Heh. Thanks to "A Writers Life" for the link to Victoria Strauss's post "The Sobol Award".
I agree with Victoria's comment "I'd never advise a writer to pay $85 even for a contest of proven, unimpeachable reputation. In my opinion, contests are usually a waste of time, anyway; most writers would do better simply submitting their work for publication."
If you want to enter a contest, watch for contests by publishers in the genre in which you're writing. The benefit here is the editorial attention. If you enter a contest that's run by publishers like Avon and Harlequin, it's a way to get known by editors.
Legitimate publishers do occasionally run contests. They're fun to enter, and they're FREE. (The key word is FREE.)
Here's how to avoid all publishing scams: remember that publishers pay you. You never, ever, ever - for any reason - pay a publisher. Or an agent. If your work's any good, they'll make more money from it than you will anyway. :-)
