VOLUME 24, ISSUE 9 | February 23, 2024 |
REWRITES Back in December, I turned in the manuscript of my latest Edisto book. Like any creative who has done multiple books, movies, plays, etc., I tried something a little different. Well, it didn't quite fly with the publisher. In January, the manuscript was sent back for a rewrite, altering this, changing
that, redefining something else. You would be amazed at how many people looked at me crazy, wondering or downright asking me how I put up with that. Yet at the same time, writers pay editors to beat up their work. Go figure. I'll take editing all day long. I might not listen to all the suggestions, but if there are a lot of them from a person who knows my work and is good at what they do, darn right I'm going to pay attention to what they recommend. So many think that the main creative is the only one who should control the creativity. Too many think
the creative has the best handle on the story, and think that others don't always understand. Y'all, even Stephen King has an editor. And you might be surprised to know that he listens to them. So, yep, I listened. And the second manuscript gets turned in this weekend, fingers crossed. |
C. Hope Clark
Editor, FundsforWriters
Email Hope | Visit Website | Sign up for Newsletter
Newsletter: ISSN: 1533-1326
FFW has 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. 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 Claim your VIP access to the Editorial Notes newsletter, full of tips, tricks, and editing hacks sent from a 30-year editing pro straight to your Inbox. As a bonus, you’ll receive an instant download of the 30-page e-book Trim the Fat. All for the wonderful price of FREE! NORMAL I am a fan of The Marginalian newsletter/website, aka Maria Popova. She is insanely well-read
and looks at humanity through the lens of many classic creatives. Recently she wrote on normalcy. . . and its affiliation with rejection, or in the case of those frequently rejected and distraught, breakdown. https://www.themarginalian.org/2021/10/13/alain-de-botton-normalcy-breakdown/ The world comes at us with pressure to be normal. Be unique....but keep it between the lines or you, as a writer, risk being cancelled, chastised, or review bombed. More than ever, people not only think they have a voice, but they believe it has to be
heard. . . and heard loud. We are fearful of being the object of that obnoxious noise. The result being we often reign in our attempt to be a unique creative for fear we are too unique and, therefore, too subject to public embarrassment. We are afraid that the loud, dynamic, mouthy reviewers who get off on tearing into why they didn't like a book will target
us. Being unique draws attention, and it can can make you or break you. (When Goodreads reviews go bad https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/feb/17/god-forbid-that-a-dog-should-die-when-goodreads-reviews-go-bad) So when I read Maria's latest Marginalian post, I had to bring it forward to you. She wrote of Alain de Botton's coverage of emotional health. He is a Swiss-born British author and public speaker who made his
success with books on relationships. One of his quotes being this: Any idea of the normal currently in circulation is not an accurate map of what is customary for a human to be. We are — each one of us — far more compulsive, anxious, sexual, tender, mean, generous, playful, thoughtful, dazed, and at sea than we are encouraged to accept. None of us is normal. Frankly, there is no normal. We are each unique. Inside we are far more insightful than we come forward and admit. Truthfully, that individuality we possess is what we are afraid to tap for fear we are considered weird. Dare to write the weird, the unique, the odd way you view the world. Then edit it. Not edit it to make it more normal. Edit it to polish it such that it is so beautiful that even the so-called normal people see it as something special. But tap that unique in your first draft. Give it breath and see where it goes. Donkeys and starry skies, oh my! Venture into the rolling foothills of Appalachia for a unique residency opportunity in a farm-stay style
experience. Follow the long tradition of writer's retreating into nature for inspiration and the quiet rhythm to focus on your work. Whether you are planting seeds of a new project, giving yourself a challenge like NaNoWriMo, or ready to edit, organize, or polish before sending your words into the world, you will find this residency the place that will nourish you and your work.
Escape the hubbub of the normal
world and routines that may be challenging to carve out focus time. Spend 1, 2, or 3 weeks in a special place where time is a bit squishy and there's little light pollution. Interact with our 15 donkeys (mostly minis), chickens and roosters, two peacocks, camp cats, and two farm dogs during your stay. Or maybe you are ready to sink into a month or two of writing and exploring, which is also an option.
