#NYCGO Writing Contest Frequently Asked Questions

1. I have a question that you didn't answer here... How can I contact you?


The best way to contact us is @trazzler on Twitter or by posting your question on our help forum.



2. How do I enter the contest?


Round One Dates:

How to Enter:

3. How can I tell if my contest entry has been read?


Check your trip's page to see if it has been read by one of our editors. Immediately following the title, you will see the words "review pending" if it is awaiting editorial review and "read by editor" if it has been evaluated by an editor. (For non-contest trips submitted prior to 7/22/2009, it will take us a bit longer to apply this change.)

4. When will I know if I'm a semifinalist and can participate in Round Two?


All of the semifinalists will be chosen by Monday, August 31, 2009, 8:00 pm EDT. You can check your trip page to see if your trip was chosen as a semifinalist. The text #NYCGO Writing Contest Semifinalist will appear after the trip text if your trip is a Round Two semifinalist.

5.What is wishlisting?


Every trip page on Trazzler has three buttons between the photo and the trip text. One of these buttons is called "add to wishlist." For this contest, we are using this "add to wishlist" function as a way of casting votes during Round Two. The 10 trips that are wishlisted the most between August 31 (8pm EDT) and September 14 (7:59pm EDT) will be finalists. Our jury will then choose the grand prize winner from this pool.

6. If someone wishlists my trip before Round Two, will it count?


No. Only wishlisting done during Round Two (from Monday, August 31, 2009, 8:00 pm EDT to Monday, September 14, 2009, 7:59pm EDT) will count. If you are a Round Two semifinalist, you will be able to see the total number of "wishlistings" immediately following your trip's text, along with your ranking. You can also check the Round Two overall rankings after Monday, August 31, 2009, 8:00 pm EDT.

7. Where can I get news about the contest?


You can check our blog and @trazzler on Twitter for news on the contest.

8. Can I edit or delete my contest entry?


As long as your entry hasn't been read by an editor, you can still edit or delete it by logging in and clicking on "Write a Trip" in the top navigation bar. Then click "Edit" or "Delete" next to the trip's title. You can also click "Edit" on the trip page itself.

9. I'm a previous Trazzler contest winner/freelancer, can I participate in the contest?


Yes, you can. Employees of Trazzler, Twitter, nycgo.com, JetBlue, and AKA (Korman Communities) are not eligible to win the contest, but freelancers and winners of any of our past contests can participate.

10. I'm not from the US and want to enter the contest, can I?


Unfortunately, the answer is no. We are working on including foreign countries in our next contest. Differing rules and regulations make this a costly process, so we couldn't get everything in place in time for this contest--sorry! We hope to include foreign countries in our next contest.

11. I live in the US, but am not a US citizen. Can I participate?


Yes. Legal US residency is the requirement, not citizenship.

12. I'm from Arizona--why can't I enter the contest?!


Arizona is the only US state that requires an extra step for skills contests and the cost for this was not in our budget. We will try to get this sorted out for the next contest.

13. Are you really going to read all of these contest entries?


Yes! You can check your trip page to see when your contest entry has been read.

14. Can I submit other trips to Trazzler that aren't contest entries?


Absolutely. We are still reading the other contributions in the order that they are submitted and awarding freelance contracts every month.

15. Why do I have to provide my email address?


We will be contacting the winners via email, so it's essential that you provide an email address where you will get the message.

16. I want to upload a photo, but it won't work... what am I doing wrong?


We limit the size of the photo files to 300k, so if your photo is bigger than this, it won't upload. See the question below for instructions on reducing the file size.

17. I uploaded a photo, but it looks distorted... What happened?


The photos that accompany our trips are landscape 498 pixels wide by 332 pixels high. So if your photo is a different size, it will stretch to fit these dimensions. For the best results, you can use a photo editor to resize and crop your photo to 498x332. Here are instructions for the very easy-to-use online photo editor, Picnik.com:

How to crop a photo using Picnik.com

If you are a semifinalist and your photo is too distorted to publish (or you didn't provide a photo) we may find another photo for your trip or upload a placeholder. Remember: providing a photo is not a requirement for entry and will not affect the jury's final decision (having a compelling photo may, however, help get your trip wishlisted during Round Two).

18. I'm a Round Two Semifinalist! Now what?


Get out the vote! Have a look at our Strategies for Wishlisting.