How to Submit Your Book to a Literary Contest

What steps should you follow to submit a work to a literary contest?

Have you already finished writing your book? Congratulations! Months, or even years, of effort have paid off, and your work is now a reality. Now it's time to start reaping the fruits of so much energy spent because those pages deserve a reward after so many sleepless nights and afternoons in front of the computer (or the typewriter if you prefer the classic method).

Many literary contests reward authors because talent and effort deserve to be rewarded. Awards not only translate into economical payments but can also be translated into a diffusion of the work that helps the writer's name and the book to be known.

If you are considering applying for one of these literary contests, here are some tips to perfect your candidacy. Prepare your work, and take good notes because your name may appear as the winner of one of the many awards to which authors worldwide aspire.

Why submit your work to a literary contest?

The answer may be obvious: the economic retribution you aspire to in case your work is chosen. However, submitting your candidacy for one of these awards has many more benefits than the money the winner receives. These are some of them:

-Prestige. The fact that the jury of a literary contest has chosen your work over the rest is a symptom of the quality that permeates its pages. An excellent way to promote your book after it has been published is to mention the recognition it has achieved.

-You will learn. If your work is not chosen, don't lose heart because, as in love, everything that happens in these contests is good, even defeat. If the jury has not considered that your book deserves the award, it is time to be self-critical and think about what may have gone wrong and improve for future reprints of the title or future projects.

-You will gain practice. Another option is that your work did not win because you needed to present the nomination correctly. If this is the case, don't worry, this contest will not be the only one, and many others await you. However, note what may have gone wrong and avoid repeating the mistakes in the next one.

-Profit. Yes, there is no denying that the retribution that these awards provide is a great reason to enter these contests. Especially for independent authors, this economic injection can help them improve by aspiring to services that were initially outside their reach and proving that if the quality is involved, a book can generate profits.

Steps to submit your work

Do you have your work ready? It's time to start working on getting your book to this contest and be in a position to fight for the final prize. To do this, here are a few tips:

-Read every last comma. There will be many points that appear in the contest documentation. But we recommend that you read them from cover to cover and pay all your attention to the reading.

There is no such thing as an oversight, and by focusing on these conditions, you will be able to check if you have all the forms, if you have all the copies of your IDs, if you have signed where you should have, and, most importantly, the deadlines!

-Record the work. Make sure there is no possibility of error, that the work you submit to the contest can be directly related to your name, and that no other person can claim its authorship.

-Take care of the presentation. The packaging also counts, and a nice presentation to the jury can mean a lot. Make sure the handwriting is legible, and, in case you decide to send it printed, make sure the paper arrives in optimal condition to its destination.

To check grammar, you may also use services like https://www.wowessays.com/. And don't forget about page numbering - it is a requirement you cannot do without.

-Correction. You have the work of the year, a theme never explored, and the most interesting characters of the century, but... HORROR! There are typos in your career, the concordance is conspicuous by its absence, and the style is inappropriate.

Before you press the send button or the courier picks up the manuscript you submit to the contest, check all the written pages and correct any errors.

-Certificates. Some contests will ask you to submit a certificate attesting that you are the author. Check how to send it and the information that must be included in it.

We wish you the best of luck submitting your book to the contest. We hope that our advice has helped you. May everything go smoothly and successfully!