Contest Rules

SoWrite.Us hosts periodic writing contests open to the general public.

The following general rules and notes apply to all Contests, subject to any special considerations as published in specific Contest Guidelines. These rules form an integral part of the Terms of Service (TOS) for use of the SoWrite.Us.com website.

General entry rules:

1. Unless otherwise specified, contests neither reflect upon nor are influenced by Sponsors of this site.
2. Contest judges, site staff members, and their immediate family are not eligible to enter contests.
3. Entries must be original content owned and created by the person who submits the entry. Violations of copyright or evidence of plagiarism will result in disqualification and refund of any entry fee paid
4. Unless otherwise specified, only one entry is allowed per contestant.
5. Contestants will generally be identified by their submitted email address. (See our Privacy Policy)
6. Submission of an entry constitutes acceptance by the contestant of these rules and of any special stipulations provided in a given contest’s guidelines.
7. All entries are subject to acceptance at the sole discretion of this website’s owner[s]. If an entry is not accepted, any entry fee paid will be promptly refunded. If possible, the contestant will be notified of the reason for rejection of an entry submission.
8. Contestants are encouraged to Subscribe to the site feed to receive updates and announcements, and may receive entry discounts for doing so. However, this is not a requirement for entry, participation, or winning.

Contest timing:

1. Each contest will clearly display times and dates for opening and closing of entry acceptance.
2. Contestants may withdraw an entry and request a refund until the specified time for Entry Judging begins. No refunds of entry fees will be made after this time begins.
3. All times and dates refer to Eastern Standard Time (EST) in winter and Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) in summer — GMT-4 and GMT-5, respectively. You can check this time at the GreenwichMeanTime website.
4. Each contest will include a specified time for judging of the accepted entries,  which may begin before the close of new entry acceptance. No refunds of entry fees paid will be made during this interval, unless an entry is returned to the contestant as “disqualified” for any reason.
5. Announcement of winning entry or entries will be made no less than 3 business days from the close of the contest judging time period, as stated in each contest’s guidelines.

Prize award information:

1. Award payment will be made via PayPal, using an email-linked PayPal acceptance supplied by the contestant. Payment will be made with-in seven calendar days of announcement of winning entry(s).
2. A minimum first-place prize amount will always be stated in each Contest’s guidelines or announcement. That minimum cash prize is guaranteed to be awarded to one of the entering contestants, regardless of all other contest stipulations
3. The first-place prize amount may be higher than the stated minimum, based on the number of entries received for a given contest — or upon other special considerations. For instance, a sponsor might offer a bonus prize amount in exchange for promotional considerations
4. For each contest, any winning entry which receives a cash prize will be published on this website in its entirety.
5. SoWrite reserves the right to edit the submission content for excessive profanity or other potentially offensive text. This is at the sole discretion of the Editor.
6. By agreeing to accept a cash award, the winning contestant agrees to allow this website the EXCLUSIVE RIGHT to display submitted materials (“Contest Entry Submission”) for a period of not less than 60 days.

NOTE: These rules are subject to revision if necessary, but never during an ongoing contest.