We feel the Derby, as a whole, has done a great job entertaining authors. It’s an exciting event for those of us creating the words, as we have all sorts of things to look forward to: shiny new covers, new projects, a perfect excuse to play with something new, and deadlines to make sure our projects actually get done.
For readers, the event has been less exciting. Don’t get us wrong - we have wonderful, dedicated beta/arc readers, people who love playing guessing games to spot their friends or favorite authors, and readers generally enjoying a host of new stories.
But it’s not quite the same level of excitement or involvment, is it? We’re fixing that.
Introducing the Reader Program
This year, we’ll be seeking out the very best readers for recognition, and we’ve put together something special to ensure we find them.
For the program we’ll be assigning points to every book sent out from the beta phase through the close of sales. There will be 3 tiers of points based on length: 10-30k/S, 30k-70k/M, and 70k+/L.
After reading, readers can report it to a dedicated channel on the Derby Discord server, or this form. Whichever the reader prefers, as both are equal, however please choose one or the other per book.
Why should you want to participate?
Because what’s a competition without a highscore board, of course. Once reported, Inkfort staff will enter in scores to this scoreboard. Points for reading (5 per S, 8 per M, 12 per L) are guaranteed with the added possibility of bonus points.
Please note that all new scores will need to be manually entered, and as such, there will be a lag between submission and scores updating. If, after a few days, you don’t see your new score reflected, feel free to reach out.
Bonus points
Both in an interest of making sure people don’t just sit on reads and sandbag their scores, and to encourage that every book is read, the first kind of bonus points are bounties. The first several readers to report reading a story will get bounty points added to their score. The amount of bounties available for a given story is dependent on book length. There will be 3, 5, and 7 bounties available from shortest tier to longest.
The second source of bonus points is for a short write-up when submitting your read books. Add a paragraph or two about the story and why others should read it, and we’ll share it (anonymously) with others, and adjust your score.
Summary
The Reader Program will open at the start of the beta program. Read stories, report back, and climb up the leaderboard. Should you win, eternal bragging rights will be yours. In addition, we’ll be recognizing several readers in the closing writeup for overall winner, most bounties, etc. There will also be some shiney new roles on the Derby Server for those who participate.
Scoring Breakdown
The math for scoring is as follows:
(1Read +1Bounty +1Writeup) * SizeTier
SizeTier = 5/8/12 for the smallest to largest stories
