VOLUME 25, ISSUE 42 | OCTOBER 24, 2025 |
WHIRLWIND WEEK "We don't see things as they are. We see them as we are." ~Anais Nin Readers want to read stories by people. They want to read how someone else sees the world, to compare that viewpoint with how
they see the world. It doesn't matter whether you're talking nonfiction or fiction, mystery or scifi, short stories or poetry. When the message is written by AI, there is no comparison. That's not to say that AI doesn't write well, because it's getting better all the time. But the words are written via a compilation of a zillion viewpoints, without personal experience. It's everyone's comparison jumbled into a story. Yes, AI will get stronger. Yes, the stories will get better. But when the reader reaches THE END, will they want to look up this author, learn about them, feel somewhat of a kindred spirit with them, and seek more work by that author? That human who somehow reached into readers minds and united with them? An author who dug deep into their psyche and created something that others really appreciated? Most readers don't want to mind meld with technology. They like to think they have something in common with a human.
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Okay, okay, fine. You're right. These guys all lived before the era of websites, but *you* don't, and one of the best places to reach your readers and stick in their brain is by having a website of your own. I mean, talk about memorable, that guy on the right's actual first name is
"Mayonnaise." Yes, really... well, okay it was "Mayo," but the point still remains. He had a memorable name and you don't remember him. So you need more than a memorable name. You need a place to meet readers, a front door so to speak where you can usher them into your work, you know, a website. And while social media can do some of that front-door work, you need a place you can control. If the Zuckermuskatoks of the world
decide to change the algorithm for their benefit and not yours, you'll be wishing you had something as memorable as a name like "Mayo." Or maybe you could just get a custom designed and built website. I wonder who offers those services? Oh, yeah, I do at AuthorWebSolutions.com THE GATEKEEPERS VERSUS YOUR HEART'S DREAM
“Do what you feel in your heart to be right — for you'll be criticized anyway.”
— Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) Keep the
above in mind as I opine here. I just read an editorial from someone who'd been attempting to traditionally publish for a handful of years. Dozens of queries. They got a nibble from a smaller traditional press but even that went silent. Total frustration. Not quite despair but disappointment woven in there for sure. So they were going to self-publish. When this happens, when you can't land an agent or entice a publisher to look at you,
take a serious look in the mirror. Without a doubt the competition is fierce, but other issues might be at play here. 1) It isn't just about good writing. It has to be rather great. Hearing crickets after several dozen queries might merit a rewrite. 2) When that agent or publisher pulls up your name in Google, what will they find? Look up your own name and see. How
professional do you look? 3) Are you opinionated online? If pulling up your name turns up rather strong religious or political comments, remarks, even rants, you might be sabotaging your chances. Unless your book is about those stances, and you are considered somewhat of an expert, the fact you draw hard lines in the sand might lower your chances. Be about writing or you distract them. We tend to think none of that should matter. It should be just about the writing. No. That is not reality. Are you a pleasant person to deal with? Are you professional in nature? Are you able to promote yourself? Are you diligent in your writing efforts? All of those matter. You won't get calls asking about this stuff, either. You will get Googled. So, when you receive lots of rejections or nothing at all, consider
two main things: 1) Is the writing good enough?
2) Are you palatable to an agent or publisher? Whatever is wrong when you try to traditionally publish is still wrong when you self-publish. You have the right to say anything, and like Mrs. Roosevelt said above, you'll be criticized anyway. But which matters to you
more? Getting published or speaking your mind?
Getting published or looking in the mirror and accepting your work still needs work? It's not always "their" fault.
