Writing: Entering and Winning Writing Contests

Entering and Winning Writing Contests

Written by Pamela White

Visit any writing message board and you'll read discussion threads on contests and competitions for writers. The messages run repparttar

gamut of those who have been scammed to those who rave about contests. So where does repparttar 129116

truth lie? For as many contests for writers there are out there, there are as many truths.

Before you run away from repparttar 129117 opportunities offered by many legitimate writing contests, read repparttar 129118 following eleven tips on choosing, winning and benefitting from writing contests.

1. Visit repparttar 129119 websites listed below under resources. Many offer comments on writing contests which can help you decide which ones are for you, and which ones are to avoid. Do an internet search on repparttar 129120 publication, business or person running repparttar 129121 contest. While not answering all your questions, this type of search can help you cross off questionable contests.

2. If a contest is free to enter, you have nothing to lose, but still read repparttar 129122 fine print. There are contests that claim rights to any winning stories, or even all submissions. For contests with an entry fee, decide if repparttar 129123 prize money justifies repparttar 129124 fee. For example, would you pay $15 entry fee for a poetry contest where repparttar 129125 winner received $35 as repparttar 129126 prize? Would you pay a fee if repparttar 129127 prize was publication, or a book?

3. Still unsure about a publication or business that is running an writing contest? E-mail repparttar 129128 publisher or owner and ask for references. Visit repparttar 129129 contest's website and track down former winners. Again, this is not a guarantee of anything, but if a former winner says he lost all rights to his story and was never paid, or on repparttar 129130 other hand, if repparttar 129131 winner raves about repparttar 129132 cash prizes and personal note from repparttar 129133 literary agent/contest judge, you have a better idea of how you are likely to be treated in each case.

4. Read repparttar 129134 rules carefully to make sure that a prize will be awarded no matter how many entries are received. If there is a minimum amount of entries (say repparttar 129135 editor just wants to bring in entry fees equal to repparttar 129136 cash awarded), make sure that repparttar 129137 contest's rules state repparttar 129138 fees will be refunded if repparttar 129139 competition cannot be completed.

5. Want to increase your odds of winning? Find a relatively new publication or contest. Each year a contest is held builds on repparttar 129140 previous year's publicity. The second annual contest of a fiction magazine will likely draw less entries than one that's been publicized for ten years.

6. Another way to hedge your bets is to follow repparttar 129141 contest's rules. Know repparttar 129142 word limit, way to submit, how to pay repparttar 129143 entry fee and when winners will be announced. Do not think your story will be so special that repparttar 129144 judges will overlook your sloppy formatting, lack of fee or 4000 extra words.

7. Read repparttar 129145 list of judges. This could be as important as (and more exciting than) reading repparttar 129146 contest rules. Will a magazine editor be judging your work? Maybe you'll catch repparttar 129147 eye of a book editor, literary agent, novelist or publisher. If repparttar 129148 judge list is great, and you don't win a prize, you can still hope to hear from one of repparttar 129149 judges asking you to submit to his magazine, or from a publisher asking if you have a novel in repparttar 129150 works. For example, repparttar 129151 kinds of judges you might wish to have reading your work can be found at Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine which lists its judges online: http://www.fmam.biz/contests.html#judges .

Make Time to Write: Overcome Your Excuses

Written by Cynthia Morris

By Cynthia Morris

After a full day of work, family and life, you fall into bed exhausted. Mentally ticking off your to-do list, you cycle through shopping lists, phone calls, and appointments, feeling good about what you have gotten done, until you get to repparttar thing you really want to do. You lay there, bathed in regret – why didn’t you get your writing done today? You vow to do it tomorrow. You will make time for your novel or that article you know would sell. You consider angles, write a few lines in your head, and fired up with enthusiasm for your writing, you fall asleep. The next day continues on much like repparttar 129114 one before and you live repparttar 129115 life of an unfulfilled writer, all because you do not do repparttar 129116 simple work of making time to write. As a coach, I have worked with many writers who claim lack of time as their number one excuse for not writing. But I have discovered that there are a number of other reasons that make it easy to put off our writing. When you do find time to write, these other demons loom up to prevent you from doing repparttar 129117 work. I ask my clients questions to help them understand their process. Use repparttar 129118 questions below to help you discover what is behind your time excuse. When you take some time before writing to gain clarity on what is true for you, that you are able to accomplish your writing more quickly. Often “lack of time” is a mask for fears. The work of writing, while satisfying, can be difficult to make time for. We put it off to do repparttar 129119 easier things, repparttar 129120 things we know how to do. Think about repparttar 129121 things you do when you are procrastinating getting to repparttar 129122 writing. Do you clean, cook, or exercise? Do you spend your valuable writing time reading or watching TV? The act of writing challenges us to dive into ourselves and come out with something tangible. This kind of work can leave us vulnerable to our fears that we are not good enough, not talented enough, don’t have anything to say and are likely to be rejected. What is scary for you about writing? Jot down some of your fears. Then look and see how true they really are. Often when we expose our fears on paper, they lose their power over us. Notice when you are resisting and when you truthfully do not have time to write. Be honest with yourself and learn to identify how it feels when you are resisting. Many creative types struggle with time management. We may have enough time but do not use it in a way that honors our priorities. What are your priorities? If you are not showing up for your writing, maybe it isn’t that important. What else is going on in your life that is more compelling than writing? Take a moment now to jot down where you spend your time. What do you notice about what is important to you? Once you have a clear picture of where your time goes, how do you feel about it? Does repparttar 129123 way you spend your time reflect what is important to you? Work and other obligations seem more fixed and indeed they may be for now, but where else can you make decisions to get writing into your life? What is one thing you could change this week to make more space for writing?

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