The Best Online Poetry Contest Sites

By Edward Hamilton


Every poet desires to enhance his or her skills and conquer the industry with the best poems. One of the ways to achieve these goals is by participating in contests. There are numerous online poetry contest sites that you can register. The challenge is determining which platform is genuine and which one to avoid for genuine reasons. Here is a guide that helps you to select the best website to participate.

The website should provide opportunities for regular contests. These contests should also be organized on regular basis. The best organizers provide a theme that is informed by prevailing and sensitive issues. With regular and consistent contests, you can even prepare your piece in advance. Your performance will also help you to determine the progress of your skills when viewed in light of your performance from one year to the other.

The contests that you are entered or that are advertised must be genuine. There are platforms that organize contests but have predetermined outcomes. This manipulation of outcomes means that you will be engaging in an exercise in futility. The best approach is to have a transparent process where all rules are known including the prize. It means that everyone has a chance to win.

The charges or entry requirements will give you an idea of the kind of organizers you are dealing with. Entry fees are usually not meant to collect money for genuine contests. They are a commitment to help you attract serious poets. This means that if you find an advert with punitive entry, you have a reason to question their genuineness. However, do not wait to find quality contests with no entry fee requirements.

Participation in a contest should add your level of exposure as a poet. This should translate into tours and participation in symposiums, among other incentives. It adds a lot of value to your poetry journey to be connected to publishers, meet stakeholders or have encounters with seasoned poets. This will add insights into your writing career and open more opportunities for you.

While the prize money is welcome, there are incentives that will promote the career of a poet. Websites that offer a chance to be published and mainstream your work are the best. You should also take up any chance to promote your poems through tours. These are opportunities worth more than winning a hefty prize. They give your writing impetus that cannot be obtained otherwise.

Verify that the organization or people behind the contest are reputable. There are contests that are prestigious and everyone wants to participate. Further, people will hold you in high regard whenever you are mentioned as the winner. The judges in such competitions are known to provide fair judgment and therefore enhance your career in poetry. You will avoid contests that add no value to your career as a poet.

Participation in contests is only advisable if it boosts the prospects of your name as a poet. Check the organizers and their standing in the society. Only associate with organizers whose interest is to boost the skills and prospects of poets. Whenever you mention your win, people must view you with respect because of the caliber of contest you participated in.




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