How to Build Your Author Platform, Craft a Winning Proposal & Pitch a Literary Agent (Without Selling Your Soul on Social Media) Want to land a book deal? It starts with a strong platform, a killer proposal—and the right agent. That's why The Unmentionables Lab is bringing in powerhouse literary agent Tess Callero of Europa Content for a live workshop designed to demystify the nonfiction publishing process. This is your behind-the-scenes pass into the world of publishing—guided by someone who's
helped shape bestselling careers. Whether you're platform-building from scratch or agent-hunting with a manuscript in hand, this class will give you the tools and clarity you need to move forward with confidence. What You'll Learn: => Platform: Discover how to grow your audience and visibility—even if you hate social media. Tess will walk
you through sustainable, authentic ways to build a platform that agents and publishers care about. => Proposal: Learn how to structure your nonfiction book proposal like a pro. After the class, you'll get the exact proposal template Tess uses with her clients. => Pitch: Find out how
to identify and approach the right agents (without getting ghosted), what to include in your query, and what makes an agent say yes. You'll get: => Live access to the Zoom workshop => A full recording after the session => Tess's personal proposal template => A chance to submit your questions for the
Q&A
-Nov 14-19, 2025 - exact date TBD - signing Edisto Bookstore, Edisto, SC -Nov 22, 2025 - Christmas Market - 8AM-2PM - ICRC Rec
Ctr, Chapin, SC
Email: hope@chopeclark.com to schedule events, online
or otherwise. “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.” —A.A. Milne, Winnie the Poo
<<If you have a success story you believe was prompted by FundsforWriters, please share with us! Send to hope@chopeclark.com >> Call to Actions for Authors
By Alex J. Coyne While assisting author Raven Digitalis to promote his new book, I noticed that his promotional emails were getting better responses
than my own pitches for articles and new clients. More than 60% of our cold pitches for promoting Raven’s book (and requesting reviews) had worked, yet I was only getting pitch approvals once every other week. I realized then the difference a simple Call-to-Action (CTA) can make. The Call to Action A Call-to-Action (CTA) is a phrase or button that prompts the
reader to do something. Webmasters and designers are well-taught in how to use these prompts, but authors (like myself) focus so much on editing their content that they might forget its use. After all, readers and editors are consumers. A simple question or button becomes the subtle, psychological “push” that makes someone act—or click. “Buy Here” and “Book Now” are two basic
CTAs. “Contact us here” is another one. Without this, a website page doesn’t read the same and won’t prompt results. The brain inherently looks for prompts or cues, and a successful CTA provides one. Asking and Prompting When writing for the South African news, authors were encouraged to end articles or paragraphs with questions. Gangsterism in Movies and Television asked, “Have you ever seen these movies or television shows?” prompting readers into comments of discussion and engagement. Articles also ended with the phrase, READ MORE ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR, another call-to-action. Once you spot the basic CTA, you will notice how successful websites use them successfully. The McDonald’s ordering terminal asks, “Would you
like to add any of these?” Without the question, you wouldn’t have, but with the CTA, you consider it. Testing & Altering Results I switched from a basic Services page on my website with no prompts and added a simple “BOOK NOW” button at the very top. I also rephrased content with encouraging words that fall into the sales category—words like book,
purchase, buy. Almost instantly, I had more people clicking through to Contact. Consumer Psychology: Phrases and Buttons Successful CTAs will give the user an opportunity to do something (or click on something). The internet has lists of the best CTA phrases, like WordStream and Landerlab. A CTA uses positive language, engaging phrases, and yes, sales language. Buttons and questions are everywhere. Free button creators (Da Button Factory and HTML Buttons) can be added to blogs as Custom HTML. Sites like NoraKramerDesigns.com and this Medium post can help you decide which colors have the best results and impact. The CTA in Headlines A CTA can be used on a website page, but also within posts—and in headlines. Avoid questions with obvious yes (or no) answers. Other headline questions can be effective calls-to-action that makes readers think even before they’ve clicked. For instance, I used this for a
2025 feature on The Wild Hunt when asking: Are Podcasters Resurrecting the Satanic Panic? It worked, and the article received a considerable response on /r/The_Wild_Hunt_News and YouTube — as well as emails from readers who shared their thoughts. Questions—calls to action—make people feel welcome to respond or debate. In Correspondence Authors can also use a call-to-action in their pitches and correspondence. Let’s compare:
• “Let me know if you have any questions.”
• “Do you have any questions?” The second is a CTA, while the FIRST is a statement. Ask questions more than you make statements. One
simple question within an email is enough to make the reader feel like they should answer the question rather than just ignore the rest of the message. CTAs create urges, needs, and prompts to react. Ask yourself: which CTAs can engage your readers and editors the most when it comes to your 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.
