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SPONSOR OF THE WEEK
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THE TEARING DOWN AND THE BUILDING UP
 

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 November 1. Now might be the time to get in at the prize that's been around for a decade! Click here to consider TOTAL.

Click here to see all of Hope's books.
 

SILVER FALCHION AWARDS
Palmetto Poison and Murder on Edisto are entered in the Silver Falchion Awards affiliated with the glorious Killer Nashville Mystery Conference. One of the awards is the Reader's Choice, and I'd be honored if you'd consider voting for either or both of these books. You'll find one under Cozy/Traditional Mystery and the other under Private Detective/Procedural Mystery. Bless you if you do! (And bless you if you don't.) http://www.killernashville.com/vote-for-the-silver-falchion-readers-choice-award/




SOCIAL MEDIA
For the most up-to-date information about Hope, contests, writing industry information and giveaways, keep up with Hope on Twitter and Facebook. Things get more interesting in real time!

 
 

 

WORDS OF SUCCESS

 

"Don't quit. It's very easy to quit during the first 10 years. Nobody cares whether you write or not, and it's very hard to write when nobody cares one way or the other. You can't get fired if you don't write, and most of the time you don't get rewarded if you do. But don't quit."

-Andre Dubus

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SUCCESS STORY
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Dear Hope,

Seeing a recent editorial from you about websites has prompted me to share my success story. I have always been hesitant about the whole idea of self-promotion. In my opinion, few people do it well, to include me. However, when you mentioned the importance of having an online home, that struck a note. The idea of welcoming people into my online home deeply resonated with me.

A Story for A Slave is a website which publishes literature of all genres to raise funds and awareness to fight human trafficking and sexual exploitation. This project is meeting my needs as a writer in several key ways.

1) I'm in the process of becoming a not-for-profit which allows me to receive a moderate income as the director.

2) The site's blog allows me to satisfy my author urges on topics of injustice I hold dear (trafficking, sexual abuse, homelessness, the stigma of mental illness, etc.) I get to connect with readers, and my first book will be serialized here in October to help raise funds.

3) Every month I promote a Guest Author with giveaways of autographed books. I love giving back to those writers who have given to me. It feels good to honor my mentors in a public, tangible way.

4) Publishing other writers allows me to give a little money to hardworking folks and give them a platform, too. For those who aren't suitable for the site, I have an opportunity to speak encouragement into their lives and let them know what we liked about their piece.

In addition to all this, I'm helping to raise funds to help those caught in trafficking and sexual exploitation. I've connected with wonderful people on the front lines and publish first person accounts of those rescued.
 
Embracing the importance of having an online presence has expanded my personal writing world in ways I couldn't have imagined even a few short months ago.
 
Thanks, Hope, for your "firm but fair" advice. You give the hugs and shoves we need! Keep them coming.
 
Nicole Watt
nicole@astoryforaslave.com
www.astoryforaslave.com
www.facebook.com/astoryforaslave
www.facebook.com/walkingoutofnight

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FEATURED ARTICLE
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Four Ways to Find New Markets

By Devyani Borade

You've signed up for all possible newsletters that promise to introduce you to the magazine of your dreams - one that pays well, publishes fast and edits nary a word. What's more, you've actually tried all the magazines touted by these newsletters, by submitting your best stories. Yet, there's a bunch of manuscripts still gathering dust in your desk drawer (or its equivalent electronic cousin) that nobody has yet laid eyes on. Those stories need a home, too.

Or perhaps you've exhausted your permissible quota of stories that can be submitted to these dream magazines. (Two in a year. Yeah, right. What are you supposed to do for the remaining ten months?)

Or perhaps you've sold first rights and would now like to sell reprints to other magazines to make a quick, painless buck.

Whatever the reason, you need more wonderful magazines to submit stories to. Only, where do you find them?

With more than 5,500 markets in my personal database, I've become something of an expert in sniffing out potential venues for publication. Want to know my secret? Actually there are four:

1. Peek into your own backyard.

Has your work been published online? Web magazines often have a section that hyperlinks to other similar e-zines. It goes by different names: "Our Blog Roll", "Links of Interest", "Resources for Writers", "Friends of <YourMag>" etc. These venues share tastes or styles with the online market your work has already appeared in. So chances are good that they, too, may be potential markets for you.

2. Take a helping hand from your competitors.

Diligently read the bios and the "About" and "Contact" pages of your competitors. Most writers list publication credits in their bios and on their websites, and you are guaranteed to find a few new markets.
Be shameless in "borrowing" these.

