1. How do I enter the contest at https://omnicontests4.com/Default.aspx?comp_id=476 ?
Go to Register here in the top left, write email address, click submit, and fill out all of the contact form. Click Save and then review Rules or Help & FAQ tabs, which are located on the left, before you start. Select Add Entry, also on the left, to add your entry to the contest. When you fill out the form, you’ll see Category (such as Writing or Layout), Category 2 (such as Breaking News or Best Headline Writing), and Type (class). See Rules to determine what Type/Class you are; magazines are in Class D. After you hit Save, you’ll see the Entry tab; fill it out. Entry information Tab is for your byline (important for those contest administrators to put the correct name in here, so the right person gets the award). If you have more than four names, write STAFF in that field. The Uploads tab is where you upload PDFs, Word documents (articles as well as URLs, descriptions and cutlines can be put in Word), JPEGs, and more. To add an item, choose file (aka browse) and click upload. To upload more, click the + symbol on the right. The last tab, “Tab does not apply if empty” is self-explanatory—it appears empty unless you need to fill the field out; check and see. If you need more room, upload a Word document and write, “See Word document” in the field.
2. Are freelancers welcome?
Yes! If your article appeared in a newspaper or online outlet in Florida, put it in that newspaper’s class. Independent media? Submit it in Class D.
3. Will you tell me about entering Multiple Entrants?
If you are entering for two or more people, you can use your name to register them. On the second tab, it will ask you for Entry Information. Put names the way you would want them to appear on an award. (This option is required for everyone, not just for multiple entrants.) When you review the totals, you will notice you are only charged one $20 membership fee. This is incorrect if you are submitting entries for two or more people. There is a fee discount set up to allow lone entrants to pay $20 once. You can send a check or pay the total through PayPal, but then send us an email (for our records) telling us the names and email addresses of the people whose entries you are submitting.
4. I don’t understand the payment options.
There are three ways to pay: Through PayPal with Omni (just click on Pay Now and follow all prompts; make sure to navigate back to Omni when you’re finished); send a check to John Sotomayor, c/o Florida Press Club, P.O. Box 668, Ocala, FL 34478-0668; or click Manual Payments on https://floridapressclub.org/online-payments and type in the amount. The best way for contest administrators to pay is either check or https://floridapressclub.org/online-payments. Otherwise, you will charged for only one membership fee when you might have entered multiple people. We will be checking to see if everyone paid the correct amount, so please be thorough!
5. What do I do when I’m finished?
When you’re done with your entry and paying, go to View Entries. If you see the status asIncomplete, click on it and change the status to Submitted. Note: You can only do this after you pay online with Omni, or after you tell us you paid one of the other ways (so we can manually log the payment at Omni). Then, after we give you the OK, go and change your status.
Won’t you please enter and pass the word along to Florida friends and colleagues:https://omnicontests4.com/Default.aspx?comp_id=476 ? The deadline is 11:59 p.m. Saturday, August 4.
Thank you,
The Florida Press Club Board