Sigh.

Alright, before we get into the news that p/ssed me tf off, let's start with the positives.

I haven't had an issue with a single form. Not a single one. No one submitted the same book twice, no one did anything wrong, no one really confused me, etc. Mistakes are absolutely fine and no big deal, but in my past contests I had like a gazillion people trying to submit the same book 3-5 times, so it's honestly therapeutic to see that I had no issues with the forms.

I am going to give all of you the most platonic bear hug you've ever had in your lives.

Thank you so much for making this easier on me. I really don't mind mistakes or anything of that sort, but to have not a single form get rejected for being filled out incorrectly is actually astonishing to me. This has never happened to me before. Seriously, I cannot express how thankful I am for this. I genuinely almost cried of relief when I saw I got through all the forms with no problems, that's how much it meant to me.

Yes, I'm a Cancer, I'm sensitive. Shush!!!

As for updates, this contest is filling up pretty fast. Much faster than I expected. The only two categories not really going are the thriller and reimagining categories, so if you know anyone who would be interested, I'd appreciate it if you let them know so I can start judging faster!

I am going to try and get halfway through my Padauk Awards before I start judging. I know how that sounds, but keep in mind I just started judging it 12 hours ago and finished 2 categories already. There are 15, so I already did 2/15 and started 2 others, so I'm rocking and rolling.

I will keep you updated about judging, so please be patient.

Unfortunately, the positives are not the reason I made this chapter. 

It has come to my attention that someone has blatantly copied these awards despite them only being out for a few days—someone who is very much aware of this contest.

The rules are nearly identical, the restrictions are nearly identical, the payments are identical, some of the categories are the same, the prizes are nearly-identical with one of my new prizes listed as one of their prizes, etc.

These are not accusations I make lightly. That's why I am not publicly saying who or what awards because I do not want to drag anyone on the tiniest 0.1% chance this is wrong. But keep in mind I have been copied many, many times before as I have been running contests since 2020 online, yet, somehow, never once have I seen a case this egregious.

It is to the point where I sent side-by-side screenshots of the copier's contest versus mine to several participants in this contest, and even they couldn't tell which one was mine and which one was the copier's.

Participants literally in this fricking contest.

That is how blatant it is. The rules in particular are nearly identical down to how many books you can submit. Individually, having similar rules is expected and not something I would raise alarm bells about, but the fact that every rule is nearly identical down to the wording is insane. 

Do you have any idea how much work I put into these contests? Go look at the read time of the Fairy Night Awards. Each category takes me at least 70 full hours to judge. 70. Fricking. Hours. The Candlelight Awards are no different. It is going to take me a while because my reviews are anywhere from 25k-45k words long. I am a tryhard perfectionist. The same applies to my rules and prizes. It takes me a long time to make them, so to have someone come in and swipe it without any credit or asking for permission is terrible.

I have been plagiarized many, many, many times. My brain baby, Adrift, 150 chapters, 900k+ words, was stolen from me last year, and the plagiarizer had the audacity to win several awards with my book.

I am f*cking over it.

I've genuinely had enough. I'm not gonna sit here and act like everything in my awards is 100% original because contests have been around for a while and many of these ideas have been done before. But there's a difference between similarities/ideas that have been done before, and copying. 

This is copying.

Let me make something abundantly clear: I do not in any circumstance tolerate plagiarism. This copier almost word-for-word took my rules and copied many things about the rest of my contest as well. That is unacceptable. If you are wondering why I'm not just exposing them, it's because I am working on things behind closed doors and do not wish to disclose what my course of action is. I will keep you updated on the situation, though.

I am taking an incredible amount of time out of my life to give these reviews because I love doing them. As a writer, it helps me learn a lot and meet new awesome people. Some of my closest friends are people I've met through my contests, and I am forever grateful for that.

The "but" is that I'm tired of people constantly copying me, being hateful because they don't agree with the follow payment (lmao yes because in real life you get extensive services like this for free, that's definitely how that works), blatantly disregarding my rules because they feel like it, etc.

To everyone who's been respectful to me, thank you. I really mean that. I love doing these and I will never stop because of people trying to bring me down. There are far more positive people out there than negative ones, and I truly feel like I'm making a difference, even if it's just a tiny one, for small writers. If even one small writer benefits from this, then it's worth it in my eyes. For that reason, I am going to continue doing these contests no matter what.

But I'm tired of the copying. It's not cool. And the audacity to do this four days before my birthday. Absolutely unreal.

Anywho daily reminder that Jimin is hot 😍😍😍😍😍😍

UPDATE: Someone created an account shortly after I made this chapter to comment this then delete it:

This is... just more proof... 

You realize that, right? 

For starters, if you are able to identify who I am talking about... then... that must mean... they're similar enough that... you recognized it...

That's... bro... you're proving my point...

You: Nothing is identical

You immediately after that: Except for the rules ofc

So... the main part of the contest with the most words by far is identical to mine???? Is that what you're saying???????

I never called anyone out for the sole purpose of not wanting to create drama. You created an account 20 minutes ago to say this. I'm not even posting your account name because I don't want to get involved in drama. This chapter is meant to raise awareness and to caution those considering copying me not to.

Also, did you miss the part where I said there were copied prizes and payments as well? I didn't say only rules. It is down to the point where even my jokes I make in my rules, which you absolutely cannot say are in every contest, are copied in this person's awards. So I don't think you actually know who I'm talking about because it goes beyond rules, as I stated in this chapter.

There are thousands of contests, and you just happened to find the one I'm talking about like 10 seconds after I posted this chapter without me giving any specific information and even identified a pronoun when I never used pronouns? That's...

Wow, you better be in the FBI, cause they could use you.

Like I acknowledged in this chapter, I don't own rules. I acknowledged that similarities are expected; however when the rules are worded so identically that people literally think of my awards when they read them, that is a massive sign of copying. I think you deleted that comment because you realized I already acknowledged that counterargument and brought my own points to it, and also that you saying that proves that the language is similar enough that you can identify who I am talking about without any specific information. I never told you the genre of the contest, the length, how many things were copied, anything about the host and how old/young the account is, if the person is even a participant in this contest, etc. So you had to be the best detective in the world to figure this out.

In simpler words: You would not be able to know what awards I was talking about unless they were worded similarly enough that you could think of me while reading them, so this "counterargument" is even worse. You just shot yourself in the foot.

And also, you joined 20 minutes ago. How did you read two full contests and identify whether or not it was the same in that allocated time? Impossible, right? How did you immediately know what I was talking about despite not having specific information?

I don't mean to be that person, but I guarantee you I have seen more contests than you. I have hosted several, joined several, guest judged for several, and get tagged in them every day. If these were the rules "every contest has," then why are other participants pointing out how many of my rules they've never seen before, and how come I haven't seen them before and cried plagiarism before when I've been hosting awards for four years? This is the second time in my entire career I have called out another awards for copying me.

I am a professional writer in real life. It is my job to hunt down plagiarism. I would not make these claims unless I was 99% certain of them. I even consulted with my friends and other participants, y'know, people who participate in a bunch of contests with those rules you stated are in every contest, to see if I was going crazy. They concluded I wasn't.

Do you see why your argument makes 0 sense?

So I'm suspicious of this person, and I hope I cleared that up.

I'm not trying to be rude, but surely you understand when you immediately shut down my claim with 0 proof with 0 way to know who I'm actually talking about, that's extremely suspicious and almost like you think you did something wrong. The account was created right after I made this chapter. 

That is extremely suspicious.

It is 5 a.m. I am exhausted. Goodnight.