Whatever kind of writing you do, be it poetry, full-length fiction, short stories, non-fiction, essays, you name it, someone is running a competition for it. The question is, should you enter? Let's have a look at what the potential benefits and losses are.

The discipline of taking part. This really applies to amateur and beginner writers who are all too likely to have any number of unfinished projects and find it hard to get them polished and submitted. Taking part in a competition entails producing a piece of finished writing on a set topic, which conforms to a set of rules usually including a word limit, and submitting it in time to meet a deadline. This practice in itself may make it worthwhile entering.

Some competitions offer a critique as part of the service. Usually this involves paying extra, and may not consist of more than a grid with ticks or crosses. There are professional critique services which operate apart from the competition circuit and if you really want comments on your work you may do better to pay for the one of these. Alternatively, there are internet news groups and e-mail based circles of writers who offer comments on each others' work. These are free, and some of them are very professional. You, too, get to critique the work of others which is a very useful way of learning.

Particularly in the field of poetry, competitions provide a ready-made market offering possible lucrative rewards which don't normally accompany small press publication. However, the theme is often open and the competitor has little or no way of knowing what sort of writing is favoured by the judge. The larger competitions may specify who the judge is to be, and perhaps you know his work and feel you know what is likely to appeal to him. Unfortunately, so will many of the other competitors. If the competition is offering the sort of prizes which usually accompany big name judges it will probably attract more entries of a correspondingly higher standard. It's true that the entries are judged anonymously, but there will be big name competitors in there, too, making it all the more difficult for you to win. (If there are very many entries there is sometimes a pre-judging and the famous name may never get to see your work anyway.) If the judge is simply the tutor of a local writing group you may have little chance of finding out what will be well received. Sending your work can be either a bit like entering a lottery, or a simple shot in the dark. At least with small press magazines you can study a few issues and get a feel for the editor's likes and dislikes; it will be simple bad luck if he is unusually overwhelmed with contributions just when you send, but even if this happens it's more likely to result in a longer wait for a reply than a less serious consideration of your work. And even if your work is rejected, many editors find time to make a personal comment or two. (Though remember that they are not obliged to do so and you should be grateful if they do rather than cross if they don't!)

Obviously one of the main reasons for entering competitions is the money prizes. In terms of money, these can vary from a few pounds to thousands. As I said before, if the prizes are bigger, the contest will probably attract more and better entries and your own chances of winning are correspondingly reduced. You may do better to concentrate on smaller competitions.

Often publication is offered for the winning entry to a competition, sometimes in addition to a financial prize, sometimes instead. Do be careful and read the small print before entering. Some contest rules specify that all entrants give the organizers permission to publish whether or not they win or place. Some even demand that the entrants give up their copyright, not just first serial rights. That would mean that your writing could be used time and again without you even being credited as author, let alone receiving payment.

Even if only first publication rights are involved, you need to know where the work is to be published. If it's to be on a web-page, it may be archived indefinitely. If a well-known magazine is involved, it may be worth checking out what sort of things they usually publish. But more often than not, competitions result in anthologies. This is why all entrants are asked to allow publication: after all, three winners won't fill even a small pamphlet. Of course you have no control of what else appears in the anthology with your work, and you may be very disappointed to see the standard of the other 'best entries'. You also may have to pay for the anthology, unless it specifically says in the rules that contributors receive a complimentary copy. Purchase may not be compulsory, but it's difficult to resist at least one copy of your own work in print. This is particularly true if it's a limited print run edition which won't be available later. It's this need to see our work in print that funds the competitions, of course, and which makes the anthology production viable. But appearing in a pamphlet which only sells a couple of dozen copies to contributors is unlikely to further your writing career nor increase your prestige in the literary world.

Many smaller contests recoup their costs by charging entry fees. Some writing groups will put the profits into group funds, others make donations to charity. No doubt others would rather we didn't look too closely at the accounts. After all, it's easy to see that even 100 people paying a £2 entry fee more than covers the prize monies and printing costs involved with most small competitions. Always consider the cost of the entry fee in comparison to what you stand to win; a couple of pounds may not seem much to pay out, but if the first prize is only £20, where is the rest of the money going?

There are also some major literary contest scams being run at the moment. These don't always charge entry fees, but they will get your money from you somehow. Always check closely what rights you give up by entering a free competition. And be very wary about buying any product or service as a result of your participation. As well as the anthologies we've already seen (some of which are quite genuine, of course), you may be offered other products (wall charts, framed etchings, diplomas etc.) with your writing on, or membership of 'exclusive' associations which run regular and expensive seminars. Frequently, too, a competition is used as a way of generating business for other parts of a company. You may be referred to an editing service - which will charge, of course - or you may receive offers of publication - if you pay the costs, of course.

Before sending your work anywhere, you should do your research. Find out as much as you can about the organisers of a competition or the publishing house behind a magazine. In this age of desk-top publishing and web-sites, it's very easy to produce a credible, professional-looking impression from your own front-room. But neither fancy stationery nor personalised web addresses necessarily have anything to back them up. If in doubt, look elsewhere: and never send money which you can't afford to lose. Remember, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

The following links provide more information about the pitfalls of entering competitions:

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