Common Ties Introduces 20 Questions
Common Ties is introducing a new section, 20 Questions, through which we encourage people to share their answers in the form of very short stories/snippets. Our questions appear below; answers should be submitted to: CT20Questions@gmail.com
We pay for:
1. Answers ($50 per accepted answer; to see answers we’ve bought but that still need artwork, go here)
2. Recordings ($50 per accepted recording; we will approach you if we want you to record your answer; recordings are optional)
3. Artwork (if you submit artwork with your answer, and we choose to publish it, you will receive additional compensation, to be determined per circumstance; artwork is optional)
Rights: Contributors retain the rights to the answers and art Common Ties purchases, allowing them to re-publish their work elsewhere in the future with two exceptions: a) any audio produced by Common Ties is owned exclusively by Common Ties, and b) Common Ties reserves the exclusive right to publish these works in multi-author anthologies. Note that contributors do not enter into a contract with Common Ties until a submission is accepted and they elect to sign the contract, all of which occurs prior to publication. Common Ties also considers pre-published material (both print and art) if the contributor is able to prove that s/he retains full rights to the material.
The questions.
1. What door do you wish you never opened?
2. What is your most obsessive thought?
3. Where is your favorite place in the world, and why?
4. What’s the one thing your parents don’t understand about you?
5. If you could relive a single day or moment, what would it be?
6. What were the strangest circumstances under which you have been intimate?
7. Under what circumstances have you been closest to death?
8. What is the most gracious act of kindness you have witnessed?
9. What is the worst betrayal you have ever experienced?
10. What is the most bizarre thing you have seen or done?
11. What is the greatest risk you have ever taken?
12. What is your earliest, most vivid memory?
13. What is the most meaningful “I love you” someone has said to you, or that you have said to someone else?
14. What was the single most terrifying moment of your life?
15. If you have experienced a moment of sudden faith or loss of faith, what prompted it?
16. If you could take back one thing you have done, what would it be?
17. What is your greatest talent or accomplishment?
18. What is the most joyful moment you have experienced?
19. What is the most painful moment you have experienced?
20. Open Question: Submit your own question and answer.
Writers: In your submission to CT20Questions@gmail.com, please be sure to include both the question(s) and corresponding answer(s), and if you choose, you may also submit artwork associated with your answer(s). All work must be your own. Answers may appear as prose or poetry. Optional information includes your name, publishing history, contributor description, as well as the time and location of your answer (i.e. August 1998, Evanston, Illinois).
1. Answers must be 100 percent true to the best of your knowledge.
2. Answers must be pasted into your email, not attached. You may submit multiple answers at once.
3. Answers should be 50 words or less. Please let us know which question(s) you are answering.
4. Writers whose answers we choose to publish will be asked to sign a contract and confirm that their answer is true, as well as provide the Common Ties staff with their real name and address for payment. Common Ties does not share this information with anyone.
5. As with general story submissions, answers will be reviewed within four weeks of the date they were submitted, and Common Ties will only reply to those whose answers we wish to buy.
Artists: We are looking for artists to participate in any of the following ways:
1. Submit your portfolio, to be considered in mid-2008 as a regular contributor to the development of our book.
2. Submit artwork (on spec) to accompany answers already published on our site.
3. Submit your own answer(s) and/or artwork (on spec) to be published both on our site and/or in our book.
All submissions should be sent to CT20Questions@gmail.com. All work must be your own, and artwork must be submitted as .jpg files. Optional information includes your name, publishing history, and contributor description. Artwork can be in the form of a cartoon, drawing, painting, photo, postcard, craftwork, etc. If your art is three-dimensional simply photograph it. Movable artwork such as video will not be reviewed.
20 Questions FAQs.
1. How will I learn if Common Ties would like to buy my answer(s) and/or artwork? Should we select your work for publication, we will send you an acceptance email and contract. We do not send rejection letters or provide feedback on answers or artwork.
2. If you purchase my answer and/or artwork, where might it be published? Your work may appear initially on our website and possibly in book(s).
3. Will I receive a standardized response for each submission? It depends on when you send your submissions. So as not to deluge your inbox, we only email our automated submission response to the first submission you send during a four-day period. We do review all material submitted.
4. Who may submit? Anyone, anywhere in the world who is 16 or older. If you are a minor you must receive parental permission. Note: Submissions must be in English.
5. Do you pay royalties on submissions that appear in books? No.
6. Are there offensive language or other content restrictions? No.
7. Is there a limit to the number of answers or artwork that Common Ties will publish by one contributor? No, although we suggest you only submit your very best answers and/or art.
8. May I use a pen name? Yes. In fact, all answers will remain anonymous until we move into book publishing, at which point both the writer and the artist will have the opportunity to use their real names.
9. What is the maximum file size for art submissions? Please limit your .jpg files to between 100k and 2 megs each.
10. How do you pay for answers and/or art? Common Ties pays by check within 30 days of publication. We do not use Paypal.
