VOLUME 24, ISSUE 18 | APril 26, 2024

PART OF WRITING IS FINDING THE MARKET

 Here lately, I'm deluged more with requests to do one of the following for writers:

1. Find a grant to self-publish.
2. Find a grant to fund someone who wants to write (nothing specific).
3. Find a grant to aid a publisher get started.
4. Find an agent for someone's book.
5. Find a publisher for someone's book.
6. Find a market for someone's feature.
7. Find someone to buy a script.

If I can think of a resource or two off the top of my head, of course I share. That would be expected by anyone in the business, I would think. One person aiding another.

However, for me to stop and ask the details of someone's need, then research to marry that need with the goals of a grant provider/publisher/market would suck an hour or more out of my day, per request. I have to decline since I have so many deadlines of my own as a writer. I at least steer the inquirers toward how to do research on their own, or give them generalities on how and where to start. I probably spend almost an hour a day answering the requests.

In every profession, in every hobby, in every endeavor, you learn the most by digging solutions on one's own. That is how you learn and retain that learning. We rarely retain what we didn't work hard to learn (thanks AI). These days, the internet abounds with solutions. If you cannot find it on the web, then it likely doesn't exist. 

Looking up markets, publishers, agents, funding, etc. makes you wiser. FundsforWriters was founded to orient you as to what is out there and to make you think of possibilities and potential. Once upon a time I used to charge as a consultant to find solutions for writers. Now, however, once I complete FundsforWriters each week, I write to earn a living, and I'm vicious about protecting my time to do so. 

We are here to make you think and realize what might be out there. Sort of a jump start to hunt for what opportunity fits you, and how your project fits the opportunities out there. I am very open to emails and respond to each and every one. Just know I might not be able to fix every problem or find the money you seek. But, hey, nothing lost in writing me. I never decline a message. 

C. Hope Clark
Editor, FundsforWriters
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FFW has been on the Writer's Digest's 101 Best Websites for Writers list every year since 2000

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

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TOP SPONSOR

Calling all writers: Ploughshares Emerging Writer's Contest is NOW OPEN! 

Featuring judges Dantiel W. Moniz for fiction, Porsha Olayiwola for poetry, and Augusten Burroughs for nonfiction.

Submit your fiction, nonfiction, or poetry for the chance to win $2,000, publication in Ploughshares, and a conversation with Aevitas Creative Management.

Ploughshares is a quarterly literary journal that publishes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry by award-winning writers. Our issues have been guest edited by talents such as Tracy K. Smith, Celeste Ng, Tess Gallagher, and more.

EDITOR'S THOUGHTS

BUSY ISN'T EQUAL TO QUALITY, AND FAST ISN'T THE SAME AS GOOD

A new writer in my area recently announced to various groups on Facebook that he had published a mystery. What caught me was the title, which I won't list, for his sake and mine. It included wording I have in a work-in-progress title, so of course it caught my eye.

I almost bought it.

That is, until I found his post saying he had a fulltime job, and this book was his hobby, and that he didn't have enough money to hire an editor so excuse any mistakes. That convinced me not to buy the book.

For him to compromise his effort into the book does not mean I compromise the quality I wish to read.

All too often, writers tell me both in confidentiality and in the open on social media (big mistake), that they cannot afford an editor, don't have the time to workshop a book through a group, don't have the  years to wait to get traditionally published, or they are anxious to get a book out in short order, for any of a zillion reasons.

A lot of writers get on social media and whine about how long it takes. They complain about not being able to afford editors. "Does anyone know of a good editor at a reasonable cost?" (A request that's rather insulting to editors everywhere.)

What happened to the day that we sweated over a manuscript until it was as pristine as it could be? And why is self-publishing better than traditional other than being faster? For every self-published author making a few thousand, there are thousands not making a couple hundred, so I tune out the "earn more money faster while keeping rights" argument.

Publishing should not be your driving force in writing. Writing well should be.

What if you don't know grammar? Then learn it. 
What if you aren't good with dialogue? Then learn it.
What if you have a saggy middle? Then fix it.

Editors are not substitutes for you taking the time to learn how to write. They should polish already good writing. Editors are not a quicker route to publication. And you don't self-publish your book because you don't have the patience for traditional. You choose deliberately and give both a thousand percent. So you publish, then what?

