Volume 9, Issue 35
August 30, 2009

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FUNDS FOR WRITERS

Writer's Digest's 101 Best Websites for Writers
2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

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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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Do you want to know how your writing can support you,
instead of the other way around?
 
Many writers dream about writing for a living, but the
reality is they are spending money on classes, software,
workshops and conferences--and haven't been earning a dime.
 
If you're ready for your writing to be a business instead
of an expensive hobby, then mark your calendar now for a
free teleclass that identifies the strategies and tools
you can use immediately to generate income.
 
Free Class: "From Class to Ca$h in 6 Weeks"
When: Wednesday, September 2, 2009 at 2 pm ET (11 am PT)
Call Details: http://vipauthors.com

                 
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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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RED HOT INTERNET PUBLICITY

I belong to a handful of online groups that exchange informative
emails to each other. With the amount of email I receive, I'm
forced to sign up for digest mode - one email a day listing all
the conversation for a particular group. As I skimmed a digest
this week, I noted a string of posts that flabbergasted me.
They labeled Twitter, Facebook, etc. as time gobblers and did
not understand their need. Therefore, they blew them off as
unnecessary.

I wish I could put a copy of Penny C. Sansevieri's new release
RED HOT INTERNET PUBLICITY in their hands. I don't know how
a writer, novelist, or journalist can exist without a heavy-
handed presence online. Penny takes you from website development
to podcasting, from Twitter to Squidoo, from autoresponders to
syndication, and enlightens you to so many resources it's mind-
boggling.

She asked me to review her book, and having met Penny at
a conference, I knew she poured herself into whatever she
published. She's a fireball and one of the best gurus out
there on Web 2.0 knowledge. Her book did not disappoint me.

I highlighted information and creased the corners of pages
where I located advice I sorely need to implement into
FundsforWriters. At our conference, she kept telling me
there was more I could do with FundsforWriters, and dang if
she wasn't right.

Not only does she tell you how to create a web site, but she
tells you the right font, language, URL, keywords, and search
engines to use. I thought I knew this stuff, y'all.

She doesn't just tell you the list of things to do, but she
gives you the easiest, most efficient resource sites to enable
you. Heck, four of the largest New York book publishers hire
this woman to mentor their publicity departments. She's one
of the top Internet publicists around.

As I've said in the past, when I believe in a book, I mark
it up and keep it on my resource shelf. I add it to my
reference list on FundsforWriters.com . This one has earned
its place alongside Linda Formichelli, Stephen King,
Sol Stein, and Jerry Cleaver in my bookcase.

Face it . . . wouldn't you rather . . .

- make sales from your desk than on the road?
- network with thousands in one day rather than two dozen?
- spend minutes online to hours in your car or the airport?
- become a household name online than a stranger at a signing?

     Hope

     

VIP AUTHORS SUPPORTS YOUR WRITING!
Get our FREE 53-page PUBLISHING SUCCESS ebook, loaded with
insider tips and resources to help you launch and skyrocket
your writing career at http://vipauthors.com.

Contest Theme: Invisible Writing
Compose 750 words or less addressing this theme in essay form.
Deadline October 31, 2009.

Pay $5 or don't pay anything. You have a choice with FFW.
First, second and third prizes in each category, ranging
from $10 to $200.

NEW: FundsforWriters is featuring Tweetebooks. Yes, you
read right. In this day of social networking in spurts,
FFW has created abbreviated ebooks with abbreviated prices.
Enter the $5 entry fee category of the contest and receive
one free. Or buy one. They are only $1.99.

http://www.fundsforwriters.com/annualcontest.htm
http://www.fundsforwriters.com/tweetebooks.htm

---

NOTE:
Shelley Lieber and VIP Authors is our Platinum Sponsor this year.
We still have openings for gold and bronze sponsors. See the
deal you can buy for advertising in sync with the FFW annual
essay contest. www.fundsforwriters.com/annualcontest.htm
 

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THE BLOG, THE BLOG!
http://www.hopeclark.blogspot.com

TWITTER ME
http://twitter.com/hopeclark

CONSULT WITH HOPE
http://www.fundsforwriters.com/ConsultHope.htm

I JOINED FACEBOOK
http://www.facebook.com/chopeclark

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TWEETEBOOKS ARE OUT!
Mini ebooks at a mini price - $1.99.
www.fundsforwriters.com/tweetebooks.htm

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EBOOKS UPDATED!!!!

