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Rules & Guidelines

THE WRITE ABOUT JESUS SONGWRITING COMPETITION

GENERAL GUIDELINES

All registrants MAY enter the competition, but participation in the competition is not required. The competition cost is included in the registration fee. No discount will be given to those choosing not to enter a song in the competition.

  • Songs for the songwriting competition should be turned in upon registration.
  • Please plan to submit your song on a cd. Please do not plan to perform your song live.
  • Please submit at least 3 copies of the lyric.
  • Please do not submit your only copy of a song.
  • Songs will be placed into small groups based on genre. (See main Competition page for those genres.)
  • A first, second, and third place winner will be named in each group, based on the opinion of the evaluators for the group.
  • The first place winning song in each small group will be evaluated by all the clinicians in a private session on Saturday afternoon. The grand prize winning song will be chosen at that time.
  • Results of the competition will be announced at dinner on Saturday.

EVALUATIONS

  • Each small group will have two professional evaluators.
  • Songs will be evaluated on idea, creativity, structure, lyric, music/melody, overall impact, and commercial potential.
  • Oral critiques will be given by each evaluator during the competition session. Please be attentive to ALL comments from the evaluators, as these are an invaluable learning tool.
  • Written comments will also be provided by the evaluators, and those will be available at the end of the workshop.
  • Registrants should keep in mind that evaluators do not score identically. As long as each evaluator is consistent with his or her own scores in a small group, the strongest songs will win. Please do not compare scores between evaluators or with other registrants, as this will not give you an accurate picture of actual reaction to the song.
  • Entries will be returned at the end of the workshop along with written evaluations.

ELIGIBLE SONGS

Please do not submit songs which have won another songwriting competition. Remember that the competition is more about learning than winning.

  • Registrants should only enter a song which they have written. Please do not submit a song written by someone who is unable to attend. (See guidelines about co-written songs below.)
  • Co-written songs are permitted in the competition. Co-writers do not have to be registered.
  • If your co-writer is also a registrant at the workshop, you each may enter a song.
  • Co-writers will only share in the prize package if they are registered for the workshop.
  • Songs which have been co-written with a writer who is currently or formerly a staff writer for a publisher are ineligible.
  • Songs which have been co-written with a member of the Write About Jesus Master Class are also ineligible.
  • Please check with co-writers to make sure their writer status conforms to these guidelines.

NEVER OPEN OR READ ANOTHER REGISTRANT’S SONG EVALUATIONS WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION. THESE ARE PRIVATE PROPERTY.

PRIZES

  • First, second and third place winners in each small group will receive cd’s and/or books as prizes.
  • The grand prize winning songwriter will receive: free registration to next year’s GMA Immerse event in Nashville; free registration to next year’s Write About Jesus; a professionally made demo of the winning song (or another song); 3 arranged publisher meetings in Nashville; 3 arranged co-writes with professional writers.
  • If a co-written song wins, and both (or all) writers are workshop registrants, they will share in the prize package, including free registration to next year’s GMA Immerse event, next year’s Write About Jesus, and publisher meetings and co-writes in Nashville at a later date.
  • There will be only one professionally made demo offered as part of the prize.

A FEW WORDS FROM SUE ABOUT THE COMPETITION…

I know that is very tempting to place undue emphasis on the songwriting competition. Who wouldn’t like to win? But please prayerfully submit your hopes and dreams for the competition to the Lord. While our previous winners have had wonderful success with their songwriting, many other registrants who never won the competition… never even placed first in their small group… have also had great success. They have signed staff writing deals, gotten many commercial cuts, had #1 songs, and even won awards. Treat the competition as a chance to learn, and then trust God with the results.

Also, please remember that the comments made by the evaluators about your song are designed to help, to instruct, and to encourage. Each one of the professional writers at Write About Jesus has endured worse comments about his or her own efforts. Each publisher has to offer regular critique of the work of great writers. In both cases, professionals know this is all about making the song more effective and successful.