Chris' Christian Blog

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The Blogging Circle of Friends prompt for Friday December 27, 2017 is "What are your thoughts on contests? Are they worth entering, or do you think they're a waste of time and money? Have you entered any yourself? Recommendations? I'm not talking about the contests on WDC."

Contests are definitely worth the money if one can afford to enter them. Many of the rags (literary magazines) depend on the money they raise in their contests to stay afloat another year or another publication. It is nearly standard procedure for them to hold contests in an effort to meet their budget and cover their expenses. Even if the editors of the magazine work for free, which they seldom do, there is still the cost of mailing copies, printing copies, buying back any unsold copies on store shelves, and other costs. Therefore as a professional poet, I would have no problem paying to enter a contest if I could afford to do so. There are a couple of reasons I will not do so however. The first reason is that I simply can't afford to do so. The amount of money I have to live on in a year is probably equal to what Donald Trump spends for meals in a week. So I can't enter contests that I may lose.

My second reason is that I may win. I know myself well enough to know that I have an addictive personality. If it's fun I can become addicted to it. I don't need to become addicted to gambling and I'd do so if I gambled money on contests.

I do have some advice about contests though. If it says 'free contest" run don't walk" away from it. It's a scam. They will "accept' your work usually through a web site. Then when they have you hooked they'll offer to sell you an anthology with your work in it buried in the lower corner of page 300. The anthology usually comes at an extortionist price. These people prey on amateurs. Don't become a victim. Check contests out.