VOLUME 25, ISSUE 33 | AUGUST 15, 2025 |
GHOSTWRITERS I always carry a book with me, and this week was no different as I packed the grandsons in the car for weekly Ju Jitsu. The book was titled The Ghostwriter, by Julie Clark. Of course that prompted the question, "What is a ghostwriter?" I explained that a ghostwriter is a writer hired to write anonymously for another person. "Why don't the people just write their own books?" came the next question. "Not everybody can write a book." "Why not?" "They don't want to invest the time to learn, or they prefer to master another profession but still want their story told." "So they are secret?" "Most of the time. Sometimes they are given credit. Helps
them become more famous if their name is shared on the cover, but most of the time it's not. It's just another way to make a living as a writer." "Still don't know why those people don't just write their own book." From the mouths of babes. That's how a chunk of the public envisions book writing. If they had the time, they'd write it. That's why it is important when you are
indeed writing your own book, that it is written so fabulously well that the reader realizes they never could have written it. |
FREE Webinar to fast track your writing success
 Let’s get your memoir into the world… Do you have a memoir you long to write … but aren’t sure how to go from story idea to published book?
On Wednesday, August 27 join award-winning authors Nicole Breit and Rowan McCandless for a FREE webinar that will help you move past blocks, write your book and share it with the world.
Learn more & sign up for the free webinar!
In this 75-minute webinar and Q&A you’ll learn: - The most common mistake writers make when starting a memoir project
- An approach to completing your manuscript that will save you hours of time and unnecessary stress
- How Rowan overcame blocks like fear + resistance when drafting her
award-winning memoir.
- Key takeaways to streamline your journey from story idea to finished
manuscript
- Details about the Spark Your Story Intensive, a 12-week program for writers who want 1:1 personalized support as they
work on their memoir-in-progress.
Learn more & sign up for the free
webinar!
Meet your webinar hosts… Nicole Breit is a multi-award winning author whose work has been widely published in Canada and the US. Her poetry and creative nonfiction have appeared in Room, Brevity, The Fiddlehead, Pithead Chapel, Swelling with Pride: Queer Conception and Adoption Stories
and Getting to the Truth: The Craft and Practice of Creative Nonfiction. Nicole’s award winning lyric essay “An Atmospheric Pressure” was selected as a Notable by the editors of Best American Essays 2017. She is the co-author of Bloom: Letters on Girlhood with Claire Sicherman (Caitlin Press, 2025).
Rowan McCandless is an award-winning author of fiction and creative nonfiction who writes from Treaty 1 territory. Her debut memoir,
Persephone’s Children: A Life in Fragments, co-won the Eileen McTavish Sykes Award for Best First Book in 2022 and was a finalist for the 2022 Governor General’s Award for Nonfiction. She has been longlisted for the Journey Prize, won the Constance Rooke Creative Non-fiction Prize, and received gold for One of a Kind Storytelling at the National Magazine Awards. Rowan is the CNF editor
with The Fiddlehead.
Learn more & sign up for the free
webinar!
Important registration details…
Immediately on signing up you’ll receive an email in your inbox with the subject line “You’re in!”
If you don't see your confirmation email in your inbox immediately after signing up please check your spam or junk folder.
Any questions? Please contact info@sparkyourstory.com for support.
Learn more & sign up for the free
webinar!
DON'T FORGET TRADE PUBLICATIONS
While at a recent writing retreat, an attendee cornered me, asking questions about entering the freelance writing industry. She told me what she'd like to write about, but she felt she really wasn't an
expert at anything. So I mined her life. That lady left floating off the ground, so thrilled, so empowered, and so endowed with ideas that I couldn't help but laugh aloud. She made my day, and, apparently, I made hers. Everyone forgets trade magazines. There's little romantic or enthusiastic about these publications, but they are highly targeted publications with a solid
readership base. They are funded by targeted advertising, and they usually answer back and pay more quickly than the average mag that goes out to the general public. Trades cater to certain professions, hobbyists, and enthusiasts. From how to make jewelry to managing police department. From airlines to pizza restaurants. From teaching to lawyering. From agriculture to architecture. I could go on and on. Another retreat attendee had published in general areas, but not in the area in which she worked....that of being a chef. SHe wanted to branch out writing in the food industry but was worried she had no clips. No worry, I said. Pitch yourself as an expert, as the chef you are, not as a writer. Let your expertise come through in the article you pitch and don't mention clips. Write an article on spec if you have to. Just don't mention you've never published
in your niche. Think outside the box. What are you an expert at? Pitch those magazines. I have published in landscape magazines multiple times, not based on my writing experience, but on my agronomy degree and my history working in agriculture. Writing was never mentioned. I landed a half dozen gigs that paid fairly well. Do a search for TRADE MAGAZINES or TRADE PUBLICATIONS.
