FundsforWriters - November 15, 2013

Published: Fri, 11/15/13

Volume 13, Issue 46 | November 15, 2013

Message from the Editor

Trying to make Roo sit still is next to impossible. Here she's in my lap, on our dock, and can't help looking for a bird, a leaf, something to dart off and attack. Yet at night, once she's chased deer away from the front yard, she comes indoors and woofs nervously at unseen objects. We swear we have a ghost, maybe two. Just as long as she sees them and I don't, I'm good.

Editor, FundsforWriters
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SPONSOR OF THE WEEK

NOVEMBER ONLY ! ! !

TIDEWATER MURDER $1.99 on KINDLE

Bell Bridge Books and I are thrilled that Tidewater Murder was selected for one of their November Monthly Deals. Take advantage of this great offer for gifts and yourself while you have the chance.

What a fantastic way to introduce yourself to Carolina Slade and her crazy, quirky, strong-headed yet loving and loyal efforts in rural crime-solving.

Huge international blog Daily KOS selected Tidewater Murder for their book review post just his week. An immense honor!

In this, the second of the series, Clark has comfortably, confidently settled into her storytelling mode and weaves a compelling mystery. There is something very cool about a federal employee as a superhero, even if imperfect. South Carolina shines brightly in every scene. You can feel the density of the summer humidity and hear the cicadas in the evening. I do love armchair travel that allows me to visit such a beautiful part of the country without the hassle of a 50 pound baggage weight limit. I look forward to my next visit, just as soon as C. Hope Clark writes another story.

Editor’s THOUGHTS

WHY WE ARE SHY WRITERS . . . AND NATURAL AT IT

I swear...emails from readers are the best catalysts for editorials and lessons. They make me think, and they give me ideas for stories, for solutions, for hints on how to help other writers.

It's been a while since I've talked SHY WRITER. As many of you know, I wrote THE SHY WRITER REBORN because I have an earnest longing to help writers afraid to publish, speak or self-promote. It's hard. I hate it, too. It goes against my grain. If I could stay locked up in my study writing, and let someone else sell my work, I would. Most of us would.

So I wrote THE SHY WRITER REBORN to share the hints, lessons and tricks I've collected over the years that help me step away from my desk and be an entrepreneur. I'm much better than I used to be, but still, there are many moments when I want to turn down an opportunity, walk away from people, and crawl into my own head to live out my life...and tell my stories.

But last week I received this memo:

"I need a push. Confidence in business and teaching has been my strength for so many years. Why am I a shy writer?"

This woman could've been me . . . WAS me. As a federal director for years, I held a reputation for being pretty strong and diligent in maintaining the direction of any mission assigned to me. Many relied upon me. Some of my peers found me intimidating. To tell you a secret, part of that intimidation was the fact I would write better than anyone I met within the agency, and trust me, writing well makes everyone who can't write think you're part genius.

But I recall the first time I had to read my fiction aloud, at a critique group. After 25 years of management, I sat in a room at the local library, holding only ten people, and literally shook as I read Chapter One of Lowcountry Bribe. Five years later, when Lowcountry Bribe had a contract, when I should've felt validated, I stood at a writers conference to read my fiction again, and shook.

That evening, I pondered what the deal was. How could I be so strong one minute and fearful the next? Then it hit me.

In business and teaching, we are symbolic of an organization, a school, a subject. We are something else. However, as writers, we are putting ourselves out there. What we say is only ours, from our words, our personal thoughts. That's hitting too close to home. If we can put ourselves in the "role" of author, maybe that same strength we use for business and teaching would come forth.

And I've been using that logic ever since.

~HOPE

WEBSITE - http://www.chopeclark.com
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://www.pinterest.com/chopeclark

TOTAL FUNDSFORWRITERS! A reminder that the expanded TOTAL FundsforWriters, that normally goes for $15/year (STILL a great deal), is free with the purchase of any of Hope's books, ebook or print. Send receipt via email to hope@fundsforwriters.com

WORDS OF SUCCESS

The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.

