SPONSOR OF THE WEEK

Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest

14th year. $4,000 in cash prizes, including $1,500 for a poem in any style and $1,500 for a poem that rhymes or has a traditional style. Both published and unpublished work accepted. All entries that win cash prizes will be published on WinningWriters.com and announced in the Winning Writers Newsletter, with over 50,000 subscribers. Final judge: Soma Mei Sheng Frazier. Entry fee is $10 per poem. Each poem may have up to 250 lines. Submit by September 30. Winning Writers is one of "101 Best Websites for Writers" (Writer's Digest). See guidelines, past winners, and enter online at www.winningwriters.com/tompoetry

Editor’s THOUGHTS

I HAVE A STORY TO TELL

The email I received:

"I have an incredible story to write and need guidance as I have never done this before. This was not a spur of the moment decision. Could you please contact me."

Such emails are a daily presence in my email. It's difficult to explain to a new writer, who sees writing as not all that difficult to master because, after all, there's so much of it out there, that good writing takes time. So many think a good story is good writing. So many think good writing is in the genes. So many think if you write long enough to produce 50,000 words, you've earned the right to publish. 

At the same time, I know many people have a great story to tell. Fiction, nonfiction, memoir . . . they want their tale distributed to the masses. Many are afraid to think it will make money, but they dare to hope so. Who am I to dash those hopes?

The following is close to what I tell people who dare to make themselves vulnerable enough to write their story: 

1) First of all, do not even think about publishing yet. Your job is to learn how to write, which is not a quick task. Give this a long-term goal so you do it justice. 

2) Read successful books in your genre so you can see what has worked before you. Keep reading them. Never stop reading them. Realize you always have something to learn about how to write better.

3) Get your hands on a couple of how-to writing books, such as those at http://fundsforwriters.com/resources/ . I stand by all these books.

4) Try to outline the story. It has to read like a novel, even if it might be a memoir. Beginning, middle, end - like a three-act play. Learn what that means. Always outline your first book so you can determine if there is a journey worth telling. Writing by the seat of your pants comes later, after this book, after experience.

5) Start writing. No backstory to start with . . . just start writing where the problem, action, issue begins. Much like you would tell a story at a face-to-face gathering. 

6) Write daily. Writing is not something you do like a hobby when you feel like it. You take it seriously and write daily. Nobody wants to buy a book from someone who writes when he/she feels like it. They want to purchase a book from a serious writer. 

7) Try writing short stories about your subject matter. Books are for the seasoned writer. You might find that these stories could become chapters in your book. You will learn which chapters are crap and don't need to be published. Not all writing should be published. Frankly, as you are learning, you'll learn later that maybe a tenth of what you write can be polished into something worth reading. It might feel wasted, but it's not. Without sifting through the refuse, you never find the gold.

8) Find a critique group, either online or in person. Attached is a list of where to start looking online.
 
www.AbsoluteWrite.com/forums 
www.MyWritersCircle.com 
http://mwf.ravensbeak.com/ 
www.GreatWriting.co.uk
www.CritiqueCircle.com
www.Critique.org 
www.InkedVoices.com 
www.ladieswhocritique.com/get-started/faqs/
www.TheNextBigWriter.com 
www.Scribophile.com 
www.SFNovelist.com
www.WritersCafe.org 
www.Writers-Network.com/site/about 
www.Writing.com 
www.Wattpad.com 
www.internetwritingworkshop.org/ 

Take your time. Give it a couple years or more if this is your first effort. Once written it'll need serious editing. Then, and only then, will you consider how to publish - traditional or indie or whatever is new at the time. You cannot think of that now because publishing will change before you get this manuscript ready. 

So...this is how you start. Good luck with it.


 

WE HAVE 2 NEWSLETTERS - THE FREEBIE and THE PAID SUBSCRIPTION . . . 

Remember that FundsforWriters, this newsletter, is free. Send it to whomever you like and share it liberally. But if you are serious about writing income resources, and your time is limited, consider subscribing to TOTAL FundsforWriters. It comes out biweekly, with 70 contests, markets, grants, retreats, publishers, freelance gigs, magazines and more, It's huge, but it saves you a lot of time searching. It's $18.75 for a year, or 26 issues. To subscribe, simply go to www.paypal.me/chopeclark/18.75 . It will be sent to the email you used unless you specify otherwise.

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Take a look at our Resources page at the FundsforWriters website. Hope has read each and every one of these books, and most are still dog-eared and highlighted on her book shelf and come highly recommended. 



