FundsforWriters - January 13, 2017 - Nonfiction = Simplification + Clarity

Published: Fri, 01/13/17

Volume 17, Issue 2 | JANUARY 13, 2017

Message from the Editor

I want to take this moment to comment about a group I belong to, Sisters in Crime. I am a founding member of the Palmetto Chapter in SC, and on January 21, at 1PM, mystery/suspense author Robert Dugoni is coming to speak to us, and will be interviewed by the remarkable Cathy Pickens, also a well-known mystery author. There is no cost and it's potluck, which interprets to lots of cool homemade dishes. Location St Paul's Lutheran Church at 1715 Bull Street in downtown Columbia, SC. Lunch is at 1PM and the program is at 3PM. Please consider attending if you're in the state, or even passing through. Nothing like learning from the successful.

C. Hope Clark
Editor, FundsforWriters
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Editor’s THOUGHTS

GREAT NONFICTION = SIMPLIFICATION + CLARITY

Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand. ~ Colin Powell

Most people love a strong, educational, how-to book that makes a difference in our lives. Nonfiction is quite popular and can be trendy if the message is strong enough and quite universal. But what makes for great how-to versus the average? What is the magic ingredient for a nonfiction, how-to book that flies off book shelves?

Regardless the topic, it's this: SIMPLIFICATION and CLARITY. In other words, delivery.

To prove the point, look at the top ten how-to books listed by the New York Time:

1) The Lose Your Belly Diet - By a talk show host / doctor, delivered like he does his show.

2) Tools of Titans - The author distilled the lives of billionaires into a simple explanation of their habits.

3)-5) The Whole 30 - Green Smoothies for Life - The Zero Sugar Diet - Fourteen and thirty-day plans designed for you.

6) You are a Badass - Tips for the doubtful on how to roar ahead in life. Oh, if it were so simple.

7) The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up - A universal subject that actually promised to simplify your life.

11) The Subtle Art of Not Giving A - - - - Making your life easier.

12) The Five Love Languages - Simplifying love into formulas.

So, if you believe you have a great nonfiction, how-to idea, realize success is more than about the idea. It's about making the idea seem oh-so-elementary. So simple that the reader cannot wait to implement it into their lives. In other words . . . tight writing.

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.

NOTE TO THE WISE: Send a receipt for one of Hope's books and receive TOTAL for free.
(**and feel free to steal this graphic for your own site!)

Upcoming Appearances and Classes! (All times in Eastern.)

Feb 24-26 - Deckle Edge Festival, Columbia, SC
Mar 12 - Clearwater, FL Writers Conference - all day

Experience C. Hope Clark at the Kapok Events Center in Clearwater, Florida, Sunday, March 12, 2017 at the Safety Harbor Writers & Poets Conference: Solving the Mystery of Writing. This one-day event will feature Hope as keynote speaker along with Edgar award recipient Lori Ross, Thriller author Jeff Strand, Memoirist Julie Riddle and more. Tickets $89 and include a catered boxed lunch. Learn more and purchase tickets at www.safetyharborwritersandpoets.com

WORDS OF SUCCESS

After all it is those who have a deep and real inner life
who are best able to deal with the irritating details of outer life.

~ Evelyn Underhill

MURDER ON EDISTO
# 1 in THE EDISTO ISLAND MYSTERY SERIES

http://www.chopeclark.com/

Where it all began!

Her husband murdered by the Russian mob, Boston detective Callie Jean Morgan relinquishes her badge to return to the family vacation home in South Carolina. But the day they arrive on Edisto Beach, Callie finds her childhood mentor murdered. Her fragile sanity is threatened when the murderer taunts her and repeatedly violates what was to be her sanctuary home. 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?

"Undeniably addictive, this is a book you won’t want to put down. Replete with well-drawn characters, this is a read that won’t disappoint as Clark’s penchant for rapid-fire prose grabs you by the scruff of the neck and refuses to let go."
–Rachel, Gladstone, Dish Magazine

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	As always, purchase any of Hope's books and receive a one-year subscription to TOTAL FFW free. Send receipt to hope@fundsforwriters.com

Success Story

Please let us know of your own success. How has FundsforWriters aided your journey?
Email hope@chopeclark.com

Paid Guest Blogs

By Trisha Faye

Desiring another stream of income as a freelancer, I searched for sites offering payment for guest blogs. When I realized that a large portion of my writing was about people from the past, I wrote "Dead People Rule," which was my first guest post for FundsforWriters. A few months later, "Spinning Hobbies into Cash" was also accepted.

When Write Naked accepted "Stitches from the Past Bring Cash" and Scary Mommy accepted "OMG! I'm Becoming My Mother," I thought I'd discovered all the answers to guest blogging.

