VOLUME 24, ISSUE 32 | AUGUST 2, 2024 |
Write Through
It Some of you have seen my social media of late. It's not very active except to say I am hiding a bit behind pound cake, coffee, and my stories to avoid the universe. These are hard times. Don't get sucked in. Write. I'll be the first to tell you it's difficult to claw past the noise in the world to write stories. It's been more difficult in the last week than I've experienced in years. But write you must. Not only do you need to keep going, but the writing will soothe you. Disappearing into your words will help. Put down the social media. Pick up your pad and pencil or park yourself in front of your keyboard. Turn on music if you need to. Light a candle. Pour some wine, tea, or coffee. Don't lose yourself in the animosity. Instead, find yourself in your own words, the words of your choosing, and create the world of your choosing. Be proactive in
keeping yourself not only sane, but also humane. |
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writers. Master the major metric movers to make more money from marvelous clients as you commit these simple steps to memory. Know them inside and out. See the ginormous home run derby of wins swing in. Snag the sheet here! SOCIAL MEDIA
I have finally cleaned up my social media such that I only see things nonpolitical and/or non-adversarial. Finally I can get back to business and breathe a better sigh of relief. That's because I unfriended three dozen people and
snoozed that many more. Do they have a right to speak up? Yes.
Do I have to let that irritate my life? No. We find it difficult to unfriend people, because we feel we have to collect as many people as possible for our books, our brand, our image. Did I go
after people? No. In each case, I went into their page to see if they were primarily negative or repeatedly and proactively adversarial, or if they were just experiencing a "moment." When they fell into the former, I unfriended them. Did it cost me a book sale or two? Not sure. Did I discount people who would vote the opposite of me? No, not at all. I love it when people vote. I'll be the first to
go with you to the polls and cast a ballot. I just cannot tolerate negativity, sarcasm, and borderline threats from either side, or being told how horrible I am for leaning one direction or another in politics. There is such a thing as protecting your mental state. Thank you to those who remained stable, professional, kind, and level-headed, willing to state your case but not tear into people who
think otherwise. When we can accept differences, we are happier people. I want to love those who read my work, not fear them.
-October 5-12, 2024 - Edisto Bookstore, exact dates in that week TBD -October 5-12, 2024 - Edisto Island Library, Hwy 174, exact dates in that week TBD -October 28, 2024 - St. Andrews Church Women's Club, 6952 St. Andrews Road
Columbia, South Carolina 29212 - 2PM (tentative) -October 29-30, 2024 - South Carolina Library Association's Annual Conference, Columbia Convention Center, 1101 Lincoln St, Columbia, SC 29201 - TBD -November 23, 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.
“Without tradition, art is a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Without innovation, it is a corpse.”
– Winston Churchill Hope, yours was the first column I ever read religiously. Though I didn't know it at the time, as I read your words on FundsforWriters every week, I was learning how to write a column myself. For a long time I wished I could have my own column, something to devote my
writing to every week without having to pitch or write queries first. Last August, it happened for me. I will soon celebrate my one year anniversary writing "It's A Living" for my local paper, the Bucks County Herald. I wrote you before after my novel, Angels Unaware was published by Regal House, an opportunity I saw on FFW. But I'd like to add that when the novel didn't sell particularly well, you
gave me encouragement and a reason to keep going with something you wrote years ago which I typed out in 16 font and taped to my mirror: "A new author is not going to shoe-horn their way into a reader's world with a freebie or a 99 cent special. They are going to do it through word-of-mouth about a grand tale. They are going to do it on recommendation. They must be patient and allow this
process to work, while working on the next book." And that's exactly what I'm doing, working on the next book. "It's a Living" is a weekly column showcasing residents who are making a living in an interesting way, or people who've reinvented their careers because they could no longer ignore the
voice in the back of their heads telling them to start over, take a risk, chase a dream or set out on their own. Lisa DeAngelis
My byline for the column is Lisa DeAngelis and here is one of my favorite columns from a couple of months ago. Thanks!
