The Writer's Foundation has no idea what they're doing, and should simply be ignored. However, their copy is such a prime collection of misleading, wrong-headed, self-congratulatory cliches that I can't resist anatomizing it as an example of one particular mindset:
"the safe, bland and boring need not apply... we're looking for the next generation of writers. those who not only push the envelope — but pull it, bend it and break it!"
Notice that this is formatted as a quotation, but doesn't say who's being quoted. I'll supply the missing attribution: It was written by the same person who wrote the rest of the copy.
As for the statement itself: Nobody's looking for safe, bland, or boring. That's a cliche one hears from authors who are in denial after having been rejected.
Envelope-pushing for its own sake is a variety of fantasy role-playing game where the player pretends to be a cutting-edge writer. It should under no circumstances be mistaken for envelope-pushing aimed at producing interesting new effects for the benefit of the readers.
material accepted: screenplays, short stories, plays & poems. entry fee = $0
Seeing those four genres ganged up like that is enough to tell you that The Writer's Foundation has no ties to real publishing or the other branches of the entertainment industry. I suspect it also tells us that the person who dreamed up The Writer's Foundation doesn't write novels.
we realize a writer’s incessant need for self-expression and communication
Writing that's about self-expression is writing you do for yourself. Publication is about what your writing can do for the reader.
as well as a burning desire to survive financially in a world fueled by money and greed.
That one always means the speaker's writing has failed to sell.
but we also believe there is an achievable balance between creativity and profitability. between an artistic endeavor and billion dollar homogenized entertainment.
Translation: this writer -- hereafter referred to as TWF -- has given up trying to get his or her work published via conventional means, and is now trying to promote it via a vague and unworkable alternate model. This is a familiar pattern, though other unsuccessful writers more often start doomed publishing houses, not vaporware foundations.
we want to find writing that is fresh, compelling and insightful — and writers who are inventive, passionate and unique in their voice and vision. we want to read words that break boundaries. words that elicit emotion and stir the soul. that challenge and change the way we think, feel and act. we want to read words from one who puts fingers to keyboard or pen to paper, not for fortune or fame, but from a driving force which leaves them no other choice.
TWF is trying to enlist other unsuccessful writers in this effort.
this is not a competition. there are no prizes. no entry fees.
In fact, there is nothing resembling an effective plan of action.
our goal is to help writers gain representation and recognition — and facilitate the sale, publication or production of your material.
Odds are, the only real goal is to help TWF gain representation and recognition, and facilitate the sale, publication, or production of TWF's material.
we will read everything submitted to us, write up a coverage report, then log it in our database.
"Coverage report" is not a term I know. Can anyone identify its provenance?
We now come to the biggest batch of nonsense in this entire document:
next, we will continually match up the needs of our agents, producers and publishers with the genre, budget and storyline of our submissions.
Uh-huh. What "agents, producers, and publishers" does TWF have, and how have they suddenly come into the picture? Moreover, why would any of those entities give a damn about The Writer's Foundation? It has no reputation or inherent credibility, and it doesn't perform any meaningful service.
From my POV, "budget" is the most damning word in that passage. Submissions don't have budgets. Productions have budgets.
when there’s a match we will ask your permission to give them your contact information.
That's completely useless. TWF is going to log submissions, identify the genre, and give the author's contact info to the agent or publisher or producer. That's not a submission, because TWR isn't acting as the author's agent, and isn't passing along the manuscript. It's not a query, because TWR isn't including a description or summary of the work. All they're doing is sending the agent or publisher or producer a note saying that some foundation they've never heard of thinks some writer they've never heard of has written something that might be of interest to them.
So bleeping what? There isn't a thing they can do with that information. There's also no reason they should care about it.
For a publisher or agent, there are only have two possible responses. One is to write back to TWF and tell him or her that the author should read their submission guidelines and act accordingly. The other is to ignore TWF altogether.
that’s it. the rest is up to you. in the end, we simply hope to offer you a chance, a slightly better chance, at success.
The result of having TWF involved in one's submission process would at best be indistinguishable from not having them involved at all. At not-best, TWF might somehow manage to screw things up.
Anybody else notice that there's no mechanism for TWF to get paid for doing this? If they're doing real work and providing a valuable service, they should get paid. They're not, of course; but they should still be trying.
your writing will not be judged on mass appeal or marketing ability, but solely on the impact of your words.
Here we reach the heart of the error. There's a huge overlap between "words that have impact on readers" and "words that are saleable." Someone who thinks those are separable or opposed qualities has been hawking the wrong words.
we hope you’ll share them with us.
We hope that doesn't happen. We also hope we'll someday figure out why unsuccessful writers think that surrounding their unsuccessful writing with other people's unsuccessful writing will somehow increase their own chances of success.