Curation Announcement!
Message in a Bottle #4
Origin: The Isle of Write
Sender: @jrhughes
Recipients: Steemit Creatives
Hello, wider world of Steemit! This message is the exciting culmination of discussions that have been happening at Isle of Write almost since we unpacked our bags. Lazing about in the cabana is lovely, and the wonderful people who have already joined us there make every day a beautiful day.
But... as we continue issuing sunscreen and umbrella drinks to more and more new islanders, we know we need to do something productive to give back to the community of creative writers. We knew immediately it would have to be some sort of curation. But "trail" would be a mighty generous word for our little slice of Paradise. We certainly couldn't reward the deserving in the way many excellent accounts already providing such a service do.
And of course we could give away a modest SBD prize, but...
It's not that giving away SBD isn't a good idea, it's a great idea which is why so many are already doing it. And we wanted something different. Something that would be as unexpected as the soft breezes, bright sun, and warm community folks find when they step onto our shores.
And we think we've found just the thing.
I know, right?!
Eight-Weeks Curation for Publication
For the next eight weeks, Isle of Write will be on the prowl for excellent, publication quality (or near to) fiction and poetry. Pieces chosen may be still open for payout, they may be an old piece mouldering on your feed you thought you'd never see a dime for again. Poetry will have some special parameters and they will be detailed in a separate post, but every author of a curated fiction piece will receive an immediate transfer of 5 SBD and an invitation to be a part of our first series of Steemit Anthologies.
Isle of Write plans publication of five anthologies in April of this year, one for Steemit Poetry, and four for Steemit Fiction: one in each of the following genre groups:
- Science Fiction/Fantasy
- Horror/Paranormal
- Mystery/Thriller/Suspense
- Literary
Our goal is to fill each anthology with curated Steemit authors in order to showcase to the world beyond, what incredible talent Steemit has to offer. We will also be actively pursuing a contribution for each anthology from an accomplished, published author. No, it isn't going to be Stephen King, but our goal is that it will be someone a Steemian can point to and say "I'm in an anthology with 'so and so,'" and people in the publishing world will actually know who you're talking about.
In addition to the 5 SBD, every author who agrees to include their piece in an anthology, will retain the rights to their work except as pertains to the sales or distribution of the anthologies. Each author will also receive a printed, bound copy of their book. That's right, not an ebook. A real, physical book with professional cover art. Something you can show your mom, set on the coffee table, slip onto your bookshelf, or casually toss on the back of the toilet.
The Isle will be actively promoting the anthologies on and off Steemit to maximize exposure for these talented writers and to raise funds for whatever fun project we take on next!
Maybe not the New Yorker, but we can do better than this...
Questions you might have
Q: Will I get famous?
A: Unlikely, at least this anthology probably isn't going to do it. But this won't be a case of self-publishing. You will have been published by a real (if nascent) publisher, hopefully alongside an established author of the genre.
Q: Will I get rich?
A: Maybe, but not off this anthology. Full disclosure? Anthologies don't make much and they often don't pay royalties, especially to unestablished authors like most of us here. This one will not be paying royalties. But you will get all the exposure we can snare and that may not be inconsiderable with folks like book critic and professional editor @carolkean at the helm. The plans we have for the Isle are growing bigger every day and these anthologies are just the beginning. We have every financial motive to get this work in front of as many eyes as possible, and that can only be good for authors included in it.
Q: Will I have a chance to edit my post?
A: Excellent question! A lot of us post things on Steemit that maybe haven't had the level of polish we might have put in had we known it would be assembled in a lovely printed edition with other great authors. We have you covered. All pieces will go through the same process they would if they were being published by an off-Steemit house. There may be edits requested of the author and we are prepared to help you make your gems shine!
Q: What can I do to get picked?
A: We will be scouting, but we can't read every post on every blog. The #1 way to get noticed is to use our tag on your posts: #isleofwrite. The #1 way to get chosen is to write or have a story that suits the parameters laid out below, and be sure we are aware of it. If you have or know of a story that fits the bill, please link to it in the comments, with a comment including the genre. We at the Isle love our community and spend hours each day reading the blogs of folks who come there and interact with us. Being one of those folks wouldn't hurt either. But be warned: We know the difference between a community member and a link-spammer and being the latter won't get you anywhere.
Q: What if I don't write fiction but want to support this initiative?
A: The Isle is growing, but we are a small fish in a big pond. Spread the word about this wonderful opportunity for aspiring authors by resteeming this post and making those who can benefit aware of it. Follow, upvote, and share our future posts to help fund this project that is so close to our hearts as members of the Steemit Creative Community.
Okay, get ready to take notes...
Qualification requirements (Fiction)
- No minnow too small or whale too big... content will be judged upon its own merit, not upon the author's status.
- No piece shorter than 1,500 words or longer than 8,000 words (subject to amendment with notice if deemed necessary).
- English language only.
- Must suit one of the above-listed genres.
- Must be a strong piece, comparable in all ways to a mainstream published story, or have such potential with relatively little work.
- No fan-fiction or use of copyrighted material.
- Must be first published on Steemit.
- Author must retain all rights to the piece (this should not be at issue with anything that has only appeared on Steemit and personal blogs, etc.).
- Author must be willing to go through a review and editing process with Isle of Write editors in preparation for publication.
And that's all I've got for now, so get out there, find those gems, and follow us for further details!
Think you'd like to wash up on our shore? The treasure map will bring you right to our door!
I have included your article in a new curation post called The Library.
I'm hoping it helps spread this great news, and open up your audience some more. All the best.
Thank you so much!
That is really kind of you thank you!
OH this is brilliant! Sounds so exciting! Whoohoo!
