To Submit or Not to Submit: 5 Arguments for Entering Writing Contests

By Shayna Krishnasamy

When I was a young creative writing student I used to keep track of all the writing contests. I’d bookmark the contest pages on the websites of all the literary magazines. I’d make lists of due dates, word count limitations, themes, restrictions. Sometimes I’d even print out the submission forms. But did I ever actually send in a submission? Well…

If you’re a new writer, a writing student, or just nervous about sharing your work for the first time, submitting your story or novel to a writing contest can be incredibly daunting. You might find yourself coming up with any excuse to avoid actually submitting your work. You’ll convince yourself that your story isn’t polished enough, your first chapter doesn’t have enough of a hook, you don’t know how to write a synopsis, your plot is too racy, too boring, too cliched, too embarrassing. If you work…

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7 thoughts on “To Submit or Not to Submit: 5 Arguments for Entering Writing Contests”

I think it is scary to participate in a writing contest. Yes, it might be an excuse to have more editing and polishing done. But to a lot of writers I can imagine it is fear. And I’m one of them.

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The Story Reading Ape says:

May 2, 2015 at 21:57

It’s a good way to toughen up, as well as improve the writing skills Aurora 🙂

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- aurorajeanalexander says:
  
  May 2, 2015 at 21:59
  
  Oh – I know… *sigh* This doesn’t mean I’m less scared. I participated in three short story writing contests. (very small ones…) And I won two of them. But they still scare the h… out of me. I should develop some guts, shouldn’t I?
  
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  - The Story Reading Ape says:
    
    May 2, 2015 at 22:00
    
    Guts need practice and time 😀
    
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    - aurorajeanalexander says:
      
      May 2, 2015 at 22:04
      
      Oh – now THAT’s a great sentence to quote, Chris! *grin* I’ll keep that in mind. A good reason to develop them – and wait for another while. *chuckle* 😀
      
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    - The Story Reading Ape says:
      
      May 2, 2015 at 22:06
      
      😀
      
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Good article. I have only entered two competitions. Both times it cost me money (usually does unless it’s Amazon or Goodreads). I’m not saying I won’t enter in the future, but the truth is, I think my books still need a bit more work. I’ve seen what winners can produce and they are amazing, which is why they win. lol. Trouble is with my logic, I don’t think my books will ever be good enough, so eventually I’m going to have to trust the judgment of others. (This is a copy of my response on Shayna’s blog)

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