Can I Write A Book And Make Money By Entering Writing Contests?

Question

Noah · Answer

I have a friend who basically funded a year of writing by targeting niche, themed contests with smaller pools. She writes cozy fantasy, and she'd hunt for contests specifically asking for that subgenre. The odds were better than the big, open literary ones. She'd budget maybe fifty bucks a month for fees and treat it like a professional development expense. Some months she'd win nothing, others she'd get second place in two and cover her rent.

Her trick was to have a stable of polished stories she could slightly tweak to fit different prompts, rather than writing something new each time. It became a system. It's not passive income, it's active hustle. I couldn't do it—the submission management alone gives me anxiety—but for her organized brain, it worked as a supplemental trick while she worked on her longer project.

Rebekah · Answer

It's possible but incredibly unreliable as a primary plan. The big, famous novel contests get thousands of entries for one prize. The smaller ones might only offer a couple hundred dollars. The real value isn't the money; it's the deadline and the forced polish. Having a contest date on the calendar made me finish and properly edit stories that would otherwise languish in a draft folder. That discipline was worth more than any prize I didn't win.

Frederick · Answer

Sure, you can, but don't quit your day job. The prize money for most contests isn't life-changing, and you have to factor in entry fees. It's more about the credential than the cash. Winning even a small one gives you something solid to put in a query letter or an author bio, which can help open other doors. Think of it as part of your overall author platform building, not an income stream.

Xander · Answer

Honestly, it depends on what you're writing. I used to write literary short fiction, and entering contests was basically the only 'traditional' path I knew. It felt like paying for validation—you know, the entry fee in exchange for a real person, maybe an editor, actually reading your work. I won a couple small ones, got a few hundred bucks and a line in my bio, which was nice for query letters later.

But it's a terrible way to make consistent money. The entry fees add up fast, and you're competing against thousands. Now that I've switched to serializing genre fiction online, I see the contest model as almost archaic. Why wait months for a yes/no and maybe fifty dollars when I can post a chapter and get immediate reader feedback and Patreon pledges? The direct connection feels more sustainable, even if it's less 'prestigious' in some circles. It's just a different economy.

Finn · Answer

My friend tried to fund their whole novel by contest hopping a few years back, which I always thought was a weird way to do it. It's not a publishing strategy; it's a lottery ticket with better odds than the actual lottery. That sounds harsh, but after watching them burn cycles for months, the payout was maybe enough for a nice dinner. I spent that time just writing the damn book and building a newsletter, which was slow but has actually started selling copies.

If you're serious about finishing a long project, treating contests as a primary goal can be disorienting. The deadlines and specific prompts pull you away from your own voice. I saw my friend's style get choppy and imitative. The money's so inconsistent that you can't plan around it, and even the prestige of a small contest win doesn't mean much to most readers browsing Amazon.

Where they make sense is for short stories or individual chapters—polished pieces you can detach and submit. The feedback from a good contest's judges is sometimes more valuable than any prize money. But for a full novel? It's like trying to build a house by winning a bunch of door prizes at the hardware store. The core work is still on you, and getting it to readers is a completely different, and frankly more important, game.

Can I Write A Book And Make Money By Entering Writing Contests?

5 Answers

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