Thanks @giantbear! We really hope this initiative helps to bring wider notice to some of Steemit's many excellent authors!
Now that's a great idea!
Thanks very much, we are well under way! Feel free to drop a link in the comments if you have or know of any stories that might fit the bill.
We are very excited to be building a bridge between Steemit and the wider creative writing community, and it's working both ways: Just this week, with the anthologies as incentives, Isle co-founder @carolkean brought three published authors from her professional life onto Steemit!
We also highlight posts from our community each week here: Islander Highlights
Hope to see you around!
This is a super cool idea, to easily bridge the gap between steemit and print.
Thanks, Neg! We feel the same way. It'll take some elbow grease and some lovely upvotes, but we are confident we can begin building that bridge :D
This is fantastic!! Going in tomorrows prompt! You all rock!!!
Thank you so much! Keep your eyes peeled ;)
Poetry!! Poetry!! Am coming
love it, will definitely follow you
Time to put the writing cap on...
Oh please do!! I'm so smitten with The Tower - LOVE that story!
(And - you didn't kill anyone!)
https://steemit.com/fiction/@horrorguyian/the-tower-where-the-neon-ends
We eagerly await...
Great idea @isleofwrite. There is no better feeling than when you get your first poem/short story published in an anthology, I shall get my reviewing glasses on and look over my steemit creative writing :-)
We absolutely agree! An anthology just makes sense with all of this wonderful work available!
This is an excellent idea! Will consider the qualification requirements when I am publishing here. :)
Awesome! We'll be on the lookout!
Woo woo!
Great to see progress being made! Here's to making it work :D
You could also rely on me to provide critique to the chosen fiction pieces. Maybe not all, but as many as I'll have time for :)
I'm thinking of creating an editor role for anyone willing to be notified when there is something in the queue. Maybe one for poetry and one for fiction.
Well, I mostly look at the queue over the weekend, when I have time. But for anthology pieces, for the anthology-editing, I'll put aside time in particular. Gloves off, and all that :>
A big news, a great opportunity for new authors and a perfect case to show what Steemit can be.
Thank you @vitkolesnik, for these kind words and for your continued presence and support in the Isle!
Awesome idea!
Thank you @dbooster :)
We are very excited to do this and are grateful for the support and community we receive from Islanders like you <3
Heya @jrhughes ! This is an absolutely awesome and amazing idea! I'm so glad to see an idea like this take form. What a worthy project for steemit writers! Sorry I've not been around too much lately, I plan on getting back into writing soon. Cheers!
Now this sounds like an exciting development. Far beyond what I had imagined you were working on. Can't wait to see where this leads for Steemit and the writing community here.
We just felt it was time. There is too much good content being lost in feeds never to see the light of day again. The Isle is really looking forward to sharing some of that with the greater reading world :)
This is brilliant, guys! Terrific.
Thank you!
This is a commendably ambitious idea. Here is a story of mine that I would love for you to consider. The genre blends sci fi with drama - you'll know what I mean when you read it. Lets just call it sci fi for categorization purposes.
https://steemit.com/writing/@fireawaymarmot/morning-run-short-story-based-on-original-song
really great information @isleofwrite
wow, what an awesome thing to do. I'll start tagging my poetry posts accordingly :)
Excellent! We look forward to seeing them!
Dear @isleofwrite founders,
Congratulations on this accomplishment. You've already staked your claim with an amazingly supportive community in IOW. Here's to many more opportunities to share and cultivate the love of writing inside and out of Steemit and beyond!
This is so kind of you to say and it warms our hearts to know you feel welcome and supported in the Isle. Thank you for being there. I'd say the creatives like you who dot the shores have staked a claim on all of us <3
This is amazing, I still think if I should propose one of the stories I already published here (there's nothing in the rules above against that), or if I should write a new one (probably choose the latter way)... But I really want to be part of this.
You can submit for our consideration anything you've already published at Steemit.
How awesome! I just joined the group, looking forward to meeting everyone!
this is huge! I'm so excited 😃
what are the Qualification requirements for poetry ?
@sunravelme is hard at work filling a bottle with just that information! I expect the message will launch sometime later today. Thank you for your interest!
This is a marvelous initiative, and hopefully will help fiction and poetry get "equal time" here on Steemit. I don't happen to write fiction, but I enjoy reading it... and as they say "Some people play the music and others get to be the audience."
Thank you so much! We really do hope to help spread the love in the creative writing community here!
this is a great opportunity for everyone who loves writing.! nice @isleofwrite I'll resteem this and follow you
Thank you very much for your support in our efforts!
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STOPI can't believe how excited I am! immediately begins editing work
Ahhh! Wonderful to feel we have inspired folks, thank you!
You're so nice for commenting on this post. For that, I gave you a vote! I just ask for a Follow in return!
Oh my God! This is so AWESOME!!! You guys are the best!! <3
Resteeming it right away!
How i love this opportunity, from now on i will write something will fit to the rules. especially the genre. I'm very excited now just recently read this post and resteemed it right away.
Thank you so much @isleofwrite for your efforts to grow the steemit community
I don't know the procedures to submit an entry but here's my entry
https://steemit.com/poetry/@estherikott/beyond-the-silent-night-d8f2778c4376b
Thank you very much for sharing it!
Awesome! This sounds like a fantastic project! I'll be letting it percolate in my brain. I think everything I already have written is either too short or too long, but I'm sure I can come up with something! You rock!
Thanks for supporting steemians!
@byn
Years ago I posted some of my stories on FanStory for critiques. Like 10 years go. They are no longer there (after joining steemit I reactivated my account to check for them) so they have never been "published" to the web. do those qualify or are they considered published in the sense they were once online?
Might be a dumb question I realize but I want to make sure I'm meeting requirements. thanks!