Just saying, to be a serious writer, you have to absorb the creative art of the process and crave to take your time to do it well. Slow down. Learn and study. Don't look at the publishing. Look at becoming good, regardless how long that takes.

SUPER SPONSOR

Are you writing a book? 

Feeling a bit stalled or wondering if your idea has legs to carry you across the finish line?

Consider joining Ignite Your Write's Book Boost.

The Book Boost is for you if:

• You have several thousand words already written.
• You're looking for inspiration to move your project forward.
• You'd like to talk to someone about your book, but you're a bit afraid they won't be supportive.
• You're interested in the comradery of other writers who are also writing books.
• You're tired of writing into the vacuum.
• You're struggling with writerly procrastination and need some guaranteed writing time to get back to your desk.
• You're wondering whether your idea is on the right track and could use some feedback.
• You're not ready to join a harsh critique group.

Spend a month of Wednesdays working on your book in the company of other writers. Led by Ignite's Claire Sheridan, writers will share bits of their already written work, give and receive feedback about what's working, and have generative writing time. Interested? Get all the details and register here. 

FundsforWriters Readers save 10% with code: Funds10 

We start May 1^st!

HOPE'S APPEARANCES

Hope, editing copy and teaching yearbook copywriters - circa 1974

-May 21, 2024 - Signing and luncheon, Florence Library, 154 S. Dargan St, Florence, SC - 11:30 - 1:00 - reserve a seat.

-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 13, 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 - 2:30-3:30 PM

- 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. 

SUCCESS QUOTE

Somewhere inside, we hear a voice. It leads us in the direction of the person we wish to become. But it is up to us whether or not to follow.   

~Pat Tillman 

SUCCESS STORY

Hope,

I'm pleased to write that my poem, "Aprons," was selected for this year's San Diego Anthology of Poetry.

My book, The Electric Picnic, Poetry for Nice People and Good Dogs, was on display in a gallery in San Diego for the month of February.

I also host The Electric Picnic, a weekly radio program that highlights author interviews and readings, poetry, prose, and spoken word. If you or any of your readers would like to have 54 minutes of on air time, I'd love to hear from them  The producer would email that writer with a zoom link with the recording date and time.

Thanks, 
Sue Taylor
suetaylor0825@gmail.com
 

<<If you have a success story you believe was prompted by FundsforWriters, please share with us! Send to hope@chopeclark.com >>

FEATURED ARTICLE

COMPETITIONS

Goldilocks Zone: $500 for Prose, Poetry, Art, or Graphic Novel

Authors & Artists Eligible. The Goldilocks Zone appears wherever conditions make a planet habitable. Sunspot Lit is looking for the perfect combination of excellence in craft and reader or audience appeal. The contest is open to short stories, novel or novella excerpts, artwork, graphic novels, and poems. Literary and genre works accepted. 

First prize is $500 plus publication. Runners-up and finalists are offered publication. No restrictions on theme or category. Maximum of 2,500 words for short stories or nonfiction, 24 lines for poetry, and 8 pages for graphic novels/scripts/screenplays. No size requirements for painting, photography, video stills or sculpture.

Open: April 1

Close: April 30

Contest entry fee: $10

Prize: $500 cash and publication for the winner; publication offered to runners-up and finalists.

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 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. 

21 FUTURES ANTHOLOGY CONTEST
https://21futures.com/submissions/
ENTRY FEE Purchase a copy of 21 Futures: Tales from the Timechain. Deadline August 31, 2024. Debt, a growing wealth gap, and the debasement of currency. The future of many economies looks dark. Which catastrophic failures will we see in the next 100 years? And how will it affect ordinary citizens of the world? Konsensus network seeks fiction submissions (up to 3,000 words) for its forthcoming anthology 21 Futures: Financial Fallout. The 21 best stories will feature in the anthology and will be eligible to win the following prizes:

1st place: $1,000 + feature interview
2nd place: $100 + podcast appearance
3rd Place: Book haul + podcast appearance
4th to 21st place: Featured in anthology + anthology copy + launch appearance

BLACK IN WHITE POETRY COMPETITION
https://www.blackinwhiteservices.co.uk/poetry-competition-2024
ENTRY FEE £1.50. Deadline June 21, 2024. Write about your experience with racism, prejudice, unconscious bias or microaggressions as a child or a working adult. Each is a separate category. Write about it in a poem. First prize £250. Second prize £125. Third prize £75. The winners and 25 highly commended will appear in an anthology.

