VOLUME 24, ISSUE 16 | APril 12, 2024 |
ONE WAY TO BE DILIGENT A lot of my readers are aware that I attempt to write 1,000 words per day when I have books under contract. Right now, I am finishing the last book under one contract, and I not long ago signed a contract for three more. That means a lot of writing this year. If I didn't set a goal, I'd not get the job done. Recently I came across a young man who is attempting to write 2,000 per day for a month. Quite a noble endeavor. You can follow his journey on Instagram at @finfearn. He has 14,000 followers which says a lot about how many writers want to do
this as well. I like his Instagram page. It feels real. He is a young writer attempting to make strides in his abilities. His posts move forward. His posts are short, informing the followers of what he's accomplished that day. He had one major setback on Day 14 when he found out some trolls had started a group chat to ridicule and make fun of him. He, unfortunately, let that get under his skin. But
I loved how he bounced back in his own gentle way. It takes guts to set a goal like this and be accountable . . . without making excuses. |
✅Are your words in need of polish, but you don't know where to start? ✅Are you confused by well-meaning advice that doesn't help? ✅Would you welcome actionable editing techniques to use right now? 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! WHAT BOOKS SHOULD I READ? As you might expect, I get deluged with books. From publishers, fans, wannabe writers, published-yet-still-struggling writers, my book club, and
friends and family as gifts. My to-be-read stack is two columns of a dozen books each, and that doesn't count my bookcase with books I still told myself I would read. Don't even ask me what's on my Kindle. I've long forgotten those. In my career as an author, I've heard so many schools of thought about what you should read. 1) Only read your genre, to improve what you intend to publish.
2) Read across the board of genres, to get introduced to variety and new thought.
3) Read bad books as well as new books, so you know what to write and what not to
write.
4) Read whatever book you pick up, all the way to the end.
5) Read only when you are not writing, so you don't accidentally plagiarize.
6) Read even more when you are writing, so you feel more motivated. Bottom line, read a book that makes you wish you had written it. You will absorb more of it and take it seriously. But to finish a book because you started it? Nope. Read a badly written book? Nope. Read outside my genre when I know absolutely what I want to write? Rarely. Read while I am writing? Absolutely, and twice as much. My time is precious to me. Grab me in the opening chapter or I'm done with it, because there are so many grand stories out there that will make my heart race. I want to have read something that left an indelible mark, not something that just added to the number I read that year. What you read impacts what you write. Make what you read count. Looking for a writing group? Check out all of Ignite Your Write's spring offerings. We'd love to
have you. -May 21, 2024 - Signing and luncheon, Florence Library, 154 S. Dargan St, Florence, SC - 11:30 - 1:00 - link coming soon. -May 25, 2024 - Book Signing, The Coffee Shelf, 130 Amicks Ferry Rd, Chapin, SC - 8AM-NOON. -May 29, 2024 - A Moveable Feast, presenter C. Hope Clark, Quigley's Pint & Plate, 257 Willbrook Blvd, Pawley's Island, SC - 11AM - 1PM - sign up here -June 1-8, 2024 - The
Gutsy Great Novelist Retreat, Bar Harbor, Maine - writer-in-residence -June 20, 2024 - Edisto Island Bookstore - Highway 174, Edisto Island, SC - 3-5 PM
-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 -October 5-12, 2024 - Edisto Bookstore, exact dates in that week TBD -November TBD, 2024 - Irmo Chapin Holiday Market, Chapin, SC - 8AM - 2PM -May 17, 2025 - Pelion Library Book Club206 Pine St, Pelion, SC, Saturday, 1-2PM
Email: hope@chopeclark.com to schedule events, online or otherwise. "When people ask me if I went to film school, I tell them, 'No, I went to films.'" ~Quentin Tarantino
Good evening Hope, Just a quick note to thank you for telling us about Amber Petty's free Zoom's that you have promoted. I've attended the first two and they were amazing! She's such a
doll and so positive. I'm thoroughly enjoying them and wouldn't have heard of them if it weren't for your newsletter. Thank you! Sunday Dutro
she, her, hers
www.sundaydutro.com
www.patreon.com/SundayDutro NOTE: Amber Petty advertises often in FundsforWriters, and she can be amazing. ~Hope <<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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How to Write a Book While Maintaining a Full-Time Writing Job
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By Ross Robinson If you have a full-time writing job and want to write a book, you may wonder how you will accomplish both. You likely spend most of your time and energy on paid work. How do you complete a book AND maintain quality work for clients at the same time? I know this challenge well. I am a content writer and recently completed a 340-page book. Doing both was tough - at first. I nearly burned out halfway through. Thankfully, some hacks helped me maximize my productivity and maintain energy and focus. Best of all, the same hacks improved my professional writing. I achieved a 100% satisfaction rating and a top-rated writer badge on Upwork, which led to higher income. These tips will help you, too. Try Time Blocking Many successful people have used time blocking, including Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey (of Twitter fame), Steve Jobs, and Benjamin Franklin. By designating times for
your work initiatives, you reduce mind clutter so that you can focus more intently on each task, completing it faster. You also notice initiatives that took too long and require refining. Maintain Firm Work Hours Take a close look at your daily routine, establish your work hours, and stick to them. Setting strict
