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Volume 15, Issue 31, JUly 31, 2015 |
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Message from the Editor
Had so much fun at the Mississippi Writers Guild Conference in Oxford, MS. I was one of four faculty, and this lovely lady is Marie Lamba, a literary agent with The Jennifer De Chiara Agency in New York. We taught her how to eat grits! She was a pleasure to speak with, and each of us did our utmost to reach out to as many writers as possible. Try to attend one conference a year. It's not only good for your craft, but for your writing sol as well.
Editor, FundsforWriters
Email Hope | Visit Website
Newsletter: ISSN: 1533-1326
FFW has proudly been on the Writer's Digest's 101 Best Websites for Writers list every year since 2001
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. |
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SPONSOR OF THE WEEK
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EDITOR'S THOUGHTS
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FEELING LIKE A FRAUD
Every time I begin a new book, I doubt my skills to make it happen. Just last week I told my husband as we cooked dinner: "I keep wondering if my first books were chance, luck, my best ideas used up." He shook his head, marveling at my silliness, telling me as always that I think too hard. But invariably when I write, I wonder, "Am I pretending to be a writer or am I really a writer, and how do I know the difference?"
Any writer who thinks they have arrived are not writers to read. I've learned that much in this crazy business. The biggest names in the business continue to improve on their craft, their brand, their storytelling ability. We start as novices, then we advance to mid-level where we've learned a few things, but we aren't masters. We make some money, but not enough to crow about. Many of us quit along the way, because that doubt takes hold and wins. Others weather through that insecurity over and over, dying at a higher rung on the ladder or choosing to climb higher. But nobody is immune to the feeling that they are trying to be something they are not.
Just like we're supposed to turn off our internal editor as we write, we should invest ourselves in a story for the sake of storytelling, not for the dream of fame and wealth. It's those who continue writing, those who write because they simply enjoy the experience, those who fight to be better without putting a dollars and cents measurement on the investment, who wake up one day after writing day after day and realize they've actually done something decent and earned a degree of respect.
It's not a flash in the pan. It sneaks up on you . . . assuming you're still around.
The legitimate reward of writing is the writing itself. Your job is to write and make it a part of your being. Of course you want people to appreciate your work, but that's the gravy, people.
Improve, improve, improve. Then after years of daily diligence, someone just might recognize you as an overnight wonder. But if not, no big deal. Writing is what you would do with your life anyway.
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.
-Hope Clark
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Upcoming Book Signings and Classes!
August 26 - SC Library Association, keynote, Irmo Branch Library, 3:30PM
Oct 7 - Bouchercon, Raleigh, NC, James Scott Bell class (as attendee), 1-5 PM
Oct 9 - Lexington, SC Librarians In-Service Day - Time TBD
Oct 9 - Lexington, SC Book Club - ON EDISTO BEACH!
Oct 10 - Release of Edisto Jinx, Edisto Beach, SC, Edisto Bookstore, 4-6 PM
Oct 17 - Greenwood, SC - Fiction Class AM / Book Club PM (details TBD)
Oct 29-Nov 1 - Killer Nashville Con, Nashville, TN
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WORDS OF SUCCESS
I have been successful probably because I have always realized that I knew nothing about writing and have merely tried to tell an interesting story entertainingly.
~Edgar Rice Burroughs
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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
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Dear Hope,
I just found out my piece, The Birth of Courage, will be published in Chicken Soup for the Soul's "Think Possible" edition in October 2015. I never would have thought of Chicken Soup as a possible market without reading about it here in your newsletter. Thank you so much for providing such a great resource for writers!
Sincerely,
Tina Williams
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FEATURED ARTICLE
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Crack the Religious Market with Secular Work
By Behlor Santi
Do you believe that religious magazines such as Catholic Digest, Mature Years Magazine and Parenting Teens only want religious material?
Think again. Believe it or not, many religious magazines downplay theology, leaving that to theologians. Many religious magazines want general-interest articles that appeal to both the churched and unchurched. For example, a recent issue of Today's Christian Woman had an article titled “A Worn-Out Woman's Guide to Good Sleep,” while Jewish magazine Tikkun publishes literary fiction and poetry. This means lots of opportunities for freelancers.
