How to Enter Writer's Digest Writing Competitions
Every year, "Writer’s Digest" sponsors a number of different writing contests. Whether you write poetry, short stories, fiction or non-fiction, they have a contest for you. Their prizes range from $25 to as much as $2,500. Whether you are a budding writer or an experienced pro, "Writer’s Digest" writing competitions can give you exposure and a little spending cash.
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Instructions
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Familiarize yourself with the rules. There may be entry fees, word limits and subject matter exclusions. You should go to the "Writer’s Digest" website and read the rules before you enter. Each contest has its own set of rules, so make sure you don’t read just one set and assume it applies to each of the contests.
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Decide which contests to enter. You may wish to stick with what you know and enter something you have already written. You could also decide to write something new just for the contest.
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Prepare you work. If you decide to write something new specifically for the contest, make sure to give yourself enough time to make your manuscript as grammatically correct and entertaining as possible. Rushed work is not going to get you extra points with the judges. If you decide to submit existing work, give it a read through and make sure there aren’t any areas you could improve.
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Get a second opinion. Have a friend or coworker read your submission. What improvements or changes would he make? He may also be able to find spelling or grammatical errors that you missed.
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Go to the website and submit your work. Go to http://www.writersdigest.com/competitions and find the contests you wish to enter. Click on the entry link and decide whether you wish to enter online or print the form and complete it. The entry form is very straightforward, but make sure you read the instructions!
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Copy and paste. In the manuscript section, it will be a lot easier if you copy your content and paste it into the manuscript box than if you decide to retype it in the box. Make sure you have spaces between your paragraphs so the judges aren’t faced with a wall of text when reviewing your entry. Also, make sure to give it a once over to make sure you copied and pasted the entire text.
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Tips & Warnings
Keep your work focused--rambling won't win!
Read previous winner's entries before applying.
