What I Learned BY Entering Writing Contests

Aspiring authors can benefit in many ways by entering writing contests. In this post, I will talk about contests for unpublished manuscripts.

Participating in writing competitions encourages authors to learn how to format correctly, follow rules, and meet deadlines. Score sheets from the judges often provide valuable information. Anonymous feedback is likely to be honest, and when given by a qualified peer it is priceless.

Contest wins are great to add to your author bio, whether on a website, in a query, or on a book cover. Having a literary award for the bio section of a query shows an agent or publisher that you are serious about your craft and plugged into the writing community. (Just keep in mind that winning a contest gives you something to put in your query letter, but doesn’t necessarily mean you’re ready to query. Getting a yes takes more than brilliant first chapters and a snazzy synopsis.)

Besides all this, it’s nice to get recognition and validation for your hard work.

Not all contests are created equal.

Sometimes smaller contests offer bigger monetary prizes. Sometimes lesser-known contests have more detailed feedback, or more experienced and qualified judges. Check out a contest before you plunk down your money for all the details such as costs, judging pool, prizes, and so on.  

Entering contests can get expensive, or not.

Fees vary widely. I tend to enter contests run by organizations that I would like to support, anyway. Some of the better-known contests may charge higher fees, but they carry more prestige if you place. 

The dollar amount of cash prizes, number of prizes, number of entries allowed, and ratio of judges per submissions affect how well each entry places. If an author is trying to break even, those are things to consider. (I’ve never gotten close to breaking even.)

Be cautious about writing competitions that charge large fees or otherwise seem off. Do your homework before jumping in.

Feedback can be confusing.

I learned to expect varied feedback. On more than one occasion, judges directly contradicted each other! This is a common experience, because art is subjective. Contests with detailed score sheets and directions may have more consistent results, but don’t count on it. Just like readers out in the real world, judges have their preferred types of stories and writing. 

One time, I entered a contest for feedback only. Because it was a contest geared toward romance and my submission wasn’t quite what they were looking for, I knew my manuscript wouldn’t place. However, the comments about the other elements of my story helped me, and that was my goal. The organizers provided a detailed scoresheet example and were happy to answer all of my questions beforehand. That’s a win for me! 

I’ve found that the best feedback came from judges who were widely read. I value the opinions of librarians, editors, and industry professionals. That’s not to say a general reader can’t give excellent feedback, but I like score sheets that let me know the experience level of the judge who is evaluating my submission. This helps me interpret any comments or confusing scores.

Disappointments happen.

It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of contests. It happens to me all the time!

But with a realistic idea about the different way writers benefit from the experience, the inevitable disappointment will lose some of its sting.

Find the right contest to help you achieve your goals, whether that is financial reward, prestige, or honing your craft. 

Donna Jo Stone writes YA contemporary novels about tough issues but always ends the stories with a note of hope. She blogs at donnajostone.com.