FundsforWriters - November 7, 2014

Published: Fri, 11/07/14

Volume 14, Issue 44 | november 7, 2014

Message from the Editor

I never tire of beach pictures, so here's another of my beloved Edisto - Callie Jean Morgan's beloved Edisto. Figured you didn't want to see me with a nasty cold so generously bestowed upon me by my grandson this week.

Editor, FundsforWriters

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Newsletter: ISSN: 1533-1326

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Editor's THOUGHTS

VOICE IN FREELANCING

Sometimes I receive a great piece from a writer pitching to me for a spot in the newsletter. The idea is good, the voice unique, but the grammar might be off or the length too much. During those times, I give them reasons for rejection then leave the door open for them to resubmit.

However, often these pieces come back sanitized, which breaks my heart. I reject them again, and that sometimes makes the writer mad, thinking they were mislead and that they wasted their time. In actuality, my time was wasted, too.

What do I mean by sanitized? A writer often overshoots the word count thinking it doesn't matter, when it matters a lot. In their attempt to cut and retool the piece, they get rid of the part that matters most . . . the voice.

An editor not only wants good material, but they also want personality in a feature article. That's why they choose one writer over another. Assuming two writers can follow guidelines, and have a unique idea, it's often the one with the most personality in the writing that gets the gig.

The facts are the facts in a piece. Who did what and when. Where to go, how to accomplish something, how something was done. But it's the telling of the story that sells the work.

Writers, especially new writers, forget that.

Let's say we're talking about crowdfunding, one of my favorite topics of late. The same two writers list the crowdfunding sites and how the systems work. Yeah, I know that. I know all of that. What I'm looking for is a spin. As an editor seeking unique stories, I want to know:

1) Why are you the person to write about crowdfunding?
2) What is your opinion about crowdfunding?
3) What are your anecdotes about crowdfunding?
4) What are attributes or downfalls about crowdfunding that aren't obvious on the sites?

And I want to remember the writer at the end of the article. Something about how that writer selected their phrasing makes me perk up next time I receive their email pitch.

Like any editor, I play favorites. Once I know a writer understands me and my publication, I seek more work from them, because it saves me time having to reeducate another. However, if a new writer pitches a good story per the guidelines, and tosses in some voice, I'm excited. And I'll strike up a conversation, toss subjects back and forth, and remember that writer for a long time.

And, surprise! I'm like a lot of other editors out there, too.

-Hope Clark

Upcoming Book Signings!

Carolina Slade and Edisto Island Mysteries make great Christmas presents!

November 8 - 9-4 - CutN-Up Bazaar, 300 Murray Lindler Rd, Chapin, SC

November 13 - 5-7 PM - Clock Tower Books, Georgetown, SC

November 15 - 8-2:30 - Crooked Creek Park, Chapin, SC

November 22 - 2-4 PM - Westwood Barnes & Noble, Charleston, SC

December 6 - 2-4 PM -Indigo Barnes & Noble, Hilton Head, SC

December 13 - 2-4 PM - Barnes & Noble, Mt Pleasant, SC

WORDS OF SUCCESS

When you're a writer, sometimes you have to spend time poking at a part of yourself that normal, sane people leave alone.

-Vikram Chandra

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?

http://www.chopeclark.com/

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

Success Story

We are always on the lookout for a success story that came about through a connection with
FundsforWriters. We want to share with other readers that dreams can come true! Send to
hope@fundsforwriters.com

featured article

How a Gamble Paid Off

By Lynn Chandler Willis

Several years ago, I spent ten days in Las Vegas on business. I allowed myself only twenty dollars to gamble with and am proud to say I broke even. After my home state approved the lottery, people lined up to buy the prized tickets. Not I. I can probably count on one hand the number of lottery tickets I've bought. I'm just not that much of a gambler. But the one time I did gamble, it paid off in a big way. A very big way.

