Volume 8, Issue 24       
June 15, 2008

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FUNDS FOR WRITERS

Writer's Digest's 101 Best Websites for Writers
2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

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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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PAID SPONSOR OF THE WEEK
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EDITOR'S THOUGHTS
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Read newsletter online at: http://www.fundsforwriters.com/FFW.htm
Read past issues at: http://www.aweber.com/z/article/?fundsforwriters

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DANG IT'S HOT

It's four p.m. The temperature is 98 degrees and the humidity
hangs at 80+ percent. For those not used to it, envision a
damp wool blanket over your head in a sauna. Ah, South Carolina
summers.

I'm sitting at my computer. I'm one for silence, so the only
sound is the air conditioner through the vents. All the family
is gone. The dogs and cats are asleep. It's the atmosphere that
reminds me of my grandmother's farm. Around two p.m. we had to
climb in her four-post bed and take a nap as a summer breeze
slid in the open window, cooling the top of us as our back sides
sweated against the covers. Sometimes we slept in our underwear.

And I can barely keep my eyes open.

I hate that feeling. And surely, once I lie down for a nap, my
mind will race and remind me of what's pending on my desk. So
I sit here, pecking away, slowly dragging out each word as if
it were coated with glue.

Those are the times we often get up and fold clothes, watch television,
eat, or grab the x-box controller. Sometimes we come back feeling
better. Most of the time we don't bother. The connection gone, we
lose the need to complete the half-written essay, poem or short
story. Often it leaves us forever, deleted a year later when we
clean out our incomplete junky pieces.

Writing isn't just for the anxious, fresh, enthusiastic moments.
It's for the cranky, sluggish, depressing times as well. Some of
my best work took place when I forced my fingers to pound out
one silly letter at a time, until the essay, feature or story
was done.

That drudgery also applies to times we think there is not a
market for our work or it's not worth submitting for fear of
receiving another rejection. Instead of dragging and whining
about how the writing life sucks, I take it as a dare. I've
often taken life as a dare...because I don't want to lose.

So as my eyes crave a summer nap under a ceiling fan, my dog
by my side, I order my mind to work, my hands to type. Maybe
I'll sleep AFTER the piece is written. Three hundred words,
I say. Only three hundred more words.

There, they're done. I reread the piece. Not bad. I place it
in the appropriate file, and glance around my desk. I lift a
market from a stack and jot notes for a query. The clock says
five p.m. An hour until dinner. Surely I can outline another
piece in that time.

That's how you keep writing. One hour, one moment, one
word and finger-peck at a time. Even when you don't think
you want to.

    Hope

WANT TO HEAR HOPE READ THE SHY WRITER?

A new Blog Talk Radio show is offering 15-minute shows where
authors read excerpts from their books. Come hear Hope read
from THE SHY WRITER: An Introvert's Guide to Writing Success!
Do you know THE SHY WRITER was listed as a recommended read
at the 2008 Book Expo (BEA) Conference?

Monday, June 16, 2008, NOON Eastern Time
www.blogtalkradio.com/authorsread

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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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THE NEWEST EBOOK UPDATES

Lots of our readers like to know when we update our ebooks.
This time of year, we update them a few at a time and announce
them each week in the newsletters. The newest updates are:

THE NO FEE CONTEST BOOK - contests without entry fees
SHORT & SWEET: MARKETS FOR FILLERS
COOKING UP RECIPES - writing for food markets
SHORT STORY WRITER - NEW RELEASE
AGENT IN YOUR POCKET - NEW RELEASE

http://www.fundsforwriters.com/ebooks.htm

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WORDS OF SUCCESS

"The truth is that many people set rules to keep from
making decisions."

~Mike Krzyzewski

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ARTICLE
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Confessions of a Reluctant Gambler
by Anne Walls

I have to be honest: I hate blackjack. Poker? No thanks. Craps?
Don't even get me started. But what I do like is writing. Short
stories, newspaper articles, feature film scripts...you name it,
I've written it. But I've recently come to realize that my love
of writing and my disdain for gambling must meet and make beautiful
music together. Why? Because getting your work out to the world and,
better yet, published is a crapshoot. To be a success, you've got
to play the odds.
 
