Summer Sun Awards: Need-to-Know

Rules

Hey there, I'm Lilia, AKA @cleverwren on my main account, and I am excited to *attempt* to get this contest up into the air.

So, as I said in the description, this contest has been created for all of the writers who, try as they might, still have a measly 103 reads on the book they have poured their heart and soul into. Maybe you have less than even that, which further proves my point: So many books on this website are underappreciated and deserve the limelight.

I say this from experience. 41 followers and 103 reads on my favorite work. Freaking Zodiac books get more reads than I do, and they're basically plagiarizing (I'm sorry if I offended any zodiac lovers, just making a comparison to emphasize my point).

So, I wanted to take my own little stand on this issue and create a contest to bring to the public's attention all of the books that are in the dark to the worldwide Wattpad community.

So, here are just a few rules for this contest. I don't believe any of them will be too tedious, right?

Da Rulez:

1. Null. You are no longer allowed to enter more books if you have one (or multiple, depending on when you entered) in the contest already.

2. All genres are accepted, except for "Random." In the case that you would like to enter a "Random" book into a contest, you must PM me with a formal message explaining why your book should be allowed to be entered in whatever contest you choose. I will then evaluate this letter, and will tell you whether or not I will allow your "Random" book to be in the contest. (Sorry, I'm a bit against Random because none of the content is genuinely arbitrary or sporadic.)

3. Your book must have less than 5K reads. I don't care if you aren't ranking, aren't featured, or have a significant ratio of reads to votes to comments. This competition is made to highlight the writers who have no publicity and want to show the Wattpad world what they can do.

4. You must be following the Summer Sun Awards account--this is mostly just for updates concerning the thread and news for you people, but it is nonetheless required. THE FOLLOW MUST BE PERMANENT OR YOU ARE AT RISK OF BEING TAKEN OUT OF THE CONTESTS.

5. Your book, to be considered, must have the tag #summersunawards included in its tags, as well as the tags for whatever subcategories you want to enter your book in (more on those at the end of this chapter).

6. There has to be at least two chapters published previous to entry. This includes the prologue. If you're entering a book of poetry, there must be five parts open to the public. (If your short story is completed, and one chapter is all the story is composed of, you may enter.)

7. Your book must be published Publicly. No exceptions.

8. Be nice to everyone participating in anything affiliated with The Summer Sun Awards. It's your responsibility to report anything you observe that is unsportsmanlike to me so that these people can be properly punished by me and any other future administrators. We can all be friends, right?

9. The only thing that will keep you from being accepted is if any of this is forgotten, in which case, just let me know when you've fixed the problem.

10. Have all of the Summer Sun Awards books in your reading lists for news, contestant chapters, rules, and openings such as co-admins.

11. Last date of commenting with your filled-out form is August 10th, 2016, and results will be released on September 20th, 2016.

12. If you're applying for a spot on the #islandofmisfitbooks tag, you must explain why it doesn't fit into any other categories.

13. No explicit sexual content. LGBT+ books are allowed.

One thing... you may only submit a form on the second chapter of this book (application).

Okay, so there are ten official categories for you to enter your book into, but for each book (from now on), you can only enter one of these subcategories.

First Timers: this is for all of the people who have been on Wattpad for less than one year. If you want to enter this one, add the tag #beginnersfirsts (FULL)

We're Still Young: this is basically a contest for all Teen Fiction writers. Stories about teenagers and their endeavors will use the tag #freeandyoung (FULL)

Spoopy: Made for Mystery/Thriller books, but can also include Paranormal and anything that may strike the reader as a bit out-of-the-ordinary and "spooky." Here, use the tag #spookity (11 SPOTS LEFT)

Hearts Go Thumpin': This is for all of your romance-type things. Because any genre can have romance as a main theme, your book doesn't have to be ChickLit or Romance. Use #heartsgothump (FULL)

Fanfiction: For the fangirls and fanguys and fanpeople who like/love to write about their biggest idols, here it is. Use #thesefandoms (16 SPOTS LEFT)

Shorter Than Me: Created for the short stories (preferably completed) of Wattpad's undiscovered. #shorterthanlife (FULL)

Hurts to Laugh: This is not for joke books. Never. More likely than not, a lot of Teen Fiction will go here, or anything with underlying themes of funniness. Lots of humor, lots of laughs. #laughinggut (7 SPOTS LEFT)

Poet's Paradise: For poetry or stories with large themes of poetry and/or metaphors, i.e. John Green's The Fault In Our Stars. #metaphoricallyspoken (FULL)

Playing Pretend: For all that isn't real. From Fantasy to SciFi to Dystopia. Dragons and knights and vampires and werewolves and high-tech and anything futuristic (when it comes to the SciFi/Dystopia part of it). #theunreal (FULL)

These Books Don't Quite Belong: simply said, these books don't really fit into any of the other categories. #islandofmisfitbooks (11 SPOTS LEFT)

To those whose categories have been filled, why not help with the judging effort? Go apply on the chapter, Application (2) :)

There will be other surprise categories, probably about ten stories will be chosen, or however many we chose.

For now, a total of 200 stories will be accepted into the awards. This may change in the future, but for now, this number is meant to keep things manageable. Even though a max of 30 stories can be accepted in any given category, once we hit 200 entries, that's when we close.

So, now you've got your rules. In the next chapter, we'll give you all the form you'll need to fill out to become eligible, and then you'll be able to submit your entries. :)

Comment with any questions :)

~Lilia and Saskia