Judge Not by Eric Beetner

What are your thoughts on book contests? Do you believe winning one can further your career? Which ones, if any, do you enter?

I have benefitted from a contest, albeit a short story contest. It was quite a long time ago for an online zine that no longer exists. From that win, I got my first agent. Contests can be a great way to get recognized and to meet people. I have cynical views on some of them, however. 

First and foremost: do not, under any circumstances, ever, ever, not ever, PAY A FEE to enter a contest. I have been a judge in many high-level year-end awards for some of the biggest national organizations. I’ve judged short stories and novels, which means reading hundreds of submissions. Myself and my fellow judges did it all on a volunteer basis. No fees required, and these are prestigious awards that can absolutely boost sales and give you accolades that will go on the front cover of your book. For some reason the hardship of reading means you need to pay someone to do it? No. That doesn’t fly with me. 

There’s also the slightly icky feeling I get when you turn a craft into a competition. I totally get it that if you do get the little gold star on your book, it could mean someone will find it easier, but I don’t like being pitted against my fellow writers. End of the year awards like the Anthonys or the Edgars are peer accolades that feel different than explicitly entering your book into the thunderdome to fight it out among dozens or hundreds of other books. It feels wrong enough to have to grovel on social media each year reminding people that your books is eligible for this, that or the other award, but to take your creation and shove it into the cage with fists up feels weird to me.

And really, every time I submit to an anthology with an open call, it feels like the same process. You’re asking to be judged. But they don’t charge a fee, or of they do I don’t submit. But we writers have countless examples of sending our work out there to be judged. The prize maybe an award or simply publication. The fear and anxiety are the same. Do I really want to add to that? 

And I don’t know of any contest that has the same prestige as a peer-judged award. For many if not most readers, all they need to see are the laurel leafs on the book jacket to know it has been endorsed by someone, somewhere, but I don’t know many readers who go seeking out the winner of some brand new competition with little to no track record. Some readers may wait each year for the winners of the Booker prize to be announced so they know what to add to their book club list, but I don’t see that happening with small, online contests. 

Whether you want to submit is entirely up to you, the author, and if you want to take that swing for the glory, then I support you. Even if it means handing over a few dollars you deem worth it. There is no doubt that any accolade or prize we can use to tout our books as being a quality read is worth a couple of dollars in the end. I think an award win among your promo materials is probably worth more than a blurb from a famous author. It’s validation and makes a potential reader feel safe in their decision to pick your book up off the table. I tend to avoid them for all the reasons mentioned above, but I’ll never begrudge an author their shot. Go for it. Get that gold star. Place it proudly on your book jacket, because it’s not only validation for the reader about to pick up your book, it’s validation for us as writers, and heaven knows we don’t get enough of that.