Fenriswulf Books: September 2015

Friday, 4 September 2015

Inkitt Writing Contest - Too Good to be True?

This week we received what at first glance appeared to be yet another piece of spammy junk email trying to squeeze money, promotion or precious original works out of star-struck writers the world over.

This one promoted a 'Hidden Gems' contest by one outfit named Inkitt, the details of which are visible here:

http://www.inkitt.com/hiddengems

The concept seems to be based on a site we were members of a few years ago which seemed to be based around other users' votes on unpublished online works, and which we soon quit when it became obvious it was nothing more than a popularity contest that involved sycophancy, soliciting and trolling in roughly equal measure (can't remember the name of the site, though if memory serves, it had 'authors' or 'writers' in its name?).

We're not very impressed, to be honest, with the Inkitt website or the terms of the deal. Has anybody else had experience of this one? Have to say, alarm bells started to ring when a later part of the email requested re-posting and re-tweeting of the contest, so it may just come down to being part of a big fat publicity stunt.

Drop us a line if you have any opinions or past dealings anyway.

Guest Post Submission Guidelines

We're very happy to accept guest posts. The only requirements we have for guest posts on Fenriswulf Books' blog pages are:

1) on-topic posts only: i.e., articles relevant, and of interest, specifically to writers (especially self-published or indie authors) - ideally regarding the creative processes of producing fiction, editing, character, plotting, e-publishing, observations and opinions on the publishing industry generally, experiences of Kindle/Smashwords/Apple, traditional publishing, self-promo and marketing advice for authors (but see *2* below), inspiration & 'writers' block', cartoons/comic books, illustration & design, or creativity in general;

2) absolutely no promotion or reviews of third-party products or services: the only exceptions being other self-pubbed or indie writers that you may be enthusiastic about, or charitable websites or totally free resources online or elsewhere devoted to helping other writers, e.g via interviews, book giveaways, etc. This includes hyperlinks and images. Author book review sites are acceptable as long as they offer free reviews (whether alongside paid-for reviews or not).

3) if in doubt, just ask.

Other than that, feel free to drop us a brief summary of possible posts and we'll let you know by return.