https://buckscountyherald.com/stories/for-warminster-dentist-dr-amanda-kucharzyk-profession-marries-best-of-art-and-science,50163 <<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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When the Writing Workshop is Too Slow
by Gregory A. Kompes The writer’s workshop model remains one of the best ways writers receive feedback. We share our work with a group, and everyone chimes in with ideas and suggestions. Early in our writing careers, we learn about structure and
grammar through the workshop. As our writing improves, we begin to learn about character development, plotting, and structures. Sharing a novel through workshop process can often take years. It’s not uncommon for a first novel to take up to a decade to be completed. Eventually, there’s a joyous moment when we find an agent and they sell our book to a publisher. Signing the contract, receiving an advance, making plans for the future are all
exciting things. That’s also the time when we need to learn as much as possible about marketing and self-promotion. What doesn’t get talked about often is what comes next on the writing front. For the traditionally published, there’s a cycle: A book a year. You have to keep publishing if you want to grow your audience. You have to keep publishing to build your series or your backlist and satisfy your readers. This is how most successful
authors create careers. If you go more than a year between books, a lot of the audience building work gets lost because our fickle readers simply move on. This isn’t only true for the traditionally published. Self-published and indie-published authors need to generate content to their followers, too. Many indie- and self-published authors try to publish books even faster, even embracing rapid release publishing plans which get books to
readers weekly, monthly, or quarterly. The workshop model, where we present a few pages a week to our group, is far too slow to write a draft of a novel and receive feedback and maintain a professional publishing schedule. However, feedback for authors remains essential. After all, others see important issues and problems in our work that we never do. I asked several of my published
writer friends who are building careers how they get feedback for their novels. Here’s what I learned: 1. Agents. If you’re agented, your professional representative will read your work and offer feedback and suggestions. Whether this happens at the first draft stage or later is about your agent/author relationship. 2. Editors. There are lots of
different types of editors, from acquisition editors at publishing houses, to freelance editors. Acquisition editors offer excellent feedback, but rarely read first drafts. There are freelance developmental editors who review novels for plot, characters, etc. and will do the work much quicker than a workshop group. There’s an expense for this, of course.
3. Critique Partners. One
positive thing that comes out of those years of writer workshop participation is networking. You meet writers whose work you admire and who give you excellent and useful feedback. While the weekly workshop model might be too slow, doing a full manuscript swap or regular chapter swap with a critique partner is among the most popular ways writers get feedback. It’s common to have multiple critique partners to receive feedback from more than one person.
4. Beta Readers. More and more writers are depending on beta readers. They take your whole book, read it, and offer feedback. Sometimes the feedback is based on questions you’ve asked them, and sometimes they simply let you know what’s working and what isn’t. My suggestion: find beta readers of your subgenre instead of writers for this role. You want to know how your readers react. If you have a good mailing list or social media following, it’s easy to
find beta readers, just ask your super fans. Most will raise their hands to help you. BIO: Gregory A. Kompes (MFA, MS Ed) is the founder of TheWriterWorkshop.com and offers weekly writing craft and critique workshops.
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YALE DRAMA SERIES
https://yalebooks.yale.edu/yale-drama-series-rules-and-submission-guidelines/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline
September 8, 2024. The winner of this annual competition will be awarded the David Charles Horn Prize of $10,000, publication of their manuscript by Yale University Press, and a celebratory event. The prize and publication are contingent on the playwright’s agreeing to the terms of the publishing agreement. The Yale Drama Series is intended to support emerging playwrights. Submissions must be original, unpublished full-length plays, with a minimum of 65 pages. MONEY CHRONICLES CONTEST
https://short-edition.com/en/contest/principal-foundation
Deadline October 2, 2024. Adults aged 18 and up who live in the United States can submit a short story about money. The
first 400 submissions will be read by Short Edition’s editorial team and the winner will be selected by a panel of esteemed authors, curated by the Center for Fiction. Up to 20 finalists will also be awarded. The winner will receive a $1000 honorarium, and each finalist will also receive an honorarium of $150. The winner and the finalists’ stories will be distributed across Principal Foundation’s Short Story Dispensers throughout the year. DZANC BOOKS PRIZE FOR FICTION, SHORT STORY, POETRY
https://dzancbooks.submittable.com/submit
$25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline September 30, 2024. The Dzanc Books Prize for Fiction recognizes daring, original, and innovative novels (generally over 40,000 words,
but there is no hard minimum). A $5,000 advance and publication by Dzanc Books will be awarded to the winner. The Dzanc Books Poetry Prize recognizes daring, original, and innovative poetry collections (generally over 60 pages, but there is no hard minimum). A $1,000 advance and publication by Dzanc Books will be awarded to the winner. The Dzanc Books Short Story Collection Prize celebrates imaginative and inventive writing in book-length collections (generally over 40,000 words, but there is no
hard minimum). The winning submission will be awarded a $2,500 advance and publication by Dzanc Books. SERVICESCAPE SHORT STORY AWARD
https://www.servicescape.com/short-story-award
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline
November 30, 2024. All applicants should submit their original unpublished work of short fiction or nonfiction, 5,000 words or fewer, to be considered. Along with receiving an award for $1,000 USD, the winner will have his or her short story featured within our blog, which reaches thousands of readers per month. GRANTS / FELLOWSHIP / CROWDFUNDING SOMERSET COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL
https://www.socoarts.org/individual-artist-grant
Ongoing deadline. The Somerset County Arts Council (Massachusetts) annually awards grants to talented
individual artists. The purpose of these grants is to honor, support, and strengthen individual artists living and working in the area. Artists may apply for up to $1,000. CONROY CENTER WRITER'S RESIDENCY
https://marshsongcottage.com/
Deadline August 26, 2024. Coinciding with the annual Pat Conroy Literary Festival, the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will offer our ninth Conroy Center Writer's Residency this coming fall, available to writers of all prose genres. Located on a salt marsh, the residency at MarshSong Cottage provides an inspirational, creative space in the heart of Pat Conroy’s beloved lowcountry. The residency location is a guest cottage on St. Helena Island, South
Carolina, approximately 15 minutes from downtown Beaufort and 15 minutes from the beach at Hunting Island State Park. The residency dates will be October 30 to November 6, 2024, overlapping with the Literary Festival, which the selected writer will be invited to attend. INDIANA PRO BONO LEGAL HELP
https://indianalegalhelp.org/
Pro Bono Indiana's Lawyers for the Arts project provides legal assistance at no cost to artists and small arts organizations. To obtain help, please call 812.402.6303. Calls from artists and small arts organizations are taken on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (Central Time). Support for this service is provided by the Indiana Bar Foundation. ESSERE WRITING RESIDENCY
https://essereresidency.org/
Deadline October 31, 2024 (this has been extended). The Essere Writer & Artist Residency is a two-week, multi-disciplinary program held in a medieval estate in Tuscany, Italy from Sept
13-27, 2025. The residency is open to writers of all genres and all levels of their careers. Residents are housed on-site in historic homes. The cost of the residency, which includes 11 three-course dinners, workshops, mentorship and more is $3,600 for a private bedroom and $3,100 for a shared bedroom. Travel expenses are not included. The Essere Special Fellowship for Emerging Voices is available in the amount of $1000 (applied toward residency fees) for an emerging writer with demonstrable
financial need.
