When you\u2019re wondering how you can get acclaimed as an author, writing contests rarely come to mind. You mostly think about getting active on Goodreads, starting your Facebook fan page, and collaborating with Instagram influencers, who could promote your work. What if a writing contest is exactly what you need?<\/p>\n
Yes; it\u2019s extra work that may sound too challenging. But you\u2019re a writer, after all. Why would you have a problem with a writing challenge?<\/p>\n
You\u2019re still not sure about this? We\u2019ll list the pros and cons of entering writing contest. After that, you decide!<\/p>\n
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When you win a writing contest, it means you\u2019re getting published. When you\u2019re about to start publishing your work, this is the primary benefit you get.<\/p>\n
Daniel Rudic, an editor at UK BestEssays<\/a>, agrees with that: \u201cIf you enter a reliable and well-known writing contest and you become a laureate, you basically get free promotion. Publishers will get interested in your work. When you contact someone with a draft, you can include the win in your biography and it will certainly look good.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Most contests have cash prizes, and let\u2019s be honest: that\u2019s the biggest motivation for writers to enter. L. Ron Hubbard\u2019s Writers of the Future contest<\/a>, for example, awards up to $1000 on every three months, and $5000 for the winner of the grand prize. Graywolf Press<\/a> hosts a high-class writing contest with a prize of $12,000 plus publication.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Let\u2019s say you see a great essay contest with a topic \u201cWhat our lives would look like without technology.\u201d It\u2019s a pretty simple topic at first sight. It looks like an assignment a high-school student would get. But when you scratch the surface, even the simplest topic can be turned into a beautiful, elaborate essay.<\/p>\n The themes of writing contests can inspire you to research topics you\u2019ve never been interested before. These challenges add new dimensions to your work, so you can benefit from them on the long term.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n When you work on your big novel and you still don\u2019t have a deal with a publisher, you tend to miss your own deadlines. You don\u2019t feel inspired to write, so you just skip a day or two, until the procrastination turns to a week or two.<\/p>\n That can\u2019t happen when you want to enter a writing contest. It comes with a deadline and if you miss it, your entry won\u2019t be accepted. So you simply have to put yourself together and write that entry if you want to participate.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Even though many contests come with an entry fee, you won\u2019t lose much. Sure, you\u2019ll lose that money if you don\u2019t win, but you\u2019ll have a polished out piece. You can publish it on your blog and trigger a discussion. You may even save it for an entry to another contest.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This is possibly the biggest disadvantage for most writers. They become overly competitive. When they don\u2019t win, they feel like they\u2019ve lost. They start criticizing the winning entries. They are firmly convinced that their work was better and it deserved the win.<\/p>\n If you realize you\u2019re falling down that road, snap out of it! It\u2019s your ego and it has to learn how to deal with competition. Another writer may win. Accept that. You\u2019ll have your chance, too. You just need to keep writing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Many contests will not allow you to submit the same piece anywhere else while they last. This means that you\u2019ll have your work tied up in a single place over the course of several months. Maybe you\u2019ll win and that will be great. But maybe you won\u2019t and that means losing a lot of time, even though you\u2019ll get the right to use that content once the contest wraps up.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Let\u2019s say you\u2019re working on a novel. You spot a great contest for essays or short stories and you decide to enter. It\u2019s fun and it inspires you to write, so you search for another contest to enter. One contest after another, and you may forget all about that big project that\u2019s waiting for your attention.<\/p>\n Contests are great, but you mustn\u2019t let them distract you from your real job as a writer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Will a contest do you well? Absolutely! However, you must be aware of both the advantages and disadvantages, so you\u2019ll gain the ultimate benefits from this opportunity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When you\u2019re wondering how you can get acclaimed as an author, writing contests rarely come to mind. You mostly think about getting active on Goodreads, starting your Facebook fan page, and collaborating with Instagram influencers, who could promote your work. What if a writing contest is exactly what you need? 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The Cons of Entering Writing Contests<\/b><\/h2>\n
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