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TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE

I grew up cherishing this saying from Shakespeare's Hamlet. "To thine own self be true."

However, I've learned over the many years I've walked this planet that I'm not always right, and that being true to myself in some instances is akin to slitting my own throat. Being TOO stubborn in being true to myself can often come with the risk of ignoring life-changing advice. 

So therein lies the educational journey through our lives. We have to become familiar with who we are. . . who we truly are. . . and not the phony the world wants us to be. That's why I chose today's quote:

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson 

The serious struggle lies in knowing who we are. That means being open-minded enough to reach out and learn and be open to being proven wrong. Study, listen to experts, accept critiques. The magic of that process is not what you learn but what you learn to discern. Over the years, you hone a sense of which advice to take and which advice to shrug off. Those who do usually appear the most natural, the most confident, and the most approachable. 

Most people never reach that point. Many are too busy trying to be someone else, or be who all the bloggers and how-to gurus tell them to be. That's why we have so many articles, blogs, and books that begin like "How to Be the Best ___" or "100 Ways to Master ____" or "The Shortest Route to Success." The best blogger, the best indie author, the best promoter, the best short story writer, etc. And when we try to clone what someone else teaches, we turn off our own voices, and the discerning part flies out the window.

There are experts, and there is you. What you want to take away from the experts are the pieces of advice that make you be the better you...not a shadow of them. Fight to become confident in your writing by practicing, submitting, studying. . . then carve out who and what you are. There ought to be nobody else like you.





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PREVIOUS FAVORITE POSTS:

• Getting Into Editing as a Writer
• How Writers Can Become Songwriters
• The Pros and Cons of Screenplay Competitions
• Dare to Be Bold
• Hitting the Higher Paying Markets
• How to Make the Most of Your LinkedIn Profile

 
WORDS OF SUCCESS

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. 

~Ralph Waldo Emerson
 

SUccess Story

If you have a success story thanks to FundsforWriters, please send it to us. Keep it under 100 words and email it to hope@chopeclark.com 
 

Featured article

Five Steps to Blogging for Businesses You Frequent Anyway

By Laurie Marie

Even successful freelance writers find themselves in lulls at times, their pitches readily declined. By making some simple choices, however, writers can access long-term clients without competing with a large pool of freelancers on a job board. By following these five steps, you can gain clients by showing them how your services will benefit them before they even know they need you. 

1.     Find businesses - The ideal company will either have a small, underdeveloped blog or no blog. Select businesses you already care about: brands you love or businesses operating locally. Consider businesses connected to your writing niche  as well. If you know someone personally at the company, take advantage of that connection. In the past year, I pitched a start-up health and fitness company, a phone application company, and a local brewery for blogging work.

2.     Make first contact, but expect mixed responses - Search the website for a contact form or email. Send a quick, clear message stating that you avidly use the product or service. Mention you are a freelance writer and link to some of your closely related published work. Occasionally, you will catch a company at a point where they want to expand their web presence but don't have a ready candidate. Your offer will come before they've set up an application or a job board post, which means that they save valuable time by choosing you rather than starting a longer search.

3.     Bring up topics, then money - If you do receive a positive response, tailor your return email to the content of that response. However, show that you have ideas for content, if they don't immediately provide you with topics, and ask what they pay while mentioning your usual range.

4.     Know how much you are willing to accept - Your typical pay range may be too high for some, so recognize your bottom line. This amount can change over time as your experience grows. For instance, I took $40 a post for a job writing 500-word blog posts, but I also accepted $40 for a 1000-word blog post on a topic I enjoyed researching. You decide how much you want this particular job, so value yourself while also acknowledging that small companies may not have much budget for writing. The site Who Pays Writers? also offers an idea of what freelancers charge for different lengths of articles at different kinds of publications.

5.     Do your best work to become indispensable - Requesting blogging work using these steps doesn't guarantee that the client will keep you around forever, but in my experience, these clients provide a steady stream of work. I now have five long-term business blogging clients who give me two or more projects a month. One client in particular, a start-up marketing company, specifically chose to continue working with me even after a more prestigious writer queried them, because the other writer wanted more money and didn't want to work within their organizational structure. 

Using these steps, you can gather clients without competing with other writers, while building long-term relationships with businesses you enjoy.

