Be Mindful Of The Risks In Writing Contests

Education

Some of us like to write and we would like to showcase our writing. Yes, it is important to gain some visibility for our work. One of the best ways to gain visibility for our work when we are not yet that celebrated writer that we want to be is to participate in the writing contests. The writing contests will give you an amazing opportunity to share your masterpieces with the leading writers, get reviewed by them and even have a chance of winning the contest. 

While the great benefits associated with these writing contests could be highly luring, one should also be mindful of the risks involved. A number of scams are staged under the name of online contests. You need to therefore be extra cautious in making use of platforms that run these online contests. This is not to discourage you from participating in the online contests, but this is only to encourage you to be a little more cautious when making use of these platforms. 

Here are a number of quick tips to keep yourself protected when using the online contests. First you need to check the organizer’s credentials. Who is running the contest is very important and secondly why they are running the contest is even more important. Contest organizers run these contests for various reasons but are they genuine is what you need to establish.

Check the user ratings of these platforms. Select a well-established platform and stay away from brand new platforms without any history. Find out what the users have to say about these platforms and about the contests they run. Are they genuine contests or are they fake contests? It is important to pay attention to these factors before you sign up. Try to look for free writing contests because you do not have to worry about losing the contest fee to dubious hosts. If it is a free contest, then you would have only lost your time, but you would have anyway benefitted by creating the masterpiece you have created. 

If the online writing contest platform should ask for any sensitive personal information such as your financial details, bank information or about credit card details, then you should stay away from such platforms. By taking these basic precautions you will protect yourself from unnecessary risks. All these measures are very much within your control. If you are going to be careless about these measures, then it would be your mistake. Do not make such mistakes. Take your time to pay attention to these details and you will definitely be able to have a great experience participating in the online writing contests. 

The next time you are looking for an online contest, keep all these factors in mind. Shortlist only the top-rated contests. You will be able to improve your writing skills greatly by participating in these contests regularly. Every month several contests are announced and try to participate in as many contests as you can.