work times helped me prioritize tasks and ensure I had time and energy for my book. Set Clear Priorities Time is not finite. Use it wisely. Prioritize goals and tasks that are truly important. Delegate others where you can. Also, break complex or stressful tasks into smaller chunks to feel positive
momentum. For a deeper look at solutions like these, check out: The Eisenhower Method SMART Goals Five Minute Rule
Use Pomodoros
More than two million people use the Pomodoro technique. It consists of creating focused work sessions on a single task. It is an ideal addition to time blocking. Work for 25 minutes and
break for five minutes. On each fourth block, take a more extended break of 15 to 30 minutes. Since each work session is 25 minutes or less, you won’t feel
fatigued. Use each break to step away completely. Use the time to stretch, meditate, use the bathroom, drink water, check emails, or complete household chores. Learn to Say No The temptation of more income is real. Still, you
have a book to write. Prioritize higher-paid work and delegate what you can of the lower paid material. Maintain a Healthy Body and Mind Healthy nutrition and exercise boost productivity. Ditch fast food, sugary snacks, and microwaved meals for healthy meals you buy or cook at home. I found batch cooking saves me money and time. Humans need exercise, and it helps with work, too. Staying mobile prevents injuries and aches and pains that come from long hours at a desk. Try 20-minute walks around the block or on walking pads, or do gym or yoga exercises. Maintain a healthy mind with meditation, a proven to reduce stress reducer. Write Your Book Outside of Work Hours Separating job and book writing allows for more concentrated work. Choose the best time for you. Authors Salman Rushdie, Virginia Woolfe, Kurt Vonnegut, and Ernest Hemmingway found morning beneficial, while Robert Frost, Alan Ginsberg, Pablo Neruda, Charles Dickens, and Sylvia Plath preferred night. For me, writing a non-fiction book at night brought a welcome
distraction after a stressful workday. If you write non-fiction related to your work, try doing it at night to remember your day's insights. You Can Do It These tips did wonders for me. They can do the same for you. You may
need to fine-tune them to work best for you, but they are a terrific starting point. Bio: Ross Robinson runs rosstopia.com, https://www.rosstopia.com/, a website
focused on home office design and productivity.
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CURT JOHNSON PROSE AWARDS
https://decembermag.org/2024-curt-johnson-prose-awards/
$20 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 1, 2024. Prizes are $1,500 and publication in our Fall/Winter 2022 issue for First Place (fiction and nonfiction); $500 and publication in our Fall/Winter 2022 issue for honorable mention (fiction and nonfiction). All finalists will be listed in the awards issue. Maximum of 8,000 words for fiction and non-fiction. MONTREAL INTERNATIONAL POETRY COMPETITION
https://www.montrealpoetryprize.com/
$20 CAD FOR EARLY ENTRY. Deadline May 1, 2024. The Montreal Prize awards one prize of $20,000 CAD to a poet
for a single poem of 40 or fewer lines. A jury of internationally reputed poets and critics selects a shortlist of approximately 60 poems, from which a judge chooses one winner. The shortlist is published in The Montreal Poetry Prize Anthology. WOW! WOMEN ON WRITING SPRING FLASH FICTION CONTEST
https://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php
$10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 31, 2024. 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 Card. Second Place: $300, publication, interview, and $25 Amazon Gift Card. Third Place: $200, publication, interview and $25 Amazon Gift Card. Seven Runners Up receive $25 Amazon Gift Cards, publication and interview. Ten Honorable mentions receive $20 Amazon Gift Cards. Top 10 stories are published in the WOW! Women On Writing e-zine, and contestants are interviewed on WOW's blog, The
Muffin. QUEEN MARY WASAFIRI NEW WRITING PRIZE
https://www.wasafiri.org/new-writing-prize/
£12 ENTRY
FEE. Deadline July 1, 2024. The prize supports writers who have not yet published a book-length work, with no limits on age, gender, nationality, or background. The winners of each category will receive a £1,000 prize and publication in Wasafiri magazine. The competition is open to anyone who has not published or signed a contract to publish a book-length work of fiction, life writing, or poetry, except for self-published works or poetry chapbooks. Limit 3,000 words. A single
poetry entry can include up to three poems, which together total no more than 3,000 words. WINCHESTER POETRY PRIZE
https://www.winchesterpoetryfestival.org/prize
£6 ENTRY FEE. Deadline July 31, 2024. Poems can be on any subject, and in any form or style, but must be no more than 40 lines, and written in English. Winning poets receive cash prizes (1st prize: £1000, 2nd prize: £500, 3rd prize: £250) and all longlisted poems are published in a printed anthology. The best poem written by a poet living in Hampshire is awarded the Kathryn Bevis Prize (previously the Hampshire
Prize) which is a year's worth of tuition from The Writing School Online and £150. There are a limited number of free entry slots available. GRANTS / FELLOWSHIP / CROWDFUNDING PORCHES WRITING RETREAT - Michael Kenneth Smith Fellowship
https://www.porcheswritingretreat.com/
Deadline is in November. Location Virginia on the James River. Open to women 35 and older who have not yet published a novel. PORCHES WRITING RETREAT - Michael Kenneth Smith Fellowship
https://www.porcheswritingretreat.com/
Deadline June 15, 2024. Location Virginia on the James River. A 10-night residency is available to a writer seriously committed to the short story. He or she should not yet have published a collection of short stories. PORCHES WRITING RETREAT - Nancy Ludmerer Fellowship for Flash Fiction and Nonfiction
https://www.porcheswritingretreat.com/
Deadline April 30, 2024.
