Congratulations to the Winners!

In this Lost meets The Walking Dead tale, a ragtag team of characters are thrust together in an abandoned theme park as a widespread outbreak decimates humanity, turning the infected into something less than human.
Zachary Tyler Linville science fiction
Author
Readers
1027
Genre
science fiction
Four strangers must unite to save a world shattered in the pursuit of utopia.
Brian Guthrie science fiction
Author
Readers
975
Genre
science fiction
Before the age of reason and science, magic ruled the world. Now, it’s coming back and if most of humanity gets wiped out in the process....well, sometimes you have to break a few eggs.
Rick Heinz fantasy
Author
Readers
1157
Genre
fantasy
When six high school friends spend a weekend Live Action Role Playing they discover that the game world is both real and very, very deadly.
Dave Barrett fantasy
Author
Readers
904
Genre
fantasy

Rules and Overview

The Nerdist Collection Contest has officially come to a close!

Please join us in celebrating the official winners of the contest. Each of these five authors ran an incredible campaign and found the support of thousands of readers. We can’t wait for you to join the Inkshares family as a published author!

And while these authors didn’t make it into the top five, the efforts of the next five are no less impressive and they deserve a special mention:

And finally, Nerdist has officially announced the TWO authors who will join the Nerdist Collection on Inkshares, so please join us in giving an extra special congratulations for:

And a few words about this contest: We love nerds and we love Nerdist. We love science fiction and fantasy. And we LOVE books (with a capital L). The way they smell. The way they create connections between people. The way they can bring you into new worlds. Working behind the scenes to bring Inkshares to life and create new opportunities for science fiction and fantasy authors, first with the Sword & Laser contest and then during the Nerdist contest, has been a dream come true for us.

And more than ever, the past month felt like our big vision for a reader-driven publisher had truly taken shape. From authors introducing their readers to other Inkshares authors, to authors banding together to help market each other (even creating a coloring book!), the feeling of community, mutual support, and friendship that emerged during this contest was inspiring and humbling. Just because the contest has come to a close doesn’t mean this has to stop. There are still hundreds of authors on Inkshares looking for your support.

So thank you to Nerdist who made all of this possible, to the Inkshares community for the support and encouragement, and to all the readers who contributed to our mission with an act as simple as a pre-order.

Yours,

The Inkshares Team

FAQ

How does it work?

Any writer can launch a project on Inkshares anytime (if unfamiliar with crowdfunded book publishing, find details here). At 12:00 p.m. PST on September 30th, Inkshares will announce the top five science fiction and fantasy projects as determined by the highest unique reader pre-order counts, even if they haven’t hit their funding goal, and will publish all of them. Only projects that launched after August 15th, 2015 are eligible. The Nerdist will then choose one of those five to debut as a “Nerdist” book. All five projects will receive the same editorial, production, distribution, and marketing support as any Inkshares project, including distribution into independent bookstores as well as Amazon, Apple, and Barnes & Noble.


What is a “collection?”

A “collection” is essentially an imprint run by a third party on Inkshares. All titles within a collection will receive that collection’s branding and will be discoverable as part of a collection on the Inkshares site. Collection owners can choose to take a percent of royalties in exchange for their promotional effort on behalf of your book. Learn more here.


How do I join a collection?

The owner of a collection decides which Inkshares project they want to include as part of their collection. The author has final say on if they want to be included in a collection.


What does it mean if I’m chosen for the Nerdist Collection?

If you make it into the top five of this contest and you accept the Nerdist’s Collection invite, your book will carry the Nerdist logo on the spine and back cover and the Nerdist will help market your book. In exchange for these promotional efforts, Nerdist will receive a percentage of publishing royalties and have an opportunity to co-develop your work into other media such as movies, TV series, and digital productions. Please review Nerdist Collections Terms for more details.


What if I’m chosen to participate in another Inkshares collection?

You can only be in one collection at a time. If chosen to be another collection in addition to making it into the top five in this contest, you should decide which collection feels most in line with your publishing goals.


What’s the best way to increase my pre-order count?

We have a crowdfunding guide that may help. In addition, explore Inkshares credits. Your friends, family, and the broader science fiction/fantasy reader community can earn credits by engaging with and referring your work, allowing them to better support you.


What happens to the pre-orders if I don't win the contest or hit my pre-order goal?

No reader is charged for a pre-order until your book either wins the contest or hits its pre-order goal. If your book isn't published, anyone who pre-ordered will remain a "follower" of your project and you can continue updating them on the progress of your book.


What if I’ve already published elsewhere but I want to participate?

We recommend investigating the kinds of rights you have wherever you’ve published. If you own the rights or they’re non-exclusive, then you can participate. We offer non-exclusive rights, as detailed here.


How do you define “science fiction/fantasy?”

We allow writers to self-define genres when creating their project. The intent of our platform is to democratize the process by which books get traditionally published. We trust our community to back the science fiction/fantasy books they want published. If a title appears to be abusing the democratic spirit of this contest or may raise legal and copyright questions, don’t hesitate to let us know at lawyer@inkshares.com.


What will you do in case of a tie in unique readers?

If two winning projects have the same number of unique readers, we will break the tie by selecting the project with the highest pre-order count.


Should I have my friends and family use multiple accounts or place multiple orders to help me out?

No. The purpose of Inkshares and the intent of this contest is to highlight broad reader interest in specific works, as detailed in our Terms of Service. Using multiple accounts or otherwise gaming the system will result in those pre-orders being cancelled or the project being disqualified from the contest.