VOLUME 23, ISSUE 42 | OCTOBER 27, 2023 |
TIME IS PRECIOUS This week an acquaintance of mine collapsed after working out. She is beautiful, healthy as a horse, and could lift twice the weight I could.
She is an inch taller and twenty pounds lighter. She is 45. And she had a stroke. After the ambulance carted her off and the rest of us settled, I couldn't help but wonder how in the hell did I follow that? What was I to do with the rest of my day? Here is this girl fighting for her life, and here I was, going home to edge the yard for an evening soccer team party and get in a little writing. I felt rather
trivial. So I sat outside for an hour watching the water, the blue sky, the 80-foot trees . . . processing. Quality of life kept pounding in my head. It's not about the quantity of writing to cram into my day but instead the quality. We have no idea what tomorrow may bring, and as cliché as that sounds, it never really rings true until an event smacks you in the face. Yes, I definitely
want to write, but I don't need to sling words for the sake of amassing a lot of them. And I had to admit that even coming to that conclusion, today didn't seem to be a writing day. So I decided to enjoy children, a soccer party, nature, and family. Today, I went back to the gym. And this afternoon I write. And suddenly all the little do-nothing things like scrolling Facebook or studying Amazon sales don't really matter
anymore. The important things in your life often get hidden in the noisiness and busyness of the day, when we think hitting buttons, texting, and streaming are what we need. My friend is doing well but has a long way to go to recovery. That sort of event awakens you to re-sort what's important, what to discard, what to ignore, and what to pursue, doesn't it? Our days are
definitely numbered. |
C. Hope Clark
Editor, FundsforWriters
Email Hope | Visit Website | Sign up for Newsletter
Newsletter: ISSN: 1533-1326
FFW has proudly been on the Writer's Digest's 101 Best Websites for Writers list every year since 2000
Our subscriber list is NOT made available to others. Use information
listed at your own risk. FundsforWriters gives no warranty to completeness, accuracy, or fitness of the markets, contests, and grants although research is done to the best of our ability. FundsforWriters finds open submission calls, contests, and markets from a wide variety of sources, including Erika
Dreifus' Practicing Writer newsletter, Erica Verrillo's blog, Authors Publish, Poets & Writers, Duotrope, Winning Writers, Write Jobs Plus, LinkedIn Jobs, Emily Stoddard, and other newsletters and online sites. Many announcements are submitted directly to FundsforWriters from active contests, journals, magazines, publishers, residencies, and grant providers. All must be paying opportunities. Contests must pay a minimum of $200 first place. Submit potential listings to hope@chopeclark.com
TWITTER - http://twitter.com/hopeclark
AUTHOR SITE - http://www.chopeclark.com
FACEBOOK - http://www.facebook.com/chopeclark
GOODREADS - http://www.goodreads.com/hopeclark
BOOKBUB - https://www.bookbub.com/authors/c-hope-clark Read the FFW Archive
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WHY YOU NEED A WEBSITE AND/OR SOCIAL MEDIA AS A FREELANCER
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A website shows who you are, where you've been, and what you offer to make someone's life sweeter. Many writers think that having published someplace validates them. Some think that promising the moon will entice someone to hire them. You've got to give them something to study about you, and without a website or a very solid social media presence, your promises to do a good job appear rather
diluted. You need a website: To show that you take your writing seriously.
To demonstrate what you've achieved.
To show your efforts moving forward.
To post examples of your work. A lot of writers think publishing an article is a one-way street, or
that writing material for a client is just about the job. They believe that submitting something that ticks the boxes ought to work and merit payment. They hope that including a link or two where they've published before will work. You have to show your success. Why? The publication or client that hires you also wants to piggy back on your platform and your reach and your success. It is a two-way street. What
if you've never published anywhere before? You can still have a website that shows what you are willing to do and are capable of doing. Then each time you land a gig, you post it on your site. You keep the site updated, alive, and appealing. The energy on a well-designed site could be interpretted as the energy you are willing to infuse into your writing. In this day and time there is almost no excuse not to have an online presence. A website is a
business card these days. It doesn't take much of a site, but it does require the site be eye-catching and scream professional. To not care about a site is to not care about your writing business, plain and simple.
