Okay, I know I said I'd wait 'til the end of the month, but dangit I just can't!

It may be a while in the brewin', but that time is gonna be needed if you're gonna make a solid effort at this 'un! That's right, this time around we're goin' fer SERIALS!

For January I've got something special for all of you: the Reader Retention Contest. Sound boring? Far from it!

So, what's the challenge you ask? Well, it's like this. I've had a few people express interest in a contest focused on something OTHER than single-posting stories. You know what? Here's your chance. The Reader Retention Contest is ALL about serials. In fact, that's all that's allowed! Or, at least, multi-part stories. The focus, though, is on having a COMPLETE one, and more to the point, keeping readers interested.

The rules:

--Your entire story must be posted between the dates of January 1st 2019 and January 31st 2019. Allowances will be made for local time zones. Stories MUST BE COMPLETED: if you cannot finish your story within the alotted time, either writing or posting it, then it is disqualified.
--Your story must consist of a MINIMUM of 4 parts, with each part being a MINIMUM of 1000 words.
--No more than 1 part can be posted per day, giving the contest somewhat of a natural limitation of 31 parts for any individual story and preventing the front page getting too overwhelmed: no spamming the front page with 30 parts at the last minute!
--Content should be completely original and unique to the contest. If your story requires the reading or watching of other content not part of the contest material to make sense, then it is disqualified. (In other words, try to avoid just adding to already existing universes unless the new story can stand completely on its own.)
--While there is no limitation or even guideline in place as far as subject matter goes, there IS a rating limitation of nothing more sultry than a hard "R" film rating, or to put it more bluntly, if you couldn't put it in a theatrically released film in the US it probably shouldn't be in your story.

Here's the interesting part. Me and Erin are still working out the details, but there are going to be three prizes on offer this time around.

The first place prize and runner up's prize are still being sorted, but to obtain either one your goal is simple: to maintain the highest average Kudos/Thumbs Up count across your serial. The Kudos from all parts of each serial will be added together then divided by the total number of parts to find this result.

I'm trying to work out a deal with Erin for the first and second place prizes to be Doppler Press book bundles, but we will have to wait and see how feasible that is as a possibility. However it works out, I'll make sure it's something exciting!

There will also be a third prize offered, one of my typical 3 month Hatbox subs, with a little different criteria. This prize will go not to the highest average Kudos, but to the best Kudos retention rating between the first and final parts of the story. In general Kudos tend to drop off as a multi-part story goes along, so the author who manages to maintain the highest Kudos percentage between their first and last postings in their serial (regardless of total Kudo count) will win this one. Consider it a bit of a sub-challenge, eh?

Do you aim for short and sweet, hoping readers will blitz it all, or do you go for the long haul, hoping that more parts will help to cancel out any dips here and there? Do you write something crazy and off the wall to hook your readers and keep them on the edge of their seats, or go the safe route and try for a sure-fire winner? Regardless of your choices, you've got just over 2 months to plan, start writing, or simply keep developing something you've been working on for a while.

Results for the January contest will obviously take a bit longer than usual to calculate due to the nature of the contest. Likewise, I want to give readers time to catch up on as many series as they can. As a result the "voting period" will go until February 15th at Midnight (my time,) and results will be announced on March 1st or 2nd, with winners (hopefully) receiving their prizes the following weekend at the latest.

READERS! This is your time to shine! Those authors will be depending on YOU to give them the best chance possible to win, so if you're enjoying their entries then please, be sure to like, comment, and sub -- wait, sorry, wrong media. Be sure to Kudo/Thumbs Up every part, because the more consistent you are, the better off THEY are! And, just maybe, drop 'em a comment too? Never hurts.

I'll be back with more details as they arise, like prize updates and the like. In the meantime, be planning those stories peeps!

Melanie E.