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Editor's THOUGHTS
"FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES" IS NOT A CLICHE
Agents say it all the time. Editors believe in it and can't wait for an excuse to delete a submission when someone ignores it. Websites and writing guides everywhere say, "Follow the guidelines carefully," or "Become familiar with the publication." Yet I dare say half of today's submissions do not do either.
If you DO follow the guidelines, the person you're pitching will instantly give you better consideration. I'm serious. That's all it takes. There are that many submissions that fail to adhere to the rules that finding one that does is refreshing.
Recently several places noted FundsforWriters as a paying market. FFW indeed pays up to $50 for a solid 550-600-word piece for the newsletter. The flood gates opened and in came the submissions. I was excited.
I love opening a query from a writer who obviously read the guidelines at http://www.fundsforwriters.com/guidelines . Instantly, I see that author as serious, attentive to details, and understanding of FundsforWriters' needs. Some pieces just aren't quite what I'm looking for. Maybe a little lightweight. Maybe there are nonpaying markets involved (I don't do nonpaying in FundsforWriters). Maybe it's a story so far out there that it wouldn't apply to many of my readers. That's okay. A rejection is in order, but I explain why and thank them for submitting.
Then there are others. Some of them present a concept I like, but the effort of editing makes it not worth the payment. Every editor's time is precious. If a writer submits a piece that needs work, regardless the subject, an editor can't use it.
FundsforWriters is always open to submissions. I've booked articles as far as six months out, but I don't close down submissions. But while I've got your attention, I'll post a few of my pet peeves, items that require me to email back and forth with a writer. Trust me, an editor prefers a clean package all in one submission, requiring minimal back and forth.
1) Academic writing. All theory. No anecdotes. No takeaway, practical value. No personality.
2) ESL writing. I do not mind submissions from around the world, but if I must clean up the grammar to make it work, regardless the topic, I won't.
3) Elementary topic, commonly read on many blogs.
4) How-to without links, resources, and examples.
5) Assorted fonts in one article. Editors format. Writers write.
6) No bio.
7) No intro/pitch, just the story dropped in the email.
8) No title.
9) No method of payment or address to send it to.
10) Attachments.
11) Exceeding the word count. (Won't even read it.)
I've heard agents rant at conferences and editors moan at dinners about queries that don't work. If you think the guidelines are flexible, you take a gamble, and lots of times you can not only lose the query, but you can also endanger future queries.
I love my readers, immensely. And like any editor, that's exactly why I have guidelines: so I can deliver only good material to them in an efficient manner.
P.S. TOTAL FundsforWriters is the extended version of this newsletter, with 70 markets, contests, grants, etc. and still at the ten-year-old cost of $15 for 26 issues. A great way to find opportunities to make money, without the hours of searching. Some subscribers have been around since TOTAL's origin a decade ago...they swear by it that much.
P.P.S. Tuesday, March 3, 2015, 7 PM, Irmo Library, Irmo, SC
From Concept to Manuscript - Learn how to apply classic story structure, create characters that readers care about, and find audience-appropriate subject and content. Wow - is that a crazy, all-encompassing, challenging presentation or what! Come hear me instruct on storytelling on my home turf.
THEN...On Saturday March 7, 2-5 PM, at the same library, come meet regional authors at a meet-and-greet affair and ask questions about how authors make their dreams happen and what's next on their agendas. Books will be available for purchase and signing.
-Hope Clark
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Upcoming Book Signings and Classes!
Feb 21, 2015 - Sisters in Crime, Grecian Gardens, W. Columbia, SC - Noon
March 3, 2015 - Story Structure Class, Irmo, SC Library - 7 PM
March 7, 2015 - Multi-author signing, Irmo, SC Library - 2-5 PM
March 22-24, 2015 - PubSense, Charleston, SC, Francis Marion Hotel
April 7, 2015 - Chapin Women's Club, Lake Murray Sailing Club, Chapin, SC
April 25, 2015 - One-day Fiction Class, HawksNest Writers, Madison, WI
May 29, 2015 - Savannah Book Club, Savannah, GA - 6 PM
June 20-21, 2015 - Southeast Writers Conf, St Simons Island, GA
June 25-27, 2015 - Freelance Writing, Midwest Writing Center, Davenport, IA
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WORDS OF SUCCESS
When asked, "How do you write?" I invariably answer, "One word at a time."
~ Stephen King
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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
When you land a gig or find a grant, let FFW know.
We'll share your success story here.
