Curious Challenge! Antho poll comments
Posted By Jason on March 4, 2010
I realize that some of you have had difficulty accessing the SodaHead poll recently created and posted over in the right sidebar. It’s the first time I’ve created a poll via their service that came via a Wordpress plug-in I thought would be a simple way to solicit input. I myself had to recreate the poll three times (as those of you watching my Facebook wall will know) before finally getting it mostly right. When I chose to create the poll I was not aware that it would also post on SodaHead’s own site. When it did, and I had to create an account there to properly manage it, I accepted it as increased exposure that might result in more input.
In this instance, I was looking for votes and opinion on what y’all would find as an acceptable fee in a fundraising contest for publication and prizes. Not only has this been previously recommended as a fundraising method, I believe this is an opportunity for RBE to open itself to yet more writers and readers and genres, and in a quicker manner than individual title publication would allow.
After all, these Challenge! Anthologies will offer genre writers the opportunity to find a home for their writing with a publisher of their choice while providing a writing prompt under a less strict pictorial theme. Not really too much different than competing in an open submission period for any other genre magazine or anthology. In addition, by choosing to enter the competition in the hopes of placing for publication (acceptance) and prize (payment) rather than submitting a work during a normal open submission period, the author declares his/her support of the organization. Rather than taking a chance on acceptance at just another publisher among a list of publishers, the author embraces the opportunity to endorse this specific publisher and claim a part in its structure.
Yes, these Challenge! Anthologies are designed to increase the cash flow at RBE. No different than the dozens of writing groups and organizations around the nation that hold annual writing contests with wee entry fees. I’ve partaken in, won, and judged numerous of them. Such contests aren’t entered in hopes of scoring national acclaim and financial success. They are entered in friendly competition amongst the members of the organizations in support of those organizations. It’s not unusual for the winners to return their winnings back to the organization, in effect donating their work, their time, and their reward. I am neither recommending nor anticipating that! 
Anyone with children who has experienced any fundraising at all knows that support like this occurs almost daily. I work in a three-story building that has hundreds of employees, at least half of which (myself included) attempt to raise funds for their children’s school, sports team, recital trip, you name it, by selling overpriced items to folks who don’t really need them yet buy them out of support either for the person soliciting or the cause in question.
RBE guarantees 100% transparency in regards to the funds generated by these Challenge! Anthologies. Once the amount of the entry fee is determined, there will be a specified percentage split among three entities: RBE, the cover artist, and the prize monies. RBE has already determined much of the prize scale it will use for all placing submissions. As placement is dependent upon word count – for example, with a 60-90k range the anthology could hold from ten 9k stories to twenty 3k tales (God forbid! I shall have to reevaluate that!) – it’s been rather difficult to pre-announce it though. Whatever is finally revealed will be the minimum prizes – meaning that those are the monies RBE will pay regardless of entries received. All of the monies received in entry fees and assigned to prizes will be in addition to these amounts and equally distributed among all placing entries.
Better than a flat request for donations that generates little goodwill and actually fosters the image of failure, these contests are created to be of benefit to all those willing to be involved. I say all this to ask those interested if they wouldn’t mind casting their vote in the poll, and then going even further by clicking through to the results to read the comments. It seems that, perhaps as well intentioned as they claim to be, there are some commentators who just don’t understand this. I’d prefer not to leave their negativism left unanswered, especially in an arena RBE is new to, but I do not have the time to keep running back and countering their latest posts. Anyone willing to register at SodaHead and voice support will be gratefully appreciated.
Popularity: 3% [?]
