SPONSOR OF THE WEEK

YOUR 100 FAN CLUB

The older I get, the more simplified I seem to want my life. That's why I toned FundsforWriters down over the years from four newsletters, to three, to two. . . and now one, just like I started years ago. More time to write. More time to enjoy myself while writing. I love losing myself in a story. 

But marketing, publishing, and so on tend to distract us and rob us of the joy. At a recent conference speaker, I spoke to writers about corralling all the to-do things on their plates and learning how to focus on writing. I suggested they do what I'm doing. . . write for their most avid 100 fans. 

You know who those are. They are the ones who review, who respond to your blog, who converse with you on Facebook, who like your Instagram posts. They don't just say they love your work, but they talk it, naming characters and plot points that resonated with them. 

Why just 100? Because those are your concentrated dose of energy. You have a better feel for what they like. Since they've contacted you somehow, you feel a few degrees closer to them. You owe them more, and in turn, they deliver back with reviews, emails, and that oh-so-precious word-of-mouth to others about you and your stories. 

Simply your writing. Write the stories that you think your top 100 will love. Don't have 100? If you keep making an appearance in person, on social media, in writing guest posts on blogs, that 100 will materialize. If you keep writing and quit banking on one book. If you keep reminding the few you have in a newsletter who you are (avoiding saying BUY MY BOOK), that 100 will happen. 

Who doesn't feel warm and cozy having 100 fans? And that number grows faster the more you cater to that tribe. They'll practically spread the word for you. 



 

SUPER SPONSOR WORTH NOTING

Developmental Editor and Writing Coach - Douglas Silver
 
Douglas Silver specializes in editing and providing constructive feedback for all narrative-based writing,  be it short stories, novellas, novels, memoirs, or narrative essays. While literary fiction is his primary focus, he appreciates genre-bending work that defies easy categorization. Douglas loves working with emerging and established writers committed to honing their craft and elevating their manuscripts to achieve new heights. Given that much of his fiction incorporates historical elements, he has completed extensive research in the areas of stand-up comedy, nineteenth and twentieth-century American history, post-WW II Japan, and Jewish culture. Aside from narrative manuscripts, he is eager to assist writers with book/story research and literary magazine submission strategies.

He also has considerable experience editing grants, academic papers, college and graduate school admissions essays, statements of purpose, and cover letters.  Please contact him  for rates, availability, and testimonials. For more information, visit www.DouglasSilver.com 

 

HOPE'S APPEARANCES

 
NEXT CONFERENCE! As always, when I'm asked to present at a conference, I promote it graciously in the newsletter. Here's the next one, in Sylva, NC. A one-day fun time that I hope you'll attend. 






SUCCESS QUOTE

SUccess Story

Dear Hope, 

I am pleased to share with you that based on a post in your newsletter, I submitted an application for a fellowship to the Gladstone Library which has been accepted with an award for a Politics-in-Residence 2020. I am most grateful to you for the work you do sharing the valuable information in your newsletter. I am in the process of writing several more applications based on your most recent postings.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Dr. Marva McClean  
http://www.peterlang.com
http://www.marvasfriends.com    
http://works.bepress.com/marva_mcclean
http://www.academia.edu/mmcclean 

 

Featured article

Generating Bankable Story Ideas for Film and Television

By Mark Heidelberger

So, you’ve finally decided to try your hand at screenwriting. You’ve read Syd Field’s Screenplay cover to cover. You’ve bought the latest version of Final Draft. You’ve set aside time each night to write three pages knowing that in a month you’ll have a first draft of your 90-page opus. You’re pumped! There’s just one small problem. You have no idea what to write. I mean, you know what topics you’re passionate about, but that doesn’t necessarily make for a sellable screenplay… does it? Where and how does one generate those great story ideas that make it from script to screen? The good news is there’s no magic formula, no hidden secret, no play-by-play instruction book. However, there are a few practical methods that working screenwriters will tell you have often produced results.

Look at What’s Hot

Critics often pan Tinseltown for its plethora of derivative works. But there’s a very simple reason why the same kinds of movies and TV shows get made over and over: they work. If audiences keep tuning in, why stop? Look at the type of content that’s doing well with audiences right now and how long it’s been that way. If it’s been a few years with no signs of abating, there’s a good chance producers want more of it. Figure out what hot content you enjoy and then come up with your unique spin on it.

Consult an Expert

Experts are everywhere. Producers, script consultants, distribution execs, sales agents. And while they may not have a crystal ball, their position in the industry means they likely see what’s selling and what’s making money. Moreover, they’re often desperate for writers willing to eschew personal passions in favor of writing what’s marketable. So, where do you find these experts? Attend networking events, film markets and festivals, join a professional writers’ group, or ask friends who have connections.

