Do you love writing poetry and are you exploring the options for taking part in free poetry contests? Unlike before, as a poet you have so many opportunities and platforms to showcase your work. Your work needn’t simply be collecting dust in that old diary that you often hide from friends and visitors. It is high time that you came out of your shell and use of the unlimited opportunities that you have today. When you go out to publish your work or when you go out to participate in these online contest sites, you need to be mindful of a few things.  

While we admit that we have many opportunities for the poets to publish their work and to take part in the contests we should also not forget some of the issues that you are likely to face while approaching the platforms for poetry contests.  

There are many scams going around online in the name of these contests. If you do not want to be a victim of such scams, you will have to tread cautiously. First factor to consider, the contest entry fee. Does the website ask you for contest entry fee? If yes, then you will need to be twice as cautious. We are not saying that you should not take part in contests that ask for registration fee but what is important to note here is who is conducting these contests. If it is a prestigious institution with national level reputation, then you do not have to hesitate to enroll. On the other hand if it is some spurious website that is charging you a fee for enrolling into the contest then look for alternative platforms. There are fee contests so you need not have to feel compelled to sign up for paid contests.

When you are signing up you should also remember to review the reputation of the website for allegations regarding the misuse of the work submitted. As the author, you own the copyright of the work and no one else has any right to use your work without your permission. Regardless of whether you are a popular author or not, you still own your copyright. The website should not misuse this in any way. Just because you are submitting your work to them does not mean you should forfeit your copyright.

There are also number of websites that announce contests and great prizes but there is never a winner. Even if there are any announced these are nothing but fictional contestants. You should be aware of all these insider secrets before you sign up for any contest. Just because there are some notorious elements in this field, you should not think that everyone is the same. There are many platforms that passionately support the authors to showcase their work and they honour the winners with impressive prizes. You should not therefore make sure to invest enough time to find such contest sites to submit your work.

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