Here are five tips to crack religious markets with secular material:
1. First, find magazines that you enjoy reading and study the content. Writing for religious markets involves the same process as writing for secular markets. Just like what you do with secular publications such as Time, Wired, and, yes, The Christian Science Monitor, study the themes and style of the articles in religious magazines. Some magazines are conservative, some are liberal. Just like you wouldn't submit social-justice pieces to Mature Living Magazine, you wouldn't submit travel pieces to Sojourners Magazine.
2. Submit either unusual or evergreen material. In addition to attracting nonbelievers, religious magazines want to entertain. So submit material that only you can create, or submit evergreen materials on health, family and holiday traditions. For example, I cracked a Catholic family magazine by writing a short piece on online resources for books. I also wrote an evergreen on Latin American Christmas traditions. That article was originally published in the now-defunct Living, yet it has lived on as reprints in several magazines since the early 2000s.
3. Keep it family friendly. Submit unusual material, but don't forget that religious magazines, both conservative and liberal, have their limits. For example, a how-to on having a Fifty Shades of Grey type of relationship will definitely get rejected. Religious magazines prefer subjects that are appropriate for both adults and children.
4. Let the pastor, rabbi or imam talk about God. While religious magazines steer clear of explicit sexual content, they also reject journalistic work that's too parochial. In other words, don't sprinkle your work with religious jargon. Most religious magazines want to attract both believers and nonbelievers, so they steer clear of work that may offend non-religious sensibilities. For example, magazines like Guideposts have wholesome themes, but go lightly on using words like God and the Bible. Read your potential publication to get a feel for their particular style.
5. Prepare to wait a short time . . . or a long time. Depending on the circulation of the magazine, and its popularity among professional and non-professional writers, waiting for a response may take days, weeks or months. Read submission guidelines to get an idea of how long editors hold your query or submission.
Here are five religious markets currently seeking writers. Call the magazine or Google-search to find out the name of managing editor.
Today's Christian Woman
http://www.todayschristianwoman.com/help/writers-guidelines/todays-christian-woman-writers-guidelines.html
Children's Ministry Magazine
http://www.group.com/customer-support/submissions
America
http://americamagazine.org/contact/submissions
Insight Magazine
http://www.insightmagazine.org/guidelines/
Tikkun
http://www.tikkun.org/nextgen/submission-guidelines
Bio: Behlor Santi lives in New York City. Contact her at thebxscribbler1980@gmail.com.
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COMPETITIONS
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WORK STEW
http://workstew.com/2015/07/14/contest-6-oops/
NO ENTRY FEE.
Describe a moment on the job, real or imagined, when you realized you made a mistake. A terrible, terrible mistake. Deadline August 15, 2015. $200 for the winner, to be announced on August 22, 2015. The winning entry, and perhaps some other entries, will be published on Work Stew. Limit 600 words.
RESURGENCE PRIZE
http://www.resurgenceprize.org/
ENTRY FEE £7.
With a first prize of £5,000 for the best single poem embracing ecological themes, the award ranks amongst the highest of any English language single poem competition. Second prize is £2,000 and third prize £1,000. Deadline November 1, 2015. Poets may submit as many poems as they wish but each poem must not be more than 54 lines in length.
JAMES HEARST POETRY PRIZE
http://northamericanreview.org/hearst-prize/
$20 ENTRY FEE.
Deadline October 31, 2015. All winners and finalists will be published in the Spring 2016 issue. First Prize $1,000. Second Prize $100. Third Prize $50. All entry fees include a one-year subscription. You may enter up to five poems in one file.
AUTUMN LEAVES CONTEST
http://highfieldpress.wix.com/contests#!autumn-2015-contest/cn2c
$20 ENTRY FEE.
Highfield Press invites you to submit an original, unpublished work between 500 and 1,000 words with the theme, “Autumn Leaves,” inspired by or including elements from the photo at the website. Submissions may be a personal essay, memoir, narrative nonfiction, commentary, travel piece, historical account, biography, or short story, as long as it creatively embodies the theme and photo. The writer of the winning entry will be awarded $1,000 and be published online. Deadline: October 15, 2015.