BIO - Laura Marie is a writer and teacher in Ohio; her blog about organization, growing up, and planning for the future is called Messy Mapmaker. She has also written for The Billfold, The Financial Diet, and Roads and Kingdoms.

COmpetitions

EYELANDS 1st INTERNATIONAL FLASH FICTION CONTEST
https://eyelandscontes.wordpress.com/
ENTRY FEE 5€. Deadline March 20, 2018. Theme of the contest: “Dreams.” First prize: A week holiday on the island of Crete (for two people). Three prize winners: publication in anthology, handmade ceramic gift, certificate, complimentary copy of the anthology. Shortlisted stories are published in the anthology. Limit 500 words. See the beach house and the area here http://three-rock.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page_17.html



NOWHERE TRAVEL-WRITING CONTEST
http://nowheremag.com/contests/
$15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline April 1, 2018. Nowhere is proud to announce our inaugural “This Land Is…” travel-writing contest! We are seeking nonfiction and essay submissions from writers whose story is deeply, clearly connected to a protected place, whether here in the United States or elsewhere in the world. Entries should be between 800 and 5,000 words and must not have been previously chosen as a winner in another contest. The winner will receive $250, with publication in Nowhere granted under First North American Serial Rights (FNASR). Up to five finalists also will be published, and we’ll award them a 2018 America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass ($80 value).



GINOSKO FLASH FICTION CONTEST
http://ginoskoliteraryjournal.com/contest.htm
$5 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 1, 2018. Pays a $500 first prize. The Ginosko Flash Fiction Award is for an unpublished work of flash fiction. Submit up to two pieces, 800 words maximum each piece.



SO TO SPEAK CONTEST
http://sotospeakjournal.org/contests/
$15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 2, 2018. Categories fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Nonfiction category welcomes submissions of personal essays, memoir, profiles, and other nonfiction pieces not exceeding 4,500 words. For fiction, submit one prose piece at a time, not exceeding 4,000 words. For poetry, send up to five poems at a time, not exceeding 10 pages total. Each winner will be awarded $500. 

 

GRANTS

TALEAMOR PARK ASSISTANTSHIPS
http://www.taleamorpark.org/application2
During the scheduled residency season of May through October, Taleamor Park offers one assistantship each month. Assistants have the opportunity to participate in residency development and maintenance by contributing work in exchange for residency fees. An assistant contributes twelve to fifteen hours of work each week. Taleamor Park especially seeks applicants who have experience and skills in building maintenance and construction, gardening and groundskeeping, and park planning and construction. Assistants pay a $100 non-refundable confirmation deposit and are responsible for the cost and preparation of their own meals. The preferential due date for assistantship applications is February 28. Location LaPorte County, Indiana. 



LIGHTHOUSE WRITERS LITFEST FELLOWSHIPS - Denver, Colorado
http://lighthousewriters.org/lit-fest-tuition-and-fellowships
Deadline March 15, 2018. The Lit Fest Fellowship for Emerging Writers covers the full cost of tuition for a Master Workshop. Lighthouse will be awarding four fellowships for Lit Fest 2018 to advanced writers of fiction (1), poetry (1), dramatic writing (1), and creative nonfiction (1) who haven’t yet published a book-length work and who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford a weeklong or weekend Master Workshop. All fellowship recipients will be responsible for their own airfare, accommodations, and transportation to and from Lit Fest.

-also-

Writership tuition assistance helps people with limited financial resources join our regular workshops and advance their skills as writers using funds allocated by grants or donated by other Lighthouse members and supporters. Funding for each class is limited and granted on a first come, first served basis. If a course is sold out or has no more funding available, we will do our best to offer excellent alternatives to applicants who qualify for tuition assistance. 



MINERAL SCHOOL RESIDENCIES - Mineral, Washington
https://mineralschool.submittable.com/submit
Deadline February 15, 2018. Mineral School is an artists residency located in a former 1947 elementary school near Mt. Rainier, in Mineral, Washington. During summer 2018, we're offering three two-week residency periods to eight writers of poetry and prose and four visual artists, providing accepted applicants with space and time to create new work without the interruptions of normal life and with the bonus of healthy meals prepared by culinary volunteers using locally-grown organic food whenever possible. During September 2018, we'll offer a one-week residency to four writers who are parents of children under 18. Each resident will live in an 800-square foot former classroom that offers peekaboo views of Mineral Lake and Mt. Rainier, and that will double as their writing studio, with desk and chair, lighting, bookcase, and lots of chalkboards. 



