There used to be a view that legitimate writing contests were free to enter, and that any contest that charged a fee was suspect.

That’s no longer true—but it doesn’t mean that all writing contests are created equal, or that all contests are legitimate. Unfortunately, just as there are too many vanity publishers out to separate unwary authors from their hard-earned money, so too there are vanity writing contests.

How do you tell the difference between a reputable writing contest and a vanity contest? Check out these 5 questions. #WritingContest #WritersLife Click To Tweet

So how can a writer tell which contests are legitimate, and which are vanity contests?

Here are some questions to consider:

• Who runs the contest?
• How much does the contest cost to enter?
• How many categories are there?
• How quickly are the entries judged?
• Who are the past winners?

Who Runs the Contest?

Many contests are run by writing organisations. For example, American Christian Fiction Writers runs the Carol Award for published authors, and the Genesis and First Impressions contests for unpublished authors. Romance Writers of America run the RITA Award for published authors. In Australasia, Omega Writers run the CALEB Award.

Other contests are run by chapters of larger organisations. For example, the TARA is run by the Tampa Area Romance Authors, and the MARA is run by the Mid-America Romance Authors.

Some contests are run by publishing organisations. For example, the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association run the Christian Book Awards for nonfiction, and now manage the Christy Awards for fiction. Others are run as part of a writer’s conference e.g. the Selah Awards are linked to the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writing Conference, or run by a not-for-profit e.g. Stories of Life.

These are generally legitimate awards. Sure, some are more expensive than others (it costs USD 125 to enter a single book in the Christy Award, plus the cost of providing paper copies for judging). But the purpose of the contests is to recognise the best in the industry, and the contest attracts entries from major publishers.

But some contests are run by less honourable organisations.

Some vanity presses run awards, with the prize being a free publishing package (“worth $10,000!”). Sure, the vanity press might sell that publishing package for $10,000, but there’s a lot of profit in that. These contests are simply a way for the vanity press to solicit sales prospects.

Other contests are run by for-profit organisations. Now, I have nothing against a for-profit organisation (after all, if organisations such as bookstores, publishing companies, and freelance editors didn’t make a profit, then there would be no bookstores, publishing companies, or freelance editors). But a writing contest run by a for-profit organisation means the objective of the contest isn’t to find and recognise the best writers in the genre.

It’s to make a profit. Let the buyer beware.

How Much does the Contest Cost to Enter?

Contests run by writing organisations will often have two rates—a member and a non-member rate. The non-member rate is often expensive, but that’s not because the contest is a vanity contest. It’s a not-so-subtle attempt from the organisers to encourage entrants to join the organisation. Some writing organisations only permit entries from members, but potential entrants can join and enter at the same time.

Other contests (such as the RITA) allow the first entry at a relatively inexpensive rate, but additional entries cost more per entry. This is because they’re disincentivising authors from submitting multiple entries—they want each writer to enter their best book, so the contest represents as many different authors as possible (given the contest is capped at 2,000 entries).

In contrast, vanity contests will often offer a discount on the second and subsequent entries—because they make money by having lots of entries, and because they use the number of entries as a marketing point. These contests range in price from very expensive to free. But free isn’t always good—some vanity contests claim copyright on entries, which means the entrant is effectively giving away that writing and getting nothing in return.

What is the Money Used for?

To properly gauge whether a writing contest is too expensive or not, authors need to assess what the entry fees are used for.

For example, some writing contests award cash prizes, so a portion of the entry fee will be used to fund the prize. The Indie Book Awards offer cash prizes. I can see that’s an attractive proposition for many authors:

• $1,500 Cash Prize and trophy awarded to the best Fiction Book
• $1,500 Cash Prize and trophy awarded to the best Non-Fiction Book
• $750 Cash Prize and trophy awarded to the second best Fiction Book
• $750 Cash Prize and trophy awarded to the second best Non-Fiction Book
• $500 Cash Prize and trophy awarded to the third best Fiction Book
• $500 Cash Prize and trophy awarded to the third best Non-Fiction Book
• $100 Cash Prize and a Gold Medal awarded to the winner of each of the 70 categories
• Finalist Medals will be awarded to up to five finalists in each of the 70 categories

$100 sounds relatively generous … except that it costs $75 to enter one book in one category of the IBA, and $60 for second and subsequent entries. That means the category winners only come out $25 ahead, and that’s assuming they only entered one book in one category.

