Are Writing Contests Helpful to Writers?

Writers Should Weigh Pros and Cons Before Entering Competitions

May 5, 2009

Writer Deciding Pros and Cons of a Contest., Photo by Zion (courtesy of Morguefile)

Writing contests are valuable tools, helping writers to hone their craft, but writers also should be aware that contests are not the only way to receive feedback.

If feedback is all a writer is wanting when entering a writing contest, there are a variety of ways to get it close to home, and in person.

Workshops and Literary Events

A writer who wants feedback should consider a workshop, community writing groups, and non-profit literary organizations that may sponsor classes, readings, workshops, and other literary-related events.

Good places to check for such organizations are bookstores, which often have bulletin boards on which they post community events, especially those related to reading and literature.

Literary Publications

Another good way to keep on top of events in the literary world, especially contests and trends and writing organizations, is to subscribe to a literary magazine. Poets & Writers is a good one that discusses craft as well as current events in the literary world. It has a large listing of contests and calls for manuscripts in each issue. The Writer’s Chronicle contains more book reviews and interviews with published authors, and the Writer’s Digest and The Writer are publications with rudimentary articles about craft and technique. The London Review of Books is pure joy for anyone interested in the literary world, with book reviews and articles about literary figures, all with that unique British twist of humour and wit.

Positive Aspects of Writing Contests

Writing contests can drive writers to produce work.
Contests, if won, can offer great prizes such as publication, meetings with agents, and even money or time in a retreat or colony.
Writers get a chance to collect rejection slips, which poet John Berryman told a young W.S. Merwin are critical to keep the writing drive alive.

Negative Aspects of Writing Contests

Often it costs to enter them. They are generally focused and looking for specific types of writing. Do not enter a poetry contest with the first two chapters of a novel.
Writers get a chance to collect rejection slips, which can be disheartening, especially to younger writers. Understand that contests, like much in the world of art and creativity, are subjective. One set of judges may reject a piece, whilst another set might love it.
Success can depend on many factors out of the writer’s control.

Final Thoughts on Writing Contests

Contests are neither good nor bad; they are simply another way, firstly, for a writer to stay motivated, get work out in front of other sets of eyes, and learn about the writing business.

Yes, writing is a business, a huge industry, and writers have to be both artists and businesspeople. They must market themselves and also encourage and comfort themselves when the inevitable rejection slip is returned. And it happens to everyone. Truman Capote, though he worked at The New Yorker for a time, was never published in it, to his chagrin.

W.S. Merwin, in his poem “Berryman,” writes: “I asked him how do I know if I’m any good and he said you don’t. You never know. You’ll die without knowing. If you have to know, don’t write.”

The copyright of the article Are Writing Contests Helpful to Writers? in Literary Culture is owned by Pamela Mooman. Permission to republish Are Writing Contests Helpful to Writers? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.