FundsforWriters - March 16, 2018 - Grants and Artist-in-Residences: Awesome Opportunity

Published: Fri, 03/16/18

Volume 18, Issue 11 | MARCH 16, 2018

Message from the Editor

This week I was reading into the Talking Library program that I rave about so much, and my tongue kept stumbling. The producer is SOOO patient, and he was chuckling at me. Ordinarily I'm pretty smooth.

Then it hit me.

We were doing oral edits for Lowcountry Bribe, then started in reading Chapters 15-17 of Edisto Stranger. At home, I'm doing one more proof edit of Newberry Sin while writing an upcoming book tentatively called Crossed on Edisto. AND....I've been outlining a new series my publisher is interested in.

Five books in my head. No wonder my tongue tripped up so much.

Promotion, outlines, first drafts, audio books, and final edits. Ten years ago I never would've thought it possible, but it's amazing how one's brain can compartmentalize when needed.

With that lead-in, keep an eye on my schedule if you are anywhere near South Carolina. I'm in a lot of places over the next three months. And especially if you are in the Midlands, please come see me.

And with that, what do you think about my new author logos?

C. Hope Clark
Editor, FundsforWriters
Email Hope | Visit Website | Sign up for Newsletter
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TWITTER - http://twitter.com/hopeclark
AUTHOR SITE - http://www.chopeclark.com
FACEBOOK - http://www.facebook.com/chopeclark
GOODREADS - http://www.goodreads.com/hopeclark
BOOKBUB - https://www.bookbub.com/authors/c-hope-clark

"Hope Clark has created another fascinating heroine in former Boston PD detective Callie Morgan. Her books are fast-paced mysteries set against the backdrop of a tiny South Carolina island where murder never happens—or so the locals would like to believe. I'm happy to recommend it." - Kathryn R. Wall, author, the Bay Tanner mysteries

"I have never before experienced the caring of a place like C Hope Clark instilled in me with stories of the people and the mysteries of Edisto Island. Through the recent hurricanes I always gravitated toward the news of this real place with Hope's fictional characters. Some day I must go there. Thanks for a new place on my bucket list!" - reader/reviewer Delores Feeken Schmidt

"As usual, Ms. Clark delivers a riveting ride, with her irrepressible characters set squarely in the driver’s seat. If it wasn’t so much fun to be re-united with Callie Jean Morgan and the rest of the Edisto gang I might have to scold Clark for keeping me up way past my bedtime. But lucky for her, this read is worth every lost wink." - Rachel Gladstone, Dish Magazine

SPONSOR OF THE WEEK

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EDitor’s THOUGHTS

WHEN SHOULD A WRITER EXPECT PAYMENT

I wrote the following not long ago in response to a Facebook query about an author needing money to write.

“First and foremost, you do not need money to write a book. Writing is the most liberating, free-rein, no-start-up-money-required art on the planet.” ~C. Hope Clark

Someone else in the group took issue with my response:

"Not true, actually. Writing requires time. Where do you get the time to write a book if you’re not being paid for it? Sure, some people can write a book in their spare time, but some books need to be properly researched or otherwise require full-time dedication. Writing is a job. Like most jobs, it can also be a hobby, but the time needs to be paid for – and that’s what we are looking for when we look to “crowdfund” a book – not simply “covering publishing costs.”

Yes, writing requires time, and we’d LIKE to be compensated for our time. But for other professions we PAY to go to school to learn before we command payment. Or we shadow the professionals at our own expense (i.e., paying our dues). Or as a company we create a product with start-up cost, hoping to sell enough after the fact to repay our investment of time and materials.

But we do not expect to get paid in the beginning when we don’t have the skill to warrant payment. And with a book, unless we are already published and proven, we are not considered professional until the book is done, published, and sold enough to prove itself. So yes, I still stand by my statement that we do not require payment to begin to write.

Once proven, sure we may find a sponsor, grant, or income source. But until we've honed our skills by writing, reading, and learning, who says our writing is worth compensation? Yes, we are writers, and we deserve to be paid when we publish. But there's an unspoken fact here that's often forgotten: We have to know how to write before we submit, before we publish, before we're worth paying.