11. What if I don’t understand a question? Questions are intentionally open-ended and meant to be interpreted as you wish.
12. May I snail mail my answer(s) and/or artwork? At this point, no.
13. Is there anything else like 20 Questions? There are a few successful projects aimed at encouraging people to reveal their true selves (the blog Post Secret is one of our favorite examples) as well as projects that pair words with art (the last page of the New Yorker inspires writers to submit captions for cartoons). Ours is unique in several ways, including format (we publish words first, and often seek out corresponding artwork), content (we ask a wide range of personal questions and consider the answers to be short stories) and compensation (we pay).
If you still have a question about 20 Questions, please email us through our contact page.
Posted by Common Ties on Thursday, November 15th, 2007 | Email This PostThis entry was posted on Thursday, November 15th, 2007 at 12:21 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
35 Responses to “Common Ties Introduces 20 Questions”
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November 16th, 2007 at 10:40 am
I really appreciate another way to make money with this website. Thank you very much for the opportunity. I have trouble with copy and pasting however. I have never done it. I am kind of the monkey see monkey do type. I will have to get someone to show me or look it up on the net. gkb
November 16th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
This sounds like a fantastic idea and I want to do it immediately. I’ve been searching for a way to get some of my work possibly published and either way it goes, it’s great practice- plus I have had an interesting life. Thanks!
November 16th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
I like the idea of this….and I want to get started immedietely!
November 16th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
intriguing questionnaire - with all due respect, how do i find out whether this website has a good/ethical reputation? also, how do i know my real identity will be protected?
thanx,
lark
November 16th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
This is really a fantastic idea, very inspiring.
November 16th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
This will be a great way for many writers to share and express some very personal events-I know this will be a successful platform for new and undiscovered talent.
I will be submitting my first short story to this site within a day or two-I am excited about this, I have read many great stories-from many great and talented people.
November 17th, 2007 at 10:49 am
Hello,
This sounds very interesting and I also would like to know how I can find out about the ethical reputation of the website.
Thanks!
November 17th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
Thank you for yet another writing opportunity. I am excited about it.
November 17th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
Great Idea.
November 17th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
Thanks for letting me know about this - I’ll be blogging about it in my writing blog and my art blog. I’m excited about this great opportunity!
November 18th, 2007 at 9:18 am
Protection of identity should be listed in this contract that we sign. For the protection of identities that do not wish to be revealed. With respect rights, once the stories are turned over to you will you be the one who owns all of the rights or is residuals and royalties in play here as well. By chance that you begin “““““
November 18th, 2007 at 9:45 am
I think this is a great avenue for expression, from which we can all learn more about ourselves. I do have a ?. Does the 50 words include the question
November 18th, 2007 at 10:52 am
This is a wonderful idea and I hope I can submit answers that you will be able to use. Great job!
Warm regards, Susie
November 18th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
This sounds fun! My question is: How many answers will you accept from one writer at a time? All 20 or just a few or one? Just to be sure
Before I submit all 20 answers!
Smiles,
Michele
November 18th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
Michele: see the FAQs.
November 20th, 2007 at 5:47 am
I wanted to respond to some of the ethical questions as someone who has published several pieces with Commonties, including a highly sensitive one under a pseudonym. I have never dealt with a more thoughtful, more ethical group of editors in my 20 years of writing and publishing. They absolutely do protect your identity when necessary, they exhibit complete respect for their writers and they always pay on time which is the biggest miracle of all in this business. You should have no worries about the ethics of this site. They are what they say they are.
November 23rd, 2007 at 2:43 pm
Can anyone comment on an expereince of requesting more than the standard fees for your work here?
November 25th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
Consider the truly uncommon about Common Ties. Imagine a sunny Old World marketplace, alight with the color and charm, the fragrance and joy of a wide-open-air Parisian marketplace gilded with Springtime\’s promise. Next, paint bold bright strokes! Create your own brave New World , a Picasso-like vision such as the Mexican Fiesta. \’Ole!\’ We\’ve struck it rich! True treasure, newly found, by and for writers everywhere! A generous, paying forum for writing excellence, a refuge for fine writers and old writers, everyone ablaze with the desire to write. Together we strike gold: a paying place for living and learning the writer\’s life, for fresh-faced young -and not so young- writers alike. In the sizzling cyberpages of Common Ties, no one steals ideas (nor must they steal your thunder). There\’s plenty of room for freshness here, enough creativity and vision to encircle the globe and then some. So come, join us! Come one and come all! Come here and publish, earn coins of gold as you learn! To Susi and Penelope and James and everyone else, let us not suffer the foolishness of pride. We do our best, we deserve the best, and we\’ve got it right here. At Common Ties!
November 25th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
I\’ve just read the orphans. I can\’t wait to see how wonderful this will all turn out once it all really gets started!
