Writers love competitions. There’s the creative stimulus of an interesting prompt, the promise of kudos, validation if you do well, and, of course, publication and prizes.

Running your own competition is fun, too. It can develop your network and author brand, and may lead to other offers of work such as reviewing or webinars. Best of all, anyone can start one, and it’s pretty easy to do. Here are a few pointers.

Goals. 

Competitions are great for building your profile, supporting other writers, and networking. Better to focus on goals like these, rather than money-making or direct sales.

Partner. 

Your competition will need the oxygen of publicity and the reach of a ready audience, so look to your network for a partner with a mutual interest. A publisher or magazine might offer some goodies, as well as the all-important reward of publication. If you have a blog or a website that could publish the winning stories, well and good, but the bigger the platform, the better.

Judges. 

You may choose to be the judge of the competition, especially if tying it in with a new book of yours, but a panel of two or three judges, especially if they have some kudos, will add more appeal. With a high-profile judge, it’s common for them to select only from a shortlist.

Prizes. 

Some contests just offer publication. A free consultation with a literary agent or editor is always a strong draw. And – let’s face it – you can’t do better than cash. Even small sums will increase the number of entrants.

Prompts and Word Count. 

Some competitions accept any topic, up to a set word count. But broad parameters can make judging difficult. How do you compare a 200-word flash against a 5,000-word novella? You could select a genre (e.g., humour or experimental fiction), or set a prompt, whether quite generic (e.g., Freedom or Trapped!), or specific (e.g., Self-isolation).

Fees. 

Some contests charge a small fee to cover prize money and expenses. Writers can smell a money-making exercise and will balk at excessive fees. If you do charge, you may want to consider offering some conditional free entries, too.

Promotion. 

Spread the word on social media, in Facebook groups, via influencers and every outlet at your disposal. Drip-feed messages to build anticipation and interest. Alert sites that list competitions such as this one, this one and this one..

Rules and Timelines. 

Be clear about eligibility (unpublished writers only or previously published stories allowed); multiple submissions; acceptable genres (some ban children’s stories and poetry); minimum age; rights (usually first publication only); formatting (typically 12 point, double-spaced); file naming (best to ask for stories to be sent blind). Set out timelines: final deadline, announcement(s) of winners, publication.

Judging. 

Judging entries blind avoids you being swayed by a name. Come up with a longlist (20 titles out of 50+ entries), followed by a shortlist (10 stories), then a final announcement of a top three and a couple of honorable mentions.

Space Announcements for Extra Buzz. 

Ask writers to celebrate on social media if listed but not to name their story; it adds to the suspense. People will enjoy spotting their title and receiving congratulations from their network. Join in the fun conversation and spread the news further.

Winners. 

When announcing the final line-up, include a brief judge’s report, in which you/your top judge discuss some of the themes and stories that you enjoyed: examples here and here. As well as publishing the winning stories, you could include an interview with the winner. Some competitions will organise a reading of winning entries, perhaps as part of a festival. Some also publish a prize anthology. This is a lovely bonus, but you will need fees to offset the cost.

Notifying Entrants. 

It’s nice to notify everyone by email, not just longlistees – even if it’s only to say thanks for taking part. A note of encouragement can leave people feeling positive about the competition – especially if you are planning to make this an annual event.

BIO: Dan Brotzel is co-author of Kitten on a Fatberg (Unbound, forthcoming).