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Poetics

by Christine Henderson

Contests

In some previous columns, I mentioned entering writing contests. There is a lot of controversy over what is or is not a legitimate contest, and how to spot the frauds. Here s a little information that a colleague and I have gathered. We hope you will find it useful.

To Pay or Not to Pay...

Most contests require an entry or "reading" fee of a small amount - less than $15.00. The fee is usually used in the prize fund, to subscribe the entrant to the publication or organization that is sponsoring the contest, to furnish you a copy of the publication with the winners (even if it is not you), or a critique of your work. The general rule here is that if you get something for your money, it is not a scam. A few do not give you anything, but a $5.00 fee is not usually too much to ask for any contest provided that there are cash awards. DO NOT pay an entry fee for any contest when the prize is publication only.

The bottom line is to use your own judgement on entry fees. What do you know about the group or publication that is sponsoring the contest? Will your entry be safe from being used without your knowledge? Who is doing the judging? Why would they ask the entry fee? Some groups sponsor contests as a fund-raising effort and use the proceeds to fund the prizes and boost their treasury. Is this a bad thing? Depends on the group, but there is probably no harm as long as they pay up. The contests that do not have an entry fee at all may be more dangerous. How are they paying for the prizes? Are they just fishing for publishable writing? Are you sure your poem would not be used without your permission? Do a little research before you succumb to entry fever.

Let the writer beware...

The most loathsome of contests are a front for vanity press books. Most of the time these do not have fees. They grab you with words like "finalist", and promote special advance prices of the publication. Later, you will be notified that you didn't win but they would like to use your poem in the book and offer the book again at a special price. Offers for C.D., audiotapes, and more editions of the book will follow. Surely the number of books sold has a direct relationship to the number of entries they received.

The book itself will most likely contain every entry that was sent in to the contest with no winning poem designated. It will be about the size of a telephone book, in small print, and the poems will be in no particular order, so locating yours will be a challenge. My daughter has one. In 1978 the cost was $39.99.

What are you hoping to gain?

There are numerous rewards in winning contests. Obviously, the prize money is one. Some offer prize money and publication. If the contest called for research or experimenting with a new form, you have learned something. And of course, there is that warm, golden feeling that a perfect stranger likes what you do enough to reward you for it. Oh, yes, the certificates are nice, too!

When the prize is publication only, be aware of a few things.

1. Even if they will send you prizes in publication (which is a copy of the book), don't pay a fee. Remember, they will sell this book or magazine and they are not paying you a dime for your contribution, so why should you pay them?

2. This could be a ploy for getting submissions to a new or failing publication - a way to get things to print without compensating the authors. If you would not mind being printed without pay, then go for it.

3. Once your poem, essay, or story is published, you cannot enter it in any other contest and you have lost your first rights for publication. This means that further down the road, you will get less money for it if you manage to sell it, because it has already been in another publication.

Very few contests will get you national recognition. Contests are not a gateway to fame, a foot in the door to being published, or a message to agents to beat a path to your door. They ARE a way to learn to improve your writing for public acceptance.

Other good things...

Most contests have no particular theme, so these allow your creativity to flow. Other competitions are very precise about their subjects, which is an exercise in discipline. The real advantage here is you have a reason to explore an unknown topic, and you can use what you learn immediately and in the future. Most of us get two or three more ideas while developing the first one.

If the previous winner of a contest you have entered is published, get a copy. You may find that your style is not what that group likes, or learn from the winning poems about how to improve your own, or decide to work on developing a different style in order to make yourself more competitive. Knowing what type of writing is winning the contests is a good step toward winning the next one.

You're On Your Own!

If the rewards interest you enough to make you want to venture out, watch for contests all over the place. Search for a branch of Poets Roundtable in your area. This organization has contests year-round. Writers conferences usually have contests, so watch your mailbox and check the ads in any writers magazines that you read. Search the Web! Just remember to be careful. And do not be embarrassed if you get scammed once in a while. Learn from it and pass it on.

For more information on contests and scams, check out these sites:

Contest Sites:

• The Conpo mailing list for distributing guidelines for literary magazines and for literary contests. (Warning-Generates a lot of mail. Suggest you subscribe to the digest version)
• Poets&Writers magazine's contests page
• Poetic Voices contest listings

Scam Control:

• Don J. Carlson's column in Poetry Today Online
• Allan Lefcowitz's column in The Writer's Center
• Eileen Kernaghan's column in SF Canada

Good Luck, and let us know how you are doing!