Yep. Uh-hunh.Whatever works you do decide to submit, know that on TWGWC you are and will remain anonymous to the world, because we have no need of reputations. Everything that is submitted to TWGWC will be assessed by the words on the page and all writers will benefit, whether already 'successful' and published...or someone sitting at home or at work wondering whether they have what it takes to be a writer...but with no way to know. Send it out to a publisher if you think it will help...and good luck with that. Self publish if you want...and good luck with that too! Send it to a global web publishing site and hope someone will see it...again, good luck with that! Or send it to TWGWC for consideration, be respected as a writer (anonymously unless you decide to change your status) and get ready for your words to fly!
Be rewarded.
We can't say too much right now about who we are and what you stand to win (you will find out soon enough) but just know that it will be exciting and rewarding for many of you.
I'll ignore the typo and the unprofessional behavior and just say they don't elaborate on what these "costs" are so I'm a bit in the dark as to why I should hate publishing companies so much.I’m an established or published author, what’s in it for me?
The financial returns that you are properly entitled to, free from the costs (yes costs) and pressures of publishers, editors and industry...that’s assuming that you work ever gets read...these people are just soooooo busy!
Seriously, what do these people have against publishers? There is something sketchy about that much vitriol!I’m a nobody with a dream and I write mainly for myself. What can you offer me? Maybe I’ll just self publish?
Then don’t submit, but you’ll never know if you are any good, will you? Besides, nobody writes for themselves, writers write to be heard! Of course, feel free to self publish, but good luck getting any real interest. Then again, if you do it will probably be from a publisher, so even if you win, you will probably lose! Or, we offer you the chance to be financially independent as a writer...connected to all your readers...at NO COST to you!
Added emphasis mine.TWGWC reserves the right to vary the placement of any and all submitted works within a title or website and to change the format of any presentation (including changing colour to black and white). TWGWC will not be liable for any loss or damage incurred by a Customer arising from any failure to publish submitted works in accordance with a Customer’s request.
From the FAQ:We can't say too much about who we are at TWGWC and how it will revolutionise the publishing industry...but we will, and very soon, once we achieve our global quota of submissions that will enable us to progress to the exciting next stage.[...]
Rest assured that we are energetic professionals with extensive experience who want only to elevate writers to their rightful place in the broader community, not just the industry.
It's-seekret-we-can't-tell-you-right-now-but-trust-us-we're-awesome kind of message like the above is a personal turn off. I also find any your life will change statement exaggerated and used-car-salesman-y.What happens on 9th November 2013?
Sorry, can’t tell you yet! But know that your life as a writer may never be quite the same! Good luck!
(Bolding mine.)We can't say too much about who we are at TWGWC and how it will revolutionise the publishing industry...but we will, and very soon, once we achieve our global quota of submissions that will enable us to progress to the exciting next stage.
...it will revolutionise the publishing industry.
Start the dead-pool now.
What does YADs mean?Yep. Uh-hunh.
YADS at best.
If you want to know if you have what it takes to be a writer, submit your best works to the best markets in strict accordance with their guidelines.
There's also another place on the site where they say "you can try sending it out to publishers, if you think it will help, and good luck with that. Or you can try self publishing and good luck with that too, or send it to us and get the real rewards you deserve.""Funding" is not impossible to find. There are publishers out there everywhere, from the big to the small, but if they're legit publishing companies (and you have work that's publishable) then you will get paid. There is also always the self-publishing option.
I find it curious that TWGWC is a bit down on both those avenues:
I'll ignore the typo and the unprofessional behavior and just say they don't elaborate on what these "costs" are so I'm a bit in the dark as to why I should hate publishing companies so much.
As for self publishing:
Seriously, what do these people have against publishers? There is something sketchy about that much vitriol!
I probably would have found this whole TWGWC thing much more interesting if they weren't so inexplicably dismissive of two very different platforms that that done well for many, many people. You can have a brilliant new idea, but don't go about it by disparaging everything else out there. Well, I would have found it interesting, but I still wouldn't have touched it with a 10 foot pole because they're not being upfront about who is funding this thing. But I'm not a very trusting person.
They also admit that they are publishing your work:
Added emphasis mine.
Once your work is published for the world to see on this site, that's it - it's published. Your first rights are gone. You're going to have a hard time finding a publishing company to publish it after that. But oh, that's right! Publishing companies are evil!
I wish you the best of luck, GEspindar. I hope for your sake this is a wonderful thing, but we shall see.
Many thanks and duly noted. I might submit anyway as there dont see to be any downsides with just a sample being submitted and why turn my back on possible funding which is near impossible to find!?
Yes talk of funding to get a book deal is completely bizarre and concerns me.T
You don't need funding to get a trade publishing deal: just a good book. And many of AW's members have self published for next to nothing.
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once we achieve our global quota of submissions that will enable us to progress to the exciting next stage.
And who does this remind you of? Vanity presses who take anything because their business model is making money from those who submit, not from selling their work on and taking a percentage, so they accept anything?Some of the things in the FAQ bother me. You don't have to submit the whole work in some cases, they're claiming the work doesn't have to be edited, you can submit work in any language, etc. And then the part about format says "In our view, real talent should not be inhibited unduly by structure. If you have something to say, then put in onto the page in whatever form you desire."
Does that mean I could submit my novel, Lorem Ipsum Dolor Sit Amet, in the Comic Sans MS font with purple letters?
I'm also annoyed by their name. Really? The World's Greatest Writing Competition? Sorry, I'd rather get a Hugo or Pulitzer or RITA.
It gave me an Atlanta Nights flashbqck. Scarrry.And who does this remind you of? Vanity presses who take anything because their business model is making money from those who submit, not from selling their work on and taking a percentage, so they accept anything?
You never know. They might just be clueless. Other sites used guidelines (and clauses) like that, so they decided that means that must be how the publishing industry works. So they plan on changing the publishing industry by borrowing concepts from other companies that promised the same thing.AWell lets hope I'm wrong.
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