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Spend 6-weeks with Ignite Your Write's committed community of writers and set your writing ablaze. Learn more
about what makes your story tick in Fire Works. Spark your creativity in Tending the Fire. Register for both live Zoom workshops and save $50.00 using coupon code: COMBO - November 18, 2023 - Crooked Creek Holiday Market - 1098 Old Lexington Hwy, Chapin, SC 29036 - 8-2:00 - C. Hope Clark selling books and speaking to fans. - December 2, 2023 - Tinsel Town Holiday Market - Lake Murray Presbyterian Church, 2721
Dutch Fork Road, Chapin, SC 29036 - 9-1:00 - C. Hope Clark selling books and speaking to fans.
- December 9, 2023 - Triangle Sisters in Crime Zoom - Gary W. Clark, Sr talks about crime solving and Hope's books - 1:30-2:30 PM
- June 1-8, 2024 -
The Gutsy Great Novelist Retreat, Bar Harbor, Maine - writer-in-residence - July 9, 2024 - South Congaree-Pine Ridge Branch Library,
200 Sunset Dr, West Columbia, SC 29172 - 5:30-7:00 PM
Email: hope@chopeclark.com to schedule events, online or
otherwise. There's starting to be life out there! The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamouring to become visible. ~Vladimir Nabokov
<<If you have a success story you believe was prompted by FundsforWriters, please share with us! Send to hope@chopeclark.com >>
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It Really Is That Simple
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By Joann Keder It took me many years to give in to the idea that I was a writer, and a few more to discover the secret to my success. The first happened for me on an auspicious occasion: passing the hours beside my husband's hospital bed. He was on a respirator after a massive heart attack, and at the time the extent of his recovery was unknown. As I listened
to the beeping and whirring of the machines keeping him alive, a lightbulb clicked on in my brain. If I wasn't going to write now, then when? During his recovery, (his disabilities don't limit his quality of life, thank goodness) I tried writing at home and found the environment full of distractions. Therefore, my first nine books were written via coffee shop hopping. This shop on Monday, that shop on Tuesday, etc. My virtual calendar worked like a
well-oiled machine of lattes and iced teas. That is, until the pandemic hit. Suddenly, there were no coffee shops or public spaces to write. Without a home office or any private rooms, I was left trying to further my newly-chosen career between conversations about toilet paper and loads of laundry. My goals went from two chapters a day to "one hour, or whatever the day brings." I was perusing the internet one day when I discovered a solution: a one-person tent. With barely enough room for my folding deck chair and a small table for drinks, it suited my needs. I have a laptop and a laptop table to set my computer on, which didn't take up any extra space. We have a very small, wooden pad behind our place that was falling apart. (I won't get into why it wasn't replaced, that's for an article about honey
do's) Though it wasn't ideal, there were enough solid pieces on which to place my tent. The next challenge was what to do when the temperature dropped. Though it's rarely below zero where I live, the winters can be brisk. There was no room for a space heater, nor would I have felt comfortable using one in such close quarters. I decided layers and fingerless gloves would have to suffice. Though there were days I
shivered through my chapters, there were definite pluses. Having never spent much time in that area, I had no idea of the wildlife that frequented my yard. There was a hummingbird who visited daily, like clockwork, at two p.m. A particularly chatty squirrel came to collect his spoils buried months earlier. There was even a cat who showed up. She sat outside my tent, staring woefully through the front flap. (We came to a mutual understanding that my allergies weren't conducive to the addition of
a writing partner.) As spring approached, I enjoyed the sounds of the songbirds in the tree and the smell of fragrant flowering bushes. Summer brought its own heat-related challenges, but I was able to break up my tent writing in order to make time to cool off. When we reached the end of lockdown, I'd finished three additional books, as well as participated in several podcasts. Along with these accomplishments,
I'd made a startling discovery. My definition of the perfect writing environment isn't static. I can write wherever I find uninterrupted quiet, on precarious pieces of old wood, in the coffee shop, or on my bed. I never have to pause my career again because my circumstances aren't ideal. This spring I'll spend some time in the writing tent to listen to the birds. I've found them to be equal in ambience to coffee shop chatter.
