Are you entering the contest?

[DJK]

Oh it's on like Donkey Kong!   I am in!

[Overlord]

Oh it's on like Donkey Kong!   I am in!

Excellent! Great to hear so many people interested in entering

Just to confirm that word count is 8000 words Initially was set to be 10,000 but because we had so many authors submit long stories we had to cut it down slightly 8000 words I think is pretty generous though for a short story - long enough to contain a good story and yet short enough to be read in a single sitting

[Andrew Jack]

Definitely entering, and looking forward to it

[MTMaenpaa]

I'm in for the contest!

[RobertC]

Yes I am in. I have time to put some editing on my short story, I have already written one and by the time I edited and tighten it.

[MTMaenpaa]

Oh it's on like Donkey Kong!   I am in!

Excellent! Great to hear so many people interested in entering

Just to confirm that word count is 8000 words Initially was set to be 10,000 but because we had so many authors submit long stories we had to cut it down slightly 8000 words I think is pretty generous though for a short story - long enough to contain a good story and yet short enough to be read in a single sitting

So just out of curiousity, it can be less than 8K correct?  That's just the maximum?

[Autumn2May]

Oh it's on like Donkey Kong!   I am in!

Excellent! Great to hear so many people interested in entering

Just to confirm that word count is 8000 words Initially was set to be 10,000 but because we had so many authors submit long stories we had to cut it down slightly 8000 words I think is pretty generous though for a short story - long enough to contain a good story and yet short enough to be read in a single sitting

So just out of curiousity, it can be less than 8K correct?  That's just the maximum?

Yup, it's 5000 - 8000 words.

[ryuryan2409]

I am in! I love writing for contests; they seem to be the only way to keep me to a deadline lol

[Overlord]

I am in! I love writing for contests; they seem to be the only way to keep me to a deadline lol

Awesome - good luck!

And yep, up to 8000 and above 5000

[Phil Norris]

Submitted my entry about an hour ago, opted for the entry-plus as well as I'd like to get some detailed feedback and critique on my work.

Now for the long wait every author has to endure constantly checking inbox for that email...

[The Lightning Tree]

Question: when the rules say the story must be previously 'unpublished', does that exclude stories which have previously been posted on non-professional writing communities? I.e. sites where you can post your own stuff just for personal development reasons? E.g. here: http://www.elfwood.com ??

[Nyki Blatchley]

I'm sure there'll be an official answer to this, but for publishing purposes a story is unpublished if it's been posted on a password-protected site for the purpose of peer review.  It's been published if, for example, you post it on your blog.

[Libertine]

I am definitely going to give this a go. Get Writing will be all over in just over a week so, ironically, I'll have more time to write again! I recently had a horror story accepted for an antho, am working on another so I'm feeling kind of warm and fuzzy about my progress right now 

Mind you, 5-8,000 words. I tend to be short and sweet but it'll be good to stretch myself!

[Gothos]

I am definitely going to give this a go. Get Writing will be all over in just over a week so, ironically, I'll have more time to write again! I recently had a horror story accepted for an antho, am working on another so I'm feeling kind of warm and fuzzy about my progress right now 

Mind you, 5-8,000 words. I tend to be short and sweet but it'll be good to stretch myself!

I agree, I have started on something for this, but until Get Writing is finished with I can't spare the time. Although I am glad of the word count, leaves a lot of room to move about and tinker with things.

[Autumn2May]

I'm sure there'll be an official answer to this, but for publishing purposes a story is unpublished if it's been posted on a password-protected site for the purpose of peer review.  It's been published if, for example, you post it on your blog.

Unofficially, I think this is a good guide to go by.  Officially, I'll ask Overlord.