NEW WRITERS 1000-WORD SHORT STORY COMPETITION
https://newwriters.org.uk/
£10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline April 30, 2024. Open to writers from around the world, we’re offering a top prize of £1,000, a second prize of £300 and a third prize of £200. Limit 1,000 words.

WINCHESTER POETRY PRIZE
https://www.winchesterpoetryfestival.org/wpp24
£6 ENTRY FEE. Deadline July 31, 2024. 1st prize: £1000. 2nd prize: £500. 3rd prize: £250. Free entries for poets on low incomes.  Winning and commended poems will be published in a competition anthology. 

Emerald Theatre Company’s 7^th Annual 10-minute Play Festival.

10 minutes in length, 10 pages maximum, no more than 3 characters and a theme. 

Remember When... choose any decade and reference any significant moment from that decade. The historical moment DOES NOT have to be the plot/focus of your vignette. This is the playwright’s choice.  Work must be original and unproduced. Minimal sets required.

SUBMISSON RULES: Send 2 printed copies. The cover page should only have the play’s title and what decade is represented. On a separate page include playwrights name, address, phone and email. These do not count as one of the 10 pages.

Entry Fee: $15.00 money order or check payable to Emerald Theatre Company. 

Submissions deadline is May 31, 2024. Winners contacted and announced July 1, 2024 and the play festival is September 2024.

Payment can also be  sent via Cash App: $EmeraldTheatreMphs   

If sending payment by cash app, you can also send script electronically.

Prizes -  1^st - $100 plus a medal plus stage performances,  2^nd - $ 50 plus a medal plus stage performances, 3^rd - a medal plus stage performances
  

A total of 10 plays will be performed.

www.etcmemphistheater.com

MAIL TO:
Hal Harmon
c/o ETC
1402 Linden Ave.
Memphis, TN 38104  or email emeraldtheatrecompany@gmail.com

GRANTS / FELLOWSHIP / CROWDFUNDING

THE IRELAND FUNDS MONACO
https://irelandfunds.org/chapters/worldwide/monaco/bursaries/
Deadline October 2, 2024. The Ireland Funds Monaco Bursaries were established to enable literary and academic writers born or living on the island of Ireland to pursue a current project during a one-month residency at The Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco. The Bursaries are aimed at writers in each category who have already published some work of note and are currently engaged in a work-in-progress which would benefit in some regard from holding the award.

THE IRELAND ARTS COUNCIL ARTS AND DISABILITY CONNECT
https://www.artscouncil.ie/Funds/Arts-and-Disability-Connect/
Deadline May 7, 2024. The Arts and Disability Connect scheme is designed to support artists with disabilities to be ambitious, to develop their practice and to connect with arts organisations and arts professionals in Ireland. There are four different strands within the scheme: Mentoring (€3,000), Training (€1,000), New Work (€15,000), and Research and Development (€5,000).

THE IRELAND ARTS COUNCIL MARKIEVICZ AWARD
https://www.artscouncil.ie/Funds/Markievicz-Award/
Deadline June 6, 2024. The Markievicz Award is a bursary scheme for artists. Up to 10 artists from all backgrounds, artform and arts practice areas will receive an award of €25,000. The award is designed to buy time and space for artists, working alone or in collaboration, to develop new work that reflects on the role of women in Ireland in the 20th century and beyond.

SUPPORT FOR AUSTRALIAN PUBLISHERS
https://www.copyright.com.au/support-for-australian-publishers/
The Cultural Fund offers support for a small number of publishers’ commissions for work by First Nations and diverse writers. The publisher agrees to match the Cultural Fund’s contribution and all money must be paid to the authors. This does not replace royalties or an advance on royalties. Publishers must be Australian-based and books must be distributed nationally. Standard royalties must be paid to authors. Authors who self-publish their work are not eligible to apply.

AUSTRALIAN ACADEMY OF THE HUMANITIES - PUBLICATION SUBSIDY SCHEME
https://humanities.org.au/grants-and-awards/publication-subsidy/
Deadline May 5, 2024. The Scheme supports Early Career Researchers with costs of up to $3,000 associated with the publication of scholarly works that advance knowledge in the Humanities. Applicants must be Citizens or Permanent Residents of Australia.
 

