Volume 10, Issue 31
August 1, 2010

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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, 2010

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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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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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NOTE:
FundsforWriters is no longer a sponsor of the All Genres
Writing Contest at www.allgenreswritingcontest.com.

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WAITING FOR CHANGE

Change is the buzzword, from the President of the USA to
the economy to publishing. We say we like change, but we
actually avoid it like the plague. We want life like we envision
it, but we want someone else to make sure it happens for us.

Writers aren't fond of altering the status quo. For instance:

= We want to write and not promote or seek publishing sources.
Writing is what we know, and it's all we want to do.

= We want our editors to stay put at one magazine, and our
regular clients to stick around forever.

= We want to republish our old pieces over and over, often
preferring recycling to new construction.

= We want to find our voice, hit our stride, and publish
without rejection.

= We want the publishing world to stop changing its mind
about what it wants.

= We want a resource that tells us what to do to be successful.

So when we see people break the ice and make a unique mark
in the world, we ooh and ah and marvel at their daring and
risk taking. We envy their ability to see the future or take
leaps of faith. What we don't see is the years of blood, sweat
and anguish that heaved those souls to the forefront of their
peers. Nothing in this business is an overnight affair.

Those people wrote feverishly, tossing the majority of their
work aside as they built their prowess upon trial and error.
They connected to people who aided them. They studied the
pros and cons of every step they made. They fell, banged their
heads, and rose up to find better ways to improve.

They did not wait for change. They caused it.

Human beings are made up of three groups, in my opinion:

1. Those who don't try for fear of failure and hide.
2. Those who seek a steady life in comfortable surroundings.
3. Those who can't stand still and continually seek something better.

You can't find the one book, website, blog, class or mentor
that makes you a great writer. You run hungry from source to
source, seeking ways to improve. You write rabidly, knowing
each word, whether tossed, polished or deleted, is a word
closer to success.

     Hope

 9TH ANNUAL FUNDSFORWRITERS ESSAY CONTEST

FundsforWriters.com and Literary Database.com team up to
co-sponsor the 9th Annual FundsforWriters Essay Contest.

Theme: Writing that made a difference.

Both entry fee and no entry fee categories. First place
winner receives $300. Six awards given. Limit 750 words.
Deadline October 31, 2010. Winners announced December 1, 2010.

TWEETEBOOKS

 Our Tweetebook library contains 20+ niche markets. Romance
Publishers, Children's Markets, Outdoor Markets, Seniors Markets,
you name it! Purchase one or two to try them out - they're only
$1.99. Tweetebooks are like potato chips! You can't stop at one.

www.fundsforwriters.com/tweetebooks.htm

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THE BLOG - http://www.hopeclark.blogspot.com

TWITTER - http://twitter.com/hopeclark

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

FACEBOOK - http://www.facebook.com/chopeclark
 

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WORDS OF SUCCESS

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

-Mohandas Ghandi
 
 
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SUCCESS OF THE WEEK
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Hope...
...just a note to let you know I submitted two short stories
to the San Mateo county fair.  "Twenty minutes from Tucumcari"
placed second in the general fiction, senior and the other,
"The Babysitter" not only placed first in the western senior
division but also took Best of Show for short stories.
 
John Kizziar
Beaumont, Ca.

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ARTICLE
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Overlooked benefits of self-syndication
 
By: Jill Pertler
 
When it comes to my writing career, I am big proponent of
the what's-in-it-for-me attitude. If I'm deciding whether
to join a social networking site, post something on the web
or accept a freelance assignment, I always ask myself that
question.
 
I did the same when contemplating self-syndication. How would
syndicating my work benefit me?
 
The most obvious answer here is money - moola, dinero, cash,
greenbacks. Money is a definite consideration for my writing
career - as it should be for yours. We must earn money if we
want to continue living the lifestyle to which we've become
accustomed. I enjoy eating on a regular basis, so money is a
no-brainer.
 
With syndication, the money trail can be obvious - and indirect.
Sometimes, we focus solely on the direct source of money
(cashing paychecks from newspapers publishing our column) and
fail to pay attention to the indirect opportunities waiting in
the wings - ready to put cash in our pockets if we give them
half a chance.
 
Indirect opportunities are the pathways that become available
to us because we've syndicated our work. There are a number of
them. I'll cover five here.
 
Syndication promotes your other writing.  Chances are, your
syndicated column is a small portion of your overall writing
workload. Whether you freelance for magazines, write fiction
or dabble in copyrighting, having your column and your name in
the newspaper each week increases the likelihood other writing
assignments will come your way. Use your column to spread word
of your other writing and you'll be smiling all the way to the
bank.
 