Being a writer means your livelihood depends on submitting
manuscript after manuscript to a bevy of faceless names in far
away cities. Why? So they can decide if they want to publish your
words. Promoting yourself is a necessity. But what's the hardest
thing for most authors to do? Send out their work. It's a
depressing pain. I used to feel that way. I had written a
television show for Fox as well as written and directed two
short films. Next, I wanted to conquer the literary world. But
getting my book published or my article into the next issue of
Vogue seemed a daunting task.
 
I wrote a carefully composed manuscript and thought that sending
my precious baby out into the world a few times (okay, four) was
enough. I assumed some editor somewhere was bound to see it and
proclaim its genius to the whole editorial staff. What I wasn't
thinking about was that on the other side of the submission queue
was a towering stack of manuscripts written by people just like
me, who were just as talented as me, and the majority of whom
would get rejected...just like me.
 
Unfortunately, the reality of writing for publication is that you
will get rejected. A lot. Remember, even Joyce Carol Oates gets
rejected. Mastering your craft is only a piece of the puzzle.
Getting published is a numbers game. The only way to win it is to
send out as much work as possible, as often as possible. Everyone
starts out on ground zero: no contacts, no published clips, maybe
not even an MFA. As a writer, you need to prove yourself and build
up your relationships, experience, and reputation piece by piece.

Though I realize all this now, after a few years of sending out a
hodge-podge of submissions, and none too consistently, I was
frustrated. Then I had a writing epiphany. I realized I was
approaching the rest of my life--my finances, my apartment hunt,
even my relationships--with the dedication I wasn't giving to the
most important thing in my life: my writing career. It wasn't that
I didn't devote enough time to the actual craft of writing. On the
contrary, I did it for hours on end, literally wearing through the
"N" and "M" keys on my poor laptop. I had amassed volumes of
material, yet success still eluded me. I thought about the time I
was applying for jobs after college. I'd sent out hundreds of
resumes at a time, spending hours faxing, emailing and following up.
The hunt for employment actually became my job. Now, years later,
it was time to treat writing with the same dedication and respect.

But that's the eternal writer's Catch-22: I didn't have time for
another full-time job. Then lightening struck again: what if someone
took away the drudgery of the submission process (the aimless Internet
searching, the manuscript printing, the stamp-licking) so writers
could get down to the business of writing? It would be a victory for
scribes everywhere, because they could send out more work than ever.
An efficient submission system is the Holy Grail hard-working authors
the world over have been looking for.

Take a writer like JK Rowling: it's easy to forget that Ms. Rowling
sent her writing out for years, endured numerous rounds of rejection,
and was even on welfare for a time. Now she's literally richer than
the Queen of England. Why?

Because she kept sending her work out.

She didn't run out of steam after the fourth rejection or even the
fortieth, she persevered. She stuck it out. JK Rowling stacked the
odds in her favor and guess what? She hit the jackpot. Big time.
And someday, so will you.

BIO
Anne Walls and John Singleton are the co-founders of WordHustler.com,
an all-inclusive writers' website that offers a free database of more
than 3,000 literary markets, a query letter composer, submission
tracking, and more. The best part is that WordHustler prints and
ships everything for cheaper than doing it yourself. Membership is
free and so is your first submission. WordHustler's goal is to make
the submission process easier and more time-efficient, so writers
can spend time doing what they're supposed to be doing: writing.
Jumpstart your writing career by signing up for WordHustler
(www.WordHustler.com) TODAY.

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COMPETITIONS
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THE WRITER SHORT-STORY MYSTERY CONTEST
http://www.writermag.com/wrt/default.aspx?c=a&id=3634
---
$10 ENTRY FEE
$1,000, first place; $300, second place; $200, third place.
The first-place entry, along with the finalist judge's
comments, will be published in The Writer magazine. All
three winning entries will be posted on The Writer Web site,
www.WriterMag.com. Deadline June 30, 2008. Entries should not
exceed 2,000 words. No graphic language, sex or violence.

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SOUL SHELTER FIRST PERSON ESSAY CONTEST
http://www.soulshelter.org/blog/
---
Grand Prize: $1,000 and publication online
Second Prize: $500 and publication online
Third Prize: $250 and publication online
Plus Five Runner-Up Awards of $50 each

All entries must be nonfiction and 400-1,500 words in length.
Essays should tell a true story based on the author's personal
experience and relating to the Soul Shelter theme of "balancing
fortune and fulfillment, or getting a living while having a
life." We're interested in personal, affecting, and inspiring
entries more than slick writing. There are no entry fees, and
there will be no future attempts to sell or market anything to
entrants. Submit your entry online by July 1, 2008.