~ John Powell

THE SHY WRITER

Introversion may seem like a major obstacle to building a successful writing career, but this wonderful “covers-all-the-bases” book handily debunks the notion. ~Peter Bowerman, Author “The Well-Fed Writer” series

Hope has solutions in The Shy Writer Reborn that let you make the most of who you are instead of asking you to change your personality. ~Linda Formichelli, The Renegade Writer

The Carolina Slade Mystery Series
http://www.chopeclark.com/

On Tidewater Murder: Terrific. Smart, knowing, clever…and completely original. A taut, high-tension page-turned—in a unique and fascinating setting. An absolute winner! ~Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha, Anthony and Macavity winning author

On Lowcountry Bribe: With a story that moves so fast you are sure to get a case of literary whiplash, LOWCOUNTRY BRIBE is almost impossible to put down. Written with grace and ferocity, I for one can hardly wait for a second helping of this unpredictably un-pretentious and hard-scrabble down-home gal. ~Rachel Gladstone, Dish Magazine

Purchase any of Hope's books and receive a one-year subscription to TOTAL FFW free. Send receipt to hope@fundsforwriters.com

Success Story

Dear Hope,

In an early 2013 edition of Funds for Writers, you listed Page & Spine as a site accepting short story submissions for potential publication. I submitted my short story Old Coot, about a remarkable therapy dog, and it was accepted and is now published, November 2013. I have received numerous great responses to it, critical acclaim, woo-hoo!

Thank you so much for your excellent newsletter, and for your many listings of contests and prospective agents and publishers. I have submitted a couple of my novels to some of the publishers you've listed, and am hoping for more good news from them.

Thank you again!

Kerry Alan Denney Awarded Honorable Mention - L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Contest 2nd Qtr 2013 - Something in the Air. Old Coot published on Page & Spine November 2013 to critical acclaim. A Clatter of Hooves, Silver Boomer Books' 2012 anthology A QUILT OF HOLIDAYS. First Place Winner, Atlanta Writers Club Fall 2009 Poetry Contest www.kerrydenney.com

featured article

FACTS AND STORYTELLING IN HISTORICAL FICTION

By Michael Loyd Gray

When I began writing my new novel about Amelia Earhart's last days, The Canary, I knew it had to start with her as a castaway on a lonely Pacific island. But with her navigator, Fred Noonan, already dead, there was a decidedly small cast of characters. Having Amelia talk to herself endlessly would become endlessly tedious. Some research and an unexpected discovery came to my rescue.

Here’s what I knew: based on recent findings, there is evidence suggesting Earhart might have made a forced landing on a tiny atoll’s reef – Gardner Island. The more I looked into it, the more plausible it seemed. That inspired me to fictionalize her last days. The opening pages were easy: Amelia alone on an island with no reliable water source except rainwater and no food other than small birds, turtles, and legions of coconut crabs. But quickly I knew the book had to be more than just a brave young woman and her mental and physical deterioration.

As I looked more into young Amelia’s life to discover a writing voice for her, I learned she had moved from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Hyde Park in Chicago to finish her last year of high school, in 1914-15. This was before she had thought much about flying. The discovery made me think about who she was in those days and soon I was doing a Google search of Hyde Park on Chicago’s near south side, a place I once visited to hear a novelist read, and the location of President Obama’s house.

As I stared at the map of Hyde Park and imagined young Amelia walking to school and then home again to care for her ailing mother, my eyes drifted west, to the suburb of Oak Park, and I had my epiphany: Though they never met, Earhart and Hemingway spent a year of school only a few miles from each other. Ernest was then 15 and Amelia was around 17. Suddenly I knew what the book needed – an interior story in which Amelia fondly remembers her Hyde Park days and a yearlong friendship with the young Hemingway. The Canary became a better novel than it might have because I was open to how facts buried in silent history gave it the voices it needed.

If you are writing historical fiction, here’s the lesson. Being accurate is important. I had to do a lot of checking to make sure I depicted Hemingway and Earhart with historical accuracy, even though they never met. When they went to a baseball game, it had to be at Weeghman Park and not Wrigley Field, because Wrigley was called Weeghman in 1914. The Cubs didn’t even play there. It was home to the Chicago Whales.

