SPONSOR OF THE WEEK

WRITING DOESN'T HAVE TO COME WITH A BYLINE

For some reason, we think that when we write, having our name affiliated with those words matters. It does, and it doesn't. Depends on what your goal is with your writing career. And nothing says you cannot do both.

Not having your name associated with your creation is in essence ghostwriting. Sometimes nobody's name is affiliated with it, and at other times, another person or company's name is listed. That should not bother you if you got paid.

Some argue that a major con to ghostwriting is that you do not get credit for your work. On the contrary. You don't necessarily have that particular byline, but you have the testimonial of a client. Instead of listing a link to your story, you post the brand you wrote for. 

A major pro of ghostwriting is that you can write for anybody. There's more work available. Blogs, magazines, businesses, governments and charitable entities often want anonymous pieces under their brand, and if you have no hang-up on losing name recognition, you open yourself up to more work. Often better paying work, too, since the entity is usually purchasing all rights.

Another pro is that you can write about anything and not worry about how the topic affects your own brand. You can write about politics, religion, debatable scientific findings, and controversial social issues. 

And sometimes you can negotiate whether or not to include your byline. For instance, if I were to write about finding markets or funding a book, a publication might prefer to have my byline. However, if I were to write about fishing in Lake Murray, not so much. 

Don't get hung-up on your name. Earning a living as a writer means just that...earning an income. Sometimes you do work without your name stamped on it, and that's perfectly fine when it comes to paying the bills.






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I just had a short accepted to WineMaker. I'd written about wineries in my part of Arizona and wondered if they'd be interested. when I saw the call was for home winemakers, I remember the wine my dad made with scavenged fruit after he retired. The editor accepted it in one day.

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Featured article

Writing for Hobby and Leisure Activity Magazines

By Roy Stevenson

When I began my freelance writing career in 2007, I would never have believed I'd end up writing dozens of articles for hobbyist magazines. But today, my bylines include more than 20 special interest magazines for hobbies as diverse as gardening, gold prospecting, ham radios, four-wheel drive vehicles, classic cars, art and sculpture, wine tasting, hiking, brewing beer, living history re-enactments — even UFOs! 

My bylines in hobby and leisure activity magazines include Garden Answers, Pacific Horticulture, Lost Treasure, Monitoring Times, Popular Communications, National Communications, VHF Communications, Off Road Adventures, Collectible Automobile, Open Minds, Renaissance, Sculpture, Videoscope, Walking New Zealand, Washington Tasting Room, New Writer, The Writer, Writers Forum, Writers News, and Zymurgy. 

I've found hobbyist magazines among the easiest genres to break into. And I've found that once I've got my foot in the door with these publications, their editors have been highly receptive to repeat business.

Leisure activity magazines exist in a mind-boggling plethora of topics; trains, quilting, motorcycles, automobiles, cats and dogs, dolls, scale modeling, yachting, cycling, running (and nearly every other sport imaginable), camping, hiking, video games, arts & crafts, astronomy, military history, stamp collecting, coin collecting, rock & gem collecting, antique collecting, and every other pastime imaginable. 

Next time you're at your local Barnes & Noble or bookstore, thumb through the special interest and hobby publications. The sheer variety of these publications will blow your mind.  

Where to Pitch Your Hobbyist Stories

Leisure activities represent a huge market in first world countries. So, make sure you pitch your stories to magazines published in developed countries that have wealth and where the people have leisure time for pursuing hobbies such as North America, the U.K, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa. 

You Don't Have to Be an Expert

Writers do not need to be experts about their hobby or leisure activity, although it helps. While I'm not an active practitioner of many of the hobbies I write about, I certainly have an interest in them. To get published, you simply need to present a new development or angle about that hobby, or news and trends. Other hobbyist stories that sell well include personality profiles, experts and their views, or advice on how to pursue the hobby more effectively and save money.   

I've consulted or quoted experts in some hobby fields in my articles when I've needed more information. Most authorities love to see their names in print and will happily give you quotes and advice for free. When I first broke into writing about military vehicles, I worked with a military vehicle enthusiast, who helped me ID the vehicles, and told me some of their history.  

My article in Garden Answers Magazine, about the Elandan Bonsai Gardens in Port Orchard, Washington, was a profile piece about Daniel Robinson, a bonsai expert who created this magical garden.  

How Do You Pitch Your Story Ideas to Hobby Magazines?

Hobby magazines are no different than any other magazine. Look at the masthead and identify who to property pitch, then submit a query in the standard query letter format. See the following piece from Writer's Digest for more information on querying: http://www.writersmarket.com/assets/pdf/query_letter_clinic.pdf 

Create Pitch Lists

I've created extensive magazine "distribution lists" for every leisure activity genre that I've written in. Once you've developed your magazine distribution lists, you've got them forever, so you don't need to reinvent the wheel every time you want to query a hobby story. All you need to do is add new magazines to your list as you discover them and remove the periodicals that have folded.  