Here are a few: https://www.webwire.com/industrylist.asp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_trade_magazines
https://www.magazineline.com/professional-trade-magazines
Want to Write a Story That Works? Start Here.
Most writers spend years chasing conflicting advice and still can't finish a draft they're proud of.
There's a better way.
The Story Grid is a
proven method for mastering the craft of storytelling—used by editors, bestselling authors, and thousands of writers around the world.
We're giving away the full digital edition of The Story Grid—completely free.
Inside, you'll learn:
✅ Why most stories fall apart
✅ The 5 key moments every scene needs
✅ A step-by-step method to analyze and improve your writing
Whether you're just starting out or you've been writing for years, this book will help you finally understand what makes a story work—and how to fix the ones that don't.
-Aug 30, 2025 - Signing Edisto Bookstore, Edisto Island, SC - 3-5 PM -Sept 9, 2025 - Chapin Library, Chapin, SC - 1-2 PM -Oct 13, 2025 - Edisto Art Guild, Edisto Island, SC - 7-9 PM -Oct 14, 2025 - Moncks Corner Book Club, MC Train Depot, 100
Behrman St, Moncks Corner, SC - time TBD -Nov 22, 2025 - Christmas Market - 8AM-2PM - ICRC Rec Ctr, Chapin, SC
Email: hope@chopeclark.com to schedule events, online or otherwise. “I am learning all the time. The tombstone will be my diploma.” – Eartha Kitt
Hope - One of my favorite sections of the newsletter is the Grants/Fellowships/Crowdfunding section because I'm always on the lookout for a great retreat. Early this year, you posted about the Byrdcliffe Artists in Residence program located in Woodstock, NY. It is located on the historic artist colony created by Jane and Ralph Whitehead. I sent in the necessary information and got an acceptance letter for a 26-day stay during their third summer session. I'm here now and am loving every minute of it. Because it is an artist residency and not just a writer's, I'm here with painters, sculptors, potters, mask makers, print designers, and a variety of writers including a
playwright and a poet. In the first week, I've written two flash stories for two different competitions, a short story for possible inclusion in a literary magazine, and 5,000 words toward my novel-in-progress. Thank you so much for sharing these opportunities on your newsletter! Teri M. Brown
"Connecting Readers with Characters They'd Love to Invite to Lunch"
Host of Online for Authors podcast, TEDx Speaker, and Author
www.terimbrown.com
Email: brown.teri.m@gmail.com
<<If you have a success story you believe was prompted by FundsforWriters, please share with us! Send to hope@chopeclark.com >>
|
|
|
Writing What AI Can’t
By Alex J. Coyne Artificial intelligence has led to job losses and client cut backs. However, it’s important to notice that AI has been used mostly to replace impersonal, cheap copywriting or content jobs. High-quality sites and news-worthy publications won’t replace their authors with artificial intelligence anytime soon. If you’re an author, your stories are still human enough to
sell to the right market—but still, fewer authors are making an income from copywriting. Writing and the Human Element The type of client who chooses to replace human authors with Artificial Intelligence isn’t the kind of publication or client an author wants. Usually, these are entities that never paid their human writers what they were worth anyway, so for these companies, using AI is just another reach for cheap
results. Focus selling your stories to publications, literary journals, and websites where content expresses clear human elements. Essays, personal stories, and interviews hinge on human elements and interaction outside of AI’s scope. Only Gay Talese could have written Frank Sinatra Has a Cold (1966),
and my account of living with connective tissue disorder (Spider Hands) was unique and human. Writing About AI Even writing about artificial intelligence needs a human writer who understands the topic. Learn about AI instead of fearing its applications. Pitch to
tech-publications or essay markets, usually about artificial intelligence and how it’s affecting writers. Of course, that means you have to understand it. Digital Mescaline (2025) sold to Voertaal and explored flaws in computerized research versus human knowledge. Deus Ex Machina (2024) sold to LitNet and looked at how generative machine learning affects authors and artists. Talking about AI from a human’s perspective could sell your next story. My FundsforWriters piece Can Writers Stop or Slow AI? told authors how to protect their work from AI violations. Authors can also write AI fiction, as suggested in Writing the AI Character as published in Writers Write. Writing
Essays An essay is a short article focusing on the author’s thoughts or observations. Some authors have become especially known for their thought-provoking or evocative essays. They often have a slanted voice of some sort. Essays are excellent author-to-reader connections. That’s why markets and literary journals buy them. Readers enjoy essays for the focus of the piece as accented by the author’s voice or style. The Wild Hunt
published an essay on inaccuracies in podcasts (2025) as an international, personal perspective piece. AI couldn’t have written this, because it came from a real author’s point-of-view. Effective essays have personality, puns, style,
and your voice. Voertaal featured Leaving Your X (2025) when I’d written about recent social media experiences. Similarly, this perspective essay about translation and its value featured in the August 2024 LitNet newsletter. Literary Ladies’ Guide published this essay about Zelda Fitzgerald’s writing that I’d written from—again—personal
perspective. Telling Your Personal Stories Very personal stories can also sell to magazines, literary journals, and websites. A Medium-based publication purchased this story about my genetic connective tissue disorder, which rested
on my perspective of being diagnosed and living with it. Voertaal purchased The Crossroads in South Africa’s Language Gap (April 2025), focusing on my experiences with different languages living in Southern Africa. What can you write about that another author (or
impersonal artificial intelligence) can’t? Personal stories get candid and create connections between authors, readers, and perspectives: they’re essays with more room for the author’s personality. Some of my own essays and personal stories are set to be published by Dark Moon Press in
2025.
