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AUTHOR MARKETING FOR SUCCESS, 6 lessons, a year of coaching. Feb/March/April and Sept/Oct/Nov 2018. Online. Easy. Effective!

STARTING YOUR CAREER AS A FREELANCE WRITER

There is not a more sound, comprehensive guide for freelancers on the market. Moira Allen, in her seasoned wisdom, lays out a solid roadmap for you to begin a freelance career. And if you aren't doing well at the job now, this book might just tell you where to go back and make it right. Highly recommended.  ~C. Hope Clark, editor FundsforWriters, author The Carolina Slade Mysteries and The Edisto Island Mysteries. 

This was the blurb I left on Amazon and Goodreads for Moira Allen's 3rd Edition of Starting Your Career as a Freelance Writer. Honestly, the book's so comprehensive yet speaks with a voice that's easy to understand. The advice is pertinent and easy to follow in a chapter-by-chapter method. Start at the beginning and keep reading. She tells you like it is. 

As you may know, if you've followed me for long, I'm a strong advocate for any writer to learn how to freelance. Regardless of what you're trying to publish, you need your name out there quicker than books can offer. And people need to see that you know how to write without investing into some unknown author's book. If you wait for a book to come out to make these points, you'll be sorely disappointed. It doesn't work that way. 

Unless you're writing for the fun of it, don't care who knows about your work, and don't care about whether you make a nickel at the process, you have to feed the public and make yourself known as a writer. Freelancing is the best way to start. 

I was asked by Allworth Press to review this book. I'm often asked to review books, and while I already realized how knowledgeable Moira was, I was surprised at how useful I found this particular release. Most writing how-to books run together sounding the same. This one is a keeper.





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PREVIOUS FAVORITE POSTS:

• How Do I Find Money to Write a Book?
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• Hitting the Higher Paying Markets
• How to Make the Most of Your LinkedIn Profile

 
WORDS OF SUCCESS

Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. 

~ Abraham Lincoln
 

SUccess Story

NOTE: As a reminder, I'm all about crowdfunding, so if you have a crowdfunding campaign centered around your writing, please let me know, and we might be able to share it to everyone and help you out. ~Hope

Hi Hope,

I saw in FFW a few months ago that you are inviting authors to let you know about crowdfunding campaigns so I'd appreciate if you'd consider mentioning mine at http://patreon.com/dailylaughers.

My next book is going to be called I'm a Daily Laugher. It will be about the impact of having a daily Laughter Yoga practice, told through anecdotes from my life and the lives of the people who have been in my laughter demo videos every day since the start of 2016. I've laughed with people in all 50 United States and 66 other countries (so far!). 

Thanks for your great newsletter and thanks in advance for considering calling attention to my work.  

Sincerely,

Dave Berman 
www.ManifestPositivity.com
www.DailyLaughers.com
 

Featured article

Tracking Your Goals for Success

By Rachel Carrington

Working on commission can be stressful, especially when you don't know how much money comes in each month. Just as you keep track of your bills, you should get in the habit, if you haven't already, of staying up-to-date with each piece of work you have in the pipeline. Not only will this help your bottom line, but you'll also keep on track with your major goals.

For instance, if your goal is to write for The Writer Magazine, you may need to climb the ladder from where you stand now. It's rare for first time freelancers to break into the national magazine market, so build a system and break down your goal into smaller bites to develop your portfolio to improve your effort toward that big accomplishment.

Using the system outlined below, I wrote my first article for a paying ezine and quickly followed it with work for Writing for Dollars, Writer's Weekly, and Writer2Writer. Twenty articles later, I had my first article accepted by The Writer, and it was all because of structured planning.

While I use Excel, you may use Microsoft Word, a day planner, or simply a blank notebook (If you prefer, you can use apps), and just as you would schedule your doctor's appointments and kids' soccer games, create a task list of everyday activities needed to bring in the income. As a freelancer, your times can be flexible, but I caution you to adhere to certain goals each day.

Divide your list into four separate sections like the example below. The first section is research, the second is reviewing the guidelines, the third is preparing and submitting, and the fourth is writing and editing. To stay on task with your goals, you have to set aside time each day to do all four.
 

When an idea for an article strikes, begin researching places that might be interested before you waste time writing. Some writers suggest pitching before the article is written, but such a move is dependent upon the publication's guidelines.

After your research, review the guidelines once more for the article you finished the evening before. Guidelines can change so confirming what you should be sending saves time for you and the editor.  Then prepare the submission package for your article and move on to the writing phase of your evening.

As you work, highlight each completed task so at the end of the day, you'll see the progress you've made. Each evening, create a new list so you start fresh each morning. Carry over the activities you didn't complete the previous day onto the new list and start with those first. Never skip over one of your tasks because doing so erases a potential income opportunity and sets you back a step.

Yes, you work on more than one article at a time. Hope Clark keeps as many as thirteen in play, as she likes to put it. You're always moving forward, working multiple opportunities at different levels. Trust me, it's doable. Just ask every successful freelance writer.

To achieve goals, you need to keep up with where you are on your journey. This system is designed to help any writer climb the ladder of success, but even if you don't use this one, you should have a way to track the steps you're taking toward your dream.

