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EDITOR'S THOUGHTS

YOU WON'T LIKE SOME MARKETS


And when you see those markets that do not fit your preference, pass them by. Here at FundsforWriters, we've had writers fuss, comment, opine to us about what we post and why we post it. 

There have been the Catholics who think we favor Jews . . . and Jews who think we hate them. There have been the LGBTQ+ folks who wonder why we don't post more that favor them . . . and others who think we post too much. Some think we hate Democrats or Republicans, just depends on the day. We've been accused of disliking Africans and Middle Easterners. And recently we had someone scold us for posting a market for wildlife hunters, then unsubscribe because of what we were doing to the planet and all its sentient beings. 

Not all markets are for you. And markets don't want to be all things to all people. They pick their niche and stick to it, molding their market. FundsforWriters posts markets that pay ten cents/word or more (six cents or more for scifi/fantasy markets per their professional rate level). Our focus is on payment to the writer. 

What markets don't we post? Markets that don't pay well. Markets that don't pay enough. You get our niche. But we cannot get caught up in who will be disgusted or disenchanted or even angered because we post a market. 

The world is alive and vivid and strong because of how diversified it is. But as altruistic and noble as that sounds, each of us will find some parts of it that don't fit our comfort level and beliefs. The answer is to pass those parts by. Doing so keeps you saner and creates less friction between you and that market attempting to fill a specific need. 

Next time you see a market that grosses you out or rubs you wrong, ignore it. Find the ones that make you happy, tap into your expertise, and compliment your beliefs. You'll write better for them anyway, and we'll all be a lot happier. 

SUPER SPONSOR 

HOPE'S APPEARANCES

 
SUCCESS QUOTE

SUccess Story

Hi Hope,

It seems FundsforWriters is the gift that just keeps giving! I originally saw your lead for stories on kindness with Chicken Soup for the Soul and submitted my story "A Few Kind Words." it was picked up and published in their book Kindness Matters. But, as if that wasn't enough, they are now featuring my story in their podcast!  The title of the podcast appears as Five Ways to Lead a Happy Life of Kindness, Compassion, and Paying it Forward. It will appear live on 11/4 around midnight ET but then will be available indefinitely here . Thank you so much for always being a major support for writers and for your informative and multi-gift-giving newsletter!

Best,

Susan Traugh, M.A. Ed.
Author/Presenter
The Edge of Brilliance, Finch-Books.com; Amazon
Winner: San Diego Book Awards, Purple Dragonfly Award, YA Novel
Transition2Life/Daily Living Skills
Winner: Purple Dragonfly Award Special Needs Awareness
www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Susan-Traugh
www.healthyplace.com/blogs/parentingchildwithmentalillness/
susantraugh.com
[email protected]

---

If you have a success story you believe was prompted by FundsforWriters, please share with us! Send to [email protected] 

 

Featured article

Writing Book Reviews

By C. Hope Clark 

Many book aficionados write reviews. That's great. However, if you are interested in writing reviews for publication or payment, you might consider how to formally write a review. 

In my own search for guidance, I came across this site that actually offers templates to escort you through the process. And another site that has more book review templates in case you need guidance to get started is https://bookriot.com/book-review-templates/ 

But whether you write reviews for Amazon, blogs, magazines or newsletters/ezines, consider getting the formula right. Become known for your reviews and you might wind up as a paid reviewer, or as a minimum have a blog with advertisers knocking on your door.

The University of North Carolina has a great post on this at its Writing Center. Basically, a reviewer gives the reader a concise summary, offers a critical assessment (good and bad), and ends the review with a suggestion as to whether the audience would enjoy the book.

Dru's Book Musings is a fine example of prolific reviewing. She leans toward the cozy mystery but isn't limited by such, and, oh boy, can she cover ground. Not only does she review, but she allows writers to do A Day in the Life posts with first person pieces by their protagonists. I did one once for Carolina Slade. She has a decent amount of traffic on her site, offers regular giveaways, and appears at conferences. In other words, authors know her.