I hadn't.

My next FundsforWriters submittal, "Cats, and Dogs, and Horses, Oh My," had lots of links. I wrote in the-more-the-better-mode. If half a dozen links were good, 20 were even better. Right?

Wrong.

Fortunately, instead of giving up and hiding under a rock, I found the courage to ask about revised submissions. Hope graciously replied that she was willing to look at revisions. I reworked it and sent it back – to get another No Thanks. Thankfully, she included feedback about why the post didn't work. I condensed the number of links and added more voice to the piece for an acceptance.

Along the way, I learned more about writing for paying blogs.

Follow the Guidelines

This seems obvious, but many writers don't follow the guidelines. Just as editors vary from one publication to another, so do guidelines. Although most sites, like FundsforWriters and Write Naked, are straightforward, some are vague and unclear. Read them all.

Word count matters. This is usually non-negotiable. Some publications state that any submissions over the word count won't even be read. Guidelines clarify necessary items, such as a title, a bio, a PayPal account, or links to social media platforms. The guidelines also state whether to submit via snail mail (rare anymore), in the body of an email, as an attachment, or through a Submittable format.

Read Back Issues

Every week I read FundsforWriters...with an eye for places to submit my writing. When I became more serious about guest blogging, I went back and read the guest blogs for the past two years...again. This time I looked at writing styles, content, and the writer's voice.

Guest Post Subjects

Most paid guest blogs have a definitive theme and target market. The better you match your pitch to the blog you want to write for, the greater your chances of success. Peruse back issues and see what's already been published. What can you write about that will complement prior posts and educate the blog's audience?

Listen to the Editors

Editors know what they're looking for. When my post was rejected twice, I was fortunate to hear why. My next submiaaion, "Using Pinterest to Promote Books," also needed a revision. Hope asked that I rewrite it, adding an explanation of what Pinterest was and how it worked. Being a Pinterest user for years, I'd assumed (incorrectly) that everyone knew about it. When I submitted "Contently for Freelancers," I used this advice and included the what and how about Contently.

Blogs That Pay for Guest Posts

FundsforWriters: http://fundsforwriters.com/submissions/
Write Naked: http://writenaked.net/guest-blog-writers/
Listverse: http://listverse.com/write-get-paid/
The Dollar Stretcher: http://www.stretcher.com/menu/writers.cfm
Scary Mommy: http://www.scarymommy.com/write-for-scary-mommy/
Make a Living Writing: http://www.makealivingwriting.com/im-starting-pay-guest-posts-blog/

Just Do It

As the Nike ad promotes: Just Do It. A dozen good ideas running around in your brain don't mean anything if you don't sit down, write the piece or the pitch, and send it off.

BIO: Trisha Faye spends her time in the DFW Texas area writing to support her habits: rescuing kittens, gardening and an obsession with antiquing. Visit her at www.trishafaye.com or connect with her on Facebook or Twitter.

COmpetitions

AMERICA MEDIA CONTEST
https://americamedia.submittable.com/submit
NO ENTRY FEE.
America Media is seeking submissions from young writers for this year's Generation Faith Essay Contest. We want to hear from high school and college students interested in reflecting on the joys and challenges that come with living out (or struggling with) one's faith in the midst of real life. All entries should be true personal essays, between 800 and 1,200 words. The essays should feature strong narratives and real-life examples from the writer’s experience as a young person in the church today. Writers should think creatively and broadly about their faith experience. The winning entry will be awarded $1,000 and will be published in America. Additional entries may be chosen for publication in America. The judging panel will consist of the editors of America and The Jesuit Post. Deadline February 17, 2017.

THE WRITER ESSAY CONTEST
http://www.writermag.com/writing-resources/contests/
$25 ENTRY FEE.
Our “Your Turn” essay contests asks readers to write a 2,000-word essay about any aspect of the writing life. Any topic is fair game, so long as it pertains to some aspect of writing. Deadline February 25, 2017. Grand prize: $1,000 and publication in our magazine. However, every essay we receive will be considered for paid publication in The Writer. Word count: 2,000 words or less.

WATERSTON DESERT WRITING PRIZE
http://www.writingranch.com/waterston-prize-for-desert-writers/
NO ENTRY FEE.
Deadline April 1, 2017. Prize annually honors literary nonfiction that illustrates artistic excellence, sensitivity to place, and desert literacy - with the desert as both subject and setting. Will recognize one writer with a $2,000 cash award, a reading and reception at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon, and a four-week residency at PLAYA at Summer Lake, Oregon.

