Writing Contests from Writer's Digest & Others: Are They Worth Their Weight in Gold?

August 11, 2006 by
Rachel Brooks  
Rachel Brooks
Rachel Brooks
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writer's market  |  Writing Contests  |  Writing Contest  |  Script Writing

Don't Let Your Writing Be a Lump of Raw Cookie Dough Waiting to Squeeze Through Someone Else's Cookie-cutter

If you’re reading this article you are likely a fellow writer. And as such, chances are you’ve entered a writing contest at some point. Perhaps you submitted your writing to a mainstream contest sponsored by a reputable name such as Writer’s Digest, or maybe it was
 something a bit more obscure. Either way, you probably paid a reading fee for the privilege of entering said contest. You may have even fantasized about the day you would be contacted by a contest representative informing you that your brilliant manuscript won first place. This would, of course, mean a monetary prize and perhaps publication and you’d soon be on your way to forging a path as an established writer. Isn’t that how the dream goes?

Well, if you’re like most of us you’ve probably never won anything from these contests. Is that because your writing isn’t worthy? Not at all. Your writing might be superb; but then again, it might not. That doesn’t matter. You can pick up any one of the numerous articles and guides floating around out there that will tell you all the tips and secrets you need to know to actually win writing contests. And isn’t that what you imagined the life of a writer would be, reading one article after another about how to win writing contests and break into the elusive world of the published writer? Imagine that. You became a writer so that you could spend your time reading.

That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but you should be reading every winning entry of every writing contest you’ve ever entered, and even for those you didn’t enter. Why? You need to know what the judges were looking for if you plan to win one of these contests yourself someday. Now isn’t that how you dreamed your life as a writer would be, modeling the writings of others to improve your odds of winning recognition, prizes, and possibly publication? Me neither. But if that’s what it takes…

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I think that if it is a good writing contest, then they will charge a small fee. Judging hundreds of stories takes time and professionalism.
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Posted on 06/03/2009 at 12:06:14 PM

I've never really paid attention to a lot of writing contests. Some of them just seem so...not worth it. My English teacher gives me the information on all the really good ones. Great article!
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Posted on 04/01/2009 at 7:04:45 PM

Writing contests can be a great waste of time if the editorial staff is not prepared to handle the vast number of entries which flood their email or postboxes. To give you an idea what I mean, suppose a particular contest has one thousand entries and one editor to read them in four days time. He or she would be able to spend a maximum of five minutes on each entry if they didn't eat, sleep, or ever leave the office. In truth, they'll really have one minute per entry, which means the editor is likely to take the much vaunted shortcut of reading the first line only. What if your story has a surprise ending -- that's right -- they'll never see it because they never got that far. After slogging through the first one hundred entries, it's more likely they'll just throw the whole mess into a clown hat and pick at random. Judging from the horrid samples which win in these contests, it's probably better, in my opinion to stick to writing outside the contest circuit. Nothing is more self
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Posted on 10/15/2008 at 2:10:42 AM

I think writing contests are good to help bring discipline to a writer's life; however, you're right in many ways because it's important to remember how subjective writing is.
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Posted on 05/17/2008 at 9:05:48 PM

I've won contests on a couple of occasions - money and publication in newspapers with more than 100,000 in sales. On both occasions I did write my piece based on what I thought that contest was looking for. I didn't change my voice - I've found that impossible - it was that I chose a theme for the story based on the type of publication. Regards the really huge (more than 2000 entrants), it's impossible to tell what they are looking for so I just write my best story. Keep in mind that almost every contest changes judges every year and they bring their subjective preferences to every contest.
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Posted on 04/15/2008 at 6:04:55 AM

I couldn't agree more with your statement, "But never compromise the style and voice of your writing to fit into a mold created by someone else. No one else can tell you how to write your story." I decided myself, long ago that writing never needed to be a chore, tiresome, or discouraging... but something I do because I enjoy doing it. For a while I kept a blog on my family life, and enjoyed it thoroughly. However it is my stories I tend to have trouble finishing. I've found critique groups to be far more helpful in guaging the quality (or lack thereof) of my writing than any writing contests. The people belonging to them are fellow authors, and critiquing their work helps you hone your own skills, recognize strengths and weaknesses in their work as well as your own, and the critiques they give of your work tend to be fair and balanced. I have found among fellow authors a diplomacy in pointing out weaknesses in my pieces, and great encouragement in their interest of my plots, and w
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Posted on 08/14/2006 at 11:08:00 AM

I've never gotten caught up in the game of writing contests. In fact, I've read some of the winning entries on poetry competitions and wondered just what the hell they were talking about-I couldn't understand what they were writing about. That said, I have 'used' contests and competitions as prompts for articles and stories I've later successfully submitted to other sites. To feed that competitive edge and get the feedback we all crave, I use some of the MSN boards, like Writer's Journals. They have monthly contests, there's no fee, and the feedback from other members is encouraging. One such entry I made didn't win, but was picked up in an anthology. It was my first 'black on white' publication. Entering contests may be a waste of time and money, but using them as a tool can be invaluable. That prompt may jog a snippet that will be a successful bid at a call for submissions.
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Posted on 08/12/2006 at 8:08:00 AM

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