Writing historical fiction means getting the history surrounding your characters right, but it’s also an opportunity to not be shackled by history. Your goal is to tell a great story and not merely to document history. Amelia lands and slowly dies is not much of a story. But Amelia meets Ernest and has adventures with him is a good story and it humanizes the iconic aviatrix and also generates even more sympathy for her and her plight. After all, it’s fiction – you’re making it up and setting it against an accurate historical background. Where the Cubs played in 1914 has to be accurate. But a relationship between Earhart and Hemingway that never happened – you’re free to create one and thus make history subordinate to good storytelling.

BIO - Michael Loyd Gray was born in Arkansas, but grew up in Illinois. He earned a MFA in English from Western Michigan University and has taught at colleges and universities in upstate New York, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Texas. He graduated from the University of Illinois with a Journalism degree and was a newspaper staff writer in Arizona and Illinois for ten years. Gray's most recent novel is The Canary (August 2013). He is the winner of the 2005 Alligator Juniper Fiction Prize and the 2005 The Writers Place Award for Fiction. Gray’s novel Well Deserved won the 2008 Sol Books Prose Series Prize. His novel Not Famous Anymore was awarded a grant by the Elizabeth George Foundation and was released by Three Towers Press in 2012. His novel King Biscuit was released in 2012 by Tempest Books. www.michaelloydgray.com

competitions

JULIE SUK PRIZE FOR BEST POETRY BOOK http://www.jacarpress.com/submit/ --- $10 ENTRY FEE. Submissions accepted through December 31, 2013. Jacar Press is pleased to announce the first annual competition for the $500 Julie Suk Prize for Best Poetry Book. The award competition is open to any poetry book published by an independent press in 2013. All books published by a literary, university, non-profit or self-publishing press are eligible. Full length and chapbook accepted. Send two copies of the book. The winner will be announced in April, 2014. In addition to the $500 award, the winner will be invited to visit North Carolina for a reading and workshop.

SOUTH CARLINA FIRST NOVEL PRIZE http://www.southcarolinaarts.com/firstnovel/index.shtml --- $35 ENTRY FEE. Manuscripts must be between 150 and 400 pages. Limited to residents of the state of South Carolina. $1,000 advance against royalties and publication of at least 1,500 copies of the book. Deadline March 3, 2014.

GINOSKO FLASH FICTION CONTEST http://ginoskoliteraryjournal.com/contest.htm --- $5 ENTRY FEE. $250 prize. Deadline March 1, 2014. Submit up to 2 pieces, 800 words maximum each piece. The Ginosko Flash Fiction Award is for an unpublished work of flash fiction. Awarded piece is selected through a submission process open to all writers.

FRIENDS OF THE MERRIL SHORT STORY CONTEST http://friendsmerrilcontest.com/guidelines/ --- $5 ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 14, 2014. All entries submitted to the Friends of the Merril Short Story Contest must have a speculative fiction element. Open to all writers of all levels (published, unpublished, emerging, etc.), without restriction. The contest is international, so writers of any nation may enter. Your entries must be stories, and must be a maximum of 5,000 words in length. The Friends of the Merril Short Story Contest does not accept poetry or creative non-fiction. First prize $500 CDN. Two honorable mentions of $50 CDN.

CAFE WRITERS OPEN POETRY COMPETITION http://cafewriters.awardspace.com/competitions.htm --- £4 ENTRY FEE. Poems limited to 40 lines. Deadline November 30, 2013. First prize £1,000. Second prize £300. Third prize £150. Six Commended Prizes of £50. Funniest poem not winning another prize £100. Norfolk Prize £100 awarded to best poem from a permanent Norfolk resident not winning another prize.

GRANTS

INDIANA INDIVIDUAL ARTIST GRANTS http://www.in.gov/arts/ --- The IAC is now accepting applications from Hoosier artists working in the areas of visual arts, photography, design, media, crafts and folk arts related to these disciplines for the FY2015 Individual Artist Program (IAP) grant. Artists with disabilities are also encouraged to apply. Applications are due February 7, 2014.

MISSISSIPPI INDIVIDUAL ARTIST GRANTS http://www.arts.ms.gov/grants/artist-fellowship.php --- MAC's Artist Fellowship program is focused on honoring Mississippi artists who demonstrate the ability to create exemplary work in their chosen field. The agency awards fellowships of up to $5,000 in several categories each year. The program does not require a cash match. Professional artists living and working in the state are eligible to apply. Deadline March 3, 2014.

