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TOP SPONSOR
EDITOR'S THOUGHTS
HOW IS IT NORMALLY DONE?
Oh, how often I receive this question. How is mystery normally done? How are people normally self-published? How does one normally pitch an agent? How do you normally start a freelance business?
These questions fly in the face of being unique and striking out on your own to create a brand, especially in the creative arts.
Sure, it's scary to venture out on a task, a mission, or a career, and not know the rules. As a freelancer, as anyone creative, however, you hear about what should be done or how others did it, but the truth is there are no hard and fast rules. Most people are saying what worked for them, not what will work for you.
Those who strike out, learning as they go, making it up as they go, with their primary mission being the result, not the right journey to get there, normally make the best impact. As a novice, that concept feels frightening and quite inconvenient.
You might think you'd rather spend time on the work you love versus the how-to of the business, with all of that appearing highly inconvenient. Like nobody has ever said that before.
The journey needs to be inconvenient. You know why?
1) You become more adept at this business when you learn it from scratch rather than copying someone else. In learning it yourself, you better understand the shortcuts, the best practices, and smartest ways, because you learned by trial and error.
2) Most people want to copy others rather than learn the journey on their own. As a result, the sheep are following all the how-to messages out there instead of hustling, head down, to research and make it on their own.
3) Those who break ground (versus those who follow the leader) make the best advances and are noted most.
By cutting your own path, by learning your own way, you offer the world originality. You are better noted . . . and better remembered.
The work that matters most is almost always inconvenient.
SUPER SPONSOR
GUTSY GREAT NOVELIST PAGE ONE PRIZE
https://gutsygreatnovelist.com/page-one-prize/
$20 ENTRY FEE. Submissions open June 14 – July 14. The Gutsy Great Novelist Page One Prize is awarded for an outstanding opening page of an unpublished novel. First prize is $1,000; 2nd is $500; and 3rd is $250. The prize is open internationally to anyone over 18 writing a novel in English in any genre for adult or YA readers.
HOPE'S APPEARANCES
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- July 28, 2023 - Book release, Craven County Line
- August 7, 2023 - Night Harbor Book Club, Night Harbor S/D Rec Center, Chapin, SC - 7-9 PM
- September 4, 2023 - Night Harbor Book Club, Night Harbor S/D Rec Center, Chapin, SC - 7-9 PM
- September 14, 2023 - Chapin Library, 129 Columbia, Ave, Chapin, SC - 1-3 PM - open to the public
- October 2, 2023 - Night Harbor Book Club, Night Harbor S/D Rec Center, Chapin, SC - 7-9 PM
- October 5, 2023 - Richland County Cooper Library, 5317 N. Trenholm Rd, Columbia, SC - 6:30-9 PM - open to the public
- October 26, 2023 - Podcast - Everyone Has a Story: True Tales from Everyday Life - C. Hope Clark
Email: hope@chopeclark.com to schedule events, online or otherwise. There's starting to be life out there! |
SUCCESS QUOTE
“...to be nobody-but-yourself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else — means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight.” ~E.E. Cummings
SUccess Story
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If you have a success story you believe was prompted by FundsforWriters, please share with us! Send to hope@chopeclark.com
Featured article
Give Up
By Rachel Carrington
Whether you’re just beginning this journey toward publication or you’ve been on the road for what seems like forever, the last thing you want is yet another “don’t give up” speech. Maybe you’ve already grown weary of rejections and requests to revise, especially when those only result in yet another rejection. Only a few months into your writing career (or maybe longer), you don’t see a light at
the end of the tunnel. That’s why it’s time to give up.
Everything you read tells you to keep going. In fact, all over the internet people tell you that this career is a marathon not a sprint and that giving up isn’t an option. But if you’re piling up rejections, it’s easy to wonder why you should keep going. I don’t have the answer to that, but I do know a few things I had to give up after I got my 100th rejection. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have continued writing. Giving up these things will help you keep your focus
when you need it most.
1. Give up your timetable. Many times I’ve heard “I thought I’d be published by now” or “why is it taking so long to get an agent”. Did you know there is no time clock on publication? It doesn’t matter if you get your first book contract at age thirty, forty, or beyond. So stop worrying about the months or years it’s taking you to get published. No one is keeping score, and you’re not going to be
graded on how fast you signed your first contract.
2. Give up your compelling need to be just like (insert well-known author’s name). Every writer has their own path. you can’t expect to follow in anyone’s footsteps. There is no keeping up with the Joneses on the way to publication. Furthermore, you don’t know how long it took that author to get that first publishing contract. Just because they are published and doing well doesn’t mean they had an easy path.
3. Give up the doubts. With every rejection, it’s easy to doubt your talent, but I promise you, this is a subjective business. One publisher’s rejection is another publisher’s piece of gold. One closed door isn’t the end of your journey; it’s just a detour.
