VOLUME 25, ISSUE 15 | april 11, 2025 |
PLOTTING I was at the gym one morning this week, and we were doing movements on a mat in a mobility class I take before a strength class. The room was full of moms in their late thirties and early forties, talking about kids, schools, field trips,
and summer vacation. So while stretching, I zoned out. Closed my eyes and started fabricating the opening to a new book. Before long, someone said, "We've lost Hope." That opened my eyes. Everyone laughed. "Where were you?" the instructor asked. "Plotting a murder," I said, which opened another round of
laughter. It was rather funny, but it made me realize that is what I do when I am bored. I send my mind into a plot, whether starting a book or mired in the middle of one. I picture characters, hunt for something to twist. It's mind exercise, I guess you could call it. When you decide to write a lot, whether part-time seriously or fulltime for a living, never
waste a moment of time. Let your eyes, ears, nose, and mind go to the possibilities that you can include in your work. It is indeed exercise, teaching your senses instinctively to gather intel. No time to be bored as a writer. Instead, it's opportunity to collect material.
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EVERY WORD COUNTS
A reader queried me this week, asking how to send their word to a traditional press. Big ask, because they write entire courses and books on the subject, but I tried to give them an abridged version. First, you don't send the entire manuscript. He asked if he needed a dedication page, the front matter, etc. and I had to explain to him that they have to like your writing first. This isn't about formatting and the extra material of a book nor your bio. It's about sending one to three chapters (sometimes only a first page) to a publisher to see if they like what they see. Not the full manuscript. Second, you prepare a query letter where every word counts. EVERY.WORD.HAS.TO.COUNT. That query has to make an editor (or agent) want to read more. Even if it's talking about who you are or the brief 100-word synopsis of your book. They might never read that one to three chapters if the pitch letter doesn't sing. Third, you only get one chance with each publisher and agent. If they reject you on this book, the book
is pretty much forever rejected. Unless they reply with suggestions and leave the door open for you, you are done with them. Bottom line . . . every word counts. The query, the synopsis, the first page, the first three chapters. Every word. But how will they know the book is any good is they don't read it? They
won't. Not unless the material leading up to it is pristine and eye catching. "That doesn't seem fair," has been said many times before about the process. However, these editors and agents do not have the time to read everyone's manuscript. The writers who take the painstaking time to prepare the query, et al to the level such they are intriguing to read, will likely have a book worth reading. Maybe, maybe not, but the truth is, if the
introduction doesn't sing, the rest doesn't stand a chance. Every word has to count.
-April 23, 2025 - Artist 5 Show, Newberry Opera House, Newberry, SC - 6 PM Eastern - OPEN TO THE PUBLIC -May 3, 2025 - Pelion Library Book Club, 206 Pine St, Pelion, SC, Saturday, 1-2PM Eastern -May 4, 2025 - Zoom, North Carolina Writers Network, "Contests: Fact and Fiction," 1PM Eastern -May 8, 2025 - Writer's Digest Webinar, Finding Funds for Writers, 1PM Eastern -May 13, 2025 - The Blake at Woodcreek Farms, talk on Edisto series, Elgin, SC - 1PM -May 17, 2025 - Speaking of Writing Expo, New Bern, NC - 8-4:30PM Eastern - OPEN TO THE PUBLIC -June 7-14, 2025 - Gutsy Great Novelist Retreat, Bar Harbor, Maine
Email: hope@chopeclark.com to schedule events, online or otherwise.
"I'm writing a first draft and reminding myself that I'm simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles."
- Shannon Hale, American author
<<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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Writing with a Back-Up Reader
By Alex J. Coyne
I was surprised when a copywriting client pointed out “weird phrasing and spelling mistakes” in my work, then I worried their concerns were true. Writing tired had become the norm for a while, and the stress of late nights was beginning to show. This pushed me to hire a single, permanent beta-reader—someone
who could brainstorm some ideas and check drafts with me. Here’s how writers can improve their flow by working with one particular back-up reader. Writer’s Block (Or Desk Fright) Writer’s block is the inability to write what feels good enough for submission. I sometimes call it desk fright—and like stage fright, it takes the pressure off to imagine that you’re only performing for one person instead of a whole audience. What if I only
imagined a single reader while writing? Could my style return to its former quality? About Beta-Readers and First Eyes I asked DJ and producer Flash Wrldwide if she would be my primary reader and brainstorming partner in 2025. We’re from different worlds, but a disc jockey has particularly sharp
eyes and coordination skills. Mixing music means you have to be fast with your eyes, keys, and mind. Flash fit in with my thought processes, my pace, plus, she’s excellent at turning a phrase. If my phrasing got weird, she’s the first to point it out before a client sees it. A beta-reader doesn’t have to be a professional editor. Instead, I chose Flash because she’s knowledgeable, a fast reader and a blunt critic. We can discuss sentences, ideas, and full pieces without
restriction or embarrassment—she often sees where I’m headed without explanation, because we like much of the same authors and art. Beta-readers are your first eyes, and your intended first reader. They’re someone you can trust, and someone you trust enough to show first writing—but simultaneously, they should always be someone who doesn’t lie to you for brownie points. When my writing or ideas aren’t as good as I thought, I know Flash will point it out.