We just updated these ebooks. More coming!

--Laughing Markets
--Get Paid to Write Book Reviews
--Cooking Up Recipes
--Short and Sweet: Markets for Fillers

(NOTE: If you purchased one of these in the last two
months, contact Hope at hoep@fundsforwriters.com for
your free updated version.)

  ~~~~~~****~~~~~~

WORDS OF SUCCESS

"Success is deciding from the start what end result you
want and creating the circumstances to realize that result."

-- Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup Series Founder)

 
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SUCCESS OF THE WEEK
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Hope

Approximately 6 weeks ago you had notice of a solicitation
of articles for You&Me Magazine.  I had been wanting to write
about a mixup that took place when my mother had a gall bladder
operation.  I got it ready in time to get it to my critique
group, edited per their comments and sent it in.  The magazine
website mentioned a query, but the article was short so I took
a chance.  It was accepted within 3 days and the check came
immediately.  When I get discouraged and wonder why I just
don't sit back and read, I remember a few successes and it
makes writing fun all over again. 

Thank you
Karla Stover

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ARTICLE
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Against All Odds

By Carol Alexander
 
How does a homeschooling mother of six children pursue a
career in writing? One sentence at a time.
           
The odds are against me. I have no office. The computer sits
in the living room and I have to share it. We do not even
have Internet access. Something we've committed to for the
sake of our children. My six-year-old constantly uses my
printer paper and my four-year-old the stapler.
           
In her book, Writing Articles from the Heart, Marjorie Holmes
reveals, "When people ask how I've done it--raise four children
while writing hundreds of magazine pieces and thirty books--I
tell them: 'I'm disciplined and I'm organized.'" She goes on
to say that every household has some form of a schedule and
that she plans her writing around the family schedule. As my
children, and their education, are my first priority, that
is exactly how I've had to do it. And so...
           
Each morning, after my husband and oldest son leave for work,
I type any rough drafts or editing changes I've made to my
manuscripts. Then, I awaken everyone else. Thus begins a
hectic day of reading lessons, math instruction, history
projects, gardening, animal care, cooking, cleaning and mothering.
           
So when do I write? All day long.
           
Composition comes easy in the garden. As soon as I eat
breakfast, while the children are doing their chores, I
spend between 30 minutes to an hour picking beans and
thinking, pulling weeds and running with ideas, squishing
cabbage worms and organizing stories in my head. I then dash
into the house with my basket full of produce and my head
full of words. Immediately I write down everything as best
I can in a notebook and set it aside for later revising.
           
I use this technique (utilizing the time required in mindless
activity to organize my thoughts) throughout the day. While
cooking, bathing little ones or taking a walk, I repeat a
paragraph, or maybe an outline, over and over in my head.
However, when lying down with our four-year-old waiting
for him to fall asleep at night, I must be sure not to
doze off, allowing my tired brain to drop any of those
precious words.

With six children, I also spend a lot of time in waiting
rooms. The dentist alone keeps us coming once a month just
for cleanings. When I find myself heading out the door I
always take a folder of stories in need of editing and a
magazine or two to study.
           
Every afternoon, I require the children to rest. The older
ones read. The little ones look at books or listen to audio
stories. Mom writes. Just like daddy and the big boys go off
to work, our little ones know that this is mommy's job and
they are not to disturb me until 5 o'clock. Twice a week, I
go to the library--alone. There I have no distractions, no
children, and Internet access.
           
In the evening, when everyone has gone off to bed, I return
to the recliner. Here I transcribe what I've recorded during
the day, or write fresh thoughts as they come. When I find
myself nodding off, somewhere between midnight and 1 a.m.,
I force myself down the hall to sleep.

"Sooner or later," writes Mrs. Holmes, "writers or would-be
writers must face the fact that the world will simply not
ever stop to let us write." For over twenty years I told
myself that I didn't have time to write. This year I made
the time.
 
BIO
After attending a Christian writer's conference three years
in a row, Carol Alexander promised herself never to return
until she attempted to sell something she had written.
Following this schedule (or lack thereof) she sold four
stories in the first six months of trying. Since then her
articles have appeared in Grit Magazine, Home Education,
Back Home and The Country Register.