November 26th, 2007 at 11:28 pm
If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
I sincerely hope Common Ties is not a Chicken Soup for the Soul type of scheme: get ordinary folks who are desperate to have their writing published submit stories, then collect a selection of these in bookform, pay zero royalties and laugh all the way to the bank!
Feedback please!
November 26th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
Correction: “get ordinary folks who are desperate to have their writing published TO submit stories.”
November 28th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
To Write On, Et Cetera
As a writer with some thousand pieces published over my 50 years of writing (I’m 57, and yes as a child I won trophies for poetry; been paid for everything else I ever wrote including journal pieces lifted out whole from my journal and sent out to be published and paid for), I can guarantee that Common Ties won’t rip you off, steal your stuff, or otherwise abuse your creative talent. They pay very well, on time, and with a contract to protect your rights. Right on? You bet. So stop your fretting and get to it: write on!
November 28th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
Good luck with your venture. I’m also in the publishing business. After 10 years in business, with a website showing our awards, national media publicity, and information about our company and founders, we still get the odd person asking “is this a scam?” So don’t let the turkeys get you down. There will always be a few people who are not critical thinkers or don’t even know how to use Google properly, who will question you. Ignore them. Don’t publish them. Maybe they’ll go away. And for the person who asked about negotiating a higher fee — are you kidding? Most sites pay NOTHING for personal stories. There are a million bloggers whose personal stories are read by no one but their families. Good luck getting published elsewhere.
November 28th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
By the way, as you have probably figured if you Googled me, \”Sue Donnem\” is a pseudonym.
November 30th, 2007 at 8:17 am
To Sue Donnem: What a clever pseudonym you’ve chosen! Well done, my dear! The pseudonyms I use include J. Edward O’Brien when I write from a man’s point of view; Rose Hazel Murphy when I have multiple articles in one publication and the editor requests that I use a pseudonym. I also call myself by my maiden name: Therese Marie Tucker; and Terry Hinkley, of course, which protects my privacy. For pseudonyms, I urge writers to use names from past family members. (Even my aunt Annie Sullivan is a good choice when I write something ghostly or ghastly! So do enjoy pseudonyms, fellow writers; they are a way of honoring those who have gone before; they protect your anonymity; and they are a GAS to use just for fun! On my father’s side of the family, I can use Gertrude Tucker, my deceased and beloved grandmother (though Aunt Trudy is still very much alive!); and a host of other names, such as Charles J. Tucker (Dad); and Eileen, Charles, Tom, Jerry, Jim or Judy — with their permission of course, because all my siblings and my parents are alive! A big family is a boon to a writer: tons of material from personal experience; tons of pseudonyms from which to choose; and just TONS OF FUN, the joys of a large loving family!
November 30th, 2007 at 9:41 am
I love commonties.com! My niece Molly is a writer, too, and I hope she got my telephone message. She has completed her first book, a real thriller. She is also a teacher, which keeps her busy and in touch with all levels of life, and all kinds of people. Everything is fodder for the writer’s mill. Keep a journal as I do; write every day as Molly does; and persevere in your writing. Why? Well, of course, because it is worth it!
December 1st, 2007 at 10:42 am
I truely love the Idea of 20 Questions,those of us that are not prolific writers can have something to say.Even when we just make comments on other’s writing the 20 Question allow a persom who otherwise may not submit a story to add something to the mix.Thanks for adding this feature.Mikg G.
December 5th, 2007 at 7:23 am
I stumbled upon this site yesterday and by 8′oclock last night I had submitted answers to the 20 Questions. This is such a neat idea! I’m really excited to see which, if any, of my answers are chosen. I’ve had a pretty interesting life in my 23 years so far and I hope the editors find my experiences as intriguing as I believe they are!! I do have one question though: are the 20 questions going to vary from month to month??
December 5th, 2007 at 9:36 am
What a great idea. I have been writing in secret for years, and think its about time for me to start getting my stuff out there. thank you for this fantastic starting project.
December 5th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
I say it\’s truly amor that brings people together at commonties. Amore,\’ love! Everyone here seems to love writing, and as it is communication, what more could this war-weary world have to ask?
December 12th, 2007 at 4:49 am
I like the concept of this project. I look forward to contributing thoughts, ideas and experiences as well.
December 14th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
the quality, caliber and quantity of my answers requires more than $50.00 to motivate me, you get what you pay for, que no?
what price do you offer for the exceptional?
December 27th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
I write everywhere I go. I have notebook and pens/pencils in every purse I carry, every room in this house, and for every topic under the sun. Thank God that Gary, my husband, is willing to put up with my somewhat sloppy techniques: papers, magazines, books, and ideas on scraps of paper abound in our home. This is for Gary: thanks for loving me, Sweetie — it can’t be easy!
Terry Tucker Hinkley
December 28th, 2007 at 9:52 am
I like it. But then, I enjoy the exercise of writing short, as this comment may indicate.
December 29th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
The Idea of 20 questions is good uless it means the end of the Stories section and Quickies and last but not least Podcasts!