Writer’s Guidelines
Writer Advice Contests for 2023 -2024
There are additional opportunities below and one on our “About” page.
Click on https://writeradvice.com/latest-contest-information/on the home page for prizes, fees, and other details of our current contest.
Please direct all questions, but not submissions, to Lgood67334 at Comcast dot net. Submissions come through Submittable and the link is in the tan box on the home page. We look forward to reading your work.
If you have an idea for an article or a new feature, we’d love to hear from you.
2023 is fading, so most of this is for 2024
Plan ahead.
Starting in 2023 our fourth contest will be for Micros. They should run between 35-500 words. Less is more.
Write about a moment that changed you or a character.
Show a discovery.
Explore a memory that’s always been with you.
Develop the subject that haunts you.
Write about the things you cannot make up or fantasies you can only make up.
Please be sure you tell a story with a beginning, middle, and end. Grab our attention with compelling stakes and accessible poetic language. Surprise us at the end if you can. Some subjects don’t allow for it.
Characterization, tone, mood, and originality matter. So does conciseness. Make us eager to read more of your work. The contest will begin on October 1 and end on December 2, 2023 at 9 pm PT.
Scintillating Starts Opportunity will now be available year round. Details are on the Manuscript Consultation Page. The word limit is more flexible and pricing varies depending on the length of your submission. I’ll still tell you what an editor would think, why it is or isn’t marketable, and what concerns an agent might have. I do this by following my husband’s advice, “Follow the dollar.”
You may resubmit any opening for half price if you’re curious about how well your revisions are working. Questions? Write tome on the Contact Box.
2024
Our Flash Memoir Contest will open at the beginning of January 2024 and run through March 2, 2024. Share an experience that changed or altered you in 750 words or less. Details will be at https://writeradvice.com/latest-contest-information/ at the beginning of January.
Our Flash Fiction Contest will open at the beginning of April and run through June 2, 2024. Share any flash fiction–from contemporary to sci-fi, from romance to psychological thriller, from detective stories to historical fiction. You story should be 750 words or less. Details will be at https://writeradvice.com/latest-contest-information/ at the beginning of April, 2024.
Our Flash Prose Contest will open at the beginning of July and end on September 2, 2024. Details to follow.
PLEASE SHARE A MARKETING SUCCESS TIP:
- Are you a book marketing expert?
- Are you a writer who tried something that worked?
- Do you want to recommend a publicist who helped you out?
This is a great place to share your expertise. Sendin a brief query submitted through the Contact Us at the bottom of the home page. If we like your idea and it hasn’t already been done here, we’ll get back to you shortly. It’s a great place to get the word out about your services. Thanks for helping yourself as well as others.
QUALITY, CLARITY, ORIGINALITY, EPIPHANY
BOOK REVIEWERS:
Query first.
Only review books you recommend.
- While balance is good in a review, the ones for Writer Advice should be at least 80% positive.
Tips:
- Honor the thought, effort, and creativity of authors.
- Write about what makes the book appealing, different, unique, and worth the time it takes to read it.
- Use plot points to illustrate what you say, but do not summarize the plot.
- Reviews should run only 200-300 words since it is 25% harder to read online.