4. Give up the bitterness. You want to be published, to see your work in print, and with each success of those around you, envy can take root. The more you feed it, the more likely you’ll become mired in it. Instead, be happy when a fellow author gets a contract. That means publishers are still acquiring. An author winning a prestigious prize or reaching the New York Times Bestseller List is a reason to rejoice because it means readers are still
buying!
5. And finally, give up the thought of giving up. If you want this dream to become reality, you have to work for it. Forget the past and forge ahead. Remember that you’re the only one who knows how many rejections you’ve received and how long it’s taken you to get that first contract. It’s not something you ever have to divulge if you don’t want to. But you might find that once you’re published, you won’t mind
sharing how long it took you because it will offer encouragement to those writers who are still trying.
Enjoy this journey. Keep learning and growing to prepare yourself for the success coming your way. There’s room in this publishing world for all of us, but not for you if you turn off the computer and walk away from your dream.
BIO - As well as being a published author of fiction, Rachel Carrington is also a nonfiction writer and has written for the New York Times, Startrek.com, The Writer, and many others. She is also the site expert for Red Shirts Always Die, a site devoted to Star Trek. You can visit her on the web at www.rachelcarrington.com and on Instagram @rcarrington2004.
3891376 © David Morrison | Dreamstime.com
COmpetitions
WOW! WOMEN ON WRITING SUMMER 2023 FLASH FICTION CONTEST
https://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php
$10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline August 31, 2023. Guest Judge: Literary Agent Fiona Smith with Beyond Words Literary Agency. Seeking short fiction of any genre between 250 - 750 words. The mission of this contest is to inspire creativity, great writing, and provide well-rewarded recognition to contestants. Open internationally. Limit: 300 entries. First Place: $400, publication, interview, and $25 Amazon Gift Certificate. Second Place: $300, publication, interview, and $25 Amazon
Gift Certificate. Third Place: $200, publication, interview and $25 Amazon Gift Certificate. Seven Runners Up receive $25 Amazon Gift Cards, publication and interview. Ten Honorable mentions receive $20 Amazon Gift Card. Top ten stories are published in the WOW! Women On Writing e-zine, and contestants are interviewed on WOW's blog, The Muffin.
CREATIVE WRITING INK SHORT STORY COMPETITION
https://creativewritingink.co.uk/competitions/creative-writing-ink-short-story-competition/
£9 ENTRY FEE. Deadline July 31, 2023. The Creative Writing Ink Short Story Competition 2023 is open to writers across the globe. Stories do not need to follow any particular theme or genre, but must be written in English. Maximum word count is 3000 words. First prize £1000, plus a free creative writing course of the winner’s choice and publication on our site. Two runners-up £200 each. Open theme/subject/genre.
INCEPTION
https://sunspotlit.submittable.com/submit
$10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline July 31, 2023. Beginnings have a particular power. For Sunspot Lit's current Inception contest, send your best fiction, nonfiction, poetry, graphic novel, comic, or art opening. Feedback available. Prize $500 cash plus publication for the winner. Word limit is 250 for prose, 25 words for poetry. Graphic novel and comic book entries should be the first page (unlimited number of panels on that page) with a maximum of 250 words (cut the number of
panels in order to meet the word count, if needed).
SUBMIT A QUOTATION
https://www.embracingourdifferences.org/submit-a-quotation/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline October 5, 2023. A critical part of the impact of the exhibit is the selected quotations from the general public that accompany each piece of artwork. The quotations give individuals in the larger community a chance to have their voices represented by expressing their thoughts, feelings and ideas. Please consider submitting an original quotation either online or by mail and know that you are helping to create a community that is safe and inclusive
for all. *AI (artificial intelligence) generated quotation submissions are NOT accepted. Entries can be no longer than 20 words. Online are some ideas to help stimulate your thoughts about “enriching lives through diversity and inclusion.”
GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS / CROWDFUNDING
SOUTHERN PRIZE AND STATE FELLOWSHIPS FOR LITERARY ARTS
https://www.southarts.org/artist-grants-fellowships/southern-prize-and-state-fellowships-literary-arts
$25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline August 4, 2023. The Southern Prize and State Fellowships for Literary Arts will be awarded to writers of a one creative literary arts genre each year. The 2024 program genre is Fiction. The following categories of Fiction can be included: science fiction, mystery, historical fiction, thriller, realistic fiction, romance, horror, and fantasy. The program is open to individual artists who meet all eligibility criteria and live in the South Arts
region: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. A national jury will select one winner per state, for a group of nine State Fellows based on artistic excellence that reflects the diversity of the region, each of whom will receive a $5,000 award. The nine awarded State Fellows will compete for the Southern Prize for Literary Arts. Each of the nine state fellowship recipients will be required to attend the awards ceremony. The
$25,000 Southern Prize will be awarded to the literary artist whose work demonstrates the highest artistic excellence, and a finalist will be awarded a $10,000 Prize. Additionally, both Southern Prize awardees will receive a two-week residency at The Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences.
