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Contests : Contests to Avoid : To My Grandmother
by Charlie Hughes
Charlie Hughes, editor of Wind Publications and long-time champion of quality in poetry contests, submitted "To My Grandmother" to PoetsOnly.com's ongoing contest to see what would happen.
by C.G. [pen name]
Dear Grandma, the night you died
it snowed so deep
my car got stuck.
And I remember how I cried
at such rotten luck.
I could never eat all of one of your pies
no matter how hard I tried.
I liked the apple
better than the peech.
Now when I go to McDonalds
and they say, "Ya wan
applepie wid dat?"
Im always thinkng of you.
Within days, PoetsOnly.com announced that "To My Grandmother" had passed the first round of screening for the Summer Iliad Literary Awards contest...
From: PoetsOnly.com Customer Service
To: buster@windpub.com
Sent: Monday, September 08, 2003 7:22 PM
Subject: "To My Grandmother" Ready for the Next Round of Judging!
Dear C.G.,
I have good new for you! Your entry: "To My Grandmother" (Entry ID Code: 7692-ILA0303) has passed the first round of screening for the Summer Iliad Literary Awards contest. This means that "To My Grandmother" is acceptable for publication in our next hard-cover literary anthology … and is eligible to continue in the next round of judging in the contest.
If you have entered our contests before, you will notice that we have changed the Summer Contest format a little bit. We’ve received a ton of mail that has told us the following:
1. Most people like to read through the competing entries;
2. Everyone likes to have their entry read by other contestants;
3. Most contestants want to feel “more involved” in the contests – especially since they run for three months.
After talking with many of our contestants, we have instituted a new award – the Writers’ Choice Award. This award is sponsored solely by PoetsOnly.com, and every entry submitted to any of our contests is eligible to receive the award. It is a particularly meaningful award because the Writers’ Choice Award is decided by the contestants!
To implement this change, we now ask that, for every entry you submit, you:
a) read a minimum of four (4) other contest entries in each round of judging (there are four rounds of judging);
b) out of the four entries you read, you pick a “First Choice” and a “Second Choice”;
c) for the First and Second Choice, you give the entry a “score” of “Good”, “Very Good” or “Excellent”.
It only takes a couple of minutes, and should be quite enjoyable. It also guarantees that "To My Grandmother" gets read by a minimum of four other contestants … but most likely many, many more!
At the end of each round of judging, we will post the “top” Writers’ Choices based on score, and number of times chosen “First” or “Second” Choice. At the end of five rounds of judging (four rounds with other contestants plus a fifth round of our judges only), we will award a Writers' Choice Grand Prize ($100) plus First, Second and Third place prizes of $50, $25 and $10. Each of the top four winners will also receive a genuine, star sapphire from India! The Star Sapphire will be approximately 1/2" to 1" in length and have the star beautifully polished. These beautiful gemstones are contributed by our sponsor, PurushaStones.
Below, you will find a link that has been configured just for you. This is your personalized confirmation link:
[link went here]
If you cannot click on this link in your email system - cut and paste the link into your browser.
When you click on this link, you will first be shown a Log In screen, with some of the information pre-filled. Fill in the rest of the form, and click SUBMIT. Next, you will see a screen with four entries selected for you. Click on one of the entry titles and a pop-up window will appear (even if you have "pop-up" stopper software it should still appear, because you're directly clicking a link ... but if it doesn't, turn off your pop-up stopper and try again). You can read the entry, click "Close this Window" and go to the next one. You can read them over and over if you want. At the bottom of the screen you'll see four drop-down menus where you can "rate" each entry (Good, Very Good and Excellent ). Pick a rating for each entry. Finally, you get to pick your First Choice and Second choice out of the four. Click SUBMIT.
Next, you'll see a screen that double-checks that you've picked the right entries. If they're right, click SUBMIT - if not, you can go back and change them.
Next, you'll see a screen with some special offers for our contestants. Read through the offers and you'll see a button at the bottom to confirm your entry's continuation in the next round.
You will get an email like this for each entry of yours that has been approved. In each letter you'll get four entries (some may be the same - that's OK).
Now - a few words from our sponsors (somebody has to pay for the Internet service and prize money!!!).
If you're looking for books, CDs, DVD or any of hundreds of other items, If you buy Amazon.com using the PoetsOnly link [no longer working], you'll be helping us out ... and keeping our contests going. Of course, there's NEVER a purchase required to stay in the contest.
Also, Alan Fountain, our executive editor, is also an avid real estate investor. Alan’s popular book “Zero Down Real Estate Riches” is now available as an ebook. As a PoetsOnly.com contestant, you can get this book (regular price: $39.95) for only $9.95! You can download it right away. Similar books from Dave delDotto, Carleton Sheets and Robert Allan sell for anywhere from $100 and up! Plus, you get FREE software with the download! Click the home page link, or http://www.stamfordresearch.com/zd030507 to get your discounted copy today. (Yes, we get a buck every time you buy one!).
Finally, Are you interested in metaphysics, magic, reincarnation and the power of crystals? It became known as “Clarks Law”. Click on the PurushaStone ad on our home page, and you’ll find some interesting reading – PLUS – some amazing power crystals for sale. Or, go right to http://www.purushastone.com. Famous science-fiction writer, Arthur C. Clark once wrote: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Check out PurushaStone.com and see what they have to say.
OK, end of marketing pitch! Congratulations again, and good luck. You’ll hear from us shortly. If you need other links to our site, there are some key links below my signature.
Thanks again.
Al Case
Publisher
PoetsOnly.com
[email address for PoetsOnly.com]
If you liked "To My Grandmother", you might also enjoy "Flubblebop", "Nicky Nacky Noo" and "Yew Gotta Larf", or click here to return to Contests to Avoid.
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