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Here are 20 tips for winning writing contests that you might find helpful.
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Tips for winning writing competitions
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Rest in Peace
Some interesting advice...I had no idea there was a difference between "literature" and "writing"...hmmm...
I think most of the rest is fairly common sense, though I know that common sense is not always common...
Just a note...number 17 is sound advice...the first thing I do when starting a story is open a document, and set the font to Times New Roman 12-point...you can't go wrong...
Which makes me wonder...why does MS Word default to Calibri 11, when nobody on the planet actually uses it?
I think Microsoft just likes to mess with people's heads...
I had posted something along the same vein a couple of weeks back, if someone is interested in the contest winning advice...
http://www.storiesspace.com/forum/yaf_postst199_This-may-be-of-interestfree-online-writing-course.aspx
Not sure how contest winning advice would differ from improving your writing in general, but if anyone figures it out, let us know...
Interesting note...OK, I find it interesting...one of the things I've become aware of in the last several months since reading blogs and writing groups, is the number of people who enter writing contests in an effort to become "published"...this is especially true among poetry people...
To me, this does not seem particularly cost-effective since most poetry contests charge a $15-25 entry fee, and you can easily enter ten contests a month...
But, the winning entries usually end up getting published in a journal of some sort, and that appeals to a lot of people...
It just does not seem particularly cost-effective to me...but, you would be very surprised how many people actually do it...
I know I was surprised after seeing how many people mention it...
I think most of the rest is fairly common sense, though I know that common sense is not always common...
Just a note...number 17 is sound advice...the first thing I do when starting a story is open a document, and set the font to Times New Roman 12-point...you can't go wrong...
Which makes me wonder...why does MS Word default to Calibri 11, when nobody on the planet actually uses it?
I think Microsoft just likes to mess with people's heads...
I had posted something along the same vein a couple of weeks back, if someone is interested in the contest winning advice...
http://www.storiesspace.com/forum/yaf_postst199_This-may-be-of-interestfree-online-writing-course.aspx
Not sure how contest winning advice would differ from improving your writing in general, but if anyone figures it out, let us know...
Interesting note...OK, I find it interesting...one of the things I've become aware of in the last several months since reading blogs and writing groups, is the number of people who enter writing contests in an effort to become "published"...this is especially true among poetry people...
To me, this does not seem particularly cost-effective since most poetry contests charge a $15-25 entry fee, and you can easily enter ten contests a month...
But, the winning entries usually end up getting published in a journal of some sort, and that appeals to a lot of people...
It just does not seem particularly cost-effective to me...but, you would be very surprised how many people actually do it...
I know I was surprised after seeing how many people mention it...
I once knew a drinker who had a moderating problem...
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by DirtyMartini
Interesting note...OK, I find it interesting...one of the things I've become aware of in the last several months since reading blogs and writing groups, is the number of people who enter writing contests in an effort to become "published"...this is especially true among poetry people...
To me, this does not seem particularly cost-effective since most poetry contests charge a $15-25 entry fee, and you can easily enter ten contests a month...
But, the winning entries usually end up getting published in a journal of some sort, and that appeals to a lot of people...
It just does not seem particularly cost-effective to me...but, you would be very surprised how many people actually do it...
I know I was surprised after seeing how many people mention it...
It probably looks good on your writer's resume to have won several contests if you end up submitting your work to a bigger publisher. As you mentioned though, it's an expensive way to go about it. Is this one of the main ways poets get their work in print? I'd imagine it'd be more difficult to have a book of poems accepted by a publisher than it would be to have a novel published.
Rest in Peace
Quote by Lisa
It probably looks good on your writer's resume to have won several contests if you end up submitting your work to a bigger publisher. As you mentioned though, it's an expensive way to go about it. Is this one of the main ways poets get their work in print? I'd imagine it'd be more difficult to have a book of poems accepted by a publisher than it would be to have a novel published.
I don't know if it is one of the main ways, or the success rate...but, you have a point about the reluctance of publishers to put out poetry books...and with good reason, I might add...poetry books are understandably a risk, even for relatively "known" poets...
That reminds me...I was offered an "Author subsidized contract" last year for a book of my poems...I'll have to post the actual contract in a new thread, just in case anyone is interested...I think it's an alternative that people don't think about, and more attractive than self-publishing in most cases...
I once knew a drinker who had a moderating problem...