Novelmint Selects - Issue No. 3

This issue’s theme

Memorable Characters

Entries Oct 1, 2026 – Dec 1, 2026Rating Oct 1, 2026 – Dec 1, 2026Best of the Selects · $100

This issue is judged mainly on Characters, with Enjoyment, Pacing, Immersion, Hook counting for less.

Welcome to the third issue of Novelmint Selects. This one is about characters, the people you remember long after you've finished a good book.

Two categories this time and you pick the one your book belongs in. Strong Lead is for a book carried by one person. Full Cast is for a book carried by a group, where no single character is the center. If your book has two leads, either category is fair, so choose the one that describes how it reads.

$50 to the best book in each category, and $100 for Best of the Selects across both. Prizes are paid as earned tokens, withdrawable through Stripe or Wise.

Any genre is welcome. Write something here or import your back catalogue from elsewhere, free of charge. Full books and short stories are both encouraged.

No panels and no gatekeepers. Readers decide, by reading chapters and rating them. Novelmint staff cannot vote. Every vote is a real read by someone who finished a chapter, so the winners are chosen by the people who actually showed up.

Read a few. The winners are yours to choose.

Enter your book

Any book you’ve published is eligible — new or from your back catalogue. Readers rate the entries — the top books win cashable prizes and a place in the Best-Of issue.

Imported books are switched to paid status after the event and stay published unless you remove them — you can change the price or take the book down anytime.

Prizes

Strong Lead: 1st $50

Full Cast: 1st $50

Best of the Selects · $100

Now rating — your read is your vote

To vote: open any entry, read a chapter, then leave a star rating. That rating is your vote — weighted by your reading reputation. Scores stay hidden until the issue is revealed.

How the voting works

No panel, no gatekeepers — the readers decide. Here’s exactly how a winner is chosen, so the result is one you can trust.

Your vote is a finished read

To rate an entry you have to actually read it. Novelmint tracks real reads — not clicks — so a rating left without a genuine read doesn’t count.

Ratings are weighted by reader reputation

Every reader has a reputation earned only by genuinely reading and leaving feedback authors find useful. It can’t be bought, and it fades if you go quiet. A brand-new or throwaway account counts as one reader who had to read first; a long, credible track record counts for more.

Won on quality, not turnout

Entries are scored by a reputation-weighted average rating, not a raw vote count — so a book wins by being well-rated by credible readers, not by whoever can rally the most accounts. A stack of fresh accounts barely moves the needle.