3. Search smartly.

Simply using Google effectively can help you cast your net wider. Search terms you should be using include "Write for us", "Submission" (which will include results for "Submit" and "Submission Guidelines"), "Writer Guidelines", "Contribute" (which will include results for "Contributor Guidelines"), and other obvious ones like "Magazine", "Fiction", "Speculative", "Content Writing" etc. The results on the first couple of pages might not be of much use because they're likely to be the bigger names which you've probably already considered. Dig deeper on pages three or four onward and you might find some hidden gems.

4. Share freely.

Sharing begets sharing. There are two ways to achieve this:

a. The Give-1-Get-2-Free technique: Select one market from your own list and volunteer it to five writer friends. Those five friends will nearly always return the favor by sharing a market of their own. What are the odds that at least two of those five markets are going to be new to you? You do the math.

b. The Irresistible-Writer technique: Become a great writer. Then build good relationships with editors. Pitch them queries so darn good that even if they are not absolutely right for their own readership, they will recommend another market which they think might be a perfect fit. Net gain? One market, hopefully new.

The more markets you find and approach, the higher your chances of getting published, and the larger your exposure. Even a one-line email query like "Do you pay contributors?" sent to a new market might mean
a new set of eyes checking out your own website, creating traffic to your blog and spreading the word. As the good folk at Tesco say, "Every little helps."

BIO:
Devyani Borade writes on the humor and pathos of everyday life. Her articles on the craft, business and heart of writing have been accepted/published by nearly all writing-related publications in the USA and UK. She likes to eat chocolates, read comic books and try her husband's patience! Visit her website Verbolatry at http://devyaniborade.blogspot.com to contact her and read her other work.

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COMPETITIONS
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DIODE EDITIONS CHAPBOOK CONTEST
http://www.diodeeditions.com/contests.html
$12 ENTRY FEE.
Open to all poets over the age of 18 who write in English. Length: 22-32 pages (front matter is not included in count). We will consider translations, and we welcome collaborations. Deadline January 15, 2016. The winning book(s) will be published by March 15, and will be launched at the 2016   AWP Conference in Los Angeles. The winning chapbook(s) will be perfect bound, and will have an ISBN number. The first place winner will receive $250, 25 author copies, and select poems from the chapbook will appear in Diode Poetry Journal.



RROFIHE TROPHY NO-FEE SHORT STORY CONTEST
http://www.anderbo.com/anderbo1/no-fee-rrofihe-trophy2015.html
NO ENTRY FEE.
For an unpublished short story. Minimum word count 3,500; maximum to 5,000 words. Winner receives $500, trophy, announcement and publication on anderbo.com. Deadline October 15, 2015.



MALAHAT REVIEW OPEN SEASON AWARDS
http://www.malahatreview.ca/contests/open_season/info.html
ENTRY FEE $35 in Canada, $40 in U.S., $45 international.
Deadline November 1, 2015. The award grants three separate prizes of $1,500 (CDN) to the best writer in genres of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The cash prizes have been increased this year by $500 each genre. All entrants receive a complimentary one-year subscription to The Malahat Review. Poetry: up to three poems per entry; maximum length for each poem is 100 lines. Short fiction and creative nonfiction: one story or article per entry; with a maximum length of 2,500 words.



REAL SIMPLE LIFE LESSONS ESSAY CONTEST
http://www.realsimple.com/magazine-more/inside-website/contests-sweepstakes/life-lessons-essay-contest-rules
NO ENTRY FEE.
Must be a US resident. Theme: Would your world now be completely different — even unthinkable — if, at some point in the past, you hadn’t made a seemingly random choice? Tell us about it. Prize $3,000 and publication in Real Simple magazine. Deadline: September 21, 2015. Limit 1,500 words. The second-place winner will receive $750. The third-place winner will receive $500.

 
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GRANTS
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ISLAND RESIDENCY AT HILL HOUSE
http://www.artmeetsearth.org/artist-residency
The Hill House Artist Residency supports talented artists with a two, three or four week stay in a semi-secluded log cabin near East Jordan, Michigan. Application deadlines: April 1, October 1. The residency lasts a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of four weeks.



DORA MAAR HOUSE RESIDENCY
http://www.mfah.org/fellowships/doramaarhouse/
Menerbes, Vaucluse - Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur: France . . .a place for mid-career writers, artists and others in the arts and humanities, to step away from their daily obligations, in order to concentrate on their fields of expertise… The Brown Foundation Fellows Program at the Dora Maar House is located in one of the most beautiful regions of Southern France, about 40 km southeast of Avignon. Deadlines February 15 and October 15. No payment for travel. $50/day stipend paid. Expenses paid.