 

WORDS OF SUCCESS

If you're doing your best, you won't have any time to worry about failure.

~ H. Jackson Brown

Success Story

If FundsforWriters has assisted your writing career in any way, tell us! You might find us sharing it here for the world to see! Send to hope@chopeclark.com 

featured article

The Why, Where, and How of Writing for the Christian Market

By Ruth O'Neill

Writing for Christian markets may not be at the top of your write-for list. I grew up in church, so it seemed a natural place for me to begin my writing career. I was already familiar with publications and what types of stories and articles they used. As with any freelance market, you want payment for your effort, so all the publications listed here do pay, and most I have written for many times over the years, selling fillers, devotionals, articles, and stories. 

A serious freelancer is always on the lookout for new markets. Many Christian publications, especially Sunday school take home papers, publish weekly so the number of manuscripts they need is greater than a traditional monthly magazine. They accept a variety of pieces; fillers, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and devotionals. 

The age range is diverse. There are publications for the smallest of children up to adults. Our Little Friend is for children from ages 1-5. They seek true-to-life stories one or two pages long. One story I wrote for them was about kids making fun of each other. 

Mature Living is for those facing retirement. Many older people feel as if they are used up. I offered encouragement and gave examples of things anyone could do to help others in a list article. 

Devo’Zine is a devotional market geared toward teens that I've written for using lessons from teaching young people at church. Youth leaders are always looking for great activity ideas to use with their kids, and Insight Youth Resources has paid me for ideas our youth group did. ParentLife is a magazine that has published multiple funny saying from my kids as fillers.

Do you work with women in the church? Today’s Christian Woman needs articles that offer strength and encouragement for everyday women. Need more market ideas? An invaluable tool for finding these markets is the Christian Writer’s Market. 

You can also ask friends for help. Do they attend a church that hands out take-home papers? Do they subscribe to Christian magazines? Ask to borrow copies and research to see if those publications accept freelance work. You could also Google “Christian magazines,” “Christian publications,” or “Christian writers wanted.” I have found some regular writing employment doing this.

When considering topic ideas, note that many of the publications follow a theme list. Lookout and Youth Worker both do. Theme lists give basic ideas of what the editors want during certain times of the year. Once you repeatedly write for these publications, many will come to you with an urgent need, when something on their theme list hasn’t been fulfilled, and they know you are dependable.

Some Christian publications just want to hear your story. I have used many of my own experiences, especially when it came to the teenage years, mine and my children’s (Guide). Guide wants true stories, and many of my teens' experiences ended up on their pages. And keep in mind that not all Christian publications are overtly religious. Some of the children’s publications simply want stories with a moral lesson.

But be aware of the diversity amongst denominations and their beliefs. For example, some conservative publications want women to wear dresses, if clothing happens to be mentioned in your story. Some denominations worship on the Sabbath, which is actually Saturday, not Sunday. Others won’t include anything about drinking. Here is a site with helpful information on denominations.

Don’t underestimate the power of the Christian market for your writing. You can stretch yourself, get some new bylines to add to your resume, and increase your income.

Bio:
Ruth O'Neil, born and raised in upstate New York, attended Houghton College. She has been a freelance writer for more than 20 years, publishing hundreds of articles in dozens of publications. You can visit her at http://ruths-real-life.blogspot.com/ or on her website at http://ruthoneil.weebly.com/. Ruth spends her spare time quilting, scrapbooking, and camping with her family.

 

COmpetitions

STORYQUARTERLY
https://storyquarterly.submittable.com/submit
$15 ENTRY FEE.
The winner will receive $1,000, and the winner, first runner-up and second runner-up will be published in StoryQuarterly 50. Limit: up to 6,250 words. Deadline August 1, 2016. 



CRAZYSHORTS! SHORT-SHORT FICTION CONTEST
http://crazyhorse.cofc.edu/crazyshorts/
$15 ENTRY FEE.
Submit shorts of up to 500 words each. Each entry considered for publication. Each entry fee includes a one-year subscription. First prize $1,000. Deadline July 31, 2016. 



THE BARTHELME PRIZE FOR SHORT PROSE
http://gulfcoastmag.org/contests/barthelme-prize/
$18 ENTRY FEE.
Deadline August 31, 2016. The Barthelme Prize for Short Prose is open to pieces of prose poetry, flash fiction, and micro-essays of 500 words or fewer. The contest awards its winner $1,000 and publication in the journal. Two honorable mentions will receive $250, and all entries will be considered for paid publication on our website as Online Exclusives. 


