Monday Miscellany for August 16, 2010

Hello, hello!

Have you ever taken on a writing project, then wish you hadn’t?  Not me.  But what I have done, even recently, is set too low of a rate for some ghostwriting I’ve been doing. It’s a fun and steady gig, but one I wanted too much, and I feared missing out on the opportunity by setting my rate too high.  Big mistake.

With so many avenues for making money as a writer these days,  my writing time would be better spent developing infoproducts, ebooks and services for writers, while taking on only those freelance projects that pay the hourly wage I seek.  Same goes for you.  When you set your rate too low, you eventually don’t feel motivated to do it.  I’m kind of at that point now with this gig.

I may raise the rate and see what happens.  If the client doesn’t bite, well,  I really think that would be okay with me.  I have both enjoyed and learned from the experience.  Perhaps it’s time to move on.

I’ll let you know what happens.  In the meantime, here are some writing contest links for you to check out, and here’s to your writing success.

Mary Anne

Multiple Categories

The New Southerner Writing Contest

Fiction and nonfiction entries – up to 5,000 words. Poems up to 100 lines.

Prizes: $200 for winners of Fiction, Nonfiction and the James Baker Memorial Prize in Poetry; publication in the literary edition. Finalists in all categories receive $15 and publication in the literary edition.

Deadline: Postmark by October 1, 2010

Fees: $10 per entry

http://www.newsoutherner.com/?page_id=263

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Bananagrams® Writing Contest

Writers must use all seven words from the 21-letter Bananagrams® grid displayed on the site. Prose are limited to 1,400 words; poems up to 21 lines.

Prizes: 1st:$200, 2nd: $50, 2 honorable mentions. Prizes are per category & winners will receive publication.

Deadline: September 30, 2010

Fees: $7 per story, $20 for 3

http://www.newportreview.org/?contests.html

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Ascent Aspirations Spring 2011 Anthology

Maximum length of each poem is 60 lines. Spaces between stanzas count as lines. The maximum length for flash fiction is 800 words.

Prizes: 1st: $100 (CND), 2nd: $50, 3rd: $25, 6 honorable mentions: $10. Prizes are per category and winners receive a copy of the anthology.

Deadline: October 10, 2010

Fees: $5 for one poem or 3 poems for $10. $10 for flash fiction.

http://www.ascentaspirations.ca/ascentspring2011.htm

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American Literary Review’s 2010 Literary Awards

You may submit up to three poems, a short story of up to 8,000 words, or an essay of up to 6,500 words.

Prizes: 1st, 2nd & 3rd: $1000 and publication

Deadline: October 1, 2010

Fees: $15

http://www.engl.unt.edu/alr/contest.html

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Hackney Literary Awards

Novel entries have no length limit. Short stories must not exceed 5,000 words. Poetry submissions should not have more than 50 lines.

Prizes: 1st: $600, 2nd: $400, 3rd: $250

Deadline: Novel – September 30, 2010. Short Story & Poetry – November 30, 2010

Fees: Novel – $30, Short Story – $20, Poetry – $15

http://www.hackneyliteraryawards.org/About.html

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Fiction

2010 Get Your Stiletto in the Door Contest

Submissions should consist of one entry of no more than the first 5,000 words of your manuscript plus a synopsis containing no more than 500 words.

Prizes: $50 Amazon Gift Card for each of the seven categories

Deadline: October 1, 2010

Fees: $15 for CLW members and $25 to non-members

http://chicklitwriters.com/home/get-your-stiletto-in-the-door/

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Miami University Press Novella Contest

Manuscripts must contain between 18,000 and 40,000 words.

Prizes: Book publication and a $750 advance against royalties.

Deadline: October 1, 2010

Fees: $25

http://www.orgs.muohio.edu/mupress/novella.html

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Flash Stories’ Open-themed Competition

Submit a short story, on any theme, consisting of up to 500 words.

Prizes: 1st: £500, 2nd: £250, 3rd: £100

Deadline: October 31, 2010

Fees: £5 per story, £7 for two stories, £3 per story for three entries or more

http://www.flashstories.net/

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Fault Zone: Words From The Edge

The word limit for this writing contest is 2,500 words maximum. Shorter entries are encouraged.

