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SPONSOR OF THE WEEK
Editor's THOUGHTS
NO PLACE TO GO
I recently read a blog piece, on a fairly well-known blog, on a subject I was eager to understand better. If I say too much, the blogger will know I'm talking about her so bear with me as I keep the identity vague. The title drew me in, the bullets were on target, and the material fresh. I liked this information. Heck, I was even ready to contact her and ask more questions, because I knew people who would hire her. The piece was that succinct, smart, and practical, and from someone like me who sees dozens of blog posts daily, that's saying a lot.
There was not an email address in the piece or in the bio at the end.
Okay, maybe the editor was frantic that week and overlooked it in the bio. Wow, the author of the piece is probably upset about that omission, but okay, I know how to Google. So I did.
The woman had no website. Not even a blog.
That ridiculous discovery actually frustrated me enough to pen this editorial. How dare anyone use the Internet to teach, preach, write, or entice others without having a link for that reader to follow? It's worse than bait and switch, in my opinion. You hook me then slam the door in my face. You want to tell me something then not be held accountable if I have a question. You intrigue me, then give me no place to take my eagerness.
Now more than ever before, if you have anything to offer other people whether it's your simple poem or a mystery series, your editing services or your graphic design for book covers, even your simple outlook on life about family, friends, and life . . . and you use the Internet to communicate it, get a webpage, blog, or Facebook page.
You are not allowed to hold a one-way conversation. Respect others. Communication is a two-way street.
-Hope Clark
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Mystery Writers of America University (MWA-U) is a
full-day, low-cost writing seminar designed to teach participants the essential
skills needed to craft a novel. The college-level courses are taught by
published writers and experienced teachers. The core curriculum includes:
After the Idea - Jess Louery
Dramatic Structure & Plot - Laura
DiSilverio
Setting & Description - Richie
Narvaez
Character - Carolyn Haines
Writing as Re-Writing - Hallie Ephron
The Writing Life - Hank Phillippi
Ryan
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Westin Peachtree Plaza, Chastain D & E, 6th
Floor
210 Peachtree Street NW, Atlanta, GA
Cost: $50 for members and $75 for nonmembers
To register, go to: http://mysterywriters.org/mwa-university/mwa-university-atlanta/ |
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WORDS OF SUCCESS
Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
Terry Pratchett
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BOOKSIGNING, THURS, OCT. 9 - 4-6 PM
The Edisto bookstore, edisto island, SC
MURDER ON EDISTO
A big city detective
A Lowcountry crime
When her husband is murdered by the Russian
mob, Boston detective Callie Jean Morgan suffers a mental break and
relinquishes her badge to return home to South Carolina. She has no idea how to
proceed with her life, but her son deserves to move on with his, so she relocates
them to the family vacation home.
But the day they arrive on Edisto Beach, Callie
finds her childhood mentor and elderly neighbor murdered. Her fragile sanity is
threatened when the murderer taunts her, and the home that was to be her
sanctuary is repeatedly violated. Callie loses her fight to walk away from law
enforcement as she becomes the only person able to pursue the culprit who's turned
the coastal paradise into a paranoid patch of sand where nobody's safe. But what
will it cost her?
Purchase any of Hope's books and receive a one-year subscription to TOTAL FFW free. Send receipt to hope@fundsforwriters.com |
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Success Story
Hi Hope!
I enjoyed your tele-seminar in July about the shy writer and self promotion. I'm excited about my essay that will be included in the next Chicken Soup anthology. Your words have been rolling around in my head for weeks. My nephew, a fine film maker himself, casually said to me the other day, "You have no idea how many people will be inspired by your words."
Indeed.
Stepping outside of my comfort zone, I drafted a short course outline based on my essay and submitted it to the local junior college.
And then the email arrived.
