Seated at my signing table at Killer Nashville conference.
Loved the black tablecloth. Made some good friends and ran
off with the Silver Falchion Award, the award given to a
recently released mystery by a Killer Nashville attendee.
So cool!!!

Editor: C. Hope Clark
Website: http://www.fundsforwriters.com
Email: Hope@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.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EDITOR'S THOUGHTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Read newsletter online at: http://www.fundsforwriters.com/FFW.htm
Read past issues at: http://www.aweber.com/z/article/?fundsforwriters

=====


 
"I HAVE TO MAKE MONEY FROM MY BOOK!" HE SAID

A major rift I hear between the traditionally and self-published
authors out there centers around money. The self-pubbed profess
they want all proceeds, not the little eight percent royalty.
As so many have quoted to me, almost verbatim . . .
"I have to make money from my book!"

Listen to me . . . unless you have an established platform,
you will not make money on your first book. Maybe not your
second, either. Unless you have the brand in place, unless you
are already recognized as a specialist, expert or wonderful
writer, you will not bank much at the end of the day with
your first book.

An author wrote me recently with a concern about this subject.
"While certainly some authors do (make money), we know most don't,
and it seems to me an unreasonable expectation. Have you written
about this?"

So I decided to write about this.

Are you selling books or are you grooming a career? You can sell
widgets or you can improve quality of life with your invention.
It's how you look at your writing, your career as a whole that
makes a difference. Are you planning for the long haul or trying
to break even in six months before deciding if this is what you
want to do?

The longer you envision your writing career to be, the better
the odds of you becoming successful.

In other words, if you think you have to make money on your
first book, then you are looking at your career in terms of
that one book. It will make or break you. That's amazing
pressure.

Few businesses start off making a profit. That's why start-ups
so readily fail. They fight to make a profit right now instead
of planning long range. They have to endure the "trial by fire"
before coming out on the other side as an entity able to handle
difficulty.

Making money takes times. You are usually an unknown with the
first book. Heck, when you see that new small business on the
corner, are you going to say, "Hey, that's a new business. I'm
going to give them a chance and check them out."

People may not be inclined to try a new business if they have
a current one they love. This is when they struggle most to make
ends meet. Do you read new authors all the time? Maybe not, that’s
why it’s difficult to get started. So the next time you see a new
author on the shelf, pick it up and give the back cover a read.
You just might be pleasantly surprised.

That's the obstacle. Becoming known.

You can be proud of a book, but are you even more proud of
your profession? Are you willing to do anything to make it
work? That fight, that effort to write better, that tenacious
drive to stick to this climb for the long haul is what will
introduce readers to your work.

Sure, some make splashes with a first book. But most of
the time, the first book is a case of paying your dues.
And you need to be very happy to do that . . . so you can
move on to the next step, then the next, and then the next.



Hope

AUTHOR SITE - http://www.chopeclark.com
THE BLOG - http://www.chopeclark.com/blog
TWITTER - http://twitter.com/hopeclark
FACEBOOK - http://www.facebook.com/chopeclark
ABOUT.ME - http://about.me/hopeclark
GOODREADS - http://www.goodreads.com/hopeclark 
PINTEREST - http://pinterest.com/chopeclark/
 
=====

 

LOWCOUNTRY BRIBE WON THE SILVER FALCHION AWARD
AT THE KILLER NASHVILLE MYSTERY CONFERENCE!

Readers are staying up all night reading Lowcountry Bribe.
They start with Chapter One and can't put it down until
THE END. People are surprised that the country can be
so intriguing. . . and that the government can be so cruel.

Purchase Lowcountry Bribe and see what makes it an award winner.

http://www.amazon.com/Lowcountry-Bribe-C-Hope-Clark/dp/1611940907
http://www.chopeclark.com

YOU SAID IT!!!

THE LATEST COMMENT ABOUT LOWCOUNTRY BRIBE....

