Hi everyone.

So, those of you whom I've chatted with for any length of time know that I am a huge fan of writing to prompts, and a huge fan of novella-length fiction. So the Open Novella Contest - where you write a novella-length work to a series of prompts - sounded like it would be right up my alley.  I was really excited when I heard about it, and was looking forward to seeing the details get posted.

But I won't be participating.

It isn't that I'm really busy (though I am) or that I'm afraid I won't find the prompts inspiring (always a risk) or even that I'm afraid that I suck as a writer (hah hah hah, I *know* I'm not a great writer; I don't need to fear it). It is that the ratio between the prizes and what they want in return from the winners is, frankly, insulting.

Take a look at the official rules, here: https://www.wattpad.com/1176539067-open-novella-contest-2022-official-rules. For those of you using Wattpad on the web - which you should do, it's a free way to avoid the most annoying ads - I've also put it in the external link (another web-only feature! The app is just not as good, guys. Go web or go home, people!).

Now, scroll down about half way. Take a look where it says "Prizes". Note the dollar value of those prizes - $5 or $60. Now look at the next category - "Intellectual Property / Use of Entries".  Notice that, if you win, you are expected to give up *all* your rights to the story, in perpetuity, in exchange for . . . $5.  I assume that's Canadian dollars given that the contest is supposed to be run according to the laws of the Province of Ontario. (EDIT: THE PAGE HAS BEEN UPDATED TO CLAIM THOSE VALUES ARE IN USD DESPITE THE CONTEST BEING GOVERNED BY CANADIAN LAW - TALK ABOUT CONFUSING! EVERYTHING BELOW ASSUMES THIS VALUE WAS IN CAD BUT IT DOESN'T REALLY CHANGE MUCH, AS YOU WILL SEE)

Let's compare this to a fair price for fiction rights. Novellas vary in length, but this contest is asking for between 20,000 and 40,000 words. A good source for 'acceptable' going rates for fiction is the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) site - https://www.sfwa.org/about/join-us/sfwa-membership-requirements/#paid.  They only allow members who get paid for their work, and they define a paid sale as "at least $3,000 for a single work, . . . . or at least 8¢/word" . Presumably, that is in American dollars - right now, according to Google, 8 cents US is the equivalent of ten cents Canadian.

Now, let's figure out how much the Open Novella Contest Winners get for their work! Let's say it's at the short end of the spectrum - 20,000 words. Hmm, 60 divided by 20,000 . . . that's 0.3 of a cent. What if you win second prize? 5 divided by 20,000 is only 0.025 of a cent - one four hundredth of what SFWA says should be the acceptable minimum.

For comparison, the rights to that same 20,000 word novella would, at 8 cents US or 10 cents Canadian, net you about $2,000 Canadian dollars. Not 60, not 5. Two thousand. There's an argument to be made that the work is already available on Wattpad, so it is worth less than a completely unseen work, but does posting a work on the very online platform they're hoping to promote really cancel out 99% of the work's value? I understand that the prizes they can offer are limited, but in that case, you would think they would take more limited rights, or at least offer to have the rights revert to the writer over time.

The winners of this contest will be cheated, no ifs, ands, or buts, and while I know I would never win (like I said, I'm not that good), I feel insulted simply reading that page of official rules. 

EDIT: amazing news!

@OpenNovellaContest have *removed* the official rules page with the offending wording about rights (and a variety of other issues which I think could have gotten Wattpad in trouble with the AGCO) and have also gotten rid of the "premium" prizes!

This is absolutely the right thing to do, and I want to express my gratitude to whomever made the change - thank you for standing up for your fellow users of this platform and for doing the right thing