This
residency program was founded and is managed by a former tenured design professor who is a book aficionado, an advocate of the arts and humanities, and an artist with various interests such as photography and ceramics. She is also a certified Forest Therapy guide and those staying at least two weeks will receive a complimentary guided walk on a special section of the 17 acre 'campus' that includes about 500 ft of Buffalo river and riparian zone. Camp Wonder Wander is located twenty minutes between two small towns and about 2 hours drive southwest of Nashville. Creative and comfortable furnished lodging with several room style options. Dog and family friendly. Ask about Farm-stay scholarship and Family-friendly summer program. For more information and to apply visit www.sarasvati.space -March 8, 2024 - Colleton County Library, 600 Hampton St, Walterboro, SC - 1-2PM -March 22-24, 2024 - Writer's Digest Mystery/Thriller Virtual Conference - presenter - Keeping Pace in the Middle of
Your Mystery -May 29, 2024 - A Moveable Feast, presenter C. Hope Clark, Restaurant TBD, Pawley's Island, SC -June 1-8, 2024 - The Gutsy Great Novelist Retreat, Bar Harbor, Maine - writer-in-residence
-June 22, 2024 - Richland County Library, Ballentine, 1200 Dutch Fork
Rd, Irmo, SC - time TBD - 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! "You are the only custodian of your own integrity, and the assumptions made by those that misunderstand who you are and what you stand for reveal a great deal about them and absolutely nothing about you."
~Maria Popova, The Marginalian, https://www.themarginalian.org/
<<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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Expand Your Writing Practice With Book Reviews
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By Erica Goss Whether you write poetry, nonfiction, gardening books or novels, writing book reviews is an excellent way to expand your writing practice and your publication credits. The task sharpens your skills, deepens the reading experience, and helps support the writers' community. The niche also separates you from the
crowd: literary journals are besieged with poems and short stories, but not, it appears, with reviews.
Just to be clear, the reviews I discuss here are not ones people leave on Amazon. Although there's nothing wrong with doing Amazon reviews, that type of review doesn't increase your list of publications, therefore, aiding your resume. Paid reviews are more distinct pieces of writing, published in a magazine or
journal.
Literary magazines, the genre I write reviews for, usually have a section on their guidelines pages asking specifically for reviews. Here you will find word counts, genres, deadlines, and pay scales. Some magazines also maintain a list of recently published books, and prefer that you review one of them. Most magazines ask for the completed review, while a few require a pitch. If this is your first time
submitting to a particular magazine, you might have to include a link to previous work. If you don't have a review to share, a recent clip will do.
Each month I send out a newsletter, titled Sticks & Stones, which contains a review of a recent poetry book. I also publish, on average, five or six reviews per year with literary journals. This adds up to close to twenty reviews a year. I've published every
review I've ever sent to a magazine or journal, something I wish I could say about my essays, articles and poems!
If you're a writer, then you are also a reader (or should be). Writing a review of a book you enjoyed and that you wish others would read benefits both the author of the book and the author of the review. In essence, you share a byline.
What about negative reviews? I steer away from them. If I come across a book I don't like, I simply choose not to review it. As Anjali Enjeti writes in Secrets of the Book Critics, "I'd much rather celebrate a book than criticize it." This doesn't mean that I praise every book I review. My goal as a reviewer is to explore a book and invite the reader in. (I talk more about this in my blog post, "How I Review A Poetry Collection.") This is a personal choice, however. You might want to write a review of a book you didn't especially like.
The best way to get started writing
reviews is to choose a reviewer whose work interests you and read several of her reviews. Ask yourself how the reviewer encounters the book—does the review make you want to read it? Is it an interesting exploration of the book, or basically plot summary? You should also study journals you'd like to publish in.
Pay for reviews runs from none to $200 and up. If you're just starting out, it's fine to accept some
unpaid publication credits to build your portfolio, but as you progress, you should pitch magazines that pay. My first few reviews were unpaid, but today I usually receive a decent, if not lavish fee for my reviews. The reviews I write for my newsletter are an important part of my writing practice, and although I don't charge for the newsletter, they have brought me paid review assignments. In addition, they function as a portfolio.
To find markets for reviews, check FundsforWriters, Poets & Writers, and New Pages Book Review Source.
Writing reviews is a great way to focus a newsletter or blog, gaining you new readers.
Reviews increase your publication credits and add a skill to your writing practice. Best of
all, they support the writers' community. BIO: Erica Goss is the author of Night Court, winner of the 2017 Lyrebird Award from Glass Lyre Press. Her reviews have appeared in The Georgia Review, The Pedestal, Cider Press Review, Main Street Rag, Sugar House Review, and others. Erica served as Poet Laureate of Los Gatos, California, from 2013-2016. She lives in Eugene, Oregon, where she
teaches, writes and edits the newsletter Sticks & Stones.
