VOLUME 25, ISSUE 40 | OCTOBER 3, 2025

NOTHING LIKE A BIRTHDAY

My birthday is October 1. I've always liked that date. It announces fall. It is the government new year, and I spent 25 years with them. It's a clean number - 1001, and yes, I used to use it as a password. 

But these days, with so many birthdays behind me and not so many ahead, I use it to ponder what matters. I enter it scared as to who forgets about me on my special day, but I always wind up so happy at who has. This year that mindset taught me a lot.

The good far outweighed the bad, and I ended the day on a very high note. Y'all may not realize it, but I can easily see the bad more than the good in something. I'd been sadly disappointed by something on the eve of my birthday, but I told myself the next morning not to dread what could go wrong but look for what is right and good and fun. I mean, I dug in and vowed to only see the fun.

The result was the best day ever.

I preach it but sometimes forget to look for the sparks in life in lieu of the ashes. It really does work in making you feel lighter, brighter, happier, and more worthwhile.

C. Hope Clark
Editor, FundsforWriters
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EDITOR'S THOUGHTS

EVEN STEPHEN KING

I have preached many times about being careful promoting your religious, political, and social opinions. Yes, you have the right. But also, others have the right to delete, cancel, and cease reading your work when they can't put that off to the side when they see your work.

Stephen King expressed his opinion recently that hurt his sales. Some bookstores ceased carrying his books. Rumor has it he lost a movie deal. The argument is that he had the right to speak his mind. Yes, he did. And bookstores and readers had the right to not read, buy, and promote him anymore.

Maybe he chose that route. Maybe he didn't quite realize the ramifications. Maybe he's made enough money not to care. Some say it was a mistake and others think he had the right. I agree with both sides.

But the bigger picture is this.

1) He damaged a reputation he spent a lifetime creating.
2) A lot of people who have his books on their bookshelf regret the time and money they invested in him.
3) A lot of employees have lost money in the publishing, bookselling, and movie business because of him being cancelled.

That last one is what resonates most. When you are successful, particularly at that level, it's not just about you. It's also about who dedicated their lives to aiding you. Agents, publishers, editors, movie employees, bookstore owners. On a lesser scale, the fan clubs, the book clubs, the general fans feel let down. They liked riding his wave.

If people look up to you, depend on you, appreciate you for your success, think twice before popping that bubble. 
 

SUPER SPONSOR

TWO WEEKS.
ONE PLUSH BATHROBE.
ZERO INTERRUPTIONS.

Imagine two glorious, all-expenses-paid weeks at a hotel to do nothing but write in solitude.

Free room service. A housekeeping staff. A breakfast bar. Your own TV remote. The sun rising over the Great Miami River (aka the Dayton Riviera).

And — most importantly — a “Do Not Disturb” sign.

Applications for the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop’s  A Hotel Room of One’s Own: The Erma Bombeck Humorist-in-Residence Program will be accepted Sept. 2-Oct. 6.

W. Bruce Cameron, prolific novelist and bestselling author of A Dog’s Purpose, and Wendy Liebman, veteran stand-up comic seen on HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central and late-night TV, will choose the two grand prize winners. Preference will be given to emerging humor writers. 

The package is worth approximately $5,000. The experience? Priceless. Cash prizes also will be awarded to finalists and honorable mentions.

Read the announcement and FAQs. Then apply here for what Forbes says "may be the best writer's residency in the country."

Deadline: Oct. 6
Fee: $30

HOPE'S APPEARANCES

-Oct 4, 2025 - Signing The Coffee Shelf, Chapin, SC 8AM-NOON

-Oct 11, 2025 - Signing The Edisto Island Bookstore, Edisto, SC - 3-5 PM

-Oct 13, 2025 - Edisto Art Guild, Edisto Island, SC - 7-8:30 PM

-Oct 14, 2025 - Moncks Corner Book Club, MC Train Depot, 100 Behrman St, Moncks Corner, SC - 3-6 PM

-Nov 22, 2025 - Christmas Market - 8AM-2PM - ICRC Rec Ctr, Chapin, SC

Email: hope@chopeclark.com to schedule  events, online or otherwise. 

