writer, and a compassionate reader.
Melinda Partners in Passion
In the official rules, it states that entrants are not permitted to submit their manuscript anywhere else unless or until they are eliminated from the competition. I hope that answers your question! thanks!
I agree with you completely. Simplifying our rating system is something that we are looking into for an upcoming site release. We try to do our best to let everyone know how they should vote in this competition, including posting an article called Voting Guidelines. Probably should have called it "How to Vote." :o)
To ensure the integrity of contests on Gather, we have developed fraud detection systems to monitor rating/voting patterns as well as member account validity. We run the processes periodically throughout the contest and again at the end of the contest, across all entries. If we determine that certain ratings or actions are intended to compromise the outcome of the contest, we will take appropriate actions, which can include disqualifying the ratings, entrants, and submissions. Therefore, you may see the count of your ratings decease during the voting period if rates are disqualified.
Please do not be concerned by this. Thank you!
I think the chapters should have been voted on by professional writers, editors, those who are published - which is NOT saying unpublished writers don't know their craft but from some of the scores Iv'e seen and comments made, I worry that the best of the best may not win.
Caren
Kick Start
Just asking.
I don't have any co-workers (i'm a stay at home mom) or anyone voting on the same computer, yet I lost 7 votes. However, what concerns me most is that my rating isn't moving and the last 10-15 votes I've gotten were 10's. And if you read the 130+ comments, they're 10's too.
What gives?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Were my 10's mistaken for 1's and cleaned up?!?!?!?!
Can you tell I'm frustrated with this whole thing?!?!?!
Don't you hate when people use these??!?!?!
:-D
A DEVON DIVERSION
yet, I'd love a few more comments and/or votes! Or even a reminder to look at yours if you've commented on mine and I haven't returned the favor yet... :) Good luck, everyone!
To clarify around removing fraudulent votes, once an account has been identified as voting fraudulently, ALL the votes made by that account are removed.
Also, we do not rely solely on IP address when determining fraud, so please encourage your coworkers to vote away!
Second, I'm really new to gather. And I don't know that many people. I read some early comments about sabotaging and refrained, myself, from giving comments at all. Though I did respond to people who commented about my story.
I noticed one person make a nice comment and my score had dropped dramatically. It didn't take too much neuron use to figure out that they said one thing and did another. Whatever, I'm a firm believer in the power of karma.
I hope my story (Hideaway) makes into round #2. In reading it, again, with opened eyes, I see a few stylistic things that I'd like to change. But, like everyone else (I presume), I'm in love with my story and my characters. I'd love to let everyone read about Abby, Clarissa, Aaron, Jake, Andy, Jared, Gonzo and many more.
Hopefully, my submission makes it to the next round. But for everyone, I wish you all the best. Namaste.
One would think because of the secure position they have received, they could afford to split up the list of entrants remaining and visit them to read, comment and encourage the others.
Over the voting period I have tried to visit as many chapters as possible before my eyes give out on me. It has been thrilling to see how many grand and glorious new beginners we are as a group.
Regardless of whether our stories advance to the second and then the final round,
Gather.com has given us a marvelous opportunity to showcase our talent. It is within the realm of possibility that agents and editors, aside from Simon & Schuster, may well have swelled the ranks of readers here these past weeks and from those readings other book deals may bear fruit. Good luck to one and all in whatever you choose to do in the future.
Maggie B. - Skimming The Surface -
Whatabookworm