FundsforWriters - January 6, 2008

Published: Fri, 01/04/08

 Volume 8, Issue 1       
January 6, 2008

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FUNDS FOR WRITERS
Writer's Digest's 101 Best Websites for Writers
2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
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Editor:  C. Hope Clark
Mailto:    Hope@fundsforwriters.com
Website: http://www.fundsforwriters.com
Newsletter: 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.
                 
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EDITOR'S THOUGHTS
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Read newsletter online at: http://www.fundsforwriters.com/FFW.htm
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GETTING TO THE POINT OF GETTING PUBLISHED
 
I read lots of guidelines. Some publishers' guidelines are
straightforward. Others are not. Even those that aren't clear
are selective, wanting to know that you understand the
business and realize what the "norm" is for submissions.
 
If you aren't sure how to submit to a publisher or agent,
read lots of guidelines and get the gist of what the "norm"
is. Learn simple rules that publishers and agents take for
granted that writers may not. Rules like:
 
1. Always send a SASE for an answer. If you don't send it,
they won't write you back.
 
2. Send a query letter only, unless the guidelines open the
door to sample chapters or a certain number of pages.
 
3. Double-space chapters and single-space queries.
You know the drill. The following list of guidelines was
taken from a publisher's web site. I love the to-the-point
flavor. I adore clear direction like this, because I can
take this list and apply it to many of those publishers
who aren't so clear.
 
"To guarantee a response, please follow our submission
guidelines. Deviations may result in materials being thrown
away before they're even read. You don't want that. Neither
do we.
 
So, very clearly spelled out, here are our requests:
(1) Please send a query letter only. Do NOT send any sample
pages. An author bio, either contained in the query letter
or on a separate sheet is ok.
 
(2) Do not send us books printed by PublishAmerica,
iUniverse, Xlibris, or anybody else as a sample of your
work. It will, in 99.9% of the cases, work against you.
Obviously, that also means don't include those books in
your query letter or list of credits, either.
 
(3) Do not make grand claims about "guaranteed best-seller"
or "my book is the next (insert the name of hugely popular
book)." All that tells us is that you probably don't
understand the publishing industry, and we're going to have
severe communication issues.
 
(4) Ask yourself this question--"Self, if my book was going
to be turned into a movie, would it require a large special
effects budget?" If the answer is "yes," your book probably
isn't for us. We don't do thrillers. We aren't interested
in fast-paced kidnapping plots, explosions, car chases,
terrorism, standard serial killer profiling. It's been done
by people bigger than us. And they're likely to do it again.
It just isn't our niche.
 
(5) Speaking of our niche, ours is pretty tight. We don't
do cozies, sci-fi, westerns, thrillers, suspense, horror,
paranormal, vampires, or children's. We do hardboiled/noir
books with real type protagonists who are usually quite
flawed, maybe not even always "good" guys/girls. Our books
are much more about the people in them and the way they live
in the world. There is usually an element of crime. Sometimes
there is not.
 
(6) Don't send us first drafts. Don't send us queries about
books that are "almost done." If that's the state of your
book (either state), it's NOT ready no matter what friends
and family have told you.
 
(7) No colored paper/ink. White paper. Black ink. That's
the standard and we're cool with it.
 
(8) Write your book. Write something that means something.
We don't like disposable things.
 
(9) Include a SASE.
Provided you've carefully read all of those things (AND
HAVE FOLLOWED THEM), please send your query."
 
---
Bottom line, don't query unless your manuscript is onion-
skin close to perfection. Anything short wastes everyone's
time - especially yours.
 
Now go make that story grand!

    Hope

http://www.hopeclark.blogspot.com
People are raving about the new look...and the new opportunities
offered four-five days a week.
 
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OUR NEW NEWSLETTER SERVICE
Aweber.com is the host of our newsletters. If you have a need
for a newsletter hosting service, this one is highly
recommended. http://www.aweber.com/?285524
 
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WORDS OF SUCCESS

"Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which, in
prosperous circumstances, would have lain dormant."
-- Horace
 
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ARTICLE
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How to Find Time to Write Despite Your Busy Life
 
By Kelly L. Stone
 
When I tell people that I've written three books and started
a freelance writing career while holding down a full-time
job, their jaws drop. Then the inevitable question follows:
how did you find the time? That is the basis of my book Time
to Write: More Than 100 Professional Writers Reveal How to
Fit Writing into Your Busy Life. In that book, I reveal how
I and the other authors managed to find time to write and get
published, all while holding down jobs, caring for families,
juggling household responsibilities, and managing to get
sufficient amounts of sleep.
 