BIO: USA TODAY bestselling author, Joann Keder spent most of her life in the Midwest, growing up and raising a family on the Great Plains of Nebraska. She worked for sixteen years as a piano teacher before returning to school to receive a master's degree in creative writing. A mid-life move to the Pacific Northwest led her to re-examine her priorities. She now creates stories about life and relationships in small towns while her ever-patient husband
encourages her on. You can find all of her books at
http://www.joannkeder.com/
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Free Workshop: Write Your Magazine Pitch in 30 Minutes Want to see your name in a place like Huffington Post and get paid? You're just one pitch away from a great byline and some cash. In
this 60 minute workshop, find out what magazine, newspaper, and online publication editors are looking for, how to come up with sellable story ideas, and start pitching right away. Sign up now. F(R)ICTION FALL CONTEST
https://frictioncontests.submittable.com/submit
$10-15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline November 3, 2023. Short stories: 1,001 – 7,500 words. Flash
fiction: up to 1,000 words per piece. Poetry: up the three pages per poem. We accept work, written in English, from anywhere in the world—regardless of genre, style, or origin—and welcome speculative writing and experimental literature. Writers over the age of thirteen are welcome to submit. First prize poetry and flash fiction each receives $300. Short story first prize is $1,000. CALIBRE ESSAY PRIZE
https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/prizes-programs/calibre-prize/2024
$20-$30 ENTRY FEE. Deadline January 22, 2024. The Calibre Prize is open to all essayists writing in English. We seek essays of between 2,000 and 5,000 words on any subject. We welcome essays of all kinds: personal or
political, literary or speculative, traditional or experimental. The winner will receive $5,000 AU. The second prize is worth $3,000 AU, the third prize, $2,000 AU. All three winning essays will appear in Australian Book Review in 2024 (print and online). Open internationally. Only English. We welcome non-fiction essays of all kinds: personal or political, literary or speculative, traditional or experimental. WOMEN ON WRITING CREATIVE
NONFICTION ESSAY CONTEST
https://wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php#EssayContest
$12 ENTRY FEE. Deadline October 31, 2023. First place has a cash prize of $500 for the best essay, $300 for second, $200 for third, and $25 Amazon Gift Cards for runners up, and one free item from
CreateWriteNow's store for all 20 winners. We allow for a maximum of 300 essays. Limit 200-1,000 words. We are one of the only contests that accept reprints/previously published. Open topic.
GRANTS / FELLOWSHIP / CROWDFUNDING BETWEEN THE VINES RETREATS
https://www.writingbetweenthevines.org/
Deadline November 14, 2023. Writing Between the Vines provides self-guided writing retreats for individuals. No workshop or
writing guidance is offered. There is no housing fee. Retreat stays are provided free of charge. All costs for meals, transportation and other personal needs are the responsibility of the retreat recipient. Location Sonoma County, California. THE CAPE NEW WRITERS FELLOWSHIP (CNWF)
https://www.capeusa.org/cnwf
Deadline November 13, 2024. Discovers and nurtures emerging Asian and Pacific Islanders writers launching their careers in television. One of few writing programs in Hollywood created by a creative and an executive. This immersive Fellowship arms each writer with the practical and business knowledge they need to succeed as a professional writer in the entertainment industry. Over the
course of several weeks, CAPE brings in top television and film writers, producers, agents, managers, and executives for a series of intimate panels, workshops, and discussions. The Fellowship also features a Writing Lab where each Fellow is matched with a high-level industry mentor to help them revise their original script into professional level writing samples to get them noticed and land that all-important first staff job. NICKELODEON
WRITING PROGRAM
https://writers.coverfly.com/competitions/view/nickelodeon-writing-program
Deadline November 15, 2023. Apply for the chance to hone your skills, build a professional network, and get your foot in the door of Nickelodeon's writers' rooms. Accepting TV
Pilots and Specs. While in the Program, writers get paid full-time while they polish their comedy chops, network with our series creators and studio executives, work in writers’ rooms, and receive hands-on experience writing scripts and pitching ideas for both live-action and animated television. ACADEMY NICHOLL FELLOWSHIP
https://www.wgfoundation.org/fellowship-writing-programs-for-screenwriters-masterlist
Each year, the Academy Nicholl screenwriting competition awards up to five $35,000 fellowships to amateur screenwriters. The fellowship is open for screenwriters who have not earned more than $25,000 writing fictional work for film or television.
