SPONSOR OF THE WEEK

SELF RESPECT

The dismal fact is that self-respect has nothing to do with the approval of others — who are, after all, deceived easily enough; has nothing to do with reputation, which, as Rhett Butler told Scarlett O’Hara, is something people with courage can do without. 

~Joan Didion, author of a Star is Born, winner of the National Book Award. 

Self-respect is not easily achieved, because all around us we are barraged with stimuli telling us how great or worthless we are. The fact is, without self-respect, what others think consumes us. When we understand, love, and care for ourselves, and in turn our storytelling, we then have the mental maturity to sift through the judgment of others . . . picking and choosing which judgment is worth listening to. 

In this business, we get kicked around enough without doing it to ourselves. When I read on Facebook the comments in writers' groups, where writers are depressed, wondering if they ought to keep writing because they can't make money, make sales, or receive glowing reviews, I feel sorry for them. Not for the reasons they express, but for their lack of self-respect. They are screaming it. 

When someone is self-assured, they are a magnet for others. After all, most people don't feel good about themselves, and they gravitate to those who do. When we are not shackled by the expectations of others, the door opens for us to feel good about ourselves and become our biggest cheerleader. That's power.

That doesn't mean we don't make mistakes. Frankly, the main reason writers self-publish is to own all the responsibility. That means they accept the responsibility for all that goes well and all that fails, both of which are good. Both of which make us stronger. We did it. We own it. We do what we want and accept the fallout or glory. To accept without placing blame on others is the epitome of self-respect. 

So write. Publish whichever way you like. If a choice fails you, avoid pointing the finger at anyone other than one's self. Analyze what happened and launch into another direction, wiser and stronger. To blame others means you struggle to look at yourself in the mirror. Once you get past that obstacle, you can do damn near anything you want because nobody is in your way.

You do, adjust, do, adjust, until you are the grandest being, in love with who you are and what you do. Doors open to people like that, because people want to be you.





AND A NOTE: I am not doing many big appearances this year, but I will be at this one in June and hope to see you there!



 

SUPER SPONSOR WORTH NOTING

Water Stone Writers

Manuscript critique/evaluation services offered by sensitive ghostwriter and editor.
Don't let your manuscript wind up in the slush pile. Give your book the devotion it deserves.

Do you need a break from the occasionally beautiful, pervasively torturous process of slogging away at your book? Do you need help seeing your work clearly?  

Let me take your book off your hands for a few weeks. I offer fresh perspective and the uncanny ability to see the whole and the parts. Give your art the devotion it deserves.

My client's books have landed deals with agents and major publishers. Specializing in fiction, memoirs, self help/health.

Packages include:
- 5-10 page written critique
-60 minute phone consultation.
-analysis for negative and positive issues that may involve one or more of the following: structure, tone, character development, plot,  voice, style, point of view/narrator choice, word choice.

Ensure your manuscript is read. 

$1250 flat fee for manuscripts of approximately 200-250 pages.
1-3 week turnaround.
15% discount to the first five people to respond to this ad.

Other services include developmental editing, blogging and ghostwriting. 

Water Stone Writers
www.waterstonewriters.com    
Dwolffe74@gmail.com

HOPE'S APPEARANCES

 

SUCCESS QUOTE

SUccess Story

Dear Hope,

I wrote to you a month or two ago when I heard that a short story I wrote had won first place in the Baltimore Review's fiction contest. It was a contest I entered after reading about it in *Funds for Writers.* I'm so grateful to you for compiling and curating your weekly lists of potential publication venues; because of you, I have faith that they are legitimate. 

Here's the link to my story, "Occasionally Good," should anyone be interested! The title refers to the BBC's shipping forecast and the story itself is set in the north of England. http://baltimorereview.org/index.php

I can see another FFW in my mailbox now, and I can't wait to read it. Thanks again, Hope.

Leslie Carlin
http://transatlantictravails.blogspot.ca/

 

Featured article

How to Use Facebook for Entry-level and Advanced Writing Jobs

By Leah Zitter

Want a new source to find entry-level writing jobs? Trawl Facebook. Facebook handed me my first portfolio samples, including a gig on tasers and guns. The proprietor of that store taught me how to defend myself while paying me $100 for writing about it.

More recently - and unknown to most - Facebook also shoved off its very first Jobs for Facebook whose ads target more experienced writers.

So, if you’re looking for a gig at either end of the spectrum, Facebook’s the place for you!

Facebook for entry-level freelancers 

Visit your Facebook homepage for the following: entry-level writing jobs, evergreen writing gigs, and writing jobs that average $0.3- $0.7 cents per word.