After all, we want to be memorable for the right reasons.

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HOPE'S 2018 APPEARANCES
(Times in Eastern)

April 18 - 3PM, Pelion, SC Library, 206 Pine Street
May 1 - Noon, Newberry, SC, Friends of the Library Luncheon, celebrating release of Newberry Sin ($20 admission)
May 8 - 6PM, Chapin, SC, The Coffee Shelf celebrating release of Newberry Sin (coffee and goodies)
May 19 - 1PM, Chapin, SC, The Coffee Shelf
June TBD - Edisto Bookstore, Edisto, SC
June 11 - 6PM, Chapin, SC Library booksigning
June 24 - 7PM, WritersChatroom.com
July 27-29 - Mississippi Writers Guild Conference
October (1st week) - Edisto Bookstore, Edisto, SC

WORDS OF SUCCESS

You are never too old to set another goal, or to dream a new dream.

~C.S. Lewis

SUccess Story

Hi Hope -

Receipt for two of your audio books should be attached to renew my TOTAL FundsforWriters subscription. (My survival jobs have me driving to other towns, so I listen to audio books on the road.) I can't wait to enjoy these downloads! I'll review both as soon as I finish with them.

Your newsletter has been pivotal in my life. I have met new friends, traveled domestically and internationally, and built a strong resume simply by following your advice and pursuing the opportunities you promote. (Not to mention the fact that your promoting the ETC 10-minute play festival made the event a success and brought us from the "wouldn't it be interesting" phase to our third active year.)

Once again, thanks for all you do!

Caroline Zarlengo Sposto
http://www.whycaroline.com
(610) 597-9803

Grants and Artist-in-Residences are Awesome Opportunities

By Laura Lee Perkins

Philanthropy is on the rise. Grants are plentiful, offering funding for publishing, research, workshops, writing, travel, individual/community projects, seminars and more. Grants often require an extensive application process. When applying, you'll need a finely-honed mission and letters of recommendation from respected peers. When awarded a grant, you'll be required to submit a final report detailing how you spent the funds. Sometimes a sample donation of your work will be requested. Grants are not simply free money. They involve many hours of work, but it is time well-spent.

Grants have themes. Grant providers offer grants for specific purposes. Make sure that your project is a good match with the grantor's parameters before you begin the application process. Some grants offer funding within specific geographic boundaries; is your geographical location a match? Clearly articulate how you will use the grant money. Include a detailed budget. And explain how this project matches the grant's mission. Demonstrate that your requests match the funding guidelines. Explain how this grant will serve your professional career, help others (now and in the future) and expand the grantor's mission. If you can communicate these three components, you'll be a strong candidate. You need to create a verifiable connection between their goals and your dreams.

Grants are about you, the grant funder and the impact the project will have on others.

I've received grants to attend writers' conferences because improved writing skills helped at work. Once I applied for and received a little-known $4,000 governor's grant for teaching excellence to complete graduate level writing courses. The local state educators' association awarded me two $10,000 grants to produce a book with a companion CD about Native American music. The Quaker Lyman Fund funded two grants totaling $5,000 to produce a CD and to support writing and teaching about the importance of spiritual connections in retirement communities. A local bank offered a grant for a writing project for children. The Alex Tanous Foundation funded two summer projects to assist with projects which brought women to my home for 10-week classes. The Puffin Foundation offers grants to save something endangered. My grant project proposal was about saving authentic Native American music, which is also endangered. Two grants, assisting me in completing two music books, arrived. Grant funds can make such a positive impact in bringing creative projects to completion!

Artist-in-Residencies (AIRs) have also been welcome gifts during the past 10 years. When I accepted AIR positions at Sleeping Bear Dunes (MI), Acadia (ME), Crater Lake (OR) and Great North Cascades (WA) U.S. National Parks, it became obvious that those without an artistic bent were a bit confused about what I would be doing. "Writing and offering one public presentation about my work," was my response. "Is that all?" some questioned. Yes, that was all. What gifts of time and inspiration! A month of time to create is a present that is difficult to describe.

