Volume 8, Issue 44
November 2, 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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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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 PURPLE SNOWFLAKE MARKETING

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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TIME IS SHORT

I just lost a writing friend. Tom belonged to one of my
two writing groups. He was not much more than my age. He
worked voraciously on a novel. We'd lived through three
edits with him. He was about to make a major change in
the setting, and we were all excited about it.

He went into the hospital with a gall bladder attack.
We joked about how easy those things were. I had mine
taken out years ago, and to this day I can't drink alcohol
like I used to. We joked about that.

Something went terribly wrong. His last critical contribution
to the group was Chapter 29 of my second novel from his
hospital bed, using his laptop. He didn't like the chapter.
He thought I could do better. He was right. He died three
days later.

I still look for his emails in my box.

We're also a global family. We hail from France, the UK,
Australia, Tucson, Florida, Texas, Canada, California and
a couple of other places, including my home in South
Carolina. Tom represented Chicago well. The group has
been known to call each other in a crisis. We soothe each
other through rejection. We went silent a while after we
received Tom's news.

I deal with issues outdoors, amidst the fresh air, oaks
and pines, azaleas and camellias, blue birds and house
wrens, dirt and water. I can't breathe indoors when life
gets intense. So I went outside to cry.

I cried because Tom expected to have time to complete this
story. He didn't want to self-publish. He wanted to go for
the gusto with a traditional press, but not without one
more round of edits from us. I cried because he was like
so many other writers, thinking he had ample time for
plenty of writing. I cried because he didn't finish his race.

I make excuses like other writers. Some days I go slack
and think something else better occupies my time. I set
goals and miss them . . . or forget them.

I won't be so casual anymore.

Thank you, Tom Stewart. We'll miss you.

    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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WRITER'S DIGEST TOP 101 BEST WRITING WEB SITES TAKING NOMINATIONS

Writer's Digest is now accepting nominations for next year's list.
Refer sites for 2009 by sending a nomination to:
writersdig@fwpubs.com  with "101 Websites" as the subject line.