Reading through things with Flash catches mistakes I would’ve missed on my own. Writing With Someone Trusted Since writing with Flash’s oversight, my phrasing is better, and publication is more frequent. It helps having a trusted someone whose thoughts help me direct where specific pieces could go. I organize submission guidelines and do the writing, but Flash has become my gauge for which ideas are good—and which
paragraphs or ideas won’t fit. Before an editor sees a complicated piece, Flash and I have read through it once if not twice, and she’s voiced her thoughts. Flash has a little more control than beta-readers. If she says something is unpublishable or has to change, I listen—her practical business and media experience outmatches mine. She holds s professional edge I admire. I don’t show Flash every single writing job, however, but when I’m tired or unsure,
I’ll get in touch. I’ve asked Flash to read pieces like Number One Cities and Everywhere Else—a 2025 story about Cape Town, a city she has visited and I haven’t! The Impact of First Reading Incorporating another person impacts the business side of things, too. My website has a
permalink to Flash’s Linktree, and I’ve made full disclosure to clients that I use another writer or beta-reader to confer. Because Flash sees things before clients or editors might, putting privacy concerns at rest means I automatically tell clients that we work together on some projects. If a client takes issue, I consider whether or not we need to part ways or I
don’t use Flash. A few days ago, I sent Flash a short story—and after this, I heard from the compilers that it was accepted for an upcoming 2025 collection. Great news, and I wouldn’t have rewritten it for publication the same without thinking of Flash as its primary
reader. A trusted beta-reader could mean writing with more confidence and having a better intuitive gauge of what works when published. About the Author: Alex J. Coyne is a journalist, author, and proofreader. He has written for a variety of publications and websites, with a radar calibrated for gothic, gonzo, and the weird. Sometimes, he co-writes with others.
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WOW! FLASH FICTION CONTEST
https://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php
$10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline: May 31, 2025. Seeking flash fiction of any genre between
250 and 750 words. Open internationally. Limit: 300 entries. First Place: $400, publication, interview, and $25 Amazon Gift Certificate. Second Place $300 and same. Third Place $200 and same. Seven Runners Up receive $25 Amazon Gift Cards, publication and interview. Ten Honorable mentions receive $20 Amazon Gift Card. Top 10 stories are published in the WOW! Women On Writing e-zine, and contestants are interviewed on WOW's blog, The Muffin. WOW! CREATIVE NONFICTION ESSAY CONTEST
https://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php#EssayContest
$12 ENTRY FEE. Deadline April 30, 2025. Seeking creative nonfiction on any topic (1000 words or less) and in any style--from personal essay and memoir to lyric essay and hermit crab, and more. The mission of
this contest is to reward bravery in real-life storytelling and create an understanding of our world through thoughtful, engaging narratives. Open internationally. Limit 300 entries. Prizes (20 winners!). First Place: $500, publication, interview, and gift from CreateWriteNow's Store. Second Place: $300, publication, interview, and CreateWriteNow's Store. Third Place: $200, publication, interview, and CreateWriteNow's Store. Seven Runners Up receive $25 Amazon Gift Cards, publication, interview,
and CreateWriteNow's Store. Ten Honorable mentions receive a gift code good for one item from CreateWriteNow's Store. REFAD MAGAZINE SHORT STORY CONTEST
https://readmagazine.substack.com/p/short-story-contest-2025-w-reading
$5 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May
31, 2025. First Prize: $200. Second Prize: $100. Third Prize: $50. READ is NOT a publication for genre fiction such as romance, mystery, or sci-fi that tightly adheres to genre tropes. We will consider genre fiction that is fresh, pushes boundaries, and can be appreciated by many readers. Submitters must be subscribed to the free version of READ to be considered for publication. Limit 3500 words. BETTY L. YU AND JIN C. YU
CREATIVE WRITING PRIZES
https://www.taiwaneseamerican.org/2025/03/2025-creative-writing-prize/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline April 18, 2025. Submissions will be considered in four categories: Middle School (enrolled in 6th-8th grade as of the deadline), High School (enrolled in high school as of the deadline),
College (enrolled in community college or as an undergraduate as of the deadline), Adult (in any stage of life beyond college). Grand Prize Winner: $500 – one selection per age category. Finalist: $200 – three selections per age category. Honorable Mention: $75 – at judge’s discretion per age category. In addition, each of the winners and finalists will have their submitted work published online by TaiwaneseAmerican.org and considered for publication in a future edition of Chrysanthemum: Voices