In preparation to apply, one needs to have a vision-a project plan. Make sure your calendar is clear, craft an AIR project on paper, gather references and complete the application. Each park offers a unique experience: Sleeping Bear Dunes reflects Native American legends of the Great Lakes, Acadia's rockbound coast/islands strengthen the soul, Great North Cascades offers majestic mountains, wild rivers, mammoth trees and Crater Lake's mystical quality is magnetic! My fifth AIR on Martha's Vineyard at Turkeyland Cove for 17 days of solitude in a magnificent island house resulted in several publications. Hundreds of such opportunities are available all over the world. (Visit www.cafe.org .)

I'm a writer with a passion to bring written projects to completion. Letters are my tools and words are my medium. Inspirational opportunities abound, but one has to search for a good match and write a convincing pitch. Grants offer money and AIR programs offer inspirational opportunities to connect with beauty and serenity. These gifts will continue to enrich your work for many years.

Bio: Laura Lee Perkins, MS is a writer, spiritual educator and professional musician known internationally for her Native American Flute research and teaching. Laura's received five Artist-in-Residencies and 13 grants. She earned 3rd Place in the 80th International Writers' Digest Awards (Inspirational category), 3rd place in 2017 Creative Writers Institute Fiction Contest, was published in Chicken Soup for the Soul's HOPE & MIRACLES and is the author of Lighting Your Spiritual Passion, The Native American Flute Tutor, Earthmother, First Light and Native Songs for Flute books. Her article "Finding God at the Beach" will appear in March 2018 LIGOURIAN magazine and she's had 100+ articles published.

spiritualquest@earthlink.net / www.LauraLeePerkinsAuthor.com / www.WhiteOwlProducts.com

COmpetitions

WUNDER SHORT FICTION CONTEST
http://www.wundoreditions.com/wundor-editions-%E2%80%93-short-fiction-contest-2018.html
£10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 31, 2018. Whether it takes you one page to tell your story or your manuscript is a little thicker, we would like to read it. The only stipulation is that the total word count of your submission should be no greater than 45,000 words. The winner of our second short fiction contest will receive £500. The winner and two runners up will have an extract of their work published on the Wundor website. Their work will be strongly considered for publication in print, in which case a publishing contract will be offered. Open to anyone writing in English.

NOS BOOK CONTEST
https://lesfiguespress.submittable.com/submit/105169/nos-book-contest-2018
$25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 20, 2018. A prize of $1,000 and publication by Les Figues Press will be given for the winning manuscript. Submit a manuscript of 64-250 pages. Eligible submissions include: poetry, novellas, prose poems, innovative novels, anti-novels, short story collections, lyric essays, hybrids, and all forms not otherwise specified. Les Figues editors will select an additional manuscript to be published by the press as the NOS Les Figues Editors Selection.

IRON HORSE CHAPBOOK COMPETITION
https://www.ironhorsereview.com/chapbook
$18 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 26, 2018. For the 2018 Chapbook Competition, we will select a winning collection of poetry, 28 to 36 pages in length, each poem starting on a new page. The winning manuscript will be published in the Fall of 2018 as a separate issue (Volume 20.3). Full-color cover art will reflect the collection’s content and emphasize its title, not the name of Iron Horse. The published collection will look like the single-author book that it is. The winner also receives a $1,000 honorarium and 15 copies.

TALLGRASS WRITERS GUILD CONTEST
https://www.outriderpress.net/anthology-guidelines.html
$18 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 31, 2018. Theme: The Stars. Poetry: 32-line (including spaces) limit per poem; no long lines, please, and no long titles. A separate file for each poem, please. Prose: 2,500-word limit per entry; no long titles, please; sections from longer works OK. Entrants can get nominated for the New Poets Prize, Orison Literary Awards, and The Pushcart Prize. Pays $500 each - Poetry and Prose divisions.

