FundsforWriters - September 1, 2017 - A Reminder About Crowdfunding

Published: Fri, 09/01/17

Volume 17, Issue 35 | SEPTEMBER 1, 2017

Message from the Editor

Short message from me tonight. I spent the week moving my elderly parents 120 miles into assisted living. Of course there were disagreements, tears, misunderstandings, and some nastiness from a couple of souls in the mix, but they are moved and they like it. Mom is forever timing when there's a meal because she loves the food. What better stamp of approval is that?

And I'm completely exhausted, both mentally and physically.

But tonight, on the way home, my son called and asked if I wanted to come to dinner with him and his family. We ate Mexican. And after the most horrendous week, I got a dose of these two little guys, and life was suddenly so much better. I just had to share.

So with less fanfare than usual, here is this week's newsletter. I hope you find a nugget that serves your writing well. Thanks so much for reading. I really appreciate you folks.

C. Hope Clark
Editor, FundsforWriters
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	Those who haven't read any of C. Hope Clark's books are short-changing themselves. You can't begin a C. Hope Clark book and then put it down." - Clay Stafford, author / filmmaker, founder of Killer Nashville and publisher of Killer Nashville Magazine.

SPONSOR OF THE WEEK

Please visit gofundme.com where I'm crowdfunding in an attempt to raise enough money for Red Moon Press to publish my third book of haiku poetry. My first two were self published. RMP, the preeminent publisher of English-language haiku in the world, is interested in publishing "The Weight of Snowflakes." However, I must share in the
publication and distribution costs. RMP has produced more than 150 volumes including scores of individual haiku collections and anthologies. The press is a service to haiku poets rather than a viable commercial entity, publishing the best in English-language haiku from around the world.

PLEASE HELP ME BY GOING TO THIS LINK

Editor’s THOUGHTS

A REMINDER ABOUT CROWDFUNDING

Most emails I receive from readers about finding funds, request sources of grants. Grants to pay them to write, travel, or research. Most of the time, these are first-time book creators, calling from the great sea of the unpublished. And each time I have to tell them that unless they have other skills, experience, or notoriety about the subject matter, nobody wants to issue a grant to a novice to write. Remember, the grant provider needs to sparkle from your success, and ride on your coattails. They don't just write checks for the fun of it.

Then I suggest crowdfunding as an alternative. Why?

1) Crowdfunding teaches you how to promote yourself.
2) Crowdfunding teaches you how to build a platform.
3) Crowdfunding teaches you how to develop a following.
4) Crowdfunding teaches you how to budget.
5) Crowdfunding teaches you entrepreneurialship.

Where can you find crowdfunding? Start here: 10 Crowdfunding Platforms for Writers

As a matter of fact, you can see a very simple crowdfunding campaign by one of our readers (see the sponsor ad above). He's chosen GoFundMe.com to raise only $1,000 for his book of haiku poetry. It's not an elaborate campaign and very doable. He's earned pledges of $120 of his needed $1,000 thus far. Please look in case you love haiku, or would like to help a fellow writer. His deadline is the end of September.

And take a look at a more complicated campaign at Kickstarter.com where Crystal Sully wants to publish The Untamed Beastiary: A Field Guide to Marvelous Monsters. She has 780 pledges with a week to go. She requested $7,535, and the pledges to date amount to $47,625.

And there are every size, shape, and subject to learn from in visiting these crowdfunding sites. Look under publishing. See what makes for a successful campaign. Find fund projects to support. I adore perusing crowdfunding sites and aiding others. I might not give each one more than $10, but I've aided a writer's creative endeavor. It's a great way to give back AND learn how to manage a campaign of your own.

Hope's Appearances

--September 12 - 1PM - Mark Dawson Podcast Self-Publishing Formula

--September 24 - 7PM - The Writers Chatroom with Hope

--November 3-5, 2017 - Independent Writers Conference - Philadelphia, PA - and guess who is one of the presenters! I'd love to meet a herd of FundsforWriters followers while I'm there. Check it out.

WORDS OF SUCCESS

Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out.

