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How To Revise Your Novel
Scholarship Contest Rules

Here is my own demo of a How To Revise Your Novel contest entry.

It ain't great. I know this.

But it contains necessary stuff.

A title.
A link back to the course page.
Relevance to what the course is about.

I screwed up a bit and ended up with the YouTube logo blocking the .com text on the course link in the video. Keep the placement of that logo in mind when making YOUR video.

HUGELY important thing I did right: My video does not pitch the course. You know..."hurry, hurry, buy this now, best thing since sliced bread."

Yuck.

Please don't do that. Successful contest entries will demonstrate writing that NEEDS to be revised, present a writer who's had a rough time revising a project (case histories, interviews, whatever) or will highlight something that can go very, very wrong in first draft.

Be witty. Be funny. Be clever, or passionate, or wise...

But don't be a salesman.

If you sign up to the Priority List on your right (and remember to confirm your signup) you'll receive your copy of my newest PDF handout: The 101 Worst Things That Go Wrong In First Draft. The "Kate Loves Bob" video is built around #27. You can definitely use 101 Worth Things That Go Wrong to get ideas for your contest entry.

Oh, and nothing pornographic.
Nothing that attacks anyone.
Either of those will get your entry disqualified.

To create your own entry:

1) make a short video in which you either:

Demonstrate one of the many things that can go wrong in the first draft of a novel,
Talk about your own frustrating experiences in revising your novel, (or interview a writer who's having such an experience),
Or in some other way illustrate the problems novelists face with revising their work.

2) Log into your YouTube account or create a new account.

3) Upload your video on YouTube in response to the Contest Demo. (You need to use this link to get to the right place in YouTube.)

4) If you've correctly logged in and used the link above, your automatic title will be Re: HTRYN.com content demo. Change that to:

Re: HTRYN.com: [Create Your Nifty Title Here]

5) In the description, type in http://howtoreviseyournovel.com first, then your text description.

6) In Broadcasting And Sharing Options, make sure you check the options for Share Your Video With The World and Yes, external sites may embed and play this video.

When you've saved your entry on YouTube, copy your videos link and paste it into the contact form below.

Mail Your Contest Entry Here

Legal:

You must be 18 (eighteen years old to enter).

This is NOT a random drawing, and is not subject to rules for random drawings, lotteries, and gambling.

Videos will be chosen as winners based on:

The merit of the video (I'm the sole judge of this)
The number of views the video receives as counted by YouTube
The number of stars the video receives from viewers as counted on YouTube

This contest is open to everyone but my family members.

You may create as many videos as you like. You may NOT enter any video more than once.

By entering this contest, you affirm that:

You are sole owner of or have legal right to use every element in your video (including all music and graphics)
You are eighteen (18) years old or older
You have a PayPal account (so I can pay you if you want cash. (If you don't have a PayPal account, you are only eligible for the scholarship.)
You understand that if you use anything in your video for which you do NOT own copyright, you will be disqualified.

Prizes: Five (5) Full Scholarships to How To Revise Your Novel

Alternate prizes: Five (5) $150 cash prizes.

Only five prizes will be awarded. Each winner may choose either the full scholarship (cash value $188) or the cash prize.

PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED JANUARY 19, 2010.

To find out if you've won a scholarship,
To get into the class early,
And to get your free copy of The 101 Worst Things That Go Wrong In First Draft...

Sign Up On The Priority List
To Your Right

Stay Updated!

Priority List: Get updates on how the course is coming along, let me know what kind of help you need, get special member benefits, participate in the contest, and join before the course opens publicly.