GRANTS

DON AND GEREL NICHOLL FELLOWSHIPS IN SCREENWRITING
https://nicholl.oscars.org/
This international screenwriting competition awards up to five fellowships of US$35,000 each year. The competition is open to writers based anywhere in the world, regardless of citizenship. All entrants must be aged over 18. The fellowships are intended for new and/or amateur screenwriters. In order to be eligible, an entrant’s total earnings for motion picture and television writing may not exceed US$25,000 before the end of the competition.

COMMUNITY OF WRITERS
https://communityofwriters.org/workshops/financial-aid-scholarships/
A limited amount of financial aid is available each year for both the Poetry Workshop and Writers Workshops. Much of the financial aid is granted in the form of tuition waivers and scholarships, which are funded by donations from our past participants, staff and friends. Some of the scholarships are noted for specific populations. Location Nevada City, California.

ASSOCIATION OF WRITERS & WRITING PROGRAMS WRITER TO WRITER PROGRAM
https://awp.submittable.com/submit/51044/writer-to-writer-mentor-application
AWP's mentorship program, Writer to Writer, matches emerging writers and published authors for a three-month series of modules on topics such as craft, revision, publishing, and the writing life. Mentors volunteer their time and receive a free one-year AWP membership. Writer to Writer is free of charge to mentees.

FREELANCE MARKETS

WOMENARTS BLOG
http://www.womenarts.org/blog/womenarts-blog-submission-guidelines/
We are looking for reporters who can help us cover more of the inspiring work that women artists are doing, the latest research on gender parity in the arts, and the actions women are taking to end gender discrimination in the arts. We are looking for news articles. We are not seeking personal essays at this time. We prefer articles that are 500 – 800 words in length. It is extremely rare for us to publish articles longer than 1,000 words. Our maximum fee will be $200 for articles of 500 – 1,000 words that we publish that have not been published elsewhere. The fee will be negotiated on a case by case basis for shorter or previously published articles.

HIGH COUNTRY NEWS
https://www.hcn.org/about/submissions
High Country News will consider pitches for well-researched stories on any natural resource or environmental topic, as long as it concerns the American West as a region. We define resources to include people, politics, culture and aesthetic values, not just coal, oil and timber. We divide submissions into front-of-book stories (500 to 1,600 words) and features (2,400 words and up). We pay on publication, between $0.50 and $1.50 per word, depending on the writer’s experience and our experience with the writer. Kill fee is 25 percent.

EDGE
http://www.edgenorth.ca/contributors-guidelines/
EDGE YK magazine is a free publication dedicated to showcasing some of the vast creative talent within Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. We’re interested in well-told first-person narrative stories, as well as pieces on the issues, ideas and people affecting the city’s past, present and future.

DEEP MAGIC
http://deepmagic.co/submissions/#
Deep Magic is a bi-monthly electronic magazine that publishes clean short fiction in the fantasy and science fiction genres. Our issues are also filled with author interviews, art features, book reviews and tips for writers. Most of our non-fiction pieces are invitation only to industry professionals and Deep Magic staff, but if you have a fantastic piece, please send it our way. We pay $.08 per word for the first 5,000 words and $.06 per word for each word between 5,001 and 16,000 words, with payment capped at $1,060 for stories longer than 16,000 words.

JOBS

ASSOCIATE EDITOR
http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/careers/associate-editor/
Zócalo Public Square, the Los Angeles-based online ideas daily, seeks a driven and dynamic Associate Editor to join our team. We’re looking for an experienced editor with strong writing and organizational skills who excels at working with both outside writers and fellow editors. This is a terrific opportunity for a creative and responsible editor to become part of a smart, growing, incessantly curious, and tight-knit team. The Associate Editor must be able to work out of our offices in Santa Monica and Downtown Los Angeles, and be available for occasional weekend and evening work, and some travel.

Publishers/agents

THE UNTER AGENCY
http://theunteragency.com/submit.html
Interested in seeing quality fiction and general nonfiction, with a particular interest in memoir, food/cooking, nature/environment, biography, pop culture, travel/adventure, true crime, politics and health/fitness. Additionally, looking for all types of children's literature (picture books, middle grade, and young adult).

KNEERIM AND WILLIAMS
http://kwlit.com/contactus.html
See the individual agents for the types of proposals they are seeking. The details are quite clear.

THE NEW PRESS
http://thenewpress.com/
The New Press publishes books that promote and enrich public discussion and understanding of the issues vital to our democracy and to a more equitable world. Editorially, The New Press focuses on number of key program areas, including: contemporary social issues, with an emphasis on race relations, women's issues, immigration, human rights, labor and popular economics, and the media; education reform and alternative teaching materials; cultural criticism; art and art education; international literature; and law and legal studies.