Emphatically yes.  I enter them, myself, and have run some of the biggest of them, for magazines and books.  Such contests are typically judged anonymously and often won by relatively little-known writers. 

Two benefits: (a) If you become a finalist, you have the honor of your work being read by at least one nationally prominent writer; (b) finalists who do not win often wind up being offered publication. 

Important and astounding note:  The great, contemporary poet Dennis Finnell has won three national book contests, all judged anonymously by judges of widely ranging styles and aesthetics.  When I ran such contests, I frequently noticed little correlation between the demographics or literary styles of final judges and the winners; judges, in my experience, tend to be expansive in their tastes.  I know of many examples.  Don’t try to adjudicate your chances of winning based on the identity (if known) of the judge. 

Citizenry:  (a) By entering literary awards contests, your entry fee supports small journals and presses in ways more significant than most people know; (b) at the very least, your entry fee usually provides you with a subscription to the journal or a copy of the winning book.  In that way, you benefit as a reader, and, in the long run, benefit by giving support to good literary publishers. 

Check out New Letters magazine, winter 2015 issue, for an essay by the late, great Glenda McCrary, “Behind the Scenes of a Literary Contest.” 

—Robert Stewart (1-17-2025)

It’s a slog.  Once upon a time, there were great book editors at The Star—Steve Paul, John Mark Eberhart, George Gurley and the legendary Thorpe Menn, and others—who celebrated the work of local writers.  Whistler’s Books would set out books by regional authors on its center table.  Now, authors need to be more imaginative.  When my own first full-length book of poems, Plumbers, came out, my dad, a plumber, kept asking me for more and more copies. I later learned that he was taking them to the union hall and selling them. 

More to your point, marketing a book depends somewhat on the type of book you have.  I oversaw the publication of a memoir by Henry Bloch, cofounder of H&R Bloch, for example, which reached a lot of readers in and out of the corporation.  Of course, a first-time novelist or poet won’t have that built-in interest, so here are a few, more general observations on marketing a book:

(a) Public events.  When Gary Gildner, then living in Idaho, came out with a new book of prose or poetry, I always got a call, asking if I’d set up a reading/workshop/class visit in Kansas City.  He had a white Chevy truck with a bed cover, where he loaded boxes of his new book; he would set up reading tours in towns where he had contacts.  Gildner’s way is a good way.  Hit the road, even if just this region.  Meet local bookstore owners and literary groups in Iowa, Nebraska, Arkansas.  Use your connections.  

(b)  One of the best literary presses in the country, Coffee House, recently identified its most effective marketing tool—it’s free, and you’ve got 280 characters to make your case—social media.  The press targets bookstores and sellers who have highly active Twitter/X presences. The marketing director reaches out through Direct Messages (DMs) to build relationships. Once the connection is established, Coffee House arranges for simpatico sellers to feature their books or authors.

(c)  This brings me to a crucial matter.  When I directed BkMk Press, my colleague there, Ben Furnish, sent advance galleys to places like Library Journal and Kirkus; we sent out dozens of review copies and entered our books into awards competitions, some of which can only be submitted by the publisher.  Ben set up public events and book signings for our authors.  Such service is rare, alas, for literary publishers, even if they actually know how to handle promotion.  However, such things are important considerations when a writer “chooses” a publisher.

A book of my own poems recently came out from an otherwise reputable press that did absolutely nothing to enter it in contests, send out review copies, or offer me a reading anywhere.  A writer has to do a lot of the work himself or herself.   

Find advice at Poets&Writers website: Promote your work → Get the word out: https://www.pw.org/content/get_the_word_out  

—Robert Stewart, Jan. 6, 2025

Send to journals you respect.  If you are serious about writing poetry, fiction, essays, book reviews, or conducting interviews, you likely would be reading or at least following several literary journals.  If not, stop reading now.

*  Read, read, read the journals, online or in print, to see if the editors share your aesthetic values.  Local and regional journals are good places, always: I-70 Review, New Letters, 105 Meadowlark Reader, and others. 

*  I also look for journals where writers whom I respect are getting published.  What magazines published B.H. Fairchild, Maryfrances Wagner, Kooser or Komunyakaa?  Follow them.  My former students often know good journals I had not heard of.  I have sent work to those.  That’s nice, because my former students and friends then see my work when (and if) it comes out. 

* I investigate journals new to me and always look to see what other writers the journal has published, even if I had not known those writers. I read their work online and their bio notes to assess the journal.

*  Poets & Writers offers a good database of information about magazines and presses, with lots of information for where to send work.  https://www.pw.org/literary_magazines 

—Robert Stewart

If you are primarily a poet, short story writer, or essayist, for example, you will not need and likely could not secure, or, for that matter, benefit from the services of a literary agent.  That is especially true for submitting work to magazines.  If you have a novel or book-length nonfiction work, you might find an agent if you already have a wide following on social media and the book has commercial promise. 

            If so, check online with Publishers Marketplace, Poets & Writers guide, https://www.pw.org/literary_agents or any other of many good websites on the topic.

            One tip:  A first-time author I know went to a writers conference in New York, where she participated in something called “Speed dating with agents,” where she was asked to pitch her book to several agents in five-minutes intervals each, and two or three agents asked for follow-up meetings. 

            One more tip:  I have known several literary agents and offer two points:

* An agent in New York liked my own book of essays very much, and wrote glowing letters to me; but he would not represent me because the book simply had no commercial value.  So it goes in the real world. 

* Two other literary agents said often in lectures that they wanted query letters from the writers about their books.  This was useful because, they said, “If you can’t write a letter, you can’t write a book.” 

—Robert Stewart

No.  Legally, you establish ownership of your work (i.e. secure copyright) the moment you fix it into tangible form—e.g., in a doc. file, onto paper, a recording, and so on. 

No publication or registration is required. However, there are sometimes good reasons to register copyright with the Library of Congress, especially if your work might have commercial value, or if you are just concerned that someone will steal your stuff.  You can register the work with the Library of Congress easily enough.  See my favorite document on the subject of all things copyright: https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf.

One case:  I know of one notorious case of a prominent poet whose poems were copied whole and republished by a fellow using a pseudonym, which did result in emotional trauma for the authentic poet, all of this documented in a book later.  The case was notorious, however, because of its extreme rarity; the fact that the work was copyrighted in book form did nothing to stop the plagiarism.

One tip:  Writers who put a copyright notice at the top of their unpublished manuscripts, when submitting work to a magazine or press, tip off the editor that he or she is dealing with a true amateur.  Don’t do it.  It isn’t useful and you will look like someone who doesn’t know the business.

- Robert Stewart