Are Competitions Rewarding?

[Rustyoznail]

Well, thank you all for you genuine and honest responses.

I began reading the replies with a feeling of encouragement, thinking maybe I'd dip my toes in a competition but as the horror stories accumulated I thought I'd rather keep my feet dry.

When people read my stories I think it's because they searched a tag term and hopefully I haven't misled them. If a competition attracts 'trollbombs' and 'blowbacks' and even mendacious rival writers then I think I shall stay out of their way.
I don't have a skin thick enough to withstand the barrage.

Thank you all for your responses to my question and I wish you luck in your competition entries.

It is a confidence thing.

Good luck with your writing, and don't be a stranger.

 

[Emirus]

Keep in mind, too, that the requirements for conforming your story to the competition theme are very loose and liberal. There's really no need to fret about "how much" it fits the theme. A loose connection will do just fine. The theme shouldn't constrain your creativity much, if at all.

I haven’t entered many competitions (one!) but my opinion is you can get away with a tenuous connection with the required theme if you’ve produced a good story. That’s just a generalisation, of course, because some readers, no matter how good the story, will always find fault.

My only competition entry was in the summer competition but it could have been set at any time of the year without any change in the plot. Despite this the story did okay although I won’t argue if anyone says some people will have voted it down even though there weren’t any adverse comments.

I enjoyed the experience and wanted to enter the Halloween competition but couldn’t think of a good story with a connection with Halloween. I thought of a couple of scenarios but didn’t think they would be of a standard with which I was happy and I can’t see the point of entering a story which I consider not really good enough. If that’s the case you are likely to dissuade any potential new followers.

I agree with those who say by entering competitions your stories will receive more votes and, hopefully, increase your followers. Anything you can do to introduce new readers to your work is worthwhile.

 

[Emirus]

Or, instead of just folding to the backbiters, you can continue to pump your stories out here, writing what and as you like. You can certainly delete or ignore what irritates you, but you can also blow steam back at them, if you like (directly back at them is a bit more useful than whining on the discussion board to others getting the same sort of jabs)

I have doubts about trolls who leave nasty comments ever going back to see if what they wrote provoked any response. Some will do, of course, but are they the majority or minority? I think it’s most likely many of them are happy with just hurling hurtful words and aren’t too interested in whether or not they get a response.

If they do check back and see you’ve deleted their comment surely that will irritate them because it’s an indication they’ve wasted their time? They may have annoyed you but maybe you’ve annoyed them even more? Either way they will have bombed your story and you can’t do anything about it so no point in getting upset.

I used to get upset, not about the comments, about the bombs but now I can’t see the point in getting upset about something you have no control over.

 

[KeithD]

There's no knowing what "the trolls" will do and there isn't just one troll making the decision of what to do from instance to do. I don't try to figure it out, respond as I want to in the instance, and move on.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Well, thank you all for you genuine and honest responses.

I began reading the replies with a feeling of encouragement, thinking maybe I'd dip my toes in a competition but as the horror stories accumulated I thought I'd rather keep my feet dry.

When people read my stories I think it's because they searched a tag term and hopefully I haven't misled them. If a competition attracts 'trollbombs' and 'blowbacks' and even mendacious rival writers then I think I shall stay out of their way.
I don't have a skin thick enough to withstand the barrage.

Thank you all for your responses to my question and I wish you luck in your competition entries.

Lol. You can crest an alternate user I’d and use that for your competition stories. I have an alt for my more bloody stories. If you want to try a competition without the risk, do that. I find the deadlines really get me to push myself.

 

[gordo12]

Have any contest writers encountered any significant blowback in comments on use of theme? I've been writing to the contests for a decade and a half and don't remember receiving a comment one way or the other on use of contest theme.

My favourite 750 theme comment. I wrote a couple of stories and held one back cause I didn't like the original ending. When the next 750 contest was rolling around, the story count was up to 164 stories, so I published it early didn't want it lost in that blizzard of stories.

I did tell the readers about the 750 limit and why the story was being published early.

"by Anonymous user on 01/28/2020

Finally!
After reading thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of comments and calls by readers for 750 word stories, our Intrepid Hero, Gordo, rides to the rescue! The longing of every single reader for 750 word stories, as a band dying of thirst in a parched wilderness of long awful stories, some of 10,000 words or more, we gain the cool refreshing drink from the 750 word well. If only we could read hundreds of 750 word stories, it would not assuage our thirst for these wonders.

Please, Gordo, bless us with more of these wondrous gems; 30, or 50, would not be too many. The reading public demands 750 word stories! We will march to the gates of Literotica Hell to demand our rights to have 750 word stories. Thank you, Gordo: the people’s champion.


Shockingly, he got his wish a few days later when 164 - 750 word stories dropped. He must have been so pleased!

So to the original OP, yes, it's worth entering the contests. Not to win but to get exposure and feedback. Some are nasty, but it's such a minute percentage of the overall traffic that it doesn't matter. If you're going to write, it won't matter where you put it, here or in the marketplace, someone won't like it and say so.

 

[SisterJezabel]

These are my numbers for the 'A Song for My Story, a Story for My Song' event.

My story A Birthday Party was published on October 28 (Day 0) and the story list was published on November 10 (Day 12). The story has 5.6K words. It is published in the "Mind Control' category; probably not the best choice for a story about Alzheimer...

I would never have seen it as I don't think I've ever read a story in the Mind Control category. Any reason you didn't consider putting it in Mature? I suspect it would have found many, many more very sympathetic readers there.