Lowcountry Bribe took my breath away! From the opening line
to the surprise ending, I couldn't quit turning pages. Every
time Carolina Slade turns around, Hope Clark springs another
surprise/disaster/surprise disaster on her, and Slade not only
copes, she remains true to her principles while doing so.

A book I wish I'd written.

~Jan Weeks, Amazon Review


~~~~~~****~~~~~~

WORDS OF SUCCESS

"It's simply a matter of doing what you do best and not
worrying about what the other fellow is going to do."

~ John R. Amos ~




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SUCCESS OF THE WEEK
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Hope,

Did you see the results of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest?
And after all you've done to help us write well...:)
http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/2012win.html

(Note: This FFW reader WON the Bulwer-Lytton contest!)

I'm currently very grateful for all the advice you've been
giving us since Lowcountry Bribe came out - I've had a guest
blog in The Huffington Post, I've been mentioned in The Vancouver
Sun, Dallas News, Daily Mail and a lot more, and today I have a
phone radio interview in Wisconsin! All this is quite daunting
for a writer - I'm more used to sitting frowning at my monitor
than schmoozing with the press. However, having taken your advice
and not let the fear squelch the opportunity, I'm loving it! It's
a wild ride and I'm having a ball!

As always, thanks for all your help. If you want a guest post
on how to win writing competitions then let me know - I've gone
from winning nothing to winning regularly, and my writing isn't
all that much better. My entries are, though...

Thanks again and best wishes,

Cathy Bryant
www.cathybryant.co.uk


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ARTICLE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The Radio Advantage

By Elizabeth Creith

Between 1993 and 2002 I wrote and broadcast over one hundred
radio pieces for CBC (the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation,
Canada's public radio network). Fifty of those were humour,
another fifty, scripts for conversations about folklore. Three
were 12-minute features with voice and recorded sound, and
fifteen were pieces about shepherding written as letters to the
show's host.

Writing for voice is different from writing for print. Some things
you simply can't say on air. For example, an early piece concerned
the varied liaisons among my angora rabbits. "Angora rabbits" is
difficult to say naturally and clearly. The first RA is the
sound of RAW, the second the RA in RAT. On air I said ANGORA
BUNNIES instead.

I learned two kinds of timing in radio. My first lesson was to
keep to time, write succinctly, and condense every piece to 550-
650 words. Anything else either ran over my five-to-seven minutes
or had to be read too quickly to sound polished.

My second lesson was vocal timing. When you read aloud, breath matters.
A sentence had to be short enough to be read aloud easily in one
breath, or else break naturally for a breath. (I also learned not
to pop my p's or hiss my s's on the microphone!)

I had to use intonation to compensate for missing visual cues, and
allow pauses for the listener to react to something funny. Essentially,
I learned to perform for an unseen and unheard audience. (Even if the
producer laughed as I read, I couldn't hear her from the sound studio.)

This taught me to deliver humour on trust, believing that I'd left
room for a laugh or a groan in the right places. Writing humour for
the page is also a matter of trust – we don't see our readers'
immediate reactions. When I'd done thirty or so short pieces of humour,
and had had feedback from listeners, I had a well-developed sense of
comic timing.

By the time Bill Richardson, who hosted the national afternoon
program, asked me for a monthly letter on shepherding, writing for
radio was second nature. My read-aloud run-through was almost always
spot on for time. I can still estimate very closely how long a given
piece will take to perform aloud.

I received two other benefits from my radio work as well. First,
I learned right away to make a deadline, because the work had to be
ready when the studio was available.

Second, the shepherd letters gained me an audience of thousands
across the country. Many still remember me and recognize my voice,
even a decade later. When I decided in 2011 to rewrite the shepherd