JACK KEROUAC PROJECT RESIDENCIES - Florida
https://www.kerouacproject.org/submissions/
Deadline April 16, 2018. The Kerouac Project provides four residencies a year to writers of any stripe or age, living anywhere in the world. In the past we have accepted writers with no formal writing education alongside those with MFA’s and impressive résumés. Each residency consists of approximately a three month stay in the cottage where Jack Kerouac wrote his novel Dharma Bums. Utilities and a food stipend of $1,000 are included. As writer-in-residence, all you are required to do is live in the Kerouac House during your residency, work on your writing project, and participate in two events—a Welcome Potluck dinner for you, and a Final Reading of your work at the Kerouac House at the end of your residency. Should you desire them, the Kerouac Project can also offer opportunities for you to participate in other readings, lead workshops, and interact in other ways with the vibrant Central Florida literary community.
 

FREELANCE MARKETS

SPECTACLE
https://spectacle.com/submissions/
We’re looking for two kinds of fiction right now: flash fiction and short stories. Flash fiction is quick, dirty, and a lot of fun. 1,000 words and under. These tend to be written with lighter tones. Short stories are between 1,000 and 7,500 words. These tend to have well developed characters and more complex storylines. What makes Spectacle unique is that we commission illustrations for every story we decide to publish and also try to find non-fiction content to pair it with, so keep that in mind when submitting work to us. Stories that lend themselves to interesting visuals and are relevant to current life get lots of bonus points. We pay a flat rate for fiction we decide to publish. $100 for flash fiction. $500 for short stories. 



ASHTRAY BLOG
https://www.ecigarettedirect.co.uk/ashtray-blog/write-for-the-ashtray-blog
Can you write a truly great article about vaping/harm reduction/electronic cigarettes or related topics? Prices typically start at around $50/£30 for a 500-word piece which doesn’t require a lot of research.



101 HOLIDAYS
https://www.101holidays.co.uk/write-for-us
Writers can submit travel articles to our team of editors. We pay between £50 and £100 per article published, depending on its length and complexity. Also, 101 Holidays runs an internship programme, allowing you to write for us on a part-time remote basis with regular interaction with our experienced editors. Many of our interns have gone on to staff jobs in travel journalism. 



KEYS FOR KIDS
https://www.keysforkids.org/WritersGuidelines
A devotional magazine recommended for ages 6-12. Pays $30 for each story accepted. Nothing is over 350 words. They always review stories on any topic, but some of the more urgent needs include stories that address difficult things kids see on the news, such as terrorism and public shootings, and stories featuring kids from single-parent or blended families.

 

JOBS

WRITER - San Francisco, California
https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=f7ec8a27c039e6b3
Dandelion Chocolate is a bean-to-bar chocolate factory in San Francisco’s Mission District. We make chocolate from only two ingredients, cocoa beans and cane sugar, and travel to origins as often as we can to build good, trusting relationships with the producers who grow and ferment our beans. Now, we’re looking for a writer to share our story as well as the stories of the producers we work with. You will be responsible for delivering true, important, and beautiful stories about the cocoa beans we buy and the people who grow and process them. 



FREELANCE WRITER - Remote
https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=cfbe4b97f3078935
This position is remote. You can work from anywhere in North America. Museum Hack is hiring freelance writers who love telling engaging stories. We lead unconventional tours of the world’s best museums and are looking to share awesome content with more people through our blog. This isn’t your average blogging job - while we care about SEO, we’re more concerned with writing stories that truly entertain and inform, like the history of the world’s greatest female pirate or the weird mechanics of dinosaur sex. To that end, we’re seeking writers that have a unique voice and passion for the crazy, weird, and mind-blowing stories in the following content areas: Science, Literature, History,  
Art, and Music. 



TV WRITER AMAZON PRIME - Location Madison, New York
https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=646d177b6a68bd82
The Staff Writer’s primary responsibility is writing creative content for for TV series digital formats, as well as providing editing and proofing support. To apply please send us a relevant similar in style(tone) one to two minute sample and resume. Meet with pertinent staff to discuss proposed content and deadlines.Write assigned content. Follow Amazon approval processes. Review, edit, proof copy and layouts for all projects, including those of other writers. Follow applicable Amazon style guidelines.Follow Amazon schedules, meet deadlines. Maintain a consistent style and voice, as required, throughout a variety of communication channels. One-year experience at accredited institution or equivalent journalism/marketing experience. Comedic background and/or training. Comedic experience preferred. Expert knowledge of English grammar and common style guides. Experienced ghostwriter. Ability to easily collaborate/coordinate with other writers/team members to achieve optimum solutions.