SUCCESS QUOTE

“Memory feeds imagination.” – Amy Tan
 

SUCCESS STORY

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

FEATURED ARTICLE

MINING ALL OF YOUR INTERESTS FOR THE MOST PROFITABLE WRITING CAREER 
 

By Laura Yeager

Once upon a time, there was a girl, and from an early age (10), she knew she wanted to be a writer.  She went to college to study writing.  After she was done with her schooling, she got her first full-time teaching job.  This was in 1990.  But she ran into some bad luck in 1991.  She was diagnosed with bipolar illness.  And this wasn't the end of her experience with sickness.  Decades later, in 2011, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Yet, she wanted to look on the bright side, so she became a wedding speechwriter.  She got a dog to help her cope.  Her writing and her spirituality carried her through, and today, her bipolar disorder is managed, and she is cancer-free.

So, how does a freelance writer publish more and, consequently, make more money?  By mining all of her personal interests. Write about (almost) everything you know.  I say "almost" because there are some things writers should keep unwritten.  We all have our secrets, and this is good, even in the writing world.

Below are some of my interests (niches) and how I've turned them into publications and cash:

Education – As a teacher for over 40 years, I have something to say about life in a classroom.  My articles on education have appeared at Reading Today, The Adjunct Advocate and at Women in Higher Education.  All of these venues are paying markets, so I've managed to make money discussing aspects of teaching writing and literature.  For instance, I wrote an article about using disability literature in the writing classroom for Reading Today; this venue is now called Literacy Today.

Mental Health – As a person living with bipolar disorder since 1991, I know firsthand about dealing with a mental health issue.  I've written about this aspect of my life for Psych Central,  Abilities Magazine, Kaleidoscope Magazine and bp (bipolar) Magazine.  These are paying markets as well.  In the mental health area, I've written fiction and nonfiction takes on this subject.  For instance, for The Missouri Review I wrote a short story called "Having Anne," and once for bp Magazine, I wrote a humorous piece entitled "Missing My Mania."

Cancer – I've had two bouts of breast cancer and have written for Cure Today, a cancer website and magazine, for almost ten years.  My cancer experiences have been plentiful, and in my own way, I've racked up layperson expertise about the issue.  I'm a regular blogger at this venue.  For instance, a recent blog I wrote for Cure Today concerned a nurse who saved my life when I had an infection in my chest after my mastectomy.

Weddings -- Years ago, I took a job writing wedding speeches.  I did this for about a year for a company called Instant Wedding Toasts.  This enabled me to understand the topic well enough to compose "Want to Be a Wedding Speechwriter?" for The Toastmaster, in June of 2007.  Recently, I've written articles about wedding clothing, which I'm trying to market at a bride magazine.

Dogs -- My husband loves dogs and for this reason, we always have a pooch in the house.  Observing them over the years has given me knowledge of their behaviors and quirks.  I've turned this expertise into cash by writing articles at Dogster.com and Fetch Magazine.  An example of one of my dog articles, which was published at Dogster.com, is "Do Dogs Hold Grudges?"

Writing – I started writing early in my life, which makes for a lot of years' practice.  From this area of my life, I've written for several venues including FundsforWriters, Writers Weekly, The Writer Magazine and WOW.  

Religion – My lifetime as a Catholic has given me a wealth of knowledge about spirituality.  I've written about religion for Aleteia, Busted Halo, Guideposts, Angels on Earth, and The Liguorian.  For instance, one recent religious article concerned my learning of the naming of the new Pope Leo the XIV, for Busted Halo.

In conclusion, I recommend not sticking to one subject as a freelancer.  Try to write about (almost) everything you know.  You, the world and your pocketbook will be better off for it.

BIO - Laura Yeager is a cancer blogger at curetoday.com.  She teaches writing at Kent State University at Stark and creative writing at Gotham Writers.  She is currently looking for an agent for a middle grade novel that is set in the village where she grew up.

COMPETITIONS

BOULEVARD SHORT FICTION CONTEST FOR EMERGING WRITERS
https://www.boulevardmagazine.org/short-fiction-contest
$18 ENTRY FEE. Deadline December 31, 2025. Entry fee includes subscription. Limit 8000 words. $1,500 and publication in Boulevard awarded to the winning story by a writer who has not yet published a book of fiction, poetry, or creative non-fiction with a nationally distributed press.

NEXT GENERATION INDIE BOOK AWARDS 
https://www.indiebookawards.com/ 
$80 ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 13, 2026. Winners in each of the 80+ categories are given $100 cash prizes, gold medals, complimentary stickers, social media coverage, possible representation by a leading literary agent, and recognition as one of the top independently published books of the year. Three Grand Prize Winners will be selected from all entries received and will be awarded cash prizes of $1500, $750 and $500 based on their order of win. All Winners and Finalists are invited to attend the Indie Book Awards gala ceremony. All indie authors and independent publishers of all levels welcome. Submissions are open internationally, to any books written in English released in 2024, 2025, 2026 or with a 2024, 2025, or 2026 copyright date.