letters for the page, and to add other stories I hadn't had time to
tell on radio, it was in part because I was still hearing, "Oh, I
loved your letters about sheep!" from people.

On April first this year, Scrivener Press released Shepherd in
Residence. In the weeks since, I've had good reviews from both
ordinary readers and nationally-known humourists. People tell me
they laughed out loud reading it. I believe it works so well in
large part because of what I learned writing and broadcasting for
CBC. This book was directly shaped by the fact that I learned my
craft as a writer and performer on radio.

Radio not only gave me a voice, a niche and an audience, it also
shaped the way I write on the page. Every radio station needs news
stringers, interest features, and interviewers. There may be
opportunities at a station near you.

BIO
Elizabeth Creith writes humour, horror and fantasy, as well as
poetry and non-fiction. Her first book, Erik the Viking Sheep,
was published by Scholastic in 1997. Shepherd in Residence was
released this spring by Scrivener Press. She has an article on
sheep coming out in the 2013 Old Farmer's Almanac and is resigned
to being known as a writer who writes about sheep. She is working
on a YA fantasy. Sheep make a cameo appearance. Elizabeth blogs
about writing and life at http://ecreith.com  and
http://shepherdinresidence.com.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COMPETITIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


LITERNATIONAL SANTA CLAWS CONTEST
http://www.liternational.com/contest-2/
---
NO ENTRY FEE
NOTE: This is a sci-fi theme.
THE SANTA CLAWS CONTEST is for aspiring fiction and creative
nonfiction writers who have not professionally published.
This contest covers TWO issues: the October Issue (horror/
suspense) and the December Issue (holiday/fantasy). Submissions
for the October Issue (horror/suspense) are now open. Please
wait to submit holiday/fantasy material until AFTER October
15th. Liternational Editor’s will select the semi-finalists for
publication and judging begins AFTER the December Issue’s release.
Winners will be announced on or before St. Patrick’s Day (March
17th). $500 Fiction | $500 Non-Fiction | $250 Runner-Up. Between
1,000 and 5,000 words. We will consider “flash” (works of a
thousand words or less) fiction or non-fiction, although it
would not qualify for the contest, if published.

=====

GRUB STREET NATIONAL BOOK PRIZE
http://www.grubstreet.org/index.php?id=24
---
$30 ENTRY FEE
The Grub Street National Book Prize is awarded annually to
an American writer outside New England publishing his or her
second, third, fourth (or beyond) book. First books are not
eligible. Writers whose primary residence is Massachusetts,
Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut or Rhode Island
are also not eligible. Winner receives a cash award of $5,000,
and will read from his/her work and lead a craft class as part
of the Muse and the Marketplace literary conference. For 2013,
the prize will be awarded in nonfiction, and the deadline to
apply is October 15, 2012. Book must be published between
January 1, 2012 and May 1, 2013. Self-published books are not
eligible. Paperbacks are not eligible if hardcover was published
before January 1, 2012.

=====

GOLD LINE PRESS CHAPBOOK COMPETITION
http://dornsife.usc.edu/goldlinepress/contest
---
$15 ENTRY FEE / $18 INTERNATIONAL
We seek works of fiction that are purposefully planned as
chapbooks: novellas, long short stories, carefully curated
collections of vignettes or short short stories, or other
projects that take the chapbook format as an instrumental
element of their design. Poetry - send 20-30 pages. Fiction -
send 7,500 to 15,000 words. Deadline September 30, 2012.
Writers of the winning chapbooks receive $500 and publication
of a perfect-bound chapbook with ISBN and 40 contributor
copies, 30 of which Gold Line Press will send to respected
literary venues for review.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GRANTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


THE HELENE WURLITZER FOUNDATION
http://www.wurlitzerfoundation.org/
---
Established in 1954, the foundation is one of the oldest artist
residence programs in the country. The Foundation keeps a low-
profile and serves as a haven for painters, poets, sculptors,
writers, playwrights, composers, photographers and filmmakers.
We are located on eighteen acres in the heart of Taos, New Mexico,
