For me I think the potential cost to my reputation and self-esteem of publishing something really poor outweigh the potential benefit of winning even with a half-assed attempt
(Extra evidence for this: When contests are private and most people won’t see my entry, I am more likely to submit! I’ve entered one contest without people seeing my work, and zero(?) where they do.)
The flip side of this is that people with less existing “reputation stock” may see the potential status upside as the main compensation from a prize contest, and not the monetary benefit
For me I think the potential cost to my reputation and self-esteem of publishing something really poor outweigh the potential benefit of winning even with a half-assed attempt
(Extra evidence for this: When contests are private and most people won’t see my entry, I am more likely to submit! I’ve entered one contest without people seeing my work, and zero(?) where they do.)
The flip side of this is that people with less existing “reputation stock” may see the potential status upside as the main compensation from a prize contest, and not the monetary benefit