Uniqueness, not AI, sells authors to readers. Selling Interviews Interviews are another story requiring interaction between the author and subject. Seize opportunities for interview-based markets—magazines and literary journals, but popular websites, too. I interviewed mystic and author Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, and I interviewed celebrities about technology for Maroela Media in 2024. I was even lucky enough to interview card players (and
teachers) for the ACBL Educational Foundation 2025 Spring Annual Report. My point is that interviews are beyond artificial intelligence’s scope, and people still read them for the human elements. Anywhere a story requires you to speak to people (or get involved as a
person) it could sell as a human-driven feature in a world filled with cheap, AI content writing. About the Author: Alex J. Coyne is a journalist, author, and proofreader. He has written for an array of publications and websites, with a radar calibrated for gothic, gonzo, and the weird.
|
FOOL FOR POETRY CHAPBOOK/PAMPHLET COMPETITION
https://munsterlit.ie/fool-for-poetry/
€25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline August 31, 2025. Top Prize €1000, publication of chapbook, accommodation and reading slot
at Cork International Poetry Festival. The competition is open to new, emerging and established poets from any country. At least one of these winners will be the highest scoring manuscript entered by a poet with no solo collection (full-length or chapbook) previously published. The other winner may have previously published poetry books. Up to 25 other entrants will be publicly listed as “highly commended”. Manuscripts must be between 16 and 24 pages in length, in the English language and the
sole work of the entrant with no pastiches, translations or versions. The poems can be in verse or prose. 1st Prize €1000; Chapbook publication and 25 complimentary copies; Featured reading at the Cork International Poetry Festival (with three-night hotel stay and full board). 2nd Prize: €500; Chapbook publication and 25 complimentary copies; Featured reading at the Cork International Poetry Festival (with three-night hotel stay and full board). SOUTHWARD EDITOR'S POETRY AWARD
https://munsterlit.ie/southwordeditoraward/
€24 ENTRY FEE. Deadline September 30, 2025. Each entry allows three poems. €1,000 for the best entry of three poems. The winning poet will have their three poems published in Southword. All entries receive complementary subscription to
the journal Southword. GREGORY O'DONOGHUE INTERNATIONAL POETRY COMPETITION
https://munsterlit.ie/odonoghue-competition/
ENTRY FEE €7 EUR per poem (or €30 EUR for a batch of five), $7 USD per poem (or $30 USD for a batch of five), or £6 GBP per poem (or £25 GBP for a batch of five).