The bottom line is, we're all busy, sometimes to the point
of feeling frantic. But finding time to write can be done,
no matter how busy you are. Here are just a few of the tips
from my upcoming book:
 
1) Make writing appointments. Making time to write is similar
to any new activity that you are attempting to fit into your
life; let's use exercise as an example. How do you do it? You
plan ahead. You decide that you'll exercise for twenty minutes,
three times a week. You might choose Tuesday and Thursday at
four o'clock and Saturday at nine o'clock. It's the same idea
with writing. Decide when you will write and then jot it down
in your calendar. Whatever time slots you choose, write them
down and then...
 
2) ...keep the appointments. Just like you won't reap the health
benefits that come with exercise if you don't regularly break
a sweat, you won't reap the benefits of consistent writing if
you routinely blow it off. So work hard to keep that writing
appointment. Treat it like it's "real," just like an
appointment with the doctor or at your child's school. The
only way to do this is to exercise self-discipline and make
yourself follow through.
 
3) Stay Focused. When it's writing time, you should be writing.
Don't let yourself get sucked into surfing the Internet,
checking e-mail, or making a grocery list.
 
4) Plan your work. When you make the weekly appointments,
also plan what you'll be working on during that time: Monday
you'll use your twenty minutes to create plot points, Wednesday
you'll use the hour for writing freely on your draft, and during
Friday's thirty minute session, you'll revise what you did that
week. Maximize the time spent at your desk by planning ahead
how you'll tackle that day's writing session.
 
5) Set long range and intermediate goals. Knowing what you're
striving for (long range goals) will help you decide how much
time you need to write and how much work you should produce
during that time (intermediate goals). For example, decide
what date in the future you want to have your book finished.
Then work backwards to determine how much writing you should
do every week to meet that deadline. If the draft of your novel
will be four hundred pages and you want to finish it in a year,
then you'll have to write thirty-three pages per month (four-
hundred divided by twelve), or roughly eight pages a week
(thirty-three divided by four). If you write three days a
week, that's two to three pages each sitting. Break your
writing down this way to make time management seem easier.
 
6) Make up lost time. Let's face it--life happens. If you
miss a writing appointment because your kid gets sick or
your car breaks down or there's a family function you simply
must attend, cut yourself some slack, but do plan to make up
the lost time the following week if possible. This means you
might have to make four writing appointments instead of your
usual three, or write two hours one day instead of just one.
Make every effort to stay on track with your weekly goal.
 
7) Reward yourself. This is an important step because you want
to associate positive feelings with that self-discipline you've
been practicing. It reinforces the behavior and increases the
chances that you'll do it again. So at the end of each week
that you kept your writing appointments, do something nice for
yourself. Take a bubble bath, get a pedicure, have a romantic
dinner with your spouse, or buy your favorite author's latest
release. You can even reward yourself at the end of each
writing session. For example: If I write for thirty minutes,
I can watch General Hospital.
 
Finding time to write is a dilemma that every writer faces,
published or not. The tips above are based on my interviews
with over one hundred professional writers on how they do it,
and there are a lot more in my upcoming book. Give them a try!
 
BIO:
Kelly L. Stone (www.kellylstone.com) holds a master's
degree in counseling. She began a freelance writing career
while holding down a full-time job. Her articles and essays
have been published in Family Circle, Writer's Digest, Cat
Fancy, Chicken Soup for the Soul and Cup of Comfort.  Her
debut novel, Grave Secret, was released in September. Her
book Time to Write: More Than 100 Professional Writers Reveal
How to Fit Writing Into Your Busy Life is now in stores.

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COMPETITIONS
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LIGHTHOUSE UNPUBLISHED BOOK AWARDS
http://www.windrusher.com/ContestRules.html
---
$35 ENTRY FEE
The Lighthouse Book Awards Competition, sponsored by the
Northeast region of the Florida Writers Association, will
place the top three entries in each category in the hands
of legitimate acquisition editors working for major publishing
houses. Categories - Mysteries/Suspense/Thrillers; Fiction-
General; YA; Science Fiction/Fantasy. Deadline
January 25, 2008. While this competition creates an
opportunity for the finalists in each category to have their
work placed before a legitimate acquisitions editor, each
qualifying entry is rewarded with written evaluation comments
from the two preliminary judges who will read your work.
All finalists will receive a Certificate of Achievement.
Each 1st Place winner will receive free entry to next year's
NE Florida conference.
 
