Young Writers award

[Crackle]

So through the door this morning is addressed a letter to the parents of son no2. On opening it it seems a piece of his writing has been picked to go in a book and there's a liitle certificate and a release form. So this is what he's written:-

Attack From Above

The rabbit was hopping around desperately, looking for somewhere to hide in the forest but the rabbit was vulnerable and it was midday. The eagle swept down from the sky towards the rabbit but missed. Then the eagle attacked again....

He's 11 so it's not bad, definetly pat on the back stuff and a sigh of relief the rabbit wasn't hit by a stun grenade before being taken out by an AK47 and 20 kill points awarded or it wasn't a zombie rabbit. I'll have to have a word about where Eagles hunt and where hawks hunt but....

Anyway, looking at it more closely I have the option to order the book it's going in. In fact I get discounts for every book more than one that I order. They ain't cheap: £15.99.

Now I'm willing to bet, most of the class have had a similiar letter and that this is in fact a cycnical money spinner, the kind that gets my blood boiling.

No1 I'm thinking: How did they get hold of his work. Obviously the school has passed it on and I'm less than keen on that idea as I never gave them permission to.

No.2 How the blazes did they get my address. I definetly did not give permission for the school to pass that on to a third party and am fairly cheesed off that they have.

So, before I wade in all guns blazing, what say you? Some sage advice required about exactly what I can tell the school in regard to breaking any codes or laws by passing on my info.


Grrrrrrrr!!!!!

 

[rich p]

The rabbit is still hoping?

It sounds like you should say something considered and reasonable, as befits someone of your intelligence and erudition. Guns blazing might be the wrong approach but would be more fun for us.

 

[mark barker]

No1 I'm thinking: How did they get hold of his work. Obviously the school has passed it on and I'm less than keen on that idea as I never gave them permission to.

No.2 How the blazes did they get my address. I definetly did not give permission for the school to pass that on to a third party and am fairly cheesed off that they have.

So, before I wade in all guns blazing, what say you? Some sage advice required about exactly what I can tell the school in regard to breaking any codes or laws by passing on my info.


Grrrrrrrr!!!!!

Did you know anything about the "competition"? We had a similar thing a while back, school sent out info about a poetry competition and at the bottom of the leaflet was an opt out option. By allowing the child to partake we also consented to the school passing on our details.

 

[Crackle]

Did you know anything about the "competition"? We had a similar thing a while back, school sent out info about a poetry competition and at the bottom of the leaflet was an opt out option. By allowing the child to partake we also consented to the school passing on our details.

That detail may well temper my response. I do not remember such a form but then lots come home, some of them don't make it, some of them make it twice and I see them or Mrs Crackle does but not both. It could be we even signed something at the original enrollment.

What I will make clear is that this is not something I feel the school should be involved in.


I'll find out the fate of the rabbit

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I'll find out the fate of the rabbit

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Don't they usually escape a certain and bloody death by a hare's breadth?

 

[Crackle]

He never wrote an ending. He was told not to. So what happened to the rabbit: You decide.......................

 

[Rhythm Thief]

If the eagle can get hold of a few cloves of garlic and a bottle of red wine a rabbit makes a fine stew.

 

[Ravenbait]

It's a scam. Contemplate how much it costs them to produce each book (probably print on demand, so not a lot), and consider how many parents are going to want desperately to see little Son#N's work in a published anthology. And give copies to the relatives. Scale that up by how many stories are in the book and they'll probably try to get the school to buy a bunch as well. Dearie me. At the very least a reputable company would offer the winning writer a contributor's copy. This is only one step removed from vanity press.

Sam

 

[Arch]

It's a scam. Contemplate how much it costs them to produce each book (probably print on demand, so not a lot), and consider how many parents are going to want desperately to see little Son#N's work in a published anthology. And give copies to the relatives. Scale that up by how many stories are in the book and they'll probably try to get the school to buy a bunch as well. Dearie me. At the very least a reputable company would offer the winning writer a contributor's copy. This is only one step removed from vanity press.

Sam

Yeah, sounds greedy at best, if not dodgy.

Get him to write a few more, bung them together and upload to Lulu, and publish yourself. Arallsopp can tell you how it's done.

 

[darkstar]

We had something similar at school, though it was poems not stories. They made us feel as though very few had theirs published, where in actual fact most of us probably did.

 

[Crackle]

He was very pleased with it all. I've not told him it's a con, though I have made a few hints about asking who else got theirs published. He's not soft so it won't take him long to put two and two together.

 

[ufkacbln]

All you cuddly wuddly bunny lovers worrying about the likkle wabbit!

What about the poor starving Eagle and it's inalienable right to survive?


On the other hand, Google Vanity publishing defined as:

A vanity publisher is:

• "any company which charges a client to publish a book; or offers to include short stories, poems or other literary or artistic material in an anthology and then invites those included in it to buy a copy of that anthology."
  • (British Advertising Standards Authority Advice Note, Vanity Publishing, July 1997)

-

The general advice is if you are paying them to publish then it is not good news. They should be paying you if the work is that good.


There is some advice by a hardened campaigner against this here