Hope FundsforWriters has aided you in some way in 2008 to
prompt your nomination of us to this wonderful competition.
Much thanks for your consideration.   ~HOPE

  ~~~~~~****~~~~~~

WORDS OF SUCCESS

"Few people think more than two or three times a year.
I have made an international reputation for myself by
thinking once or twice a week."

~George Bernard Shaw

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ARTICLE
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How to Prospect for Insurance Clients -
Or Any Other Professional Services Clients

By Heather Robson

When you're marketing yourself to local prospects, using
the phone is often the way to go. I know, I know ... no one
likes to make cold calls. If you're still new to the
copywriting field, though, you can really benefit from
picking up the phone and making some calls.

The first step is to know what your goal is when you call.
Typically, you want to find out three things:

Whether the company uses freelancers

What upcoming projects the company anticipates

Who the best contact is for your services

With this information you'll know if the company is a good
prospect.

Your script could read something like this: "Hi, my name is
Heather Robson, and I'm a freelance copywriter. Who's the
best person for me to talk to about my services?"

Stay friendly and cheerful - even if the person you're
talking to isn't - and, in many cases, you'll get the name
of a contact. You might even get connected to the person
you need to talk to right away. So, have another call script
prepared in case that happens. It might go something like
this: "Hi, my name is Heather Robson, and I offer freelance
copywriting services to local professional service companies.
Do you work with freelancers?"

The answer to this first question will likely sound something
like, "Yes, but we have a freelancer we're happy with," ... or,
"Yes, but we don't have any needs right now."

Don't worry. Both of those are good answers for you, because
at least you know they work with freelancers. If they're
currently working with another freelancer, ask permission to
keep in touch. Sometimes needs change or expand, and you
might be a good fit in the future.

If they don't currently have any needs, that's when you ask
what projects they expect to begin in the next six months.
Follow up by asking permission to contact them closer to
the project launch date (usually two to three weeks
beforehand).

If the company does use freelancers, also put them on your
periodic contact list and drop them a line every four to
six weeks. This keeps your services on their radar. If a
need arises, chances are good that they'll contact you just
because you're visible.

Using Direct Mail to Find Clients

Of course, the phone is not your only way to prospect. You
are, after all, a copywriter. You should use direct mail,
too. Put together a one- to two-page introductory letter
targeting people who offer professional services. Introduce
yourself and your services. Touch on the benefits you bring
to your clients. And then make an offer in your letter. You
could offer to send a free report if they contact you for
more information, or to critique one of their existing
marketing pieces at half your hourly rate.

Go through your local phone book and put together a mailing
list. Then send out your letters. Keep careful track of who
gets back to you. These are your hot prospects, and you
should follow up with them every month or two by mail,
email, and phone.

There are all sorts of ways to stay in contact with prospects
by giving them extra value. You could send out a monthly
copywriting tip by postcard. You could call to let them know
about a special offer you have for them. You could send them
an article you found that you think would interest them. The
possibilities are endless, but remember to add value to your
contacts. It will make prospects much more likely to contact
you about projects when they come up.

My Challenge to You

I challenge you to commit to sending a specific number of
mailings each month and making a specific number of phone calls
each month.

Keep the initial contacts for each method separate, and keep
track of which is building you a better prospect list. This
will help you see the results you're getting. There's nothing
better to motivate you than to see real results. And it will
help you see which approach works better. Then you can put more
of your energy into what's working best for you.

Despite the declines in the economy and bad news from some
specific insurance companies, the insurance industry is
growing. Check it out:

SIDE NOTE:
According to the Direct Marketing Association, insurance
companies spent $6.81 billion on direct marketing in 2007.
The insurance industry is expected to grow more than 7% a
year over the next four years. Direct-response online and
email advertising spending among insurance companies is
expected to rise 21% a year through 2012.

BIO
Heather Robson is Editor of Copywriting Insider, an e-letter
from AWAI and the editorial team at Inside Direct Mail that
brings you insider information on the hottest markets in the
direct-mail industry and techniques you can use right now to
improve your skills and further grow your copywriting business.

For more information:
http://www.thewriterslife.com/b8/copywritingprogram

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COMPETITIONS
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RAW SHORT STORY CONTEST
http://www.radicalartsforwomen.org
---
NO ENTRY FEE
Radical Arts for Women is giving away the most money yet
for its third annual short story contest, open to all women
living in Alaska. The fiction pieces must be between 250 and
5,000 words and contain some lesbian content. The grand prize
is $500, publication and an opportunity to read her work. The
second place winner will receive $300 and third place $100.
Deadline is January 15, 2009.

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FIELDREPORT.COM
http://www.fieldreport.com
---
NO ENTRY FEE
November 15th is perhaps FieldReport's most important date
of 2008; it is your final chance to enter a FieldReport in
a grand prize qualifying contest. Grand prizes include the
$250,000 prize and the $25,000 TeenReport prize, awarded at
the beginning of January. And I see some gaping opportunities
