If you’re a writer, you’ve seen them advertised online and in magazines…contests offering money and/or publication for stories you’ve written. For aspiring authors, these contests may sound like a way to break into the publishing world and earn a few ‘published’ credits, but are they worth the effort and in many cases, the entry fee that can range from $5 to $100?
Here are a few questions you should ask yourself before plunking down the money.
1. What is the prize? Make sure it’s something you really want. Also look at the prizes for 2nd – 5th place and see if you would be happy with those prizes as well. Avoid contest with high entry fees and cheap prizes.
2. How much does it cost to enter? First, consider your budget. Contests are like gambling, so don’t invest more than you can afford to lose. Short story contests fees can run upwards of $40 or $50 for each entry. Book entries can run closer to $100. Before investing, research the publisher/magazine. See if they are reputable and what their track record is. Also make sure you read the fine print and make sure you’re not relinquishing all your rights to the story or novel. Some unscrupulous publishers will do this. As to fees, rule of thumb is try not to spend more than $15 for a short story or more than $35 for a novel.
3. How prestigious is the award? Does the magazine or publisher publish everything they receive? If they do, it may not be the contest for you. Try to stick with well-known and/or well-respected magazines or publishers. They have a reputation and will only print stories worthy of that reputation. It will also boost your ego a bit more as well as provide a more reputable publishing credit.
4, If you don’t win one of the prizes, do you get anything for your entry fee? Some magazines provide 3, 6 or 12 month subscriptions to their magazine or journal. If this doesn’t matter to you, then you can check this one off your list, but if you’re like me and would like to have something for your buck, you may want to consider some sort of ‘consolation’ prize.
5. Who are the sponsors, organizers and judges? If you can’t find information you need in the “About Us” section of the contest’s website, email the organizers and ask for details. If they’re reputable, they’ll respond. If they’re not, odds are you won’t get an answer or at best, it will a very vague one. Also, if you can find out who the judges are, that may also determine if you enter. If the organization is unheard of but Stephen King or J.K. Rowling is one of the judges, you may want to consider entering.
So have you entered any contest? Have you won anything?
YA Chit Chat 