Entering contests offers writers an opportunity to gain experience and recognition. Winning prizes is another advantage. There are many such contests available and a quick internet search provides numerous options. Many of them require no entry fees. Entering a free monthly writing contest will cost a writer nothing but time.
As there are so many contests, one has to be selective when choosing which one to apply for. The genres covered vary from mystery, science fiction and romance to non-fiction, travel writing, stories for children and memoirs. You need to find the best fit for you. If you are a newbie, it may be preferable to start small and progress on to larger contests as you acquire more confidence. Reading past winning submissions can be helpful in making a decision.
Entrants are bound by the rules and conditions of a particular contest and so it is important to read these carefully before submitting your entry. You have to know what is expected of you as an entrant. Your work must be original and some contests do not accept submissions that have ever been published elsewhere. You should also be fully aware of what rights the sponsors have over your work once submitted.
Before you submit your manuscript, you also need to follow the guidelines given. This may require you to set it out with double spacing and you may not be allowed to exceed a certain word count. If you do not follow these guidelines, there is every chance that your submission may be rejected before the judges have even read the content.
You may not regard producing an error free manuscript as being important. However, this does make an impression on the judges. A manuscript full of spelling and grammatical errors that could easily have been corrected does not create a good first impression. Edit, edit and edit again before submission to make sure that any avoidable errors do not detract from your excellent content.
Creativity, originality and your language usage are usually the main considerations for judging. It is also vital to make sure that you have not gone completely digressed and gone right off the theme. No matter how brilliant your content, if you do not stick to the theme, you are highly unlikely to win.
There are many smaller contests with prizes like an annual subscription to a magazine if your submission is published. It is often best for new writers to start with something like this to gain some confidence. Some of these contests have really good prizes, including large amounts of money and there are many experienced writers who enter these. Remember that everyone has to start somewhere and even a T-shirt as a prize means that someone else appreciates your work.
You have nothing to lose from entering such contests where no entry fees are required. What you will gain is the opportunity for others to evaluate your work and sometimes you may receive helpful feedback, even if you do not win a prize. You may also get a chance to be published and start to build up recognition for your work.
As there are so many contests, one has to be selective when choosing which one to apply for. The genres covered vary from mystery, science fiction and romance to non-fiction, travel writing, stories for children and memoirs. You need to find the best fit for you. If you are a newbie, it may be preferable to start small and progress on to larger contests as you acquire more confidence. Reading past winning submissions can be helpful in making a decision.
Entrants are bound by the rules and conditions of a particular contest and so it is important to read these carefully before submitting your entry. You have to know what is expected of you as an entrant. Your work must be original and some contests do not accept submissions that have ever been published elsewhere. You should also be fully aware of what rights the sponsors have over your work once submitted.
Before you submit your manuscript, you also need to follow the guidelines given. This may require you to set it out with double spacing and you may not be allowed to exceed a certain word count. If you do not follow these guidelines, there is every chance that your submission may be rejected before the judges have even read the content.
You may not regard producing an error free manuscript as being important. However, this does make an impression on the judges. A manuscript full of spelling and grammatical errors that could easily have been corrected does not create a good first impression. Edit, edit and edit again before submission to make sure that any avoidable errors do not detract from your excellent content.
Creativity, originality and your language usage are usually the main considerations for judging. It is also vital to make sure that you have not gone completely digressed and gone right off the theme. No matter how brilliant your content, if you do not stick to the theme, you are highly unlikely to win.
There are many smaller contests with prizes like an annual subscription to a magazine if your submission is published. It is often best for new writers to start with something like this to gain some confidence. Some of these contests have really good prizes, including large amounts of money and there are many experienced writers who enter these. Remember that everyone has to start somewhere and even a T-shirt as a prize means that someone else appreciates your work.
You have nothing to lose from entering such contests where no entry fees are required. What you will gain is the opportunity for others to evaluate your work and sometimes you may receive helpful feedback, even if you do not win a prize. You may also get a chance to be published and start to build up recognition for your work.
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