CALEDONIA NOVEL AWARD
https://thecaledonianovelaward.com/rules-entry/
£28 ENTRY FEE. Deadline October 15, 2025. Shortlisted novels will be announced on 4 February 2026, with the overall competition winner announced later in February and awarded £1,500. The Highly Commended author will win £500. Novels can be in any genre for adults or young adults. Novels must be at least 50,000 words in length. The competition is open to writers over the age of eighteen of any nationality and resident in any country. The Caledonia Novel Award is open to unpublished or self-published novelists only.

DORIS BETTS FICTION PRIZE
https://www.ncwriters.org/programs/competitions/doris-betts-fiction-prize
$10-$20 ENTRY FEE. Deadline October 31, 2025. The competition is open to any writer who is a legal resident of North Carolina or a member of the North Carolina Writers’ Network. North Carolina Literary Review subscribers with North Carolina connections (lives or has lived in NC) are also eligible. The competition is for previously unpublished* short stories up to 6,000 words. Awards the first-prize winner $250 and publication in the North Carolina Literary Review. Finalists will also be considered for publication in the NCLR, and authors will receive $50 to $150, depending on how many stories selected.

LILITH FICTION CONTEST
https://lilith.org/contact/writing-for-lilith/
NO ENTRY FEE, Deadline December 31, 2025. Lilith magazine—independent, Jewish & frankly feminist—seeks quality short stories with heart, soul, and chutzpah, 3,000 words or under, for our Annual Fiction Contest. First prize: $300 and publication. We especially like fresh fiction with feminist and Jewish nuance.

GRANTS / FELLOWSHIP / CROWDFUNDING

SOUTHARTS GRANT PANELS
https://www.southarts.org/call-grant-panelist-nominations-arts-community
South Arts welcomes professionals and leaders in the arts field from our nine-state region to serve as panelists for our grant program. Panels will be comprised of several panelists who have demonstrated experience or expertise in at least one of the major arts disciplines (music, dance, theater, poetry, fiction literature, creative nonfiction literature, animation, documentary film, experimental film, fictional film, traditional arts, crafts, drawing, experimental visual art, mixed media, painting, photography and sculpture). To nominate yourself as a panelist for the grant program, please complete our online form. No travel involved. Must be a legal resident of the United States and the South Arts region (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, or Tennessee).

SOUTHARTS CREATIVE PRACTICE GRANTS
https://www.southarts.org/grants-opportunities/artist-creative-practice
Rolling deadline. The Artist Creative Practice Grant supports a variety of professional development opportunities including milestone activities in an artist's career that will likely lead to substantial career growth. Grants up to $3,000 are available for opportunities taking place between November 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026. Must be a legal resident of the United States and the South Arts region (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, or Tennessee).

ONE STORY FELLOWSHIP
https://one-story.com/learn/fellowship/
Deadline: October 8, 2025. One Story awards one writer the Adina Talve-Goodman Fellowship each year. The program seeks writers whose work speaks to issues and experiences related to inhabiting bodies of difference. This means writing that centers, celebrates, or reclaims being marginalized through the lens of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age, class, religion, illness, disability, trauma, migration, displacement, dispossession, or imprisonment. Fellows receive a $2,000 stipend, access to One Story online classes, admission to One Story’s Writing Circle, and free admission to One Story’s week-long summer writers’ conference. To be eligible, applicants must be an early-career writer of fiction who has not yet published a book and is not currently nor has ever been enrolled in an advanced degree program (such as an MA or MFA) in creative writing, English, or literature, and has no plans to attend one in the 2026 calendar year.

FILMED IN NC FUND
https://www.cucalorus.org/programs/filmedinnc/
Deadline October 8, 2025. The Filmed in NC Fund supports the production of indie film and video projects by artists who are permanent residents of North Carolina, as well as full-time students at colleges or universities in North Carolina living in the state year round. It is intended to support the development and production of new and ongoing projects with total budgets under $1,500,000. Selected projects are supported with funds ranging from $500 to $3,000 per project.

NC ARTIST SUPPORT GRANTS
https://www.ncarts.org/grants-resources/grants/grants-artists/artist-support-grants
Various deadlines. Artist Support Grants is a program funded by the N.C. Arts Council to provide the opportunity for regional consortia of local arts councils to award project grants to artists in their regions. These grants support professional artists in any discipline and at any stage in their careers to pursue projects that further their artistic and professional development. Contact the granting local arts council in your area to apply. See the website. Grant amounts vary from region to region. Statewide, most grants are between $500 and $2,000.

