Win Story Contests - Three Original Tactics to Win Story Prizes At Least Cost

Could you benefit from a practical means to win short story contests - effortlessly? Just consider these three easy to use tips to win short story contests. Test them for yourself and adjust them to your personal needs. They will do their job admirably to win story contests - and more quickly than you might ever suspect.

Given the vast number of story writing contests in the world - more than 2000 are listed annually just on the Net - what's the best route to contests that will bring you the greatest profit? A great tip is to inspect the ratio of fees to prize value.

Simply take a close look at a lot of short story competitions and you'll find there's usually a ratio of about 60:1. That's the difference between the total value of the prizes being awarded and the fee for entering. Yes, the figures get skewed by competitions that have high-value prizes and low entry fees, but these are rare.

So if a contest promises a total prize value of $600 you'll find the entry fee to be around $10. And sometimes you can submit two entries for that charge.

That's a good spread. Your risk is small and your payback is worth having. Moreover, it's your expertise not chance that brings you a prize. So if you succeed, you get a well-deserved ego-glow!

Yet you'll often find contests with very different ratios. Look at these typical cases:

1. You're not offered any cash awards - or they're of trivial value.

That could be fine, even though there's an entry fee, if the non-cash rewards are still worthwhile.

For example, some universities offer a first prize of a course or a study bursary. A conference promoter once promised a free place for the top ten winners at a three-day symposium, all expenses paid. Plus the stars got their prizes awarded at the platform.

Very often, a contest offers no cash prizes at all. Perhaps the winners will see their stories published on the Net or in some arcane little magazine. Those contests can still be rewarding to enter if they cost nothing to enter. For a first time writer, it's a great ego boost to realize that thousands of people may be reading their tale.

Problem is, these contests don't make you money.

What's more, a lot of these promoters are merely seeking free content for their magazines. No harm in that, but it doesn't pay the writer's bills.

2. The contest offers big prizes - but you have to pay a large fee to enter.

If the organizer is bona fide, these events can still be worth turning on your writing contest engine. They'll lure few entries with a big entry fee so your chances of winning should be good - if your story's good.

But if they pull few entries, the organizers will lose money.

If they're a legitimate promoter like a university or manufacturer, they may be quite happy to make a loss. They're promoting the contest as a public relations event. But beware of other organizers. Will they even give out the prizes, if the contest doesn't attract enough entries?

Just check the contest rules. These may state that prizes will be given only if the contest pulls enough support. Or they'll suggest that the prize totals are a theoretical value. In fact, the prizes will be taken out of the total monies received in entry fees - and the promoter will subtract a large sum first for 'overheads'.

Of course, the promoters will certainly profit - but the contestants may not.

3. The prizes are small but entry is free.

Local radio stations often run contests with no entry fee. They seem like a no-risk bet. But what do you earn? Just a token bit of local coverage. Fame is nice, and a great inspiration to a start-up writer. But it doesn't pay the rent.

Have you ever wondered why bona fide organizers often ask a small entry fee, although they're presumably not trying to make a profit? They want to be nice to their judges. If the contest is entirely free, the judges will be overwhelmed with trash. A tiny entry fee acts as a quality filter.

Avoid the free-entry contest, if the prizes are small. Why?You could use the same time and postage in entering a well established writing contest, and be in line for a truly profitable win!


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Dr John Yeoman, PhD Creative Writing, is director of the short story contest center Writers' Village. A university lecturer in short story writing, he is a veteran contest judge. You'll find a wealth of wily tips to win cash prizes in writing competitions in his big manual How to Win Writing Contests for Profit. Get it entirely free now at:
http://www.writers-village.org/ideas