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GRANTS
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DURHAM ARTS COUNCIL (NC)
http://www.durhamarts.org/artistinfo_emergingartists.html
Grants of up to $1,500 will be awarded in support of artistic projects in the areas of painting/drawing, photography, installation, film/video, drama, literature, printmaking/mixed media, craft, sculpture, dance, and music. To be eligible, applicants must be an individual artist — not an ensemble or group. In addition, applicants must have resided in Chatham, Durham, Granville, Orange, or Person counties for at least one year immediately prior to the application deadline (since September 25, 2015), be at least 18 years of age, and not be currently enrolled in a degree or certificate program in their discipline at the time of the application deadline. Deadline September 25, 2015.
REGIONAL ARTIST PROJECT GRANTS (NC)
http://artsandscience.org/grants-a-funding/individuals/regional-artist-project-grants
Regional Artist Project Grants provide an award for individuals and groups of unincorporated artists to pursue projects that further enhance their artistic development by attending a professional development experience or purchasing/renting a piece of equipment. Artists may ask for a maximum of $2,000. Only one application per individual will be accepted annually. The grant program is offered by the arts councils of Cabarrus, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Rutherford, Stanly, Union and York (SC) counties. Deadline Friday, September 18 at 12:00 pm.
UCROSS FOUNDATION
http://www.ucrossfoundation.org/residency-program/
The Ucross Foundation Residency Program offers the gift of time and space to competitively selected individuals working in all artistic disciplines. The Foundation strives to provide a respectful, comfortable and productive environment, freeing artists from the pressures and distractions of daily life. Residents are responsible for providing their own working materials and for their travel to Sheridan, Wyoming. There is no charge for a residency. Deadline October 1, 2015.
AMERICAN ACADEMY IN ROME FELLOWSHIP
http://www.aarome.org/apply
A program of the American Academy in Rome, the Rome Prize is awarded annually to emerging artists and scholars in the early or middle stages of their careers who exemplify the highest standard of excellence in arts and humanities scholarship. Fellows are chosen from the disciplines of architecture, design, historic preservation and conservation, landscape architecture, literature, musical composition, visual arts, ancient studies, medieval studies, Renaissance and Early Modern studies, and Modern Italian studies. Each Rome Prize winner is provided with a stipend, meals, a bedroom with private bath, and a study or studio. Winners of six-month and eleven-month fellowships receive stipends of $16,000 and $28,000, respectively. Must be citizen of the U.S. at the time of the application. Deadline November 1, 2015.
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FREELANCE MARKETS
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CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL: THE JOY OF LESS
http://www.chickensoup.com
Submit your poem or prose about the theme: Having More by Simplifying Our Lives. We have noticed at Chicken Soup for the Soul that we have received hundreds of stories over the years about people happily simplifying their lives, cutting back on material possessions, and reducing their time commitments so they can focus on what is important to them and their families. Share your own stories or resolutions about the joy of less! Deadline October 30, 2015. Pays $200 and ten copies for up to 1,200 words.
ANALOG
https://www.analogsf.com/information/submissions.shtml
Basically, we publish science fiction stories. That is, stories in which some aspect of future science or technology is so integral to the plot that, if that aspect were removed, the story would collapse. Fact articles for Analog should be about 4,000 words in length and should deal with subjects of not only current but future interest. Analog pays 8-10 cents per word for short stories up to 7,500 words, 8-8.5 cents per word for longer material (Works between 7,500 and approximately 10,000 words by authors who make more than 8 cents a word for short stories will receive a flat rate that will be no less than payment would be for a shorter story.), and 6 cents per word for serials. We prefer lengths between 2,000 and 7,000 words for shorts, 10,000-20,000 words for novelettes/novellas, and 40,000-80,000 for serials. Fact articles are paid at the rate of nine cents/word. We pay $1 a line for poetry, which should not exceed 40 lines.
STRANGE HORIZONS
http://www.strangehorizons.com/guidelines/fiction.php
Speculative fiction, broadly defined. Up to 10,000 words (under 5,000 preferred). Previously unpublished in English. Payment of eight cents/word USD, within 60 days of contract.