Deadline November 30, 2025. The competition is open to original, unpublished and unbroadcasted poems in the English language of 40 lines or fewer. The poem can be on any subject, in any style, by a writer of any nationality, living anywhere in the world. 1st Prize €2,000; Featured reading at the Cork International Poetry Festival (with four-night hotel stay and full board); Featured on the Southword Poetry Podcast; Publication in Southword. 2nd Prize €500; Publication in
Southword. 3rd prize €250; Publication in Southword. Ten Runners-Up €50; Publication in Southword. In a social justice initiative, the Munster Literature Centre is offering free entries of two poems each for thirty poets currently residing in a developing country (Africa, Central and South America, South East Asia, the Philippines, in the main) who do not have the financial means to pay the entrance fee. WILD ATLANTIC WRITING
AWARD
https://www.irelandwritingretreat.com/wawa
ENTRY FEE 10 EURO. Deadline August 31, 2025. Secrets, the new theme of our WAWA competition. Stories should be no more than 500 words and the word ‘secrets’ cannot be used in your story title or in the story itself. Winners in each category will receive 500 euro in cash, or 1,000
euro off any of our writing retreats in 2025 or 2026. Flash fiction or creative nonfiction accepted. We accept previously published work (as long as the writer still retains the rights) and unpublished work. We welcome entrants worldwide. BLACK FOX LITERARY "FEAST" CONTEST
https://blackfoxlitmag.com/contests/
$12 ENTRY FEE. Deadline August 31, 2025. The theme for this round is “Feast.” Please submit your strongest fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, and we will choose one winner that we feel interprets the theme best. The prize is $325 and print publication in the Winter 2026 issue. All submissions are considered for print publication in the Winter 2026 issue. GRANTS / FELLOWSHIP / CROWDFUNDING VERMONT ARTIST DEVELOPMENT GRANTS
https://www.vermontartscouncil.org/grants/find-a-grant/artists/artist-development/
Deadline September 7, 2025. Artist
Development Grants support Vermont artists at all stages of their careers. Grants can fund activities that enhance mastery of an artist’s craft or skills or that increase the viability of an artist’s business. Funding may also support aspects of the creation of new work when the activity allows the grantee to accept a rare and important opportunity. Grants are up to $2,000. HAMBIDGE CENTER RESIDENCIES
https://www.hambidge.org/guidelines-apply
Deadline September 15, 2025. The oldest residency program in the Southeast (northern Georgia), Hambidge provides a self-directed program that honors the creative process and trusts individuals to know what they need to cultivate their talent, whether it’s to work and produce, to think, to experiment or to
rejuvenate. Residents’ time is their own; there are no workshops, critiques, nor required activities. Each resident is given their own private studio which provides work and living space with a bathroom and full kitchen. The studios are designed to protect residents’ time, space and solitude. Resident groups are intentionally kept small enough (8-10 people) to gather around the dinner table each evening. MACDOWELL RESIDENCY
https://www.macdowell.org/apply/apply-for-fellowship
Deadline September 10, 2025. About 300 artists in seven disciplines are awarded Fellowships each year and the sole criterion for acceptance is artistic excellence. There are no residency fees, and need-based stipends and travel reimbursement grants are available to open the
residency to the broadest possible community of artists. MacDowell encourages applications from artists of all backgrounds and all countries in the following disciplines: architecture, film/video, interdisciplinary arts, literature, music composition, theatre, and visual arts. OX-BOW CULINARY ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
https://ox-bow.submittable.com/submit/ae72065c-c40c-409d-9237-fbbf63bb46ec/culinary-artist-in-residency-at-ox-bow
Deadline September 30, 2025. The Ox-Bow Culinary Artist in Residency is a unique program designed to support and elevate artists working at the intersection of food and art. Application and
participation is not limited to creators with traditional fine arts training, but open to anyone who identifies as having a creative practice that considers food material – whether as research, or as a conceptual, sculptural, performative and/or event based practice. Successful applicants receive room and board and a $350 travel stipend per trip, $200 materials budget for the winter residency, and $1500 artist fee, materials budget and program support for the Taste of Ox-Bow event. NEVADA PROJECT GRANTS - CYCLE B
https://www.nvartscouncil.org/fy26-project-grant-for-artists-guidelines/
Deadline September 2, 2025. Up to $3,000. Must be a Nevada resident. Funds may be used for relevant project expenses including applicant,
collaborating, and/or production artist fees, facility costs (such as space rental), equipment (up to $500), consumable materials/supplies, production costs/materials, marketing and promotion, travel (accommodation and transportation only), and contracted services. CASA UNO RESIDENCY
https://mostlydance.com/1830-2/
Deadline September 15, 2025. Located in the Central Valley of Costa Rica, the residency takes place on a beautiful property that provides an opportunity for one to three artists simultaneously to have meaningful interactions and stimulating discussions while pursuing their own individual projects in an inspiring natural setting. Taking applications for 2026 residencies.
