Why Contests?

by C. Hope Clark
Why contests? I could be facetious and say why not, but I want you to truly feel the reasons why contests are so good for you as a writer. And let’s take it to the ground level–the basic level–to talk about any and all justifications to enter contests. I don’t care what your degree is in or even if you have one. I don’t care if you are published or not. If you write, consider contests. They can make a difference in your writing future.

You Prove Yourself

First and foremost, contests prove to others that you are serious about the craft, especially if you land a prize, even one as little as an honorable mention. My agent said the mentioned contests in my query letter piqued her interest. I’d entered my novel, first chapter of the novel, even opening line of the novel, in contests and won prizes, from honorable mention to first prize. That fact made her read further and take me seriously.
I pay attention to wording like award-winning. If I’m on the fence about reading a book, an award can tip the decision. Same goes for agents, publishers, and editors who see your unpublished manuscript.
Putting yourself out there says you believe in your work. If an author isn’t proud of his or her effort, why should the reader take a chance on that author? There are too many books for readers to read, so any type of tipping point matters.
Some feel that awards don’t matter to readers, but contests can boost the author and his or her work to the point that professionals acknowledge them. Professionals like bookstore managers, agents, publishers, conference emcees, and speaker organizers, who are the very people who are putting your writing in readers’ hands.
Then there’s proving yourself, to yourself. Writers tend to be a rather insecure lot, and submissions of any sort tend to rattle our confidence. What-ifs roll through our minds, like what if they think my work is stupid? What if they think I’m stupid?
Trust me, unless you win, they aren’t going to remember who you are unless your work is close to winning, so get over that. And if you win, they remember you for the right reason!

Contests Are Good Barometers

Before I published my novels I entered every sort of novel contest that my mystery could qualify for. I rationalized that it is less painful to hear nothing than to be rejected. Needing to hear whether my work was ready to pitch, I entered contests with feedback options. While that felt like asking for flogging, I gritted my teeth and persisted.
I recall a contest that returned three extensive numbered and ranked critiques. Two were on the B to B+ level. The third gave me what could be considered a D. I might have teared up a little. Letting them ferment a few days, I later returned to dissect the comments. And I made needed changes.
Then came a third place, an honorable mention. I won an opening-line contest and a few dollars. I won an opening-chapter contest and pocketed $750. If a few contests judges loved the work, then maybe I had written something worth pursuing further. I finally had the guts to query agents.

Contests Open Doors

Whether it’s psychological or karma, entering contests seems to make a difference to all parties concerned: writer, reader, and gatekeeper. Placing puts your name in front of folks who might never see it otherwise. You might land a publishing contract or have your work appear on a reputable blog. Even making the short or long list of contenders matters. The chance of someone reading your writing increases if your name appears on an awards list. Do you know how many readers and book clubs make their selections off such lists?
Mystery author Lynn Chandler Willis had this to say about entering contests and what winning did for her:

“In 2013 my novel, Wink of an Eye, won the St. Martin’s Press/Private Eye Writers of America Best 1st P.I. Novel. The entry fee was steep ($35) but the prize far outweighed the cost. The top prize was a publishing contract with St. Martin’s, one of the Big Five. Published in 2014, the book was a finalist for the Shamus Award. Winning the contest opened doors and made contacts and friends of many in the industry. The contacts and friendships may have happened eventually, but winning the contest shaved a couple of years off the long road to publication.”

Author Beth Hamer Miles, winner of the Katherine Paterson Prize for a young adult book and a Hackney Literary Award, chimed in with equal enthusiasm:

“I’ve entered the NYC Midnight Challenge short story contest where you’re given a genre, an object, a word count, and a deadline. There are three heats, so as you advance you churn out a story quickly. That’s a real push for the creative/competitive juices and led to several short stories that went on to win other contests. I consider the entry fee a gift to myself for generating the extra material. It’s also a nice break from the long slog through a novel manuscript.”

Improving your writing takes momentum, meaning you keep seeking ways to get better, be seen, be judged, and get published. When you achieve one step, you soon find yourself entering another door. Someone heard about you winning the contest. Someone heard you speak. Someone read about you on a blog. Someone heard from someone else about how you write. It is a series of building blocks. Placing in contests gives you presence, and as Lynn said, can shave a couple years off the long road to publication.

The Other Stuff Matters Too

The other stuff means prize money, award banquets, requests to do readings, maybe even a seal to place on your website or book cover. But contests are about more than the perks. Money is the instant gratification, but other rewards can matter more.
Many contests offer other perks, either in addition to or in lieu of cash. Prizes like publishing contracts, introductions to agents, week-long retreats, conference attendance, reading appearances, copies of books distributed to hundreds if not thousands of readers. Every one of these broadcasts your talent.
One of my FundsforWriters readers expressed that she was entering a contest not to win, but to expand her platform. “I am looking for places to introduce myself and my work.” That’s the type of answer I love. The win is just a cherry on top.
But even if you simply place, you get to use that clout on the cover of your book, on your website, in your resume, in your pitch, in the introduction someone makes for you at a speaking engagement. And if you don’t win, you still might be seen. Just one or two people who discover you through that contest have the potential of telling a dozen more.
Why contests? Because they require you to follow through, grow as a writer, improve your odds of publication, and garner readers. With all that opportunity, why would you not consider contests? Are you pumped yet?

C. Hope Clark is the editor of FundsforWriters and an award-winning author of two mystery series, the Edisto Island books and the Carolina Slade series. She and her motivational voice, love of writing, and writer-support message appear often at conferences, nonprofit galas, book clubs, libraries, and writers’ groups across the country.