How to Host a Wattpad Contest (without losing your @#$! mind!)

Planning Ahead

I can't stress the importance of going into an award with a very detailed road map that you can share with participants and judges so everyone knows what to expect and when.

I don't mean the standard boilerplate you typically see in the "Rules" chapter of an award with deadlines that are often blown and general warnings to "be nice or else." I'm refering to an outline worthy of a project manager that highlights milestones and dependencies, and a calendar to keep you on track.

I won't provide a detailed example here because this depends on the kind of contest you're managing, but at the very least you want to highlight the following:

1. WHO IS ELLIGIBLE?
How many entries will you be able to manage? What criteria will you use to vet entries so you don't exceed that number?

2. WHO IS JUDGING?
How are you going to obtain judges? What incentive do they have to participate in your award?

3. DEFINE YOUR STANDARDS!
What do you expect from the authors who want to enter? What do you expect from your judges? Make sure both are clear to the people who are participating in your award. Include dates and stick to them.

4. DEFINE YOUR PROCESS!
This includes collecting data, contacting judges, distributing the workload, processing the scores, and issuing prizes. If you don't know what a rubric is, look it up, it's a term we'll use often in the following pages.

5. WHAT'S YOUR BACKUP PLAN?
If (when) things don't go according to plan A, what's your plan B to conclude the award with the least amount of stress? You'll want stand-ins for every essential element (primarilly judges).

6. WHAT'S THE BENEFIT?
Why is your award different from the dozens of others every WP author will encounter this year? Why will people want to particiapte? What are the prizes? This doesn't have to be huge. Just the recognition and an opportunity to be seen is enough for most, but know what this is going in and make it clear.

I'm not generally a huge proponent of Google Docs, but in this case it's your friend, or at least a beneficial acquaintance. Set up an account for your contest and use it as a hub for publishing important information, especially to your judges. As a rule you want to keep as much inside Wattpad as possible (because most people are chronically lazy) but this will save everyone time and energy in the long run. More on this later.

DON'T JUMP THE GUN! Get this stuff ironed out before you begin, and I promise you it'll make life a lot easier, and your participants will leave (mostly) satisfied.