a four-hundred-year-old multicultural community renowned for its
popularity with artists. The Foundation fellowship offers three
months of rent-free and utility-paid housing to grantees. Our
eleven guest houses, or casitas, are fully furnished and provide
residents with a peaceful setting in which to pursue their
creative endeavors.

=====

ILLINOIS FELLOWSHIPS
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs009/1101975251935/archive/1110682278125.html
---
Individual Artist Support funds will help Illinois artists
realize career goals, take advantage of professional opportunities,
and/or produce projects or bodies of work for public viewing.
The IAS program represents the Arts Council's commitment to
continuing to support the work of individual artists. Deadline
September 14, 2012.

=====

ART342 RESIDENCIES
http://www.art342.org/
---
ART342 hosts local, national and international artists for 14-
week and 6-week sessions during the spring, summer and fall. At
this time we are able to accommodate most visual artists, including
ceramicists, scholarly and creative writers, and composers. Free
studio space, a modest weekly stipend and living arrangements are
awarded to select residents. We restrict the sessions to the artist
only without pets, children, companions, visitors or local
interruptions. Location Fort Collins, CO. Application deadline:
October 1. There are no fees for housing or studio facilities.
However, the residents are responsible for their own groceries,
supplies and spending money. $100/week for out-of-town residents.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FREELANCE MARKETS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


STEALING TIME
http://www.stealingtimemag.com/submit.html
---
A literary magazine for parents. All of our issues are themed;
we will endeavor to announce the themes with considerable
advance notice. For each issue we accept fiction, memoir,
essay and poetry, as well as book reviews. We are open to
pieces between 500 and 3,000 words, and poetry of a page or
two. We'd rather like to publish a wide variety of not-already-
famous people, so don't feel you need a list of publishing
credits or awards. We'll let you know how much we expect to
pay when we accept your piece; most will be between $100 and
$500, depending on length and how hard our jaws hit the floor
when we start reading.

=====

NATIVE PEOPLES
http://www.nativepeoples.com/Native-Peoples/
---
Native Peoples magazine is the first and the largest, paid-
circulation, consumer magazine devoted to the arts and cultures
of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Pays 25 cents/word
for articles of 1,200 to 3,000 words. Columns are "Pathways"
at 700-1,500 words, "Viewpoint" at 800 words, and "History"
at 1,000-1,800 words. Must have a unique approach as this
magazine receives many submissions. Send email queries to
editorial@nativepeoples.com 

=====

NATURAL HOME AND GARDEN
http://www.naturalhomeandgarden.com/contribute/guidelines.aspx
---
We strive to create a readable, user-friendly magazine that
will be entertaining and informative for readers interested
in living a healthy, environmentally conscious lifestyle.
Covers building, furnishing, gardening, cooking, and green
lifestyles. Articles are 1,000 to 2,000 words and pay
35 to 50 cents/word.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JOBS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


WRITER-EDITOR
Location Fort Meade, MD
http://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/324235300
---
Deadline September 4, 2012. Develop, write, and edit feature
news articles about the activities and actions of military and
DoD civilians serving at locations worldwide, reporting on and
interpreting a variety of subjects.

=====

ACQUISITION SERVICES SPECIALIST (WRITER)
Location Washington DC
http://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/324294200
---
Deadline September 3, 2012. Writes and/or edits materials
utilizing extensive knowledge in the acquisition areas to
provide interpretation and explanation of a wide range of
topics. Serves as an advisor and as a liaison serving as a point
of contact to provide coordination and development of technical
information research and information sharing programs related
to Acquisitions and Grants Services for office programs.

=====

WRITER
Location Salt Lake City, UT
http://jobview.monster.com/getjob.aspx?JobID=113671421&JDNJobDocument.JobID=63036459
