If you have any questions about the rules, please contact Inkfort directly via email.
Administrative Rules
- The Publishing Derby is a no-spend event. The authors are not allowed to spend any money. This includes marketing services, graphics design, editing assistance, or any other paid venue.
- There is no fee to authors for joining the Derby. It is a free event.
- Inkfort does not publish your story and you as the author retain all rights to it; this is a self-publishing event where we guide you through the process. Because of that, users must be of legal age to publish in their home country (18+ in the US) and on their platform of choice (Amazon or otherwise).
- If you have decided to withdraw from the Derby, please contact Inkfort via email so we can update our records and remove you from our list.
Anonymity
- Your derby identity must remain anonymous from the start of the Derby to the end. You cannot reveal what story you are writing to anyone for that duration, including friends and family.
- Because anonymity is required, you may not leverage any opportunities extended to your IRL identity that would not be accessible to your anonymous derby pen name.
- Friends and family are eligible to read for the ARC and Beta phases, but cannot be told which book is yours or any identifying details such as what genre you wrote - they will be given the full selection of books to choose from.
- Social media platforms like Tiktok and IG can pose additional risks to breaking anonymity - you are allowed to use these platforms, but must take extra care to ensure your anonymity is preserved. Do not use your actual image or voice.
- Authors who wish to use their existing readership to promote the Derby may promote the full, provided list of Derby books; you may not promote just your book or a subset of the Derby books to your readership (EG, you may not promote just the fantasy books to your readership)
- Once the Derby has ended, anonymity is no longer required and authors may claim their book under their IRL name or pen name as they wish. Authors are allowed to keep their pen name and/or remain anonymous should they prefer that. Inkfort will not ‘out’ anyone who wishes to remain anonymous.
Software
- Publishing-specific software is an exemption to the no-spend rule. This extends to formatting software such as Scrivener, Atticus, or Vellum, as well as Publisher Rocket. Derby Authors who do not have access to these programs will be able to request assistance from Inkfort, so their use is not restricted.
- Paid subscription services are not allowed in the derby. This applies to things like paid newsletter services, paid versions of Bookfunnel and Storyorigin, paid Canva or Grammarly, etc. Even if you have a subscription on your main identity, if a brand new author would have to pay for it, that wouldn’t be allowed. If you have a paid subscription to a service, please only utilize the tools that would be available to a free user.
Covers
- If a Derby author does not finish and fully publish their story by October 31, ownership of the cover art will revert to Inkfort to be used in future years of the Derby. A preorder will not be considered fully published, it must be live and available. If an author has exigent circumstances they feel should be considered as to why they could not finish, please contact Inkfort via email.
- The cover art is made in-house from stock and no artist needs to be credited when you publish. You may encounter your cover art’s stock being used by other media in the wild; this is normal and not a problem.
- Your cover art’s pen name may be changed during the Derby between femme, masc, or non-gendered archetypes, or you may request initials be used. You may not request a specific Derby pen name. Post-Derby you may purchase a name change to your IRL name or pen name for $10.
Content Rules
- Stories must be written fresh for the cover you receive. Please do not recycle old stories, old story notes, or any pre-written content.
- Since your story must be written fresh for your assigned cover, please do not begin working on your story until you have received your cover. A brief concept for what your story will be is acceptable, to make sure a potential cover works for you, but any actual planning or writing should wait until you have received a cover assignment.
- Stories for the derby cannot be erotica. Anything beyond 10% sexually explicit content will be considered erotica for the purposes of the Derby.
- Consider the message your story is sending. While topics like sexism, homophobia, and racism can be thought-provoking elements of discussion within a narrative, glorifying these topics is not allowed within the Derby and may prompt intervening action from the admins.
- Glorifying drug use or addiction, likewise, is outside the bounds of what we want in the Derby. Any use of drugs within your story should be carefully considered and may prompt intervening action from the admins.
- Real-world slurs should not appear in your story. Fantasy or in-canon slurs you’ve invented should not be directed toward any real-world group of people - you can’t simply create a new slur to replace one we disallow.
Extra Content Beyond Your Derby Book
- Derby authors are allowed to write extra content such as prequels, sequels, tie-ins, and reader magnets beyond their derby book itself. You are allowed to serialize that content, or use it as a reader magnet, however you cannot publish that content as its own book until after the Derby ends.
Preorders
- You may run a preorder for your Derby story, after the allowed date in our schedule.
Audiobooks
- You may begin work on an audiobook during the Derby, but it cannot be published until after the Derby ends.
Miscellaneous
- Patreon is not allowed in the scope of the derby.
- Vella, at this time, is not available in all regions and has too many unknown variables. Therefore does not count toward publishing goals within the event.
Code of Conduct
The Derby is a free, fun event for authors, and we expect authors to participate in good faith. If Inkfort feels that a user is not following the good-faith spirit of the event, that user will not be welcomed back for future years of the Derby.