Entry scripts must be the original work of one writer, or of two writers who collaborated equally, and must be written originally in English. Adaptations and translated scripts are not eligible. INEVITABLE FOUNDATION FELLOPSHIPS
https://www.wgfoundation.org/fellowship-writing-programs-for-screenwriters-masterlist
No deadline. Inevitable Foundation started the Screenwriting Fellowship to substantially increase the number of disabled screenwriters working in film and TV. The Fellowship is for disabled screenwriters working in the industry with ample talent and ambition. Fellows receive $25,000, which is meant to cover 4-6 months of living expenses, and
the money is unrestricted—you can use it to cover living expenses and other project-related fees. SCOTTISH COMMUNITIES CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK MINI-GRANTS
https://sccan.scot/support/funding/storytellers-collective/
Deadline October 30, 2023. SCCAN offers
mini-grants of £250 each to support projects focused on climate action and climate justice from storytellers who would like to contribute to SCCAN’s Storytellers Collective. The Storytellers Collective is a growing group of Scotland-based storytellers whose aim is to give voice to inspiring stories of community-led climate action. PATRICK HENRY HISTORY FELLOWSHIP
https://www.washcoll.edu/learn-by-doing/starr/Fellowships/patrick_henry_fellowship/index.php
The Center’s Patrick Henry History Fellowship includes a $45,000 stipend, health benefits, faculty privileges, a book allowance, and a nine-month residency (during the academic year) in a historic 18th-century house in Chestertown,
Md. Applicants should have a significant project currently in progress — a book, film, oral history archive, podcast series, museum exhibition, or similar work. The project should address the history and/or legacy – broadly defined – of the U.S. founding era and/or the nation’s founding ideas. PERSEPHONE MIEL FELLOWSHIPS
https://pulitzercenter.org/grants-fellowships/opportunities-journalists/persephone-miel-fellowships
The Persephone Miel Fellowship is designed to support journalists from outside the U.S. and Western Europe who are pursuing ambitious reporting projects and enable them to bring their work to a broader global audience.
Grants are open to all journalists: writers, photographers, radio producers, and filmmakers; staff journalists as well as freelancers. We support veteran reporters who have been widely published, but also back younger applicants who are looking for help to jumpstart their careers. A diversity of voices— gender, ethnicities, backgrounds and nationalities—is important to us. The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting will provide a grant of $5,000 for a reporting project on topics and regions of
global importance, with an emphasis on issues that have gone unreported or underreported in the mainstream media. LOVENOTES!