I've been approved for a one day 'chat' this upcoming semester, based on my essay. I hope I can inspire someone to change their life. I'm the laziest person on the planet, and if I can reboot my life, anyone can. I am shy no more. Self promotion. Self confidence. It keeps getting better. This is why I am a writer. Thank you again for all you do.
Sabrina Zackery
Mz3 Productions
featured article
How Social Media Helped Me Land an Agent
By Lynn Chandler Willis
Like most writers these days, I have a love/hate relationship with social media. Yes, it can be one giant time vacuum. We're talking the granddaddy of vacuums--we're talking Dyson. But writers need a life. Right? So the hours spent on Facebook are in the best interest of my career, right?
They can be.
With all the moaning about the downside of social media (mainly the time aspect), we writers tend to overlook the sheer beauty of what the various platforms provide: accessibility. Never before have we had the opportunity to be "friends" with so many publishers, agents, and other writers. Conferences are expensive and not everyone can afford to attend the more popular ones, the ones where big-name editors and agents are most likely to show up.
Years ago, the only way to meet agents and editors was to attend conferences and hope you make the cut for a pitch session. Or hopefully grab a seat in their standing-room-only panel discussion. Or you could follow them into the bar, or restroom, or hotel elevator. In which case, if you're like most writers, you're a bit introverted so that elevator ride is probably going to be rather quiet. And the restroom thing--not cool. At all.
That's where social media comes in. It's much more pleasant, for all parties involved, to find an agent and follow them on Twitter than to follow them into a bathroom! If you prefer Facebook, send them a friend request. Follow their RSS feed. Comment on their posts. And comment again. And again. You know you're getting somewhere when the agent starts to comment on your comments.
I'm "friends" with and follow several agents. I've had these cyber relationships for a year or more with various agents, and like any good relationship, it takes time to build. I've been in the business long enough to say I've sent my share of query letters to agents, without much success. But social media opened up not only a whole new door, but a golden door for me. Through Facebook, I was able to establish a friendly relationship with different agents before seeking a business relationship with just one. And even then, when I did approach the agent through a private message, it wasn't intended to be a query. I simply had a question, between friends, about the industry. That cyber conversation turned into a phone chat, which turned into longer talk which turned into an offer of representation.
Social media not only helped me find my agent, it allowed me the opportunity to get to know her as a person before ever signing a contract. To me, that's just as important as how many deals they've made. If I don't respect and like you as a person, how am I ever going to feel comfortable trusting you with my career?
So go ahead and follow a couple of agents. You might be surprised where it can lead.
BIO
Lynn Chandler-Willis has worked in the corporate world (hated it!), the television news business (fun job) and the newspaper industry (not a fan of the word "apparently" and phrase "according to"). But she keeps coming back to fiction because she likes making stuff up. She is the author of the best-selling true crime book, Unholy Covenant. Her debut novel, The Rising (Pelican Book Group, 2013) won the 2013 Grace Award for Excellence in Faith Based Fiction and was a finalist for an INSPY award. In October 2013, she was the first woman in a ten-year span to be named winner of the Minotaur Books/Private Eye Novel Writers of America Best First Private Eye Novel competition for her novel, Wink of an Eye, to be released by Minotaur in Nov. 2014.
competitions
GEMINI MAGAZINE POETRY OPEN
http://www.gemini-magazine.com/poetryopen.html
$5 ENTRY FEE.
The grand prize is $1,000. Second place wins $100 and four honorable mentions will each receive $25. All six finalists will be published online in the March 2015 issue of Gemini. Deadline: January 2, 2015.
INKTEARS SHORT STORY COMPETITION 2014
http://www.inktears.com/Inktears/WritersNewWritersContest.html
ENTRY FEE £6.
Deadline November 30, 2014. Open to short stories for UK and International writers.
Winner £1,000. Runner-up: £100. 4 x Highly Commended £25. All prizewinners will have their story published to the InkTears Readers and their Bio published on the InkTears website.
Length: 1,000-3,500 words, any theme and open to age 18+.