To date, Facebook has more than 2.27 billion monthly active users, and, occasionally, one of these users mentions their need for a writer. You can be first on their rosters with the following steps:

1. Type your search words into Facebook’s search tab. My favorite words include "hiring writers," “looking for writers," "writer” + (your niche)," and “seeking writers”. Also try “looking for content/ marketing writers/ bloggers” and synonyms like “contract” and “remote.” I avoid the popular “writers wanted” and “writers needed,” since these tend to spit up spam or bulk ads from sites like Upwork. 



2. Next, see “Posts” in the upper margin? Run down and select the following: 

"Posts From" (Anyone)
"Post Type” (All Posts)
“Posted in Group” (Any Group)
“Tagged Locations" (Anywhere)
"Date Posted" - Toggle the arrow option at “Choose a Date”

In contrast to ‘regular’ listed jobs that get snatched fast, job mentions on Facebook tend to linger, so I backtrack my search by a month or two.

3. As an alternative, I try "Date Posted" (Any Date) with search words that include the word “always.” Example: "always looking for writers (content producers) (bloggers) etc.". This prods a stream of great evergreen jobs. 

Despite Facebook’s recently tightened privacy rules, I’ve still been able to catch a bite or two. 

Middle to advanced freelance writers
 
Summer 2017, Facebook launched a new option for personnel recruiters, called Jobs on Facebook. Here’s where you find job openings from entities like marketing and PR agencies, publishing outlets, and B2B or B2C for medium-sized to larger companies. Just as LinkedIn has its job postings mechanism, these are those of Facebook. 
Apparently, Facebook refused to design this site with freelancers in mind, but I’ve found a way around it.

1. Go to Jobs on Facebook, and type in synonyms for "writer" in the Jobs on Facebook search tab. (Note: don’t use the search tab on the top of page; it redirects you to your FB homepage). Use terms like “writer,” "freelance writer," "content strategist," "marketing strategist," and "SEO content writer." Forget synonyms like “looking for,” “hiring,” and the like.

2. Fill in “Location” in the box underneath the search function. Here’s where it gets tricky if you want to trawl the globe, or at least America. The solution? Track where your clients tend to come from and experiment. Most of my U.S. clients come from NY, LA, SF and Chicago, so I type in the names of each of those regions and browse respective results. Note that Jobs on Facebook has major UK cities and several Canadian provinces but fewer countries outside North America.

3. As your last step, select the Contract button under “Job Type.” This is  my substitute for “freelancer”.

After you’re more familiar with Jobs on Facebook, you’ll notice many positions want in-site writers and are managerial and executive. Some of the search results, too, are wacky. Evidently, the platform’s still got a way to go. 

Still, here and there, you may find some gems, like this delectable one I found today. (Just look at that pay!) 



BIO: Dr. Leah Zitter is a recognized FinTech writer and researcher with more than 10 years’ experience writing for media outlets, small-scale businesses, ICOs, non-government organizations, multinational corporations and governments. Follow her tweets for finding hidden jobs on https://twitter.com/Zitter19864174.

COmpetitions

GEMINI SHORT STORY CONTEST
http://www.gemini-magazine.com/contest.html
$10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline April 1, 2019. First prize $5,000. Second prize $250. Three honorable mentions of $50. Open to ANY subject, style, genre or length. Stories must be unpublished but work on personal blogs is eligible.



INTERNATIONAL LITERARY AWARDS
https://internationalliteraryawards.org/2019/competition
$15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 28, 2019. The winner in each genre—poetry, creative nonfiction and fiction—will receive $1,000. An honorable mention in each genre (judge’s discretion) will receive $150. Fiction submissions are up to 5,000 words. Creative nonfiction submissions are up to 5,000 words. Poetry submissions are three poems with each poem on a separate page, and each poem limited to 100 lines. 



PSYCHOPOMP MAGAZINE SHORT FICTION AWARD
https://psychopompmag.com/contests/
$10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 15, 2019. First Place Award: $500 and issue publication with interview. All finalists will be considered for publication on our site as “special contest features.” Limit 6,000 words. 



THE BOOKSIE 2019 FIRST CHAPTER CONTEST
https://www.booksie.com/contest/Booksie+2019+First+Chapter+Novel+Contest-15
$7.95 ENTRY FEE. Deadline June 14, 2019. One grand prize winner will receive $1,000, exposure on the Booksie.com website, and a professional review. Two runners-up will receive $150 and exposure on the website. The contest will judge the first chapter. The most compelling book start that compels a reader to move to the next chapter will be judged the winner. The book does not need to be complete and the submission can be in any genre.