Open a Newspaper

Some of the best ideas hide in plain sight. Newspapers, magazines, and blogs are rife with human interest stories and current events that might make for strong movies or TV shows. How do you know which ones? First, look at how popular the story is. Have you seen it in numerous publications? Is it a front-pager? Has it been getting tons of hits? And second, is real drama there? Real adversity? Something that’s almost too amazing to believe? If readers are responding, audiences probably will, too.

It Really Is Who You Know

Movie-goers love true stories. And while newspapers are filled with them, it may be challenging for a frosh screenwriter to secure a subject’s life rights without significant money involved. (A true story is essentially worthless to a screenwriter without a life rights option in place.) Instead, look at people you know who have highly peculiar, unique, or exceptional life stories. They may just be the hidden gem you’ve been searching for, and they’re more likely to option their life rights to you for cheap.

Adapt Preexisting Material

The Academy doesn’t offer a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for nothing. Preexisting material is fertile ground for new story ideas. And it doesn’t have to be some book on the New York Times bestseller list either. In fact, it doesn’t have to be a book at all. Novellas, short stories, poems, comic books, graphic novels, blogs, even advice columns have all found second lives as movies or TV shows. Consider whether the material is topical and relevant to today’s audience, and you may just have a winner on your hands.

Partner Up

Producers who are having trouble finding specific types of material may be willing to partner with you if you write on spec. Both sides put in sweat equity – you write the material, and they guide the process, develop the material, and eventually shop it. If it gets sold, everyone gets paid. If the producers can at least offer basic story direction or lay out their investor’s parameters, you can start by brainstorming dozens of loglines (one-sentence story concepts) and see which, if any, sparks their interest.



BIO - Mark Heidelberger co-founded Beverly Hills-based Treasure Entertainment in 2000, serving as a film executive, producer, and literary manager until 2011 before going freelance. He has produced music videos for artists Janelle Monae, Snoop Dogg, Nicki Minaj, and John Michael Montgomery as well as commercials for Lamborghini, Con Air and Cox Media, to name a few. Film and TV credits include Harsh Times, Comfort, Ninja Apocalypse, It's Not You It's Me, Pray for Rain and Hallmark Channel's You've Got a Friend. He also performs ghostwriting services on screenplays in addition to his producing duties. He is a member of the Producers Guild of America. He holds a BA in Film Studies from UCSB and an MFA in Producing from UCLA's School of Theater, Film, and Television.

 

COmpetitions

STONE PIER PRESS ENVIRONMENTAL PRIZE FOR WRITERS
https://stonepierpress.submittable.com/submit
$28 ENTRY FEE. Deadline September 1, 2019. Stone Pier Press is an environmental publishing company with a food focus. We publish solutions-oriented books and news that highlight sound choices we can make around how to grow, eat, and dispose of food. The goal is to promote a healthier alternative to a food production system that is a major source of greenhouse gases, eats up land, pollutes water and air, and is unhealthy for people and deeply cruel to animals. The winning manuscript, or proposal, will receive $500 and consideration for publication with Stone Pier Press. Runners up will be short-listed for publishing consideration. We will accept books in the following categories: memoirs, guidebooks, children’s books, young adult fiction, and narrative nonfiction. 



ETCHINGS PRESS WHIRLING PRIZE
http://etchings.uindy.edu/whirling-prize/
$20 ENTRY FEE. Deadline September 2, 2019. Etchings Press, a student-run publisher at the University of Indianapolis, awards The Whirling Prize each fall to two books that demonstrate an excellent and compelling response to a theme that students at the university select. Student judges welcome recently published books on issues related to space published since January 2017. Each winner will receive $500 and 25 copies of a letterpress broadside designed and produced by students of UIndy’s Hullabaloo Press, and each winner will be invited to participate in an episode of a literary podcast with the student judges, which will air winter 2020. 



MARYSTINA SANTIESTEVAN FIRST BOOK PRIZE
https://www.conduit.org/book-prizes
$25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline October 15, 2019. Entries accepted beginning August 1, 2019. Awarded annually to a poet writing in English who has not yet published a full-length poetry book. Prospective entrants are encouraged to familiarize themselves with Conduit, which champions originality, intelligence, irreverence, and humanity. Previously unpublished manuscripts of 48-90 pages should be submitted through our Submittable page. The winning poet will receive $1,000 and 25 author copies. 



