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Volume 15, Issue 32, AUGUST 14, 2015 |
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Message from the Editor
It's still hot as Hades in South Carolina but that doesn't stop us from thriving in the outdoors. I spruced up the garden this week, tending to a ridiculous growth of weeds, tending the bumper crop of field peas (cowpeas to you Southerners), prepping for the winter garden, and picking my peck of pickled peppers. We grow hot bananas and jalapenos and pack them away in gallon jars to last us through the winter. Fresh jalapenos make fantastic poppers. Yeah, we've eaten entire meals of nothing but pepper poppers and beer.
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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THE ZILLION LITTLE PIECES
"Life affords no higher pleasure than that of surmounting difficulties, passing from one step of success to another, forming new wishes and seeing them gratified."
~ Samuel Johnson ~
Ever enjoyed a huge crossword puzzle? How about a 2,500-piece jigsaw puzzle? A 500-page novel? A long series? When you finish, you sit there with a mixture of satisfaction and sadness - happy you finished but sad the experience is over. We love that challenge, the environment, the enjoyment of being "in" this thing.
That's the way you have to view this business we're in.
Doesn't matter whether you're freelancing or writing novels, composing screenplays or poetry chapbooks, you pursue the project one little piece at a time. A scene, a chapter, a stanza, a column. A title.
I've been frustrated with a book I'm writing because it doesn't seem to be leaping and running on all cylinders. Like an old lawnmower, the story seemed to need constant cranking. I kept thinking how long it would take me to get the job done. As a result, I struggled with the chapters I was in, unable to fall deeply into it for the frustration at how long it was taking.
So I made myself sit at the computer, no excuses, and write 2,000 words to advance the story. No more, no less. The only goal to make 2,000 words come together. Took me eight hours. I didn't feel like it amounted to much because each word felt so worthless and forced. I put it up for the night once I hit my word count.
The next day, I pulled it out to edit before I started writing again (yes, I'm that person who writes one day and edits the next - two steps forward and one step back), and dang if it wasn't half bad. Decent, in fact. The 2,000 words gave tension to the story, and propelled my protagonist in a new direction. All I did was focus only on the mission - write a solid 2,000 words. Don't think about the next three chapters, or writing another 2,000 today, I couldwrite 2,000 tomorrow. No. I just set the one small goal.
Writing occurs in difficult and easy moments. We do not call the difficult moments "writers block" and give up. We aren't victims. Victims don't sell books. Heck, they don't get them written. Your job is to sit, set a goal for THAT day, and write. Before long, you've done these daily little goals for six months. It's a habit. And the puzzle begins to take shape.
We have to enjoy the zillion little pieces that make up our job. Otherwise we'd go insane.
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. NOTE: TOTAL will be going up in price some time this fall. Now might be the time to get in at the prize that's been around for a decade! Click here to consider TOTAL.
-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 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
"Someone has defined genius as intensity of purpose: the ability to do, the patience to wait. Put these together and you have achievement."
~ Leo J. Muir
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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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Hey Hope,
I've been writing short stories for years, and they've just been languishing on my computer hard drive. Last year, I started submitting them to ezines, newsletters, etc. for paid publication. So far, I have sold two: an article (printed as the featured article in Funds for Writers) and a short story. Several months ago I read in TOTAL FundsforWriters that Chicken Soup for the Soul was seeking submissions. One of my short stories was appropriate to the particular theme, so I submitted it. Yesterday, I was notified that my story, "A New Stage in Life" was accepted and will be published in their October 2015 book called: Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Possible. Thank you, Hope, and TOTAL Funds for Writers.
Lee Gale Gruen
gowergulch@yahoo.com
LeeGaleGruen.com
AdventuresWithDadTheBook.com
LeeGaleGruen.Wordpress.com
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FEATURED ARTICLE
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Obscure Winnings
By Rachel Carrington
As writers, we pen our way to profits. We write, query, and wait, and as the saying goes, time is money. And we can’t afford to let our writing sit idle even while awaiting an editor’s response. That short story you wrote specifically for Magazine A could have already won $100 in a contest that few writers pursue.
