Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Writing Contests

This is topic Writing Contests in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by djvdakota (Member # 2002) on :

So, what's the general consensus on writing contests that charge a 'reading fee?'

Does it put up the red flag that says: "DO NOT ENTER!"?

Or is this a pretty common thing?

Posted by yanos (Member # 1831) on :

I can hear the warning bells already...

Posted by Kolona (Member # 1438) on :

It depends on the sponsors. The Writer's Digest Writing Competition charges an entry fee, which I'm guessing is the same as a reading fee, and so does ByLine Magazine for its contests. Let the entrant beware -- as always, do your homework.

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

Run, don't walk, away from writing contests that charge a fee and only offer publication in their magazine as the prize.

If the prize money is substantially greater than the entry fee, the contest may be all right.

The Science Fiction Writers of Earth contest charges a fee ($5 for first entry, $2 for each additional entry), but there are three prizes, and first is $200, second is $100, and third is $50.

http://home.flash.net/~sfwoe/

It's definitely worth entering.

Posted by Hildy9595 (Member # 1489) on :

I've heard pretty much what Kathleen said. A good rule of thumb is if the entry fee is $15 or more, skip it -- they're making money off the entries. And definitely forget it if the "prize" is free publication.

Another legit contest source (although not open to genre fiction, alas) is Glimmer Train (www.glimmertrain.com). They run at least four during the year: two in flash fiction, two in short fiction, and the prize money is substantial ($1,500 for first place, I believe). Plus you will be published in a genuine anthology, not just online.

Posted by wetwilly (Member # 1818) on :

I's say it depends on your financial status. If you can comfortably throw $25 away and not think twice about it, then why not enter a contest with a $25 entry fee? As for me, I don't send anything to anybody who wants any money from me.

Posted by djvdakota (Member # 2002) on :

OK, then. Maybe I WILL give it a try. Check this out:

http://www.writersatwork.org/fellowship.html

Posted by AndrewR (Member # 1563) on :

I, myself, do not enter contests with entry fees, partly because of Mike Resnik’s advice that writers get paid to get published, they don’t pay to get published. And partly because I’m really, really cheap. (Which ain’t surprising considering how much money I make from my writing.

)

The best SF contest in my book is still Writers of the Future. Big prizes, guaranteed publication, and no entry fee.

Posted by Pyre Dynasty (Member # 1947) on :

You may be able to comfortably throw away $25, but can you comfortably throw away your work to a disreputable contest?

Posted by dpatridge (Member # 2208) on :

Pyre, by that token, even free contests can be bad, and i'm fully with you on that. i once entered a "free" writing contest. it turned out to be the biggest mistake i ever made as a budding writer, instead of encouraging me to improve my work they tried convincing me it was already perfect and that they wanted more from me, but that i had to PAY to give them more... they still send me mail every year in the spring that i shred and throw away.

NEVER, i repeat, NEVER go into any competition blind, always do your homework and find out about their reputation first.

Posted by Rocklover (Member # 2339) on :

There are enough contests to enter that do NOT charge a fee (or charge a very minumal fee) that you shouldn't waste your time, talent, or money entering those that do.
None of the high quality contests I'm aware of charge a fee more than say, five to ten dollars.
Amen dpartridge. Research a contest before entering. Good advice!

[This message has been edited by Rocklover (edited February 01, 2005).]

Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :

Regarding Writers of the Future:

It may well indeed be an excellent contest, yet my extreme distrust of all things Hubbard will not allow me to send them one story -- at my peril, of course.

I can't help but think it's a shill for recruitment into Scientology, or at least run under the umbrella of Scientology. It may not be, but I'm not willing to find out.

[This message has been edited by HSO (edited February 01, 2005).]

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

HSO, I was a finalist in the Writers of the Future contest and had my story included in volume 9. Because of that, I was able to go to Hollywood for the week-long workshop.

While they praised Hubbard "to the skies and beyond," they never said anything about Scientology. Some of the others in the group asked them about it. After all, we were right there at the home base. They let us go on a tour of the mansion where many of their members study, but they would not talk to us about Scientology. It seemed to me as if they were keeping it all very secret (which may have been reverse psychology, for all I know).

I really don't think anyone who enters the contest has to worry about that side of things.

Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :

Thanks, Kathleen. In would be inappropriate of me to go into any detail in this forum about my feelings and experience with this, and I wouldn't do so even if it were appropriate. But I would like to clarify that in no way should anyone else think they shouldn't enter the contest because of my comment.

In other words, take advantage of every chance you can...

[This message has been edited by HSO (edited February 01, 2005).]

Posted by ChrisOwens (Member # 1955) on :

I've been traumatized by scientology myself, that is, forced to sit through one too many Tom Cruise movies...

Couldn't they at least teach him to act?

Posted by Rocklover (Member # 2339) on :

Really now. What woman goes to a Tom Cruise movie for his acting?

