Are writing contests scams?
As a mother of some avid writers (I couldn’t be more proud), I’ve run into a lot of, “Mom, could I please borrow $100? It’s for a great cause!” Only to find its just another writing contest they want to enter….
As a writer myself, I know that writing contests are actually a great way to get your writing discovered and gain contacts that would normally take years to achieve.
But does that mean all writing contests can deliver results?
The short answer is: No.
The long answer is: It depends.
Well how can you tell them apart? Great question.
There are many indicators that the new writing contest your son wants to enter his latest edition of “Zorg Borgs: Galatic Space Adventure”, can actually do something for his career; and not just be another needless expense.
Look carefully at the contest’s material
In reality, you have all the clues you need right in front of you. Whether it’s a simple pamphlet, or a full-fledged website, analyze the content of what is written.
If they have a blog, even better. Essentially, just some material of theirs you could read to get a feel for things.
A good writing contest should, first of all, know good writing. A great indication of this is the material itself is well-written.
While it’s not always true that great editors/reviewers are great writers, it’s definitely OK to err on the safe side when fees are involved.
Look for contests that are new and active
Sometimes you’ll bump into a writing contest sounds too good to be true, and it’s because it is. And it shut down operation almost 10 years ago, they just never posted that on their site.
New writing contests are actually a lot of times more easy to win as well! Newer contests means less competitions, so in their debut phases you can be looking at much, much better odds than a longer held writing contest.
Avoid contests that run on donations
These are bad news. The thing about donation run anything, is that the money still controls the interests.
In an ideal world, donations would be from a ton of different sources and evenly spread. However, in most real world cases, it is a couple of main large donations that are being made, year to year; and it is these big fish that the writing contest has to please if they continue to operate.
So now that you are armed with some new-found knowledge, hopefully you can start to shop wisely, and pick up on the signs that the contest you or a loved one is about to enter, is the real deal.
Here are a small list of writing contests I have personally researched and chosen out with reasons why:
- Writers Digest (http://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions)
One of the longest held contests and has a lot of material to back them up. Many of the articles are about and from literary agents which is a good sign. - Seattle Writing Contest (https://www.seattlewritingcontest.com)
My top pick! It’s new, the site material is good, and unless they reveal in their blog posts that they are inept this seems like a great place to enter and actually win. - 3 day Novel Contest (http://www.3daynovel.com/?gclid=Cj0KEQjw57W9BRDM9_a-2vWJ68EBEiQAwPNFK18_9eJ6zauXKWmYPv1glaTGMfBVLou9wDE4AFP84fwaAp5Y8P8HAQ)
A well known contest that has produced some great authors and works. The material is not only well written, but polished. - Edupress Chapbook Contest (https://educepress.com/)
This contest is more geared toward a new medium of online chapter books/e-books, but has gained a lot of traction. The level of writing on site itself seems to be a touch lower than the rest of the list, but obviously because of a dualistic focus on visual elements.
That’s it for now, but I’ll be sure to post more on the subject and more again later!
Thanks!
