Subscribe by email:

Volume 10, Issue 18
May 2, 2010


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FUNDS FOR WRITERS

Writer's Digest's 101 Best Websites for Writers 
2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

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In my favorite chair. The bookshelf behind me contains years of books
from the Best in Children's Books from my childhood book club.
Lots of classics in there.


Editor:  C. Hope Clark 
Mailto:    Hope@fundsforwriters.com
Website: http://www.fundsforwriters.com
Newsletter: ISSN: 1533-1326
Our subscriber list is NOT made available to others. Use 
information listed at your own risk. FundsforWriters gives 
no warranty to completeness, accuracy, or fitness of the 
markets, contests and grants although research is done to 
the best of our ability. 


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PAID SPONSOR OF THE WEEK
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NOBLE ROW SHORT FICTION AWARD

Noble Row, a journal of contemporary fiction, art, and music 
is now accepting submissions for its annual Short Fiction 
Award. The competition is open to previously unpublished 
short stories, 8,000 words or less. Winner receives $500 
cash and featured publication in Noble Row. Up to 3 finalists 
will also receive publication in Noble Row. What are we 
looking for? Stories that are personal and engaging, 
uncompromising in their vision, provocative, and 
thought-provoking. In short, excellence. Deadline is 5/15/2010.

To enter online, please visit: http://noblerow.com/fictionprize

 
                  
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EDITOR'S THOUGHTS
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Read newsletter online at: http://www.fundsforwriters.com/FFW.htm
Read past issues at: http://www.aweber.com/z/article/?fundsforwriters

=====

FEEDBACK OR JUDGMENT?

You've written this story, and no one else has laid eyes on it.
You're dying to know if it hits the target, if it's readable.
You can't wait for someone to tell you whether it's good.

You hand it over to someone, with heart in your throat in some
instances, or simple nervous energy in others. You want to know,
but you don't. The ordeal is akin to turning in your paper to
the teacher. You'd love to see the A; hate to see the F.

Are you seeking feedback or judgment?

If you enter a contest, you are judged. You are deemed worthy
or not. You win or lose. We seem to think that the judgment
process is a credible one, when someone rates us against a set
of standards. The term JUDGMENT literally means:

criticism, discernment, mandate, rationality, sentence, verdict

The word has a very black and white feel to it. I believe that
too many of us seek judgment . . . then hate it when achieved.
We argue with the standards used, credentials of the judges,
and rules. The inflexible feel of the term sets us up for 
failure. We become highly upset or crash and burn. For some 
reason we take judgment as gospel.

We inflict that strife on ourselves.

FEEDBACK, on the other hand, has quite a different definition.
It's a response to an action. In this case, it's opinion 
returned about your writing. Let's breakdown the word, though.
FEED means:

furnish, nourish, maintain, satisfy, stoke, strengthen, support

BACK means to return. 

We can thrive on feedback, or accept judgment. If we look at 
judgment of our work more in terms of feedback, we grow. But 
we have to alter our attitudes in order to make that 
differentiation. It's not yes or no, good or bad. It's a process.

Writers in critique groups use an internal selection process to 
decide what critiques aid and which impede. They categorize
opinions as those that help and those that do not apply.

When you receive someone else's appraisal of your work, soften
your stance and open your mind. That's the only way you'll be
able to sift through the minutiae and determine what makes you
stronger.

The next time you get mad about someone's reply, remember it's
you who decides if that someone offers feedback or judging. 
 
