I've been seeing a lot of calls for contest submissions lately. It brought to mind an article I wrote for a writers website awhile back. Thought it might help you sort out whether to submit your work to a contest or not.
Contests
Calling—Should You Enter?
By Nancy Julien Kopp
Have you ever wanted
to enter a writing contest but talked yourself out of it? Ever convinced
yourself you weren’t good enough to enter a writing contest? Maybe the answer
is yes to at least one of these questions, possibly both.
But why enter? What’s in it for you if you don’t win? What
happens if you do win?
Many considerations come into play when I send my finest
work to a writing contest. I’ve entered a good many contests, and I’ve won in
several--not always first place, but a
place. Even Honorable Mention is a winner. You may have
noticed that I stated
“…sending my finest work….”
I try to send the best qualifying piece for that particular contest.
I look for writing contest announcements in writer’s
newsletters, magazines, and newspapers. Some require a fee and others ask for
nothing more than the prose or poetry I plan to submit. Many offer terrific
prizes, while others promise only publication of the winning entries.
Publication may be prize enough, especially for beginning writers.
I didn’t enter any writing contests in the early stages of
my career. For one thing, I didn’t have enough confidence and secondly, I knew
my work was not professional enough at that point. As time went on, I began to
get acceptances for some of the articles, stories and poems I submitted to
editors. Oh sure, I got plenty of rejections, but my confidence level moved up
a notch with each acceptance. Once my work began to sell, I thought more
seriously about entering contests.
I submitted my first contest entry at the district level of
my state authors’ organization. I competed against only a couple dozen people.
It proved a good place to begin. I entered something in several categories, and
to my great surprise, I placed with everything I’d entered and won small
amounts of cash. The state contest offered bigger cash prizes, but also greater
competition. I entered my prize-winners from the district contest, and when the
winners list arrived, my name was absent Though disappointed, I continued to
enter the district and state contests in successive years, and while I nearly
always won at the district level, it took a few years before I saw results at
the state level.
One year, I entered a
poem in the theme category of the state contest, even though I have no formal
training in poetry. When I sent it in, I wondered why I even bothered. I feared
it was a waste of money as I had to pay a small fee for each entry. Imagine my
surprise when my poem won first place. If I’d talked myself out of sending the
poem, hadn’t wanted to waste that entry fee, I’d never have had the pleasure of
winning nor of cashing the very nice check that arrived with my Award
Certificate.
I’ve entered poetry contests at a couple of websites. They
required no entry fees so I had nothing to lose. I won first place with a poem
about my granddaughter at a writers’ website, and I won third place and two
Honorable Mention awards at another website’s poetry contest three successive
years. I learned that you can’t win if you don’t enter.
Besides the prizes, recognition comes with publication of
the winner’s work. Editors sometimes look at winners in contests and offer to
purchase the entry for their own publication. The first time I attended our
state authors’ convention, more than one person remembered my name from the
prize winners lists of the previous years.
Some contests call their entry fee a reading fee, but it’s the same thing. Some are nominal, and others
seem quite high, but usually the higher the entry fee, the greater the prize at
the end but also stronger competition. Each writer must decide if it’s worth
the fee to enter. If I enter a contest every week, those fees will add up to
more than I might win. But if I’m selective, an occasional entry fee would be
worth considering.
Adhering to contest guidelines is important. I know if I
don’t follow them to the letter, it’s more than likely that my story or article
will get tossed. Time and effort go into
the entries, so I check guidelines carefully and give my
work a winner’s chance. If there is a theme to the contest, I try to make sure
the entry fits. If single-spaced, non-indented paragraphs are called for, I
don’t send a double-spaced manuscript.
Want another reason to enter contests? If I pen a winner,
it’s a great addition to my cover letter when I submit the piece to an editor.
Most will take note of such an announcement and may look a little more closely
at the submission since it proved to be a winner. It’s helpful but doesn’t always
ensure a sale. For example, one of my stories for children won at the district
level of my state author’s group, it won at the state level, and it won at
another online contest. A couple of critique groups praised the story, too.
But, so far, it hasn’t sold.
So what are you waiting for? Check out the myriad writing
contests and send your best work. If you don’t make it the first time, try
again. Read the winning entries and ask yourself why it won and yours didn’t.
Entering contests is no different than submitting your work to an editor. Both
require patience and persistence. Start with the smaller contests and before
you know it, you’ll be ready to enter bigger ones. There’s nothing to lose, and
the payoff may be a prize or an impressive clip for your portfolio.
