Are Writing Competitions Worth It?

Pete Aldin and Bryan Chaffin explore whether writing competitions are worth entering, from the benefits of awards and feedback to the realities of judging and rejection. They also discuss what writers can learn by becoming judges themselves—and why a strong opening matters when your book is competing for attention. Chapters 00:00 Introductions 00:22 Are Writing Competitions Worth It? 05:33 The Benefits of Entering Competitions 09:20 Winning, Placing, and the Value of Recognition 15:43 How Novel Competitions Are Judged 19:14 Why Your Opening Has to Be Strong 24:05 Subjectivity, Rejection, and Managing Expectations 29:29 Why Writers Should Become Judges 36:30 Outro Links from This Episode: 2026 Readers' Favorite International Book Award Contest https://readersfavorite.com/2026-award-contest-winners.htm#accidental-intelligence Self-Published Science Fiction Competition https://spsfc.space/ SPSFC Judging Application https://spsfc.space/application-forms/ Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off https://www.marklawrence.buzz/2018/06/the-official-self-published-fantasy.html Austalasian Shadows Awards https://australasianhorror.com/australian-shadows-awards/ Follow Working Writers Working Margins Newsletter https://workingwriters.io/newsletter/ Threads https://www.threads.com/@workingwritersshow Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/workingwritersshow.bsky.social Instagram https://www.instagram.com/workingwritersshow/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@WorkingWritersShow