This was sent to me this morning. Can't take advantage of it myself, but thought others might want to check it out: https://hourofwrites.com/index/welcome
Just a couple of problems here, one personal, one general: Personal one: I'm not one for writing contests. General one: The deadline for this one seems to have passed already (Dec. 8th). Let me look again and see how often they run this.
Huh. I didn't even read that far, just told the person inviting me that it wasn't something I could participate in. I suppose that's how they raise the £ for the weekly prizes.
Then you're not playing with a full deck. If you intend to make money out of your work, then you're essentially entering into a writing contest against your competitors in the consumer market, no?
No. In writing contests, only the winners (and in some cases runners-up) get any visibility. When I publish my own work, visibility is a given. Contests are games of chance. So equating the consumer market to writing contests is like equating a 9 to 5 job to a spin of the Roulette wheel. They're really not comparable.
I don't think you understand how competition in business works. The comparison you make holds no water. As a writer you are self employed. You do not do a 9 to 5 job. You target your product directly at the consumer base. The consumer base decides whether or not you are more worthy to spend money on than the competition. Is that not a contest?
By that reasoning, all commerce is a contest. I've entered plenty of industry contests where you submit work that's already been completed, but this is more like doing work on the promise that you might get paid, but probably not. Which is fine if you find the exercise fun, but it doesn't have much purpose beyond that.
You're right, I don't do a 9 to 5 job. I do a 5 to 9 job. 5 AM to 9 PM. I'm not just the writer -- I'm the writer, the cover artist, the head of advertising, the CEO, the caterer, the janitor. Every single task related to the business of creating and selling my work -- I do them all. No, it's not a contest, any more than any other business is a contest. Contests are games of chance. Business is not.
Frankenstein resulted from a contest of sorts. Such a thing can be useful if it stimulates the creative juices in a particularly new way. It can also provide more publicity than a self-published effort necessarily provides. But I'd generally agree that it's not worth doing unless you would write the piece anyway.
As you well know, from abusing my personal info, I am a self employed consultant these days. I am akin to being a business partner of the firms I work with, but I largely get to dictate my own schedule. What you're doing is making excuses. I have to deal with all you list, and, on top of that I have to network. Don't hold yourself out as the hard done by slogger when you seemingly are sacrificing copious hours to post online (and one brief look at your Facebook feed is all one needs to know you're sacrificing working hours for garbage). Business is absolutely a contest. I mean seriously, are you not aware of commercial competition? If you're selling any form of product or service you are competing with others offering the same. How in the hell do you not know this???
Am industry contest that isn't on a fair footing isn't directly representative of the market, is it? What I am taking issue with is Castle's assertion that he doesn't entertain competition in his day to day efforts.
Didn't say there was flaming, but if you aren't sure what's wrong with the badgering, you might do best to step away from the thread for a time. Same goes for arguing with me or anybody else who says to cool it. This is a moderated room, there is an announcement of a contest, it's not an excuse to go after somebody's personal habits.
Good points all in this. Good way of looking at contests, I absolutely agree, and thanks for this perspective on contests. Still not really my bag, but I can't help but appreciate your perspective on them as creativity catalysts.
But I really do factor in competition. I just don't see writing contests as an analogue of market competition. Contests are exclusive, while the open market is inclusive. That's the difference, and that difference is why I don't go for writing contests.
By the way -- I'm not opposed to entering writing contests as a blanket rule. I just wouldn't put anything into a writing contest that I'm confident could sell, that's all. Experimental stuff, sure, I'd put experimental stuff into a writing contest. Never know -- something I'm iffy on, could win a writing contest, and then whoo wee, that could unexpectedly take off and be huge. But anything I'm confident that it could sell, that's going to be for sale, not for the wibbly-wobbly odds of a contest.
the industry is also not currently very receptive to short form works (try selling short stories on Kindle before you are established as a novelist) and contests sometimes provide outlets for short form work
The contest to enter is Bulwer-Lytton. Unfortunately I wouldn't stand a chance against all the authors who post here.
I think the problem might be if the only works to be seen are the winning entries. Then, I would think, those whose entries did not win or receive honorable mention would not be seen, and perhaps, to the writers, might be perceived as work for nothing.
I'll defer to the folks who participate in NaNoWriMo, but I think they'd tell you it hones their writing skills. It's like playing an instrument. The goal is to be good at it.