Email: hope@fundsforwriters.com
featured article
UNDERSTANDING CHARGEBACKS
By Jessica Velasco
We are all FFW readers for one reason: to make our writing career profitable. We seek answers to the big picture dilemmas. How much should I charge for my writing services? Where can I get good writing leads? Am I financially ready to scrap my day job?
Unfortunately, many small details get lost among the bigger issues. One of those details is chargebacks.
Understanding Chargebacks
As a serious writer, you can learn about the chargeback process here. A general overview is this: a chargeback is a credit card refund initiated by the cardholder and carried out by the bank.
Chargebacks were originally created for consumer protection. For example, if a hacker stole your credit card and bought a million pairs of shoes, you aren't responsible for the bill. However, this consumer protection has evolved into a form of fraud. Many people want something for free--and they use a chargeback to get it.
How Chargebacks Affect Writers
As a writer, your business model is different than a traditional merchant. However, if you process credit card payments, you are technically a merchant, and as vulnerable as any other business owner. Nearly all merchant processors, including PayPal, Square and similar companies, assess chargeback fees from $20 to $75 each. So if a client hits you with a chargeback in attempt to get your work for free, you've lost the expected money from the gig, fees were charged, and you sacrified your writing. Bummer.
Tips for Preventing Chargebacks
First, try to deter fraudulent transactions from happening.
1) Only work for reputable clients. Do your research before agreeing to the deal. See if anyone has posted a scam report online. Review the client's website. Call the company and do a mini phone interview. Or, if the client has an office, drop by during business hours.
2) Have important conversations via email. To fight a chargeback, you need written documentation. Email is a great way to prove your case.
3) Draft an air-tight contract, sign it and make sure both parties have a copy.
Next, provide outstanding customer service to precent a client from claiming the quality of work wasn't as expected.
1) Don't accept more work than you can handle.
2) Promptly acknowledge all emails and phone calls.
3) Adhere to deadlines, or at least keep the client abreast of changes.
4) Provide a detailed invoice with the completed assignment.
Fighting Chargebacks
Fighting chargebacks to get your money back is quite difficult. That's why prevention is so important. If you dispute a claim, provide written documentation (like your emails and contract). For example, you can use an email conversation to prove the writing was received on time.
Also as a writer, you have one very valuable chargeback tool at your disposal that isn't available to other business owners. The "products" you sell have copyright protection.
Let's say you wrote an article for an online magazine. The site owner published it, but never paid you. Technically, you own the copyright for that article until you're paid. By publishing it, the site owner is in violation of copyright laws.
If this happens, you can contact the website's host company and demand a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown. If the site owner doesn't pay or remove the violating content, the site can be closed down. Therefore, when you draft your contract, add a line that says copyright transfers to the client upon payment in full. This simple phrase could help prevent the client from filing a chargeback (and will expedite a DMCA takedown, if needed).
Implementing chargeback prevention strategies now can prevent you losing a lot of money down the road.
BIO
Jessica Velasco is a freelance writer who has burned by both chargebacks and copyright infringements. Sadly, she has become an expert at dealing with these issues! Find her on Twitter (@JessLessVelasco) or at The Leadership Notebook (www.theleadershipnotebook.com) .
competitions
NEW WORKS COMPETITION
https://hugohouse.submittable.com/submit/38672
$12 ENTRY FEE.
We seek previously unpublished poems, short stories, and personal essays of no more than 1,500 words on the theme "One Hour". The winner will receive $500 and an invitation to read at the final Hugo Literary Series on May 29, 2015. Entries must be received by March 31, 2015.
CITRON REVIEW POETRY CONTEST
http://citronreview.com/2015-citron-review-poetry-contest/
$10 ENTRY FEE.
This is a contest to write poems in the spirit of Sandburg. Send us three to five poems that you feel channel his spirit. Our normal line limits (30 lines per poem) still apply. The winner will receive $250, publication and mention in The Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara newsletter. Three other finalists will receive publication alongside the winning poem. Deadline April 1, 2015.
TALLGRASS WRITERS GUILD w/OUTRIDER PRESS
https://tallgrasswritersguild.submittable.com/submit
$16 ENTRY FEE.
$500 for poetry and $500 for prose; previously published material and simultaneous submissions accepted. Working title: Embers and Flames. One to four poems or 2,500-word fiction or creative nonfiction.
WYVERN FLASH FICTION CONTEST
https://wyvernlit.submittable.com/submit/38017
$7 ENTRY FEE.