Obscure contests, even without entry fees, abound, and all it takes is a little elbow grease to find them. With the number of entrants low, you better your odds of winning, and the prizes vary from $25 to over $1,000. Some even have prizes in excess of $1,000, but those usually require a little more than just the first line of a manuscript.
Finding the contests starts with setting up Google alerts for several key phrases: no entry fee, creative writing contests, genre (insert your genre here) writing contest, and no fee writing contests. Those are the four I use, and I’m constantly getting alerts for contests. You’ll have to weed through some of the fluff that comes up in the results, but you can usually cull out the top contenders fairly quickly.
Once I discover a contest, I Google its title to see how popular it is. I also search Twitter and Facebook. If it’s all over the Internet, odds are good it’s not that small.
Here are some other ways to find the less-populated contests:
http://www.freelancewriting.com/creative-writing-contests.php
http://publishedtodeath.blogspot.com/2015/03/10-writing-contests-in-april-no-entry.html (Every month, they list several contests with no entry fees)
If you write poetry, you’ll want to bookmark this link as it lists no-entry fee contests for 2015: http://creativegenius.hubpages.com/hub/Poetry-Writing-Contests
Twitter is a phenomenal search engine when it comes to finding contests. Search for #writingcontests. Here are just two of the entries that popped up when I searched (the list was long!):
http://www.freelancewriting.com/writingcontests/043015-radiators-flash-fiction-contest.php
http://www.westlothianwriters.org.uk/competitions-and-submissions-march-2015/
Here is a small one I won one year, and they continue to take entries:
http://www.ourpastloves.com/contest
Also, be sure to follow some of the New York Times Bestselling Authors on Twitter as many of them will have small writing contests with quick turnaround times. Jaime Rush had one last year, and the top prize was $75 for a strong opening line to a manuscript.
So that I don’t get overwhelmed and spend too much time focusing on contests, I enter no more than five per month, even if the entry only requires flash fiction. I also try to focus on those contests where I can submit something I’ve already written, i.e., the first line of my manuscript, a scene from my manuscript, or an article.
Whatever you do, keep organized. Use Excel to chart your submissions each month so you’ll know to check the website. Some of the smaller contests may not email the winners, and you don’t want to miss out on your prize. The bonus is, on top of the money, you have awards to add to your website and resume. If you do win, be sure to notify that editor or publisher you’ve been waiting on. A win may just sweeten the pot.
Bio:
Rachel Carrington is a multiple award-winning author of over fifty novels, numerous magazine articles, and a fan of discovering new avenues for writing and promoting. You can find her on the web at www.rachelcarrington.com. Follow her on Twitter at @rcarrington and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/authorrachelcarrington.
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COMPETITIONS
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2016 SUNDAY TIMES EFG SHORT STORY AWARD
http://www.booktrust.org.uk/stefg/entry-form
NO ENTRY FEE.
Writers from around the world are invited to enter the 2016 Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award. The winner will receive £30,000 (US$46,500), making this the most valuable prize for a single short story in the world. The prize is for stories up to 6,000 words in length and there is no entry fee. Stories can be either unpublished or published. If published, the work must have first appeared after 1 January 2015. Writers can enter regardless of their nationality or residency but they must have an existing record of publication in creative writing in the UK and Ireland. Deadline September 24, 2015.
PHREN-Z POETRY CONTEST
http://phren-z.org/
$15 ENTRY FEE.
$1,000 and publication in phren-Z is given annually for a poem. The winner will also be invited to give a reading at the sixth annual Morton Marcus Memorial Reading at the University of California in Santa Cruz in November. Submit up to three poems of no more than five pages each. Deadline September 1, 2015.
SEQUESTRUM NEW WRITER AWARDS
http://www.sequestrum.org/contests
$15 ENTRY FEE.
