It's a CONTEST!

Seriously, this is like the longest blog post EVER. But it is well worth your time. Stick it out and keep reading through to the end!

We have been really excited at Mormon Mommy Writers to see our Followers growing. In the last few months we’ve passed the 200 mark! Hopefully, this means that you guys find something of value in our daily posts (even if it is a good laugh at our attempts to sound knowledgeable).

Because of this we wanted to do something special. Something to show our readers (you) how much we appreciate your support. So....we are going to hold the first ever (and hopefully first annual) Mormon Mommy Writers Fiction Contest. You heard right, folks. We’re holding a super-duper fiction contest!

Hurry and get your excited screaming out of the way and then I’ll continue.


.......

Okay, have you contained your excitement?

Good. First things first. The fiction contest will run from today, April 2, through May 31. Submissions will be accepted until midnight, mountain standard time, on May 31. Winners will be announced June 15.

Be prepared to get even more excited. The culmination of this contest is the publication of an ebook. That’s right. You could see your writing in digital print! We will guarantee the top three winners a spot in the ebook. And, depending on the quality and quantity of submissions, we will select more to be included in the compilation. But we’ll get into those details with another post.

Before I get to the technical stuff let’s cover what the prizes are: 


1st Place--The first place winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card and three ebooks in addition to a copy of the upcoming MMW ebook Totally Cliché.


2nd Place--The second place winner will receive a $20 Amazon gift card and two ebooks in addition to a copy of the upcoming MMW ebook Totally Cliché.


3rd Place--The third place winner will receive a $15 Amazon gift card and one ebook in addition to a copy of the upcoming MMW ebook Totally Cliché.


**All other submissions accepted for inclusion in the compilation will receive a free copy of the MMW ebook Totally Cliché.

Now that you’re excited (and I’ve got your attention) let’s get down to business. Here’s the contest breakdown: (Warning, it’s long.)


1.  Our theme will be Totally Cliché. What this means is we want you to go out there and have some fun with one or more of the many banned writing clichés out there (you know, the things agents and publishers supposedly hate). For example you could begin your story with “It was a dark and stormy night.” Or, your hero could be “tall, dark, and handsome.” You get the picture. The more creative your spin on the cliché the better your chances (though good writing will always win the day). Pick any cliché you like and have fun!


2.  The word count is 3500 or less. This count includes body, title and author’s name. 3500. No more. Not a word.


3.  Content must be clean. We will be the first to admit that this is completely subjective. Our version of clean may not reflect yours. So here’s a general rule of thumb:  No swearing. No gratuitous sex (never thought I’d post that line). No vulgar romantic stuff. And no graphic violence. The characters DO NOT have to be LDS. We’re open to a lot. Just make the content clean. Show us how creative you can be. Warning: any attempt to glorify inappropriate behavior, for example drug use, will get you booted from the contest.


4.  Every writer is welcome to submit up to two stories.


5.  There are no professional restrictions. This means entries will be accepted from both published and unpublished authors alike. Everyone will be judged on the same things so make sure your work shines! 


6.  Any and all submissions must be the original work of the submitter. By entering the contest, each participant accepts responsibility for any liability incurred by false claims of authorship. (Technical enough for ya?) Submissions cannot be previously published anywhere, including online, and cannot be subject to publishing rights from other parties.


7.  The big question: Who can submit? Answer: Anyone. That’s right, even those of you with a Y chromosome are welcome to enter your work (i.e. men). Really, we hope that you do! Religious affiliation does not matter and will have no bearing on the judging. Anyone and everyone who feels inclined to participate is welcome to do so. Don’t let our name stop you.


8.  Judging will be done by the seven contributors of this blog.


9.  Stories selected for the compilation are subject to first publishing rights only. We reserve the right to include the work in unlimited ebook sales with no hold beyond that. Since we can’t guarantee any sales of this compilation anymore than we can guarantee a profit beyond our incurred expenses, there will be no compensation beyond the prizes listed above, monetary or otherwise.

Guidelines for Submitting

1.  Submissions should be emailed to: mormonmommywriters@gmail.com

2.  The subject line should read Totally Cliché.

3.  The top of the email should look almost EXACTLY like this:

Fanny Price (Your name)

fprice@janeausten.com (Your email address)

fannywrites.blogspot.com (Your web or blog address---if you have one)

Word Count

Cliché(s) you are using

4.  Below your personal information, paste (do not attach) your submission. Please include the title and author name before the body of the story.

Contest within a Contest

To help spread the word we are going to hold a little mini contest along with the fiction contest. The winner of this contest will get a $10 gift card to Amazon. Sound good?

To enter this contest do one or more of the following—the more you do the more points you earn and the better your chance of winning:

1.  Paste the contest button on your blog. (You can find it in this post and on the sidebar--to your right.)

2.  Become a follower.

3.  Comment about the contest on Facebook.

4.  Tweet about the contest.

5.  Write a post about the contest.

6.  Comment on any or some or all of the posts about the contest. (There will be multiple posts throughout the contest period so you have lots of chances.)

7.  Like us on Facebook.

It’s simple to enter. But you must let us know in a comment what you’ve done so that we can check. If you don’t tell us, we won’t know and you won’t be entered. If you’re already a follower or you already like us on Facebook that will count in your favor so long as you let us know. At midnight on May 31 we will tally the points and hold a drawing. The winner will be announced on June 1.

•••••••••

So, that’s the gist of our contest in several, rather large, nut shells. Through the following weeks we will take you on the journey with us from researching ebooks to the actual digital publication. We know the self-publishing route is a hot topic right now. A lot of writers are taking into consideration this new possibility and we’d like the opportunity to educate not just ourselves but our readers as well. So, stick with us as we explore this new and exciting digital world!

Now go start writing! This is the chance to indulge your secret love of clichés. Why wait?