DELAWARE INDIVIDUAL ARTIST FELLOWSHIPS
https://artsfiles.delaware.gov/grants/individual-artist-fellowship-guidelines.pdf
Deadline August 1, 2023. FY 2024 Awards are $5,000 for Emerging; $8,000 for Established; and $12,000 for Masters. NOTE: the Masters Fellowship ($12,000 award) applications will only be accepted in the disciplines of Dance, Jazz, and Music. Individual Artist Fellowships are awarded for artistic quality to Delaware creative artists working in the visual, performing, media, folk, and literary arts.
KENTUCKY CROSS-SECTOR IMPACT GRANTS
https://www.southarts.org/community-organization-grants/cross-sector-impact-grants
Deadline for letters of interest August 1, 2023. These grants of up to $15,000 support "arts and..." projects developed by partners—one arts organization or artist, and one non-arts organization—harnessing the power of collaboration. South Arts will accept an online Letter of Interest from any eligible and interested partnership of an artist or arts organization and a non-arts partner. Following a staff review, those projects that most closely align
with the evaluation criteria and program goals will be invited to submit a full application.
NEW ENGLAND FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS NEST PROGRAM
https://www.nefa.org/NEST
Deadlines March 1, August 1, December 1. The foundation invites applications from nonprofit organizations for its NEST (New England States Touring) program, which funds performances, readings, and screenings of work by regional, national, and international artists presented by New England-based nonprofit organizations. There are three distinct grant opportunities for New England nonprofit organizations: NEST 1, NEST 2, and NEST 3. Grants are available in amounts of up to
60% of the artists' fees and range from $500 to $10,000. Requests below $500 will not be accepted. Applications with artist fees under $2,000 may request the full artist fee. Artists’ fees may include costs for creation of new work, travel, and per diem.
OF A CERTAIN AGE GRANT
https://nwfilmforum.org/lynn-shelton-certain-age-grant-2/
A grant of $20,000 will be awarded to an individual woman, nonbinary, and/or transgender United States filmmaker, age 39 or older, who is working on their first narrative feature (at least 65 minutes) as a director. To be eligible, filmmakers must have “director” credit on at least one short film or feature documentary and desire to work in the narrative space. Filmmakers with “director” credit on a feature-length (70+ min) narrative film will not be considered.
PAT CONROY LITERARY CENTER WRITERS RESIDENCY
https://patconroyliterarycenter.org/about/writers-residency/
Fall deadline July 31, 2023. The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center offers a Writer’s Residency twice annually—typically in early March and early November, conjoined to our March Forth program and our Pat Conroy Literary Festival respectively. The residency is available to writers of all genres, published or unpublished, unless otherwise noted in the specific call for applications. Located on a salt marsh on St. Helena Island, approximately 15 minutes from
historic downtown Beaufort, the residency cottage provides an inspirational, creative space in the heart of Pat Conroy’s beloved lowcountry for a stay of eight days.
MANHATTAN ARTS GRANTS
https://lmcc.net/resources/manhattan-arts-grants/
Deadline September 12, 2023. LMCC’s Creative Engagement, Creative Learning and UMEZ Arts Engagement programs provide technical support to applicants and awards of up to $16,000 to enable hundreds of arts projects in all disciplines, serving communities from Inwood to The Battery. Our grants are often among the first awards an artist or group receives and can help recipients to leverage additional support from other sources. Recommendations for awards are made through
a juried selection process comprising artists and arts leaders whose expertise reflects the cultural and creative diversity of Manhattan.
FREELANCE MARKETS / JOBS
MENTAL HELLTH
https://mentalhellth.xyz/
Base rates: Minimum $200 (Q+As, etc.). Short essays: $300-$400. Long essays/deep reporting: $400-$800. For every new subscriber between the day the article is published and a week later, a one-time payment of $15. So, if an article published Monday garners 20 new subscribers between Monday and Sunday, $3oo. This is on top of the base rate. Pitches can be sent to mentalhellthnewsletter@gmail.com. Through this newsletter they hope to break down myths about mental health and open up
discussions about why we’re all feeling so sad, stressed, depressed and “crazy.” Have we gone mad, or has the world? Interviews with experts and activists who challenge our current conceptualizations of mental health. Information on alternative modalities for mental health treatment. Essays and journalism on the prescription drug industry, psychiatry, psychology, and more.