for you to exploit:

1. Our Breaking News category has received very few qualifying
submissions. To qualify for this category, you must have been
an eyewitness to a real news story, and write about it as a
field report, from your own first-person perspective. With the
elections coming up, there ought to be a lot to observe. Maybe
you'll be a part of a victory celebration--or a scandal!

2. Sport + Challenge still hasn't quite come to life. Maybe
we're mostly coddled intellectuals, but surely we must KNOW
someone who once climbed a mountain or at least took an
aerobics class. Tell that someone about FieldReport, and
you'll be doing them a favor.

3. TeenReport is the greatest opportunity of all. In January
we'll be giving away $25,000 to the best teen submission,
and because we started late with this category, we have only
a score of entries to date. The teen category is also unlike
other categories in that you don't have to win a monthly
qualifying contest to become a finalist for the $25,000 prize.
The top-ranked 7 teen submissions also become finalists. I
hope every member of this site will tell a 13 to 17 year old
about these astounding odds, and maybe they'll have you to
thank for their college education.

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FOURTH RIVER POETRY AND CREATIVE NONFICTION AWARDS
http://fourthriver.chatham.edu/submit.cfm
---
ENTRY FEE $5 for three poems or one essay (7,000 word maximum).
We are looking for poetry and creative nonfiction that
capture the places--natural, built and imagined, urban,
rural or wild--where humans and nature converge and collide.
First place winner in each category will be published in
the Fourth River and will receive a $500 cash prize upon
publication. Deadline November 15, 2008.

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GRANTS
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CHARLES PICK FELLOWSHIP
http://www1.uea.ac.uk/cm/home/schools/hum/lit/awards/pick
---
The Fellowship seeks to support the work of a new and, as
yet, unpublished writer of fictional or non-fictional prose.
Its purpose is to give promising writers time to devote to
the development of his/her talents. The Fellowship will be
for six months, starting on September 1. The award is £10,000.
Deadline January 31, 2009. Application forms should be sent
with an original unpublished piece of fiction or nonfiction
of not more than 2,500 words, written in English. Writers
can be of any age and any nationality. The 2008 winner was
from Australia.

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I-PARK RESIDENCY
http://www.i-park.org
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Multi-disciplinary artists in residency program. Deadline
January 5, 2009. An international residency program for those
seeking time and space for their ideas. The quiet retreat is
conducive to the creative process. The program hosts six
artists at a time for four-week residencies from May through
November. Housing consists of a remodeled 1850's era farmhouse
and a private studio on the grounds. Selection is based on
the strength of the artist's existing body of work, the
perceived importance of the creative project being proposed
by the artist, and an evaluation of the likelihood of the
artist achieving success and satisfaction in the I-Park
environment. Location East Haddam, CT.

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ARTISTAY
http://artistay.com/section/57117.html
---
Our aim at Artistay is to help every artist in this process
and to give him/her concrete answers to any questions they may
have. For example:

- how can I find a suitable place for my project?
- how much will it cost? can I take up a residency if I can't
fund it myself?

Through a personalized study of every application and a
partnership with a network of professional residencies, we
enable artists from all over the world to achieve their aim
of finding a residence in France... and one ideally suited to
their individual requirements.

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FREELANCE MARKETS
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OUT TRAVELER
http://www.outtraveler.com/contact.asp
---
Note our upcoming issue themes: Spring 2009, closing early
December 2008: Green/Eco Summer 2009, closing early March
2009: Americas Fall 2009, closing early June 2009: Mediterranean
Winter 2009, closing early September 2009: Winter Wonderlands"?
Pitches that get attention have a definite interesting angle.
They have also been researched and include a detailed description
of the story idea, format, style, goal and angle. A magazine
on the ever-expanding field of gay and lesbian travel.

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SOUTHERN ACCENTS
http://www.southernaccents.com/accents/gardens/design/whitepage/0,15381,1038406,00.html
---
Five overall subject areas (interiors, gardens, art and
antiques, entertaining, architecture) define the content of
each issue. Divided into features and regular columns, stories
depicting each of these areas are included in all three
sections of the magazine -- front-of-book, well (the middle
section, with no advertising), and back-of-book. We are happy
to consider a well-developed idea expressed in a query letter.
Assigning editors will contact the writer within three months
if Southern Accents decides to pursue an idea. Ten percent
kill fee.

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MAXEY - GREETING CARD COMPANY
Maxey, LLC
Attn: New Submissions
P.O. Box 701
Moorestown, NJ 08057
http://austin.craigslist.org/wrg/886957848.html
---
New greeting card company seeks freelance writers for adults
and children suffering with cancer. Looking for traditional
greetings as well as humorous and spiritual. Please send
greeting on an index card with your contact information on
the back. Pays $75 per verse.
 

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JOBS
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FREELANCE WRITER
Location Oklahoma City, OK
E-mail hlartdept@hobbylobby.com
http://oklahoman.careercast.com/careers/jobsearch/detail?jobId=14143245
---
Art/Creative department produces mock-ups of (potential) products
and craft project ideas. Free project sheets provide our customers
with printed material that inspire as well as inform. Looking for
a freelance writer who has a flair for both writing and crafting.