VIRGINIA ARTISTS IN EDUCATION GRANTS http://www.arts.virginia.gov/grants_education.html --- To provide opportunities for young people throughout Virginia to participate in and learn about the arts by working with high quality professional artists, these grants provide elementary and secondary students and teachers opportunities to work with professional artists either in a school setting or through after-school or summer activities. These grants support educational programs in the arts that enhance arts instruction in the school curriculum. In addition, the grants will support the training of professional artists to work with elementary and secondary students. Deadline April 1, 2014, for programs taking place between July 1, 2014, and June 15, 2015.

NEW JERSEY INDIVIDUAL ARTIST FELLOWSHIPS http://nj.gov/state/njsca/dos_njsca_grants-artists.html --- Highly competitive awards to New Jersey artists in 12 different arts disciplines awarded solely on independent peer panel assessment of artistic quality taken from work samples submitted. The process is anonymous. The awards may be used to support the professional development of the artist. This program is carried out in partnership with the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. The application deadline for the following disciplines is July 15, 2014. Awards for these disciplines will be announced in 2015: Crafts, Playwriting, Photography.

MINNESOTA GRANTS http://www.arts.state.mn.us/grants/artists.htm --- Artist Initiative—Project grants for artists at all stages of their careers, to support artistic development, nurture artistic creativity, and recognize the contributions individual artists make to the creative environment of the state of Minnesota. Arts Learning—Project grants to provide opportunities for lifelong learners to acquire knowledge and understanding of and skills in the arts. Arts Tour Minnesota—Project grants to support touring performances, exhibitions, and other related arts activities throughout the state. Cultural Community Partnership— Project grants to enhance the careers of individual artists of color. Artists, at any stage in their careers, can apply for grants to help support collaborative projects. Folk and Traditional Arts—Project grants to support the artistic traditions and customs practiced within community and/or cultural groups by identifying, documenting, preserving, presenting, and honoring Minnesota's folk arts and traditions.

FREELANCE MARKETS

CHARLESTON MAGAZINE http://charlestonmag.com/contact --- Covers current events, profiles, restaurants, food, culture, art, leisure, travel as they pertain to Charleston, SC. Also considers humor, architecture, opinion, sports. No Southern nostalgia. Features are up to 1,500 words. Columns vary, but can go as high as 1,200 words.

ALSO AFFILIATED WITH CHARLESTON MAGAZINE... http://charlestongrit.com

Charleston Grit is a Charleston, South Carolina-based weblog featuring daily insight and opinions from the city’s most notable voices. Grit posts range from local humor and opinion pieces on topics like nightlife, relationships, and city issues to lifestyle blogs covering local fashion, recipes, and design trends; you can also check out music and art reviews, plus sneak peeks at events like Spoleto USA, the Wine & Food Festival, and Pecha Kucha. Charleston Grit is a curated site, so writers join by invitation only. Currently, Grit editors are seeking news, music, nightlife, and opinion bloggers. Writers are unpaid, but all blogs posted to Charleston Grit will be accompanied by a blogger profile, which links back to the blogger's personal website, Facebook, and Twitter information. The site and its blogs will be promoted heavily through Charleston magazine and its various media platforms, offering growing exposure for new and established writers.

CONSCIENCE http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/conscience/letters/default.asp --- A magazine of Catholics for Choice. Catholics for Choice shapes and advances sexual and reproductive ethics that are based on justice, reflect a commitment to women's well being and respect and affirm the moral capacity of women and men to make decisions about their lives. Articles should be approximately 1,200 to 2,500 words; Conscience may run longer articles by agreement with the editor. Book reviews should be 600 to 1,500 words, and letters to the editor should be 100 to 350 words. Pays $75 to $200.

DECISION http://www.billygraham.org/dmag_WritersGuidelines.asp --- We look for articles that communicate the hope that is found in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Readers should see how Christ makes a difference in your life and how you are applying biblical truth. We are considering only articles that have some connection with a ministry of BGEA either through the author's participation in the ministry or through the author being touched by the ministry. Pieces are short - 500 to 900 words. Pays $200 to $400.

ENRICHMENT JOURNAL http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/contact.cfm --- This is a quarterly journal covering church leadership and ministry. Wishes to read complete manuscript. Pays up to 15 cents/word for nonfiction piece of 1,000 to 3,000 words.

