A LegendFire Publication!
May 17, 2021 13:10:13 GMT -6
Post by RAVENEYE on May 17, 2021 13:10:13 GMT -6
Hear ye! Hear ye! All Legendfirians!
We have an exciting proposal, and we hope you will all be eager to take part in it. Years ago, members of Old LegendFire proposed on multiple occasions a publication featuring stories and poems shared on the forum. Due to issues concerning payment, rights, distribution, editing, etc. the project never took off.
We hope to change that!
Introducing THE LEGENDFIRE COMPENDIUM
At the end of each fiscal year (September), it is our hope to publish a collection of your best work -- with your permission -- as a free downloadable ebook on Smashwords.
The amount of material available each year will likely make each volume rather substantial. With your permission, it will include:
all the top 3 winners of each contest
the weekly winners of each 100 Word Weekly contest
author's choice of any non-winning stories, poems or weekly entries, up to 2 per member
approved member-produced digital artwork of high caliber
As LegendFire grows, so will the size of the Compendium, so further down the road we may adjust which material will be included.
CONTRACT
The staff will work up a contract which you will need to download, fill out, and email to Raveneye before your work can/will be included in the publication. This is to ensure that you understand and agree to the terms and are a willing participant of the publication. This is standard procedure.
SUBMISSION TIME
JUNE 1 - SEPTEMBER 1: Starting every June and continuing through September 1, we will put out calls for submission, during which period members may look back through their contest contributions of the past year and decide which of their entries they wish to include in the collection. The authors may then choose to apply the critiques and edits their peers gave during the voting process (if they haven't done so already), and email the files to the editorial team for final review and formatting.
Because the Shredder Contest and Legends Contest will fall during the submissions period, the last few slots and editing time will be reserved for these entries.
SUBMISSION FORMAT
Please make it as easy as possible on the formatting team. They already have their hands full. We will publish according to Smashwords' formatting preferences, outlined HERE.
* Practice Standard Manuscript Format (not web format)
* 12 point font, Times New Roman or Courier or Ariel (nothing weird or fancy)
* Plain old Body style, no Header styles for titles, etc. We will do all that for you.
* Embed your paragraph tabs (don't use the Tab button or space bar to begin paragraphs)
* Left justified (jagged right edge)
* use italics, not underline
* single space after periods
* no extra space between paragraphs
* no headers, footers, or page numbers
Following these steps will help the formatter immensely!
Submit your revised story/poem/essay as an attachment in .doc or .docx or .rtf format to legendfire.help(at)gmail(dot)com. Title your email "Compendium: Your Work's Title: Your LF Username"
If you are submitting more than one work, attaching them in the same email is fine (for now). We may change this in future, if it becomes confusing.
(If you're submitting artwork, see the FAQ below)
SMASHWORDS
Smashwords (smashwords.com) has been around for a long time. Most of us will have heard of it, or even published some of our work with it. The site provides a tried and true system for self-publishing, offering all the instruction an author needs to produce ebooks of quality. Self-publishing services like Amazon have earned a sour reputation among some authors, and unlike Amazon, Smashwords provides a way for authors to offer their work for FREE.
The link to the Smashwords FAQ should answer most of your questions concerning how it all works.
If you've worked with Smashwords before and have tips, advice, concerns, etc. please ask them below or send Raveneye a private message.
PRICING
Each volume of the Compendium will be available for free download in several formats, including .mobi and .pdf. The choice to offer the books for free allows us to skirt the issues we had concerning how royalties would be divided and sent, tax on income, etc. Therefore, for the foreseeable future, the books will always be available for free. Tell your friends and family.
COMPENDIUM FAQ
Will I be paid?
Unfortunately, no. We believe your hard work is worth all the payment you can receive for it. Therefore, if you prefer to sell your work for payment, you may opt out of inclusion in the Compendium.
Will I receive royalties?
The books will earn no profit, therefore, no money will change hands.
How will this publication benefit me?
Exposure. According to Smashwords' statement, "FREE books receive, on average, about 30 times more downloads than priced books. Free gets you the most readers because it eliminates the financial barrier that might prevent a reader from taking a chance on you, an author unknown to them."
Will my work be edited/altered before it's included?
We hope to produce work that reflects LegendFire's standards of excellence. Therefore, we expect our authors to seriously consider peer feedback and apply it where they deem it appropriate. The editorial team will edit for basic copy editing errors and proofread for typos. They will not edit for content. Submit only your best.
What if I miss the deadline?
We have to close the gate in time to proofread the final submissions, format the ebook and run it through Smashwords' "meatgrinder." September 1 is a tentative deadline. If we find this date was wishful thinking, we may move it to August 1 next year. Therefore, submissions submitted after September 1 will not be included in the final copy.
What about the entries for the Legends Contest??
The Legends Contest entries are the sole exception to the deadline rule. Editing, revising, and formatting these final entries will be on a frenzied crunch and must be submitted by the authors before September 15.
