Official Competition Rules and Regulations

1. OPEN ONLY TO REGISTERED MEMBERS OF THENEXTBIGWRITER.COM AND BOOKSIE.COM.

Writing Members of theNextBigWriter.com and Members of Booksie.com may enter by:

1. Posting the first three chapters of their submitted novel on theNextBigWriter.com or Booksie.com sites, anytime during the Competition period. The entry must include the tags "Strongest start competition" (entered as strongest_start_competition).

The start of the competition is February 21, 2007. The deadline to submit an entry to the Competition is 11:59 PM ET on May 3, 2007. For TheNextBigWriter.com entries only: The three posted chapters must be fresh posts (Reposting does not count) and must have post dates of no earlier than February 21, 2007.

All work posted to the sites by members is the sole responsibility of the submitting person. Entrants are entirely responsible for all content posted or otherwise made available via the sites. Sponsor reserves the right to declare any entries determined to not be in accordance with the stated terms of theNextBigWriter Member Agreement or the Booksie.com Member Agreement ineligible for entry.

2. Judging and Winner Selection: The Competition will judge the first three chapters only of the submitted novels. Writers are not required to submit additional chapters and are not required to have completed additional chapters. The winners will be selected according to a two round process:

Round I: Five novel finalists will be chosen based on the following criteria:

• Three finalists will be chosen from TheNextBigWriter.com Private Online Writing Workshop.
  • Two of the three will be chosen by the site's Editorial Team. The site's rankings and recommendations will guide the editors but sole discretion for choosing the finalists rests with the Editorial Team. All editorial decisions and procedures relating to this Contest are final. The editors will be looking for the most compelling, difficult to put down first three chapters. All judges will be asked to evaulate how interested they are in moving onto the next chapters if they existed. Any styles and genres are welcome as long as the submission complies with the site's member agreement.
  • One finalist will be chosen based on the site rankings (rankings are determined by the site community) which are listed at the top of each submission. These rankings will be provided by theNextBigWriter.com member community according to the reviewing and rating guidelines stated on the site, under supervision of the Sponsor, whose procedures and decisions in all matters relating to this Contest are final.
• Two finalists will be chosen from the Booksie.com Online Publishing Site.
  • The two finalists will be chosen by the site's Editorial Team. The site's rankings and recommendations will guide the editors but sole discretion for choosing the finalists rests with the Editorial Team. All editorial decisions and procedures relating to this Contest are final. The editors will be looking for the most compelling, difficult to put down first three chapters. All judges will be asked to evaulate how interested they are in moving onto the next chapters if they existed. Any styles and genres are welcome as long as the submission complies with the site's member agreement.

The deadline to submit material for Round I is May 3, 2007. The names of the five finalist will be posted on TheNextBigWriter.com and Booksie.com approximately one week later.

Round II: The manuscripts of the five finalists will be reivewed by a panel of independent judges. The judges will be asked to evaluate how interested they would be in continuing onto Chapter 4, if it existed. This is the main criteria for judging the submission altough grammar and punctuation will also be judging factors.

On May 22, 2007, the winners will be announced.

3. Prizes:

The first place winner will receive $100, a lengthy critique from at least one of the judges on their winning submission, a free year subscription to TheNextBigWriter Online Writing Workshop (valued at $39.95) which comes with a free one year subscription to Writers Digest Magazine.

The second place winner will receive $50 and a free 90 day membership to TheNextBigWriter Online Writing Workshop (valued at $14.95).

The third place winner will receive $25 and a free 90 day membership to TheNextBigWriter Online Writing Workshop (valued at $14.95).

No more than the stated number of prizes will be awarded. No transfer or substitution of prizes permitted. Winners are solely responsible for all applicable federal, state, or local taxes on the value of their prizes. Winners are responsible for all costs or expenses not specifically exempted herein. By accepting a prize, each winner agrees to the release of his/her name, pen name, likeness, and city and state of residence for potential publicity purposes, where permitted by law.

4. Eligibility: Void where prohibited by law or regulation. Contest is open only to registered theNextBigWriter.com and Booksie.com members 18 years of age or older who have never sold 15,000 or more copies of any particular book or manuscript they’ve authored. The following restrictions apply (i) Void in AZ; and (ii) Contest is only open to legal residents of the United States (except residents of AZ, PR, and all other US Territories and Possessions), Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, India, Israel, or Canada (except the Province of Quebec). Contest is not open to employees and their families (spouses, parents, children/siblings and their respective spouses, and those living in the same household) of theNextBigWriter, LLC, its affiliates, advertising and production agencies. Entrants consent to the use of their registration information in accordance with theNextBigWriter Privacy Policy or the Booksie.com Privacy Policy. All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply. All rights to any work submitted by Writing Members on TheNextBigWriter.com or registered members of Booksie.com are retained by the submitting member in accordance with the stated terms of theNextBigWriter Member Agreement and the Booksie.com Member Agreement. Entries must be original and conceived and created entirely by the entrant. Sponsor may prohibit any entrant from participating in this Contest or any future promotion offered by the Sponsor, if, in the sole opinion of theNextBigWriter, LLC such entrant (i) has tampered with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or website, (ii) repeatedly shows a disregard for the rules, or (iii) acts (a) in an unsportsmanlike manner, (b) with an intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass theNextBigWriter, LLC or any other entrant, or (c) in any other disruptive manner. Entrants must be a Writing Member of theNextBigWriter.com site or a registered Member of Booksie.com, as appropriate, in good standing to be eligible to win. The Contest may be terminated at any time after its commencement without prior notice; however if such termination should occur, all prizes will be awarded to winners according to the rankings at the time of Contest termination.

5. Limitation of Liability: Sponsor is not responsible for typographical errors in any contest-related materials; or for any individual's inability to enter this contest, including but not limited to unavailable network, server, telephone, or other connections; failed software or hardware transmissions; other errors of any kind, whether human, mechanical, or electronic, including lost, late, incomplete, damaged, or misdirected entries; or for any damage to any computer related to or resulting from participation. Sponsor reserves the right to terminate or modify contest if fraud or technical failures compromise the integrity of the contest as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. In the event that the contest is terminated, all eligible entries received before termination will be ranked. Entrants agree that the Sponsors, their promotion partners, related companies, agencies, and their respective employees or officers shall not be liable for injury, losses, damages or costs of any kind resulting from participation in this contest or acceptance of or use or misuse of a prize or parts thereof. By entering, participants agree to be bound by these official rules.

6. Winners List: For a list of winners send a postcard, only, with your name and address to: TheNextBigWriter Best Start Novel Competition Awards Winners List, P.O. Box 610383, Newton, MA 02461. Winners will also be posted on theNextBigWriter.com website and the Booksie.com website as they are determined.

7. Sponsor: theNextBigWriter, LLC, P.O. Box 610383, Newton, MA 02461.