Writing for hobbyist and leisure activity publications is a great way to break into freelance writing. Aspiring writers should start by pitching story ideas about topics they're familiar and comfortable with, then as experience grows, reach out to topics you'd like to better understand.  

BIO - Freelancer Roy Stevenson has had more than one thousand published articles in two hundred regional, national, and international magazines, newspapers, trade journals, custom publications, specialty magazines, in-flights, on-boards, and online travel magazines. Roy produces a weekly newsletter for aspiring travel writers. It's considered one of the most informative e-zines in the travel writing business. Subscribe here: http://www.pitchtravelwrite.com/pitchtravelwrite-ezine.html His PitchTravelWrite.com website was listed in Writer's Digest magazine's "101 Best Websites for Writers" list. 

COmpetitions

BLURRED GENRE CONTEST
https://redivider.submittable.com/submit/126287/2018-blurred-genre-contest
$8 ENTRY FEE. Deadline November 30, 2018. This contest explores porous genre boundaries and honors work that doesn't quite fit into a conventional submittable category. For you this means we accept anything that bends genre and sloughs off convention - from flash fiction/nonfiction to prose poetry to labeled diagrams and beyond! First prize $500. Second prize $300. Both include publication in Redivider 16.2 alongside a blurb from our judge. Each entry should contain one piece and should total 1000 words or fewer. 



THE WRITER AFTER THE FALL CONTEST
https://writermag.submittable.com/submit
$25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline November 30, 2018. Write a 2,000-word fictional short story using any nuance, definition, or understanding of the word “fall.” Grand prize: $1,000 and publication in our magazine. Our second-place winner will receive $500 and publication on our website, writermag.com; our third-place winner will receive $250 and publication on writermag.com as well. 



WRITER'S DIGEST POPULAR FICTION AWARDS
http://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions/popular-fiction-awards
$25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline October 15, 2018. If you’re ready to take the next step in your writing career, choose your favorite categories—Romance, Thriller, Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Young Adult—and enter your best short stories of 4,000 words or less. Win $2,500 first place or $500 as the winner in any category. Additional prizes to include free trip to the WD conference, publication in Writer's Digest, and gift certificates. 



CARVE MAGAZINE POETRY AND PROSE CONTEST
https://carve.submittable.com/submit/f9676208-e03c-4c48-a444-1b02fd18c149/prose-poetry-contest
$17 ENTRY FEE. Deadline November 15, 2018. Seeks the best fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from writers all over the world. A guest judge in each genre selects one winner to be awarded a $1,000 cash prize. Maximum word count for fiction and nonfiction: 10,000. One poem per poetry submission.



THE FOURTH RIVER FOLIO PRIZE
http://www.thefourthriver.com/index.php/announcing-the-2019-fourth-river-folio-contest
$15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline December 31, 2018. The winning entry will be published as a ten-fifteen-page feature in our fall, 2019 online issue. The author will also receive a cash prize of $500, and a subscription to The Fourth River’s print edition. Please submit approximately ten to fifteen double-spaced pages of poetry. 



THE LARRY BROWN SHORT STORY AWARD
https://pitheadchapel.com/the-larry-brown-short-story-award/
$10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline October 31, 2018. The winners will receive the following prizes: First prize $300 USD and a one-year, sponsored membership to Duotrope ($50 USD value); Second prize $50 USD; and Third prize $50 USD. Each prize winner will be published in the January 2019 issue of Pithead Chapel. The submitted story must be less than 4,000 words. 



PRIME NUMBER FLASH FICTION CONTEST
https://press53.submittable.com/submit
$7 ENTRY FEE. Deadline October 31, 2018. Prize for the winner: $251 (a prime number) plus publication in Prime Number Magazine, Issue 149, January-March 2019. Submit one unpublished story that is no more than 751 words, double-spaced in 12-pt. type with numbered pages. 

 

GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS / CROWDFUNDING

THE AMSTERDAM WRITERS’ RESIDENCY
http://www.letterenfonds.nl/en/residency-for-writers-in-amsterdam
Residents are provided with an apartment located above the Athenaeum Bookshop. Writers receive a grant of €1,250 for a minimum six-week stay. In return, they are expected to become involved in the city’s literary and cultural life. The residency is open to writers from around the world. Writers who would like to participate in the program and believe they would be strong candidates are asked to email the Foundation with a short biography and description of the project they would like to work on while in Amsterdam. The residency is fully booked for 2018 and 2019, but applications are open for 2020. 



