Avon FanLit Website

This is my first post about Avon's (HarperCollins) new FanLit blog and contest site. Avon announced its opening last month, and I've periodically checked the message forums over there to keep track of what's going on.

To quote from the contest description on the website, "Avon Romance editors have come up with six different story premises for you to choose from." Once readers vote on a premise, aspiring writers are invited to submit chapters using that premise in a series of consecutive contests. Prizes include a shopping spree at Saks and a development deal with Fox TV.

Harlequin's been doing a variant of this online since 2000 although their prizes have not been anywhere near as showy. Harlequin recently revamped their program (see my post of August 31 entitled "A Digital Revolution").

A friend (thanks, Cat) suggested I take a look at the growing debate on the message board this morning. I found the issues being raised interesting.

It all started with a reader who asked on the forum if her work could be stolen if she posted her WIP (work-in-progress) on the Avon website. She expressed concern about Avon putting "us struggling writers in jeopardy."

Reading the thread of emails, it quickly became obvious that readers were talking at cross purposes and offering confusing or incomplete information to each other. I could see three distinct areas of concern:

1) If I post my WIP (work-in-progress) on the Avon message board, can someone steal it? Do I need to copyright it first?

2) If I enter the Avon contest, do I need to copyright my material?

3) Who owns my posts or my WIP if I post them on the message boards?

All the cross posts were muddying the waters. The Avon moderator responded with this post on Thursday morning:
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Hi everyone,

Here's a quick update on this topic. We've been in contact with HarperCollins/Avon personnel who have assured us it is not their intent to claim ownership over material posted in the forum, only that which is entered in the contest itself.

Also, they intend to claim a non-exlcusive (sic) right to publish comments posted in the forum, but not creative works.

A revision to the site terms of service that relects (sic) the above will be posted in the next few days. Until then, the exact terms cannot be affirmed and this post can only be viewed as an indication of what will probably occur. So, it's up to everyone's good judgement.

Thanks and stay tuned...

CalamityJ
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I posted the following response to try and sort out the three issues that had people resorting to posting excerpts from the U.S. Copyright Office on the website:

I'm not an attorney, but I think you all have about three issues, and they're getting all mixed up:

1) Someone "stealing" your work. I guess that's always a possibility, but they can't steal it verbatim. If they do, you have recourse. Applying for a copyright does give you some additional rights in a lawsuit.

If, however, they steal the idea and write it in their own words, all the copyrights in the world won't help you because you can't copyright an idea.

2) Contest material. Your price for submitting to the contest is that you give up rights to what you submit without expectation of any compensation (beyond any prize you may or may not win).

Copyright has nothing to do with this issue. You automatically own your material when you put it in fixed form. You surrender rights to that material (copyrighted or not) when you accept the terms of the contest.

Now, of course, if you win the contest, you'll probably consider that sufficient compensation. If you lose, will you be okay with saying goodbye to your entry?

In other words, don't enter any scenes or excerpts from your WIPs to the contest. Write something fresh and consider surrendering those rights the entry fee for the contest.

3) Material posted on this [Avon] blog. Calamity seems to be saying that Avon has no designs on your blogged postings, but may reserve
some non-exclusive rights. We'll have to see what those rights are when they give us an answer.

Hope that helps.

Maya Reynolds
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Stay tuned for more.

You can read the entire thread here:

http://avonforum.fanlit.com/forums/3035/ShowPost.aspx