A great contest for writers and a free book!

The 2018 Annual IWSG Anthology Contest is now open for submissions! This is a fantastic opportunity for writers, and I think their theme for this year is so much fun. Good luck to everyone who submits a story.

Guidelines and rules: 

Word count: 3500-6000

Genre: Young Adult Romance

Theme: 
Masquerade 
A Masquerade can be a false show or pretense, someone pretending to be someone they aren't. It can be a ball, a fancy dress party, it can be a mask. Open to interpretation. 

Submissions accepted: September 5 - November 4, 2018

How to enter: Send your polished, formatted (Double spaced, no page numbers), previously unpublished story to admin @ insecurewriterssupportgroup.com before the deadline passes. Please include your contact details, your social links, and if you are part of the Blogging, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter IWSG group.

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Free for five days only!

Get your copy here!

Reminder about the #IWSG Short Story Contest

Have you written your story for the IWSG contest yet?

Eligibility: Any member of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group is encouraged to enter – blogging or Facebook member. The story must be previously unpublished. Entry is free.

Word count: 3500-6000

Genre: Mystery/Crime/Thriller

Theme: Tick Tock. The story revolves around a clock, is time sensitive, or has something about a specific time. This theme has plenty of scope and we’re open to pretty much anything along these lines. No erotica, R-rated language, or graphic violence.

Story deadline: November 1st, 2017

How to enter: Send your polished, previously unpublished story to admin @ insecurewriterssupportgroup.com before the deadline passes. Please format double-spaced, size 12 font, and no headers or footers. Include your contact details, your social links, and if you are part of the Blogging or Facebook IWSG group.

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IWSG Show Your Writer Insecurity Contest Winners

This contest was so much fun! Thank you to everyone who participated. We loved seeing your pictures. It was hard to pick only three. Everyone deserves a round of applause.

Third place: J Lenni Dorner

Second place: Mary Aalgaard

And the grand prize winner who also finally told all his Facebook friends he’s a writer: Ken Rahmoeller

An Anthology Contest You Don't Want to Miss!

Eligibility: Any member of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group is encouraged to enter – blogging or Facebook member. The story must be previously unpublished. Entry is free.

Word count: 5000-6000

Genre: Fantasy

Theme: Hero Lost. It could be about a hero turned villain, a villain's redemption, a hero's lack of confidence, a hero's lack of smarts, etc. It can be about any kind of hero including superheroes, mythological heroes, unexpected or unlikely heroes, or a whole new kind of hero. This theme has plenty of scope and we’re open to pretty much anything along these lines. No erotica, R-rated language, or graphic violence.

Deadline: November 1st, 2016

How to enter: Send your polished, previously unpublished story to admin @ insecurewriterssupportgroup.com before the deadline passes. Please include your contact details and if you are part of the Blogging or Facebook IWSG group.

Judging: The IWSG admins will create a shortlist of the best stories. The shortlist will then be sent to our official judges.

Prizes: The winning stories will be edited and published by Freedom Fox Press next year in the IWSG anthology. Authors will receive royalties on books sold, both print and eBook. The top story will have the honor of giving the anthology its title.

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I'm going to try to think of a short story for this contest, but October is a super busy month for me. There's so much on my mind with the release of the Totem series.

I encourage all members of the IWSG to enter this contest. Publishing short stories is a great way to get your name out there and to give yourself confidence. You can expand on the universe in your own books or experiment with a new genre. It helps hone your craft and give you valuable experience.

Good luck to all who enter!

IWSG for September 2015 - co-hosting, the surprise, and nerves!

The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) is the brilliant idea of Alex J. Cavanaugh. The purpose of the group is to share doubts and insecurities and to encourage one another. Please visit the other participants and share your support. A kind word goes a long way.

This month is my first time co-hosting. I'm a little nervous, but I have awesome co-hosts: Julie Flanders, Murees Dupé, Dolorah at Book Lover, and Heather Gardner!

Plus, IWSG has a surprise for us. It's completely awesome. Read on down through this post to find out what it is!

This month I'm nervous about several things. Not just about co-hosting! I finished a project and I've submitted it to my publisher. Will they like it? It's different than the trilogy I already have with them. What will I do if they don't want it? That means querying other venues. Yikes!

I've also started a new project. One that's ambitious even for me. A serial with nine parts. I tell myself that I will outline for this story, but my muse just wants to write. She has consistently snubbed any outline I've tried to write in the past no matter how general I make them. So I end up pantsing. Which works most of the time for me, but with a nine part serial? That needs planning. Big time planning makes me anxious.

Are you nervous about anything this month?

Now the reveal.... 

The IWSG Short Story Contest 2015

After the success of last year’s IWSG Guide to Publishing and Beyond, we decided to create another book. This time it’s a short story competition with the top ten stories getting published in the anthology.

Eligibility: Any member of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group is encouraged to enter – blogging or Facebook member. The story must be previously unpublished. Entry is free.

Word count: 5000-6000

Theme: Alternate History/Parallel Universe. That’s right, we’ve decided to go the speculative route. This theme has plenty of scope and we’re open to pretty much anything along these lines, except erotica or graphic violence.

Story deadline: November 1st, 2015.

How to enter: Send your polished, formatted, previously unpublished story to TheIWSG at gmail dot com before the deadline passes. Make sure to include your contact details.

Judging: The IWSG admins will create a shortlist of the best stories. The shortlist will then be sent to our official judges:

·         Laura Maisano - Senior editor at Anaiah Press for their YA/NA Christian fiction

·         Russell Connor – Author and owner of Dark Filament Publishing Startup

·         Candace Havens  - Author and Editorial Director for the Covet, Edge and Select lines at Entangled Publishing

·         Dawn Frederick – Literary agent and the founder of Red Sofa Literary

·         Alice Speilburg – Founder of the Speilburg Literary Agency

·         Michelle Johnson – Founder of Inklings Literary Agency and Writers' Center and Bookstore owner

·         Kendare Blake - Author

·         Lydia Moëd - Associate agent at The Rights Factory

Prizes: The winning stories will be edited and published by Freedom Fox Press next year in the IWSG anthology. Authors will receive royalties on books sold, both print and eBook. The top story will have the honor of giving the anthology its title. The winners will also receive an exclusive badge to display on their blog.

We’re excited to see the creativity and enthusiasm that’s such a part of this group put into action. So don your creative caps and start writing. And spread the word!