Location Virginia on the James River. A 5-night residency at Porches is available to a writer of flash fiction or flash nonfiction. PORCHES WRITING RETREAT - Jane Barnes Creative Non-Fiction Fellowship
https://www.porcheswritingretreat.com/
Deadline June 1, 2024. Location Virginia on the James River. One week residency at Porches is available to a writer for essay, memoir, or creative non-fiction. PORCHES WRITING RETREAT -
Open Doors Poetry Fellowship
https://www.porcheswritingretreat.com/
Deadline June 1, 2024. Location Virginia on the James River. First time, new visitors with one published collection.
SMART MOUTH
https://www.smartmouthpodcast.com/home/2023/2/4/new-smart-mouth-newsletter-pitch-guidelines
Looking for: Histories of restaurant chains and food items, consumer-facing farm issues, eating guides to various cities, school lunches. A mix of history, progressive food politics, and just fun frothy stuff. Smart Mouth pays about $1/word. PROUD TO BE: WRITING BY AMERICAN WARRIORS
http://www.semopress.com/events/proud-to-be-writing-by-american-warriors/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline April 26, 2024. Four categories of short fiction, poetry, essay, and photography. Writing must be by veterans, military-service personnel, or their families. Include the connection in your short bio. $250 first prize and publication in each category; all entries also considered for anthology. Poetry: up to three poems (five pages maximum). Fiction, essay: 5,000-word limit. Interviews are with military or veterans. BOOK WORMS HORROR ZINE
https://rsaintclaire.com/category/call-for-submissions/
Deadline:
April 30, 2024. Seeking short fiction for our Rock n Roll Issue! From hair-raising riffs to head-banging oblivion, horror and rock n roll are a match made in Hell! Book Worms Horror zine is a limited-edition print only publication sold on Etsy and selective bookstores. Payment is eight cents a word for fiction and essays (1500 words or less). Includes one contributor copy. FLASH FICTION ONLINE
https://ffo.submittable.com/submit
Deadline April 21, 2024. Weird horror is all about stories that engage with the unexplained and the unexpected, often through an
esoteric lens of mysticism and metaphysics. Theme: Weird Horror. Weird horror is not just scary or terrifying, it is wrong in some way that’s not easily identifiable. Word count 500 to 1,000 words. For original (previously unpublished) fiction, Flash Fiction Online pays $100 per story for first electronic rights, with six months exclusivity, as well as a non-exclusive one-time right to publish the stories in an anthology. LATITUDE 46
https://latitude46publishing.com/super-canucks-call-for-submissions/
Deadline April 21, 2024. Theme: Super Canucks: An
anthology of small-town Canadian superheroes. We’re looking for stories from across Canada that push the usual superhero tropes while shining a spotlight on unique corners of Canada. We want stories set in and around the nation’s more often overlooked locales—isolated small towns, remote reservations, bedroom communities, and other underrepresented areas of Canada. Give us rural superheroes, backwater supervillains, and tales of characters/communities at a crossroads. Word Count: 500-3500. Pays
$200 CAD. PIPPIN PROPERTIES
https://www.pippinproperties.com/about
Though our
primary focus is on the highest caliber literature for young people, we also eagerly represent our clients' fiction, nonfiction, and graphic works should they decide to write for an adult-trade readership. We have the editorial expertise required to help bring each project to its full potential, prior to submission, and we place nearly every project we submit. McINTOSH & OTIS, INC.
https://mcintoshandotis.com/
A full-service literary agency located in New York. M&O represents a broad range of adult and children’s fiction and nonfiction. SPENCERHILL ASSOCIATES
https://www.spencerhillassociates.com/
Specializing in commercial fiction, romance and women's fiction, and
expanding into middle grade and young adult, they work with talented writers in every genre at any stage of their career-from the well-known, successfully published and established author to the debut writer with an exciting new voice. UNION LITERARY
https://www.unionliterary.com/about
Union Literary is a full-service agency specializing in literary fiction, popular fiction, narrative non-fiction, memoir, social history, business and general big idea books, popular science, cookbooks and food writing. We excel at project development, hands-on editing and placing our projects with domestic and
foreign publishers, film and television companies. 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 2000-2024, C. Hope Clark
ISSN: 1533-1326 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 **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 newsletter, click the UNSUBSCRIBE link at the bottom of each newsletter. We want you to enjoy this newsletter at your pleasure, not be forced to read anything you do not wish to receive. Direct any complaints, suggestions, and accolades to Hope Clark at hope@fundsforwriters.com. We are an anti-spam site. | |
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