Writing contests can be a great way for an undiscovered author to get noticed, and potentially even start their career.

For example, someone I know recently won third prize in a contest from WritingRoom.com for submitting a novel. For her prize, she had her book published, and they are helping her market it, and got it in bookstores. Now her book is being sold at big name retailers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

She also got a literary agent out of the deal, and is moving right along in her journey to writing for a living. This is only one example though.

Amazon themselves have contests. If you search for “writing contest” on Google, you will get all kinds of results, and all kinds of opportunities to promote your writing.

That’s just the thing though. If you win, that’s fantastic, but even if you don’t, you’re still getting your name out there, and your work is getting read by professionals in the writing field (they still have to judge it right?).

Either way, you’re still getting in some valuable networking, and it can only help your career. That is unless your writing just isn’t good and you build a reputation as a poor author. That’s why you should make sure your work is truly ready to be judged before entering it any contest. It will not only save you embarrassment and keep your reputation in better regards, the judges will appreciate it too.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 13th, 2008 at 11:46 am and is filed under thoughts, writing. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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