ANN WHITFORD PAUL / WRITER’S DIGEST AWARD
https://www.scbwi.org/the-ann-whitford-paul-writers-digest-book-award/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline April 1, 2019. Limit 1,000 words. Picture books only. First prize $1,000. This award is open to any SCBWI picture book writers who are not under contract and/or have not sold a picture book manuscript in the last three years.



ELIZABETH JOLLEY SHORT STORY AWARD
https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/prizes-programs/elizabeth-jolley-story-prize/current-jolley
$15-$25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline April 15, 2019. Grand prize $12,500. Entry is open to anyone in the world who is writing in English. Entries must be a single story of 2,000 to 5,000 words in length. ABR will publish the three shortlisted stories in the 2019 August Fiction Issue and announce the overall winner at a special event later that month. Three commended stories will also be published later in the year. First Prize: $5,000. Second Prize: $3,000. Third Prize: $2,000. Commended stories: The three commended stories will share the remaining $2,500 in prize money. 



SANTA FE WRITERS PROJECT LITERARY AWARDS PROGRAM
http://sfwp.com/the-contest/
$30 ENTRY FEE. Deadline July 15, 2019. The grand prize is $1,500, and two runners-up will receive $500 each. Winners will be offered a competitive book contract for full-market, frontlist release. Past winners have ranged from flash fiction to memoir to magical realism to literary fiction to essays. Open internationally. All fiction and creative nonfiction will be eligible despite genre, form, subject, or length. 



THE POETRY BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL BOOK AND PAMPHLET COMPETITION
http://www.poetrybusiness.co.uk/competition-menu/competition-conditions
£28 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 1, 2019. We ask for small collections of 20 to 24 pages of poems. Poems may be of any length. A long poem may take several pages. More than one poem may be printed on a single page. The poems should be for adults, in English. First stage winners will have a pamphlet published and receive an equal share of the £2,000 cash prize, whether or not they choose to enter the second stage. First stage winners may choose to enter the second stage by submitting an extended manuscript (another 30-plus pages) at no extra charge, within one month of being asked. The final winner will have a book published, but not a pamphlet. All winners will have the opportunity to read their work at a poetry reading organised by The Poetry Business shortly before (or after) publication of their title. Each winning poet will have at least one of their poems published in the issue of The North magazine that immediately follows the announcement of the results. Open internationally. 



POETS & PLAYERS PRIZE
https://poetsandplayers.co/2019/01/01/competition-2019/
£4 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 13, 2019. First Prize: £600. Second Prize: £200. Third Prize: £100. Maximum line length for individual poems is 40 lines. Entries must be accompanied by an application. 



SOUTH DOWN POETRY FESTIVAL BINSTED PRIZE
https://www.binsted.org/poetry-comp-19
£5 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 29, 2019. Original, unpublished poems on any theme are invited. Prizes £250, £150, £50. Prizewinners will be invited to read their poems in Binsted Church (BN18 0LL) during the poetry evening, one of the events in the 2019 Binsted Art Festival, on Friday, June 7, 2019 at 7 pm. Poems must not exceed 50 lines. 



ALPINE FELLOWSHIP
https://alpinefellowship.submittable.com/submit/133506/af-2019-writing-prize
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline April 1, 2019. Awarded for the best piece of writing on the topic of ‘Identity’ – the theme of the 2019 Alpine Fellowship Annual Symposium. The winner and two runners up are invited to attend the Fjällnäs symposium. Winner receives £10,000 cash prize and is presented with the award by the poet John Burnside. £3,000 go to the second place, £2,000 to the third place. Open internationally. A maximum of 2,500 words per entry. Limited to one entry per person. 
 

GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS / CROWDFUNDING

BILL RANSOM FOUNDER'S SCHOLARSHIP
https://jeannelyetgassman.blogspot.com/2019/01/scholarship-2019-bill-ransom-founders.html
Deadline March 1, 2019. The 2019 recipient will receive a scholarship to attend the Port Townsend Writers Conference in Port Townsend Washington, July 14-21, 2019. The scholarship covers the cost of the morning workshop of choice, the afternoon workshops, travel expenses, meals and lodging. 



DJERASSI RESIDENCIES
http://djerassi.org/apply/artist-residencies/
Deadline March 15, 2019. Residencies are awarded competitively, at no cost, to national and international artists in the disciplines of choreography, literature, music composition, visual arts, media arts, and science. There are six residency sessions each year: five are four weeks long, and one that includes Open House/Open Studios is five weeks long. Djerassi Program is located in a spectacular rural setting in the Santa Cruz Mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean yet is within easy driving distance of San Francisco and the rest of the Bay Area.