PENTIMENTO
http://www.pentimentomag.org/writing-guidelines/
A journal of all things disbility. We publish twice a year: Summer and Winter. We prefer submissions during the periods of January 1 to March 31 for the Summer issue, and July 1 to September 30 for the Winter issue. We accept essays and fiction concerning disability by two groups: individuals with a disability and those who are part of the disability community, such as a family member, caregiver, special educator, etc. Word limit 6,000 words. We pay $25 – $250 for a published submission, and payment is determined by length and quality.
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JOBS
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CREATIVE WRITER
Location Sacramento, CA
https://www.facebook.com/tylersmithskyslope
http://skyslope.workable.com/jobs/96224
SkySlope is seeking an energetic and motivated Creative Writer to join the dynamic marketing team behind CEO Tyler Smith. You’ll spend your days writing original content pieces, monitoring and engaging with our online communities, and seeking out new ways to grow the brand.
WRITER
Location Ohio University
https://www.ohiouniversityjobs.com/postings/15431
Identify, report, write and pitch stories and articles for college publications including the alumni magazine, alumni newsletter and weekly newsletter to faculty, staff and current students. Identify, report, write, and pitch stories, press releases, and articles on behalf of the college for publication in University outlets including Ohio Today alumni magazine, Compass and others.
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AGENTS / PUBLISHERS
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AMADOR PUBLISHERS
http://www.amadorbooks.com/amwanna.htm
Amador Publishers specializes in fiction, biography, philosophy and mixed-genre literary works of unique worth and appeal, outside the purview of mainstream publishing. We will consider novels and short story collections, creative non-fiction, essays/opinion, satire, biography/autobiography. Manuscripts must be complete and in the range of 75,000-130,000 words. We have established the imprint, Worldwind Books, as the publishing identity for a broader range of titles and author-funded book projects, including poetry.
ANTRIM HOUSE
http://www.antrimhousebooks.com/
Antrim House publishes poetry by emerging and established authors as well as memoirs and photo essays. Antrim House publishes poetry collections which are exceptional in both content and design. We strive to create books that are more than mere compilations of good poetry: We want them to create a sense of unity and natural sequence, each poem leading seamlessly into the next.
BARRICADE BOOKS
http://www.barricadebooks.com/index.php/about
For years, we at Barricade Books have prided ourselves on providing books to readers that other publishers would shy away from. Our books test the boundaries of the First Amendment, ultimately strengthening it and protecting our personal freedom. In this age of publishing dinosaurs that gobble each other up to become even larger, Barricade Books is unique. We remain an independent publishing house committed not only to making a profit but also to protecting people’s right to free speech.
BENBELLA
http://www.benbellabooks.com/about/
BenBella publishes a range of nonfiction (and the very occasional fiction title) in a wide variety of categories and particularly likes quality nonfiction aimed at a niche market. BenBella is very strong in health and nutrition, with exciting and important titles such as The China Study, The Cure for Alcoholism, The Happy Herbivore series, and Recover to Live. BenBella equally excels in the business category, with a mix of popular and inspirational titles such as the New York Times bestsellers Custom Nation, Three Simple Steps, The Entrepreneur Equation, and Networking is a Contact Sport. BenBella also puts out top memoir/popular culture titles, with popular books such as Presumed Guilty, What Really Happened, Babylon Confidential, and But Now I See. BenBella publishes the very successful Smart Pop series, a collection of smart and entertaining critical examinations of television, movies, comics, and books. BenBella also publishes extensively in self-help, popular science, and current events. BenBella also publishes selected books under the “BenBella Cause” program, in which we publish books associated with a worthy cause and donate half of our profits back to that cause. Our latest BenBella Cause book is Made With Love: The Meals On Wheels Family Cookbook.
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SPONSORS
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Fine print
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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 your permission. It's physically impossible since recipients must opt-in, giving us permission to send the newsletter. If at any time you no longer wish to receive the newsletter, click the UNSUBSCRIBE link at the bottom of each newsletter. We want you to enjoy this newsletter at your pleasure, not be forced to read anything you do not wish to receive. The website is not advertised using unsolicited messages by 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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