GRANTS

REGIONAL ARTS AND CULTURE COUNCIL PROJECT GRANTS - Portland, Oregon area
https://racc.org/grants/project-grants/
Deadline June 6, 2018. RACC’s Project Grant Program provides financial support to individual artists and not-for-profit organizations in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas Counties, for project-based arts programming. Grants are awarded up to $7,000 and are available in three categories: Artistic Focus, Arts Equity & Access, and Arts Services.

LEMON TREE HOUSE WORK STUDY
http://www.thelemontreehouse.org/
The Lemon Tree House is an artist residency program designed to encourage the creative, intellectual and personal growth of emerging and established artists, musicians and writers in beautiful Tuscany. The aim is to support creative process in the unique and historically rich environment, to allow devoted time, dialogue and space for creative work, and to provide interesting opportunities for cultural exchange and development. If you are interested in coming to Tuscany as a work exchange resident, include a letter of intent, and indicate financial need, expressing to The Lemon Tree House jury why you might not otherwise be able to attend, the importance of this time away for your work, and the skills you have to offer in exchange. Work exchange positions cover between 800€ & 1300€ in residency fees, reducing the cost of the residency programs to 1300-1800€.

JULIA DARLING TRAVEL FELLOWSHIP
http://newwritingnorth.com/news/julia-darling-travel-fellowship-2018-open-entries/
Deadline March 23, 2018. It is inspired by Julia’s love of travel and by the appreciation she had of writing away from home, while also reflecting her passion for encouraging other writers. Worth £2000, the Fellowship offers a published writer from the North of England a period of travel for writing, research and inspiration. The Fellowship can be used to fund travel and accommodation in the UK and internationally, for activity that takes place between June 2018 and May 2019. The Fellowship will also support group applications by writers who would like to undertake joint residential retreats (something that Julia valued). To apply writers must write a brief description (up to 500 words) of how they would like to use the resource to advance their creative work, a short biography (up to 300 words) and state why now would be a good time for them to receive support (up to 300 words).

FREELANCE MARKETS

BLOOD BOUND BOOKS ANTHOLOGY
http://bloodboundbooks.net/bloodboundbooks/submissions/
Deadline May 31, 2018. All sub-genres of horror accepted—extreme, bizzaro, erotic, new weird, splatterpunk, if it’s dark, we want it! Length 500 words up to 6,000. Query for longer works. Payment: 5¢ – 8¢ per word (We’re shooting for 8¢ if we get a few more Patreon supporters before contracts go out, but it will NEVER be lower than 5¢). See our Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/bloodboundbooks.

THE SOUTHERN REVIEW
https://thesouthernreview.org/submissions/
We consider fiction, poetry, and essays, including creative nonfiction and literary essays. The Southern Review pays $25 per printed page with a maximum payment of $200, plus two copies of the issue in which the work appears and a one-year subscription to The Southern Review. We accept unsolicited fiction and nonfiction postmarked September 1 through December 1. We accept unsolicited poetry postmarked September 1 through March 1. Please send no more than either five poems or fifteen pages, and use a 12-point font.

VIRGINIA QUARTERLY REVIEW
http://www.vqronline.org/about-vqr/submissions
VQR strives to publish the best writing we can find. While we have a long history of publishing accomplished and award-winning authors, we also seek and support emerging writers. For poetry, we pay $200 per poem, up to four poems; for a suite of five or more poems, we usually pay $1,000. For short fiction, we generally pay $1,000 and above. For other prose, such as personal essays and literary criticism, we generally pay $1,000 and above, at approximately 25 cents per word, depending on length. For investigative reporting, we pay at a higher rate, sometimes including pre-approved travel expenses. For long-form journalism, we often seek funders to support our writers directly, in addition to our own payments. Book reviews are generally 2,000-2,400 words and are paid at a flat rate of $500. Online content is generally paid at $100-$200, depending upon genre and length.

