Entering Writers Contests

Is entering a writing contest a good idea? Why should you have to pay to enter?

There are many writing contests being offered by various organizations. Most are free. Some have a charge. You have to determine if you want to pay to enter a contest. Some call it an administrative fee or depending on the source, it may be a subscription fee, where you’ll receive a subscription to a mainstream or literary magazine. You would have to determine if you really need a subscription to their product, which comes with the entering of the contest.

Look at why you should enter. Maybe by having a deadline, it will make you sit and do some writing work. The entry criteria might help you to write outside of your comfort zone, in a genre that you might not otherwise have tackled. Of course there are the rewards if you do win - cash, prestige, popularity, possibility of publication, which gives you clips for your portfolio, and it does look great on a submission or resume.

Try entering local contests, where the submissions may be a lower than at a national or international level. The local press is always interested in home town authors who win.

Try to look for free contests, but also look at those contests too where the organizations charge only a small fee. This might be needed for the financial support to offer a small honorarium to the judges, and to come up with the prize funds.

When you enter a contest where you get a free subscription to a product, is in my opinion, a way for magazines to increase their subscribers numbers. Your fee pays for the subscription. It’s ok if you don’t mind getting a subscription. They usually offer to print the winner’s entry, so this is a good way to get published.

Find writing contest information at your local library, writing groups and on the internet. Good Luck on your entries!

Tags: Writing Contests