Why Pay Contest Entry Fees

Why Pay Contest Entry Fees I received this email from a reader this week: I see an entry that might work for me, but then the publication requests $10, $20, and sometimes more to enter the contest. Â  Many times I just pass. Why should we pay to present our work? To date, I have paid a few, but generally I balk at anything over $10. My immediate response is this: Would you fund a contest out of your pocket and would you work for free? Some contests do not charge a fee, but they are a tiny minority of the contests out there. Why? Because they have the financial means or the sponsorship to avoid having to ask for fees. However, most contests do not have that luxury. Contests are not cheap to run. I ran a contest for nine years and offered a no entry fee category and an entry fee category. To make a point, I gave the winner of the non-entry fee category a big $50 first prize, then I gave the winner of the entry fee category a big $500 first prize. When considering contests, and wondering why you have to pay an entry fee, consider the costs of the contest provider: 1) The prize money. No entity has bottomless pockets. The money has to come from somewhere, and why not entry fees? 2) The judges. If the contest wants a reputable judge (or two or three), then they have to cough up the money to pay said judge(s). No writer should work for free, to include the writers who serve as contest judges. 3) The advertising. Youve never head about a contest if it was not advertised. FundsforWriters accepted money from contests that want to repeatedly promote their competition. That money has to come from somewhere. 4) The publishing. Many of the contests provide publication. Whether online or in print (especially in print), there are expenses. In my contest experience, the contests that command entry fees usually acquire the best work. The contest I ran was an experiment with the results being as I expected. The quality of writing improved in the entry fee category. When writers had nothing to risk and paid no entry fee, the writing quality sank horrendously. It wasnt even close. That fact alone can justify a contest charging an entry fee. Frankly, if I see a contest that charges no entry fee, I dig into them more, hunting how they afford to fund the competition. And I even wonder why they are not using the income stream provided Pay the entry fee. The contest provider seriously has the right and need to charge. Plus, youll submit a better quality product.

How to Add Page Numbers in Microsoft Word

How to Add Page Numbers in Microsoft Word How to Add Page Numbers in Microsoft Word Adding page numbers to a Microsoft Word document is a fundamental element of formatting. This is particularly important in a longer piece of work, like a dissertation, since it prevents the pages from getting mixed up and helps your reader navigate the document. What many people don’t realize, however, is that Microsoft Word offers customized formatting options for page numbers, allowing you to apply different styles to different parts of a document. In today’s blog post, we run through how you can use page numbers to make your work look tidy and professional. Adding Page Numbers to a Document The basic process of adding page numbers to a document is simple. All you need to do is: Go to the â€Å"Insert† tab and click â€Å"Page Number† in the â€Å"Header Footer† section In the dropdown menu, select where you want your page numbers to appear (header, footer or margins) Finally, select the alignment for your page numbers (left, right or center) This will add page numbers throughout your document, making it easier to navigate between sections. Formatting Page Numbers The default page number style in Microsoft Word can be adjusted using the â€Å"Format Page Numbers† option in the dropdown menu. The pop-up menu that appears when you click on this gives you two main options: Number Format This allows you to control the style of numbering you apply in your document. The default is Arabic numerals, but you can use lettering or Roman numerals instead if you prefer. You can also add the chapter number to your page numbering by selecting â€Å"Include Chapter Number,† but this only works if you’ve applied appropriate â€Å"Heading† styles in your document. Page Numbering These options allow you to control the number at which your page numbering starts. Usually this will default to â€Å"1,† starting at the first page of your document. Sections Breaks and Page Numbering Microsoft Word can also apply different styles of page numbering in different parts of your document. This can be handy if, for instance, you want the page numbers to begin only after the cover page, or if you wanted to use Roman numerals for pages preceding the introduction. To do this, however, you’ll need to add section breaks to your document: Select where you want a section break to appear Go to â€Å"Page Layout† and click â€Å"Breaks† Select â€Å"Next Page† under â€Å"Section Breaks† in the dropdown menu To apply different page number styles before and after the break: Go to â€Å"Insert† and find the â€Å"Header Footer† section Select â€Å"Edit† under either â€Å"Header† or â€Å"Footer† Select the header/footer where you want to apply a particular numbering style In the â€Å"Design† tab, deselect â€Å"Link to Previous† Once this is done, changing the formatting style of the page numbers in one part of the document will leave preceding sections unchanged.