RED CAP
https://repcap.com/en-us/
https://nvznj.share.hsforms.com/2U2Ex7SomRB6Dp3lUzctW1A
Our audience
is HR and talent leaders in healthcare — people making decisions about compliance, credentialing, workforce development, and the future of work in hospitals and health systems. You'd be writing about topics like ... How blockchain is being used to verify credentials for health care professionals; Evolving CME requirements for prescribing opioids; The trends reshaping healthcare talent retention. You'd be writing two to four 1,500 word blog posts per month. We'll provide detailed briefs for each
post, with target keywords and the client POV. Our standard comp is $500-$750 per 1,500 word post, depending on how much effort it takes to make the copy client ready. Intelligent use of AI is highly welcome. (If you’re doing it right, neither your editor, your reader nor Google will know or care). FRIVOLOUS COMMA
https://airtable.com/apper6FbNkjWHqir8/pagOxvVZKasMJfFP0/form?ref=frivolouscomma.com
Frivolous will pay $125 per article with between 1000 and 2500 words. That includes book reviews. Reviews/book round-ups through a personal/memoir lens (note: we prefer reviews that focus on positive aspects of books; that is, “who this is for” rather than “who this
isn’t for”). AMERICAN CRAFT!
https://craftcouncil.org/magazine/writers-guidelines/
Stories are generally assigned at 400–2,000 words. Our pay is $.50–$1.00/word, depending on the assignment. We welcome a diversity of voices and feature a wide array of artists and makers. We
produce stories for people who value the handcrafted over the manufactured, artists, collectors, and independent thinkers with a keen interest in the creative process—including materials, techniques, and processes. We value writers who can craft content for a general creative audience with clarity and insight. We love good reporting, incisive quotes, lively storytelling, and meaningful essays. Themes and topics on the website. POETS
& WRITERS MAGAZINE
https://www.pw.org/about-us/about_poets_%26amp%3B_writers_magazine
Our editorial content is divided into the following four sections. News & Trends: brief articles (500-1,200 words) that keep our readers abreast of pertinent information in the writing and publishing industries. The Literary Life:
essays (1,500-2,500 words) on the more contemplative aspects of writing, ranging from creative process to the art of reading. The Practical Writer: advice and how-to articles (1,500-2,500 words) that offer nuts and bolts information about the business of creative writing. Features: profiles of and interviews with (2,000-3,000 words) contemporary writers who reflect the rich diversity of current American literature. Other features include articles and essays (2,000-3,000 words), frequently
grouped into special sections, that provide an in-depth look at subjects of interest to creative writers, such as writers conferences and residencies, small presses, regional writing, and the distinctions of genre. FINE BOOKS MAGAZINE
https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/writing
Fine Books
& Collections is a magazine that caters to book collectors, bibliophiles, and enthusiasts of literary history. Pitch your timely tales about rare books and ephemera. Rates are $200-600 depending on length/reporting needs. Up to $600 per article. DEAD SKY PUBLISHING
https://deadskypublishing.com/submissions/
Dead Sky Publishing’s mission is to be the go-to destination for book-ish misfits. Our publishing efforts are focused on stories that are inherently dark, and bold in vision. We strive
to find new voices, explore new worlds, and to defy the conventional.
We seek dark fiction, non-fiction, and graphic novels in alignment with our mission in the following genres: horror, crime, thriller, mystery, science fiction, and fantasy. We are open for submissions and are looking for full-length manuscripts for standalone works, series, and short story collections (approximately 40k words – 90k words). FRACTURED MIRROR
PUBLISHING
https://www.fracturedmirrorpublishing.com/submissions
We are looking for novels that fall into the speculative fiction category. This is a large category including, but not limited to, dystopian, fantasy, and sci-fi genres. Submissions will close December 2025. Based on our current timeline, all queries will be considered for
2027/2028 publication. LITTLE RED TREE PUBLISHING
https://littleredtree.com/submissions/
Little Red Tree Publishing is currently accepting unsolicited full-length fiction and creative nonfiction manuscripts throughout the year. Translations and bi-lingual manuscripts will be considered, but
all work must be in the English language. CROSS RIVER MEDIA
https://crossrivermedia.com/about-crossriver-media/manuscript-submissions/
We publish inspirational fiction for adults including historical, biblical, romance and other genres. Our nonfiction
includes Bible study, Christian living, family and marriage, inspirational, and church growth. We do not publish children’s books, speculative fiction or young adult manuscripts at this time. LIBRARY TALES PUBLISHING
https://librarytalespublishing.com/pages/submissions
They
specialize in self-help books, drawing books, nonfiction titles (history, science, psychology, and business), enthralling memoirs, fiction (contemporary, mystery, romance, and others). 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
receive. Direct any complaints, suggestions, and accolades to Hope Clark at hope@fundsforwriters.com. We are an anti-spam site. | |
|
|
|