ID 32475865
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL: 2026 Next Generation Short Story Awards The Next Generation Short Story Awards is a not-for-profit awards program open to authors writing original unpublished short stories in English. Submissions accepted: Short stories and poems (5,000 words or less) Categories: 30+ Deadline: February 26, 2026 Winners' Prizes: Winners in each
category receive $75 cash prizes, gold medals, digital stickers, social media coverage, literary exposure, story publication in an Anthology of Winners, and a complimentary copy of the Anthology of Winners. Three Grand Prize Winners will be selected from all entries and awarded $500 for 1st Prize, $300 for 2nd Prize and $200 for 3rd Prize and will be invited to attend the Next Generation Indie Book Awards gala ceremony. Finalists' Benefits: Finalists in
each category are given digital stickers, literary exposure, and author's name and title of story mentioned in the Anthology of Winners. A copy of the Anthology of Winners is available to purchase at half price and silver medals are available to order. Enter at: www.shortstoryawards.com The Short Story Awards is offering an Early Bird Special discount for the month of October. Enter and pay by October 31, 2025, to receive your second category for free! WRITER'S DIGEST POETRY AWARDS
https://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions/poetry-awards
$20-$40 ENTRY FEE. Deadline November 3, 2025 (early-bird) and
December 1, 2025. We're looking for your best poems of 32 lines or fewer or un-published chapbooks 25 pages or fewer. Any form of poetry is eligible, including epic, free verse, odes, pantoums, sonnets, villanelles, and even haiku. Enter them today for your chance to win. First place is $1,000, an interview with the author in Writer’s Digest, the winning single poem published in Writer’s Digest magazine’s July/August 2025 issue and worldwide on WritersDigest.com. The winning
chapbook will be distributed digitally to the WD community. Also a 20-minute consultation with Senior Editor, Robert Brewer, a one-year subscription (new or renewal) to Writer’s Digest magazine, 20% discount off of purchases made at Writer’s Digest University, and a special graphic recognizing their winning status. Other $250 and $100 prizes for subsequent finalists. Two categories Single Poem and Chapbook. BOUJLEVARD SHORT FICTION
CONTEST
https://www.boulevardmagazine.org/short-fiction-contest
$18 ENTRY FEE. Deadline December 31, 2025. $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. We accept works up to
8,000 words. GORDON BOWKER VOLCANO PRIZE
NO ENTRY FEE. https://societyofauthors.org/prizes/the-soa-awards/volcano-prize/
Deadline October 31, 2025. A prize awarded to a UK or Irish writer, or a writer currently resident in those countries, for a novel focusing on the experience of travel
away from home. The winner will receive £2,000 and the runner-up £750. The novel must have been first published in the UK or Ireland between 1 November 2024 and 31 October 2025. The author must be British or Irish, or be currently resident in the UK or Ireland at the time of submission to the prize. MSLEXIA WOMEN'S SINGLE POEM COMPETITION
https://mslexia.co.uk/competitions/single-poem-poetry/womens-poetry-competition-2025/
£10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline December 8, 2025. This competition is open to unpublished poems of any length, on any subject. Your £10 entry fee allows you to submit up to three poems. 1st: £2,000; 2nd: £500; 3rd: £250. Unpublished Poet Prize is an additional
award for the best unpublished poem by an unpublished poet: £250. The four winners, plus sixteen additional finalists will have their poems published in the March 2026 issue of Mslexia. STORY UNLIKELY SHORT STORY CONTEST
https://www.storyunlikely.com/#contest
Deadline January 14,
2026 nonmembers and January 31, 2026 for members. There are no restrictions on genre: fantasy, sci fi, memoir, fiction/nonfiction, etc - we don't care as long as it's written and told with quality and care. The story itself cannot exceed 7,000 words (except for WRITER level Members, who get a bonus 3,000 words added!). There are no restrictions on age or location of participant, and no need to ask us for permission to participate in the contest. $3,000 first place,
$1,000 second place, $750 third place, and $250 for our new REPRINT CATEGORY. We tend to pick up a few of the finalists for publication in our monthly magazine! - per our standard guideline pay, as well.
GRANTS / FELLOWSHIP / CROWDFUNDING NEW WORK GRANT - QUEENS ARTS FUND
https://www.nyfa.org/awards-grants/queens-arts-fund-new-work-grant
Deadline November 18, 2025. The New Work Grant supports emerging
individual artists and artist collectives of all artistic disciplines in their creation of new work. “New Work” is defined as work that has not been produced or presented to an audience before. Applicants may submit grant requests ranging from $2,500 to $5,000. QAF offers project-based grants to Queens-based artists, artist collectives, and small non-profit organizations to support the local production of artwork and cultural programs that highlight, engage, and bolster the diverse communities
of the Queens borough. MARYLAND CREATIVITY GRANTS
https://msac.org/programs/creativity-grants/creativity-grants-projects
Deadline March 31, 2026. The Creativity Grant for Projects is available to independent artists and arts organizations.
There are two options to choose from: the Planning & Development grant is intended to support the early stages of research and development for a proposed project; the Implementation grant is intended to support the execution of a specific arts projects/event/program. Pays $1,000 - $4,000. Must be a resident of Maryland. NEBRASKA 1% GRANTS
https://www.artworkarchive.com/call-for-submission/nebraskapublicart/2026-individual-artist-fellowship-in-performing-arts-theater-playwright
Deadline November 17, 2025. The Individual Artist Fellowship program recognizes artists in Nebraska. Fellowship recipients are chosen by a
professional panel according to the merit of their work. The awarded funds, between $1000 and $5000, must be used for the creation of new art, presentations, training, and/or research. The fellowship program rotates among three umbrella categories of artistic achievement with the current being filmmaking and performing arts (choreography, playwriting, composition, interdisciplinary performance). HUCKBERRY GRANT
https://huckberry.com/giveaway/dream-year
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline November 4, 2025. Huckberry is looking for applicants for The Dream Year Giveaway, which includes $100,000 cash for a self-designed year of a lifetime (traveling, starting a company, side hustle, etc.). Pay is $100,000 in cash and $10,000 Huckberry shopping spree. Chase your dream. We'll
fund it, equip it, and connect you to people who've done it. MISSOURI SCRIPTWRITING FELLOWSHIP
https://mofilm.org/film-community/scriptwriting-fellowship-competition/
The Missouri Stories Scriptwriting Fellowship is an international competition for screenplays
and television pilot scripts with storylines set in Missouri. Three writers’ scripts will be chosen. Winners receive an all-expense-paid trip to the concentrated fellowship experience, held in Missouri.