2020 EMBRACING OUR DIFFERENCES INTERNATIONAL ART EXHIBIT CELEBRATING DIVERSITY
https://www.embracingourdifferences.org/submit-a-quotation/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline October 8, 2019. One $1,000 prize. Seeking quotes to accompany a juried exhibit that features 50 billboard size pieces of art. These quotations provide the writers a chance to voice their thoughts, feelings, and ideas reflecting our theme of “enriching lives through diversity and inclusion.” Submissions must be 20 words or less.



CREAM CITY REVIEW SUMMER PRIZES IN POETRY AND FICTION
https://uwm.edu/creamcityreview/contests/
$15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline August 1, 2019. The winner will receive $1,000, publication, and an online feature on our website. The runner-up will receive $300, publication, and an online feature on our website as well. You may send up to four poems in a single document. Please send us one short story of up to 9,000 words in a single document. 



BARTHELME PRIZE FOR SHORT PROSE
https://gulfcoastajournalofliteratureandfinearts.submittable.com/submit/142149/2019-barthelme-prize-for-short-prose
$20 ENTRY FEE. Deadline August 15, 2019. A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gulf Coast is given annually for a piece of short prose or prose poetry. Honorable mentions will each receive $250. All entries will be considered for publication. Submit a prose poem, a piece of flash fiction, or a micro-essay of up to 500 words.



POETS & PATRONS CHICAGOLAND POETRY CONTEST
https://www.poetsandpatrons.net/contests-1
$12-15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline September 1, 2019. Military Veterans compete for first place $200, second $100, third $50. Three honorable mentions. Must live within 100 miles of Chicago. Line limit 60 lines (counting epigraph, section numbers and blank lines between stanzas, if any). Miniature poem 12 lines.



THE DONALD L. JORDAN PRIZE FOR LITERARY EXCELLENCE
https://jordanliteraryprize.columbusstate.edu/
$25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline August 15, 2019. This annual prize carries a $10,000 award for an unpublished novel, collection of short stories, memoir, or essay collection. The winner will be offered a publishing contract with a new imprint at Columbus State University, DLJ Books. Previously published material is eligible, meaning writing (stories or excerpts) published in magazines, literary journals, and by micro presses. Self-published books are eligible. If you have already published with a small press or a NY press, your book is not eligible.



RED HEN PRESS NOVELLA AWARD
https://redhenpress.submittable.com/submit
$25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline July 31, 2019. Award is $1,000 and publication by Red Hen Press. Submit 15,000 to 30,000 words. 



FRANCINE RINGOLD AWARDS FOR NEW WRITERS
https://nimrodjournal.submittable.com/submit
$18.50 ENTRY FEE. Deadline July 15, 2019. Open only to writers whose work has not appeared or is not scheduled to appear in more than two publications. (Self-published works, works with a distribution of fewer than 100 copies, and journalistic articles are not considered toward the count of two publications.) $500 prizes will be awarded in both the fiction and poetry categories, and the winning manuscripts will appear in the spring issue of Nimrod. Winners will have the chance to work with the Nimrod board of editors to refine and edit their manuscripts before publication. Fiction: 5,000 words maximum (one short story or a self-contained excerpt from a novel). Poetry: Up to five pages. One long poem or several shorter poems. 

 

GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS / CROWDFUNDING

THE WATERING HOLE
https://twhpoetry.org/
The Watering Hole hosts the only Southern writing retreat for poets of color and draws 50 to 60 poets to the retreat each year. Workshop Fellows gather in small groups of 10 to 14 and take three hours of workshop on Dec. 27th, 28th, and 29th. They rotate among three facilitators. The purpose of the workshops is to learn craft and generate new work. These workshops include lectures, analysis, discussions, writing prompts, reading assignments, etc. These fellows have the opportunity to read the new work they generated at the retreat during the fish fry on the 29th.



TALEMOR PARK RESIDENCIES
http://www.taleamorpark.org/about
Apply for last-minute residency opening July 6-20, 2019. Taleamor Park is a small residency with no more than four or five residents at any one time, and the guidelines have been carefully designed to ensure a positive experience for all. Self-directed two-week residencies are scheduled from May through September. At the end of each two-week session during the scheduled residency season, the local community is invited to Taleamor Park for an afternoon of informal artist and writer presentations. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, so early submission is encouraged. Situated in the heart of LaPrairie Farms, a 375-acre working farm, Taleamor Park lies between the towns of LaPorte and Rolling Prairie in northern Indiana.