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COMPETITIONS
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THE ELMET POETRY PRIZE
http://www.theelmettrust.co.uk/news/14/39/Poetry-Prize-Launch.htm
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ENTRY FEE £3
Theme: Elements. Prizes: 1st £300, 2nd £100; Runners up £50
plus Huddersfield University Yorkshire Prize: £100. Any poem
submitted should be no more than 40 lines in length.

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NEW AMERICAN PRESS
http://www.newamericanpress.com/contests/current.php
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$12 ENTRY FEE
Winner receives $250 and 25 copies (additional copies
available at a 30 percent discount). Submit 20-30 pages
of your best writing (any genre). Postmark deadline:
September 15, 2009.

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METCALFE ROOKE AWARD
http://biblioasis.blogspot.com/2009/07/2009-metcalf-rooke-award.html
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NO ENTRY FEE
Open to all Canadian writers with an unpublished book-length
manuscript of short or novel-length fiction. The object of the
competition is to uphold and celebrate the tradition of small
press publishing and independent bookselling in Canada and to
champion new and up-and-coming Canadian writers. The winner
receives a publishing contract with BIBLIOASIS, a leather-bound
copy of the book, a $1,500 prize, a regional book tour to
include festival appearances, a profile in THE QUARTERLY,
and a story published in Maisonneuve, summer issue. Deadline
September 30, 2009.

 
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GRANTS
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MASSACHUSETTS CULTURAL COUNCIL
http://www.massculturalcouncil.org/
---
The online application for the Choreography, Fiction/Creative
Nonfiction, and Poetry grant categories will be available
December 1, 2009. Applications for these categories will be
accepted December 1, 2009 through January 25, 2010.

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SOUTH CAROLINA ARTISTS VENTURES INITIATIVE GRANTS
http://www.southcarolinaarts.com/grants/artists/artistsventures.shtml
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South Carolina artists (individuals and collaboratives) may
apply for up to $5,000 in order to launch a new venture or
significantly alter an existing venture. Because this is a
highly competitive process, artists considering this grant
application should contact Katie Fox (803-734-8767), Artists'
Ventures program coordinator. Funding will be awarded to the
artist identified as the primary applicant, not to the
business entity. Letter of Intent to Apply - Deadline:
November 20, 2009.

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IRELAND ARTS COUNCIL BURSARY AWARDS FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS
http://www.artscouncil.ie/en/view_fund.aspx?fid=483e7a21-cdbd-4775-b275-f5a99eb16c3b
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Architecture, Arts participation, Dance, Film, Literature
(English language), Literature (Irish language), Music,
Theatre, Traditional arts, Visual arts. The deadline for
the next round of Bursary awards (originally 5 November 2009)
has been extended and the new deadline is 21 January 2010.
Maximum awarded: €15,000.

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FREELANCE MARKETS
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GREATER GOOD
http://peacecenter.berkeley.edu/greatergood/about_us/submission_guidelines.html
---
Writers for Greater Good range from behavioral and social
scientists to grade school teachers and journalists. Greater
Good's articles mix science reporting with storytelling,
often highlighting groundbreaking academic research, but in
a manner that's engaging and accessible to a popular audience.
Query with 250-word article proposal. Features are 1,000 and
2,500 words and pay 25 cents/word. Research briefs pay $75.
Interview of 1,500 to 2,000 words pay $350.

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ACTION
http://www.unitedspinal.org/publications/action/
---
Query first - online only. Looking for articles written in
plain, nontechnical language, as jargon-free as possible.
The bimonthly news magazine of the United Spinal Association
is a benefit to members of the organization: people with spinal
cord injury or dysfunction, as well as caregivers, parents and
some spinal cord injury/dysfunction professionals. All articles
should reflect this common interest of the audience. Assume that
your audience is better educated in the subject of spinal cord
medicine than average, but be careful not to be too technical.
Aim for a feature word count between 750 and 1,200 words--1,500
words maximum. Target a column word count of 350 to 500 words--
750 words maximum. Pays up to $400.

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DIABETES SELF-MANAGEMENT
http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/about/authors/
---
Diabetes Self-Management magazine is written for the growing
number of people with diabetes who want to know more about
controlling and managing their diabetes. Readers need up-to-