The same group of people tend to win most of the contests, and my entries aren't usually among them. Should I participate?
We hope every single Legendfirian will put forth work for publication in the Compendium. Tastes differ. Just because your entries didn't win doesn't mean they're not excellent. This is why we provide room for all Legendfirians to submit up to two non-winning works for inclusion. Choose your favorites, apply the feedback, and we'll publish them.
Will there be a print version?
Print publications cannot currently be produced for free, which gets money issues involved. So the answer is no. HOWEVER, you may print the downloadable .pdf version once the Compendium has been published. Please do not sell this book or upload it elsewhere, as this is pirating, illegal, and a breech of contract.
What's this about including artwork?
We hope to showcase the artistic talent of our members by including a number of digital images between the sections of the publication. File size is limited, and we're not yet sure how many images we'll be able to include. We hope for two or three per ebook. One to introduce the contest entries, one to introduce the 100 Weekly entries, perhaps a third randomly placed?
So if you're a digital artist, please submit your work as a .png to the same email address for consideration. Or point us to a link where the work is available for viewing online. You must own the rights to your work for it to be considered. Title your email: "Compendium: Art: The Work's Title: Your LF Username"
What rights is LegendFire "purchasing"?
* First-time electronic rights. NOT first-time exclusive. This means you are free to sell your included work elsewhere as a reprint. Check the fine print of the publisher. Many prefer reprints that have not appeared in a publication for x number of months or years.
* Electronic reprint rights. If your work was published elsewhere during the last year and is currently released from contract, your work may be included in the Compendium. (more below)
Will the books be marketed?
We have no intention to outright market the publications, but we urge all our authors and editorial team to promote the books wherever and whenever they can via social media.
Will I be able to publish my work elsewhere too?
Yes. As a reprint. Not all publishers accept reprints. Be sure to investigate possible publications thoroughly for terms concerning reprints.
What if one of my winning entries has been purchased by another publication?
If your story/poem/essay was published earlier in the year, you must check the contract you signed upon publication to ensure the rights to your work have been released to you. Publishers often purchase exclusivity rights, generally, for a period of 6 months to one year. If you did not sign a contract, then the rights the publisher purchased will be stated on their website. We will NOT publish work that is currently under contract elsewhere.
May I submit some of my stories that were not entries in LF's contests?
Not currently, no. We will have plenty of material featuring just the contest entries.
If you have questions not addressed here, please ask them below and we'll amend the FAQ with answers. If we don't have answers, we'll try to find them.
We have an exciting proposal, and we hope you will all be eager to take part in it. Years ago, members of Old LegendFire proposed on multiple occasions a publication featuring stories and poems shared on the forum. Due to issues concerning payment, rights, distribution, editing, etc. the project never took off.
We hope to change that!
Introducing THE LEGENDFIRE COMPENDIUM At the end of each fiscal year (September), it is our hope to publish a collection of your best work -- with your permission -- as a free downloadable ebook on Smashwords.
The amount of material available each year will likely make each volume rather substantial. With your permission, it will include:
all the top 3 winners of each contest the weekly winners of each 100 Word Weekly contest author's choice of any non-winning stories, poems or weekly entries, up to 2 per member approved member-produced digital artwork of high caliberAs LegendFire grows, so will the size of the Compendium, so further down the road we may adjust which material will be included.
CONTRACT
The staff will work up a contract which you will need to download, fill out, and email to Raveneye before your work can/will be included in the publication. This is to ensure that you understand and agree to the terms and are a willing participant of the publication. This is standard procedure.
SUBMISSION TIME
JUNE 1 - SEPTEMBER 1: Starting every June and continuing through September 1, we will put out calls for submission, during which period members may look back through their contest contributions of the past year and decide which of their entries they wish to include in the collection. The authors may then choose to apply the critiques and edits their peers gave during the voting process (if they haven't done so already), and email the files to the editorial team for final review and formatting.
Because the Shredder Contest and Legends Contest will fall during the submissions period, the last few slots and editing time will be reserved for these entries.
SUBMISSION FORMAT
Please make it as easy as possible on the formatting team. They already have their hands full. We will publish according to Smashwords' formatting preferences, outlined HERE.
* Practice Standard Manuscript Format (not web format)
* 12 point font, Times New Roman or Courier or Ariel (nothing weird or fancy)
* Plain old Body style, no Header styles for titles, etc. We will do all that for you.
* Embed your paragraph tabs (don't use the Tab button or space bar to begin paragraphs)
* Left justified (jagged right edge)
* use italics, not underline
* single space after periods
* no extra space between paragraphs
* no headers, footers, or page numbers
Following these steps will help the formatter immensely!