MCKNIGHT ARTIST FELLOWSHIPS
https://www.loft.org/resources__awards/grants__awards/mcknight_artist_fellowships/
Deadline November 16, 2018. The Loft Literary Center is pleased to announce the 2019 McKnight Artist Fellowships for Writers, made possible by the generous support of the McKnight Foundation. Five $25,000 fellowships are awarded. McKnight Fellows are also entitled for additional reimbursement of up to $3,000 to attend a writing conference within their fellowship year. One award in Children’s Literature alternates annually between writers for children under the age of eight and writers for older readers. Four fellowships alternate annually between writers of poetry/spoken word poetry and writers of creative prose. The awards this year are in Prose and Children Older Than Eight.



36 CHASE AND BARNS RESIDENCIES
http://artistcommunities.org/residencies/36-chase-barns-residency
Deadline November 30, 2018. The residency program welcomes individual applications from visual artists, writers and art historians. 36 Chase & Barns participants are assigned studio spaces inside repurposed barns adjacent to the residence. The full-price residency fee is $375/week, but MOST participants receive need-based and merit-based financial aid. There is no application fee. We are unable to offer full tuition scholarships at this time. Location Massachusetts. 



SARASVATI CREATIVE SPACAE
https://www.sarasvati.space/
Deadline: November 15, 2018. The Sarasvati space residency program at Camp Wonder Wander offers a safe, comfortable and creatively designed space in a rural setting for participants – designers, writers, artists, musicians, filmmakers, storytellers, performers, environmental artists, ecology arts, architects, scholars of various backgrounds, stem teams, or those just seeking a creative outlet – to get lost. Location Waynesboro, Tennessee. 



ARTHUB RESIDENCY
http://www.kingmanarthub.com
Founded in 2013, ArtHub is an organization that provides four visual and literary artists a chance to concentrate on their creative efforts by offering free space to live and work for three months. Location Kingman, Arizona. 



HYPATIA IN THE WOODS
http://www.hypatiainthewoods.org
Deadline November 15, 2018. Hypatia-in-the-Woods was created to provide physical and mental space, solitude, and time for women to pursue their creative endeavors, undistracted by everyday demands of job, family and other obligations. We invite artists, writers, academics and business women to experience the tranquil setting of Holly House, the small cottage that serves as our residential retreat and study center. Location Shelton, Washington. There is no fee. Many of our residents contribute some or a part of our estimated $35 per day cost of operating Holly House, but no worthy applicant is turned away because of inability to contribute.



WALLACE STEGNER CREATIVE WRITING FELLOWSHIPS AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY
https://www.aerogrammestudio.com/2018/09/26/wallace-stegner-creative-writing-fellowships-2018/
Deadline December 1, 2018. A Wallace Stegner Fellowship provides writers with a living stipend of US$26,000 per year for a period of two years. In addition, fellows’ tuition and health insurance are paid for by the University’s creative writing program. Five of the fellowships will be awarded to fiction writers and five will be awarded to poets. To apply for this fellowship writers do not require a degree and there are no tests for admission. In awarding fellowships, the selection committee considers the quality of the candidate’s creative work, their potential for growth and their ability to contribute to and profit from its writing workshops. There are no citizenship restrictions and the program is open to writers around the globe regardless of their United States Visa status.  



ARIZONA RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GRANTS
https://azarts.gov/grant/artist-research-and-development/
Deadline November 9, 2018. Research and Development (R&D) Grants provide funding support to Arizona artists as they work to advance their artistic practice, expand their creative horizons, and deepen the impact of their work. Open to artists working in any discipline who live and work in Arizona. 
 

 

FREELANCE MARKETS

CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL: RUNNING FOR GOOD
http://www.chickensoup.com
Deadline December 15, 2018. We are looking for true stories or poems of 1,200 words or less, about all aspects of running and walking and stories about running, walking and steps to raise awareness of and funds for a cause. Stories can be funny and quirky, or they can be serious and heartwarming. All stories and poems need to be true — we do not publish fiction. Stories should be no longer than 1,200 words.


 
BLACK LABYRINTH ANTHOLOGY
https://www.darkmarkets.com/2018/10/black-labyrinth-anthology-i-possession.html
Deadline January 31, 2019. Dark Regions Press is excited to announce our new open submissions writing contest for seven stories in the first anthology in the Black Labyrinth imprint with a $2,000 prize pool! Featuring original psychological horror stories based on individuals possessed by internal and/or external forces, this new book will be published in 2019. No more than 10,000 words. First Place: $800. Second Place: $400. Third place: $300. Fourth place: $200. Fifth place: $100. Sixth place: $100. Seventh place: $100. Each winner receives author copies: one signed hardcover, five paperbacks and a digital copy of the book.