date and authoritative information on nutrition, pharmacology,
exercise, medical advances, self-help, and a host of other
how-to subjects. Most articles range between 2,000 and 3,000
words. Twenty percent kill fee. Query with a one-page rationale
and outline, and include writing samples. Pays up to $700.

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JOBS
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GRANT AND WEBSITE CONTENT WRITER
Location Philadelphia, PA
http://www.idealist.org/en/job/348998-315
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Seeks an experienced grant writer with strong experience and
demonstrated success in raising funds. This person will also
be responsible for managing the content, design and outreach
associated with the Museum's websites, social networking and
strategic branding initiatives.

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TECHNICAL WRITER-EDITOR
Location Arlington, VA
http://www.idealist.org/en/job/349011-152
---
The Technical Writer/Editor is responsible for working with
the assigned program to create written material that effectively
represents Partners and conveys the significant work we are
conducting in the area of non-profit organizational development
and sustainability. Bachelor's Degree in communications,
journalism, English or other related field. Employer is
Partners for Community Solutions.

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INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER
Location Corpus Christi, TX
http://ewscrippscompany.contacthr.com/13944090
---
The Corpus Christi (Texas) Caller-Times needs an energetic
reporter who can turn meaty enterprise stories into page
1A or Local section front stories several times a week.

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PUBLISHERS/AGENTS
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SKYHORSE PUBLISHING
http://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/submission.php
---
We are open to receiving submissions for proposed books in
the following categories: Sports (Team and Individual),
Outdoor Sports (Hunting, Fishing, and Camping), Adventure
and Travel, Health and Fitness, House and Home, History, 
Military History, Business, Games and Gambling, Horses, 
Pets and Animals, Nature and Science, Food and Wine,
Aviation, True Crime, Current Events.

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QUIRK PRODUCTIONS
http://irreference.com/submissions/
---
Specializes in entertaining nonfiction books that are
bolstered by very strong graphic design. We will not publish
epic fantasy novels. We will not publish children's books.

If your project is about humor, pop culture, history, sports,
literature, sex, monsters, time travel, or "guy stuff,"
send it to Jason Rekulak (jason@quirkbooks.com).

If your project is about cooking, technology, politics,
travel, or hillbilly music, send it to Margaret McGuire
(margaret@quirkbooks.com).

If your project is about crafting, gardening, fashion/
style, art and architecture, or obscure French or women's
literature, send it to Mary Ellen Wilson (maryellen@quirkbooks.com).

If your project is about dating, relationships, fashion,
beer and wine, family, weddings, or travel, send it to
Sarah O'Brien (sarah@quirkbooks.com).

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SUNPENNY PUBLISHING
http://www.sunpenny.com/submissions.html
---
We are interested in book-length manuscript submissions.
We do accept most genres, fiction and non-fiction, and
Christian inspirational works. Remember that although we
produce secular books as well as Christian works, our
standards for secular works will still be guided by our
Christian leanings. DO NOT send us magic, demons, witches,
aliens, and the like. We have a soft spot for travel, sailing,
adventure, historical novels, romance, inspirational romance,
women's fiction, mainstream and literary fiction, courage and
overcoming, gift books and coffee-table books. We enjoy wit
and humour, entertainment, upliftment. Sunpenny promotes
beauty and excellence in publishing. Books do not have to be
Christian in either topic or nature, but they do have to keep
to acceptable value standards.

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SPONSORS
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Winner of the 2009 Excellence in Teaching Award from
UNC Chapel Hill, Richard Krawiec has published novels,
story collections, plays, memoirs, poetry, feature articles,
and Young Adult biographies.  He's won NEA and NC Arts Council
grants, been nominated for the National Book Award and
Pushcart Prize. He was a Finalist for the 2009 Indie Book
Awards for Poetry.
 
It's hard to publish these days. 
Let someone who knows what they're doing help
you prepare your work for publication.

http://home.mindspring.com/~rkwriter/

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            GIVE ME YOUR NEEDY MANUSCRIPT            

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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 2000-2009, C. Hope Clark
ISSN: 1533-1326

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