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McLAREN MEMORIAL COMEDY PLAY WRITING COMPETITION
http://www.mctmidland.org/mclaren.php
---
$15 ENTRY FEE
Be sure it is funny. If you become a finalist, you agree
to give first production rights for your play. Deadline
February 29, 2008. Usually one page of double-spaced
dialogue equals one minute of stage time.
* One-Act Play (20-45 minutes)
* Full-Length Play (usually two acts; 70-90 minutes,
excluding intermission; a reader's theatre cutting to 60
minutes may be required of Finalists)
Language and content do matter. Midland is a small, family-
oriented Southern city in West Texas and our readers and
audiences come from this conservative community. Exploitive
sex, violence, child and spouse abuse, dehumanizing behavior,
and vulgar language are not all that funny. Be funny, not
mean or crude! $400 for winning full-length play; $200 for
winning one-act play; staged readings for finalists in each
category.
 
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SOUTHERN PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL
http://www.jsu.edu/depart/english/southpla.htm
---
NO ENTRY FEE NOTED
An Annual award of $1,000 will be presented to the first-
prize winner, as well as a production by the Jacksonville
State University Department of Drama. Playwrights must be
native to or resident of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida,
Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, or West Virginia.
Deadline January 15, 2008. Plays must deal with the Southern
experience. Entries must be original, full-length plays. No
musicals or adaptations.

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GRANTS
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DJERASSI RESIDENCY
http://www.djerassi.org/
---
Deadline February 15, 2008. Residencies are awarded
competitively, at no cost, to national and international
artists in the disciplines of choreography, literature,
music composition, visual arts, and media arts/new genres.
We seek applications from emerging and mid-career artists,
for whom appointments as resident artists may make a
significant difference to their careers, as well as from
established artists with national and/or international
reputations.
 
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RAGDALE RESIDENCY
http://www.ragdale.org/residencyprogram
---
Ragdale can accommodate 8 writers, 3-4 artists, and 1 composer
during each residency session. All but one residents' quarters
are combined live/work spaces. Residents may organize readings
and open studios among themselves, and there are often
opportunities to participate in formal public programs, school
programs, and donor cultivation events. Participation in these
activities is completely voluntary.
Application fee: $30
Residency fee: $25/day
Financial aid is available on a limited basis; applications
are available upon acceptance to the residency program.
Deadlines:
January 15 for mid-June - Dec. residencies (Notification
after April 15)
June 1 for Jan. - May residencies (Notification after
September 1)
 
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EUROPEAN JOURNALISM FELLOWSHIPS
http://www.ejf.fu-berlin.de/bewerbung.html?&lang=en
---
Deadline January 31, 2008. Each fellow pursues a custom-made
program that is organized around a specific project defined
by the applicant: an individual journalistic research project
whose results will later be published. The objective of studies
in Berlin is to broaden professional knowledge and specialized
expertise while building upon previous journalistic experience.
Fellows are free to take advantage of course offerings at the
Berlin Universities, and to participate in events organized by
other scholarly and cultural institutions in the German capital.
At the same time, journalists have an opportunity to meet
colleagues from Eastern and Western Europe and the United
States.

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FREELANCE MARKETS
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MAJA MAGAZINE
E-mail: editor@majamag.com
http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/wrg/522691358.html
---
Maja Magazine, a new online journal of arts and culture, is
seeking submissions for our inaugural issue. We will look at
specific story pitches or original manuscripts related to one
or more of the following categories:
People: Remarkable persons who make our lives more interesting,
and thus beautiful. Artists, adventurers, and of course our
Maja Models. Cities: An insiders' guide to the great
metropolises of the world. Live like a local during your time
in New York, Paris, London, Tokyo, Chicago, Singapore, Milan,
etc. Includes People and Stories who represent their town.
Stories: True and made up tales of intrigue, debauchery, and
modern life. Style: New and classic fashions, real people on
the street, and our spectacular photo essays. Pays 20 cents/word.
 