---
The writer is responsible for; writing, editing, and proofreading
marketing-related material including but not limited to; ads,
press releases, product packaging and positioning copy.
Bachelor’s degree in Communications, PR, English, Journalism
or similar field. 3-5 years of writing or editing experience.
Strong written communication skills for both web and print format.
Scientific, medical, pharmaceutical, or technical background
preferred.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PUBLISHERS/AGENTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


CAPSTONE
http://www.capstonepub.com/content/CONTACTUS_SUBMISSIONS
---
Most of our titles are conceptually developed in-house and
written and illustrated by freelance writers and artists.
However, we are interested in receiving writers’ manuscripts
and reviewing artists' portfolios. Fiction and nonfiction for
preschool through grade 4.

=====

SEVENTH STREET BOOKS
http://www.seventhstreetbooks.com/
---
Seventh Street Books™ is devoted to publishing quality mystery
and thriller fiction. It is an imprint of Prometheus Books, an
independent publisher of provocative and progressive nonfiction.

=====

PYR PUBLISHING
http://www.pyrsf.com/
---
Since 2005, Pyr has published in many areas of speculative
fiction, including steampunk, epic fantasy, hard science fiction,
sci-fantasy blends, alternate history, sword and sorcery, near
future thrillers, and space opera. In 2011, Pyr published their
first books specifically for the young adult reader.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SPONSORS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SCRIBBLINGS AND SUCH EDITING AND BOOK COVER ART

Specializing in poetry, Pushcart Prize and Kentucky Poet
Laureate nominee, Sheri L. Wright offers line and substantive
editing services for your manuscript. Ms. Wright can also provide
phone consultation to discuss marketing strategies, promotions
or other literary concerns.

Need a cover for your book? Ms. Wright can help with that too,
with her vast portfolio of original photography.

For more info: www.scribblingsandsuch.com 
 

=====
 

CALL FOR ENTRIES

Shelf Unbound Writing Competition for Best Self-Published Book.

Winner will be featured in December/January 2013 issue and will
receive a year of full-page ads in Shelf Unbound.

Details here:
http://www.shelfmediagroup.com/pages/competition.html


=====

HOUSTON WRITERS GUILD CONFERENCE

October 12- 13, 2012
Friday: 1:00 - 5:00 and Saturday 9:00 - 4:30

Marriott Hotel
16090 City Walk
Sugar Land 77479
MARGIE LAWSON

Margie will cover topics such as:
Basic, complex, empowered and super-empowered passages,
backstory management, levels of intimacy, love signals,
nonverbal gender differences, backloading, emotion for
non-POV character

Registrations both days:
$135 through August 31, after that: $150

www.houstonwritersguild.org 
E-mail: info@houstonwritersguild.org

=====
 

HIRE AN AWARD WINNING DESIGNER/AUTHOR TO DEVELOP YOUR WEBSITES

Shaila Abdullah has over a decade of experience designing websites
for authors. Being an author herself, she understands the industry,
and will provide you with a content management website that reflects
your unique style, genre, and personality. Other design services
such as book covers & interiors, marketing materials, and email
campaigns (newsletters, announcements, etc.) also available.

E-mail Shaila: info@myhouseofdesign.com
View portfolio: http://myhouseofdesign.com/authors.html

Testimonial from John Holgerson, poet and subscriber of FFW -
http://johnlholgerson.com  :

“Working with Shaila to create my website was an absolute joy.
Her creative ability is unbounded. Give Shaila the seeds of
some ideas and she will grow your words into a magnificent
garden of visual imagery.”

=====


 

Your huge pretty ad could be right here.
FundsforWriters readers are loyal and read these ads.
See our testimonials at http://www.fundsforwriters.com/adrates.htm 



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

Please forward the newsletter in its entirety. To reprint
any editorials, contact hope@fundsforwriters.com  for permission.
Please do not assume that acknowledgements listed in your
publication is considered a valid right to publish.



C. Hope Clark
E-mail: hope@fundsforwriters.com

140-A Amicks Ferry Road #4
Chapin, SC 29036

http://www.fundsforwriters.com

Copyright 2000-2012, C. Hope Clark
ISSN: 1533-1326


-----------------------------