I had this completed manuscript titled Wink of an Eye gathering dust in my file drawer when I saw a notice in FundsForWriters for the St. Martin's Press/Private Eye Writers of America Best 1st PI Novel competition. The manuscript met all the criteria for submission so I stuffed it in an envelope, scraped together the thirty dollar entry fee and mailed them off. To others, thirty dollars may not seem like a lot, but at that time I was unemployed and on the last weeks of collecting unemployment. It was a week's worth of groceries. But I took a chance, crossed my fingers and said a prayer.

Time went by. Then more time went by. I eventually stopped obsessing, and finally I resigned myself to the fact it didn't make the cut, and I, the non-gambler, could kiss that thirty dollars goodbye. I could get two meals out of a box of mac and cheese, so all was good.

Then one day many weeks later, there in my inbox was an email from St. Martin's Press. They were pleased to advise me Wink of an Eye had been chosen as a finalist for the competition. I remember being super excited that it could garner a publishing contract or some other kind of notice as a second place, third place, or honorable mention submission, because surely it wouldn't win.

A week later, I received another email from St. Martin's advising me my manuscript, Wink of and Eye, had won the competition. The prize was a ten thousand-dollar advance and publishing contract. Not a bad return on a thirty-dollar investment. I'm still not much of a gambler, but I will take a second look at contests with big prizes now. If you consider entering your work in a contest, there are a few things to consider.

First, is the entry fee fair in relation to the prizes? I saw a recent call for submissions where the entry fee was forty dollars with a hundred-dollar prize. You do the math.

Secondly, winning a contest does not mean your winning entry will be published, unless the prize is publication. In that case, you still must read the contest rules and regulations, and contract if offered, thoroughly, to determine if the rights taken and means published fit your preferences.

And lastly, entering your unpublished work in a contest should carry the same polish as if you were submitting to a publisher. Revise, edit, proofread. Repeat. The process should be the same whether it's going to a contest, small press, or big house.

Not all contests are equal, but there are some really good ones out there. And they can be an excellent way of getting your foot in the door and reaching an audience, if you're willing to take the gamble.

BIO
Lynn Chandler Willis is the author of the best-selling true crime book, Unholy Covenant, and the Grace Award winning novel, The Rising. She is the first woman in ten years to win the St. Martin's Press/Private Eye Writers of America Best 1st PI Novel Competition. Her winning entry, Wink of an Eye, will be released by Minotaur Books in November 2014. She shares her home in North Carolina with Sam the cocker spaniel.

competitions

CREATIVE NONFICTION MAGAZINE'S THE WEATHER ISSUE ESSAY CONTEST
https://www.creativenonfiction.org/submissions/weather
$20 ENTRY FEE.
We're not just making idle chit-chat; the weather affects us all, and talking about the weather is a fundamental human experience. Now, as we confront our changing climate, it may be more important than ever. Send us your true stories -- personal, historical, reported -- about fog, drought, flooding, tornado-chasing, blizzards, hurricanes, hail the size of golfballs, or whatever's happening where you are. We're looking for well-crafted essays that will change the way we see the world around us. Deadline April 13, 2015. First place prize: $1,000. Runner-up prize: $500.

SILLERMAN FIRST BOOK PRIZE FOR AFRICAN POETS
http://africanpoetrybf.unl.edu/?page_id=21#sillerman
NO ENTRY FEE.
The winner receives USD $1,000 and publication with the University of Nebraska Press and Amalion Press in Senegal. The Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets will only accept first book submissions from African writers who have not published a book-length poetry collection. An "African writer" is taken to mean someone who was born in Africa, who is a national or resident of an African country, or whose parents are African. Deadline December 1, 2014.

