Inkshares Community discussion

Hey, everybody. I've been pondering the Launchpad Contest currently being promoted on Inkshares' homepage, along with the Geek and Sundry fantasy contest. https://tblaunchpad.com/contests/6

I'm curious to know what you think about it. It looks to me like it costs $70 bucks (until tomorrow, then it goes up to $80) for the chance to win the chance to talk to some people in Hollywood.

I may be missing something, but it sounds like, even if you win, it doesn't mean your book is guaranteed to become a movie or a TV show. Additionally, I'm not certain if winning means that you'll also be bumped up to receive fully funded privileges from Inkshares.

I'm interested in your impressions.

I'm planning on entering, but understandably the price on this competition may be off-putting for some.

My understanding is: Judges pick a shortlist of 25 entries. Then those 25 run a funding campaign on Inkshares (just like a regular G&S campaign), with the winners of the campaign competition guaranteed publication. Those who make it to the top 25 *might* get published - as part of the entry you agree to give them an exclusive option to sign a contract with you for 90 days.

There are also optional extras you can pay more to enter in, which give you essentially other chances to get a contract. Plus (this is the optional extra I am most interested in) you can pay a fee to get the judges review feedback.

Hey all,

I've got one more piece of info on this contest as an Inkshares writer (I'm in that little Sword & Laser collection you might have heard of ;P)
The first part of the Launchpad competition is juried, and so has that entry fee like a traditional contest. The next component, I believe, is a book trailer, from where they will narrow down the top 50 to the top 25. The last component is an Inkshares crowdfunding contest where the top 25 amass following and gain votes in the form of preorders for their books. Here's a link to the current Inkshares contest so you can get an idea of what they look like.

Hope that helps.

Here's a question. The other contests required that you start your preorder campaign to coincide. This one makes no mention of that, just that "votes" will be in the form of preorders, like Amanda said. So does that mean my currently running campaign is eligible?

Hi Amanda,
Can you expand on what you believe the trailer phase is? The submission only asks for the manuscript pages including synopsis.

Hi all

I understand that you want to participate in the above writing contest. Just want to let you know about a free writing contest on LifeOfWriters.com where you can win gift card to amazon. But the good part about this contest is that you will get a lot of great feedback from other writers, witch is very use full. This month the contest is called Regrets and you still have time to submit your creative story.
Happy writing. Thanks

All, just wanted to mention that I came across some details about formatting in the faq (https://tblaunchpad.com/faq)

For Manuscripts, please use a standard 12 point font in Times New Roman, Arial, or Courier. All manuscripts should be double spaced and have a 1 inch margin on all sides.

If anybody is up burning the midnight oil and didn't know to double space...you might need to trim. I thought my submission was puny, but after formatting it's on the long end. Hope to see you all in the top 25!

Don't forget the coupon code: INKSHARES20

Thanks Dash.

Yes - the bit they don't clarify (rules change from publisher to publisher) is whether the synopsis should also be double spaced. General rule of thumb I found was 1 page synopsis doesn't need to be, longer ones should be.

I've formatted my synopsis double spaced as per the rest of the submission.

Good luck everyone. Fingers crossed!

Good point, Robert. Consistency makes sense, IMO. Umm...is it October yet?

Not yet :)

I have mixed feelings about that - excited to find out who makes the 25, but I'm currently on part time hours with my work so I have 2 days a week (theoretically) dedicated to writing. By October I'll be back to full time corporate... Unless I can convince my wife I should quit and she should support me! :)
#notlikely #ohwell

Hi all, for those who don't realise but I've made the top 75 (the expanded it from a top 25 due to the number of entries). The crowdfunding competition phase is underway -- my project can be found here: https://www.inkshares.com/books/human...