FREELANCE MARKETS / JOBS

UNPACKED
https://jewishunpacked.com/unpacked-wants-you-to-write-for-our-gen-z-voices-series-heres-how-to-submit-pitches/
Unpacked strives to be a platform that is for Gen Z, by Gen Z. We’re looking to expand our talented team of freelance writers for our new “Gen Z Voices” series, which will highlight your experiences on campus or as recent graduates, cultural commentaries, and reflections on what it means to be Jewish in 2024. We’re looking for articles that “unpack” your perspective on some element of Judaism or Israel that Gen Z is thinking about. Articles are between 800-1,500 words, though it depends on the article. However, we strongly encourage you to pitch us before starting to write your article. Pays $200 and up.

SHELFY
https://www.myshelfy.xyz/editorial
We're interested in a wide range of topics within culture, spanning trends, subcultures, and niche interests across music, fashion, film, technology, literature, and more. Whether it's an analysis of emerging music trends, an exploration of avant-garde fashion movements, or a deep dive into how tech is shaping behaviors, we welcome pitches that offer fresh perspectives, thoughtful insights, and engaging narratives. Pays 50 cents/word and up. Particularly looking for editorials at this time.

GROW & CONVERT
https://www.growandconvert.com/content-marketing-jobs/
Everyone at Grow and Convert starts off as a writer. We have folks who stay as writers and others who transition into strategists and execute the rest of our SEO process for clients. But even to be a strategist, you have to start off as a writer. This is because good SEO writing is the backbone of what we do. We pay $500 per article. Writers who choose to take on a reasonable full time work load typically can do 10 – 12 pieces per month, so $5,000 – $6,000 per month. There are no word counts. Our pieces are however long we think we need to rank for the target keyword. That typically ends up being around 1500 – 2500 words.

DEFECTOR
https://defector.com/how-to-pitch-defector
They post six sample pitches on this site to go by. Defector is an employee-owned sports and culture website. They write about sports, politics, TV, movies, science, weird shit that happens on the internet, and anything else that catches attention. Long essays and journalism pay $1,000.  Short pieces $500. Send pitches to pitches@defector.com

REST OF WORLD
https://docs.google.com/document/d/19ZLDzw2II1RM_5fxD6dw658gJlggqHbtqrpYeMWqFgU/edit
The Rest of World Features section is home for longform, narrative journalism about technology and its impact. Seeking local stories with global implications, which focus on any country except the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Western Europe, and Australia. Features are generally 3,000 words+ in length, and are usually narrative in style. Rates start at $1/word.

CHICKEN SOUP: HOLIDAY STORIES
http://www.chickensoup.com
Deadline May 31, 2024. Please submit your true stories about the entire December holiday season, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year's festivities too. Pay is $350 and ten copies. Limit 1200 words. Must be first person.

PUBLISHERS / AGENTS

THOMPSON LITERARY AGENCY
https://www.thompsonliterary.com/
Thompson Literary represents a diverse list of authors. The agency is always on the lookout for both commercial and literary fiction, as well as young adult and children’s books. Nonfiction, however, is our specialty, and our interests include biography, memoir, music, popular science, politics, social justice, adult illustrated, cookbooks, sports, health and wellness, fashion, art, design, and popular culture.

CALLIGRAPH LITERARY AGENCY
https://www.calligraphlit.com/about
We represent literary and commercial fiction and a wide range of non-fiction, including biography, history, memoir and narrative, popular science, popular culture, and business, children’s books and YA. Our authors include creative writers, experts in their fields, established journalists, and academics. We are selective in who we represent, with an emphasis on the quality of the writing.

AZANTIAN LITERARY AGENCY
http://www.azantianlitagency.com/
Azantian Literary is committed to guiding the careers of both new and established voices in fiction and nonfiction, particularly those who have been historically underrepresented. Whether a heart-warming contemporary, a moving true story, or a grand epic fantasy, we look for the universal truths in our stories that connect us all.

STEPHANIE TADE AGENCY
https://www.stephanietadeagency.com/
We are a full service literary agency with a focus on nonfiction, particularly in the categories of physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being.

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