30 BELOW STORY AND POETRY CONTEST
http://www.narrativemagazine.com/30-below-2014
$22 ENTRY FEE.
Narrative invites all writers, poets, visual artists, photographers, performers, and filmmakers between eighteen and thirty years old, to send us their best work. We're looking for the traditional and the innovative, the true and the imaginary. First prize $1,500. Second prize $750. Third prize $300. Ten finalists will receive $100 each. The prizewinners and finalists will be announced in Narrative. All N30B entries are eligible for the $4,000 Narrative Prize for 2015 and for acceptance as a Story of the Week or Poem of the Week. Works of prose and of poetry, including short stories, all poetic forms, novel excerpts, essays, memoirs, and excerpts from book-length nonfiction. Prose submissions must not exceed 15,000 words. Each poetry submission may contain up to five poems. Deadline November 15, 2014.

GENEii FAMILY HISTORY WRITING AWARDS
http://www.scgsgenealogy.com/geneii/index.html
NO ENTRY FEE.
The GENEii Writing Contest is for factual articles: either family history or local history, character sketches, or memoirs. Winning entries capture a sense of a family's experience(s), the character of a locality, or reveal an individual's character and personality. We feel the best articles help illuminate the human drama -- and will also illuminate the era, and/or the historical or social context of the subject. Prizes are awarded in two categories. Category 1 is for articles between 1,000 and 2,000 words in
length. Category 2 is for articles under 1,000 words in length. Both categories are for family history or local-history stories, memoirs, or character sketches. Submissions may be either unpublished or previously published. Deadline December 31, 2014. Prizes are $25 to $200.

THE BOILER FLASH FICTION CONTEST
http://theboilerjournal.com/500-word-challenge/
$12 ENTRY FEE.
The Boiler challenges you to submit flash essays under 600 words. We're open to hybrid formsof poetry, essay, and memoir. The only things that matters are whether you can sustain our attention and craft a well-written, sleek, beautiful little thing.Two winners will receive $600 and publication in our spring issue. Finalists will be considered for publication in our spring issue and other prizes. Deadline January 15, 2015.

GRANTS

CEC ARTSLINK
http://www.cecartslink.org/grants/independent_projects/
The ArtsLink Award program accepts applications from contemporary and traditional creative artists working in the performing, design, media, literary, and visual arts, as well as from arts managers at independent, nonprofit, and government organizations working in these artistic disciplines. The award amount requested must not exceed $5,000, regardless of the number of people planning to travel to the United States for the project. U.S. artists and arts managers seeking to collaborate with international colleagues are encouraged to apply. To apply, applicants must have a letter of invitation from a nonprofit organization or individual in the U.S., but the application itself must be submitted by the international partner. Eligible countries are Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mongolia, Moldova, Montenegro, Palestine, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Application deadline for all disciplines: December 3, 2014.

ANDERSONVILLE, GEORGIA POW RESEARCH GRANT
http://www.nps.gov/ande/historyculture/pow-research-grant-program.htm
For nearly a decade, the Friends of Andersonville have funded an annual grant program which provides financial assistance to support original research and writing leading to interpretive works on the history of American Prisoners of War. Academic scholars (including graduate students), independent scholars and professional and non-professional writers are encouraged to apply. Awards would provide a maximum of $1,000 and can be used to offset travel expenses and other research related activities excluding large equipment purchases. Deadline December 12, 2014.

ROCKETHUB
http://www.rockethub.com/about
We see ourselves as your partner. So, we've designed everything - our site, systems and support - to help you achieve your goals today. And, we are working with governments, educators, and communities to make sure your opportunities for success will expand tomorrow. Known for helping campaigners to find partners. Free to launch. No all-or-nothing system. Uses commercial names to help build platform.

UNBOUND
http://unbound.co.uk/
Unbound is a new way to connect authors and readers. Authors present a pitch, readers pledge, and when the goal is reached the book is written. It's really that simple. Unbound gets involve with publication and distribution of the book as well, giving you a one-stop shop. Unbound is both a funding platform and a publisher, fulfilling all the normal publishing functions but also splitting a book's net profit 50/50 with the author. Note that Unbound is UK located.