Grand Prize winner will receive $250, a personalized Wyvern coffee mug, and publication in Issue Six (Summer 2015). One second-place winner will receive $100, a personalized Wyvern coffee mug, and publication in Issue Six (Summer 2015). Three runners-up will receive personalized Wyvern coffee mugs and publication in Issue Six (Summer 2015). Deadline March 29, 2015. Limit 1,000 words.
GRANTS
KIMMEL HARDING NELSON CENTER FOR THE ARTS
http://www.KHNCenterfortheArts.org
Deadline March 1, 2015. The Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts in Nebraska City, NE offers 2- to 8-week residencies year-round for writers, visual artists, and music composers. Housing, studio space, $100/week stipend are provided. Approximately 60 residencies are awarded per year. Two deadlines each year, March 1 for the following July through December; or September 1 for the following January through June.
HUB CITY WRITERS HOUSE
https://hubcity.submittable.com/submit/36315
Deadline April 15, 2015. $30 application fee. The Writers House offers three residencies per year in an historic cottage in downtown Spartanburg, S.C. The program is open to emerging writers in the United States who have completed a college degree in creative writing within the past five years or are pursuing a graduate degree in writing. Residents receive lodging, utilities, and a stipend; they are responsible for their own transportation and meals. Our residencies include a community service component of 15 weeks with the Hub City Writers Project, and offer a stipend of $150 a week. The residency runs from Sept. 7, 2015 to Dec. 18, 2015. Please Submit: a writing sample of 10 poems, one novel chapter, a short story, or an essay of up to 20 pages; a one-page project description that includes what you want to accomplish with your own writing and your ideas for community literary service in Spartanburg; a résumé; and the names and contact information for two references.
SOUTHEASTERN WRITERS ASSOCIATION
http://www.southeasternwriters.org
Offering two scholarships for the summer workshop at Epworth-by-the-Sea on St. Simon's Island, GA. All you have to do is submit a 300-word essay about why you should be selected to attend the fiction writing sessions on June 19-21 or the nonfiction writing sessions on June 21-23. Be creative. Show your personality. You could be a part of our 40th anniversary of writers helping writers. Deadline April 15, 2015. The scholarship pays for tuition only. The scholarship recipient will be responsible for their accommodations. Please email your entries to DebraAyersBrown@gmail.com with a subject line of SWA Fiction Scholarship or SWA Nonfiction Scholarship. NOTE: Hope Clark is a presenter on fiction.
ARTERRA
http://www.arterra.weebly.com
ARTErra rural artistic residency is a multidisciplinary hosting program in North/Center Portugal. Several work spaces and different facilities and services are provided to the artists to develop the work project proposed.
FREELANCE MARKETS
CHICKEN SOUP: MERRY CHRISTMAS
http://www.chickensoup.com
We want to hear about your holiday memories and traditions. The rituals of the holiday season give a rhythm to the years and create a foundation for our lives, as we gather with family, with our communities at church, at school, and even at the mall, to share the special spirit of the season, brightening those long winter days. Please share your special stories about the holiday season with us. Be sure that they are "Santa safe" so that we don't spoil the magic for precocious readers! Limit 1,200 words. Pays $200 and 10 copies. Deadline March 31, 2015.
WRITE NAKED
http://writenaked.net/guest-blog-writers/
A blog on writing. Guest bloggers receive $50. Posts run 450-650 words. If the editor is particularly impressed with a contributor they will receive $200 in lieu of standard compensation.
ONE TEEN STORY
http://www.oneteenstory.com/index.php?page=submit
Unsolicited submissions are accepted throughout the year. One Teen Story accepts submissions from writers of all ages. Eight of the twelve stories we publish are written by established and emerging adult authors of literary YA fiction. Four of the twelve are written by teens. These stories should deal with the teen experience (issues of identity, friendship, family, coming-of-age, etc.) and should be geared primarily toward an audience of teen readers. With that in mind, gratuitous profanity, sex and drug use are best avoided. We're open to all genres of literary fiction between 2,000 and 4,500 words. $500 and 25 contributor copies for first North American serial rights. All rights will revert to the author upon publication.
TERRAFORM
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/how-to-submit-stories-to-terraform
We're looking for 2,000 words or fewer--a nice, digestible internet length--of speculative fiction honing in on the tech, science, and future culture topics driving the zeitgeist. We're looking especially for nearer-future fiction; think a bit more along the lines of sentient chat bots or climate-changed dystopias and less far-flung alien space operas. And we don't care what form it comes in: Classic-style SF short stories, social media posts from beyond the horizon, fictive data dumps, experimental graphic narratives, and so on. Our baseline rate is 20 cents/word.