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SIR PETER USTINOV TELEVISION SCRIPTWRITING AWARD
http://www.iemmys.tv/foundation.aspx
---
NO ENTRY FEE
The Foundation also awards the Sir Peter Ustinov Television
Scriptwriting Award each year. The competition is designed to
motivate non-American novice writers under the age of 30, and
offer them the recognition and encouragement that might lead to
a successful career in television scriptwriting. Entrants are
asked to create a completed half-hour to one-hour English-
language television drama script for a family audience. The
Winner receives $2,500 and an invitation to the International
Emmy Awards Gala in November. The Winner will be presented with
the Award at the International Emmy World Television Festival
in New York City. The deadline for submissions is July 15, 2008.
Applicant must be a NON-US citizen or resident not residing in
the US. Must be 30 as of December 31, 2008. The script must be
a minimum of a half hour and a maximum of one hour in length.

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GRANTS
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MANHATTAN WORKSPACE RESIDENCY
http://lmcc.net/art/residencies/workspace/2008/writers-apply.html
http://lmcc.net/art/residencies/workspace/2008/writers-app-guidelines.pdf
---
Residency September 9, 2008 to May 22, 2009. Deadline for all
materials July 3, 2008 - receipt, not postmark deadline. This
is free studio space, not living quarters. Access available to
the space 24/7. A modest one-time stipend is paid to the
writer/artist in the amount of $1,000. Salon evenings are held
where guests are invited for informal discussions and visits.
Writers will be required to make formal presentations of their
work and participate in discussions. Open to emerging and early-
career writers working in all genres including fiction, nonfiction,
playwriting/screenwriting and poetry.

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GREATER PITTSBURGH ARTS COUNCIL
http://pittsburghartscouncil.org/papartners.htm
---
Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PA Partners) is a regranting
program of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) and
administered in Allegheny County by the Arts Council. Its goal
is to make arts programs available to every Commonwealth resident,
with a focus on previously underserved communities and regions in
Pennsylvania. PA Partners provides grants of up to $3,000 for arts
projects that take place in Allegheny County. All projects must be
publicized and open to the general public, and must take place
between September 1, 2008 and August 31, 2009. The application
postmark deadline is June 30, 2008.

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OREGON LITERARY FELLOWSHIPS
http://www.literary-arts.org
---
Oregon Literary Fellowships provide financial support to writers
and independent publishers in Oregon. The submission deadlines
for 2008 is June 27, 2008. The minimum award amount is $2,500.
Recipients will be announced in January, 2009. Applications and
guidelines are available at the Literary Arts web site or by
contacting Susan Denning at susan@literary-arts.org or 503-227-2583.
Fellowships are awarded in poetry, fiction, literary nonfiction,
drama and young readers literature.
 

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FREELANCE MARKETS
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FAMILY FUN TRAVEL GUIDELINES
http://familyfun.go.com/Resources/familyfun/travel-writer-guidelines.pdf
---
Wants travel articles to inspire readers - motivated, budget-
conscious parents - and help them plan their family vacations
and outings. All destinations and activities must include the
entire family. We do not write about places or events that
are for adults with babysitting or playgroups for the kids.
Features 1,000-3,000 words paying $1.25/word. Briefs are
noteworthy announcements of family events or attractions. Pays
$1.25/word for 100-200 words. Roundups are one to three-page
articles profiling five to ten destinations within a theme.
500-1,500 words at $1.25/word. Roadtrips are two to three-page
articles that detail a multiday itinerary. 1,000 to 1,500 words
at $1.25/word.

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MEXICO TRAVEL & LIFE
http://www.mexicotravelandlife.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24
---
Mexico Travel and Life is a quarterly magazine promoting
travel, life, the culture and cuisines of Mexico. Pays
up to $500.

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ADBUSTERS
http://www.adbusters.org/about/submissions
---
Pays 50 cents/word. We relish all truly political materials,
whether they be scholarly probes into the decline of
civilization, environmental forays into the forests, sci-fi
carpet rides into cyberspace or humorous spoofs about
commercial culture. More than anything, we seek compelling
ideas that further the critical perspective and offer activist
solutions. Our language is culture jamming: the new activism.

