Member Article

Writing competitions: why they’re an effective route towards a successful writing career

Why do you think so many people enter the X-Factor or The Voice? Amateurs, brought to the attention of professionals looking for talent, with a prize to boot…it’s certainly one of the better ways to raise your profile.

Entering writing competitions should be considered a viable in-road for any aspiring author yet they’re often overlooked. Not only does it help an author shape their writing to established conformities, it also guarantees their work will be looked at; no bottom-of-the-slush-pile for competition entries, as each one is indistinguishable from the next. Any entry could be the winner.

It must be the dream of many people: to walk into a book store and see your own published title staring back at you. To sign books amongst a throng of people waving your book around is something that spurs many writers on when receiving rejection after rejection. But with so many books around, it’s hard for any author – even the relatively more successful ones – to be noticed.

There are over twelve million books currently published, and this number grows by the hour, not just by the day. If this figure seems insurmountable, consider this: you’re not actually competing against twelve million books. Many of these are already invisible, for one reason or another – the pool of books under readers’ noses is actually much smaller.

The notoriety, credence and opportunities that arise from winning a writing competition dangle enticingly. Consider also the editorial and marketing intervention that’s also awarded to the winner makes entering writing competitions an attractive proposition for anyone looking to launch a writing career.

OOdlebOOks/Get That Book Written is looking for the next Marian Keyes, Helen Fielding, or even, E.L. James. Open to any author – published or not – they’re asking for a synopsis and up to 3,000 words of a novel-in-progress, in the genres ‘mummy lit’ or ‘chick lit’.

On offer is a traditional publishing contract, editorial support and marketing/PR. For more details, visit the Get That Book Written website.

They’ve seen a lot of interest already but welcome more; the closing date is the end of September, giving anyone interested time to work on their concept over the summer.

If you’re serious about launching a career as a writer, writing competitions are an effective way to build your platform and boost your visibility, even if you’ve already tried to break into the world of authorship. Stick your head above the parapet, with the backing of OOdlebOOks/Get That Book Written.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by The Solopreneur Publishing Company Ltd .