GIVAL PRESS SHORT STORY AWARD
http://www.givalpress.com/
$25 ENTRY FEE. 
Deadline August 8, 2016. Author will receive $1,000 and the winning story will be published on the Gival Press website and in a future anthology of short stories. Submissions of a previously unpublished original (not a translation) short story in English must be approximately 5,000 to 15,000 words of high literary quality.
 

GRANTS

HOLES IN THE WALL COLLECTIVE
http://www.holesinthewallcollective.org/creativeresidency/
The Holes in Wall Collective Creative Residency Program is designed to span across many mediums and designations of creativity. We invite people across disciplines to engage with their practice and share collective space. Twenty-nine acres of woods, fields, pond, pool. Barn with studio space, worktables, rehearsal and workshop open space. Four bedroom cabin with full kitchen, living room, screened-in porch, working desks. Location New Jerusalem, Pennsylvania. Subsidized rates down to $35/night. 



ART AIA
https://artaiaartist.wordpress.com/about/
Art Aia- Creatives-In-Residence is a cultural center, a creative residency , located inside a farm in the Friulian countryside of Northern Italy, near the town of Sesto al Reghena in the province of Pordenone. The accommodation rental and studio fees vary according to the type of creative residency. If funding permits, an allowance for housing and materials may be available. No deadline.



NORTH CAROLINA ARTIST FELLOWSHIPS
http://www.ncarts.org/Grants/Grants-for-Artists/Artist-Fellowships
The program operates on a two-year cycle. Songwriters, composers, and writers will be eligible to apply for the November 1, 2016 deadline. Choreographers and visual, craft, and film/video artists are eligible to apply for the November 2017 deadline. Must have been a year-round resident of North Carolina for at least one year immediately prior to the application deadline. Fellowships in the amount of $10,000 support the creative development of North Carolina artists and the creation of new work. 



DURHAM ARTS COUNCIL (NC)
http://www.durhamarts.org/artistinfo_emergingartists.html
2017 Emerging Artists Applications will be available online in July 2016 and due September 23, 2016. 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, 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. 

 

FREELANCE MARKETS

STORY
http://www.storymagazine.org/submit/
Story is interested in narrative of any shape and kind we can get onto the printed page. Surprise us with traditional and experimental forms of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. We love short fiction, but we love hermit-crab essays, hybrid forms, research, lists, and charts too. Submit work that fits the theme, but don't be afraid to think outside the box. Submissions for online issues should be a maximum of 2,500 words.



THRIVING FAMILY
http://www.thrivingfamily.com/extra/www.thrivingfamily.com/~/media/Thriving/1-articles/PDFs/TF-Writers-Guidelines.pdf
Thriving Family focuses on marriage and parenting from a biblical perspective. Most articles address marriage and the needs of families with 4- to 12-year-olds in the home, but parenting preschoolers and teens are not ignored. The magazine is divided into departments. Pays 25 cents/word.



TODAY'S CHRISTIAN WOMAN
http://www.todayschristianwoman.com/help/writers-guidelines/todays-christian-woman-writers-guidelines.html
Today's Christian Woman's mission is to encourage, equip, and inspire Christian women to live out their faith fearlessly in the grit of everyday life. Today's Christian Woman is a daily website and weekly iPad app for the Christian woman who wants to love God more deeply and live fearlessly for his kingdom. All articles should be between 800 and 1,500 words, with optional but suggested sidebars with "how-to" tips and/or suggested resources relevant to topic addressed.



TODAY'S URBAN PARENT
http://todaysurbanparent.com/writers-guidelines/
The purpose of the magazine is to:
Provide and distribute information to parents and families about various issues that have an impact upon their child’s educational, social, emotional, and physical development. To empower parents with the skills and information so they are able to support their child’s educational, physical, social, and emotional development. To inspire families to live up to their potential which will have a positive and lasting impact on their community.



VELA
http://velamag.com/about/submission-guidelines/
Vela publishes nonfiction written by women. We are particularly interested in narrative nonfiction, essays with a research and/or reporting component, and literary journalism with a unique, compelling voice. We do publish personal essays and are suckers for powerful personal narratives, but we prefer stories that move beyond the personal realm to consider larger questions and issues. Our feature stories typically run from 3,000 to 6,000 words, although we are open to longer work. Vela also publishes a series of columns for which we accept short-form submissions: Placed, Body of Work, Outlines, Milestones, and The Writing Life.
 

