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To Enter or Not to Enter Writing Contests
If you are a freelance writer, it is because you love to write. Why not put those abilities to use and enter a
writing contest? You have nothing to loose and a lot to gain. You can find writing contests by simply searching the
Internet. Writing groups and message boards may also have listing for these contests. No matter what you writing
genre maybe poetry, fiction, non fiction, there is a contest out there for you. Read about them and choose which
ones are right for you. It is not necessarily about winning or loosing but about the experience and knowledge that
you gain to get there.
Whether you win or not there are still valuable things that can be learned or gained by entering into contests.
Entering writing contests will help you hone the skills that you have. Try something new, you may choose to write
in a niche that you normally wouldn’t. You get constructive criticism from someone new. Someone that doesn’t have
to worry about hurting your feelings and that is unbiased can be a wonderful asset to your career. The feedback you
receive can be invaluable to you. It will get your name out there and give you a place to showcase your work.
Depending on how good your story, if you make it to the next round your writings could be in front of editors and
agents. This feedback and criticism is even more important than the first. Do not your eggs all in one basket.
Enter a couple contests to get multiple feedback sources. Not every editor or agent is going to agree. By entering
multiple contests and find common points about your writing that need perfecting you will be able to concentrate on
a general consensus about your abilities.
There are some downsides to entering writing contests, too. Chances are that a simple contest is not going to
launch your career into star status. Do your research just as if you were going to write an article about contests.
For many contests you give up your rights to your entry whether it wins or not. You need to decide whether or not
you are willing to give up all rights to your story. If you win it is not a big deal, but if you loose your giving
your work away. Are you willing to do this?
Research the contest. You can search the Internet for reports or opinions on contests run by the company. You can
find valuable information on if the contest is legitimate, if entering has had any effect of previous entrant’s
careers, and if it is really worth it in the long run. The bigger and well-established companies will give
credibility to your work if you win. But the bigger and more well know the companies are will also bring in tougher
competition with well know authors.
Some companies offer contests as a disguise. Yes they will give away prizes and declare winners but their main goal
with the contest is advertising. It can be in the form of offering you to buy obscure book featuring your contest
submission. Sometimes it is an editing company that offers a discount for its services or a company that will offer
you discounts on writing classes.
A writing contest is just a possible stepping stone. Whether it helps you or not is the unknown, but it definitely
won’t hurt you. It may help you reach the next level of your career. You and only you will be able to make the
decision on whether or not writing contests are a good move for your career.
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