What's everyone's take on comps that charge admin fees?

Beverley

I can see that admin might need a bit of financing. However, I'm reluctant to enter these. Often I don't know who these people are that are running the competitions. And, I do sometimes wonder if some of them are good ways of getting people to pay for the priviledge of have having their best ideas swiped. If it's a prestigious body running it... may be? But, there are lots of competitions. I don't think we need to resort to paying.

I think that's a good point, Jibunessa. Our take on this is generally, when agents or comps charge fees, you should always check them out as much as poss. For instance, there are some very prestigious poetry and other comps that charge because they're running on a tiny subsidised budget and couldn't run them otherwise-- but there are also lots of scams that operate in this way. When I teach creative writing, there's always someone in the class who's 'won' a poetry comp that they've paid a substantial sum to enter-- my betting is that everyone 'won' because they basically paid to have their work published in an anthology. But do your research if you can, and if you find bad comps or scams, then let us know.

Totally agree Anna. And, if I do come across any scams then I'll let the site know.

something else to add- when we put jobs/comps/other opportunities on the site here at Writewords, we can't check the authenticity of everything because it would be a huge task! but we do sniff out ones that make us suspicious. The best thing to say is- check the website/biography of any company/magazine/producer etc and ask for a CV of the work they've done, who with etc.... then you can do as much as is humanly possible to reassure yourself they are legit.

Sure. I think we all appreciate that it would be a mammoth undertaking for you to check everything to the extent that you'd like to. So, very sound advice for all.

Thanks guys.

B x

I always thought that most competitions charged an entry fee simply to raise the funds for the prize money.

I'm currently considering starting a website for writing competitions, all of which would require a small entry fee. Money raised would make up the prize fund.

How else can writing circles afford to hold competitions?

As some of these also provide feedback, I don't mind paying a few pounds.

In fact, I wasn't aware of any free competitions!

I've never come across a free competition either, but I have come across writers who describe entering them as 'throwing money down a black hole.' An important thing to remember is that people who judge competitions have their own taste in stories and I'm pretty sure they don't have the objectivity to judge something just on the quality of the writing.
It's probably quite similar on this site. I had to write to one of us the other day and confess up front that the genre she was writing in held no interest for me what-so-ever and therefore I couldn't crit it fairly. The lovely girl was fine about that.
I ignore competitions, I send my stuff to magazines whose sensibilities I like, but if having been published in them already, a competition came up I could enter the work in, I might do, but I'd rather spend the money on a ream of paper.
Becca.

First Film (a great company for new writers!)and the Film Council seem to manage pretty well without squeezing fees from hard up writers (though they do ask a large percentage should the project go into production, make sure you always look at catch the smallprint) Comp fees are a big bone of contention but checking credential first can do no harm. Personally I wouldn't hand over any cash at all, ever. It's there to be won not exhorted!

Beverley

The Oscar Moore Screenwriting Prize- widely believed to be among the best comps- is free- they suggest you donate, but you don't have to. Worth checking the Film Council website as well. But poetry and short story comps do tend to charge something- if you want your money to go to a better cause, then check out the Poetry Society, or other charitably or voluntary sector organisations that plough profits straight back into the work. Playwrighting comps should never charge- have a look in the Jos and Opps section on a regular basis to see these as they arise. Poetry mags are a better bet usually- see Directory.