On Spec Announcement

Okay, so I made a promise, and now I intend to fulfill it.

One lucky recipient will receive the following prize:

• One on-spec short story (10,000 words of fewer)
• A copyright assignment of said short story

The rules:

• Post a comment below indicating your desire to be entered in the drawing.
• I would prefer if you would not post anonymously, but regardless, please ensure that I have some electronic means of contacting you associated with your comment (e.g., if you have an e-mail address associated with your account, I can use that, or, if you’re anonymous, include your email address).
• I will do the drawing no earlier than the last day of August, 2014 (the 31st), but also do it no earlier than fourteen (14) days after I have received at at least 10 unique, identifiable comments from participants.
• I will not write anything “adult”
• I will not write fan fiction, unless it deals solely with verifiable public domain elements (e.g., works appearing on Project Gutenberg)

• I will be willing to write fan fiction for non public domain works if you are the sole rightsholder of said works, provided it does not violate any other rules

• I will not break the law
• I reserve the right to veto certain topics which would make me feel uncomfortable
• You are welcome to claim copyright over the story, and are free to edit it and alter it, but you must do the following:

• For an original version of the work, provide an attribution to me (“by Jacob P. Silvia”).
• For a modified work, include the statement: “Adapted from a story written by Jacob P. Silvia.” or some such similar statement. Do not present a modified version of the story in a way to imply that I endorse the changes, especially if the changes are “adult”, illegal, or otherwise might cast me in a negative light. If you feel your changes would fall into this, you may also include a statement along the lines of “... who doesn’t endorse this version.”

• I reserve my Section 203 rights for the original work
• I will not publish the work myself, but may reference it as something I wrote or contributed to if it is published
• You must be 18 years or older
• I will work with you to ensure that you are satisfied with the end result, but since I am doing this for free, you must be reasonable with your demands

Fine Print:

Void where prohibited. This contest is closed to people who are related to me directly or via marriage, up to and including first cousins. Please review your local laws prior to participating. By participating you are agreeing that you have read and understand the prize and the rules governing it. You are also agreeing that you are a legal adult and live or reside in a region in which you are legally allowed to participate. If you are the winner and do not respond to my queries within a week, I reserve the right to pick another recipient or to not award anybody. Multiple entries will not help your chance of winning. If you apply multiple times under different identities, you will be disqualified if I discover it. A purchase will not increase your odds of winning. 10,000 words is not a hard limit. If I write something that is longer, I will not force edits. I already wrote the words, so it’s more “expensive” for me to try to make it fit into the above guideline than it is for me to just give you a few extra words. This is no guarantee that you will get more than 10,000 words. You may opt to receive a shorter story (e.g., short short story, flash fiction, etc.,) with a desired word limit, and I will accommodate. You will only receive one (1) story, no matter what length you prefer. If you have any additional questions, please send them to me via an e-mail (see the Contacts page) prior to entry. Any comments that do not indicate a desire to enter the drawing will not be considered towards the goal. I will act with due diligence to ensure that it is a fair drawing, but my judgment regarding your eligibility and my decision is final. If there are any additional questions, you may ask clarification. Do not assume anything.