Or you can do reviews awash with humor or sarcasm or dark slaps, creating a "voice" for yourself. Some of NPR's reviews are done in that vein, such as "Christian Grey Began His Fictional Career as a Vampire."

You can become known for book reviews, but like all forms of writing, you have to be a honed writer, diligent, and consistent. It takes time, but you can find a way to take your enjoyment of reading to the book review level. It takes practice, hard work, and a knack for querying - like all writing. But there are still magazines out there that take reviews . . . and pay for them, depending on the genre and reputation of the reviewer. 

Or just do reviews on your own, on your blog and on social media. Build up your following and let authors know you are there for them. You can even use the same review for Goodreads, Kobo, Google, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon, to increase your reach and bragging rights. Then as your reputation grows warn the postal person, because free books will flood your living room!

FINAL NOTE: Of course, if you need practice, you are welcome to do so with a Carolina Slade, Edisto Island Mystery, or Craven County Mystery. 

BIO: C. Hope Clark writes reviews for every book she reads, posting them on Goodreads, Amazon, and her social media. She is founder of FundsforWriters.com and author of 16 mysteries, several award-winning. She’s a big advocate for reviews, and fifteen of her sixteen releases have book reviews in the three figures, with the newest release Badge of Edisto on its way in kind. She expects that one to hit three figures by year’s end. www.chopeclark.com / www.fundsforwriters.com  

 

COmpetitions

GREGORY O'DONOGHUE INTERNATIONAL POETRY COMPETITION
https://munsterlit.ie/odonoghue-competition/
€7 ENTRY FEE. Deadline November 30, 2022. The competition is open to original, unpublished and unbroadcast poems in the English language of 40 lines or fewer. The poem can be on any subject, in any style, by a writer of any nationality, living anywhere in the world. Translated work is not in the scope of this competition. First prize €2,000, featured reading at the Cork International Poetry Festival (with four-night hotel stay and full board), featured on the Southword Poetry Podcast, and publication in Southword. Second prize €500 and publication in Southword. Third prize €250 and publication in Southword. Ten runners-up of €50 and publication in Southword. 

GABRIELE RICO CHALLENGE FOR NONFICTION
https://www.reedmag.org/gabriele-rico-challenge-for-nonfict
$20 ENTRY FEE. Deadline December 2, 2022. Limit 5,000 words. The Gabriele Rico Challenge for Nonfiction recognizes outstanding works of nonfiction, awarding $1,333 to the author of the winning entry. We are looking for creative  nonfiction, such as personal essays and narratives, not scholarly papers or book reviews. All works should be stand-alone essays, not chapters of a longer work. 

BATH CHILDREN’S NOVEL AWARD
https://bathnovelaward.co.uk/childrens-novel-award/
£29 ENTRY FEE. Deadline November 30, 2022. The Bath Children’s Novel Award is a £3,000 international prize for yet to be published and independently published children’s authors. The award is judged by leading children’s literary agents from a shortlist chosen by Junior Judges aged up to seventeen years. The author of the winning manuscript will receive £3,000 and all short-listees win feedback on their full manuscript. One long-listee will win a place worth £1,800 on acclaimed online course Edit Your Novel the Professional Way from award co-sponsors Professional Writing Academy and Cornerstones Literary Consultancy. Submissions are up to the opening 5,000 words plus one page synopsis of novel manuscripts. For picture book submissions we accept up to three books (text only please) per entry fee. Sponsored places available for writers on a low income. 

QUILL PROSE AWARD
https://redhen.org/awards/quill-prose-award/
$10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline November 30, 2022. Prize is $1,000 and book publication by Red Hen Press. Name on cover sheet only; 25,000-word minimum (approximately 150 pages, double spaced, Times New Roman 12pt font); prose (fiction or nonfiction) by a queer writer only.