Over $500 in total prizes will be awarded to up-and-coming writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Prose and poetry will be judged separately with one first prize winner per genre. First prize of $200 (one per genre) and $50 runner-up prizes (minimum two per genre). All winners and runners-up will be published in our Spring '16 Issue. Finalists listed on the website. 12,000 word limit for prose, 40 lines for poetry (up to 3 poems per submission). Simultaneous and multiple submissions allowed. No previously published material. ONLY OPEN TO WRITERS YET TO PUBLISH A BOOK-LENGTH MANUSCRIPT. Deadline October 15, 2015.
MSLEXIA WOMEN'S NOVEL COMPETITION
https://mslexia.co.uk/competition/novel-competition/
£25 ENTRY FEE.
We’re on the lookout for novels of at least 50,000 words written for adults (and young adults) in any genre by previously unpublished women novelists. First prize £5,000. The winner and four other finalists will receive manuscript feedback from The Literary Consultancy and and an invitation to a special networking event with literary agents. To enter, please submit the first 5,000 words of your completed novel. Deadline September 21, 2015.
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GRANTS
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SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE FOR SHORE THING WRITING GETAWAY - SEPTEMBER 2015
https://murphywritingseminars.submittable.com/submit
Murphy Writing of Stockton University is offering two scholarships to first-time participants. The Shore Thing Writing Getaway program will take place September 12, 2015 in Atlantic City, NJ. This program is designed for poets, fiction, memoir and nonfiction writers. Treat yourself to a writing retreat at the shore. Down the block from Atlantic City's famous beach and boardwalk, this affordable workshop will energize and inspire you. Head home with sand between your toes, a few new pieces of writing and the glow that comes from spending the day with an encouraging community of writers.
AFRICA CENTRE ARTISTS IN RESIDENCY PROGRAMME
http://www.africacentre.net/calling-for-applications-air-2015/
Each year, the Africa Centre, provides artists with the unique opportunity to spend four to six weeks fully dedicated to developing their craft. This year through partnerships with residency programmes in Australia, Brazil, India, Italy, Kenya, Spain, Tanzania and the United States we are proud to offer thirteen unique residencies for our 2015 AIR programme. AIR is seeking applications from high caliber African artists who are provocative, innovative, socially engaged and stretching the boundaries of their artistic practice. The costs of the residency and round-trip airfare are included in each residency award made. Deadline September 30, 2015.
HAWAII WRITERS EXCHANGE AWARD
http://www.pw.org/content/hawaii_selected_for_2016_writers_exchange_award
Poets & Writers, the nation's largest nonprofit organization serving creative writers, invites writers who live in Hawaii to apply for the 2016 Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award. One winner in each category will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to meet with top literary professionals, including editors, agents, publishers, and prominent writers. While in New York, winners will also give a reading hosted by Poets & Writers. In addition, each winner is invited to spend a month at the Jentel Artist Residency Program in Banner, Wyoming. To be eligible, writers must be residents of Hawaii (currently and for at least the past two years), and must have published no more than one full-length book in the genre in which they are applying. Deadline January 15, 2016.
ECKERD COLLEGE WRITERS’ CONFERENCE: WRITERS IN PARADISE
http://writersinparadise.eckerd.edu
Registration deadline: November 15, 2015. Application Fee: $25. January 16-23, 2016; St. Petersburg, FL. The conference offers an intimate eight-day experience of workshop classes, roundtables, panel discussions, Q&As, readings book signings, and receptions with our award -winning faculty and guest speakers. We offer at least 20 fellowships and scholarships on a competitive basis, many specifically for current MFA students and recent MFA graduates (2010-2015) and AWP members.
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FREELANCE MARKETS
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ASSOCIATION OF WRITERS & WRITING PROGRAMS
https://www.awpwriter.org/magazine_media/submission_guidelines
AWP presents the best contemporary writing in its flagship magazine the Writer’s Chronicle, as well as on our website through Online-Only Exclusives, short blog pieces on the Writer’s Notebook, and articles giving job advice in our Career Advice section. The editors read submissions for the Writer’s Chronicle from February 1 through September 30 of each year. Submissions for the Writer’s Notebook and the Career Advice section are read throughout the year. Pays 18 cents/word.