 


     Hope


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Tweetebooks are like potato chips! You can't stop at one.

www.fundsforwriters.com/tweetebooks.htm 

=====

THE BLOG, THE BLOG!
http://www.hopeclark.blogspot.com

TWITTER ME
http://twitter.com/hopeclark

CONSULT WITH HOPE
http://www.fundsforwriters.com/ConsultHope.htm

I JOINED FACEBOOK
http://www.facebook.com/chopeclark

=====

MAKE TOTAL TOTALLY YOURS

If you enjoy our free newsletters, you'll LOVE our paid 
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of opportunity. Take your freelance writing seriously and
consider the largest newsletter in the FundsforWriters family.

www.fundsforwriters.com/total.htm 
 


  ~~~~~~****~~~~~~

WORDS OF SUCCESS 

"I think I'd like to be remembered as someone who beat the 
odds through just plain determination... that I persevered. 
Because I think that being somewhat of a pest to life, 
constantly plaguing and pursuing, will bring results." 

--Sylvester Stallone


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SUCCESS OF THE WEEK
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Hi Hope,

Thanks to your newsletter, a short story I was having a very 
hard time finding a home for has finally found a home at 
Tales from the Velvet Chamber, which you had included in one 
of your recent newsletters. The story will be included in 
Tales from the Velvet Chamber: An Anthology of Revisioned 
Fairy-tales and Myth. 

http://talesfromthevelvetchamber.blogspot.com/

Thank you again for finding and relaying these unique 
opportunities for us writers!

Persephone Vandegrift

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ARTICLE
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The Cost of Creating

By Kirsty Logan

Everyone I know has two job titles: the one they get paid to 
do, and the one they wish they got paid to do. I'm a waitress/
writer. My girlfriend is a graphic designer/musician, and my 
brother is a lighting tech/filmmaker. They do the former to 
afford the equipment and studio time to do the latter, but as 
a writer I don't need to pay for electronics or locations.

Writers don't really need tools to create their art. A paper and
pencil, a laptop, chalk and a pavement, a stick and an expanse 
of loose dirt; anything can be utilised to put words together. 
I'm sure it would be nice to write on thick sheets of handmade 
paper with a Mont Blanc pen engraved with your initials, but a 
ballpoint and a school jotter work just as well.

There is one tool that all writers need. These necessary parts 
of the writing process - the initial drafts, the typing, the 
submitting - all cost time. I have to work my day job to pay 
for this time.

However, as writers we frequently squander time. If I wanted 
to hang a picture I would buy a hammer as a tool to help me; 
similarly when I want to write a novel I earn time. But I don't 
wield time as effectively as I might wield a hammer.

Every week I work as a waitress to earn enough to buy a little 
free time for writing, and then I spend my hard-won Wednesday 
morning playing silly Facebook games and making unnecessarily 
complicated plans for lunch. I do not spend all of my precious 
minutes churning out beautiful, effortless prose and opening 
acceptance letters from London publishers. Although I work hard 
to earn time, I do not always take the best care of it. If I did 
have a Mont Blanc pen engraved with my initials then I'm sure I 
wouldn't use it to dig loose hairs out of the drain; if I had 
thick sheets of handmade paper then I wouldn't use it to mop up 
spills. But this is exactly what I'm doing with the only tool I 
have: time. Spending an hour on social networking websites is
like letting decaying grass build up in the blade of my 
lawnmower. What is the point in earning time only to waste it?

In writing this essay, I used several tricks to fool myself into
feeling productive. I haven't had my breakfast yet, which is a
conscious attempt to feel super-productive and say to myself, 
"Look, you produce work before your day has even begun! Who 
needs meager foodstuffs when you have the sustenance of words? 
How wonderfully conscientious you are." I also have a numb rear 
end, as I write at the wooden kitchen table and forgot to put a 
cushion on the chair. Getting up to fetch a cushion would be an 
admittance that my concentration has waned, so I must suffer the 
numbness until I have written my final paragraph. And so on.

