The award-winning Writerwerx University Novel Opening Contest is all geared up for 2023! Share with your author friends who have stellar writing they think can stand up to competitors from all over the globe. Click here to be notified when a contest you’re interested in opens.
The Submissions
You can submit to the Novel Opening Contest from the contest page on February 1st, 2023. This contest pits authors’ first 1,000 words of their manuscript against one another to see who can wow the judges in that amount of words. If your book is currently for sale, written in English (since that’s what our judges speak and read), and has an ISBN, you’re eligible to enter. All genres are accepted, including erotica, self-help, nonfiction, mystery, fantasy, religious, and other kinds of texts.
The Timeline
This contest will open at 12:00 a.m. on February 1st, 2023 (Eastern / Atlanta, Georgia time) and close at 11:59 p.m. on February 28th, 2023 (Eastern / Atlanta, Georgia time).
Judging will take place throughout March.
Winners will be announced in April.
The Prizes
For this year’s NOC:
1st Place
- $2,000 in cash and prizes.
- Cash prize minimum of $100.
- Placement on the ‘Winners’ section of the Contests page.
- Their excerpt and book link shared on the WU blog and social media profiles.
2nd Place
- $1,000 in cash and prizes.
- Cash prize minimum of $50.
- Their excerpt and book link shared on the WU blog and social media profiles.
3rd Place
- $100 in cash and prizes.
- Cash prize minimum of $25.
- Their excerpt and book link shared on the WU blog and social media profiles.
Cash portions of each award will be submitted via PayPal. If the contestant does not claim the prize money and it is refunded back to us, the winner will forfeit their cash award.
The remainder of each award will be presented as a credit for book development services (excluding illustrations). Credits must be used within 30 days of receipt. After a single (1) service is requested for a single (1) manuscript and the awarded credit is applied, any overage will be forfeited and any underpayment will be invoiced to the writer, with no services beginning until the owed amount is paid in full.
Each writer’s excerpt will be shared with Writerwerx University followers via the WU blog and social media profiles. The first-place winner will also have their photograph, bio, and a link to their author website posted on the “Winners” section of the contests page.
How can contests help authors?
Besides just being fun and exciting, submitting to contests can have a few other benefits as well.
First, it can give you some idea of how your work compares to what other writers are doing. If you don’t win or place in a particular contest, take a look at what the winner(s) wrote. Consider what they did differently than you. Is it something you can emulate? Do you want to?
Second, it helps you get used to publishing your work for other people to see. Especially if you’re new to publishing, getting used to making your work available for anyone in the world to see can be a daunting psychological task. Submitting to contests can give you a bit of extra practice to make publication more comfortable.
Third, you can win! If you win or place in a contest, you can use that in your author marketing. Add “award-winning” to your bio or place a badge on your book’s digital and physical covers. Let your followers know about your achievement. Sharing your success can also help with securing speaking engagements or even getting your book placed in indie bookstores.
