How do you know you’ve made it as a writer? Maybe when you’ve written a whole book. When you have an agent. Or when someone you don’t personally know reads and likes your book. It could be when you see your book in Barnes & Noble. The list goes on and on, and it changes too. Once you achieve a goal, you set a new one. I don’t know if it’s a writer thing or just human nature, but we are never satisfied with our success.
My Personal Experience
I bring this up because recently I won third place in a local short story competition. A small amount of money came with it, and I had a moment when I thought, “I’ve finally arrived!” Then I immediately shot my moment down. I hadn’t won first place. It was a small group competition. The money wasn’t to publish my story so I won’t earn a living on it. Basically, I set the moment aside and said it would mean more when I won a bigger competition.
The truth is that the moment was meaningful. Someone thought my writing was worth something. Both money and time are valuable in our culture, and my story received both. A group of people took the time to read my story and then vote on it. Then someone thought it was good enough to give it monetary worth. That means something! In the grand scale of things, it’s not much, but it’s everything for an aspiring author.
My advice is to enter writing competitions. You can start local or go straight to national ones. Often, you can enter contests if you attend conferences. I’m not saying to spend a lot of money entering contests. If they are cheap or free to enter, then do it. There are three major reasons to enter these competitions.
1. Get Over The Fear Of Submitting
Writing is personal, and it’s hard to let go of what we create sometimes. There is a fear that we aren’t good enough, but you’ll never know if you don’t put yourself out there. If you get nothing else from these contests, it’s good writing practice and a way to get over the fear of rejection.
2. Practice Meeting A Deadline
Setting deadlines for yourself and achieving them is good practice for when you have a publisher, but it isn’t the same outward pressure as the real thing. Contests can give you a trial run for publishing.
I set deadlines for myself all the time and usually meet them. When I entered a contest for the first time, I was surprised how hard it was to do. Not because I didn’t have enough time, but because I felt there was always something I could do to make it better. There was a reason for me to make it the best possible version, and I couldn’t change it once I hit send. The reality of it caused enough pressure that I didn’t submit until the last possible moment.
The more I submit, the more I’m not overanalyzing it all. It needs to be good, but too many revisions sometimes makes it worse rather than better.
3. Find Potential Validation With Little Risk
If you don’t win, no one says anything to you about it. If you win, you gain a little encouragement. All writers want their work to be enjoyed by others, and this is a simple way to share your creations for a test run.
Final Thoughts
Give it a try. Winning a contest is a good goal to set. There is no rejection letter on the other end of a contest submission. Only anonymity or recognition. If this doesn’t sound like a good goal for you, set a different one. Just remember when you achieve the goal to celebrate it—no matter how small. Don’t brush past it like I did. See the worth in achieving it.
Thanks for reading!
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