BIO: Rachel Carrington is an author who has written over 400 freelance articles and has had 54 books published. You can find her online at www.rachelcarrington.com. 
    

COmpetitions

STORYHOUSE NONFICTION CONTEST
http://www.storyhouse.org/contest2018.html
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline August 31, 2018. Stories must be between 1,000 - 10,000 words in length. This year we will have prizes for four categories of nonfiction: Biographical Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Travel Nonfiction, and Animal Nonfiction. Just to be clear, we claim no rights to your stories. They are published with your name as copyright holder. However, since our object is to preserve these stories for future generations, not to put them up one year and take them down the next, all contest entries will be posted on our web site and must remain on the site for as long as the Preservation Foundation exists. We will, however, have no objection to the stories being published elsewhere. First prize in each category will be $200. Runner-ups will receive $100.  



WELSH POETRY COMPETITION
http://www.welshpoetry.co.uk/entry/
£6 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 27, 2018. The Welsh Poetry Competition offers a chance for budding writers and published    authors from all over the world to compete on an equal footing and be recognized for their work. First Prize – £500. Second Prize – £250. Third Prize – £100. Plus 17 runners-up, specially commended entries. Each poem must be no more than 50 lines in length. 



BLACK CAUCUS ALA AWARDS
http://bcala.org/e-book-award/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 28, 2018. The Black Caucus of ALA (BCALA) honors the best self-published ebooks by an African American author in the U.S. in the following genres: Fiction and Poetry. Two (2) $500.00 awards: one for adult fiction, one for adult poetry; Formal recognition at the Black Caucus of ALA Literary Awards; BCALA Literary Award Seal to use in marketing. Entries must have been written by an African American author born in the U.S. The competition is open to all English-language self-published ebooks for which the author is the copyright holder of the work and holds the rights to digital distribution. The awards will be presented in New Orleans, LA during ALA’s Annual Conference in June 2018. 



EVERYTHING CHANGE CLIMATE FICTION CONTEST
https://everythingchange.submittable.com/submit
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 28, 2018. We are looking for stories that illustrate, explore, or illuminate the impact of climate change on humanity and/or the Earth. We enthusiastically invite submissions in all genres of short fiction, including speculative, realistic, literary, experimental, hybrid forms, and more. The winning story will receive a $1000 prize, and nine finalists will receive $50 prizes. Selected work will be published in an anthology by the Imagination and Climate Futures Initiative at Arizona State University. Submit up to one (1) work of short fiction with a maximum length of 5,000 words. 

 

GRANTS

PACIFIC STANDARD FELLOWSHIPS
https://psmag.com/page/fellowship-program
Pacific Standard and The Social Justice Foundation offer a one-year paid editorial fellowship and a one-year paid engagement fellowship on a rolling basis. The ideal Pacific Standard editorial fellow is pursuing public interest journalism as a career, has experience working in a deadline-oriented environment, and has an abiding interest in public policy and social justice, as well as an understanding that research and investigative reporting are vital to finding solutions for society's most significant and pressing problems. 



ADAPTATIONS: LIVING WITH CHANGE - NEW ORLEANS RESIDENCIES
http://astudiointhewoods.blogspot.com/2018/01/calling-all-artists-adaptations-living.html
Deadline April 16, 2018. Adaptations Residencies invite artists to examine how climate driven adaptations - large and small, historic and contemporary, cultural and scientific - are shaping our future. Adaptations Residencies will provide artists with time, space, scholarship and staff support to foster critical thinking and creation of new works. The call is open to artists of all disciplines who have demonstrated an established dialogue with environmental and culturally related issues and a commitment to seeking and plumbing new depths. We ask artists to describe in detail how the region will affect their work, to propose a public component to their residency and to suggest ways in which they will engage with the local community.



MARY B. REGAN COMMUNITY ARTIST RESIDENCY - NORTH CAROLINA
https://www.ncarts.org/invest-arts/grants-artists/mary-b-regan-community-artist-residency
Deadline March 15, 2018. Applicants will propose up to a one-year project that engages a North Carolina community in a meaningful way involving targeted groups in extended activities and culminating in public events and/or the creation of artwork(s) sited in public settings. Projects may address local or regional issues, or be exclusively aesthetically focused, but should not focus primarily on school-age children as the audience. The residency award will be $12,500. Artists are encouraged to develop partnerships with nonprofit organizations and raise additional funds for the project to supplement the award.



NORTH CAROLINA REGIONAL ARTIST PROJECT GRANTS
https://www.ncarts.org/invest-arts/grants-artists/regional-artist-project-grants
This program, funded by the N.C. Arts Council, provides the opportunity for regional consortia of local arts councils to award project grants to artists in their regions. These grants support professional artists in any discipline and at any stage in their careers to pursue projects that further their professional development. Types of fundable projects include: creation of new work, purchase of equipment and materials, professional development workshops, travel support for expenses associated with a professional opportunity such as participating in an exhibition or a conference, development or upgrading of promotional materials such as brochures, DVDs, CDs, and websites. Grant amounts vary from region to region. Statewide, they range from $300 to $5,000, though most grants are between $500 and $2,000. A list of participating counties, deadlines for each region, and a primary contact for each consortium appears at the above website. 
 