of the Taiwanese Diaspora. In order to be eligible, submissions must be from writers of Taiwanese heritage (or writers with other significant connections to Taiwan), or have subject matter otherwise relevant to the Taiwanese or Taiwanese American experience. (Thanks to www.erikadreifus.com) THE LAUREL REVIEW
PROUD TO BE: WRITING BY AMERICAN WARRIORS CONTEST
https://thelaurelreview.submittable.com/submit
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline August 26, 2025. Submission to this anthology is open to veterans, military-service personal, and their families. Poetry: up to 3 poems (5 pages maximum). Keep poems in one document. Short Fiction & Essay:
5,000-word limit. The annual contest awards a $250 prize in each: Short Fiction, Poetry, Essay, Photography. (Thanks to www.erikadreifus.com)
GRANTS / FELLOWSHIP / CROWDFUNDING MENTAL HEALTH FELLOWSHIP
https://form.jotform.com/250274476904158
Deadline April 21, 2025. The Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow is offering a fellowship to a writer
working on a short or long work of non-fiction focusing on how they (the writer or another) have managed, and continue to manage, their mental illness. This personal story should offer not just insight and awareness, but most importantly, hope. The writer should share their dreams, and how they adjust and fine-tune them. Stories focused on relationships, family life, travel, employment, civic contributions, passions, along with the barriers, fears, and stigmas faced, are encouraged. The
fellowship winner will receive a two-week residency to allow the recipient to focus completely on their work. Location Eureka Springs, AR. ALFRED BRADLEY BURSARY AWARD
https://www.bbc.co.uk/writers/opportunities/alfred-bradley-bursary-award/
Deadline
April 21, 2025. An opportunity for writers based in the North of England who are new to writing for audio. It offers a £5,000 bursary to the winner as well as the chance of a Radio 4 Drama commission. You must reside in the North of England on a permanent / full time basis. ALL ENGLAND LAWN TENNIS CLUB ALAN LITTLE BURSARY
https://idrottsforum.org/the-all-england-lawn-tennis-club-announces-the-2025-alan-little-bursary-for-research-into-tennis-history-closing-date-is-april-21-2025/
Deadline April 21, 2025. The value of the Bursary is £3,500 (to be paid in two instalments) and the
money should be used to cover expenses involved in research, including visits to the Kenneth Ritchie Wimbledon Library. The project should be completed within one year, at the end of which the completed research of 8,000 – 10,000 words should be lodged with the library. The winner of the Bursary will be invited to speak at Wimbledon’s 2025 Tennis History Conference, to be held on Tuesday 9 December 2025. We encourage Bursary submissions that tie in with the conference theme of ‘Trailblazers in
Tennis’.
BIG BUDS
https://bigbudsmag.com/how-to-contribute-cannabis-content-to-big-buds-magazine/
Big Buds is on a mission to bring you all the insider intel on the cannabis industry, including the latest on
cultivation, lifestyle, current affairs, business and more. To that end, we’re now accepting submissions and pitches from experienced cannabis writers. Writing is open to anyone over the age of 18 — regardless of where you live — though respondents who live near industry centers (Los Angeles, New York, the Pacific Northwest, Colorado, Washington, D.C., etc) might be privy to additional opportunities (interviews, events, politics, etc). ADDITUDE
https://www.additudemag.com/contact-us/contributors-guidelines/
The editors of the ADDitude web site are always seeking fresh voices to tell the story of living and thriving with ADHD. We are looking for blog posts by parents, adults with ADHD, educators, spouses, and experts. The best bloggers write about their
personal experiences and share the strategies/tools that work best for them. Please send a 500- to 800-word sample blog post covering the topic you’d like to blog about. Pays $100-200. SKIN DEEP
https://skindeepmag.com/submissions
Skin Deep makes space for Black creatives and creatives of colour
to work towards justice. We pay £150-£300 per piece, depending on the scale and scope of the work. There is a separate process for submitting to the print magazine. Sign up to our monthly newsletter to be notified when submissions open for the next print issue. We publish slower work, which is less reactive to the short news cycle, but still considers our social contexts. We like stories that go below the surface, exploring the social, political, and economic forces shaping our world. Original
angles and takes that challenge the norm. We publish all kinds of formats and mediums. This includes first-person and opinion; reviews; interviews; creative writing; visual art; audio; deeply researched pieces and investigations; and experimental formats that push at the bounds of genre. THE DIAL
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XY7MTOFosDzWElg5nyyxyNIM5DLqvI-rP3yNbKem0YQ/edit?tab=t.0
