DO YOU AGREE, OR DISAGREE? (#5) TOPIC: Are reader-voted writing contests merely popularity contests?

Over the past year or so, I have noticed a trend in reader-voted writing contests online. In the past, I would have FLOCKED to enter such a thing. Nowadays, I hate to say, I totally ignore them.

Why?

Because with the amazingly supportive writer community we are all a part of, I don't think it's about the writing anymore. At all. It's all about how many friends you have. And all it takes is an email (or tweet, of Facebook post), saying, "DUDE! I'm in this contest! Can you please vote for me?" And of course, we go vote. I have done it. More times than I can count. Because I love and ADORE my writer buddies. I want them to have success. I want their contest entry to win. We all do. So we go vote. And we do so willingly.

There's nothing wrong with having lots of friends to help push us toward success. There is nothing wrong with it at all. But are reader-voted writing contests really about the writing anymore, or are they merely popularity contests?

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When disappointment strikes and hits a nerve ...

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I really don't mind the fact that I got a rejection from a publisher on Bitter Like Orange Peel, and found out that I didn't make the quarter finalists of ABNA, all in one day. I don't mind at all. In fact, I'm pretty numb to rejections nowadays because I've finally reached that point in my career where I trust my instincts and fully believe in myself (well ... most of the time).

I'm different. Some people get me. Others don't. No problemo.

These things don't disappoint me. What disappoints me is feedback that makes me question whether 'being true to myself' and 'writing honestly' is really the way to go. I'd finally come to the conclusion that it didn't matter if I got an agent or published by the big six. In reality, it still doesn't matter. I just want my books read and to have the opportunity to get my work better exposure ... so far things are going pretty well, it's early days ... but ... when I read feedback on my writing that says it would have a limited audience because it's too realistic, and contains not very attractive visuals, then I start to doubt the reason I write like this. Is there a point in being true to my instincts if in the end it's not going to help me progress? Can I accept having a niche audience for the rest of my life?

I get that people read to escape and don't want other people's shit thrown in their faces. And you're not going to be able to escape reading my books. You're going to be made to feel stuff. Lots of stuff. And some of it is ugly. Such is life. And I also get that my work isn't commercial. I do get that. I have accepted these things. So why have these comments stung so much? My stomach is in knots!

I don't know. I guess my expectations are too high. I'm never going to single-handedly change the trends in commercial fiction. But I tell you one thing ... there's no way I'm going to stop writing fiction that bites.

Do you read literary fiction? Is there anything you've read that's disgusted you? How did you react to it? Did it make you hate the book? Why?


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Does it really pay ... to pay?

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When I first started trying to build myself a list of writing credits, I entered a lot of competitions where I had to pay to enter. I also went straight to the big guns of literary magazines like Glimmer Train, where you have to pay a reading fee to submit. Usually, paying a reading fee is a sure sign to stay away, but Glimmer Train offers pretty amazing payment if your piece gets accepted, plus it is supah prestigious. Being one of the biggest literary magazines known to the writing community, and probably one of the most respected mags raking in the top with Tin House and Paris Review, writers do not even think twice before handing over their cash.

But is it really worth it?

In about a year, I submitted and submitted and submitted, and forked out around $400 or more to have my work considered by the 'elite' market. What did I end up with to show for it? An empty wallet and one poetry award from Writer's Digest. I have to admit, that little award still makes me smile ... but then I think about what I achieved for free and a lot of hard work ...

THIS.

That's a HECK of a lot more than that poetry award. And I even got PAID for a couple of these things.

Now I know it's hard to resist entering those competitions. Some of them even have really amazing cash prizes and trips to conferences to win, etc, but you know what? The money you'd end up spending for all the competitions could probably pay for that trip to the conference anyway, and leave you with a hell of a lot less submission angst.

I really really don't think it's worth paying anymore. I mean, sure, I've gained the small amount of recognition that I have through a lot of time, persistence and hard work, but I got a result. And I think these results are just going to continue to grow as long as I keep up with the game. I can still get writing credits without paying for them.

Not every lit mag is a print publication. But so what? They're just as good and worthy. And they're just as beneficial to my career as is a piece in Glimmer Train. Agents and publishers are looking for those nifty italics at the bottom of your query letters, not prestige. As long as there is another editor out there, big or small, that felt your work was worthy of being published, that is an excellent excellent boost for you.

Any writing credit, great or small, is beneficial to your career. Never forget that.

If time, persistence, and hard work equal results, and money equals gambling, then I choose results over chance any day. And you know what? I see those ads for competitions now, with the big cash prizes, and even though I sometimes have the confidence in myself to submit, I don't get excited about them anymore. I just feel like I'm wasting my hard-earned cash.

But I do get excited about what I've accomplished. Because I've accomplished it with my own two hands.

How about you? Do you think it pays to pay?