Julie's Web Journal: Writers, think twice about this contest

Fresh when it gets here from Julie Barrett
Wednesday, August 29, 2007

It's called American Author. Aside from the dubious logo and the hideous page design, the first page of the site throws up several red flags. One of the sponsors is Airleaf Publishing, a vanity press. One of the prizes is a publishing contract. Dare I guess who provided that prize? Half the sponsor links go directly go dead or parked URLs or lead to dead URLs from the home page. That doesn't give me a lot of confidence in this contest.

The best thing I can say for most of the entries that are presently on display is that they can use an editor. Apparently one can enter as often as they wish. Winners, the site says, are determined by votes from the public. Just like that other contest they're emulating.

This may be on the up-and-up, but the site as a whole just doesn't inspire confidence. But what do I know? I'm just a professional writer. Check out what Writer Beware has to say about the contest, and do read the comments for even more red flags.

Tags: Writing
Filed under: Writing

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