7 DAY STORY WRITING CHALLENGES
https://www.globesoup.net/7-day-story-writing-challenges
NO ENTRY FEE. Ongoing deadlines. Before a new challenge begins, all those who have registered will be randomly divided into 12 GROUPS. Each group corresponds to a different GENRE. When the challenge begins you will receive an email with your randomly assigned genre and the SECRET CHALLENGE THEME. All participants receive the same theme and must write a short story of no more than 2,000 words, inspired by the theme, written in the genre assigned to them. You have exactly seven days to write and submit your story. Globe Soup will choose 12 finalists, one from each genre and an overall winner. The winner of the challenge will receive £500.

FLASH 500 CONTEST
https://flash500.com/flash-fiction/
£5 ENTRY FEE. Deadline December 31, 2022. First place £300. Second place £200. Third place £100. Limit 500 words. The competition is international. 

STORY UNLIKELY SHORT STORY CONTEST
https://www.storyunlikely.com/#contest
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline December 31, 2022. There are no restrictions on genre: fantasy, sci fi, memoir, fiction/nonfiction, etc - we don't care as long as it's a good story. The story itself cannot exceed 4,500 words. $500 first place, $300 second place, $200 third place. The winning story will be featured on Story Unlikely's website. All three placing stories will be published in the monthly issue, and all three will illustrated by our crackpot team of digital editors.

THE MOTH POETRY PRIZE
https://www.themothmagazine.com/
€15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline December 31, 2022. The prize is open to anyone, as long as the poem is previously unpublished. There is no line limit, and the poems can be on any subject. The shortlist will be announced in March 2023 and the four shortlisted poems will appear in the spring 2023 issue of The Moth. The overall winner of €6,000 will be announced at a special award ceremony at Poetry Ireland in Dublin in the spring of 2023.

BLUE MOUNTAIN ARTS POETRY CONTEST
https://www.sps.com/contest-3
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline December 31, 2022. First prize $350, Second prize $200. Third prize $100. Poems can be rhyming or non-rhyming, although we find that non-rhyming poetry reads better. The winning poems will be displayed on our website.

THE SOCIETY OF CLASSICAL POETS POETRY COMPETITION
https://classicalpoets.org/2022/09/01/the-society-of-classical-poets-2023-poetry-competition/#/
$20 ENTRY FEE. Deadline December 31, 2022. First prize $2,000 and publication on the Society’s website and Journal. One to three poems on any topic. Altogether, the poems should total 108 lines or less. High school prize $200. 

THE PLAZA PRIZES POETRY CONTEST
https://theplazaprizes.com/competition/poetry/
£14 ENTRY FEE. Deadline November 30, 2022. First Prize: £1000. Second Prize: £300. Third Place: £100. The 10 shortlisted entries will be published in The Plaza Prizes Anthology, which will be launched at our inaugural awards ceremony, August 2023. Poems can be in any style or form, but must be in English, and written for adults. Limit 60 lines and 1,500 words. Entries must NOT have been published traditionally because we will publish the 10 shortlisted in our inaugural anthology. Self-published poems ARE eligible for entry. In 2022-2023, we are offering 50 FREE ENTRY BURSARIES across all our competitions to poets on low incomes, and from underrepresented groups. You can apply for a bursary if low income, class, race, age, gender, sexuality, caring responsibilities, location, disability, or mental and physical health affects your writing.
 

GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS / CROWDFUNDING

 

GREATER PITTSBURGH ARTS COUNCIL CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR GRANTS
https://www.pittsburghartscouncil.org/grants/creative-entrepreneur-accelerator
Deadline December 15, 2022. The Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator grant program provides creative entrepreneurs with small business consulting and up to $2,000 in critical financial resources to grow businesses and revenue. Fifty-one percent of the funds available for distribution in this program will be reserved for Black, indigenous, or persons of color (BIPOC), or individuals residing in communities identified by the Small Business Administration’s low-income communities map. The Arts Council is administering this grant on behalf of the PA Council on the Arts for Allegheny, Beaver, Greene, and Washington counties.