~John Wooden

Success Story

If you've had a success as a result of reading FundsforWriters, please let us know. We want to share it with our readers!!! Be sure to include a website or blog address. Email to hope@chopeclark.com

A Creative Way to Get Paid for Talking

By Carol Goodman Kaufman

In a recent Funds for Writers issue, Hope continued her steady mentorship of us writers by urging us not to accept invitations for speaking engagements for which we would not be paid. This certainly wasn't the first time she has told us not to sell ourselves short. Writers need to act like business people, she reminds us and, just like plumbers and doctors, we need to be paid for our work (and Lord knows, writing is work).

But, we all cry, how do we get our names out there in the world? How will anybody ever know about the fabulous books we have written if we don't talk to every audience that will have us?

I have hit on an easy solution to the event-doesn’t-want-to-pay problem, so I wanted to share it. It started as just an experiment, but was so successful that I have used it half a dozen times since and plan to employ it whenever I have the chance.

Many of the groups that invite me are chapters of charitable organizations or civic groups. That means they operate on very tight budgets and don't have the means to pay much of a speaker's fee. I'm not talking Madeleine Albright or Carly Fiorina –level payments here ($50,000 and $73,000, respectively), but a modest $250 honorarium plus travel expenses. So, instead of an honorarium, I have asked the organizers to buy one book for every attendee at their conferences and programs. I offer to sell the books to the group at deep discount, books that I purchased at an even deeper discount from the publisher. The group can then build the cost of the volume into the registration fee. This is a fairly painless price tag for both the sponsoring organization and the participant, and attendees get to walk away with some pretty substantial swag.

To illustrate: I purchase books for $5 each from the publisher. I charge the groups $10 each — still far less than the list price of $28.95. In an audience of fifty people, I can make $250, precisely what I would have earned had I charged an honorarium, and much more than I would have netted from royalties – at $1.20 per book, only $60. And, of course, since royalties depend both on sales and the speed of calculating those sales at the publishing house, those payments arrive in my checking account much more slowly than the check from the host group does.

In fact, if I must fly to the speaking gig, I ship the books ahead. The check arrives before I even pack my bags.

So, you see, my method yields quicker and greater results. Not bad for a few hours of time.

Even better, people have my book in their hands. If they like what they read, they may be more likely to buy my next book, especially when they have had the opportunity to meet the author and discuss the book with her.

Isn't that the point of getting out there to speak in the first place?

Finally, a bonus: I get the books out of my house! (I know you have cases of books in your closet/attic/basement, too.)

BIO - Carol Goodman Kaufman, a recovering psychologist and criminologist, now writes about travel and food for several newspapers and magazines, blogs at carolgoodmankaufman.com, and posts at https://www.facebook.com/PeanutPeregrinations. Her book, Sins of Omission, looked at communal response to domestic violence. She is currently at work on a food history cum cookbook and a murder mystery in which food plays a role.

COmpetitions

EZRA JACK KEATS FOUNDATION AWARD FOR NEW CHILDREN'S WRITERS AND ILLUSTRATORS
http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/h/about-the-ezra-jack-keats-book-award/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline December 15, 2017. The awards are designed to recognize and encourage authors and illustrators starting out in the field of children's books who share Ezra Jack Keats' commitment to children and diversity. The award is given annually to an outstanding new writer and new illustrator of picture books for children (9 years of age and under). Publishers are encouraged to submit works by new writers and illustrators who are committed to celebrating diversity through their writing and art. To be eligible, writers and illustrators must have had no more than three books published. The award includes an honorarium of $1,000 for each winner.

FAMILY NARRATIVE PROJECT
https://www.familynarrativeproject.com/contest
$10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline October 31, 2017. The Family Narrative Project invites entries to our 2017 essay contest on the theme of family. We know, in other words, that they have the power both to harm and to heal. We are open to essays that reflect the full range of family life. Word limit: 1,000 words. Prize $500 for winner plus an interview with the author that will be featured on our website. Winner will be announced on our website on January 4, 2018.