UNDER THE VOLCANO
https://underthevolcano.org/apply-now/
Deadline July 15, 2019. Under the Volcano is an international program of writing master classes that convenes every January in Tepoztlán, Mexico, an hour outside Mexico City in the foothills of the great volcanoes. Under the Volcano is a non-profit organization with limited resources. Partial financial aid is available to qualified applicants based on proof of income and expenses (recent tax forms and bank statements, for example.) Our full fellowships are different from financial aid. They recognize emerging and established writers of exceptional talent. All fellowships cover tuition for the 10-day-core program, the two-week extension residency, 24 nights' accommodation and RT transportation from a single point of origin to Tepoztlán.



ART OMI TRANSLATION LAB
http://www.artomi.org/residencies/writers/apply-for-translation-lab
Deadline July 15, 2019. Art Omi, a not-for-profit arts center in Ghent, New York, believes that exposure to creative internationally diverse voices fosters tolerance and respect, raises awareness, inspires innovation, and ignites change. To that end, the organization is accepting proposals for its 2019 Translation Lab Residency program. Through the program, four writer-translator teams will be invited to participate in a fully funded, twelve-day intensive residency, where translators will have the opportunity to dialogue with the writers about text-specific questions. Translators, writers, editors, or agents may submit proposals. All text-based projects are eligible, including fiction, nonfiction, theater, film, poetry, etc.



NEW JERSEY ARTIST FELLOWSHIPS
http://www.midatlanticarts.org/wp-content/uploads/FINAL-2020-NJSCA-IAF-Guidelines.pdf
Deadline July 16, 2019. All forms of poetry, including free verse, elegy, haiku, villanelle, narrative, and sonnets. Artists may use their fellowship awards to pursue work in their artistic discipline, including the purchase of supplies, studying in a workshop, renting studio space, or otherwise freeing their time for creative pursuit. Fellowship funds may not be used for travel out of the country, study as a matriculated student in either a graduate or undergraduate program, or to purchase permanent equipment (equipment with a resale value exceeding $350 or having a life span over three years). Historically, fellowship awards have ranged between $6,000 and $12,000. To be eligible, applicants must be current residents of the state of New Jersey and age 18 or older.



KNIGHTS ARTS CHALLENGE (MIAMI)
https://www.knightfoundation.org/challenges/knight-arts-challenge
Deadline July 26, 2019. The  challenge aims to encourage the use of art to build community, bringing people together in both a literal sense and figurative sense. To that end, the foundation welcomes ideas from across diverse communities and in every genre. Winners will receive financial support as well as public exposure and professional skills-building assistance. While the foundation is not prescriptive in its approach, it looks for high-quality projects that demonstrate novelty and perspectives that are authentic to the community. All it takes to apply is a great arts idea and 150 words. There are only three rules for submissions: the idea must be for an arts project; the project must take place in South Florida, from Palm Beach to the Keys; and the applicant must find other funding to match the foundation’s award. The foundation encourages participation from individual artists, collaboratives, and organizations that may never have applied for a grant. 



THE JOHN MONTAGUE INTERNATIONAL POETRY FELLOWSHIP AND MENTORSHIP BURSARIES
http://munsterlit.ie/John%20Montague%20Fellowship.html
Deadline August 18, 2019. The successful fellow would benefit from the prestige of receiving a highly competitive international literary award which will not only allow the candidate to spend time concentrating on their own work but also to acquire experience in literary mentoring and the teaching of writing in an academic context. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to be inspired by living in one of Europe’s oldest cities, with a well-developed cultural infrastructure and a thriving literary community. The successful fellow would receive a monthly stipend of €2000, totaling €6,000 and self-catering accommodation. The costs of travel to and from Cork would also be covered.



STORME DELARVERIE WRITING RESIDENCY - LOUISVILLE, KY / BOONE, NC
https://balticwritingresidency.submittable.com/submit/75271/prose-storme-delarverie-writing-residency-louisville-ky-boone-nc
Deadline August 31, 2019. The residency will offer six to seven days in a Victorian apartment in historic Old Louisville, or off of the Blue Ridge Parkway in idyllic Boone, NC (90 minutes from Asheville; one hr from Winston-Salem). The date of the residency will be decided through discussion with the winning writer, as will the choice of KY or NC. Each year one writer will be chosen. Applications are accepted by any author of poetry, plays, screenplays, fiction or creative nonfiction writing in English, regardless of their home nation (translations are admissible). The application fee is $15, and applicants should identify as a member of an underrepresented group (writers of color, both American and international, including Native peoples, as well as, disabled people, and those who identify as LGBTQ+).