The Dial is a new online magazine of culture, politics, and ideas with a focus on locally sourced writing from around the world. We welcome pitches for original reporting, pieces of criticism, and works of literature or translation. Most of our features
will run about 2,000-3,000 words. We are focused on stories from outside the United States. To pitch us a work of reporting or criticism tied to one of our themes, please send us a pitch of a few paragraphs (around 250 words). We are open to fiction and poetry in translation, especially that which fits within our themes (and here, we encourage a very loose interpretation.) Please send a short pitch with a sample of the work under consideration. Our general rate is $250 for an excerpt and around
$400 for unpublished work. You can find our current job listings on our Careers page and we always welcome pitches and introductions at editorial@thekitchn.com . NEW LINES MAGAZINE
https://newlinesmag.com/pitch/
New Lines Magazine publishes essays and reportage on a wide range of subjects that focus
broadly on the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. We also cover politics, culture and controversies in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Russia and Central Asia, and conduct deep-dive investigative journalism based on open-source intelligence and leaked data. When pitching us cold, please follow these best practices and try to keep it under 300 words. Pays $800 per article. FROM THE DESK OF AMY SUTO POETRY REQUEST
https://i7ovyza83n8.typeform.com/poempitchcall
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline April 30, 2025. From the Desk of Amy Suto is commissioning a 250-word poem from a writer, and the rate is $500. The topic is this: what was a moment when you had to have "creative courage" in your writing journey? This could be for your own work, work you were
hired to do, or another creative moment that required bravery. Looking for poetry that feels visceral and creative - words that could kindle a fire in someone else to locate the source of their own bravery on the page. This pitch call is for GuestStack, the creative column inside From the Desk of Amy Suto — a Substack newsletter and writing job board with over 7,600+ readers. Amy is a six-figure freelance writer, author, and helping writers make storytelling their full-time job. CHESTNUT REVIEW
https://chestnutreview.submittable.com/submit
April 1-June 30: reading for Autumn Issue (October 15th release)
July 1-Sept 30: reading for Winter Issue (January 15th release)
Oct 1-Dec 31: reading for Spring Issue (April 15th release)
Any artist from
anywhere in the world may submit. Payment is US $120 per piece, delivered on publication. We only issue payments via Paypal. Accepts flash, poetry and prose. No submission fee except for prose which is only $5.
TARTARUS PRESS
http://www.tartaruspress.com/submissions.html
We are open to submissions. We are looking for short story collections and novels within the strange/supernatural tradition between 70,000 and 90,000 words. Please do familiarise
yourself with what we publish before submitting. In the first instance, please send a maximum of three stories/chapters (we will request the whole manuscript if it looks promising), as a Word or PDF attachment to an email to: ray@tartaruspress.com SPOTIFY AUDIOBOOKS SHORT STORIES NEEDED
https://sites.google.com/spotify.com/short-form-audiobooks/make-a-submission
Submit your short-form stories to Spotify Audiobooks, our in house audiobook publisher, for publication consideration. Here's what we're looking for. A novelette of approximately 10,000-20,000 words, written specifically for audio. A story that sounds great read out loud, featuring sharp characters, atmospheric settings, and engaging dialogue that leaves the listener
feeling something and wanting more. Focus on three genres: romance, mystery/thriller, or sci-fi/fantasy (cross-genre appeal encouraged, such as romantasy, dark romance thriller, mystery sci-fi, or psychological thriller). Note: Please do not submit erotica or children's content. If Spotify makes an offer for your audiobook rights and you accept, Spotify will publish the audiobook. Spotify will pay an advance and royalties, and manage all aspects of the production process. You're welcome to
promote, market, and distribute the work in other formats (ebook, paper) and platforms (KDP, Ingram Spark, Kobo, etc.). PENMORE PRESS
https://www.penmorepress.com/submissions/
Penmore Press accepts manuscripts in most genres of adult fiction and nonfiction. We are not publishing self-help
books, romance novels, or young adult fiction at the present time. In general, only manuscripts with word counts between 75,000 and 150,000 will be considered. Penmore Press is a paperless company—hard copies will not be reviewed or returned. BATTLE FLAG BOOKS
https://www.koehlerbooks.com/submit-your-work/
Battle Flag Books is a military imprint of Köehler Books, and is dedicated to serving active, inactive and retired United States military armed forces authors, along with their family members and military-affiliated writers.
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 2000-2025, 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
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