Syndication benefits a secondary business. Let's say you own a
greenhouse; because of your experience you write a gardening
column. What do you think the column will do for your greenhouse
business? Logic says people will read your advice and then look to
you for advice about their plants each spring. The same situation
would work for any number of businesses and professions.
 
Syndication elevates you to the level of expert, which leads to
other paying gigs. I am a writer and could teach a class on
writing. The greenhouse owner may have the opportunity to present
at the home and garden show. An artist with a syndicated column
may be invited to do an art workshop with students at an elementary
school. These are all paying jobs initiated as a direct result of
a syndicated column. Ka-ching!
 
Syndication can lead to a book deal. Because syndication increases
your readership and name recognition, the likelihood of people
buying your book increases as well. The book might be directly
related to your column: The greenhouse owner may compile favorite
columns and publish them in book format. Or, the book may be
completely unrelated to your syndicated work: Our artist in
question may possess a talent for penning romance novels. Because
her readers already know (and love) her writing, they will wait
eagerly for the chance to purchase her first book.
 
Syndication begets syndication. I've always struggled with the
best way to market reprints. The word reprint feels old and worn
out. "Syndication" is a word with some respect attached to it. If
you write a successful syndicated column and regularly freelance
on another topic - say education, money matters, parenting,
cooking, etc. - consider grouping a number of your freelance
articles together to make a syndicated series. People already see
you as a syndicated columnist, so selling them on the idea of a
second syndicated series of articles is a logical leap. Sell first
rights; afterward, market the group as a syndicated series. The
result? You wind up with another paycheck(s) - thanks to self-
syndication.
 
Useful links:
 
Newspaper Association of America - www.naa.org
Lists individual state websites, which you can use to find
newspapers.

National Society of Newspaper Columnists - www.columnists.com/

Humor Writer's Org -Sponsors the Erma Bombeck Writer's Workshop
every other year. Writing information. www.humorwriters.org/

Mondotimes.com - Information and links to individual newspapers.
Organized by state.

Newslink.org - Links to online newspapers. Organized by state.

BIO
Jill Pertler has touched people's hearts and funny bones with
her well-loved column, Slices of Life, since 2002. She self-
syndicated it in 2009; it currently appears in over 75 newspapers
in six states. Her book on the subject, "The Do-It-Yourselfer's
Guide to Self-Syndication" is now available online through
Booklocker.com, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com. Visit her
website at: http://marketing-by-design.home.mchsi.com/

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COMPETITIONS
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AURA ESTRADA SHORT STORY CONTEST
http://bostonreview.net/about/contest/#Estrada
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$20 ENTRY FEE
Deadline October 1, 2010. The winning author will receive
$1,500 and have his or her work published in Boston Review,
the summer of 2011. Stories should not exceed 4,000 words
and must be previously unpublished.

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PHILIP LEVINE POETRY PRIZE
http://www.csufresno.edu/english/philip_levine/
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$25 ENTRY FEE
The Philip Levine Prize in Poetry is an annual book contest
proudly sponsored by the M.F.A. Program at California State
University, Fresno. This contest, open to all poets (except
current or former students or faculty of Fresno State), offers
a $2000 prize, publication and distribution by Anhinga Press
(a Florida-based press that has been publishing poetry for
more than 25 years), and 25 free author copies of the winning
book. Deadline September 30, 2010.

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COAL HILL REVIEW POETRY PRIZE
http://www.coalhillreview.com/?page_id=12
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$20 ENTRY FEE
Coal Hill Review is interested in a wide range of fine poetry.
Deadline November 1, 2010. English only. The winning chapbook
will be published electronically as part of our Spring issue
of Coal Hill Review, and as an edition of 200 paper copies
available through Autumn House Press. In addition, the poet
will receive $1,000. Submission should consist of 10-15 pages,
either a long poem or a group of poems.

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GRANTS
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IDEA CAFE BUSINESS GRANT
http://www.businessownersideacafe.com/small_business_grants/grant_information.php?grant_id=14
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Idea Café, The Small Business Gathering Place®, is excited to
present our Tenth $ 1,000 Cash Grant for Small Businesses.
Deadline September 1, 2010. In order to access the application
form, you must be a registered member of Idea Cafe and not
have received a cash grant directly from Idea Cafe.

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NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LATINO ARTS AND CULTURE
http://www.nalac.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=300&Itemid=
---
The NALAC Fund for the Arts also awards a small number of
fellowships ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 to support artists
whose work demonstrates excellence and the potential for
impacting the Latino arts field.  Examples of acceptable expenses
for NFA fellowships include but are not limited to: costs for the
creation or completion of new work, travel, study, professional
development, living expenses, equipment, hiring of assistants,
costs for documentation, production expenses and maintenance.
Projects must begin after January 1, 2011 and must end by December
31, 2011. Deadline September 24, 2010.

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SOUTH CAROLINA FILM COMMISSION OFFERING GRANTS
http://www.filmsc.com/news/4/25.aspx
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The South Carolina Film Commission announced today that it is
accepting applications from independent film makers for grants
to support short-film projects. The Production Fund, which will
be offered in collaboration with the University of South Carolina
and Trident Technical College, will provide grant funds for one
major short-film project valued at $100,000, and up to six "mini-
grants" for smaller short films funded on an as-needed basis (from
$2,000 to $10,000 for each project.) Applications for both sets
of funds can be accepted until Friday, August 27, 2010.
 

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FREELANCE MARKETS
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WORKING MOTHER MAGAZINE
http://www.workingmother.com/?service=vpage/140
---
Freelance assignments fit the three primary sections of the
magazine: You, Work and Family. Features are also assigned to
fit our initiative packages (100 Best Companies, Best Companies
for Multicultural Women, Best Green Companies, etc). Features
are usually 1,000 to 2,000 words. Basically, we look for articles
that help moms successfully navigate the task of juggling job,
home and family. We like tightly focused pieces that celebrate
working moms while sensibly solving or illuminating a problem
unique to our readers and/or their children and family. Columns
accepted are:

Learning Curve--500-word, age-by-age (0-2, 3-5, 6-10, 11+)
child development column. And My Story--1,000 word personal story
from a reader that illuminates a working mother issue or scenario
and how she triumphed over or solved or dealt with it. Humor is
appreciated here.

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POZ
http://www.poz.com/aboutus.shtml
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Serving the community of people living with and those affected
by HIV/AIDS since 1994, POZ chronicles the AIDS pandemic
domestically--and around the world. Pays up to 35 cents/word.
POZ Planet - News, community, arts, activism, treatment and prevention
POZ columns - Voices from the community
POZ Profiles - Portrait of survival
POZ Features - Meeting the needs of people with HIV

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PASTE MAGAZINE
http://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article/4214/writer_guidelines
---
Pays up to 25 cents/word. Paste magazine is a monthly publication
focusing on music, film, books and other forms arts and
entertainment. We focus on a variety of musical genres---rock,
singer/songwriters, alt.country, Americana, indie rock, world
music, electronica and whatever else we think will grab music-
lovers seeking something a little deeper. Cover stories - 3,000
to 4,500 words; Features - 1,500 to 4,000 words; front of book
pieces - 50 to 800 words; Film Reviews - 200-500 words; Book Reviews
- 200-500 words; CD reviews - 100 to 800 words.

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JOBS
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WRITER-EDITOR
Location Washington DC
http://jobview.usajobs.gov/GetJob.aspx?JobID=89562106&aid=27015391-24710&WT.mc_n=125
---
Deadline August 23, 2010. You will be responsible for responding
to correspondence from members of Congress, State officials,
foreign dignitaries, industry leaders, constituent group
representatives, and the general public; prepares briefings
to top Department officials on matters of public concern; and
writes speeches for the Administrator, Under Secretary, and
Deputy Secretary. Writes and edits written response to the
high-level correspondence received from the Office of the
President, Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Under Secretary for
Rural Development, Assistant Secretary for Congressional
Relations, and the RBS Administrator.  Develops timely written
responses to Congressional inquiries on a variety of complex
issues, taking into consideration the interests of the recipients,
the sensitivity of the impending issues, and the consistency with
Department policy.

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POLITICS EDITOR
Location New York, NY
http://www.mediabistro.com/joblistings/jobview.asp?joid=102589&page=2
---
Wenner Media seeks a Politics Editor to expand and oversee
political coverage on the newly re-designed Rollingstone.com.
The chief responsibilities are to aggregate and frame relevant
news from around the web, to work with Rolling Stones staff of
regular contributors and freelancers to provide timely blogs
and other content, to envision and create original Web-only
political features, and to develop Rollingstone.com as a leading
site for political news and views.

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ASSISTANT WRITER
Location Reno, NV
http://www.higheredjobs.com/search/details.cfm?JobCode=175450906
---
The major function of the position is to write donor
acknowledgments, stories and articles about donors and gifts,
general reporting information and individual donor reports.

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PUBLISHERS/AGENTS
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VOX HUMANA PRESS
http://voxhumana-books.com/?page_id=15?d438d288
---
Vox Humana Press is a small, independent publisher of quality
literary fiction, non-fiction, critical essays and self-help
books focused on health. Also particularly interested in
submissions for the following imprints:

Vox Humana Latino is interested in receiving already published
work, which has not yet found electronic publication, documenting
the Latin-American experience.

