Scholastic PB Contest

[stormie]

After reading these rules http://www.womansday.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=9635&page_number=2 at the Woman's Day site, and what the Grand Prize is if your PB is chosen ($115 total in winnings?), I'm really wondering if this is something to definitely avoid. No mention of royalties, and it seems all rights are held by Scholastic:

"5. Submission of an entry grants Sponsors the exclusive right to publish, illustrate, edit, and print the entry for any and all purposes in any media whether currently in existence or hereafter invented (including but not limited to print and digital media) without further notice or compensation to the entrant or winner. Winner may be required to sign all necessary documents to transfer copyright ownership of the winning entry to Sponsors."

I'm surprised at such a large publishing house doing this.

[James D. Macdonald]

5. Submission of an entry grants Sponsors the exclusive right to publish, illustrate, edit, and print the entry for any and all purposes in any media whether currently in existence or hereafter invented (including but not limited to print and digital media) without further notice or compensation to the entrant or winner. Winner may be required to sign all necessary documents to transfer copyright ownership of the winning entry to Sponsors.

Emphasis mine.

Not on a bet, not on a dare. Do not submit to this contest.

[WhisperingBard]

Sheesh, what is this? An attempt to get a manuscript without paying fair market value for it? And Scholastic, no less. *sigh*

[JoeEkaitis]

Oh, that's S.O.P. (standard operating procedure). Remember that the author initiates the contact and then accepts responsibility for whatever happens next. Scholastic has been taken to court time and again for exercising their, uh, right to do anything they want with material volunatarily submitted to them. Hardly a year goes by without some rejected author reading the synopsis of a new book or series from one of their authors already under contract and feeling a knot in the stomach upon recognizing, except for a few changes, a previously submitted and rejected proposal.

Callaway Editions, the publisher of Madonna's books, is more blatant, but then, they're just stating trade S.O.P.:

Callaway accepts no liability for loss or damage to work during any part of the review process.

Any works subsequently published by Callaway shall be based on Callaway’s own ideas or the ideas of others. Any similarity between your submission and future publications is purely coincidental. With submission, you agree that Callaway shall have no liability and you shall hold Callaway harmless with respect to similarities between your submission and future works Callaway publishes.

Pay attention to the first sentence of the second paragraph. "Others" includes YOU.

Olga Litowinsky summed it up best in the title of her book about writing for children: It's a Bunny-Eat-Bunny World

[WhisperingBard]

Oh, that's S.O.P. (standard operating procedure).

Hi, Joe,
I was specifically referencing contests affiliated with large publishers, not standard submissions. The idea of holding a contest just so you can screw an author is really distasteful to me (and yes, I know these things happen a lot).

Cia, not niave, just disgusted

[Inspired]

I understand the need to cover their butts, legally, but do they actually use those submissions? It appears to be a way for them to make tons of money and screw the writers. Do big publishers, like Scholastic, do that? Or is it simply for legal butt-covering?

[Kida Adelyne]

It's aimed at the poor people who don't know anything about the writing world. They see writers as an elite few who are chosen at birth and go through years of secret training high in the mountains in order to write,
Another proof that Law and justice are not one in the same. They present this to a court and they can't do a single thing. *sigh*

[Lucky Penny]

*blushes* A friend of mine sent that link to me & I got all excited. I'm afraid I'm one of those poor people who don't know anything about the writing world that you mentioned, Kida Adelyne.

Buuuuuuuuuut, :) I guess that's why I'm here! To find out about the writing world from those of you who do know what it's all about. Thank you so much for posting this, stormie!

[stormie]

You're welcome. I just wish there was a way for everyone who gets excited about this "contest" to know that all they'll get--maybe--is their name on a book, and that $115 grand prize isn't so grand. Problem is, Scholastic is a big name in the industry, and many people don't read or take the time to understand the fine print. Thanks, all, for responding. Get the word out!