ELDIN CONTEST
http://eldinfellowship.org/
$10 ENTRY FEE.
Any unpublished middle grade manuscript, in whole or part, for which no publication contract exists at the time of submission, is eligible. Only English language submissions will be considered. Contestants cannot be previously published in middle grade book-length fiction. $1,000 prize and trophy. Deadline December 31, 2014. Submit the first 5000 words of an unpublished middle-grade manuscript, along with a comprehensive synopsis (maximum 2,000 words, no minimum), to be considered.
WOMEN'S NATIONAL BOOK ASSOCIATION CONTEST
http://www.wnba-books.org/contest
$15-$20 ENTRY FEE.
WNBA Writing Contest is open to all adults over 18 years of age writing in English. International submissions are welcome if they are able to accept the winning prize in US dollars. Fiction: 2,500 word limit - short fiction only; no novels. Creative Non-Fiction: 2,500 word limit. Poetry: 3- 5 pages maximum. $250 cash prize and publication in the Bookwoman, the official publication of the Women's National Book Association, with 10 chapters nationwide. Proceeds from the contest will go to support scholarships for writing conferences and other professional development training.
KINDERGARTEN STORY CONTEST
http://institutechildrenslit.com/online-contest-rules.htm
$15 ENTRY FEE.
The contest offers five cash prizes: $500 for the winner, $250 for second place, and $100 for third, fourth, and fifth places. To enter our Kindergarten Contest, submit a fiction or nonfiction story about family, friends, life, play, or school--really anything--for ages 5 to 6, up to 150 words. The story should be appropriate for kindergarteners who are just learning to read on their own. It should be fun, use appropriate vocabulary and syntax, and be interesting to youngest readers. Deadline November 7, 2014.
GRANTS
ARIZONA POETRY CENTER RESIDENCY
http://poetry.arizona.edu/awards-residencies/summer-residency-program
The Poetry Center will award one residency each summer for a poet to spend two weeks in Tucson, Arizona developing his/her work. Writers at any stage of their careers may apply; emerging writers are welcome. The residency includes a $500 stipend and a two-week stay in a studio apartment located within steps of the Center's renowned library of contemporary poetry. Submissions will close on December 15, 2014 at midnight (MST).
VIRGINIA ARTIST FELLOWSHIPS
http://www.arts.virginia.gov/grants.html
To recognize the creative excellence of individual Virginia artists and to support their pursuit of artistic excellence, a limited number of fellowships are available to professional creative artists living in Virginia. Funding in this category is highly competitive. In past years less than 10 percent of the applicants have received funding. Specific arts disciplines will be eligible for support each year on a rotating basis, depending upon the amount of state and federal funding available to the Commission. Artists should confirm with the Commission staff the categories to be funded each year. Artists will be considered for fellowships of $5,000.
MARYLAND STATE ARTS COUNCIL ARTISTS IN RESIDENCY
http://www.msac.org/artists-in-residence-roster
The MSAC's Artist-in-Residence (AiR) program provides grants to Maryland schools that cover half the cost of a teaching artist residency in a particular school. Maryland schools are invited to browse the MSAC's AiR Roster to select an MSAC Artist-in-Residence. The school then applies for a grant from the MSAC that covers half the cost of the residency. The artists on this roster specialize in harnessing the arts as tools for learning, and are available to lead hands-on, intensive arts workshops in Maryland schools.
HUMANITIES TEXAS
http://www.humanitiestexas.org/grants/apply
Mini-grants fund up to $1,500 of the costs associated with public humanities programs. These small grants, which are easy to apply for and administer, are particularly appropriate for funding a speaker and/or the rental of a traveling exhibition, including those provided by Humanities Texas. NOTE: These grants are made to organizations and groups, so when you have a project idea, contact the outlets where you intend to present, publish, teach, etc. and suggest they fund you with this grant. Texans only.