https://www.heatherchristiebooks.com/lovenotes/
Deadline May 1, 2024. LoveNotes! The Book. (30 stories will be chosen.) first love, last love, forever love, unrequited love,
the against-all-odds love, gay love, trans love, the one-that-got-away love, happily-ever-after love, unexpressed love, if-I-could-do-it-again love, online love, arranged marriage love, worst date-ever love, friends-to-lovers love, never-ending love, oops!-that-was-a-mistake love, second-time-around love, and on and on. Submit 1000 words or less. Pays $100. Stories must be true. Email your story to heather@heatherchristiebooks.com with the subject line: LoveNotes – Book submission. Make a note if you’d like to be considered for the podcast, too. PROSCRIPTUS
https://www.reddit.com/r/HireaWriter/comments/17bojz4/hiring_experienced_freelance_automotive_writers/?rdt=41785
Hiring experienced freelance automotive writers for a top-10 English language automotive site*. This is a mix of standard car reviews; and more in-depth automotive journalism. Some travel may be available. You must have access to/relationships with North American press fleets (DriveShop, et c) and be able to drive
cars in North America regularly; advanced automotive knowledge; and basic photography skills. Motorcycle/racing/wrenching/auto sales and other specialty knowledge a plus. Pay is in the $.20/word range ($300/article), minimum four articles/month. ESQUIRE
https://www.esquire.com/about/a2159/contact-us/
Pitch Adrienne Westenfeld, Books and Fiction Editor at awestenfeld@hearst.com. Seeking author interviews, author profiles, book round-ups, trend pieces, and reported features about the publishing industry. We don't publish traditional reviews, but longer essays
about books and culture. Pays $500 and up. THE VINYL FACTORY
https://thevinylfactory.com/about/
Pitch Kelly Doherty, Editorial Lead at editorial@thevinylfactory.com. The Vinyl Factory is a vinyl enterprise and a magazine that curates/collaborates for artists and musicians to explore new ideas in audio-visual arts. It also releases limited editions made in collaboration with musicians and artists, accompanied by events and performances. A particular focus on niche genre/scene explorations, hardware and vinyl tech, record collectors and collections, artist, album + label deep dives and more. Rate: 40p per
word. CHICKEN SOUP: HOLIDAY BOOK TOPICS
http://www.chickensoup.com
Deadline April 30, 2024. Please submit your true stories and poems about the entire December holiday season, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year's festivities too.
Pays $250 and ten copies for 1,200 words in first person. NEW LINES MAGAZINE
https://newlinesmag.com/essays/
New Lines Magazine publishes a essay on some overlooked or misunderstood part of history, and they are looking for more. Pitch Lydia Wilson, Culture Editor at
submissions@newlinesmag.com. Pays as much as $1000 per essay. NEW YORK TIMES WELL
https://www.nytimes.com/international/section/well
Seeking personal essays on topics like mental wellbeing, aches and pains, grief, loneliness and connection, chronic illness, disability, aging and more — true stories that explore health and wellness. Pitch Patia Braithwaite, Senior Editor at patia.braithwaite@nytimes.com. Known to pay $200 and
up. TIN HOUSE BOOKS
https://tinhouse.com/book-submissions
Three times per year, Tin House offers a two-day submission period for writers to submit their work. Eligible writers must not currently have an agent, and must
not have previously published a book (chapbooks okay). Per our schedule below, we accept works of fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry, both originally in English and in translation (please only submit translation projects which the translator has already been granted formal permission to translate), and ask that you do not send us a project unless you have a completed draft. HAYMARKET BOOKS
https://www.haymarketbooks.org/pg/submissions
We are interested in manuscripts that are accessible to a wide range of progressive and radical political activists, while also being useful to an academic audience. Please note that we are not accepting submissions for the following genres at this time: fiction, poetry, memoirs, cookbooks, self-help, or
dissertations. GASPEREAU PRESS
http://www.gaspereau.com/submit.php
The books Gaspereau Press selects are primarily literary titles aimed at a Canadian readership. Projects that might interest us: Novels, short-story collections, poetry, literary essays and creative
non-fiction, history, and biographies and memoirs with a literary sensibility. The titles we publish tend to be aimed at a national audience. Generally speaking, we only publish authors who are Canadian citizens and permanent residents. PERSEA BOOKS
https://www.perseabooks.com/contact
We publish literary fiction, creative nonfiction, memoir, essays, biography, literary criticism, books on contemporary issues (multicultural, feminist, LGBTQI+), Young Adult novels, and literary and multicultural anthologies that are assigned in secondary and university classrooms. Most of all, we are looking for the fresh voice, a clear point of view, the well-written work that will endure. We are pleased to publish debut books and to continue publishing the authors we
take on. We do not publish genre fiction (romance, fantasy, science fiction, thrillers), self-help, textbooks, or children's books. Please forward the newsletter in its entirety. To reprint any editorials, contact hope@fundsforwriters.com for permission. Do not assume that acknowledgements listed in your publication is considered a valid right to publish out of ours.
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 **Note that FundsforWriters.com places paid advertising in this newsletter. ALL ads are related to writers and the business of writing, screened by FundsforWriters to make sure the information is suitable
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