JOBS

publishers/agents

LAURA DAIL LITERARY AGENCY
http://www.ldlainc.com/submissions/
LDLA is always excited to find new talent. If you love our books and think your project is a good match, please consider submitting your work. But please carefully review which category each agent represents before querying. Diversity is always welcome. Laura Dail: Narrative non-fiction; practical nonfiction; history; current events; food; memoir; general fiction; mysteries and thrillers; historical fiction; YA and middle-grade fiction. Tamar Rydzinski: Middle-grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction of all types; adult commercial fiction (political espionage is not a good fit); adult narrative nonfiction. Elana Roth Parker: Middle-grade and young adult fiction (all genres, though horror, thriller, Christmas, or talking animal books are not a good match); narrative nonfiction for children and teens; picture books from author/illustrators only. 



CORNERSTONE LITERARY AGENCY
http://www.cornerstoneliterary.com/
Our primary areas of interest include literary and commercial fiction and narrative nonfiction. We do not consider business, how-to, photography books, poetry, screenplays, self-help or Westerns.



BEVERLY SLOPEN AGENCY
http://www.slopenagency.com/sa/aboutus
We represent a diverse list of internationally published and acclaimed authors in fields ranging from literary and commercial fiction to history, narrative non-fiction, anthropology, biography, to carefully selected true crime and self-help.



BOOKENDS LITERARY AGENCY
http://bookendsliterary.com/index.php/submissions/
In fiction we represent all areas of romance, mystery, suspense, science fiction and fantasy, women's fiction, new adult, picture books, middle grade, and young adult. In nonfiction we represent titles in the following areas: current affairs, reference, business and career, parenting, pop culture, coloring books, and general nonfiction. BookEnds does not represent short fiction, poetry, screenplays, or techno-thrillers.
 

SPONSORS

Creative Writing Institute's Annual Short Story Contest
Entry fee $5

First place: Professionally designed Gold eMedal and $100, plus publication
Second place: Striking Silver eMedal and $50, plus publication
Third place: Brilliant Bronze eMedal and $25, plus publication
Fourth-Fifth places: Finalist eMedal, plus publication
Seven Judge’s Choice: eRibbon, plus publication



This is a themed contest and this exact sentence must appear in the story: "Explain how that happened."

Open genre. Limit 1,500-2,000 words. No swearing, profanity, explicit sexual scenes, graphic violence, etc. Must be unpublished. Creative Writing Institute has first, non-exclusive, electronic rights to publish the winners and Judge's Choice stories in our anthology. All other rights return to author upon publication. ONE submission per person. Deadline September 15, 2016, midnight, USA EST. No early or late submissions, please. Entries will only be accepted through the form at https://CreativeWritingInstitute.submittable.com/submit 

GET WEBSITES THAT ROCK, BOOK COVERS THAT SIZZLE

Shaila Abdullah has designed websites, book designs, marketing materials, and email campaigns for over 60 authors, writers and speakers. Being an award-winning author herself, she understands the industry, and will provide you with designs that reflect your unique style, genre, and personality. 

MENTION THIS AD AND GET 10% OFF (NEW CLIENTS ONLY)
EXISTING CLIENTS EARN 8% REFERRAL FEE FOR SENDING IN NEW CLIENTS 

E-mail Shaila: info@myhouseofdesign.com 
View portfolio: http://myhouseofdesign.com/author-portfolio/
Services for authors: http://myhouseofdesign.com/services-for-authors/

A few testimonials from happy clients:

"Superb work, excellent customer service. Just marvelous overall.” —C. Hope Clark, author, founder of FundsforWriters, http://www.fundsforwriters.com

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"Shaila is a terrific designer, highly professional and extremely creative and delivers amazing results. Her sense of humor and positive spirit has made the whole process of developing and launching my web site a pleasure. –James Hutchison, playwright, http://jameshutchison.ca/

"When I first saw Shaila’s work, I was struck by the fact that her designs are not only beautiful but also perfectly reflect the personality of the business it represents. Her suggestions, insight, and artistic talent made the final product much better than what I’d envisioned on my own.” —Jacqueline Adams, writer, http://jacqueline-adams.com/
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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
http://www.fundsforwriters.com

Copyright 2000-2016, C. Hope Clark
ISSN: 1533-1326

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