THIS WAY LIES MADNESS ANTHOLOGY
https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-gothic/this-way-lies-madness-submissions-call-0
Deadline
October 13, 2024. This Way Lies Madness (publishing September 2025) will bring together a twisted tangle of dark stories featuring monstrous manifestations of trauma and guilt, paranoia and persecution, anxiety, addiction, and crippling terror. In these pages, readers should expect to find madness in all its forms, without the tired stigmatising tropes. Up to 10 stories will be selected from this submissions route, and we welcome fresh interpretations and perspectives from
diverse voices. For accepted stories we pay Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) rates of 8 cents/6 pence per word. Story length is most likely to be successful at 2000 to 4000 words. BARRELHOUSE
https://www.barrelhousemag.com/submission-info
We're interested in running reviews of books that fit Our Whole Thing. We pay $50 to each contributor to our print and online issues, as well as two contributor copies. We have a strong taste for small-press titles, especially books that might not be reviewed anywhere else. We love weird books, hybrid work, and other rare birds. We are extremely unlikely to accept a review of a book
by a major publisher (Harper, Random House, Riverhead, etc). SUCCESS MAGAZINE
https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/3981867273/
SUCCESS Enterprises is a leading provider of personal and professional development content,
dedicated to empowering individuals and businesses to achieve their fullest potential. With a rich 127-year history, we offer a wide range of resources, including digital magazines, podcasts, workshops, and membership programs. We are seeking skilled freelance writers to join our stable of freelance writers and deliver relevant, engaging story ideas that complement the SUCCESS brand. BOLTS
https://boltsmag.org/pitch-us
Bolts is always seeking to work with freelancers to report on critical voting rights and criminal justice stories across the United States. We encourage pitches that fit our mission to grow coverage of the local and state politics, elections, policymaking, and organizing
that shape these issues—think of county prosecutors and sheriffs, secretaries of state and local election administrators, state legislators, municipal officials, and the activism brewing around them. Most of the stories we publish involve original reporting; the default rate we offer for a story with original reporting is $800. THE REVELATOR
https://therevelator.org/about/
The Revelator, a news and ideas initiative of the Center for Biological Diversity, provides editorially independent reporting, analysis and stories at the intersection of politics, conservation, art, culture, endangered species, climate change, economics and the future of wild species, wild places and the planet. Payment starts at $300 and goes up to
$500.
ACRE BOOKS
https://acre-books.com/submissions/
Acre Books is reading queries and submissions for fiction and nonfiction manuscripts during the month of August. To submit a query letter and up to
TEN PAGES from your manuscript. We do not consider incomplete manuscripts, chapbooks, novellas, or children’s books. We do not consider previously published books, which includes self-published books (self-published is published). LIBRARY TALES PUBLISHING
https://www.librarytalespublishing.com/submissions
Self-help books are our specialty. We are also interested in manuscripts that teach and inspire the art of drawing, whether it's instructional guides, sketching techniques, or books that encourage artistic creativity. We also seek compelling nonfiction works that cover a wide range of topics, from history and science to psychology and business. If your manuscript offers valuable
insights, knowledge, or explores intriguing subjects, we want to hear from you. Personal stories that captivate, inspire, and offer unique perspectives on life are of great interest to us, too. If you have a memoir that resonates with readers and leaves a lasting impact, we encourage you to submit it for consideration. We are open to fiction submissions that feature engaging storylines and well-developed characters. Whether your work falls within the realms of contemporary fiction, mystery,
romance, or other genres, we are eager to explore compelling narratives. No poetry or previously published material. 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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