Overall, IBA promises $12,500 in prize money across 70 categories, plus the cost of producing and sending six trophies and up to 350 finalist medals. Let’s say the trophies cost $50 each, and the medals are $5. That’s another $2,000.

But that means the contest expects to get at least 350 entries. At $75 per entry, that’s over $26,000. More if there are more than 350 entries.

That’s a lot of money for a “not for profit” contest with direct expenses of less than $15,000.

Where does the rest of the money go? Well, some will go to web hosting. Some will go to paying the person who emailed me about the contest. Maybe they pay the judges (you can apply to be a judge—you’ll be in the illustrious company of people like Terry Whalin, Acquisitions Editor for Morgan James Publishing, yet another vanity press).

Is that writing contest reputable, or is it a vanity contest? One way to decide is to check the entry fees and where the profit goes. #WritingContest #WriteTip Click To Tweet

Other legitimate expenses include administration (the RITA has 2,000 entries, each of which are judged by seven judges in the first round. That’s a lot of administration), or prize trophies. Contests may also require specialised software, which will come out of the contest budge.

Some writing organisations don’t say what happens to contest proceeds, which probably means they go back into general funds to further the objectives of the organisation. Some say a portion of proceeds will be used to fund conference scholarships (e.g. the CALEB Awards from Omega Writers, or the Selah Awards from BRMCWC).

How Many Categories are There?

One way for-profit contests make money is by attracting lots of entrants and awarding lots of prizes—the Indie Book Awards above are one example. Reader’s Favorite are another, with over 100 categories.

Yes, everyone’s a winner in these contests.

In contrast, the RITA has 2,000 entries across 13 categories (including debut), and only 4% of entries final. The ACFW Carol Award and the Christy Award both have three finalists in each category. although they don’t specify the number of entries.

How Quickly Are Entries Judged?

I’ve recently seen an author say they published their book four months ago and have already been a finalist in three awards. My first reaction is that these are vanity awards: legitimate awards operate on a much longer timescale, and restrict entries based on copyright date i.e. their 2019 awards are for books with a 2018 copyright date. Books published in 2019 won’t be eligible for awards until 2020. Any annual contest that accepts books older than a year needs to be looked at carefully—do they only offer categories in alternate years? If so, it’s probably legitimate. If not … you can figure it out.

In contrast, legitimate awards usually have two or more rounds of judging over several months. After all, it takes time to send the entries to the judges, who then need a month or more to read and assess their entries, especially if the contest is a whole-book contest like the RITA. Even a contest that only judges the first five pages (such as the First Impressions contest from American Christian Fiction Writers) allows a month for first-round judging, and another month for the final round.

Who Are the Past Winners?

Most contests provide lists of past winners. Check those lists. What books have previously finaled and won this contest?

If it’s a major US or international contest, then the list of finalists and winners should include authors and books you’ve heard of.

They might be books you’ve read or want to read (depending on the genre). They should be books with professional covers that suit the genre, professional editing, and lots of reviews—including Amazon (or similar) reviews from readers.

If it’s a smaller regional or national contest, then you may not have heard of the authors if it’s a different country. But the winning books should still look professional. You should be able to read the Amazon sample and not see obvious errors.

But if you’ve never heard of any of the books, authors, or publishers and the book covers are ugly and the Amazon Look Inside shows obvious errors, then that tells you something about the legitimacy of the contest … and whether it’s one you want to enter.

Because that’s the key.

It’s great to win a writing contest. But only if you can tell friends and colleagues you’ve won without being given the side-eye because they wonder if you’ve been duped.

It's great to win a #WritingContest. But only if you can tell friends and colleagues you've won without being given the side-eye because they wonder if you've been duped. #WriterBeware Click To Tweet

Author, beware.