FORGE DROP & TOOL
http://www.dropforgeandtool.com/#/creative-residencies/
At Drop Forge & Tool we support all kinds of makers and making.  We host classes and workshops as well as a residency program for artists who need space and time to work. From time to time we will also open our doors so folks can meet the artists here and experience their work. Creative Residencies are open to artists of all disciplines, backgrounds, and skill levels, who seek time and space away from their daily lives to focus on their creative process. The residency fee is $300 per week to cover direct costs. That said, we have a lot of needs here at DF&T so please contact us if you do not have the funds to cover the fee. In lieu of a fee, you might teach a class, help us with our social networking and marketing materials, or help us to beautify our spaces. Location Hudson, NY.



KATHY FISH FELLOWSHIP
http://www.smokelong.com/2016-kathy-fish-fellowship/
NO ENTRY FEE.
Deadline October 15, 2015. The winner of the 2016 Kathy Fish Fellowship will be considered a “writer in residence” at SmokeLong (note: position is virtual) for four quarterly issues (March, June, September, and December 2016). Each issue will include one flash by the Fellowship winner. The winner of the Fellowship will also receive $500, to be paid as follows: $100 on announcement of the winner, and $100 upon publication of each of the four issues in 2016.

 

 

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FREELANCE MARKETS
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CHICKEN SOUP
http://www.chickensoup.com
The standard payment is $200 per story or poem and ten copies of the book to the author. They are currently accepting submissions for the following books:

My Very Good, Very Bad Cat - Deadline September 27, 2015
My Very Good, Very Bad Dog - Deadline September 27, 2015
The Joy of Less - Deadline October 30, 2015
Alzheimer’s and Dementias Family Caregiving - Deadline October 30, 2015
Angels and Miracles - Deadline November 30, 2015
Military Families - Deadline November 30, 2015
The Spirit of America - Deadline November 30, 2015



SCARY MOMMY
https://www.scarymommy.com/write-for-scary-mommy
We are always in search of highly relatable and general humor material about parenting. Lists and short essays (under 900 words) seem to work best, while personal anecdotes or specific personal stories do not. Scary Mommy will pay $100 per original piece of content.



ELLERY QUEEN'S MYSTERY MAGAZINE (Minute Mysteries)
http://www.themysteryplace.com/eqmm/guidelines/
EQMM uses stories of almost every length. 2,500-8,000 words is the preferred range and shorter stories are also considered, including minute mysteries of as little as 250 words. Rates for original stories are up to eight cents/word.

 

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JOBS
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PERSONAL FINANCE BLOG WRITER
Location Virginia
http://culture.fool.com/careers/
For this contract position, we’re looking for candidates who have previous publishing credits in the area of personal finance (articles, books, etc.). In rare cases, we will consider an unpublished candidate with a CFP or equivalent certification. After a probationary period, in which we would pay $100 per article for sound, thoughtful, and well-written articles, we would intend to sign a contract (which entails higher base pay per article plus incentives) with a successful applicant.



MORAVIA
https://www.smartrecruiters.com/Moravia1/85160072-content-producer-writer-editor-
Moravia is looking for several freelance Content Producers to write and edit objective, highly structured hotel descriptions, ensuring accuracy and consistency of style, structure and voice. As well as writing and editing to tight guidelines, Content Producers will need to liaise effectively with members of the in-house editorial team. The program will cover hotels across many different markets, and there is the potential for longer-term work. Candidates may be based anywhere in the world.

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AGENTS / PUBLISHERS
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BELLA BOOKS
http://www.bellabooks.com/Submissions-cat.html
At Bella Books, we believe stories about lesbians are an essential of life — and so do our readers. We are interested in acquiring manuscripts that tell terrific stories about lesbians. Love, life, adventure, drama — we’re looking for imaginative and entertaining stories that illuminate and celebrate our realities and fantasies.



RED SAGE
http://www.eredsage.com/store/Submission_Guidelines.html
As Red Sage’s first authors created erotic romance, this is where our heart is, so we want romance stories, which are erotic. Therefore a majority of what we publish will be romance and erotica. We also feel readers want variety. Sometimes you like erotic and sometimes you just want a great mystery or science fiction story or even something else. Surprise us and come up with something completely different!



ARSENAL PULP PRESS
http://www.arsenalpulp.com/contact.php
We are only considering manuscripts in the following subject areas:
Cultural studies, Political/sociological studies, Regional non-fiction, in particular for British Columbia, Cookbooks, Craft books, Gay and lesbian fiction and non-fiction, Visual art, Multicultural fiction and non-fiction, Literary fiction and non-fiction (no genre fiction, such as mysteries, thrillers, or romance), Graphic novels, Youth culture and young adult literature, Health, We are not considering poetry manuscripts at this time. We do not publish books for pre-adolescent children.

 
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SPONSORS