So, you’ve written a few things here and there and you think the quality of your writing is pretty darned good. Mom says that you’ll be a best selling author in no time. Your friends gobble up everything you put down on paper. What’s the next step? For many, this road leads to submitting stories to writing contests. After you’ve stewed on in for a while you decide to throw your name in the hat, but where to begin?

Benefits of Entering Writing Contests

First off, let’s discuss the obvious and less obvious benefits for entering writing contests. The easy answer is that you can win. What can you win? That answer will vary depending on the contest you’re considering. Some organizations offer publication in an anthology, while others may offer cash prizes as well as publication.

So far, the beneficial reasons for entering your work may seem quite apparent. Not so fast, Hotshot! Did you know that writing contests are another good way to promote yourself? If you’re considering contests at this point, you may have your eye on a future of publishing your writing. Many authors are surprised to find out that it is very hard to get a foothold in the industry. Publishers and agents prefer writers who are proven, with tangible work history. That makes it very hard to break into print. How can you be proven if no one will let you test your mettle? The writing contest may be a great first step to adding notches in your belt.

Another reason to enter a contest is for feedback. Yes, it’s true. Some contests will include personal feedback to all or some of the entries they receive. Professional feedback can be invaluable for a beginning author, and thus should not be scoffed at. If it helps you to improve your writing (or craft, as some may refer to it), it could be worth far more than monetary prizes in the long run.

Pitfalls? How could there be anything bad about submitting to a contest?!

Unbelievable! The obvious answer here is that a vast majority of writing contests require an entry, or “reading fee” for each submission. Some will accept multiple entries, but charge for each one. This can be hard for the beginning writer who never expected to have to pay someone to read their story or poem. Are there contests out there that don’t require fees? Of course!

Some contests aren’t really contests at all. That’s right… everyone’s a winner. That’s great, right? Not really.

Some contests are not looking out for your best interests. Sounds like the rest of the world, right? Everyone’s out for themselves, but how does that apply to a contest? These guys are generally very easy to spot, if you’re not taken in by the prospect of being published over all else. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment though, so if you’ve fallen prey to this swindle buck up and dust yourself off. Just don’t let it happen again. So, what am I talking about? Let me explain. Some contests aren’t really contests at all. That’s right… everyone’s a winner. That’s great, right? Not really. Usually these “contests” are in place to accept all the entries they possibly can. When they have enough for an anthology they just start pooling for the next one. That’s right! Everyone gets published. It’s what you’ve been waiting for; finally someone appreciates your work! What’s more, the anthology is highly publicized and the organization sends out a lot of advertising for people to buy the anthology. That’s a good thing right? Their target market: the people whose entries have been published. These anthologies can cost $40 a pop and really, shouldn’t you buy two or three? This is your big break, after all. Mom will want one, you’ll need one for your writing desk or the mantle, and who wouldn’t want to keep a copy underneath their pillow? When your copies arrive, you may find your story or poem has been hacked to pieces. The work is shoddy at best and it may seem it was edited for length or page format rather than for style. The goal of these operations is to fit as many entries as possible. Well! You’ll never join that contest again, how can they stay in business? Some change their name from time to time, but for the most part… there’s a sucker born every minute.

Another pitfall is, what if you don’t win? An author’s self esteem can be fragile at best. A beginning author may enter a contest feeling sure of herself, when she doesn’t win she’s devastated and throws in the towel. Maybe it’s for months, maybe it’s for years, unfortunately for some it can be the end altogether. That may sound extreme, but it’s true.

That Sounds Horrible! Why Should I Bother? (Tips to Make it Worth the Effort)

Remember those benefits I mentioned at the beginning of the article? There are reasons to enter and the pitfalls are very easily managed in most cases. Allow me to start with the most important one.

So what if you don’t win? Is this a true indication of your worth? Not necessarily. It simply means that maybe there were a few entries that were just a bit better than yours. Maybe it means that you were writing for judges with a slightly different palette than what you offered them. Maybe it means that your writing still needs to improve. Is that such a bad thing? What beginning writers need to understand is that you never truly “make it”. You never stop improving. This is the beginning of your own unique story. Don’t be melodramatic, pick yourself up and dust yourself off, and keep working at it. Not placing first in a contest is not the end of the world. The first time around you may not place at all, maybe by the second or third try you’ll snag an Honorable Mention, then who knows? You’ll find that the experience of writing for these venues may outweigh the benefit of actually winning on your first go. You may even find yourself getting one of your previous entries published before you ever win anything. Does that mean the judges were stupid for not seeing your brilliance? If that’s the thought that keeps you writing, go with it.

Do your research. Don’t just enter any contest you come across, be selective. Use google or your favorite search engine to research what other people have to say about the contest. It’s better to learn from someone else’s mistake than to learn it first hand, especially when it comes to writing. Sometimes writing blogs have contests and publish the winning entries on their blog for all their visitors to see. This could be a great way to increase your exposure with minimum risk. Take a look at the blog, get to know the author by reading their posts and sifting through the archive. If it looks like a good venue, go for it. If you find a mainstream contest that looks good and the reviews are positive, give it a shot.

Like I mentioned before, not all contests charge a fee. For the beginner, I would suggest this, try to avoid paying for someone to “read” your work. If the contest includes feedback with the reading, it may be worth a ten or fifteen dollar entry fee for the professional insight, but that’s for you to decide. I’ve written a post about perspective and critiques on my blog, feel free to check it out.