My experience with the Hubbard contest is that the entries are top rate. For me, their workshops are also a great place to meet and mingle with other scifi fans, listen to advice from people who really know their stuff, and have some great fun.

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

Speaking of contests that charge entry fees, I received this information in the mail, and thought I'd pass it on to you all.

$2000 AWAITS WINNERS OF
LORIAN HEMINGWAY SHORT STORY COMPETITION

Entries are now being accepted for the 26th annual Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition, created to recognize and encourage the efforts of writers who have not yet achieved major-market success. Writers will compete for a $1,000 first prize, $500 second prize, and $500 third prize in this internationally acclaimed competition. Several honorable mentions are also awarded each year.

Stories in all genres of fiction are welcome. Maximum length is 3,000 words, and writers retain all rights to their work. The final deadline is May 15, 2006; winners will be announced at the end of July.

For complete guidelines, please visit www.shortstorycompetition.com, e-mail
Calico2419@aol.com, or send an SASE to the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition, P.O. Box 993, Key West, FL 33041.

[This message has been edited by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (edited February 12, 2006).]

Posted by Elan (Member # 2442) on :

Kathleen, there is a typo in that link... a comma at the end. While it was easy to figure out why I got a "Page Not Found," I thought I should alert you to it.

And thanks for the link! Although there IS a $10-$15 entry fee...the winner will figure it's a good investment.

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

Thanks, Elan.

Posted by Smaug (Member # 2807) on :

I really don't see anything wrong with paying a small fee to enter a contest. For some smaller contests, they need to pay for copies, postage, and of course, prizes. Where else do these contest runners get their capital for awarding the prizes? Last year I was asked by my writer's group, of which I was just getting done serving my term as president, to organize the annual writing contest. We wanted to award prizes to the winners, but since our funds are limited, we needed to charge around $3.00 per entry to at least try and keep in the black. I think by the time the contest was over, we had gone into the red twenty to thirty dollars on it. By the way, Writer's Digest is probably wealthy enough that they don't need to charge a fee to enter, although they probably pay their judges. Anyway, that's my take.

Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :

Well, the contests you really want to enter are paid for by the audience. If a contest is run entirely off of the entry fees, that usually means that the winners will recieve precious little other than the "pot" and a pat on the back, they won't get any exposure.

That doesn't mean a modest entry fee is bad, just that such a fee tends to advertise limited audience potential.

Card has argued the whole "artists/audience" thing till he's blue in the face, I tend to take a more "nuanced" view, though I recognize the point as a valid one. Many artists spend their lives desperately peddling art people will pay money to avoid, and have their own arguments that I can't really understand. But it's not like I think starvation is a bad thing for an artist, I just don't have a problem with people that want an audience.

Posted by Smaug (Member # 2807) on :

I certainly see that point. Truth be told, a small prize and a pat on the back (well, I think we had some nice looking certificates!), were about all the contestants got from winning in our little contest. Personally, I can't quite figure out folks who write only for arts sake, and not for an audience. I don't think I'd continue writing if no one ever read my stories. I write to entertain or enlighten and if I have no audience, neither one happens.

Posted by Ted Galacci (Member # 3254) on :

Monetarily, most writing contests are lotteries. Writers throw a lot of money into a hat and someone gets a little of it back.

The only real gain worth contesting for is the prestige. Do you think being able to put a contest win in your cover letters worth the entry fee. Some contests are worth it, some aren't.

Posted by Ted Galacci (Member # 3254) on :

Here's a related question:

How many years would a contest win enhance a cover letter? When would it start to detract? At some point it would just point out that you haven't achieved anything in a long time...

Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :

You don't have to say what year.

"My work has appeared in the Evil Robot Monkey Review, See No Evil, and the North American Monkey Journal. I am a past winner of the MonkeyTales contest and placed second in the Million Monkeys contest."

Posted by Ted Galacci (Member # 3254) on :

Ah, but Beth, any big enough contest will now have an online archive! Searching that archive for your name will reveal all!

Here's a worst case scenario from real life: I could claim that I won second place in the annual Science Fiction Writer's of Earth contest, but any curious editor would search their archive and not see me and conclude I was a fraud.

SFWoE's online archive goes back to 2000. I won in 1992. Even Gilbert Reis, the administrator, couldn't find my win because they purged their files a few years ago. Without the framed letter gathering dust in the closet, I would have no proof.

Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :

I guess you will just have to turn your attention to winning the Million Monkey contest. Their archives are comprehensive.

Posted by thayerds (Member # 3260) on :

I'm new to all this, just registgered today, but i've been a very active fan for decades. I have to agree with Ted and what Ted is getting at. Why would anyone want to waste money trying to get someone else to read your work. Isn't it supposed to work the other way around? The only contests worth entering are the editors choise contest at the magazines and publishers, (I here Azimov's, F&SF, and many others are running daily contests year round) I other words, submitt, submitt submitt.

Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :

It's a big world, with lots of possibilities. You can choose to limit your focus to Asimov's if you want. That's fine.

Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :

I mean, if your primary goal is to maximize the number of people who read your work for the maximum amount of money, consider becoming a marketing writer. The marketing writers I know make around $100/hr, and if their text makes it into an ad, it can be read by millions of people

My reasons for writing fiction have little to do with either money or exposure. There are significantly easier ways to get both than through writing fiction.

Posted by thayerds (Member # 3260) on :

Beth; perhaps I was not clear. I can see that you feel strongly about this subject. I didn't mean to imply that we should all write for money, nor did I mean to imply that Azmonv's in any way defined success in writing. All I'm saying is that no one should have to pay another to read their work. That's why sites like this one are so fantastic!

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

Here's another with an entry fee, but the prize money is impressive.

TOM HOWARD/JOHN H. REID SHORT STORY CONTEST
Postmark deadline: March 31
Now in its 14th year. Prizes of $1,000, $600 and $400 will be awarded, plus four High Distinction awards of $250 each. The top entry will be published in a triennial anthology. Other entries may also be published. Submit any type of short story, essay or other work of prose, up to 5,000 words. You may submit work that has been published or won prizes elsewhere, as long as you own the anthology and online publication rights. $12 entry fee, payable to Winning Writers. Judges: J.H. Reid, D.C. Konrad. Submit online or mail to Winning Writers, Attn: Tom Howard Short Story Contest, 351 Pleasant Street, PMB 222, Northampton, MA 01060. Winning Writers is one of the "101 Best Web Sites for Writers" (Writer's Digest, 2005). More information: http://www.winningwriters.com/tomstory

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

And yet another.

By the way, this group I know about--I was a member once, even.

Damon Knight helped to start this group, and it's been around for a long time. (He also helped start the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and the Clarion Writers Workshops.)

The National Fantasy Fan Federation is accepting submissions for its 2006 amateur short story contest. Prizes for first place will be $50, second place $30, third place $20, etc.

Stories must be original sci fi, fantasy, paranormal, and other such related fictional genres. They must be typed on one side of a double spaced page WITHOUT the name or info of the author appearing anywhere on the manuscript.

Computer printouts and photocopies are acceptable. Include your name, address, e-mail, age, and signature on a separate initial page. "Amateur" status is defined as someone who has not sold more than two stories to a professional science fiction or fantasy publication.

Stories should be no more than 7,500 words in length. There is an entry fee of $4 for non-members and $2 for members of the NFFF. No preference will be given in contest judging to either situation.

The initial preliminary judge will be a knowledgable N3F member, and the final judge will be an experienced professional author. The contest deadline for entries is Dec 31st 2006. Final winners and awards will be announced in early 2007.

Please send all manuscripts, fees, info, etc to the contest manager:

Jeff Redmond
1335 Beechwood NE
Grand Rapids MI 49505-3830

Or e-mail him at: redmondjeff@hotmail.com for more information. He himself was the first place prize award winner of this contest for the year 2004.

Please make checks payable to him (and he will send it on to the NFFF Treasurer. Cash is also acceptable, although the NFFF can not assume any responsibility for lost or stolen items sent via the US postal snail mailing system.

The N3F will NOT be publishing any of the stories, and all rights to further use remain with the author. You may submit any number of stories for the contest. All entry fees are always used only for running the contest. Awards are paid out of the organization's funds.

For more information about the National Fantasy Fan Federation please find it at: www.nfff.org and www.scififan.org
We look forward to hearing from you and getting the opportunity to read your stories. Thanks and good luck to you!

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

The Science Fiction Writers of Earth contest has an entry fee, but it's small, and the prizes are good.

Go here for contest rules and entry form. Deadline is at the end of October each year.

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

This contest is a world-class contest, and pays accordingly.

Those of you with longer works, go for it!

Posted by Leigh (Member # 2901) on :

quote:
This contest is a world-class contest, and pays accordingly.
Those of you with longer works, go for it!

That one sounds fun because I'm Australian and can actually enter it

Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :

Have there been barriers to Australians entering any of the other contests listed?

Posted by hoptoad (Member # 2145) on :

No. Only perceptual barriers.

BTW is it Australian? You seem to have to mail your manuscript to Spain.

We have Living Writer's Week coming up in Tasmania if anyone is interested. Will see if I can find the links and post them, but I fear it will all be very literary, 'chin-cupping' stuff.

[This message has been edited by hoptoad (edited April 02, 2006).]

Posted by Leigh (Member # 2901) on :

quote:
Have there been barriers to Australians entering any of the other contests listed?

I'm not sure, Survivor, but I think there would be some problems with mailing the manuscript in on time.

quote:
We have Living Writer's Week coming up in Tasmania if anyone is interested. Will see if I can find the links and post them, but I fear it will all be very literary, 'chin-cupping' stuff.

When exactly does that start? I'd like to enter and have a go.

Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :

Hmm...some of the contests are annual, so you could always aim for next year, I suppose.

Alternatively, you know a lot of people in different countries, so you could proxy your submission. That would be a bit of an imposition on somebody, though.