by Bright Ewuru | Feb 3, 2023 | Articles
If you run a publishing company, a non-profit organisation interested in the art of writing or any type of entity that operates in the writing space, it’s only natural to care about stories. Short stories from other writers are a fun way to add an additional spark to your publication.
However, it can sometimes be tricky to collect story submissions. You are likely looking for the best and most captivating prose. How can you find it?
A good way to ensure you’ll attract top talent is to host a short story contest.
A short story contest is a writing competition that showcases the ability of its entrants, who provide a story to fit the parameters of the contest. What are the benefits? It can bring greater brand publicity, financial incentives for the winners, publicity for the writers and support for the literary arts.
Read below for some proven tips on how to set up a credible short story contest.
The first step to organising a short story contest is pinpointing the goals you want to achieve with it. Identifying these targets makes it easier to create a program strategy. Your goals for running the contest could include brand exposure, fundraising or new connections to talented writers.
Managing a writing competition requires good organisation from the start. Below are the various elements to consider when running a short story contest.
There should be zero uncertainty about what’s allowed and other relevant details. To begin with, define the rules of engagement. One such rule is the eligibility criteria. Who can join the contest? Do the writers have to be published or unpublished? Is there an age limit? Is the short story competition open only to members of certain institutions? Be thoughtful in the required criteria so you keep the playing field level, no matter the writer’s background.
Equally important is stipulating the theme of the short stories. Suggest a word count. This can save your judges or reviewers hours of time. When the submissions are consistent in breadth and scope, it ensures an easy judging process. Other technical aspects to consider are formatting and font. Let your entrants know that submissions that don’t follow the rules can be disqualified.
It’s helpful to outline how you’ll pick the winners. A structured judging process reduces the possibility of bias and enhances the transparency and integrity of the contest. The deciding factors could be creativity, proper use of language, emotional connection, powerful imagery, allusions or whatever matters to you and your program.
While we hope it never comes to it, things could go awry in your short story contest; you need to stay ahead of the curve. Implement an agreement that speaks to rights over the stories, implied agreement to the contest’s rules and the contest rules being subject to change. These legal terms will provide a protective shield in the event of any disturbance.
The contest should have a calendar. Determine the opening date when entrants can register and make their submissions. Also decide on when submissions will close, when the winners will be announced and when the prizes will be given.
The prize is usually the main attraction for entrants. The prize for the short story contest could either be a cash award, publication or free mentorship and coaching by a renowned writer or editor.
When picking the prize, it’s vital to ensure that its value matches the challenge presented by the competition. It’s rare to find people willing to jump through hoops for a trivial award. But the bigger the prize, the greater the number of entries and the better the submissions!
Also, you’ll need to select the judging panel. The judges should be renowned figures in the writing space; this will boost the integrity and popularity of the contest. The judges could be authors, popular editors or owners of established publications. A panel of seasoned judges erases doubt in the judging process. And, it provides new connections and networking for the writers.
Marketing your short story contest is important. The first step is to create a dedicated website for the contest so you can share all the program details in one place.
Your website should include all the relevant information. Be sure every detail is mentioned. This will cut down on support requests. Include
Sending newsletters to promote the contest to your email subscribers will also ensure that more people are aware of it. Press releases and offline promotional materials should also be employed.
Social media channels are super effective too! Your brand’s official account doesn’t have to be the only one involved; encourage your staff, judges and even the entrants to share posts about the competition across all platforms. The more posts you have, the more buzz you’ll generate.
Social media can go beyond organic outreach. Consider running ads on social media and search engines to cover more ground. (Check out our post on how to use social media to build awareness for contests and awards programs!)
Take the promotion a step further by teaming up with third parties such as writing clubs, colleges and universities. If their community members are eligible, then they should know about it! Collaborating with media houses and publications will fetch more publicity. Ensure that the competition is listed on reputable websites that list short story contests and other writing competitions. Some of these sites include The Writers College, Christopher Fielden and Almond Press.
In all candour, you shouldn’t depend on a manual process to run short story contests or other writing competitions, in 2023. By leveraging reliable submission and evaluation software built for literary works, you can take the hassle out of the process and almost entirely reduce the possibility of error.
Besides making a good impression on entrants and judges, software like Award Force can help you detect plagiarism and AI-generated content, help manage the submissions, save time and money and also streamline the entire judging process. It also enhances communication among your admin team.
Short story contests and other writing competitions are fantastic ways to support creative writing, encourage budding writers and put your brand in the spotlight. Implement these pointers to effectively organise a prestigious writing competition.
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