GRANT WRITING 101 FOR ARTISTS
https://southarts-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NSpnHdxmQdaJTkE4paUItw#/registration
Date October 9, 2025. Participants will learn the fundamentals of writing successful grant applications from finding the right opportunities to crafting strong narratives, budgets, and timelines. Note: instructor does visual arts, but the class ought to cover all types of art. 
 

FREELANCE MARKETS / JOBS

FOLDING ROCK
https://foldingrock.com/submit-your-work/
Deadline: December 15, 2025. We’re always on the hunt for the best new creative fiction and non-fiction in, from and connected to Wales. We accept previously unpublished work by writers at any stage and age, and we pay for every piece we publish – the same rate for seasoned authors and first-time sharers alike. For any work accepted or commissioned for print publication in our magazine, we pay a universal rate of £360 per piece.

GUIDEPOSTS
https://guideposts.org/tell-us-your-story/call-for-submissions/
Deadline October 13, 2025. Book 10: His Wind at My Back. Sometimes when God calls, it can be hard to be sure we’ve heard His voice. Sometimes we might be ready to step out onto a new path, but aren’t sure of His will. And sometimes events line up so perfectly that there’s no question which direction He’s pointing us in. Each story should be a true, first-person account of between 750 and 2,000 words. The story must include an “amazing” or mysterious element—something that takes it out of the realm of everyday circumstances and shows God’s active intervention. Pays $250.

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 ESCAPIST
https://www.escapistmagazine.com/
Since its founding in 2005, The Escapist has been a trusted voice in gaming journalism, offering in-depth and welcoming coverage to an enthusiast audience. We cater to gamers of all ages and demographics with intelligent and thought-provoking content that takes you closer to the medium you love. Pay $250+ per article. Pitch Cat Bussell at catbussell@gmail.com

THE BARBED WIRE
https://thebarbedwire.com/about/
We’re committed to producing quality journalism from Texas writers and reporters. We’re looking for timely stories based on news and trend cycles that are approachable and imbued with voice; real stories told by diverse Texans, with context and verve; and old-school investigative reporting and scoops. Our rates range from $400/piece on essays and low-lift stories to $1/word on original reporting, with tiers in between based on time investment, level of reporting, and degrees of complexity and sensitivity.
Pitch pitches@thebarbedwire.com

PUBLISHERS / AGENTS

SEVERED PRESS
https://severedpress.com/submissions/
Severed Press is open for submissions, and we want to hear from talented writers of horror and science fiction looking to have their work published. See more specifics about subgenres they seek.

BOROUGHS PUBLISHING
https://www.boroughspublishinggroup.com/submit
Standard word counts are: 40,000 - 60,000 words for novellas; 60,000 - 100,000 words for full-length novels. Seeks romance manuscripts in the following subgenres: Contemporary, Dystopian, Erotica, Fantasy, Historical/Regency, LGBTQ+, Multi-cultural, New Adult, Paranormal, Suspense/Thrillers, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult.

FOREVER YOURS
https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/landing-page/forever-yours-submission-guidelines/
We’re interested in all styles of romance, particularly contemporary, diverse reads, romantic suspense, cowboys, historicals, and paranormal. We’re not looking for any YA, fantasy, mystery, general fiction, or nonfiction. Word count: Novels should be between 50,000-100,000 words. Novellas should be 25,000-50,000 words.

COMCAT BOOKS
https://camcatbooks.com/For-Our-Authors
We’re looking for quality fiction: from fantasy to mystery to romance, with a little of everything in between. We publish adult (over 18) and YA (9th-12th grades), novel-length genre fiction. We’ll look at any good tale, but what we want to see most urgently revolves around these genres: Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Romance, Historical, Paranormal, Horror, Adventure. We’ll even look at Westerns.

DRAGONBLADE PUBLISHING
https://www.dragonbladepublishing.com/submissions/
We are strictly a Historical Romance publisher. All types of Historical Romance: Viking, Regency, Georgian, Tudor, Highlander, Medieval, Victorian, Roman, Edwardian, etc. Historical for Dragonblade’s purposes is defined as anything pre-20th century. (Excluded: Westerns, Amish). Time Travel (with Historical Romance elements). Historical Fiction (with heavy romantic tones). Historical Mysteries (with some romantic elements). Historical Romantasy. An HEA is required, regardless of genre.

 

FUNDSFORWRITERS 

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