FLAME TREE PRESS ANTHOLOGY
http://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-gothic/short-story-submissions-american-gothic-urban-crime
We're excited to now open for submissions to the next two anthologies set for 2019 publication: American Gothic and Urban Crime. Word length is most likely to be successful at 2,000–4,000, but we will still read stories slightly outside this range. We pay Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) rates of six cents per word.



POCKETS
https://pockets.upperroom.org/write-for-us/#/
Designed for six- to 12-year-olds, Pockets magazine teaches about God’s love and presence in life. The content includes fiction, scripture stories, puzzles and games, poems, recipes, colorful art, activities, and scripture readings. Freelance submissions of stories, poems, recipes, puzzles and games, and activities are welcome. The magazine is published monthly (except in February). Each issue is built around a specific theme with material that can be used by children in a variety of ways. Stories and articles: 14 cents a word. Poetry: $25 and up. Activities, games, recipes: $25 and up. 



UNLOCKING THE MAGIC
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1962286285/unlocking-the-magic-a-fantasy-anthology/posts/2203758
Deadline November 1, 2018. Word limit: 3,000-6,000 words. Pay rate: $300/story + royalties. Genre: Fantasy only (no Science Fiction or Horror, although horror elements may be present in the story). Urban Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Steampunk, and other genres of fantasy are all encouraged. 



FUTURE SCIENCE FICTION DIGEST
http://future-sf.com/submissions/
We’re currently open to fiction submissions ONLY in the following categories: Translated fiction and fiction written by authors for whom English is not their first language and who reside outside of primarily English-speaking countries. Author or authorized translator may submit fiction of 500-10,000 words that has been previously published in source language but not in English. We seek science fiction stories (no horror, fantasy, fan fiction, or erotica) of up to 10,000 words. We pay ten cents per word. 



BARE LIFE REVIEW
https://barelifereview.submittable.com/submit
The Bare Life Review is pleased to accept unsolicited manuscripts in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. We are committed to publishing work exclusively by immigrant and refugee authors, and to showcasing the immense—indeed, infinite—value and diversity of this literature. To this end, we accept work only from foreign-born writers living in the United States, and writers living abroad who currently hold refugee and/or asylum-seeker status. Fiction submissions should be no longer than 8,000 words. Nonfiction submissions should be no longer than 6,000 words. We now offer $750 for accepted full-length prose pieces, and $300 for accepted poems or shorter prose. 



WHOWHATWHY SEEKING REPORTERS
https://www.journalismjobs.com/1648294-investigative-reporter-whowhatwhy
Targeted voter suppression is likely to be a factor in close elections this November. WhoWhatWhy is deploying reporters to dig into this problem. If you have the right enterprise journalism/investigative skills, we are assigning freelancers right now in the following states: Texas, Florida, Wisconsin, Arizona, Indiana and Nevada. If you can convince us that vote suppression should be covered in your state that is not listed here, we're open to that as well! Send a detailed cover letter, resume and writing samples to klaus@whowhatwhy.org.


 

Publishers/agents

CHALBERG & SUSSMAN LITERARY AGENCY
https://www.chalbergsussman.com/about-chalberg-sussman/
A dynamic literary agency representing a broad range of fiction and nonfiction authors in the areas of literary and commercial fiction, memoir, narrative nonfiction, lifestyle, humor, and pop culture. Their work as agents is marked by passionate author advocacy, deep knowledge of all aspects of the publishing business — including international, audio, and film/television rights—and the agility and creativity necessary in an ever-changing publishing climate.



THE HSG LITERARY AGENCY
http://www.hsgagency.com/the-agency.html
HSG is a full-service literary agency that through collaborative and client-focused representation manages all aspects of an author’s career, from manuscript shaping, to sale and publication, subsidiary rights management, marketing and publicity strategy, and beyond. Please note that we do not represent screenplays, romance fiction, or religious fiction.



D4EO LITERARY AGENCY
https://www.d4eoliteraryagency.com/
D4EO is a full-service, five-agent literary agency representing authors of a very broad range of commercial fiction and nonfiction for children, young adults, and adults. 



INKWELL MANAGEMENT
http://www.inkwellmanagement.com/about/
In addition to its full-time agents and their assistants, the InkWell team includes a tireless foreign rights department and a meticulous contracts manager. We also join forces with leading literary agencies in every foreign market and have agents based in Australia, Boston, and Dallas. We continue to be excited by—and on the lookout for—original ideas, riveting stories and great writing. Pitch the agent that best represents your genre.



LESHNE AGENCY
https://leshneagency.com/
The agency is most interested in narrative and prescriptive nonfiction, especially on social justice, sports, health, wellness, business, political and parenting topics. Also, memoirs that transport the reader into another person’s head and give a voyeuristic view of someone else’s extraordinary experiences. Also, literary and commercial fiction and some young adult and middle-grade books that take the reader on a journey and are just plain fun to read.

 

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