LILITH MAGAZINE
https://lilith.org/contact/writing-for-lilith/
Features usually run 2,000 words, news briefs 500 words or less. Fiction should be under 3,000 words. Back-page pieces run 800 words. Poetry submissions should include no more than
3 poems, totaling no more than two pages. Lilith Magazine welcomes submissions of high-quality, lively, original writing: reporting, analysis, opinion pieces, memoir, fiction and poetry with a feminist take on subjects of interest to Jewish feminists. SIXTY
https://sixtyinchesfromcenter.org/2025-pitch-to-sixty
Sixty welcomes writers and artists of all experience levels and backgrounds to pitch ideas for traditional and experimental arts writing as well as creative writing around topics and practices that are relevant to the cultural landscapes of the Midwest and Chicago. We accept pitches on an ongoing basis and pay all writers. Sixty Inches From Center pays a standard rate of $150 per article to writers. KISMET
https://kismet-mag.com/about/submissions/
We publish style-forward writing with an interest in mystical, spiritual, and religious elements, broadly interpreted. We publish essays, fiction and poetry. From 2026, Kismet will publish 3 annual print editions. We accept submissions on a rolling basis. Please
send one prose piece at a time. We publish poetry folios, not individual poems—please submit a selection of up to 5 poems, in one document. We prefer essays that expand beyond the personal, that persist beyond the news cycle—i.e. stretch beyond reported pieces. All reviewers are paid $250 per review. And reviews should be between 1500-2000 words in length. (They do not state what they pay for the other types of writing, but it should be similar to what they pay for reviews.) THE HUSTLE
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tx9NV87x6KpOTrSInGSpdHDlG7_jpMWQb2E4hWb5_H0/edit?tab=t.0
Pitches include explainers on unusual or timely economic topics, profiles of people or companies taking unconventional approaches, and stories that dig
deeper than the daily news. We’re looking for short features (800 to 1,000 words) and long features (1,300-2,000 words). We typically pay about $0.80-$1 per word depending on the amount of reporting. GREATER GOOD SCIENCE CENTER
https://ggsc.berkeley.edu/get_involved/write_for_us
Greater Good, the online magazine of the Greater Good Science Center, reports on scientific findings into the roots of individual and collective well-being, positive relationships, and compassionate behavior—what we call “the science of a meaningful life.” Our base rate is 25 cents per assigned word, to be negotiated with an editor and agreed upon by all parties. For certain types of pieces, we pay a flat rate of
$200-$300. AK PRESS - BLACK DAWN
https://www.akpress.org/black-dawn.html
Agents and authors are encouraged to submit science fiction, fantasy, steampunk, horror, and mystery works of 25,000 to 55,000 words to fictionsubmissions@akpress.org. HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE
https://harlequin.submittable.com/submit/28679/harlequin-intrigue-55-000-words
Nail-biting thrillers that feature crime stories with complex plots that
keep the reader guessing. Your manuscript should make the reader use her analytical skills to solve the crime. A page-turning edge-of-your-seat read is what we are looking for in a Harlequin Intrigue book. Word count 55,000-60,000. TINY FOX PRESS
https://tinyfoxpress.com/submissions/
We’re
really, really, REALLY looking for the following with series potential: Fantasy — Mythology, Fairytale Retellings, Arthurian, Gaslamp, Humorous, Urban; SciFi — Space Opera, Post Apocalypse, Humorous. Our primary focus is in the following genres of fiction: Sci-Fi/Fantasy (LitRPG included), YA (see above), Light/Cozy Fantasy. SPARKLING BOOKS
https://www.sparklingbooks.com/submissions.html
At present, we only consider manuscripts from authors resident in the UK, USA, and selected other countries. We publish
interesting non-fiction in finance, business, economics, and some current affairs, in print and e-books, and fiction written in English as e-books and sometimes in printed form. HERA
https://www.herabooks.com/submissions/
We're looking for crime and thriller, romance, saga and general fiction of at least 80,000 words. Please note we are not publishing non fiction, young adult or children’s fiction, poetry, science fiction and fantasy or short stories.
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
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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
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