It's 9.30am on a Wednesday. My girlfriend is off designing 
corporate websites to pay for new guitar strings, and my brother 
is winding wires around his elbows to pay for camera hire. I 
spent the weekend making coffee for strangers to pay for this 
time. Writing this essay isn't as wasteful as playing FarmVille 
on Facebook, but it's not improving that car-chase scene in my 
novel either. I'm going to get some cornflakes and a cushion, 
and then I am going to spend this time properly.

***

BIO: Kirsty Logan is a writer, editor, teacher, waitress, and 
general layabout. She holds an MLitt (Distinction) in Creative 
Writing from Glasgow University and won the 2009 Gillian Purvis 
Award for New Writing. She has written three novels, all of 
which will stay unpublished as they should not be inflicted 
on strangers. Get in touch at kirstylogan.com


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COMPETITIONS
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2011 CHICKEN HOUSE CHILDREN'S FICTION COMPETITION
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/children/article7074710.ece
---
NO ENTRY FEE
Limit 80,000 words. Deadline October 29, 2010. The winner will 
be the entrant whose story, in the opinion of the judges, 
demonstrates the greatest entertainment value, quality and 
originality suitable for the children's age group. The prize 
is the offer of a worldwide publishing contract with Chicken 
House, with a royalty advance of £10,000. The entrant must not 
have previously published any book in any country, whether 
fiction or nonfiction. The entry should be suitable for a 
children's audience aged between 9 and 16. Picture books and 
graphic novels will not be accepted and illustrations will 
not be considered. 

=====

"SCARE THE DICKENS OUT OF US" SHORT STORY CONTEST
http://www.clarklibraryfriends.com/
---
$20 ENTRY FEE / $5 ENTRY FEE FOR JUNIORS
First prize, $1,000 and a trophy.
Second prize, $500 and a ribbon. 
Third prize, $250 and a ribbon.
Junior contest prize $250 and a trophy. Junior contest writers 
must be age 12-18. We want ghost stories. Any genre, any tone, 
any subject, whatever type of ghost story you can come up with. 
The contest is open to published and unpublished writers alike. 
All publication rights remain with the author. The ghost story 
must be 5,000 words or less. Entry must be postmarked no later 
than October 1, 2010. Entries accepted beginning July 1, 2010.

=====

PERFECTLY FORMED SHORT STORY COMPETITION
http://www.wbqonline.com/feature.do?featureid=505
---
NO ENTRY FEE
Perfectly Formed is our first short story competition, in 
association with Pan Macmillan and the Arvon Foundation.
We're looking for the best short story of 2,000 words or less. 
All our readers are eligible, as long as you're over 16 and haven't 
had fiction professionally published before. Your short story can 
be about any subject and in any fiction genre, be it drama, comedy, 
crime, historical or modern - just make it punchy, original and 
imaginative. Limit 2,000 words. Deadline July 1, 2010.

The winner will see their work published in the October issue of 
Books Quarterly to our readership of more than a quarter of a 
million, and online at www.macmillannewwriting.com, 
www.arvonfoundation.org, Wbqonline.com and Waterstones.com. But 
that's just the start. The winner will be invited to attend an 
exclusive publisher's lunch with Will Atkins, Editorial Director 
at Pan Macmillan, and author James McCreet to gain feedback and 
ideas on where to take their writing career in the future. And 
just to top things off, they will receive £200-worth of quality 
reading from Pan Macmillan of their choice. To develop skills, the 
winner will also receive a place on a week-long Arvon Foundation 
creative writing course of their choice.

The prize includes all tuition, food and accommodation. During the 
week, the winner will have plenty of opportunity to spend time 
working on their own writing, as well as taking part in workshops, 
readings, and a one-to-one session with a course tutor. The three 
best runners-up will receive concise written feedback on their 
entries, which will be published online, as well as winning £50-
worth of Pan Macmillan books. 

 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GRANTS
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SOUTH ARTS LITERARY TOURING GRANTS
http://www.southarts.org/site/c.guIYLaMRJxE/b.5473535/k.90E9/Literary_Arts.htm
---
South Arts, with support from the National Endowment for the 