This type of writing will use descriptive language similar to
catalog verbiage, but also combined with the intent to inspire
and motivate our customers' creativity. Both resume and examples
of published material must be submitted.

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PUBLIC AFFAIRS SPECIALIST
Location Hawaii
http://jobsearch.usajobs.gov/getjob.asp?JobID=76909521&aid=27015391-24108&WT.mc_n=MKT000125
---
Deadline November 13, 2008. Employer US Army (civilian capacity).
Serves as the Senior Strategic Public Affairs Communications
Planner to the Joint Task Force Homeland Defense (JTF-HD).
Develops and executes strategic public affairs programs and
campaigns. Plans, organizes, and directs, on a regional level,
strategic information programs in support of USARPAC/JTF-HD
and USPACOM missions, projects, programs, and strategies.
Uses communications techniques and methods, including print
and electronic media (commercial and military) to convey the
JTF-HD's mission and its role in Homeland Defense (HD) and
Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA).

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WRITER-EDITOR
Location Washington DC
http://www.idealist.org/en/job/316025-145
---
ENOUGH, a project of the Center for American Progress, has an
immediate opening for a professional Writer-Editor to manage
editorial and multimedia content for the organization's blog,
Enough Said. The Writer-Editor will contribute regular content
to the blog, contribute to the organization's research and
advocacy objectives, and help design and implement creative
outreach communication strategies.

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PUBLISHERS/AGENTS
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BELL BRIDGE BOOKS
http://www.bellebooks.com/bellbridge/aboutus.html
---
An imprint of established fiction publisher BelleBooks, Inc.,
Bell Bridge nurtures emerging fiction voices and broadens the
Southern brand of its parent company, which has been defined
by its quality Southern fiction program. Launch titles for the
Bell Bridge imprint program will begin appearing in July of
2008 and continue through the fall.  Included in Bell Bridge's
list will be fantasy, horror, young adult, mystery, general
fiction and even some Southern fiction. All Bell Bridge titles
are released in both trade paperback and ebook editions.  One
of the innovations coming from Bell Bridge will be a "Green ARC"
program which offers its advance reading copies in digital form
rather than paper.

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GREENHOUSE LITERARY AGENCY
http://www.greenhouseliterary.com/
---
Greenhouse is a new literary agency with a difference.
We exclusively represent and manage the careers of authors
writing fiction for children, from young chapter-book series
through middle-grade novels to sophisticated teen fiction.

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Alternative History.
Historical.
Fantasy
Science Fiction - either space opera, sci fi tech, or 'adventure'
Urban Fantasy
Dark Fantasy
Horror/Paranormal -Not the blood and guts type of horror.
Cross Genre, or stories that don't fit a specific genre, would
also be of potential interest to us, so don't be afraid to query.

Stories that are more likely to interest us will be either non
romance, or have only a small romance sub plot. There might
be some erotic content, but neither the romance, nor the erotic
content, will be the driving force of the story. Releases will
be in e-book first, through our partnership with Mojocastle
(this saves us buying 'shelf' software).

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SPONSORS
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TOM HOWARD/JOHN H. REID SHORT STORY CONTEST

17th year. Fifteen cash prizes totaling $5,350. Top prize $2,000.
Seeks short stories, essays and other works of prose, up to 5,000
words. Winning entries published online. Both published and
unpublished work accepted. Fee per entry is $15, payable to
Winning Writers. Postmark deadline: March 31. Judges: J.H. Reid,
D.C. Konrad. Submit online or mail to Winning Writers, Attn: Tom
Howard Short Story Contest, 351 Pleasant Street, PMB 222,
Northampton, MA 01060. Winning Writers is proud to be one of
"101 Best Websites for Writers" (Writer's Digest, 2005-2008).

More information: www.winningwriters.com/tomstory

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Ramble Underground, an international fiction quarterly
is hosting its semi-annual Short Story Contest.
$6 entry fee. Deadline: 11/15/08.

http://www.rambleunderground.org

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FUNNY GIFTS FOR WRITERS!  Created by an author! 

At my online store, The Writers Place, you will find many
unique and humorous gift items for writers of all kinds, from
authors to freelancers, editors, bloggers, journalists and
columnists.  T-shirts, mousepads, coffee/travel mugs and more!  

Great for yourself or the writer in your life. 
Perfect for Christmas! 

http://www.cafepress.com/WritersPlace

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NEED A REVIEW FOR YOUR POETRY BOOK?

Bonjour Poetry Reviews is now accepting submissions.
We specialize in poetry and encourage poetry sales by
offering three professional review packages along with
a written critique to be used in the marketing effort
for your book.
 
http://bonjourpoetryreviews.homestead.com

CAN YOU TAKE A SIMPLE PHOTOGRAPH?

If yes, you could make $2,000 a week taking snap shots in your
own backyard. on your family vacations. Or anywhere in the
world you care to travel. Here's everything you need to know
about this fun and lucrative business:

http://www.thephotographerslife.com/ph2/b8a

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BECOME A TRAVEL WRITER

Imagine sliding out of bed and knowing your "work" for the day
is to scuba dive along the Great Barrier Reef...mountain climb
in the Andes...or Kayak around the remote islands of the San Juans...

http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/twr/b8a

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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

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

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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