WRITER/EDITOR - Location Washington DC
https://faa.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/489033600
Deadline February 2, 2018. The successful candidate will serve as a speech writer and communications expert to the Assistant Administrator for NextGen and to the Deputy Assistant Administrator for NextGen to ensure the proper messaging of NextGen-related issues. The candidate will be required to independently plan, schedule, coordinate, and submit completed staff documents and publications and will also participate in technical meetings and activities. Pay is $100,858 to $156,358 per year.
 

Publishers/agents

LUNE SPARK
https://www.lunespark.com/aboutus.html
At Lune Spark we don't just create stories; we create the best original stories for our audience. We love to tell our stories through books and videos with a sharp focus on: Literary Fiction, Middle School Readers, Humor/ Satire, Children's Picture Books, Children's Animation. We also encourage and support young writers to engage in creating writing. We work with parents and young writers to promote creative fiction writing to help identify talent. We run annual competitions and creative writing workshops and publish short stories from the young writers.



LLEWELLYN
http://www.llewellyn.com/about/author_submissions.php
Llewellyn is the oldest and largest publisher specializing in books for body, mind, and spirit. We accept submissions directly from authors (including first time authors) and from literary agents. Our emphasis is on the practical: how it works, how it is done and self-help material. We accept complete manuscripts and proposals.



CHAOSIUM
https://www.chaosium.com/fiction-submissions
Chaosium publishes acclaimed and award-winning books, roleplaying games, board games, fiction and more. Chaosium is a professional fiction market, offering advances, royalties, and, for short fiction, a word rate in line with HWA and SFWA guidelines. In general, we contract world print rights and ebook rights in English, with options for subsidiary rights with authors sharing in all income. 



SOURCEBOOKS
http://www.sourcebooks.com/resources/submissions-guidelines.html
Sourcebooks has strong distribution into the retail market–bookstores, gift stores and specialty shops whose primary product is something other than books–and provides tremendous editorial, sales, marketing and publicity support for our authors. Our fiction imprint, Sourcebooks Landmark, publishes a wide variety of authors and titles. We are interested first and foremost in books that have a story to tell. However, we are currently only reviewing agented fiction manuscripts, with the exception of romance fiction. Our children's imprint, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, publishes books across all age ranges of children's books. Our young adult imprint, Sourcebooks Fire, publishes the best new voices for the next generation of book lovers. We look for nonfiction books with a well-defined, strong target market. Our list includes most nonfiction categories, including memoir, history, college reference and study aids, entertainment, general self-help/psychology, business, parenting and special needs parenting, health and beauty, reference, education, biography, love and relationships, gift books and women's issues.
 

SPONSORS

 

Linda Joy Myers is the founder and president of the National Association for Memoir Writers.  An accomplished author, she's also a dedicated writing coach. If you've lost the motivation to finish your manuscript, or are stuck mid-stream, she can help you explore the writing process and get back on track.

Learn more at http://namw.org/coaching.    





        

Add some sparkle to your writing in 2018!
Professor Summers' 
PRACTICAL MAGIC FOR WRITERS
Workshop begins January 25
Graduate Level University Credits available
Enter the DRAWING to win a FREE workshop!
PracticalMagicForWriters.com

        


 

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covered, and what you’re paying (without having to ask).

Take the Two Step Approach and take control of your manuscript.


NOTE FROM HOPE: These ladies have done developmental edits on all my novels. 

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. 

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EXISTING CLIENTS EARN 8% REFERRAL FEE FOR SENDING IN NEW CLIENTS 

E-mail Shaila: info@myhouseofdesign.com 
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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

"The site captures my spirit and passion, and it honors my dream since childhood." —Lyn Fairchild Hawks, author, http://lynhawks.com/

"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/

Other websites:
http://bapsisidhwa.com/
http://wagnerjulia.com/
http://lisakwinkler.com/
http://kbhyde.com/
http://meredithwargo.com/
 

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 2000-2018, C. Hope Clark
ISSN: 1533-1326

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