=====
 
TOASTMASTERS
http://www.toastmasters.org/ToastmastersMagazine/ContacttheToastmaster.aspx
---
Topics relating to communication and leadership are endless,
and it's the magazine's mission to explore those topics to
the benefit of readers worldwide. It's important that all
articles are geared toward an international audience.
We pay up to $450 for an article.
=====
 
POPULAR SCIENCE
http://www.popsci.com/popsci/contactus1/
---
Popular Science covers new and emerging technology in the areas
of science, automobiles, the environment, recreation, electronics,
the home, photography, aviation and space, and computers and
software. Our mission is to provide service to our readers by
reporting on how these technologies work and what difference
they will make in our readers' lives. Our readers are well-
educated professionals who are vitally interested in the
technologies we cover. Query first. Responses will only be
sent to those with SASE enclosed. Payment exceeds $500 for
features.

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JOBS
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ONLINE STAFF WRITER
Location Norfolk, VA
http://www.journalismnext.com/jobdetails.cfm?jid=5253
---
Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
Five years reporting experience at a daily newspaper, with
online and/or crime reporting experience a plus.
Demonstrated short-form writing skills. Very good with
deadlines and details. Employer The Virginian-Pilot.
 
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COPYWRITER
Location Detroit, MI
http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobDetails.aspx?sc_extcmp=JS_JobAlert_Title&ipath=PSSK0&psa=1&Job_DID=J3G5P76LYZQNCXZD3RY
---
Co-develop strategic and tactical proposals and campaigns
with business development executives and client serving
professionals to win new business. Develop proposals for
business opportunities and responds to proposal requests.
Research and write standard and customized proposals. Work
closely with Business Development executives and senior
management to develop responses that convey a unique proposal
strategy for the client. Ensure a smooth flow of information
and consistent messaging in proposals by proofing, editing
and rewriting all sections of the proposal as required.
 
=====
 
WRITER-EDITOR
Location Boston, MA
http://www.idealist.org/en/job/256562-13
---
The Writer/Editor provides copyediting and proofreading
services for WGBH Online, ensuring consistency of formatting
and correctness in spelling, grammar, and punctuation on
WGBH.org and related dynamic websites and initiatives. The
Writer/Editor routinely checks TV schedules and related
program pages, to ensure info is up-to-date and complete.
The Writer/Editor works closely with relevant staff to follow
established procedures and ensure timely and accurate
publication of content.

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PUBLISHERS/AGENTS
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MEDALLION PRESS
http://www.medallionpress.com/guidlines/index.html
---
Submissions open for Mainstream Fiction, Historical Fiction,
Paranormal / Horror, Mystery / Thriller / Suspense,
Sci-FI / Fantasy.
 
=====
 
POTOMAC BOOKS
http://www.potomacbooksinc.com/info/ContactUS.aspx#PS
---
Before sending a submission, please check to make sure your
project matches the subjects that we publish (history,
international affairs, intelligence studies, security studies,
current events, and sports). We do not publish fiction.
 
=====
 
DOWN THE SHORE PUBLISHING
http://www.down-the-shore.com/writegd.html
---
As a small regional publisher, we must limit our efforts and
resources to our established market: New Jersey, the Jersey
Shore, the mid-Atlantic, and seashore and coastal subjects.

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SPONSORS
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WORLDWIDE FREELANCE WRITER - Download a free list of writing
markets if you subscribe this week. Our database has almost 2,000
writing markets from USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia.
http://www.worldwidefreelance.com
 
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ARE YOU A STARVING POET?
Subscribe to The Poetry Market Ezine, by logging onto
www.thepoetrymarket.com and using the sign up box, or
send any email to:  poetrymarket-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
The newsletter features poetry markets, contests, and news.
Listed as one of Writer's Digest's 101 Best Websites for
Writers 2007, The Poetry Market ezine has been exclusively
catering to poets for over 6 years! 
For general info, send any email to tpme@thepoetrymarket.com
 
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$75 - four weeks in FundsforWriters & FFW Small Markets
http://www.fundsforwriters.com/adrates.htm

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BUSINESS STUFF
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C. Hope Clark
E-mail: hope@fundsforwriters.com
140-A Amicks Ferry Road #4
Chapin, SC 29036
http://www.fundsforwriters.com
Copyright 2000-2008, C. Hope Clark
ISSN: 1533-1326

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