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Just in case you haven't heard, my short story "Guardian" won 1st Place in the Genre Category of the 85th Annual Writer's Digest Competition!

I don't know about y'all, but I'm pretty darn excited. I've only entered the Writer's Digest Contest a couple of times. Last time, I won 68th place. Major improvement; IMHO.

The prizes included a subscription to the 2017 Writer's Market. So, I will probably post a few interesting links from there in the not too distant future.

There were ten categories in the contest. The first place winners of each category will be published in an anthology. They haven't sent a contract or publication date yet. I'll post more information on that soon.

Recently, I attended a Screenwriters meeting in OKC. One of the questions that arose during that meeting was, "Why should writers enter contests?"

The obvious answer of course is money. I've won more money from contests than I've earned from sales. Winning feels great, builds your confidence, validates your effort, and looks good on your resume. If you are lucky, you might even win some constructive feedback from the judges that may actually be useful for improving your craft.

While I am a strong supporter of writing contests, I also strongly encourage researching the contest before entering. Verify it is legitimate. Search for contesst that do not require an entry fee, i.e.  'Writers and Illustrators of the Future' www.writersofthefuture.com 

Never pay more in entry fees than the grand prize pays out.

If publication is a part of the award, DO NOT sign away all your rights. Most contracts are negotiable. Don't be afraid to haggle.

I'll have much more to say on the subject of contests in the future.

Until then, keep writing!

vck

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