OHIO ARTISTS WITH DISABILITIES GRANTS
http://www.oac.state.oh.us/grantsprogs/guidelines/ADAP.asp
The Artists with Disabilities Access Program (ADAP) provides funding that gives artists with disabilities the necessary resources they need to further their artistic development. The OAC believes that creative expression by artists of all abilities is essential to building dynamic and diverse communities throughout Ohio. Artists with disabilities present a unique vision that encourages individuals and communities to see themselves and others in new ways. The Artists with Disabilities Access Program has quarterly deadlines on June 1, September 1, December 1 and March 1 or until all funds are expended.
FREELANCE MARKETS
GAYCATION
http://gaycationmagazine.com/submissions/
Freelance writers are invited to submit articles and stories to Gaycation Magazine, a new print and digital magazine covering the changing identity of LGBT travel. 500 to 1,300 words per story. Pays up to $150 per story.
SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING
https://ecscscliving.app.box.com/s/7r7im55t25q9oq34guom
Feature articles can cover any topic pertaining to South Carolina, including energy issues, general interest articles, service pieces, and topics on travel, food, and lifestyle. Word length 1,500-3,000 words. Pays $450/article. Departments include concise one-page profiles of people and local celebrities; short travel narratives about wonderful places to visit, including museums, attractions, hiking trails, and beaches; profiles of local chefs, eateries and restaurants; and inspiring stories of pets and their owners. Departments run between 350-700 words. Pays $200-$300.
NORTHSTAR TRAVEL MEDIA
http://www.northstartravelmedia.com/About-Us/Jobs/Editorial-freelancers/
Northstar Travel Media, LLC invites you to share your cover letter, resume and writing samples to be considered for freelance editorial work. Candidates will only be contacted if there is a fit for specific work. Please also feel free to visit each publication's webpage and contact the editors directly.
US KIDS
http://www.uskidsmags.com/writers-guidelines/
As part of the Children's Better Health Institute, we are always in need of high-quality stories, articles, and activities with a broad health and fitness focus. Please keep in mind that we would rather show kids living a healthy lifestyle than dictate a healthy lifestyle to our readers. In other words, health topics should be incorporated into the story or article, not be the focus of it. Children's magazines are Humpty Dumpty, and Jack and Jill. Pay is roughly 20 cents/word and up.
CLUBHOUSE MAGAZINE
http://www.clubhousemagazine.com/submission-guidelines
Adventures in Odyssey Clubhouse readers are 8- to 12-year-old boys and girls who desire to know more about God and the Bible. Their parents (who typically pay for a subscription) want wholesome, educational material with Scriptural or moral insight. The kids want excitement, adventure, action, humor or mystery. Your job as a writer is to please both the parent and child with each article. Generally pays 15 to 25 cents per word. $200 and up for feature-length fiction stories. $150 and up for nonfiction stories.
YES! MAGAZINE
http://www.yesmagazine.org/about/writers-guidelines
Each issue of YES! includes a series of articles focused on a theme--about solutions to a significant challenge facing our world--and a number of timely, non-theme articles. Our non-theme section provides ongoing coverage of issues like health, climate change, globalization, media reform, faith, democracy, economy and labor, social and racial justice, and peace building. Pay rates for articles vary and are negotiated based on the circumstances of the writer and the assignment. YES! pays higher rates for original reporting and deeply researched stories that break new ground.
JOBS
NO JOBS THIS WEEK
publishers/agents
HARPER COLLINS AUSTRALIA
http://www.wednesdaypost.com.au/
HarperCollins is inviting unsolicited manuscripts from aspiring authors in Australia, New Zealand and around the world. Whether or not you've been previously published, this is the perfect opportunity to submit your work and have a chance to be published by an award-winning, international publishing house. We are currently looking for: Adult fiction, particularly commercial women's fiction, erotica, romance and young adult fiction. Non Fiction including memoirs, biographies, narrative histories and illustrated non-fiction.
