ARE THE DARK FORCES OF EVIL BACKING THIS WEBSITE?
Nope. Smories.com is an independent project. We are two London-based illustrator/writers.
Our company website is www.lastlemon.com if you want to see what other stuff we do.
I HAVE SUBMITED A STORY.
CAN YOU PLEASE CLEARLY EXPLAIN THE SITUATION REGARDING RIGHTS?
There are 3 possible outcomes for the submittor, and below is a summary of the associated rights:
[A] Submitted story fails to make the competition shortlist.
Rights granted to smories.com: None
Rights retained by writer: All
How does writer withdraw right granted to smories.com: Not applicable
Money due to writer: Zero
[B] Submitted story makes shortlist, gets narrated and filmed, and film appears on smories.com,
but does not win competition.
Rights granted to smories.com: The right to film a narration of story and publish as a film to smories.com.
Rights retained by writer: Everything apart from the right to publish it as a narrated film on smories.com.
How does writer withdraw right granted to smories.com: 48 hours notice. Smories.com will take it off the site.
Money due to writer: Zero
[C] Submitted story wins a prize in competition.
Rights granted to smories.com: The right to film a narration of story and publish as a film to smories.com.
Rights retained by writer: Everything apart from the right to publish it as a narrated film on smories.com.
How does writer withdraw right granted to smories.com: 48 hours notice. Smories.com will take it off the site.
Money due to writer: US$300/250/200/150/100 respectively for winners
CAN I SUBMIT ILLUSTRATIONS TO ACCOMPANY MY STORY?
Nope.
WHAT IF I HAVE AN ILLUSTRATED STORY (I.E. A PICTURE BOOK)?
If you want to submit it, you will need to redraft it so it works without pictures.
CAN I SUBMIT NON-FICTION STORIES?
Nope. Fiction only.
CAN I SUBMIT POEMS OR RHYMING STORIES?
Yes
HOW MANY STORIES MAY I SUBMIT?
As many as you want.
WHAT IF AFTER I SUBMIT MY STORY, I WANT TO MAKE AMENDMENTS?
Too late. We are unable to accept redrafts. Please submit the final version only.
WHY HAVE YOU LAUNCHED THIS WEBSITE?
Partly for fun, partly as an experiment, and partly as a potential business.
If the site becomes popular there are a number of different ways we could develop it.
We love the way the internet creates new opportunities and would love to see a
great new resource for kids and writers alike.
HOW CAN I TRUST THAT YOU WILL NOT STEAL MY STORY?
Under UK law, the moment you write a story (assuming it is original), you own
the underlying copyright. We have written assurances in the terms and conditions
that all rights remain with yourself. These are legally binding. The entire notion
of this website is built upon respecting and protecting the intellectual property
rights associated with the submitted material. If we breached these rights, the site
would be forced to close down immediately. As writers ourselves, we take copyright
issues extremely seriously.
WHY SHOULD I THROW MY BELOVED STORY/STORIES OUT ONTO
THE INTERNET FOR ANYONE TO STEAL?
Good question. Our answer is simple. If you are scared of someone stealing your story idea,
best not submit it. We take the view that a story with potential is worthless.
At some stage you need to get it out there! A great story sitting on your laptop will probably not
get further than that. If you get it out on the web and it starts getting traffic,
the chances of you actually selling it to someone are all the higher.
DO THE SMORY-TELLERS GET PAID?
Narrators gets paid for their efforts in National Book Tokens.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I NO LONGER WANT MY STORY ON YOUR WEBSITE ?
Email us and we will have it removed within 48 hours.
CAN I SEE WHAT TRAFFIC MY STORY IS RECEIVING?
Yes, this appears automatically after your story on the site.
DO YOU FILM AND PUBLISH ALL THE STORIES YOU RECEIVE?
Nope. We only publish what we feel are the best 30 stories per month.
HOW DO YOU ACTUALLY JUDGE THE STORIES?
We judge them on the basis of whether we think kids will like listening to them.
MAY I RESUBMIT A PREVIOUSLY REJECTED STORY?
No point.
IF MY STORY IS NOT SELECTED, WILL YOU TELL ME WHY?
We will definitely tell you whether your story has been selected or not.
Ideally we would like to tell you why it has not been selected, but our ability
(time) to do this will depend on how many submissions we get.
WILL YOU EDIT MY STORY?
Nope.
WHAT IF MY STORY IS FULL OF TYPOS AND GRAMMATICAL ERRORS?
That would severely prejudice its chances of getting selected.
WHAT IF MY STORY IS LONGER THAN 700 WORDS?
The submission form will reject it (i.e. you will not be able to submit it).
CAN MY STORY BE VERY SHORT - E.G. 300 WORDS?
Yes, it can be any length, as long as it's less than 700 words.
WHAT IF MY STORY CONTAINS RUDE OR OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE?
It will be rejected.
I AM OUTSIDE THE UK - CAN I STILL SUBMIT AND BE ELIGIBLE
TO WIN THE PRIZE?
Yes. We welcome stories from everywhere.
I AM AN ESTABLISHED WRITER, CAN I STILL SUBMIT?
Absolutely. But of course only submit unpublished stories.
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