This is the most asked question about the contest. Our goal is to support and encourage new or late-blooming writers who are trying to become established as authors, so it might make sense to change our wording to "emerging authors". For now, here is our definition of "unpublished author".
1. Can you clarify what you mean by "unpublished
author"?
For this contest, being an unpublished author means:
a) That you have not published a single work of fiction over
10,000 words for payment, in any form.
b) That you have not had more than 3 works of fiction under
10,000 words selected for publication for payment, by a publisher other than
the author, in any form.
You ARE still eligible if:
a) You have self-published a novel or novella but have not
sold any copies.
b) You have self-published short fiction on your own
personal platform.
c) You have published short fiction with a third party
publication but did not receive payment.
d) You have won a prize for this or another contest. Being
published as a contest winner does not count unless you were paid specifically
for publication of your story.
You can find all of our frequently asked questions here: F.A.Q.s
If you have any questions about our contest, please don't hesitate to email us at jsmcontest@gmail.com