AUTHR
http://authr.com/
A crowdfunding site. Authr.com provides a platform for test marketing a book concept before you write it, crowd funding to attract money to write the book, pre-selling books to boost overall sales volume, and host a sales referral page where an Author can continue to market and sell their book.

FREELANCE MARKETS

CONFRONTATION MAGAZINE
http://confrontationmagazine.org/submit/
We judge on quality of writing and thought or imagination, so we will accept genre fiction. However, it must have literary merit or it must transcend or challenge genre. Send complete manuscript. Up to 7,200 words, one piece per submission; six pieces per submission for flash fiction (up to 500 words per piece). Payment $50-$125; more for commissioned work.

MONKEY STAR PRESS ANTHOLOGIES
http://www.monkeystarpress.com/p/call-for-submissions.html
We are looking for content for two mom lit anthologies 1) tantrums and babysitters, and 2) moms, children, and lack of sleep. We accept personal essay, creative nonfiction, flash memoir, and non-essay content including poems, lists, top ten, dos and don'ts, humor or inspirational, up to 2,000 words. Deadline December 31, 2014. One to two free paperback copies of the anthology and compensation ranging from $25 to $200 (to be paid after publication based on a payment structure that is explained and outlined in the contract that you sign).

ADVANCE
http://occupational-therapy.advanceweb.com/Sharedresources/advanceforOT/Resources/DownloadableResources/OT_Writers_Guidelines.pdf
Magazine for occupational therapy practitioners. Feature stories published in print are paid at the rate of up to $250 per one full page or more. A $50 total bonus will be added for pictures and/or artwork provided by the writer that appear in the article. Features shorter than one full page of copy may be pro-rated according to length. Opinion pieces include guest editorials (2/3 of a page) $75, and Reflections on Practice (one full page), $100. Games Page games published pay $25; Book Reviews published pay $50, payable upon submission. Feature articles that appear on the website only are paid at a rate of $150 total. My Story submissions published pay $25.

AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL
http://www.americanbeejournal.com/site/epage/79337_828.htm
The American Bee Journal, the oldest English language beekeeping publication in the world, is a bee magazine for professional and sideline beekeepers, as well as those with interest in bee-related subjects.

JOBS

REPORTER
Location Charleston, SC
http://www.journalismjobs.com/job-listings/1614188
The Post and Courier, a growing family-owned news organization based in beautiful Charleston, S.C., is looking for a talented writer and journalist to cover local entertainment and pop culture. Our paper has the high arts (fine art, theater, etc.) covered. The rest of it? Well, that's where you come in.

publishers/agents

KINDLE SCOUT
https://kindlescout.amazon.com/about
Kindle Scout is reader-powered publishing for new, never-before-published books. It's a place where readers help decide if a book gets published. Selected books will be published by Kindle Press and receive 5-year renewable terms, a $1,500 advance, 50 percent ebook royalty rate, easy rights reversions and featured Amazon marketing.

VIVISPHERE PRESS
http://www.vivisphere.com/
Vivisphere Publishing consists of several imprints devoted to areas such as bridge, non-fiction, history, nature, poetry and a number of other subjects. We also bring a special focus on new and deserving novelists whose works reflect life today; along with novelists from years ago whose works have retained their appeal for today's audiences.

WHITE PINE PRESS
http://www.whitepine.org/about.php
White Pine Press is a non-profit literary publisher, established in 1973, which publishes poetry, fiction, essays, and literature in translation from around the world.

ALBERT WHITMAN AND COMPANY
http://www.albertwhitman.com/content.cfm/editorial-guidelines-for-writers
Albert Whitman and Company currently has an open submissions policy. We will read and review unagented manuscripts and proposals for picture books, middle-grade fiction, and young adult novels.

WOODBINE HOUSE
http://woodbinehouse.com/submission_guide.asp
Woodbine House specializes in books about developmental disabilities and chronic illnesses. We are especially receptive to books that are written expressly for parents of children or adults with disabilities, but will also consider books written for individuals with disabilities, professionals, or a general audience.