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Beware!
Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to take a moment or two to remind you to BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU ENTER WRITING CONTESTS.
I created this blog to help novice writers find contests that will help them to hone their skills, get up their courage, and make friends in the process. I’ve tried to post the best, brightest and most promising writing contests I can find. This, of course, means that I’ve omitted others…but the point is, I’ve tried to offer every opportunity I can find for our novice writers.
That being said, I want to remind our writers that you have a job, too. It’s your job to check out the contests I post, because the truth is, some writing contests are fakes. They may be layered under soft, soothing, comforting words of encouragement and financial gain, but they’re still fakes!
One contest scenario that should be checked out completely before you enter is when an obscure or struggling magazine suddenly “comes up out of the woodwork” to sponsor a writing contest. The prize is usually $500-$1,000 and publication in the magazine. Of course, there’s typically a fee–but it’s usually only $10-$15 since they don’t want to scare you away. You may find, though, after reading the rules, that the fee just happens to be the same amount as a year’s subscription to the magazine. BEWARE!
Now, I’m not saying that this type of contest is deceptive; actually, it’s probably a variation of a good old-fashioned subscription drive. But I do encourage you to READ EVERYTHING before you send in your hard-earned money.
Another contest that you might want to place under the microscope is the infamous “anthology” contest. In this scenario, a publisher you’ve probably never heard of has suddenly decided to sponsor a writing contest, and is offering staggering amounts of money in prizes. Some of these types of contests offer as much as $10,000!
There is usually no fee to compete for such a dazzling prize, because the publisher wants to soothe any fears you might have that the contest might possibly be fake. Of course, everyone can’t be a winner, so the publisher graciously extends an invitation to all losers to have their work published in an upcoming anthology…and at no cost, no less! ‘Course, you’ll have to buy the anthology if you want to see your work in print, and the price runs anywhere from $19.99 to $59.99.
Again, I’m NOT accusing any “anthology” contests–or any sponsors at all, for that matter, of being fake, and I’m not saying these particular scenarios are malicious or deceptive in any way; I’m just saying that if it sounds too good to be true, and if it has that vanity publisher feel…BEWARE! Check it out before you enter!
Here are some wonderful websites that offer the novice writer assistance on determining who’s legit out there.
http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/
http://www.sff.net/people/victoriastrauss/contests.html
(Added 8/16/2007)
Some of these sites may already be listed on the post “101 Best Websites for Writers,” but evenso, I wanted to re-list them here, because they really are important.
I will add website links to this page as I run across them. If you find any that you think should be added, please drop me a line.
Best wishes and happy writing!
Rita
