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When a Writing Contest Has a Hidden Agenda
Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware
If you've been reading this blog for long, you may have guessed that I'm not a big fan of writing contests.
Partly this is because so many contests are a waste of time, with minimal prizes, negligible prestige, and zero cachet on your writing resume. Why not spend your energy on something that can get you closer to building a readership--submitting for publication, or publishing on your own if that's what you want to do?
There's also the risk of bad stuff in the entry guidelines--such as the MeeGenius Golden Owl Contest, where simply submitting constitutes agreement to publish and acceptance of a publishing contract that claims rights in perpetuity. Writers who don't read the fine print carefully enough may find themselves trapped by such provisions.
And then there are the contests with a hidden agenda: making money for the sponsor.
Read the rest of this entry »
Mirrored from SFWA | Comment at SFWA
If you've been reading this blog for long, you may have guessed that I'm not a big fan of writing contests.
Partly this is because so many contests are a waste of time, with minimal prizes, negligible prestige, and zero cachet on your writing resume. Why not spend your energy on something that can get you closer to building a readership--submitting for publication, or publishing on your own if that's what you want to do?
There's also the risk of bad stuff in the entry guidelines--such as the MeeGenius Golden Owl Contest, where simply submitting constitutes agreement to publish and acceptance of a publishing contract that claims rights in perpetuity. Writers who don't read the fine print carefully enough may find themselves trapped by such provisions.
And then there are the contests with a hidden agenda: making money for the sponsor.
Read the rest of this entry »
Mirrored from SFWA | Comment at SFWA