Publish A Book
Fiction Writing Contests
Although I work at a regular 9-5 desk job, I’ve always dreamed of being a published writer. I’ve got numerous story ideas floating around in my head, and I’ve even committed some to paper in my spare time. I know it’s practically impossible to send my manuscripts to a major publishing house and hope that someone will take a look at them, so I’m going to do something a bit different with my stories. I’m going to enter them into a few popular fiction writing contests to see how they fare.
I’ve heard that fiction writing contests present unknown writers with a fantastic opportunity to get discovered. Some of the most prominent competitions are judged by published writers, agents, or other industry insiders, which means I can really make a name for myself if I put my best stories out there. Even if I don’t win any of the fiction writing contests I enter, there’s a chance that one of the judges could like my work well enough to ask for more manuscripts — a move that could help launch a legitimate career.
While getting discovered is my primary goal, I’ve read that a lot of budding short story writers and novelists use fiction writing contests as a means of getting in-depth evaluations from qualified critics. That’s because the entry fees for many of these competitions cover extra perks such as feedback, tips, and even workshops. This is the kind of interaction that helps many writers take their work to the next level, and is something that I’m anxious to get for myself.
Of course, for many people, the main reason for entering a fiction writing contest is to win big prizes. Every single competition out there offers publication, either in a magazine, journal, anthology, or on a website, and many offer cash prizes ranging from a few hundred dollars to $10,000 or more, depending on the number of entries. Some of the more prestigious fiction writing contests may even offer a coveted short-term publishing contract as the top prize, which is something that all aspiring writers would love to win.
I’ve got two short stories that I think would be good candidates for a couple of these fiction writing contests. I will probably start out with a few of the smaller competitions just so I can familiarize myself with the whole process. Once I learn a bit more about how these events work, I’ll start entering the bigger competitions. With a little bit of luck, I may even win something!
How To Get Your Book Published
Online Freelance Writing Opportunities
Whether you knew it or not, there are quite a few freelance writers out there these days. Many people fail to realize this simply because it’s a field you don’t hear much about and many individuals assume that you can’t make a living freelance writing. This is utterly false. There are a number of freelance writing opportunities in cyberspace. Therefore if you aim to become a successful freelance writer, then one tool you’ll surely need is a computer with Internet access. This is more crucial than pen and paper now days!
Where does a freelance writer get started and what sort of education is required for this field These are excellent questions. In regards to degrees, if you’re attending college to become a writer, some ideal majors are English, Journalism, Creative Writing or any other writing degrees. You don’t necessarily need these degrees to become a successful freelance writer, but they can definitely help you get your resume noticed by potential employers. In this day and age everyone prefers to see a college degree. On top of that, when it comes to great freelance writing opportunities, expect potential employers to request writing samples. This just goes with the territory. Since everyone has a different writing style to some extent, folks will want to know what yours is prior to hiring you for a contract writing position.
Okay, so obviously as a freelance writer, you’ll want to know where all the ideal freelance writing opportunities are found. Your Internet access will come in handy at this point. Search the web for allsorts of freelance writing gigs and jobs. Helpful websites to take a look at are freelancewriting.com, freelance-writing.net and craigslist.com. This is an awesome place to begin your freelance writing career once you’ve completed college, or simply any time you choose to tackle the writing profession. With so many freelance writing jobs located solely online these days, it’s certainly feasible to have a great writing career from the comfort of your home.
How To Get Your Book Published
Why Writing Contests For Teens Are Important
It is important for creative people to start as young as possible. If you want to go into business, public service, politics, or some other normal career, you don’t really need to worry about it until college. Get good grades, have a fun childhood, and relax. With creative people, however, things are a little bit different. The sooner you get your start, the better. A lot of the most successful writers, artists, and musicians that I know made their first contacts when they were only adolescents.
This is why writing contests for teens are so important for aspiring writers. Adolescence is about the only time in life where everyone wants to hear your poetry. Not only do creative writing contests for teens allow them to make money and get recognition, but more importantly they give teenagers a sense of purpose. If these young writers can build their confidence and their talents at an early age, they can go on to do great things.
Most schools have a lot of information about writing contests for teens. High school English teachers generally will announce the dates of the important teenage writing contests. The Scholastic Writing Awards is one of the biggest ones. If you can get national recognition in that contest, it will look very good on your college application and give you bragging rights to your friends. Most areas will also have a local writing contest for teens. When I went to high school, for example, the local Borders bookstore hosted a poetry contest. I ended up winning first prize in it, something which gave me the confidence to really take my writing to the next level.
Of course, there are literally thousands of writing contests for teens out there. The problem is that not all of them are completely legitimate. It is important to pick and choose carefully. A small reading fee is not unusual, but don’t pay more than 15 dollars or so. Also, read the fine print. Some so-called writing contests for teens aren’t contests at all. They are essentially vanity publishing outfits. For the price of a reading fee, your teenager can win the chance to be published in an anthology, which you can then buy copies of. This is fine if vanity publishing is something that interests you. It is not, however, a particularly good way to win money, awards, recognition. Good luck, and happy hunting!
How To Get Your Book Published