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GUTSY GREAT NOVELIST CHAPTER ONE PRIZE $20 ENTRY FEE. Submissions open Thursday, Feb 1 - Friday, March 1, 2024. The Gutsy Great Novelist Chapter 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. OMNIDAWN POETRY CONTEST FOR FIRST OR SECOND POETRY BOOK
https://www.omnidawn.com/contests/omnidawn-poetry-contests/
$35 ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 29, 2024. Prize: $3000 and publication with 20 printed copies. Minimum 40 pgs & Max 90 pgs for submitting in an 8.5 x 11 size page. Minimum 60 pgs & Max 110 pgs for submitting in a 6 x 9 size page. SUE WILLIAM SILVERMAN PRIZE FOR CREATIVE NONFICTION
https://www.awpwriter.org/contests/awp_award_series_overview
$20-$30 ENTRY FEE. Deadline
February 28, 2024. Prize $2,500 and publication. Limit 150-300 pages. JAMES ALAN MCPHERSON PRIZE FOR THE NOVEL
https://www.awpwriter.org/contests/awp_award_series_overview
$20-$30 ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 28, 2024. Prize $5,500 and publication. At least 60,000 and no more than 110,000 words. DONALD HALL PRIZE FOR POETRY
COLLECTION
https://www.awpwriter.org/contests/awp_award_series_overview
$20-$30 ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 28, 2024. Prize $5,500 and publication. Poetry: 48 pages minimum text. GRACE PALEY PRIZE FOR SHORT FICTION COLLECTION
https://www.awpwriter.org/contests/awp_award_series_overview
$20-$30 ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 28, 2024. Prize $5,500 and publication. Limit 150-300 pages. PIPELINE UNPUBLISHED CONTEST
https://bookpipeline.com/shop/unpublished-contest
$30 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 20, 2024. Seeks unpublished manuscripts across 10 categories of fiction and nonfiction: Literary | Mystery / Horror / Thriller, Romance | Sci-Fi & Fantasy, General Fiction | Young Adult | Middle Grade, Picture Books | Nonfiction & Memoir, and Comics & Graphic Novels. Select
publishers and agents get first look at the top selection for each category, including CAA, HarperCollins, and Verve Publishing. $2,500 for each category winner. You think you know how to write a sentence? Think again. Taking notes from literature, advertising, and artificial intelligence, we’d explore how a sentence is formed, how it communicates an idea, and how you can create sentences worth reading (and actually enjoy writing). Each week of this 3-week workshop contains four daily in-depth lessons, each with their own required
response assignment that helps you read, understand, analyze, and engage with sentences in nuanced, thoughtful ways. Each weekend, you’d get to work on a project that further stretches your understanding and application of things you’re learning. I personally respond to each homework assignment with thought-provoking feedback. - Materials: Everything–lessons,
assignments, project outlines, and detailed comments–will be provided via email.
- Cost: $195 USD
- Who this class is for: Artists, writers, would-be authors and anyone who loves and/or works with words.
- Instructor: I’m Odelia – freelance copywriter, AP English Composition teacher, and published novelist. I share my thoughts sporadically with the internet on my blog, where I explore the soul, mind, and environment
of the creator.
Visit this page to learn more, see what past students have to say, and sign up! GRANTS / FELLOWSHIP / CROWDFUNDING ODYSSEY WORKSHOP SCHOLARSHIPS
https://www.odysseyworkshop.org/2019-odyssey-writing-workshop-scholarship-opportunities/
Financial aid and scholarships are made available by supporters, alumni, various organizations, and Odyssey itself. Scholarships are awarded based on financial need, merit, or the specific criteria listed below. They range in size from several hundred dollars to over $4000. THE MCCOY GRANTS
https://sarahmccoy.com/about/the-mccoy-grant/
Deadline March 21, 2024. For
any unpublished southern women or nonbinary booksellers who harbor ambitions to be published writers. Two grants of $1,500 each will be awarded to be used toward craft development (writing classes, retreats, conferences, travel), work-related materials (notebooks, laptops, software, research, etc.), childcare, bills, or any other financial obstacle. CALIFORNIA ARTS SEEKING GRANT PANELISTS
https://arts.ca.gov/grants/panels/
The California Arts Council has opened its call for applicants to serve on peer-review panels for the 2024 grant season. The state art agency is
seeking arts and cultural practitioners from disparate communities statewide to volunteer for a critical role in the grant application process as grant review panelists. Individuals who complete their panel service will receive a $300 honorarium to subsidize them for their attendance at two to three virtual meetings and rank submission activities. BRIDPORT
PRIZE BURSARIES FOR UNDER-REPRESENTED WRITERS
https://bridportprize.org.uk/writers-room/bursaries-for-under-represented-writers/
Deadline March 31, 2024. Gives under represented
writers a free entry to the Bridport Prize competition in any category. In order to support as many writers as possible, applications are limited to one per year, per writer. The short story, poetry, flash fiction and memoir competitions are open to international applicants, whilst the novel award is open to writers living in Britain and Ireland, British and Irish writers living overseas and writers living in British Overseas Territories. REPLENISH RESIDENCIES - A STUDIO IN THE WOODS
https://www.astudiointhewoods.org/apply-for-replenish-residencies-2024-25/
Deadline March 13, 2024. Located in eight forested acres on the Mississippi River in Bulbancha/New Orleans. One- to two-week restorative visioning retreats to local BIPOC artists and culture bearers--the heart of New Orleans culture. Recipients will be provided with a $1,600 stipend, a one- to two-week residency, staff support, and an opportunity to have a documentation session with a photographer. Selected residents receive full room and board
including food, utilities for living, and studio space.