SOHO PRESS
http://sohopress.com/resources/submissions/
Soho Press is not currently accepting unagented, unsolicited submissions for our Crime or YA lists, but we are open to unsolicited submissions for our literary list. Please familiarize yourself with the types of books we publish in the literary imprint "Soho Press" before submitting.
REBEL SATORI PRESS
http://www.rebelsatoripress.com/pages/Submit.html
We are looking for nonfiction works focussing on the categories of esoterica / occulture and speculative fiction.
BEACON PRESS
http://www.beacon.org/Assets/ClientPages/History.aspx
Beacon Press is an independent publisher of serious non-fiction. Our books often change the way readers think about fundamental issues; they promote such values as freedom of speech and thought; diversity, religious pluralism, and anti-racism; and respect for diversity in all areas of life.
SPONSORS
Hawk'sNest Writers Conference
October 25, 2014
8:30am - 4pm
Black Earth, WI
Cost: $50 (includes catered lunch)
Many interesting subjects plus receive a critique of 10 pages of your manuscript (any genre) plus a 10-minute session with a literary agent for an additional $40.
Further information at: www.hawksnestwriters.com
To register call Kathy at 608-278-8575
Book Goodies Cover Contest
For those of you that entered or were curious about the Book Goodies Cover Contest, here is the post with all the winners. There were tons of great covers entered:
http://bookgoodies.com/winners-of-the-first-annual-book-goodies-book-cover-contest/
The overall winner was in the Science Fiction Category.
We have an advertising special just for Funds For Writers subscribers:
Buy one week on our home page and get one week free - simply put Funds for Writers in the "How did you find out about us" field and we will upgrade your ad.
http://bookgoodies.com/advertising/
Click here to visit Book Design Templates.- Instead
of trying to decide what your books should look like, we've made all
the decisions for you. Just follow our friendly instructional guide,
pour in your text and your book will be ready to go. All your styles and
formatting needs are coded into our templates for easy use. Enthusiastically endorsed by Hope!
ALSO - Our cover templates are out!
The template actually comes with 3 different files, one each for
CreateSpace, Lightning Source/Spark, and a generic template for other
printers. We've also packaged the template with 20 fonts to make using
it even easier.
GET WEBSITES THAT ROCK, BOOK COVERS THAT SIZZLE
Shaila
Abdullah has over a decade of experience designing websites for
authors. Being an award-winning 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.
MENTION CODE FFW2014 AND GET 10% OFF (NEW CLIENTS ONLY)
EXISTING CLIENTS EARN 8% REFERRAL FEE FOR SENDING IN NEW CLIENTS
A few testimonials from happy clients:
"Thank
you for the gift of your creativity, insight, and problem-solving as I
threw you question after question. The site captures my spirit and
passion, and it honors my dream since childhood. I feel blessed to have
come across you (thanks C Hope Clark!) and will recommend you to those
who are in the market for a new site." --Lyn Fairchild Hawks, author, http://lynhawks.com/
"When
I first saw Shaila's work, I was struck by the fact that each site she
designs is not only beautiful but also perfectly reflects the
personality of the business it represents. Her suggestions, insight, and
artistic talent made the final product much better than what I'd
envisioned on my own." --Jacqueline Adams, writer, http://jacqueline-adams.com
A few client sites:
Fine print
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 Copyright 2000-2014, C. Hope Clark
ISSN: 1533-1326
**Note
that FundsforWriters.com places paid advertising in this newsletter,
ALL ads being related to writers and the business of writing, screened
by FundsforWriters to make sure the information is suitable for writers
and their endeavors to improve their careers. But the mailing list is
not sold to third parties. You will not receive this newsletter without
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Aweber, affiliates or other third parties. Direct any complaints,
suggestions, and accolades to Hope Clark at hope@fundsforwriters.com. We are an anti-spam site. |
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