TALLGRASS ARTIST RESIDENCY
http://tallgrassartistresidency.org/apply/
Deadline March 1, 2019. The Tallgrass Artist Residency will invite eight artists/artist teams to participate in two-week residency periods between May and September 2019 in the Flint Hills of Kansas. Residents are expected to give a public program of their choosing during this two-week period at one of our partner venues. Residents are also expected to participate in a group exhibition and artist symposium on Saturday, October 12, 2019. Residents are given lodging at Matfield Station in the small community of Matfield Green, Kansas for ten nights during their residency and up to two nights during the artist symposium events. We welcome applications from artists/art teams who currently live in a place that is ecologically considered prairie. 



SCHOLARSHIP AVAILABLE FOR GET AWAY TO WRITE - SCOTLAND
http://www.stockton.edu/murphywriting 
Deadline: March 10, 2019. Murphy Writing of Stockton University is offering a $1,000 scholarship to a first-time participant of Get Away to Write - Scotland, August 1-9, 2019 in Dundee, Scotland. Join us this summer in the vibrant university city of Dundee, Scotland to immerse yourself in a supportive week-long writing experience that will energize and inspire you. Enjoy encouraging workshops, plentiful writing time, readings by local writers and excursions to Edinburgh, the coast and more.



SLF WORKING CLASS WRITERS GRANT
http://speculativeliterature.org/grants/the-slf-working-class-grant/
Deadline February 28, 2019. To assist writers of speculative literature to working class, blue-collar, poor, and homeless writers who have been historically underrepresented in speculative fiction, due to the financial barriers which have made it much harder for them to have access to the writing world. You are eligible for this $1,000 grant if you come from a background such as described. Must be American. 



NORTH CAROLINA ARTIST RESIDENCIES
https://www.ncarts.org/resources/grants/grants-organizations/arts-education-grants/artist-residencies
Deadline March 1, 2019. This category supports standards-based, long-term (ten days and longer) artist residencies that provide students in school systems, nonprofit arts, or community organizations with the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge and skills in the arts. Educators and artists collaborate to design an artist residency that meets the specific needs of the school and engages students in hands-on, participatory arts learning. At a minimum, artists work with the same group of students for ten days during the residency. Residency days and weeks do not have to be consecutive. Residencies can take place either as a part of the school day or outside of the classroom. Grant amounts range from $5,000 to $15,000. 



JOY KOGAWA HOUSE RESIDENCIES
https://www.kogawahouse.com/wp/residencies
Deadline February 28, 2019. We are looking for writers to live and work at Historic Joy Kogawa House for residencies that take place in 2020. Most residencies run for two months, although a one-month period is also available. Residencies are open to all Canadian writers who have professionally published two manuscripts and who write on topics or represent communities that reflect and build upon the legacy of Joy Kogawa as a writer and as a formerly interned Canadian of Japanese heritage. Applicant writers will live in work in the Vancouver neighbourhood of Marpole, where Historic Joy Kogawa House operates as a heritage and cultural centre and as a site of healing and reconciliation and as a home for writing, education, and dialogue.



DELAWARE GRANT PANELISTS NEEDED
https://smartde.smartsimple.com/ex/ex_Apppage.jsp?token=HAoITBIGZV1YQhZeQw%3D%3D
The Delaware Division of the Arts engages Delaware citizens to review and make recommendations on grant applications for state funding of the arts. The Division selects panelists based on their knowledge and experience in the arts, in business and nonprofit management, and in their community. To be considered for service, you may nominate yourself or someone else. Nominations are accepted year-round; the next panel review meetings take place in early May 2019. 



RHODE ISLAND PROJECT GRANTS FOR INDIVIDUALS
https://risca.online/grants/project-grants-for-individuals/
Deadline April 1, 2019. Project Grants for Individuals (PGI) provides $500-$3,000 grants to artist instigated and organized arts projects with a strong public component. These grants are not for individuals looking to support their studio practice, but for projects that directly engage Rhode Island residents in some way.



RHODE ISLAND ARTIST FELLOWSHIPS
https://risca.online/grants/artist-fellowships/
Deadlines April 1, 2019 and October 1, 2019. Fellowships are unrestricted awards that encourage the creative development of artists by enabling them to set aside time to pursue their work and achieve specific creative and career goals. One $5,000 fellowship and one $1,000 merit are awarded in each of 13 disciplines each year. Fellowship and Merit awards are based solely on artistic merit and are highly competitive.  