Rigel 2024: $500 for Prose, Poetry, Art, or Graphic Novel Authors & Artists Eligible. Rigel, the brightest star in the Orion constellation, inspired Sunspot Lit to find the single short story, novel, novella, artwork, graphic novel, or poem
that outshines the rest. Literary or genre works accepted; the only requirement is quality. Winner receives $500 plus publication, while runners-up and finalists are offered publication. No restrictions on theme or category. Length for prose is a maximum of 1,500 words; poetry can be up to 14 lines; and graphic novels/comics/scripts/screenplays can be 1 to 6 pages. Excerpts from longer works
are eligible. An excerpt selected as the winner or as a finalist will be offered publication only for the submitted sample. Open: February 1 Close: February 29 Entry fee: $12.50 Sunspot asks for first rights only; all rights revert to the contributor after publication. Works, along with the creators’ bylines, are published in the next quarterly digital edition an average of two months after contest completion, as well as in the annual print edition. Artists offered publication may display their pieces in galleries, festivals or shows throughout the publication contract period. Enter as many times as you like through Submittable or Duotrope, but only one piece per submission. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your piece if it is published elsewhere before the winner is selected. MAINE ORGANIC FARMER AND GARDENER
https://www.mofga.org/writers-guidelines/
Deadline March 27, 2024. Invites readers to learn more about organic agriculture and sustainable living practices in Maine and beyond. Feature stories range from 1,200 to 2,200 words in length. How-to articles run 500 to 1,200 words in length. Interviews up to 2,500 words in length. Pays 25 cents per word, on publication. Since its inception in 1996, the Odyssey Writing Workshop has become one of the most highly
respected workshops for writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror in the world. NARRATIVELY
https://www.narratively.com/p/pitch-us-the-art-of-narrative-storytelling
Deadline March 4, 2024. Open to reported longform pieces, memoir, profiles, Q&As or even some newfangled format that you think is destined to blow the world of narrative nonfiction wide open. Rates for these stories will start at $1,500 per story. NPQ
https://nonprofitquarterly.org/call-for-pitches-we-stood-up/
NPQ announces a new column called “We Stood
Up,” featuring the voices of people doing the hard work of realizing economic justice in their workplace.Invites writing from workers who want to share their experiences building a democratic economy and a fairer world. Pieces around 500 words that answer one or more of the following: Why did you stand up and organize your workplace? How do you build bridges and connect with other workers? What has been the biggest barrier to making change happen at work? In what ways have you implemented
democratic practices in your workplace? Pays $300. THE MARKUP
https://themarkup.org/inside-the-markup/2024/02/09/call-for-pitches-misinformation-in-immigrant-communities
The Markup is seeking pitches for stories on how misinformation impacts immigrant communities, especially non-native English speakers, in the United States, as a part of our “Languages of Misinformation” series. The Markup pays $1/word based on estimated word count. SCIENCE FOCUS
https://www.sciencefocus.com
Seeking science and health writers, offering commissions ranging from £300 to £700
for articles between 1000 and 2000 words. Include information about expertise, along with relevant links. Pitch daniel.bennett@ourmedia.co.uk. Science Focus is the BBC’s science and technology magazine.
FRINGE PRESS
https://fringepublishers.com/
Currently looking for high-concept,
off-the-beaten path novels as well as short stories for an anthology collection. Fringe Press publishes audacious novels and short stories drifting somewhere beyond the boundaries of “mainstream.” BALESTIER PRESS
https://balestier.com/publish-with-us/
Balestier Press is dedicated to promoting cultural diversity in writing and publishing, and one way we achieve this is by welcoming submissions of translated literature, especially from Asian languages. YLVA
PUBLISHING
https://www.ylva-publishing.com/submission-guidelines/
Ylva Publishing is the home of quality lesbian fiction and fiction about women-loving-women. Our primary market is the romance genre, but wherever possible we
will consider a range of genres, subject to reader interest and market viability. DRAGONBLADE
https://www.dragonbladepublishing.com/submissions/
Strictly a historical romance publisher.
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 for writers and their endeavors to improve their careers. While the mailing list is not sold to third parties, other parties do advertise in the newsletter, to include the occasional solo ad. You will not receive this newsletter without your permission. It's physically impossible since recipients must opt-in, giving us permission to send the newsletter. If at any time you no longer wish to receive the
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