COMPOSE - WRITE STUFF
https://www.compose.io/articles/write-stuff-compose-articles/
We're looking for articles that have something to do with database technology. Whether it be a deep dive into how you use databases in your technology stack or useful tips and tricks for a particular database. You can write about the philosophy, and practicalities, of database ideas, or muse on the best and worst practices you've encountered. We'll pay you $200 cash and $200 in Compose database credits, when you successfully get your final article accepted. At the end of each three-month cycle, we'll be running a poll of readers for their favorite article from the previous three months of Write Stuff. The results of that, combined with scoring and an invited panel's scores, will select who's earned a bonus for having the Write Stuff. That bonus will be $500 cash for their article.
INDIANA UNIVERSITY
http://houston.craigslist.org/wrg/5154843760.html
We're seeking skilled, reliable writers to work on a website about college affordability - producing engaging, informative pieces on topics such as budgeting for students, college visits, and pre-college summer programs. Compensation will be 20 cents/word, unless the piece requires interviews (on top of standard research, which will often include reaching out to people via email), in which case we'll figure out an appropriate (and higher) rate. This will be a long-term gig for the right person/people.
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JOBS
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FREELANCE LATINO CELEBRITY NEWS WRITERS
Location New York, NY
https://www.journalismjobs.com/job-listings/1623253
Fashion Times is a New York-based company delivering the latest and most engaging news about fashion, design, celebrity culture, entertainment and technology to a growing audience of 3+ million monthly unique visitors from the US. We are seeking freelance Latino celebrity news writers with immediate start. Writers are needed for both weekday and weekend hours.
WRITE ON! RECRUITING
http://www.writeonrecruiting.com/apply131501.htm
Currently, we are working with a large curriculum publishing company of materials for the K-8 education sector. They are in need of part-time associate writers to craft amazingly creative literature and informational text that public school teachers use with students. In this job, you would be writing nonfiction articles and short stories, as well as accompanying activities, exercises, and test questions, for educational magazines, activity books, online resources, and more! Pays $250 to $350 per assignment.
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AGENTS / PUBLISHERS
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ISLANDPORT PRESS
http://www.islandportpress.com/submission-guidelines/
We specialize in non-fiction, but also consider fiction, gift, and other trade titles, including food, art, humor, and novelty. The adult genres we do not publish include poetry, fantasy, thriller, self-help, erotica, and science fiction. If you are unsure whether or not your manuscript is a good fit for us, please send a query first. We prefer to work directly with authors, but we do accept manuscripts from agents. We will consider picture books, story books, middle grade chapter books, and young adult titles.
IMAGINE PUBLISHING
http://www.imaginebks.com/
With titles covering a multitude of subjects including science & nature, music & art, sports, reference, and the magic of knowledge, our publishing philosophy is to inspire, educate and “edutain” the book-buying public.
MAINLAND PRESS
http://www.mainlandpress.com/
Mainland Press publishes humor with literary flair. Whether it's a novel, a story collection or non-fiction with a high chuckle factor, we put our name to only the best new writers of comedy and the classics of humorous writing from throughout the English-speaking world.
MCCLANAHAN PUBLISHING HOUSE
http://kybooks.com/
We publish books on cooking, dining, travel, history, sports, gardening, ghosts, and humor plus children's books. McClanahan books are sold throughout Kentucky and the South in book and gift shops, fine department stores, museums, on national shopping networks, and in a variety of other retail sources.
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SPONSORS
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Grammarly sucked me in and owned me after only ten minutes of using it on my latest manuscript, Edisto Jinx. Though my grammar skills are solid, Grammarly pointed me toward flow issues, awkward wording, repeated wording, and yes, the occasional grammar oversight. I caught myself changing sentences and enjoying the second set of eyes. Grammarly is truly one of the simplest and most useful editing tools I've ever experienced. ~C. Hope Clark, award-winning mystery author, www.chopeclark.com, and editor of FundsforWriters.com
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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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