THE STROKESTOWN INTERNATIONAL PRIZE
https://www.strokestownpoetry.org/competitions-2018/strokestown-international-prize-2018/
ENTRY FEE €6. First Prize €2,000 plus a week-long residency at Anam Cara Writer’s and Artist’s Retreat. Second Prize €700. Third Prize €500. Shortlisted poets will also be published in the forthcoming festival anthology, alongside the work of the judges and other featured readers at the festival.

TONGUES AND GROOVES PROSE POEM PRIZE
https://tonguesandgrooves.com/2017/03/08/international-prose-poem-2017/
ENTRY FEE £5. Deadline January 1, 2018. First £600, Second £200, Third £100, with seven commendations £25. Winners will be invited to read at the Square Tower, Portsmouth in March 2018 as part of Bookfest 2018. Prose poems must be submitted in English and should be a maximum of 50 lines and typed on one side of A4.

THE 27th ANNUAL MISSOURI REVIEW JEFFREY E. SMITH EDITORS' PRIZE
https://www.missourireview.com/contests/jeffrey-e-smith-editors-prize/
Awards $5,000 and publication to the prize-winners in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Now open for submissions! Deadline: October 2.

GRANTS

VETERANS WRITING RETREAT
http://www.sundressacademyforthearts.com/
Sundress Academy for the Arts is excited to announce its first writing retreat for veterans on October 7-8, 2017. This two-day retreat at SAFTA's Firefly Farms is for military veterans and current service members and will be a space for creativity, writing exercises, discussions on ways to write about trauma, advice on publishing, and more. This weekend will be an opportunity to express shared experiences and learn to write your story for a non-military audience. We have two full scholarships available for the retreat as well as limited partial scholarships for those with financial need. To apply for a scholarship, send a brief statement on why you would like to attend this workshop and an optional packet of no more than eight pages of creative writing to Erin Elizabeth Smith at erin@sundresspublications.com no later than September 15, 2017. Location Knoxville, Tennessee.

STIFTUNG LONSTLERDORF SCHOPPINGEN FELLOWSHIPS
http://www.stiftung-kuenstlerdorf.de/stipendien/
Deadline September 15, 2017. Approximately 10 scholarships are awarded annually in literature. International tender, no age limit, residence obligation, duration between two and six months, period can be chosen. Application period in the summer months of each year. Two scholarships are awarded annually in composition. International tender, no age limit, compulsory residence, duration six months, first or second semester can be chosen. Application period in the summer months of each year (deadlines are announced on website), only written applications in the specified period possible. The scholarship is donated by the Kunststiftung NRW. All scholarships are 1025.00 euros per month, less 100 to 200 euros (depending on the size of the apartment / studio), electricity and telephone costs. Location Schöppingen, Germany.

BLUDELL TRUST AWARDS
http://www.societyofauthors.org/SOA/MediaLibrary/SOAWebsite/Documents-for-download/KB-new-form-deadline-September-2017.pdf
Deadline September 30, 2017. Author must be British by birth, resident in the UK, and under the age of 40. The author must submit a copy of their latest published book. The work must contribute to the greater understanding of existing social and economic organization. Fiction is not excluded. Grants range between 2,000 and 4,000 pounds. Two rounds of grants per year - in the spring and autumn.

TIPTREE FELLOWSHIPS
https://tiptree.org/news
Deadline September 15, 2017. For the third year, we are welcoming applications for Tiptree Fellowships: $500 grants for emerging creators who are changing the way we think about gender through speculative narrative. The Tiptree Fellowship is designed to provide support and recognition for the new voices who are making visible the forces that are changing our view of gender today.

FREELANCE MARKETS

ST. ANTHONY MAGAZINE
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/writers-guide/
St. Anthony Messenger, published by Franciscan Media, is a monthly, general-interest, family-oriented national Catholic magazine, in continuous print since 1893. Feature articles are about 2,000 words. We also publish shorter pieces as well. Payment for articles and fiction is 20 cents per published word. There is a Franciscan flavor to all that we do: faithful, sometimes challenging, always down-to-earth, infused with love and respect, always following Jesus in the life of his Church.