VELVETPARK WRITERS RESIDENCY
https://velvetparkmedia.com/writers-residency-2023/
Deadline November 11, 2022. The studio is located in Crown Heights in Brooklyn. Velvetpark’s Residency is open to anyone identifying as LGBTQ+. While Vp has been historically dedicated to queer women, lesbians, and those identifying as women, our residency is open to anyone on the spectrum of queer, gay male, bisexual, lesbian, non-binary, and transgender—male or female. Writers in any creative genre are invited to apply, fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, etc. The residency is for a six-month term. You will have to find and provide for your own living accommodations. 

NEBRASKA ARTS COUNCIL ARTIST ROSTER
https://www.artscouncil.nebraska.gov/artist-roster/join/
Nebraska Arts Council's Artist Roster helps nonprofit organizations and schools bring accomplished artists and performers into communities, giving people the chance to enjoy art to which they may not otherwise have access while ensuring artists get paid for their work. The roster is split between the Artists in Schools and Communities (AiS/C) program and the Nebraska Touring Program (NTP). Teaching artists in Nebraska and contiguous states may apply for the AiS/C Artist Roster. AiS/C artists may conduct programs in schools, non-profits, or other community settings. Programs may also target adult groups, engaging participants through lifelong learning and creative activities. The Nebraska Touring Program (NTP)/Exhibits Nebraska is designed to showcase artists residing in Nebraska, who provide a variety of high-quality touring performances and exhibits in various price ranges to all Nebraska communities throughout the year. It provides financial assistance to Nebraska's non-profit sponsors as well as promotes resident Nebraska artists and groups with a record of professional achievement.

SARATOGA ARTS EDUCATION GRANTS
https://www.saratoga-arts.org/resources/Documents/Grants/2023%20Arts%20Education%20Grants%20Guidelines.pdf
Deadline November 15, 2022. Invites applications for its arts education grants, which will provide grants of up to $5,000 to support arts education projects in public preK-12 schools and community-based arts education projects in Fulton, Montgomery, and Saratoga Counties. Individual artists need to connect with organizations/schools that can provide these services. Letters of intent are due November 15, 2022, and upon review, selected applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal by December 15, 2022.
  

FREELANCE MARKETS / JOBS

THE ROBORA MAGAZINE
https://therobora.com/
Interested in first-person stories, new trends / innovations and frankly anything not being covered elsewhere in terms of business, freelancing and women. Opinion pieces based on new research welcome. too. Rates is £200 for 800 words. Email Annie Ridout, Founder, at [email protected]

THE VINYL FACTORY
https://thevinylfactory.com/
Looking for pitches at The Vinyl Factory for features, columns and all things related to vinyl culture, vinyl releases and more. Rate is 40p per word. It's an ongoing call out, no deadline. This is open internationally. Pitch Kelly Doherty, Editorial Lead, at [email protected].

CLARKESWORLD MAGAZINE
https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/submissions/#nonfiction
Clarkesworld Magazine is looking for nonfiction articles of interest to readers of science fiction and fantasy. We are looking for a wide range of types of article including, but not limited to: discussions of the genre publishing business, essays on the writing process and the reading experience, scientific material that might be of use in SF stories, and so on. We pay 10¢ a word up to our word limit of 2,500 words.

BETTER LIFE LAB
https://www.newamerica.org/better-life-lab/
The Better Life Lab is seeking pitches from journalists / artists looking to tell more of the child care story. We pay for stories and will help with placement. The Better Life Lab will pay reporters and writers and work with you to place the story in an ideal publication. Please send pitches to Rebecca Gale at [email protected] or Brigid Schulte at [email protected]. Pitches will be considered and stories commissioned on a rolling basis through spring of 2023, with a payment of between $500 to $1,000 per piece.

THE GOOD TRADE
https://www.thegoodtrade.com/
The Good Trade is the premier online destination for sustainable lifestyle content. Subject matter experts are needed in health, sexuality and gender, and sustainability and climate. If you have a professional or editorial background in those subjects, email [email protected] with “SME” in the subject line. Include previously published work and a three to four-sentence overview of a pitch. Pay roughly $200. 