Vox Humana Heritage is interested in receiving already published
work, which has not yet found electronic publication, documenting
the African-American experience.

Vox Humana AsiaEast is interested in receiving already published,
work which has not yet found electronic publication, documenting
the Asian and far eastern experience.

Please submit all queries to publisher@voxhumana-books.com.
All queries will be answered.

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FIRST RUN PUBLISHING - US/UK
http://firstrunpublishing.com/?page_id=12
---
First Run Publishing is a small press publisher; we are always
looking for new and aspiring authors. We don't take unsolicited
manuscripts, but welcome queries from interested authors. We
will consider all genres.

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POISONED PEN PRESS
http://www.poisonedpenpress.com/
---
Poisoned Pen Press is an independent publisher specializing
in publishing high quality works in the field of mystery. We
are interested in publishing books that we think booksellers
everywhere and especially independent booksellers would want
to have available to sell.

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SPONSORS
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WRITE BY THE WATER RETREATS

Write by the Water: International Waterside retreats,4x/yr offer more than a vacation. It's total literary immersion. This fall, spend 5 days: Oct 15-19, with a small group of like-minded writers, moderated & motivated by featured author Jack Riggs.

Enjoy bed & breakfast with plenty of time to write, just steps from the ocean, for only $750. All attendees are guaranteed publication in annual Write by the Water anthology. Space is limited per retreat.

Register early and save.

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October 9-10, 2010  Houston Writers Guild

FALL GENRE CONTEST

NOVEL/SCREENPLAY CONTEST

Dead N line September 3

Seven first place winners

By genre

Winners announced at our

Fall Conference October 9

Featuring Sam Havens,  Michael Larsen, Elizabeth Pomado, Jon Sternfeld, Nicholas Croce, & Jennifer Mattson

USE SYNDICATION TO BOOST YOUR FREELANCE CAREER

This how-to manual covers all the nitty gritty details of
self-syndication: finding sources, building relationships,
creating name recognition, Internet presence, what not to
post on your website, managing addresses, getting a good
headshot, dealing with fans, the terrors of public speaking,
when to break the rules of syndication, getting paid and more.
 
Jill Pertler has touched people's hearts and funny bones
with her well-loved column, Slices of Life, since 2002. In
her quick-witted, conversational style, Pertler shares the
step-by-step process she followed (and a few secrets she
discovered) when self-syndicating her column, which is
published in over 75 newspapers.
 
Available online (print and e-book) through booklocker.com
http://booklocker.com/books/4693.html.

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Get This Free Publicity Tool

Reporter Connection is a free service that tells you about
opportunities to get publicity in magazines, newspapers and
on radio/TV.
 
http://www.reporterconnection.com/joinfree/?11855

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8th year. Ten cash prizes totaling $5,550. Top prizes $3,000.
Submit poems in any style or genre. Both published and
unpublished work accepted. Winning writers published online.
Entry fee $7 for every 25 lines, payable to Winning Writers.
Postmark deadline September 30, 2010. Early entries encouraged.
Judges: JH Reid, DC Konrad. Submit online or mail to Winning
Writers, ATTN: Tom Howard Poetry Contest, 351 Pleasant Street,
PMB 222, Northampton, MA 01060. Winning Writers is proud to be
one of the "101 Best Websites for Writers" (Writer's Digest,
2005-2010).

More information: www.winningwriters.com/tompoetry

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PUBLISHED WRITER WILL EDIT YOUR NOVEL, MEMOIR, POETRY

If you're going to work with an editor, work with the best.
Have your writing edited by an award-winning, professional
writer and editor, someone who actually knows how to help you
prepare your writing for publication.  Richard Krawiec has
published novels, biographies, text books, plays, and a story
and poetry collection.  He won the 2009 Excellence in Teaching
Award from UNC Chapel Hill for his online writing courses. His
essays, feature articles, and reviews have appeared in major
newspapers and magazines across the US. The NY Times, LA Times,
Publishers Weekly have reviewed his work. His awards include
National Endowment for the Arts and NC Arts Council grants, as
well as nominations for the National Book Award, Best American
Short Stories, and Pushcart Prize.

Email: rkwriter@gmail.com  
Web - www.rkeditor.com

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WORLDWIDE FREELANCE MARKETS - Serving the freelance writing
community for 10 years. Come and try our searchable database of
writing markets from North America, Europe and around the world. 

http://www.worldwidefreelance.com

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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 2000-2010, C. Hope Clark
ISSN: 1533-1326

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