samedi 26 juillet 2014

Reasons To Enter A Free Monthly Writing Contest

By Paulette Mason


Entering contests offers writers an opportunity to gain experience and recognition. Winning prizes is another advantage. There are many such contests available and a quick internet search provides numerous options. Many of them require no entry fees. Entering a free monthly writing contest will cost a writer nothing but time.

As there are so many contests, one has to be selective when choosing which one to apply for. The genres covered vary from mystery, science fiction and romance to non-fiction, travel writing, stories for children and memoirs. You need to find the best fit for you. If you are a newbie, it may be preferable to start small and progress on to larger contests as you acquire more confidence. Reading past winning submissions can be helpful in making a decision.

Many writers tend to skim over the rules and conditions when applying and this is not a good idea. You need to fully understand what is required from you as the writer to stand the best chance. You also need to understand what will happen to your work once it has been submitted and what kind of rights the sponsors have over it.

When submitting your manuscript, you usually have certain guidelines to follow. One of these is the required length. It is important to follow these guidelines as closely as possible or your entry may be rejected. If your word count is a maximum of 1 500 and you submit an entry of 3 000 words, it is highly likely to be rejected.

Another consideration is editing. It is essential to do a spell check and edit your work before submission. This will ensure that judges have a favorable first impression. A manuscript full of unnecessary errors can put them off before they even begin judging the content.

Creativity, originality and your language usage are usually the main considerations for judging. It is also vital to make sure that you have not gone completely digressed and gone right off the theme. No matter how brilliant your content, if you do not stick to the theme, you are highly unlikely to win.

The prizes for such contests vary greatly. Some are as small as a T-shirt or a subscription to a magazine. However, others offer considerably larger prizes, including fairly large sums of cash. Submissions are often published too, giving exposure and recognition. Even if you only receive a T-shirt you can still legitimately claim to be a prize-winning author!

As long as you understand what the sponsor requires of you and what they are able to do with your submission, there is no risk involved in entering such contests. Submissions can often be emailed to the sponsors together with a name, address and telephone number. The fact that no entry fee is required means you do not have anything to lose and much to gain. Even experienced writers enter such competitions for the worthwhile prizes and recognition offered.




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