Submit your revised story/poem/essay as an attachment in .doc or .docx or .rtf format to legendfire.help(at)gmail(dot)com. Title your email "Compendium: Your Work's Title: Your LF Username"
If you are submitting more than one work, attaching them in the same email is fine (for now). We may change this in future, if it becomes confusing.
(If you're submitting artwork, see the FAQ below)
SMASHWORDS
Smashwords (smashwords.com) has been around for a long time. Most of us will have heard of it, or even published some of our work with it. The site provides a tried and true system for self-publishing, offering all the instruction an author needs to produce ebooks of quality. Self-publishing services like Amazon have earned a sour reputation among some authors, and unlike Amazon, Smashwords provides a way for authors to offer their work for FREE.
The link to the Smashwords FAQ should answer most of your questions concerning how it all works.
If you've worked with Smashwords before and have tips, advice, concerns, etc. please ask them below or send Raveneye a private message.
PRICING
Each volume of the Compendium will be available for free download in several formats, including .mobi and .pdf. The choice to offer the books for free allows us to skirt the issues we had concerning how royalties would be divided and sent, tax on income, etc. Therefore, for the foreseeable future, the books will always be available for free. Tell your friends and family.
COMPENDIUM FAQ
Will I be paid?
Unfortunately, no. We believe your hard work is worth all the payment you can receive for it. Therefore, if you prefer to sell your work for payment, you may opt out of inclusion in the Compendium.
Will I receive royalties?
The books will earn no profit, therefore, no money will change hands.
How will this publication benefit me?
Exposure. According to Smashwords' statement, "FREE books receive, on average, about 30 times more downloads than priced books. Free gets you the most readers because it eliminates the financial barrier that might prevent a reader from taking a chance on you, an author unknown to them."
Will my work be edited/altered before it's included?
We hope to produce work that reflects LegendFire's standards of excellence. Therefore, we expect our authors to seriously consider peer feedback and apply it where they deem it appropriate. The editorial team will edit for basic copy editing errors and proofread for typos. They will not edit for content. Submit only your best.
What if I miss the deadline?
We have to close the gate in time to proofread the final submissions, format the ebook and run it through Smashwords' "meatgrinder." September 1 is a tentative deadline. If we find this date was wishful thinking, we may move it to August 1 next year. Therefore, submissions submitted after September 1 will not be included in the final copy.
What about the entries for the Legends Contest??
The Legends Contest entries are the sole exception to the deadline rule. Editing, revising, and formatting these final entries will be on a frenzied crunch and must be submitted by the authors before September 15.
The same group of people tend to win most of the contests, and my entries aren't usually among them. Should I participate?
We hope every single Legendfirian will put forth work for publication in the Compendium. Tastes differ. Just because your entries didn't win doesn't mean they're not excellent. This is why we provide room for all Legendfirians to submit up to two non-winning works for inclusion. Choose your favorites, apply the feedback, and we'll publish them.
Will there be a print version?
Print publications cannot currently be produced for free, which gets money issues involved. So the answer is no. HOWEVER, you may print the downloadable .pdf version once the Compendium has been published. Please do not sell this book or upload it elsewhere, as this is pirating, illegal, and a breech of contract.
What's this about including artwork?
We hope to showcase the artistic talent of our members by including a number of digital images between the sections of the publication. File size is limited, and we're not yet sure how many images we'll be able to include. We hope for two or three per ebook. One to introduce the contest entries, one to introduce the 100 Weekly entries, perhaps a third randomly placed?
So if you're a digital artist, please submit your work as a .png to the same email address for consideration. Or point us to a link where the work is available for viewing online. You must own the rights to your work for it to be considered. Title your email: "Compendium: Art: The Work's Title: Your LF Username"
What rights is LegendFire "purchasing"?
* First-time electronic rights. NOT first-time exclusive. This means you are free to sell your included work elsewhere as a reprint. Check the fine print of the publisher. Many prefer reprints that have not appeared in a publication for x number of months or years.
* Electronic reprint rights. If your work was published elsewhere during the last year and is currently released from contract, your work may be included in the Compendium. (more below)
Will the books be marketed?
We have no intention to outright market the publications, but we urge all our authors and editorial team to promote the books wherever and whenever they can via social media.
Will I be able to publish my work elsewhere too?
Yes. As a reprint. Not all publishers accept reprints. Be sure to investigate possible publications thoroughly for terms concerning reprints.
What if one of my winning entries has been purchased by another publication?
If your story/poem/essay was published earlier in the year, you must check the contract you signed upon publication to ensure the rights to your work have been released to you. Publishers often purchase exclusivity rights, generally, for a period of 6 months to one year. If you did not sign a contract, then the rights the publisher purchased will be stated on their website. We will NOT publish work that is currently under contract elsewhere.
May I submit some of my stories that were not entries in LF's contests?
Not currently, no. We will have plenty of material featuring just the contest entries.
If you have questions not addressed here, please ask them below and we'll amend the FAQ with answers. If we don't have answers, we'll try to find them.