AUSTIN WEEKLY NEWS
https://www.austinweeklynews.com/
Seeks reporters for their West Side Community Guide. Pays $2000-300 per article around 1,000 words. Send resumes and writing samples to editor Lacey Sikora at lacey@]oakpark.com.
BLOOMBERG NEWS
https://www.bloomberg.com/
Seeking opinion columns with a business, economic or policy focus. Seeks strong opeds on music, politics, fashion, media, race, identity, good, social media, tech and marketing. Pitch Jhodie-Ann Williams, Opinion Editor at Jwilliam1011@bloomberg.net.
THE GOOD TRADE
https://thegoodtrade.typeform.com/to/BYWkIdMM
Deadline July 15, 2023. The Good Trade will be accepting original reader essays for a summer series on themes of joy, bliss, lightheartedness, and wonder. We’re most excited to read stories anchored in transformative experiences that then expand into reflection and invitation for readers to ponder. Normal range is 800-1,000 words. Payment is $300.
FINAL GRAVITY
https://www.beantobarstool.com/write
Talk to us about the role of beer in your BIPOC life, and infuse your race and culture in the piece. The zine is meant for intimate stories, so give me that, and don’t worry about having to whitewash your experience. We’ve all been there, but this is not that. BIPOC in the beer industry? Sweet; submit your poetry or short fiction or art. Payment roughly works out to about $.15-$.20 per word. NOTE: This is a call for submissions on a particular topic. The guidelines show how to
pitch on any topic with general guidelines for all.
BORDERLORE
https://borderlore.org/about/
BorderLore is a monthly online journal documenting, sharing, and elevating folklife in the borderlands region (Arizona, New Mexico, southern California, southern Utah, west Texas, and northern Mexico), seeking what is often “hidden in plain view.” By celebrating the “embellished ordinary,” we hope to connect people across culture, tradition, and geography. Pays $300 and up.
Publishers/agents
GREAT AMERICAN
https://www.greatamericanpublishers.com/manuscript-submission/
Great American Publishers (Lena, MS) is dedicated to producing cookbooks that are both fun and practical… cookbooks the everyday cook will enjoy using in the kitchen… cookbooks that are fun to read even if you never cook from them.
FIREFLY BOOKS
https://www.fireflybooks.com/resources/faq-s
Firefly Books Ltd. is a North American publisher of non-fiction and distributor of nonfiction and children's books. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts but accept proposals for illustrated non-fiction. Please familiarize yourself with the works Firefly Books publishes before writing to us.
HOLLAND PARK PRESS
https://hollandparkpress.co.uk/about-us/submissions/
We accept literary fiction in the form of a novel, novella, memoir or collection of short stories. We also welcome poetry collections.
DEAD INK
https://deadinkbooks.com/
Supported by Arts Council England, we’re focused on developing the careers of new and emerging authors in fiction and literary fiction.
LAKE ISLE PRESS
https://www.lakeislepress.com/
LAKE ISLE PRESS publishes trailblazing books for adventurous cooks. We collaborate with innovative chefs and food writers to introduce exciting new tastes and techniques to the home cook. Our unique cookbooks present diverse, authentic recipes, ingredients, and cuisines from top culinary masters around the globe.
HATHERLEIGH
https://hatherleighcommunity.com/submissions/
Make sure your project fits with the kinds of books we publish: Heath and wellness, Fitness and exercise, Living with chronic diseases and medical, Self-help and inspirational, Sustainability and green living. NOTE: We do not publish Fiction.
AM INK
https://aminkpublishing.com/
Our AM Ink Line publishes mainstream biographies, non-fiction, novels, short story collections and children's fiction.
DARK INK
https://aminkpublishing.com/
Dark Ink, our line of horror based books is the home to legendary horror movie star biographies, film based books, anthologies, short story collections, novels and more!
SPOOKY INK
https://aminkpublishing.com/
Spooky Ink is our line of creepy and fun children's and Young Readers books.
GILL BOOKS
https://www.gillbooks.ie/write-for-us?cl=89
Gill Books welcomes submissions from first-time and experienced authors alike. Please note that we only accept proposals for non-fiction and children’s; we are not currently accepting fiction, poetry, short stories or plays. In general, we are most interested in books of Irish interest.
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FUNDSFORWRITERS CONTACT INFO
FINE PRINT
Please forward the newsletter in its entirety. To reprint any editorials, contact hope@fundsforwriters.com for permission. Please do not assume that acknowledgements listed in your publication is considered a valid right to publish.
C. Hope Clark
E-mail: hope@fundsforwriters.com
140-A Amicks Ferry Road #4
Chapin, SC 29036
http://www.fundsforwriters.com
Copyright 2000-2023, C. Hope Clark
ISSN: 1533-1326
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