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- Most writing contests are legit. But some contests you can be pretty sure are scams from the get-go. Look out for excessive fees, rights grabs, and puny prizes.
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Mar 11, 2008 · Do you suspect a scam? In general, be wary of submitting to contests where your work is published only online (unless it's a well-known website) or published only in an anthology that winners have to pay to receive.
- Testimonials. A real contest doesn’t have to showcase a bunch of unknown writers telling you how happy they are they entered a contest. If all those people had really won $10,000 and a major publishing contract you would have seen a big splash about it in the mainstream press.
- High Fees. There are a whole lot of for-profit contests out there. Be wary of any contest that charges high fees (over $30). If a contest is brand new, be especially careful.
- Iffy Sponsors. A few years ago, I got an email about a contest that sounded like a good addition to the “Opportunity Alerts.” No entry fee…prizes…and they said the winning piece would be submitted to big name literary agencies.
- Rights Grabs. Always read the fine print. Some of these have got by me into the Opportunity Alerts, so do pay attention, even if you see the contest here.
Most are real; some are prestigious. But some are fake. While fake contests don’t make up a huge proportion of the total, there are enough of them to warrant caution. And even if a contest is legitimate, winning may not do anything to build your writing resume.
Jun 8, 2024 · Some people think that any writing contest that requires an entry fee is a scam, and that the only prizes or awards worth winning are the ones that are bestowed without any effort (aside from ...
Dec 17, 2023 · Some are outright scams or ripoffs. A few examples, drawn from Writer Beware’s files: A prestigious organization contacts you to let you know you’ve been nominated for an award. All you need to do is become member of the organization…for $99. But wait!
Feb 10, 2019 · You are the judge as to whether a contest is predatory or legitimate or worth your while. Analyze your take-away value, and be serious with yourself. While you won’t pay an entry fee, someone else would. While you might not enter a contest that doesn’t pay $500 or more, another author would.
Discover the finest writing contests of 2024 for fiction and non-fiction authors — including short story competitions, essay writing competitions, poetry contests, and many more. Updated weekly, these contests are vetted by Reedsy to weed out the scammers and time-wasters.