Prizes: 1st: $300 and publication, 2nd: $100, 3rd: $50

Deadline: September 30, 2010

Fees: $15

http://www.cwc-peninsula.org/Fault-Zone-Contest.html

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The Walker Percy Prize in Short Fiction

Prose entries can be one piece or several short pieces. The total word count should not exceed 7,500 words. Poetry Poetry entries are limited to 5 poems.

Prizes: $1000 and publication

Deadline: Prose – October 1, 2010, Poetry – May 15, 2011

Fees: $3

http://neworleansreview.org/submission-guidelines/

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Anderson Literary House Imagination Award for Fiction

Contest is open to any story consisting of up to 2,000 words. The judges seek fiction that is unique, unpredictable and unforgettable.

Prizes: 1st: $500, 2nd: $250, 3rd: $125. Winners receive publication.

Deadline: October 15, 2010, Late Submissions – November 1, 2010

Fees: $20 for the first entry. $10 per subsequent entry

http://www.andersonliteraryhouse.com/mission.html

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The Chariton Review Short Fiction Prize

Submissions should not exceed 5,000 words. Electronic submissions are not allowed.

Prizes: 1st: $1000 and publication. 2nd-4th: Publication

Deadline: September 30, yearly

Fees: $20

http://tsup.truman.edu/chariton/guidelines.asp

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Avant Garde Manuscript Contest

Submit your innovative, thought provoking, and modern writing which tells of a story in the Bible. It can be based on a short parable or a entire book in the Bible. Entry should contain 50,000-150,000 words.

Prizes: Publication, contract, royalty advance of $1500 and expense paid trip to the 2011 Literature Convention.

Deadline: September 26, 2010

Fees: None

http://216.119.70.89/contests.cfm

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The First-Annual Rough Copy Fiction Contest

Contest entries should contain between 2,000 and 8,000 words.

Prizes: 1st: $100 and publication, 2nd & 3rd: $25 and possible publication

Deadline: September 1, 2010

Fees: $15

http://roughcopy.net/?page_id=91

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Hint Fiction Writing Contest

Submit a story containing 25 words or less. Title words are not included in the word count.

Prizes: $100, 10-week writing workshop, publication and one-year subscription

Deadline: October 11, 2010

Fees: None

http://tinyurl.com/hintfiction2

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Nonfiction/Essay

Church News Site Essay Writing Contest

This contest’s theme is “Ten Commandments”. Essays should not be more than 250 words in length.

Prizes: $100 and certificate

Fees: None

Deadline: August 31, 2010

http://www.churchnewssite.com/portal/?p=24338

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Hunger Mountain Creative Nonfiction Prize

Submit one piece of creative nonfiction that does not exceed 10,000 words.

Prizes: 1st: $1000 and publication; 2 honorable mentions: $100

Deadline: September 10, 2010

Fees: $20

http://www.hungermtn.org/hunger-mountain-creative-nonfiction-prize/

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Poetry

The Morton Marr Poetry Prize

Contestants may submit up to six, unpublished poems in a “traditional” form.

Prizes: 1st: $1000, 2nd: $500. Publication awarded to both winners.

Deadline: September 30, 2010

Fees: $5

http://smu.edu/southwestreview/Marr%20Contest.asp

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Rebecca Lard Award for 2010

Submit up to 3 previously unpublished poems.

Prizes: $300, publication and free entry to future contests

Deadline: Submissions accepted through September 2010

Fees: $10 – Includes subscription

http://poetryquarterly.com/contest/

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Carol E Doering Poetry Contest

Poems are limited to 50 lines maximum. They may be free verse or traditional.

Prizes: 1st: $75, 2nd: $50, 3rd: $25

Deadline: September 30, 2010

Fees: $5 for 1 poem or $10 for 3

http://www.womensartisticnetwork.org/18.html

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Annual Slipstream Poetry Contest

Send up to 40 pages of poetry: any style, format, or theme (or no theme).

Prizes: 1st: $1000 and 50 printed copies of your book

Deadline: December 1, yearly

Fees: $20

http://www.slipstreampress.org/contest.html

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Bloodroot Literary Magazine Poetry Contest

Submit original, unpublished free verse. Entries should be between 10 lines to 2 pages.

Prizes: 1st: $200, 2nd: $100, 3rd: $50. Publication awareded to winners and three honorable mentions.

Deadline: September 15, 2010

Fees: $15 for 3 poems, $5 for each additional poem.

http://www.bloodrootlm.com/contest.html