JOBS
CHILD TRAUMA EDITOR - THE CHRONICLE OF SOCIAL CHANGE
http://journalism.berkeley.edu/career/jobs/detail/17972/
The Child Trauma Editor will be responsible for producing stories for web and radio, managing freelance writers, editing stories and managing deadlines and deliverables. The ideal candidate will be a skilled writer and editor with experience at a daily newspaper and/or radio outlet, who also has excellent communications skills and is highly detail-oriented.
publishers/agents
TINDER PRESS
http://tinderpress.co.uk/2015/01/tinder-press-open-submission/
At Tinder Press we are committed to finding the freshest literary voices, and the time seems right for us to reach out directly to authors at an early stage in their careers. March 2 through 15, 2015, the imprint will be open to accept fifty pages, an outline and an author biography from previously unpublished writers of fiction. Short stories will be considered, in addition to novels.
REID AGENCY
http://www.jetreidliterary.com/Query.html
Literary agency that is looking for: fiction and narrative non-fiction. Good stories. Specifically, thrillers; mysteries; crime fiction of all kinds; commercial fiction; literary fiction; biography; history; science. Particularly interested in: the Pacific Northwest; death penalty issues; justice issues; contemporary (not pop) music; contemporary (not modern) art. Not looking for: science fiction; fantasy; speculative fiction; horror; westerns; romance; self-help; personal growth; parenting; health; YA or middle-grade books even though they've sold them. Will not consider: screenplays, poetry.
KT LITERARY AGENCY
http://ktliterary.com/submissions/
We're thrilled to be actively seeking new clients with great writing, unique stories, and complex characters, for middle grade, young adult, and adult. Please note: At this time we still do not represent picture books.
TALBOT LITERARY AGENCY
http://www.talbotfortuneagency.com/index.cfm/faq/
Categories John is most interested in representing: Thrillers and suspense of all types, and cozy mystery series, women's fiction and in particular like what might be classified as romantic comedy, both by male and female authors. In nonfiction seeks sports narratives and biographies, history (particularly military) and current events. Categories Gail is most interested in representing: narrative nonfiction, commercial women's fiction, historical fiction, mysteries and romance novels. Narrative nonfiction can cover almost any subject, but history, food, and science are particular interests. Newspaper and magazine experience is helpful; many books are generated from concepts first tried out in articles.
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Nashville Novel Writing Workshop
Is your novel stalled at the starting gate, mired in the middle, or faltering at the finish line?
Or are you an experienced writer who'd like to deepen and enrich your next book?
 Whatever your genre, whether you're a pantser or a plotter,the Question Me a Novel workshop can help.
Taught by Shamus Award finalist Jaden Terrell, this
intensive one-day workshop covers character, setting,
plot, and more -- everything you need to take your
story from idea to finished draft. Saturday, March 7, 2015.
Mention FundsforWriters to get the discounted price.
A new contest from Winning Writers. Get funds and publicity for your self-published book. Three categories: Mainstream/Literary Fiction, Genre Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction. The top winner in each category will receive $1,500, a credit towards the high-quality publishing services at BookBaby, free advertising in our email newsletter, and expert marketing advice from Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of The Frugal Book Promoter. We'll award cash prizes of $6,000 in all, with gifts for everyone who enters. Entry fee: $50. Submit online or by mail. Deadline: June 30. Judges: Jendi Reiter and Ellen LaFleche. Learn more at www.winningwriters.com/north
HOUSTON WRITERS  HOUSE CONTEST
Five chances to place first:
MYSTERY/THRILLER, SCI-FI/FANTASY,
HISTORICAL OR CONTEMPORARY WOMAN'S FICTION,
MIDDLE SCHOOL, YOUNG ADULT
Top Genre Prize (CRÈME DE LA CRÈME): $300
First place in each genre: $100
Entry fee $15. No limit to the number of entries.
Unpublished novels only. Limit ten pages plus cover page.
Submit via email: rpaulding@ sbcglobal.net
Submit via postal: HWH, 12523 Folkcrest Way, Stafford TX 77477
Deadline: March 30, 2015
Rules for the contest: www.houstonwritershouse.com
Questions: rpaulding@sbcglobal.net
Hey folks! Remember the Charleston, SC conference I raved about last
year? I've never been so excited about a conference in my life than I
was with that one. I will be there. Will you?
FundsforWriters
readers can use code FFW2015 when signing up for the conference. That
will entitle them to a 10% discount off VIP or Basic registration.
Discount will be reflected at check-out.
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A few testimonials from happy clients:
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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/
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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 2000-2015, 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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