Hey guys! So we've been getting a lot of questions regarding submissions lately, so to help everyone out, we thought we would publish this comprehensive guide with answers to all of the questions we frequently receive. Note that this page answers questions regarding both the poetry and short story contest with a focus on the poetry contest, this book is still our poetry contest--we have another book for short stories. If there's anything that's not covered in this chapter you want to show about, feel free to fire us a PM.

What is the theme of the Echo Awards?

The Echo Awards looks for creative, thoughtful work often coming from a personal place for you. We look for work that tells a story--an honest, vulnerable, emotional, and impactful story.

Do I have to follow the prompt for the poetry contest?

Technically, no. In order to win, yes. In other words, we won't decline your submission just because it doesn't seem to have any logical correlation to the prompt. But we won't give it a prize either. However, feel free to interpret the prompts as creatively as you want to--honestly, the more creative, the better. We love seeing all the different ways people have interpreted the prompts.

How do I enter the Echo Awards?

I made a nice flowchart to explain that for you!! Look at how pretty it is! (Note this applies for both the poetry and the short story contests)

Note that you should please only submit to the contest for whatever month it is. At any given time, there should always be a contest open. For example, if it's November, you should submit to the chapter titled "November Contest." And if it's July, submit to the chapter titled "July Contest." (For our sake, please only submit in those chapters, not anywhere else in our contest books--use the comments field.)

Do you accept fanfiction?

Yes, but only under certain conditions.

-Your story complies with all other rules of the short story contest.

-Your story is 2000 words or under.

-Your story can be understood without having read the source material. We, the admins, may or may not have any experience with the fandom you're writing for and do not have the time in our judging process to learn about it. We will be judging your story as a story unto itself and therefore needs to be understandable without having any knowledge of the fandom. 

What does it mean for the story to be "understandable unto itself"?

Essentially, that it tells a story separate of that fandom. It may be using characters/real-life people as a base, but beyond that, it is a fully fleshed story that can be understood without being a part of the fandom it's written for.

What makes a submission a winner in the poetry contest?

A lot of things.

-The poem's overall creativity

-Signs of thought and effort put into the poem

-Good grammar, spelling, and clear sign over all that the poem has been edited

-A poem being able to make us feel something--regardless of whether or not we've been in the situation it discusses.

 If you want to see our judging rubric, we would love to send it to you via PM. The rubric in no way defines which poems are chosen as winners, but it is a judging tool we use.

Can I submit multiple poems/short stories in one bundle?

No, however we would love to see those short stories/poems in separate submissions--see our rule about multiple submissions from the same author. Only one work per submission.

Do you accept full books?

No, but we will accept excerpts! If your book is a poetry book, feel free to send us your best poem, and if it's a novel, we would love to read your novel excerpt in the short story contest. :)

What is the password and why do I need it to enter?

The password is just a word mentioned at the bottom of the rules, to prove you have read and understood them. Without it, your submissions will not be accepted. To make sure you have read the rules, from December and onward, it will be changing monthly. 

Does my poem have to be written specifically for the Echo Awards?

Absolutely not! If it fits the prompt, we would love to read it, regardless of when/how it was penned.

Do I need to read the rules?

Yes!!!! Absolutely you do. In addition, it's recommended you check out our "About" section, explore our bio, check out our "About the Admins" book--just get a feel for this account. (However, that's not technically necessary to submit.)

How will my prize be dealt with if I win multiple Echo Awards?

We are open to discussing this via PM and giving you another prize, since we obviously can't follow you twice. Some possibilities might be:

-A sticker for your book

-A shoutout on our personal accounts

-Votes and comments on a book of your choice 

-Multiple books added to our reading lists

Do you accept multiple submissions from the same person?

Yes, but only up to three per contest. :)

Are there any topics you don't accept submissions about?

We welcome thoughtful discussion of any topic. However, we will not tolerate the promotion of self-harm/suicide, blatant promotion of homophobia, transphobia, ableism, racism, sexism, etc., hate, bullying. To be clear, if your story or poem is about a boy dealing with racism, we would love to read it. However, if your story is about your racist beliefs, we will not be accepting your submission. To be clear, we welcome discussion of heavy topics like the ones mentioned above and your submission will absolutely not be disqualified for talking about those things--just not in a toxic, thoughtless way only designed to suppress the people dealing with those things. 

In addition, although NSFW themes are perfectly acceptable when discussed in a thoughtful way as a background story element amongst other equally important story elements, they are not acceptable in our submissions when written about as NSFW content for the sake of NSFW content.

What happens if I violate the rules?

Depending on the severity of which rules you've broken, results may range from:

-Being asked to modify your submission/read the rules/something along those lines

-Having your submission declined

-Being reported (only if we have very strong reason to believe you're a risk to the Wattpad community, like if you've threatened someone on our profile, attempted to hack this account, bullied someone on this profile, etc)

-Receiving a warning via PM

-Being muted and having your comments deleted on this book, and no longer being able to comment

For the most part, we're likely to just send you a PM asking to modify your submission, comply with any rules you didn't comply with, etc, and it'll be no big deal. Any more severe action would only be taken if you were intentionally going out of your way to hurt others.

Can I forfeit my prize?

Yes, you absolutely can if you want to.

Can I withdraw my submission?

Yes, but please send us a PM to let us know.

How long should it take for you to post contest results?

It can vary. Usually your results should be up by the third day of a new month.

How long should it take for prizes to be complete?

Usually up to a week after results having been posted. If we have not gotten to your result

How many submissions are needed for the contest to run?

Six. If we're having trouble getting enough submissions, we'll let you know. :)

What happens if there aren't enough submissions to run the contest, and I submitted?

Don't worry, your submission will just be transferred over to the next month, regardless of prompt. You don't have to do anything, and your chance of winning is exactly the same. If this happens, we'll let you know, either via announcement, this book, or a PM.

Who are the people running this account?

There's just two of us! _creamtea_ and dragonwritesthings

(weworkreallyhardpleaseappreciateus)