BACKWOODS HOME MAGAZINE http://www.backwoodshome.com/docs/writerguidelines.html --- Backwoods Home Magazine is a country- and self-reliance-oriented "how to" magazine that specializes in showing people how to build their own home, produce independent energy, grow their own food, and how to make a living without being tied to a city. We also cover related subjects such as health, raising animals, food preservation, country skills, home schooling, arts and crafts, recipes, and book reviews.

JOBS

TEACHING ARTIST
Location New York
http://www.idealist.org/view/job/b4H9DwmmN8Np
---
Urban Arts Partnership is currently accepting applications for Music
Production, Film, Poetry, Music, Visual Arts and Theatre Teaching
Artists for the 2013-2014 school year. Urban Arts hires highly
talented and motivated teaching artists with at least 2 years
experience working with inner city youth in grades 9-12 (experience
teaching in the NYC public school system required). Must be able to
travel to Far Rockaway and Jamaica, Queens.

PUBLISHERS

HARLEQUIN HISTORICAL UNDONE http://www.harlequin.com/articlepage.html?articleId=1363&chapter=0 --- If you've always wanted to write for Harlequin Historical, but were daunted by the length, now is your chance to submit something shorter! The response to Harlequin Historical's more sensual story lines has been so positive that we have created a new eBook sexy short story program: Historical Undone. In Historical Undone we are looking for a high level of sensuality that flows naturally out of the plotline. There should be a strong emotional basis to the heightened attraction — it's vital the reader can believe in the intense emotion driving the characters as their relationship develops. These stories should be hot, sexy and subtly explicit without the lovemaking being vulgar or gratuitous. 10,000 to 15,000 words.

NOCTURNE CRAVINGS http://www.harlequin.com/articlepage.html?articleId=1612&chapter=0 --- Harlequin Nocturne is looking to acquire bold, exciting, erotic paranormal romance short stories for its eBook program, Nocturne Cravings. These stories should be fast-paced paranormals with strong erotic fantasy and danger elements. Authors should feel comfortable exploring any and all sexual scenarios and shouldn't shy away from graphically sensual situations. In fact, the short stories should contain many erotic scenes that compel and bind the characters together. Strong, emotional characters that grab the readers imagination are also essential. We are looking for stories of vampires, shape-shifters, werewolves, psychic powers, etc. set in contemporary times. Stories should deliver a dark, highly sensual read that will entertain readers and take them from everyday life into an atmospheric, complex world filled with characters struggling with life- and-death issues. Length 15,000 to 25,000 words.

HARLEQUIN NONFICTION http://www.harlequin.com/articlepage.html?articleId=1297&chapter=0 --- For our nonfiction program we are looking for books that will entertain, support, inspire and provide insight to women as their lives and roles evolve and change. We are focused on the following categories: relationships, health, diet, fitness, self-help, inspirational and narrative nonfiction (life memoir/personal memoir, lifestyle memoir, travel memoir and celebrity biographies/autobiographies). We are also interested in brand extension nonfiction: projects that are related to one of our brands (author or imprint). Authors should be writing from a solid platform with expertise and credentials that can be leveraged in the promotion of their book.

HARLEQUIN MIRA http://www.harlequin.com/articlepage.html?articleId=557&chapter=0 --- Harlequin MIRA is proud to provide a broad range of outstanding mainstream fiction for readers around the world. Our editorial features a variety of genres: commercial women's fiction, literary fiction, historical fiction, romantic suspense, paranormal fiction and thrillers. Harlequin MIRA publishes in mass market paperback, trade and hardcover formats. Length 90,000 to 100,000.

HARLEQUIN ROMANTIC SUSPENSE http://www.harlequin.com/articlepage.html?articleId=554&chapter=0 --- These novels are romance-focused stories with a suspense element. Powerful romances are at the heart of each story, and the additional elements of excitement, adventure and suspense play out between complex characters. Harlequin Romantic Suspense novels are fueled by the romance and not the suspense. Big, sweeping romances amid dangerous and suspenseful settings. Word count range of 70,000-75,000 means a wider breadth of story and potential for subplots that speak to the conflicts.