Arts, offers writer fee grants for literary presentations.  
These grants support guest writers (fiction, creative nonfiction, 
poetry) from outside the sponsor's state. Colleges, universities 
and other school-based presenters are eligible to apply and grant 
funds can be used to support fees for multiple writers. To be 
eligible, literary projects must include a public reading and an 
educational component. Deadline May 17, 2010 for projects taking 
place between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011. The maximum request 
is 50% of the writer's fee, up to a total grant request of $2,500. 
South Arts' nine-state region includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, 
Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina,
and Tennessee.

=====

OREGON INDIVIDUAL ARTIST GRANTS
http://www.oregonartscommission.org/grants/commission_grant_programs.php
---
The Commission recognizes the achievements of Oregon artists and 
the contributions they make to the cultural health of the state 
through its annual Artist Fellowship grants- non-matching $3,000 
stipends to a select group of the state's most innovative creators. 
The Commission will consider applications annually according to 
artistic discipline. The 2011 Individual Artist Fellowships are for 
Oregon artists working in the literary or performing arts.

=====

XERIC FOUNDATION
http://www.xericfoundation.org/xericapplycomicgrants.html
---
Self-publishing grants for comic book/graphic writers. Next 
deadline September 30, 2010.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FREELANCE MARKETS
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FLARE
http://www.flare.com/aboutus/guidelines
---
Read back issues of the magazine to make sure your idea fits 
our general editorial tone and audience - working women between 
the ages of 20 - 45. FLARE continues to be the magazine Canadian 
women turn to for the latest information on fashion, beauty, 
health and entertainment. 

=====

THE SCOTS
http://www.scotsmagazine.com/guidelines.asp
---
A publication concerned with specifically Scottish topics. This 
almost invariably means that the people, events or places written 
about have to be in Scotland. There is a minimum of four months 
between acceptance and publication: please take this into account 
if an article is aimed at a particular issue. Prefers articles 
with a word-count of around 1,000-2,500 words, but these limits 
are not rigid. Does not buy material that has already been 
published elsewhere. An s.a.e. with submissions is appreciated.

=====

FIRE RESCUE MAGAZINE
http://www.firerescuemagazine.com/about_us.html
---
Readers consist of fire chiefs, company officers, training 
officers, firefighters, and technical rescue personnel. 
Publishes hands-on, how-to articles that serve their "Read It 
Today, Use It Tomorrow" mission. Features: $100--$400. 
Departments: $100--$200, News items: $25-$50. 
 
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JOBS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WRITER-EDITOR
Location Washington DC
http://jobview.usajobs.gov/GetJob.aspx?JobID=87594403&aid=27015391-21410&WT.mc_n=125
---
This position is in the Deputy Comptroller for Public Affairs, 
Communications Division, located in Washington, DC. OCC 
publications are disseminated in print and electronically and 
include handbooks, manuals, guidance, correspondence, briefings, 
working papers, newsletters, annual reports, and many other 
internal and external products. As a writer-editor, you will 
provide a wide range of editorial expertise, including substantive 
writing and rewriting, substantive editing, technical editing, 
copy editing, graphics editing, proofreading, and editorial 
production services. Deadline May 18, 2010.

=====

PUBLIC AFFAIRS SPECIALIST
Location New Hampshire
http://jobview.usajobs.gov/GetJob.aspx?JobID=87602975&aid=27015391-21410&WT.mc_n=125
---
As a Public Affairs Specialist, this position is responsible 
for writing and editing information, such as briefing papers, 
news releases, and materials about the nature and purpose of 
the Forests programs, projects and/or mission. Deadline May
17, 2010.

=====

WRITER-EDITOR
Location Albuquerque, NM & Kirkland AFB
http://jobview.usajobs.gov/GetJob.aspx?JobID=87651238&aid=27015391-23410&WT.mc_n=125
---
Deadline May 21, 2010. Agency: Forest Service. Writes and/or 
edits material for publications or related items. Reviews written 