ANDSCAPE
https://andscape.com/
Andscape is a Black-led media platform dedicated to creating, highlighting, and uplifting the diverse stories of Black identity. Magnified by the power and reach of The Walt Disney Co., the Andscape umbrella includes an editorial division, book publishing arm, film and television division, and music publishing group. Pitch John Gotty, Senior Culture Editor at [email protected]. Wants thoughtful, engaging food stories that matter. Rates start at $500+ depending on reporting.

CHICKEN SOUP: GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
http://www.chickensoup.com
Tell us your own stories about what you did to get out of your comfort zone and how that changed your life. Limit 1,200 words. First person only. Pays $200 and ten copies. 


 

Publishers/agents

CIDER MILL PRESS
https://www.cidermillpress.com/pages/submissions
We do not accept original fiction at this time. Cider Mill Press is an independent publisher of high-quality cookbooks, elegant wine and spirits projects, humorous parodies, classic children's books, and more. Along with our children’s imprint, Applesauce Press, we combine top-notch design, unique formats, and fresh content to create truly innovative gift books.

BLACKWATER PRESS
https://www.blackwaterpress.com/general-submissions/
We seek fiction, nonfiction, essay, short story collection, novella and memoir manuscripts that are unique, compelling, and well-written. Both agented and non-agented manuscripts receive full consideration. We do not accept erotica or genre fiction. For book-length titles we prefer manuscripts to be over 30,000 words. For short story collections, we ask you to ensure that the majority of the work is unpublished. 

THE INNOVATION PRESS
https://www.theinnovationpress.com/submissions
At this time, we are only interested in submissions that appeal primarily to a PreK-5th grade audience.  Your presentation of the material should be creative and engaging.  We are particularly interested in hybrid texts that blend fiction elements with nonfiction elements, though we also welcome traditional fiction and nonfiction submissions.  We love books that make us laugh and we get excited when we see a presentation/approach or subject we have not seen before.

STONE PIER PRESS
https://stonepierpress.org/submissions
We're looking for good books about good food. Books that inspire support for climate-friendly, agriculturally sustainable, and good-for-us eating. We tilt toward stories that feature solutions and problem-solvers. Our focus is on helping people make sounder choices around the way we grow, eat, and dispose of food. We are accepting books in the following categories: narrative nonfiction, memoirs, guidebooks, biographies, young adult fiction, and literary fiction. We will consider cookbooks as well. We are no longer accepting children’s books.

WISDOM TALES
http://wisdomtalespress.com/about_us.shtml
Wisdom Tales is the name of the children’s book imprint of the award-winning publishing house, World Wisdom. Wisdom Tales publishes both children’s and teen titles and was created for the purpose of sharing the wisdom, beauty, and values of traditional cultures and peoples from around the world with young readers and their families. The content, illustrations, and production quality of these books is intended to assure them a lasting value for children, parents, teachers, and librarians.


 

FUNDSFORWRITERS CONTACT INFO

FINE PRINT

Please forward the newsletter in its entirety. To reprint any editorials, contact [email protected] for permission. Please do not assume that acknowledgements listed in your publication is considered a valid right to publish.

C. Hope Clark
E-mail: [email protected]
140-A Amicks Ferry Road #4
Chapin, SC 29036
http://www.fundsforwriters.com

Copyright 2000-2022, C. Hope Clark
ISSN: 1533-1326

**Note that FundsforWriters.com places paid advertising in this newsletter, ALL ads being related to writers and the business of writing, screened by FundsforWriters to make sure the information is suitable for writers and their endeavors to improve their careers. But the mailing list is not sold to third parties. You will not receive this newsletter without your permission. It's physically impossible since recipients must opt-in, giving us permission to send the newsletter. If at any time you no longer wish to receive the newsletter, click the UNSUBSCRIBE link at the bottom of each newsletter. We want you to enjoy this newsletter at your pleasure, not be forced to read anything you do not wish to receive. The website is not advertised using unsolicited messages by Aweber, affiliates or other third parties. Direct any complaints, suggestions, and accolades to Hope Clark at [email protected]. We are an anti-spam site.