I’m considering building a website.
For the past two years I’ve been transitioning into a new career as a software developer. While I’m currently seeking out jobs in this space, I figure I might as well apply what I know to an area that I have an interest in.
Reading. Or to be more precise, creating and marketing stories.
I first considered the following idea a couple of years ago and parked it, because I didn’t have the skillset. With my current downtime, I got thinking about it again. In essence:
Creating a website where authors can submit short stories which are voted for by the reader, with the hope that their entry can advance in a knock-out style tournament.
In my opinion, writing competitions, in their current guise, are lacking in certain respects.
- They offer little constructive feedback outside the publicized finalists. 7th place versus 107th place. Neither placed, so both are met with silence.
- The finalists are often chosen by a panel with their own bias.
- There are few, if any, opportunities to build momentum, engage the public and generate interest throughout the competition.
Reimagining the Relationship between Author and Reader
I envisage a new and interactive way for authors and readers to engage.
Imagine a tournament where writers from around the world – sharing the same language – are entered into a knock-out tournament. It would look something like this:
- 64 author entries, e.g. Round 1 = Ireland (Aidan J. Reid) vs USA (John Smith)
- Genre/country specific tournaments, and/or change genres for each round to demonstrate versatility – Thriller Author, Summer 2021 Champion.
- Inviting fan participation. As an author, you want your fans/readers to support you. Authors could share their ‘fixture’ across their social feeds or newsletter ahead of ‘kick-off’. Real-time updates at half-time as votes are counted. Sample email or ‘team-talk’ that could be sent from an author facing an uphill battle with an hour before the whistle sounds. Hey guys, I’m competing in the Writer Battles – Spring 2021 edition and would really appreciate your support! I’m facing Nigeria’s Samuel Ecko. Check out my short story, ‘Braindead’ and if you like it, give it a vote!
- Similar to a real game, once the full-time whistle blows, goals/votes are counted and the victor announced. Whether a new story would need to be written for Round 2 is something I need to consider.
- Coupled with this, I would create a social handle to publicise these fixtures which each author can leverage for their marketing purposes.
What's in it for...
Authors
- A chance to find new readers of your work
- Cash prize for winning the tournament ($100)
- Opportunity to grow your social media channels
- More engagement with your current readers
- Email addresses of those who voted for your stories throughout the tournament (readers will need to expressly agree to this in advance).
- Digital badge certificate and bragging rights with your own listing on the exclusive Hall of Fame,
Readers
- Discover new authors
- Access to dozens of stories
- Influence outcomes and watch your favourite authors rise to fame!
- Fun and interactive way to show your support for an author
- Absolutely FREE
Readers don’t pay a penny. Voting for and viewing stories will require a valid email address.
There would be a cost to the author. I envisage this being an annual membership with 3 tiers – Gold, Silver & Bronze.
Gold
Upload multiple stories (~5) per tournament
Featured Book Listing on Home Page for 2 weeks
Featured author interview spot for newsletter
Price: $50*
Silver
Upload two stories per tournament
Access to exclusive gated members content (tips, marketing advice, etc).
Featured book listing on home page for 1 week.
Price: $25*
Bronze
Upload one story per tournament
Access to site forums
Price: $10*
*indicative pricing | per annum
If there was enough interest, other languages could be introduced. A Spanish-only chick-lit competition? Eventually, there may even be a ‘World Cup’ competition – much like the football one – taking place every four years (ideally more frequent than that!) and it would be much more heavily publicized than the regular tournaments for maximum media exposure.
Anyway, those are some initial thoughts I had as I consider whether to invest hours into creating this.
I would love to hear any feedback about whether you think I’m stark raving mad, or whether this has legs.
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I think this would be a fantastic idea! It could really fun for both the reader and authors. Especially, if you offer more or something else similar sites do not.