PROSE - BLACKACRE RESERVE WRITING RESIDENCY
https://balticwritingresidency.submittable.com/submit/11495/prose-blackacre-reserve-writing-residency-fiction-cnf-playwriting
NO DEADLINE. The Blackacre Writing Residency is located in a beautiful, 300-acre forest and nature preserve located near Louisville, KY. The writer receives a $200 honorarium, and resides, for one to two weeks, in a furnished house, on the grounds, offering all of the modern domestic necessities. The period of the residency is dependent, in part, on the institution's overall schedule of visiting artists and writers. In turn, the writer has an immense amount of say as to when they occupy the residency, having the ability to delay beginning the residency for up to a year of being awarded the residency. Also, residents are welcome to bring their partners. Submit 20 pages of fiction, creative nonfiction, or playwriting (excerpts are acceptable).

 

FREELANCE MARKETS

AMERICAN FITNESS MAGAZINE
https://magazine.nasm.org/american-fitness-magazine/
https://magazine.nasm.org/docs/default-source/pdf/afm_spring_2019_final_sm-(1).pdf?sfvrsn=2
Send all editorial queries to americanfitness@nasm.org. Please tell us more about your topic, why it would be relevant to the health and fitness community, areas covered, and your qualifications to write the piece. Your query will be reviewed for timeliness, relevancy, and accuracy. If we feel it will be valuable for our audience, we will follow up with you. Length: 800-1,500 words. Payment: $100-200. 



MEN'S FITNESS MAGAZINE
https://mensfitnessmagazine.com.au/faq/
Men’s Fitness is Australia’s premier health and fitness magazine for Australian men. Every month we print great articles on exercise, health, nutrition, training, and sport. Monthly, we show you how to take care of your most valuable asset: your body. Plus, you’ll find lots of entertaining reading on cars, movies, apps, adventure and travel, plus lots of advice on women and sex. It’s a one-stop shop for blokes who want to make their life better. 



CURE
https://www.curetoday.com/write
Our magazine brings the latest cancer updates, research, and education to patients, caregivers and health care providers. Cancer is a complex disease, both scientifically and personally. Our approach is to provide scientifically based information for the lay reader. All writers MUST have medical writing, preferably cancer-related, and interviewing experience. 



IDEA
https://www.ideafit.com/publications/author-guidelines
Most of our authors are either seasoned journalists or certified professionals with advanced degrees or equivalent experience in a related discipline. Query articles with interesting, meaningful and timely information for fitness professionals that balance research with practical application. We want to empower and inspire our readers to improve their career paths, and to help their clients make sustainable health choices through fitness, nutrition, recovery, and behavior change strategies.

 

Publishers/agents

 
AMBERLY PUBLISHING
https://www.amberley-books.com/submissions
We publish a number of different local and specialist history series. If you or anyone you know might be interested in producing these kinds of books with us – or if you have any other projects in mind – please get in touch, and we can provide further information. Please note that due to the high volume of submissions received, we are unable to return those sent to us via the post.



TANENBAUM LITERARY AGENCY
https://tanenbauminternational.com/
We are always looking for new authors and artists to represent. For nonfiction, we are currently accepting submissions in the areas of current affairs, cultural criticism, and narrative journalism, as well as some memoirs. For fiction submissions, we are looking for literary fiction, upmarket fiction, and young adult fiction that is off the beaten track. We love to hear from authors and editors alike. Get in touch with us if you have any queries and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Queries may be sent to: hello@tanenbauminternational.com



WRITERS HOUSE LITERARY AGENCY
http://www.writershouse.com/submissions
Writers House represents writers of fiction and nonfiction, for both adult and juvenile books as well as illustrators. Our agents work with literary and commercial fiction, women's fiction, science fiction/fantasy, narrative nonfiction, history, memoirs, biographies, psychology, science, parenting, cookbooks, how-to, self-help, business, finance, young adult and juvenile fiction/nonfiction and picture books. We are interested in and work with authors at all stages of their career. Please email us a query letter, which includes your credentials, an explanation of what makes your book unique and special, and a synopsis. Some agents within our agency have different requirements. 



LEVINE/GREENBERG/ROSTAN LITERARY AGENCY
https://lgrliterary.com/
A full-service agency founded in 1989, combining extraordinary collaboration with our clients and a constant drive to succeed in all categories - fiction and nonfiction - and all media. In the last two years alone, we have had 26 New York Times bestsellers.

 

SPONSORS

www.fundsforwriters.com/advertising 

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 2000-2019, C. Hope Clark
ISSN: 1533-1326

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