Tip on Choosing Contests

I'm on sabbatical this week so I'm running a few of my favorite tips selected from my SharingwithWriters newsletters. Subscribe so you never miss a single one at http://howtodoitfrugally.com. There's a subscription form in the upper right column of every page of the site including all the Writers' Resources pages, just as I suggest in my The Frugal Book Promoter.  You'll get a freebie e-booklet, Great Little Last Minute Edits, too.

 

Tip: One of the things I look for before I submit my work for an award I’m unfamiliar with is added value.

That value can be as ephemeral as name recognition (like a link on the contest site)  or as tangible as help with marketing (like the help Dan Poynter’s Global Ebook Awards gives their nominees).

I don't like it when awards don't at least give the winning authors a few stickers/labels for their books . It's not a make or break deal for me but that’s one of those things that indicates their caring (hospitality)--and maybe lack of greed. The contest can always offer additional labels for sale once the author has run out. And savvy authors will want to support the contest that supported their efforts. 

When choosing small literary contests for short stories or poetry, I look for a free subscription to the journal for a year which benefits everyone--journal and author. The journal benefits by getting wider distribution and perhaps a regular paid subscriber once the subscription expires which ups their distribution statistics. The author gets resource material that may inspire her, give her a better handle on how to win next time around (and maybe examples of new  techniques she can use).

Find an accessible contest list, articles, other ideas on the contests page at my HowToDoItFrugally Web site. While you're there browse the other Writers' Resources on that site.

PS: To read a few recent issues of SharingwithWriters newsletters in .pdf go to http://howtodoitfrugally.com/newsletter_copies.htm.

-----
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .