Writers of the Future Contest…

You Might Be Eligible And Not Even Know It!!

And if you are eligible, you should enter every quarter without fail.

Okay, I have been around the Writers of the Future contest now for 39 years. I was the first person across the stage to get my award and my first story has been in print in Volume #1 for this entire time. At Pocket Books, we patterned the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds contest on Writers of the Future and I edited that for ten years. I became a judge for Writers of the Future after we stopped the Star Trek contest.

Now, I am responsible for putting the book together, although I don’t pick the stories. Professional writer Jody Lynn Nye is the person who does all that and gets the top stories to all the judges each quarter. And I have a ton of wonderful help at Galaxy Press because they have been doing this for 38 years before this year. They know what they are doing.

Take a look at the judges list. Yes, we all read your story, but we do not know it is you until we see the book at the awards ceremony. All judging is done without names on the stories.

So now, besides working to put the book together, I figure where I can help is give Jody more great stories to read.

So many writers I have talked to think they are no longer eligible for the contest. I kept thinking they were, but before I stuck my neck out, I did a bunch of research.

First off, the full rules for the writer’s contest are here:

Writer Contest Rules

Go check them out.

Note that you are not qualified if you are a professional writer. Here, out of the rules, is what qualifies you as a professional writer…

“Professional publication is deemed to be payment of at least eight cents per word, and at least 5,000 copies, or 5,000 hits.”

Yes that says 8 cents per word. So if you sold me a story at Pulphouse, I only pay 6 cents per word and you would still be eligible. If you sold a story to Asimov’s six years ago, you only got paid 6 cents per word. Wow, does that open up a lot of great writers.

And if you are publishing indie books, are your books selling more than 5,000 copies? Most do not.

Now, if you have sold to traditional publishing and got a contract and got it published that way, you are out. Bummer.

But most great writers I know coming in have not sold three stories for 8 cents a word and most are not selling 5,000 copies indie.

So look it over and get your story into the contest.

Writers of the Future might be the top market for science fiction and fantasy. Not only do you get 8 cents a word, but you get flown to Hollywood for a free workshop, and then celebrated in this amazing award ceremony. And a lot of us go in and talk at the workshop along the way. Everything is free for you. Part of the fee for your story.

The deadline for the next quarter is coming up September 30th.

If you look at the rules and what I pointed out above and realize you are eligible, get a story into the contest. It is free and if you get in the book, you will be stunned at all the fun things that will happen and how it will boost your writing in not only publicity, but in knowledge.

And if you have been writing and publishing regularly, but not gone past the rules of the contest Jody wants to see your story. And so do all of us judges. (grin)