As long time readers of this site may know, I do occasionally participate in the Reedsy Weekly Writing Contests. I find it a fun little exercise that encourages me to actually write, which is one of the harder parts of being a writer. There also is a good community there, and I’ve come across a lot of other good stories. It is amazing seeing what can be done in just a week.
That said, I have always had some suspicions of the site that hold me back from fully embracing the community. Usually I’m skeptical of publications that want you to pay them, but a contest entry fee seems perfectly fair. Especially when Reedsy does also continue to allow writers to submit their stories for free on the site, just not eligible for the competition prize. Section 4 of the Terms of Use for the site though has always struck me as well, not bad, but does raise some eyebrows;
“You grant permission to Reedsy to use your name and entry for promotional purposes without additional compensation, and to publish all or part of your entry in all media now known or hereafter discovered, worldwide and on the Internet and World Wide Web, without notice, review or approval.”
I dunno, combine this with the fact that Reedsy keeps their rights to the stories forever, the fact they can do whatever they want with our stories… and NAMES, without payment or even any notice seems a little screwy. I still went ahead and posted stories, because meh, what were Reedsy going to do with that clause? Give me free publicity? Still, forever is a long time, and I wonder what Reedsy could do with these stories if some members of their community become successful.
Anyways, I’m rambling. I’m weary about Reedsy, and not sure if I’ll post a lot more on the site. Terms and Conditions aside, it feels weird participating in the contest after having a professional story sale. But I do enjoy the contests, and will keep trying to do writing challenges. The Reedsy Terms and Conditions do allow writers to repost their story elsewhere as long as the contest and relevant prompt are mentioned, which brings me to what I really want to announce today. I’ve edited and reposted two more of my Reedsy stories to My Stories page. One new, and one that’s been out there for a while. They are:
Hell
An action-packed fight with an evil entity that may be more – or less – than what it claims to be. How helpless would one vulnerable person really be in a struggle with a monster?
The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Time Travel and the Multiverse
Sarah works at the library and has been ground down by an abusive boss and her own self doubt. When a blood-stained stranger straight out of a post-apocalyptic thriller drops in to return an overdue library book, Sarah finds that there may very well be more paths out there than she ever thought possible.
Click here to read The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Time Travel and the Multiverse
With these two stories, that’s probably the best of my Reedsy work now available here. Though I’d still like to do something with “-Don’t Worry About That, Just Go.” at some point. That seems to be one of my most popular stories there, but being entirely dialog I feel I could improve it by experimenting with a different medium. Maybe a webcomic?
If anyone out there found me through Reedsy, feel free to say hi and share your thoughts on the site and the contest. Feel free to do some self promotion in the comments too. I didn’t intend this post to become a critic of the site. Hell, I don’t use most of the site and have never paid for any of their editing or educational services, so I have no comment on the site’s reliability as a whole. I just want people to know that whether I continue to do writing prompt competitions in the future or not, I’ll always try to make this website the home of my stories where possible.
– Jayde
Jayde Holmes 