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JOBS
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WRITER-EDITOR
Location Washington DC
http://jobsearch.usajobs.gov/getjob.asp?JobID=72493987&aid=27015391-468&WT.mc_n=MKT000125
---
Deadline July 1, 2008. Agency: Federal Retirement Thrift Investment
Board. The primary purpose of this position is to develop, write,
edit, correct, revise, and proofread written and electronic
documents pertaining to the TSP. Some of these products include
booklets, fact sheets, tax notices, leaflets, forms, web site
content, and CD/DVDs.

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WRITERS IN THE SCHOOLS PROGRAM
Location Seattle, WA
http://www.lectures.org/wits.html
---
Seattle Arts and Lectures - Writers in the Schools program is
looking for creative writers who are passionate about teaching
the power and pleasure of writing to young people and who are
excited to collaborate with public school teachers. Employment
is part-time. Writers-in-residence typically teach one day a
week from September through June for a total of 84 direct
teaching hours. A yearlong commitment is required. Open until
filled; for best consideration submit resume by July 28, 2008.

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WRITER-EDITOR
Location Philadelphia, PA
http://www.idealist.org/en/job/285380-292
---
The staff writer will be an integral part of the twenty member
Communications and Development team. He/she will research, write,
and coordinate the production of the annual reports, quarterly
newsletters, and other Library publications. Other responsibilities
will include but not be limited to: preparing remarks for Library
events and outside speaking engagements for various people
including the CEO and the President and Director of the Library;
composing author introductions, press releases, and media alerts;
writing, editing, and proofreading a variety of Communications and
Development department materials, such as One Book, One Philadelphia
and Summer Reading promotional pieces; keeping the Library website
current regarding the Communications and Development department's
events and programs; serving as editor and moderator of the Free
Library's Blog and MySpace profile.

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PUBLISHERS/AGENTS
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RIO NUEVO PUBLISHERS
http://www.rionuevo.com/authors.php
---
Rio Nuevo Publishers welcomes agented and unagented submissions
and queries in the following subject areas:

Western history and folklore
Regionally based cookbooks and cuisines
Native American culture, history, artifacts & spirituality
General Trade non-fiction specific to the region
How-to; hobbies, tourism, travel
Western art, artists, architecture, and décor
Contemporary lifestyle, memoir, poetry, and biography
Collectibles and photography
Books of environmental interest to the region
Natural history, wildlife, gardening, nature

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ORCA BOOKS
http://www.orcabook.com/client/client_pages/author_guidelines.cfm
---
Orca Book Publishers is presently seeking manuscripts in the
following genres:

Children's picture books
Orca Echoes: Early chapter books for ages 7-9
Orca Young Readers: Chapter books for ages 8-11
Juvenile fiction: Ages 9-13
Orca Currents: For reluctant readers ages 10-14,
  with a reading level of grade 2-4.5
Orca Sports: For reluctant readers ages 10 and up,
  with a reading level of grade 2-4.5
Orca Soundings: For reluctant readers ages 12 and up,
  with a reading level of grade 2-4.5
Teen or YA fiction: Ages 12 and up
Graphic novels

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CAXTON PRESS
http://caxtonpress.com/author-guidelines.html
---
Caxton publishes nonfiction trade books for general audiences.
We prefer to publish western or frontier history, travel,
pictorials, or narratives: nonfiction with a western theme. We
will consider historical fiction if it deals with the West. We
do not publish poetry.

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SPONSORS
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DEANE WAGNER POETRY CONTEST

St. Louis Writers Guild announces the 2008 Deane Wagner
Poetry Contest, seeking exceptional, unpublished poems on
any topic.

First place-$200
Second place-$150
Third place-$100
Honorable mention (3)-$10.

Entry Fee: $10 1st poem/ $5 each additional (up to 3 max).
For all awards and complete submission guidelines, visit:
http://www.stlwritersguild.org (click on Contests).

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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?

Even if you're not, how would you like a free resource coming
to you monthly via email?  Subscribe to the free newsletter,
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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Advertise with FundsforWriters !!!
Advertise with FFW Small Markets!

ADS FOR $9 AND UP!

$ 9 - one week in FFW Small Markets
$30 - four weeks in FFW Small Markets

$20 - one week in FundsforWriters
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$25 - one week in both FundsforWriters & FFW Small Markets
$75 - four weeks in FundsforWriters & FFW Small Markets

http://www.fundsforwriters.com/adrates.htm

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BUSINESS STUFF
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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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