Writers are in a continuous struggle, doing what they love but usually not getting paid for it. Everyone has a story, manuscript, play, short story, screenplay or poem that they have been pushing but cannot find anyone to publish or take on. So we are constantly looking for opportunities to get our work and names out there, hoping that one win will lead to other opportunities and hopefully our dreams will lay just beyond the corner. We put so much into our work, besides our souls, we invest in pens, paper, computers to type on, ink, and then you have to factor in the cost of living. Writing tends to be a job that little receive payment for, and so it is labeled as a hobby more than a job. Writers eventually have to get “real jobs” to hold them over until a literary agent accepts their submission. Until them, though, we can enter our work into competitions and hope that the cash prizes will hold us over and that the win will get us some coverage.

Here are three writing competitions for young writers hoping to get their foot in the door:

The Mark Twain Humor Writing Contest

Submission deadline: July 10, 2016

Entry Fee: $23

Prize: $1,000 dollars

Word count: 7,000 words or less

All submissions should fall under the humor fiction or humor non-fiction genre.

For more info on the competition, click here.

The Futurescapes Writing Contest

Submission deadline: July 15, 2016

Entry Fee: Free

Prize: $2,000 dollars

Word Count: 8,000 words or less

The contests asks that writers envision a particular kind of world, their own brave new world, and base their story around it. The idea is to picture their own version of the future, and the contest gives writers a platform to present their world to the public.

For more info on the competition, click here.

Rattle Poetry Prize

Submission deadline: July 15, 2016

Entry Fee: $20

Prize: $10,000 dollars

Single poem

Your poem can be about anything your heart desires, and the ten finalists after the winner will receive $200 dollars; one of the finalists will also win the Reader's Choice award and prize of $2,000 dollars.

For more info on the competition, click here.