ACRES, USA
http://www.acresusa.com/writers-guidelines/
Acres U.S.A. is North America’s premier publisher on production-scale organic and sustainable farming. For more than four decades we have helped farmers, ranchers and market gardeners grow food organically, sustainably, without harmful, toxic chemistry. We welcome submissions about farmers, ranchers and market gardeners who have found ways to survive and thrive in an agribusiness climate that favors vertical integration and the demise of individual thinkers. The ideal feature article will average 1,000-3,000 words in length, with concise presentation and plenty of detail on practices, materials and results. Pays ten cents/word.

SUSQUEHANNA LIFE
http://www.susquehannalife.com/pages/contact-us
Articles take a unique and positive look at a variety of aspects of life in Central Pennsylvania, and provide readers with information about places to go, things to do and history. Full-length articles are up to 850 words and payment is $75 to $150.

FIRESIDE
https://firesidefiction.com/about/#submissions-guidelines
We accept flash fiction of up to 1,000 words, and short stories from 1,000 to 4,000 words. Submission periods: September 17-23 and November 5-11. Flash up to 1,000 words. Short stories up to 4,000 words. Pays 12.5 cents per word in payment for accepted stories.

JOBS

COMMUNICATIONS WRITER
https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=e885acac90942a6b
Our Commercial Sales Enablement team is looking for a skilled, creative writer to create compelling, stand-out communication material to support business plans and favorably position Aetna with existing and potential customers for our National Accounts, Public & Labor, Middle Market and Specialty businesses. Job duties include working with designers and account management partners to create compelling value story, executive summaries, finalist presentations and capabilities decks in order for us to continue to grow our business. Location Hartford, CT.

SOCIAL MEDIA WRITER
https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?cmp=McFadden%2FGavender-Advertising%2C-Inc.&t=Social+Media+Writer&jk=a030467d5d3a7d44
Location Tucson, AZ. McFadden/Gavender, Inc. is seeking an employee for social media writing. Heavy emphasis will be on Facebook posting, blogging, tweeting, Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube.
You must have a full understanding of social media. Must have two years experience.

MARKETING WRITER
https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=221e3976e21cf4d9&q=Writer&tk=1bovrfq2j052b47b
Location Raleigh, NC. Part of NC State’s newly formed marketing and content strategy team, the marketing copywriter will take a leadership and advocacy role in writing promotional copy and creating innovative platforms and concepts that achieve the strategic goals of the university.

Publishers/agents

PARLAY PRESS
http://www.parlaypress.com/authors.htm
Parlay Press specializes in books on writing and language. Our goal is to develop products that meet the following criteria: short (150 single-spaced pages or less), instructional (for students or teachers), clear (understandable even to novices), and unique (incorporating new ideas or approaches).

SQUARE ONE PUBLISHERS
http://squareonepublishers.com/TopMenu/Submissions
Square One Publishers specializes in adult nonfiction books. We look for interesting manuscript proposals that have a fresh and/or different point of view by authors who truly know their topic. Our books provide information that is designed to meet the needs of specific audiences. Currently, we are interested in receiving manuscript proposals for the following categories: Alternative Health, Parenting, Collectibles, Personal Finance, Cooking, Postcards, Gambling, Self-help, Health, and Writing.

UNIVERSITY PRESS OF COLORADO
http://upcolorado.com/publish-with-us/submissions
The University Press of Colorado, including the Utah State University Press imprint, is currently accepting manuscript proposals in anthropology, archaeology, composition (writing studies), folklore, history, and the natural sciences as well as projects about the state of Colorado, Utah, and the Rocky Mountain region. We are also accepting submissions for the following series:

The George and Sakaye Aratani Nikkei in the Americas Series
Mining the American West
Atomic History & Culture
Timberline Books

BENBELLA BOOKS
https://www.benbellabooks.com/for-authors/
BenBella Books is a publishing boutique that publishes around 40 books a year, is very selective in what it acquires, and works with great diligence to publish each book to its maximum potential.
We are actively acquiring strong nonfiction manuscripts. We are not looking for fiction at this time.