Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware If you’ve been reading this blog for long, you may have guessed that I’m not a big fan of writing contests. Partly this is because so many contests are a waste of time, with minimal prizes, negligible prestige, and zero cachet on your writing resume. Why not spend your energy on something that can get you closer to building a readership–submitting for publication, or publishing on your own if that’s what you want to do? There’s also the risk of bad stuff in the entry guidelines–such as the MeeGenius Golden Owl Contest, where simply submitting constitutes agreement to publish and acceptance of a publishing contract that claims rights in perpetuity. Writers who don’t read the fine print carefully enough may find themselves trapped by such provisions. And then there are the contests with a hidden agenda: making money for the sponsor. Published Book…