Ten Tips for Submitting to Poetry Contests

Robert Graves once said, "There is no money in poetry, but then there's no poetry in money, either." If you're a working poet, you've probably already taken this sentiment to heart. Even well-known poets support themselves with other work and other writing. Burgeoning poets need all the help they can get.

If you're looking for publication, or to get your name out, or even just to prove that your poetry has strength and substance, poetry contests can be very alluring. They're a great way to be seen, to draw attention to your published work, and many poetry awards come with a substantial cash payout.

However, for the uninitiated, the world of poetry can be shadowy, confusing, and even full of hazards. Here are a few tips to get you started.

Number One: Watch Out For Scams

We've all seen the advertisements online. Vanity publishers like Poetry.com pose as legitimate judging bodies, lure inexperienced poets in with praise and promises of fame (or at least publication), and then sucker them out of "modest" fees of $50 or more for the privilege of appearing in an anthology.

Run. Run fast, run far, and do not under any circumstances open your wallet.

While it's true that many legitimate writing contests involve a reader's fee or an entry fee, none of them will scam you into paying for publication. Take some time to research any contest you're interested in entering. Read up on past winners, find out who the judges are, and study the terms and conditions of the contest carefully. Free internet poetry contests are nearly always scams. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Wind Publications keeps a list of some of the worst offenders here.

If you're not sure where to start looking for legitimate poetry prizes, try thumbing through the most recent edition of the Poet's Market, quality literary magazines, or trade magazines like Poetry and Writer's Digest.

Number Two: Consider Your Audience

Just like you wouldn't serve a three-alarm chili to a friend who can't stomach spicy foods, you shouldn't send slam-style free verse to contests for neo-formalists, or a crown of haiku to a sonnet contest. Review submission guidelines closely, and be sure to see what sorts of things tend to win, or get listed as runners up. To know your audience is the first step in pleasing them.

Obviously, you don't want to slavishly imitate the last five winners of your contest of choice. Just exercise good sense when you choose which contests to enter.

Number Three: Send Your Best Work

I mean this both aesthetically and practically. Great poetry does, once in a great while, come screaming out of the pen fully whole and beautiful. More often than not, though, great words also need a great deal of polishing. Revise. Be intentional. If you are writing to a specific form, be sure you understand and execute it well.

Then, when you're ready to submit your poetry, read and follow any submission guidelines carefully. If the contest does not have specific guidelines on formatting, be sure to submit a clean, easy to read manuscript in black ink, on plain white paper. This example, from William Shunn's website, is a good template. And, as with any submission, never send your only copy.

Number Four: Try New Markets

Don't be afraid to experiment, or to seek out new markets. Trade publications like the Poet's Market, Writer's Digest, and Poetry may have advertisements for new prizes in poetry, or contests you've never seen before. As always, do your research before you submit, and especially before you send any money.

Number Five: Sometimes, You've Gotta Pony Up

Many reputable poetry contests have an entry fee or a reader's fee. This helps cover the prize itself, and to handle costs associated with the poetry prize associated with it. It also tends to separate the serious submissions from those who'd submit on a whim.

So, how do you tell a contest with a fee apart from a scam? One, by doing your research before you open your wallet. Two, a reputable contest will be up-front about any costs involved. If something seems sketchy, or if a representative seems to want to give you the run-around, take your work elsewhere.

Number Six: Work Locally, Think Globally

If you have access to a local writers' group or guild, or if you know other poets interested in forming a submission circle, try it out!

Groups can break down the task of finding reputable contests, members can share expertise and experience, writing with others can help keep you writing, and a group gives you a built-in audience who can help you revise your work.

Number Seven: Publish or Perish

Some poetry prizes select their entries from published work. It's to your benefit as a poet to write for publication while you seek out and submit to various contests and prizes. While the payoff generally isn't substantial, publication does your writing career a lot of good.

Also, while nobody likes rejection, being turned down can give you insight into how you can improve. This is especially true if you're clearly skilled and your work is good, as editors are more likely to give detailed comments on work that they liked, even if it doesn't fit into their publication.

Number Eight: Get Schooled

Are you a student? Check with professors who teach or write poetry. Many well-known poets are also educators or lecturers, and may have contacts and experience that can benefit you when you're starting out. A professor who reads and writes poetry may have good advice for where to publish and which contests to enter based on your style.

Also, some poetry awards are open only to students attending a particular institution. Likewise, some university-sponsored contests are closed to students and staff to avoid conflict of interest.

Number Nine: Anthologize

Some poetry prizes run by academic presses award their winners with publication. If you have a substantial amount of material on a certain topic, or if you intend to write a series of related poems, be sure to seek these prizes out.

Also, if you're a poet seeking publication as well as looking out for awards, there are also prizes for published books of poetry. Obviously you should never publish with the sole intention of seeking a prize, but it's great icing on the cake.

Number Ten: Persist, Persist, Persist!

You win some, you lose some. In the world of poetry contests, you're going to not-win a heck of a lot more often than you'll win. That's the nature of the beast. A good poet (and a known, published poet) is also a persistent poet. Keep working, keep improving, and keep trying. Your work and your readers will thank you.

Ready to Get Started?

So you've got a heap of poems and you want to get started right away? Great! Here are three places to begin your search for a contest or publication market:

Duotrope's Digest is a searchable online clearinghouse of publication and contest markets for fiction and poetry. Users can submit and track information about response times and acceptance/rejection ratios.

Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, awards prizes annually in multiple categories.

Writer's Digest also holds multiple competitions each year, including poetry contests.

Sources:
"Quotations about Poetry", Quote Garden
"Poetry.com", Wikipedia
William Shunn, "Manuscript Format: Poem Format", Shunn.Net
"The Worst Poetry Contests?", Wind Publications