THREEPENNY REVIEW
http://www.threepennyreview.com/submissions.html
Each issue contains new poetry, short fiction, personal memoirs, and essays on books, film, theater, dance, music, architecture, visual arts, television, and politics. At present The Threepenny Review is paying $400 per story or article, $200 per poem or Table Talk piece. This payment buys first serial rights in our print and digital editions, and the copyright then reverts to the author immediately upon publication. As a rule, critical articles should be about 1,200 to 2,500 words, Table Talk items 1,000 words or less, stories and memoirs 4,000 words or less, and poetry 100 lines or less. We do not read submissions during the second half of the year (July through December).

JOBS

FREELANCE VIRAL WRITER, LIFE - Location New York or remote
https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=c81021b9cf189ae8
A Plus is looking for a Freelance Writer for our Life section which includes content related to family, relationship, wellness, lifestyle and fashion. This person should be a resourceful and talented journalist with experience writing for a viral audience and an ear to the (virtual) ground when it comes to identifying online trends. The successful candidate will know the ins and outs of curating viral family, relationship, wellness, lifestyle and fashion-related content, as well as be able to transition into covering more complex breaking news stories as needed. Surface, research, pitch and write up to 11-12 stories a week (three per day) Sunday through Wednesday. Bachelor’s degree and at least a year in media/publishing. (Exciting, relevant internships count.)

SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR - Location Chicago, IL
https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=5f38b61646614a90
Create engaging text, image and video content associated with social media objectives. Facilitate online conversations with customers and respond to queries. Maintain social media content calendar. Assist in developing a posting schedule based on performance and marketing strategy. Measure social media performance. Report on online reviews and social media feedback. Education: Bachelor’s in English, Journalism, Advertising or other relevant field.
Social media experience: one to two years of social media or writing experience.

STAFF WRITER - Location Farmington Valley, CT
https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=4e82f729595d69bf
TurleyCT is hiring a staff writer for its weekly publication, The Valley Press, located in the Farmington Valley of Connecticut. The ideal candidate will have at least two years experience covering local communities and municipal government news. Both news and feature writing experience is preferable. A bachelor's degree in journalism is also preferred. Photography skills a plus.

CONTENT WRITER - Heber City, UT
https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=49e7124a60a6f616
Merchant Solution Services' ideal candidate will have experience in creating lead generating material such as blog posts, social media, email campaigns, client stories, product descriptions, case studies, white papers, and PPC landing pages. If you are an intern wanting to get into a career in content writing, we have an opportunity for you. We are currently looking for an intern or part time employee. If you really impress, there may be an opportunity for a full time position.

Publishers/agents

WORKMAN
https://www.workman.com/work-with-us/author-submissions
The Workman imprint publishes exclusively nonfiction books for children and adults, as well as calendars. We do not publish novels, short stories, or poetry.

STOREY PUBLISHING
https://www.workman.com/work-with-us/author-submissions
The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by publishing practical information that encourages personal independence in harmony with the environment. The books we select to carry out this mission include nonfiction titles for adults and children on gardening, home reference, crafts, cooking, beer and wine, nature, raising animals, horses, building, farming, homesteading, and mind/body/spirit. We are always pleased to review new proposals on these topics directly from authors and from agents. (Note: no fiction, poetry, or children’s picture books, please.)

HOT CHOCOLATE PRESS
http://hotchocolatepress.com/about-us/contact-us
Hot Chocolate Press LLC is a boutique publishing company based in Colorado. Started by Kerrie Flanagan in 2014, Hot Chocolate Press creates books to warm your heart, nourish your soul and spark your sense of adventure. When you finish one of our books you should feel happy and warm (just like you would if you drank a mug of hot chocolate).

PAGE STREET PRESS
https://www.pagestreetpublishing.com/submission-guidelines
We publish young adult (YA) fiction (for ages 12 and up), in all genres, and a variety of nonfiction books in such categories as cooking, sports, science, nature, interior design, crafts, and parenting. We also publish children’s books focusing on new talent and artist-led narrative picture books in all genres for ages four to eight, biographies for ages eight to twelve, occasionally board books for ages zero to three, and visually driven concept books.