products and materials for conformity with standards of objectivity, 
style, and presentation.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PUBLISHERS/AGENTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ANGELA RINALDO LITERARY AGENCY
http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/AngelaRinaldi/
---
Looking for upmarket contemporary fiction, mainstream women's 
fiction, thrillers, mysteries, suspense, literary historical 
thrillers, gothic suspense, women's book club fiction - novels 
where the story lends itself to discussion; literary fiction, 
ethnic fiction. In terms of nonfiction, seeks: narrative non-fiction, 
memoir, women's issues/studies, current issues, biography, psychology, 
health/medical/wellness, business, career, cookbooks/food narratives/
wine, personal finance and books written by established journalists, 
academics, doctors and therapists, love/relationships. 

=====

FOX LITERARY
http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/fox/
---
Seeks: young adult fiction (all genres), science fiction/fantasy, 
romance, historical fiction, thrillers, and graphic novels. 
In nonfiction, wants: memoirs, biography, and smart narrative 
nonfiction; especially memoirs and other nonfiction about sex 
work, addiction and recovery, and pop culture.

=====

ADAMS LITERARY
http://www.adamsliterary.com/
---
Adams Literary is a full-service, boutique literary agency 
exclusively representing children's book authors and artists. 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SPONSORS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


THE WRITERS' BRIDGE

Would you like to be cloned? The Writers' Bridge helps save 
you time to write by providing article ideas, searching through 
job newsletters, locating markets, and helping with queries. 
We are currently offering a free 30-day trial. 

Check us out at www.thewritersbridge.com


=====



 

LEARN TO SELF-PUBLISH PROFITABLY! 
The second annual Self-Publishers Online Conference connects 
entrepreneurial authors and independent publishers with book 
publishing resources on May 12-14, 2010.

* Enjoy presentations from 15 book-publishing experts. 
(Dan Poynter, Fern Reiss, Mark Victor Hansen, & 12 more!)

* Participate in Q&A roundtables and online discussions

* Browse the virtual exhibit hall

...all from the comfort of your desk!

Live attendance is FREE with a Basic Pass! 
(Or upgrade for audio downloads or CDs mailed to you.) 

Register now at:
http://www.SelfPublishersOnlineConference.com


=====



WAR POETRY CONTEST - LAST CALL
9th year. Fifteen cash prizes totaling $5,000. Top prize $2,000.
Submit 1-3 unpublished poems on the theme of war, up to 500 lines
in all. Winning entries published online. Sponsored by Winning
Writers. $15 entry fee, payable to Winning Writers. Postmark
deadline May 31, 2010. Final judge: Jendi Reiter. Include cover
sheet with contact information. No name on poems. Submit online 
or mail to: Winning Writers, ATTN: War Poetry Contest, 351 Pleasant
Street, PMB 222, Northampton, MA 01060. Winning Writers is proud
to be one of the "101 Best Websites for Writers" (Writer's Digest,
2005-2009). 

More information: www.winningwriters.com/war

=====



PUBLISHED WRITER WILL EDIT YOUR NOVEL, MEMOIR, POETRY 
If you're going to work with an editor, work with the best. 
Have your writing edited by an award-winning, professional 
writer and editor, someone who actually knows how to help you 
prepare your writing for publication.  Richard Krawiec has 
published novels, biographies, text books, plays, and a story 
and poetry collection.  He won the 2009 Excellence in Teaching 
Award from UNC Chapel Hill for his online writing courses. His 
essays, feature articles, and reviews have appeared in major 
newspapers and magazines across the US. The NY Times, LA Times, 
Publishers Weekly have reviewed his work. His awards include 
National Endowment for the Arts and NC Arts Council grants, as 
well as nominations for the National Book Award, Best American 
Short Stories, and Pushcart Prize. 

Email: rkwriter@gmail.com   
Web - www.rkeditor.com

=====


http://www.fundsforwriters.com/adrates.htm  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BUSINESS STUFF
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


C. Hope Clark
E-mail: hope@fundsforwriters.com

140-A Amicks Ferry Road #4
Chapin, SC 29036

http://www.fundsforwriters.com

Copyright 2000-2010, C. Hope Clark
ISSN: 1533-1326


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