Playing Catchup
I got a few comments in from some previous posts from this week that I thought were worth sharing.
First, I put up a post about whether one should ever pay to enter a writing contest. I said (and still say) that it’s not as big an evil as paying someone to read your stuff for possible representation. I’ve seen plenty of legit contests that require entry fees (there are plenty of scams though, too.) Susan Kirkland respectfully disagreed:
Just don’t do it. It’s a racket.
One, you are advertising to the competition, rarely to potential clients.
Two, take the 25th anniversary Regional Annual for Print Magazine:
that the magazine makes more money on this one issue than they do on
advertising and subscriptions combined. Each year, the contest rakes in over 25,000 entries at $35 each–that’s $875,000 in entry fees alone. (Editor Joyce Rutter Kaye estimated it in her foreword.)
The money goes right into their operating budget.
An excellent source of income if that’s what you’re looking for.
The prize is publication–no moolah, which is the exact opposite
of how it goes in the work world, no? I prefer publication for PAY.
Second, I got an email from somebody making a good point about my post about podcasting:
“Do not confuse scribal with speaking competence. They are not the same kind of communication. I know far too many great writers that are poor speakers than vice versa.”
Which is something I did not take into consideration when writing the post but that should have been obvious to me. Yes: if you are no good at speaking in public, if you’re pretty sure you do a terrible job at readings, or you’re a shy person in general who can’t project a wonderful writing voice into a wonderful speaking voice, then podcasting might not be your best choice. If you’re not sure if this applies to you, ask a loved one, they’ll be honest with you.
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