 

FREELANCE MARKETS

SPOTLIGHT BOOKS
https://www.creativefuture.org.uk/spotlight-books/rules/
Deadline February 24, 2019. Small books, big ideas - Creative Future, Myriad Editions, and New Writing South seek the best poets and fiction writers from under-represented backgrounds - those who face barriers due to mental health, disability, identity or social circumstance. They are looking for manuscripts of fiction (8-10,000 words) and poetry (40-45 pp. at 20 lines/page).  Six writers will be selected, supported to polish their manuscripts and further their careers, and be published in individual short books. The consideration is ONLY open to UK residents over 18 years old. We are open to any and all genres except explicit erotica or writing for children.



VIRGINIA QUARTERLY REVIEW
https://www.vqronline.org/about-vqr/submissions
Poetry: All types and length. Short Fiction: Length is from 2,000–8,000 words. We are generally not interested in genre fiction (such as romance, science fiction, or fantasy). Nonfiction: Length is 3,500–9,000 words. We publish literary, art, and cultural criticism; reportage; historical and political analysis; and travel essays. 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 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.



FIRESIDE
https://firesidefiction.com/about/#submissions-guidelines
Fireside Fiction Company started in 2012 as a Kickstarter-funded short-story magazine. We began with the goals of finding and publishing great stories regardless of genre and paying our writers well. Fireside pays 12.5 cents per word, well above the 6 cents currently considered to be the minimum professional rate. In fact, we pay better than almost every other SFWA-qualifying market. For illustrations, we pay $400 for a full-color piece.



HARPER'S MAGAZINE
https://harpers.org/submissions/
Writers wishing to submit nonfiction to Harper’s Magazine are invited to send queries. Harper’s will consider unsolicited fiction. Unsolicited poetry will not be considered or returned. Harper’s Magazine, the oldest general-interest monthly in America, explores the issues that drive our national conversation, through long-form narrative journalism and essays, and such celebrated features as the iconic Harper’s Index.

 

Publishers/agents

 
PERSEA BOOKS
https://www.perseabooks.com/about/
Persea has published hundreds of engaging and consequential books covering a wide range of subjects, styles, and genres, including poetry, fiction, essays, memoir, biography, and revived classics. Our list focuses on contemporary issues expressed through individual experience. It reflects the rich diversity of American literature, from Native American onward, and includes a wide selection of works in translation. We publish literary novels and short story collections, creative nonfiction, memoir, essays, biography, literary criticism, books on contemporary issues (multicultural, feminist, LGBTQI+), Young Adult novels, and literary and multicultural anthologies that are assigned in secondary and university classrooms. 



TRIANGLE BOOKS
https://www.sevenstories.com/imprints/triangle-square
Seven Stories' newest imprint is for the next generation: a new breed of skeptical young readers. Subjects include activism, African American and American Studies, children's, environmentalism, fiction, middle grade, gender and feminism, graphic works, health, history, human rights, LGBTQ, memory and biography, music, philosophy, religion, poetry, politics, and young adult. 



SEVEN STORIES PRESS
https://www.sevenstories.com/imprints/seven-stories-press
We publish works of the imagination and political titles by voices of conscience under our primary imprint. Subjects to consider are activism, African American and American Studies, children's, cookbooks, current events, drama, environmentalism, essays, fiction, film, gender and feminism, graphic works, health, history, human rights, journalism, LGBTQ, memory and biography, music, philosophy, poetry, religion, politics, science, and sports. 



PAGE STREET PUBLISHING
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 4-8, biographies for ages 8-12, occasionally board books for ages 0-3, and visually driven concept books.



BAEN BOOKS
https://www.baen.com/submit
Writers familiar with what we have published in the past will know what sort of material we are most likely to publish in the future: powerful plots with solid scientific and philosophical underpinnings are the sine qua non for consideration for science fiction submissions. As for fantasy, any magical system must be both rigorously coherent and integral to the plot, and overall the work must at least strive for originality.



ARCTURUS
https://arcturus.chireviewofbooks.com/submit-your-work-a2c3f8bdac8c
Arcturus accepts unsolicited submissions year-round of fiction, flash fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and hybrid genres. We have no restrictions on the writers or content we publish, but we’re passionate about publishing new perspectives—new ideas, new voices, new worlds, new challenges, new ways of seeing, etc.—a theme that can take an infinite number of shapes, including speculative fiction, experimental poetry, political essays, narrative reportage, and virtually everything else.
 

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C. Hope Clark
E-mail: hope@fundsforwriters.com
140-A Amicks Ferry Road #4
Chapin, SC 29036
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ISSN: 1533-1326

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