FREELANCE MARKETS

CHIZINE CHRISTMAS STORIES
https://chizinepub.moksha.io/publication/war-on-christmas/guidelines
Theme: War on Christmas. We’re looking for deranged and demented stories and poems that snap back against all that holiday schmaltz. Our leanings are toward the dark, the speculative (SF, fantasy, horror), the flat-out weird, the humourous. One cautionary note: it’s likely there will be a lot of Santa stories submitted. We’d urge you think more widely, especially outside the white, Judeo-Christian canon. There’s really plenty to hate about Christmas, so it shouldn’t be that hard. Fiction limit 5,000 words. Poetry no more than two pages. Payment is eight cents/word Canadian. 



FLASH FICTION MAGAZINE
https://flashfictionmagazine.com/submissions/
We accept fiction stories between 300 and 1,000 words. No previously published work. Flash fiction isn’t non-fiction or personal memoir. We do not accept erotica. Adult themes including sex, violence, and even politics are fair game. No children's fiction. Pays $40.



SHATTERING
http://unshattering-kathryncramer.nationbuilder.com/guidelines
Primarily looking for science fiction short stories that show the way back to a livable future. While most will be science fiction, they are open to fantasy and literary fiction as well. Submissions and queries should be sent to unshatteringthefuture@gmailcom. Send up to 4,500 words. If you have something longer, query. Pays 10 cents a word for prose fiction and expect to pay professional rates for other content.



MASK
http://www.maskmagazine.com/docs/writers
Although Mask Magazine is updated frequently, sometimes many times per day, each issue has a theme which unfolds over the course of each month. While we're willing to experiment with article formats (with exceptions documented in the DOs and DON'Ts section of the website), there are certain approaches we would especially like: how-to guides or tutorials, personal essays about an adventure or tribulation that you learned from, documentation of a singular event you participated in or witnessed, studies of movements or phenomena from history, art, music, the internet, or social life relevant to the theme, stories on uncommon intersections on the theme, investigative reports on current events, trends, or "subcultures." Maskmag.com is an online repository of youth and internet culture packed with interviews, editorials, news, and style in the age of unrest. Pays $50 to $200.

 

JOBS

BLOGGERS NEEDED FOR A LAW OFFICE
https://www.moskoslawfirm.com/blog
Content writers needed for law office blog twice a month. Pays ten cents per word. Legal experience helpful. At least 300 words per post required. Send letter of interest and sample "sometimes you need a lawyer" blog post to rcarrington2004@gmail.com. This job is remote. No contract required. Will be accepting more than one writer for variance.

Publishers/agents

ENTANGLED TEEN
http://www.entangledteen.com/submissions/
Entangled Teen (simultaneous print and e-distribution) and Entangled digiTeen (digital first distribution), our young adult imprints, publish the swoon-worthy young adult romances readers crave. Whether they’re dark and angsty or fun and sassy, contemporary, fantastical, or futuristic, Teen and digiTeen have exactly what teen (and teen at heart!) readers want. We are seeking fresh voices with interesting twists on popular genres.



HOLIDAY HOUSE
http://www.holidayhouse.com/holiday_house.php#manuscripts
Holiday House is a publisher of children's books only. We specialize in quality hardcovers, from picture books to young adult, both fiction and nonfiction. We publish children's books for ages four and up. We do not publish mass-market books, including, but not limited to, pop-ups, activity books, sticker books, coloring books, or licensed books.



BLACK & WHITE PUBLISHING
http://blackandwhitepublishing.com/submissions
All manuscripts will be considered, but at the moment we are particularly looking for the following. Fiction - commercial women’s fiction, especially chick lit, saga and romance; crime and psychological thrillers; contemporary YA and New Adult crossover books; children’s fiction. Nonfiction - memoirs, sport (UK and Ireland in particular), humour, food and drink, activity books. We do not accept poetry, short stories, or work written in languages other than English.

 

SPONSORS

www.JoanDawson.com

Published writer and professional/certified editor with 15 years of experience writing, editing, and teaching English available to help edit and polish your documents. Call or email today to discuss reasonable rates, quality work, and availability from 10 AM to 10 PM EST.

Call Joan Dawson at 301-675-6550

Or email her at J-lines@protonmail.com

Testimonials

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Not only did Joan make great edits and suggestions but she transformed the overall tone of important marketing materials. Joan also provided valuable insight into how to better communicate with my clients that has helped me broaden my appeal. I highly recommend her...K.P. Rockville, MD

I recently asked her to proofread a novel I had translated. She made every effort to improve my work...She corrected what I had missed... She must have searched everything thoroughly. I made a lot of questions and she showed patience. –M.S., South Korea

Isn’t it time to expect more from an editing and critique service?

Don’t gamble with one editor, not knowing what you'll get, when you can take the Two Step Approach. Receive feedback from two editors, know what information is guaranteed to be
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Take the Two Step Approach and take control of your manuscript.


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

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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