SPONSOR OF THE WEEK

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WHOSE PRIORITIES DO YOU USE?

The world abounds with how-to advice, mainly because people aren't comfortable in formulating their own. Their own isn't tried and tested, but someone else's has at least been put through a level of challenge and proven its worth.

Also, it's a bit less concerning to use what worked for someone else. And it sort of lets us off the hook in terms of placing blame when it doesn't work.

Very few of us are willing to step out alone. Few of us are willing to be daring.

As a writer, you might want to use proven tax software, a reputable website designer, or a choice cover designer. . . because you don't have those skills. I can't build furniture, so I buy it. I can't build a car, so I buy one. Those examples might be over the top, but you get the idea.

But your best work, the work you can become known for, is work that is completely yours. It's work where you've set your own priorities and struck out on your path, finding your way, adjusting as you deemed necessary. 

Because someone else did well with their priorities and ideas, doesn't mean you can copy them and do the same. You might do okay. You might make a couple dollars. But they did it their own way. 

It's so easy to take advice to avoid coming up with your own daring-do and take the risk of success or failure. But who knows? Your idea might be phenomenal. Your failure might be even more phenomenal, teaching you how to be even better.  

The most successful follow no one. . . their failures having made them all the smarter.















Due to popular request, you'll find autographed versions of The Edisto Island Mysteries at my website, or through the online store.

 

SUPER SPONSOR WORTH NOTING

From HOPE:

You probably wonder if I stand behind any of my advertisers on FundsforWriters. Some are new, others long-time tested. Then there are those like Gabriela who handle DIY-MFA. I've heard nothing but good about her. . . and her work, and I've known of her and her work for several years now. Then after my last advertisement forf DIY-MFA, I received this email. . . on Feb 26, 2020, in case you were wondering how recent. Did my heart good to see how much of an impact Gabriela had on this writer's life.

Hi Hope, 

I tried this course last year.  Gabriela delivered ALL she promised and more. I've participated in a couple of workshops and one writers conference since finishing DIYMFA and favorably compare her workbooks and lectures every time. The course helped me tone and focus non-fiction as well with advice and suggestions for story, plot and characterization. Yes, effective in standard journalism and training materials too. I even found great value for family history work. Gabriela's course is so much better than others I've paid good money for and certainly some academic programs.  She also managed to expunge any socio-political bias from her course material and delivery. As a conservative and military veteran, I appreciate that clarity. It really is most unfortunate but understandable that DIYMFA doesn't get due recognition from university or large conference programs. No one likes superior competition.  I think it's fantastic that you are promoting her work. 

Marie Shadden


 

Get unstuck with DIY MFA!

Doors are now open for Gabriela Pereira’s DIY MFA 101 program.

This course takes the traditional 2-year MFA and compresses it down to ten weeks—and at a fraction of the cost! It focuses on the same things you would learn in a real MFA but empowers you to create that learning experience in your own life.

While no class or degree can guarantee that you’ll get published, improving your skills and writing a beautiful story will greatly improve your odds. This course can help you do just that, and if you sign up now, you’ll receive an incredible bonus!

Sign up before 11:59pm ET on Friday, February 28 and you’ll get a special bonus group critique call from Gabriela. This is not a normal critique. Gabriela has the ability to look at a small sample of your writing and see the overarching patterns. She’ll give you personalized feedback that will take your writing to the next level and help you understand and overcome obstacles across your entire body of work.

This bonus call is an amazing addition to everything that DIY MFA 101 already has to offer. Don’t miss it—sign up before Friday, February 28th at 11:59pm ET to make sure that you get this special bonus.

Doors close Friday, March 6th at 11:59pm ET—for Gabriela Pereira’s DIY MFA 101 program.

HOPE'S APPEARANCES

 
SUCCESS QUOTE

SUccess Story

Send us your success story, telling us how FundsforWriters made a difference, opened a door, helped you get someplace you wanted to be. 

Email [email protected] 


 

Featured article

How to Interview Someone 

By Dan Brotzel

Whether it's for a post on your blog, or a conversation with an expert you need to write up for a content client, here’s how to get an interview written up with speed and impact…

Don’t do an interview! 

We’re not talking hard-hitting news here. We’re talking about a conversation between two people with mutually agreed goals. Actual interviews are very time-consuming all round, so if both parties are happy to find a quicker way, go for it. 

Write the interview for them

What you can do instead is email the subject some questions they can answer with a few bullets, which you then work up. Or you might even agree to just write up the article in interview format and get the subject to review afterward. Content writers frequently ‘ghost-scribe’ for their clients like this, especially if they work together regularly.

Send questions in advance

If you do need to do an interview, always send over some questions in advance detailing points to cover. This will help the subject to organise their thoughts and make for a more efficient exchange. 

Record the conversation 

Recording the interview allows you to focus on the conversation rather than type furiously and will save time as you can get it transcribed automatically. In person, you could use a Dictaphone or a simple smartphone app. On the phone, there are various platforms and tools that allow you to record, though it’s important to check out technicalities and costs beforehand. At work, I’ve used Zoom and Powwownow, which, while very good, are not free. The Google Voice app can record incoming calls and turn them into transcripts too. There are lots of other tools and apps which can transcribe for you.   If you do a lot of this, you might consider paying a small monthly fee, as we’ve found paid ones tend to be better. 

Check how long you have 

Recorder working? Good. Now check how long you have. The shorter, the better – knowing you both only have 25 minutes will actually help you both get the priority messages out. An hour of interview might generate 5,000 words of transcript, most of which you won’t be able to use. 

Ask open questions 

To get fuller answers, ask open questions, which – unlike closed questions – cannot simply be answered with a Yes or No. So, don’t ask, ‘I bet this was a really challenging book to write?’ Ask ‘What was the toughest thing about writing this book?’ (If need be, follow up with ‘Why?’) Don’t worry that you know half the answers already: you are asking for your readers, and you want the subject to explain things in their own words. 

Pretend to be ignorant 

Sometimes, you may interview a client who does something very technical, and you barely understand what they do. Don’t be afraid to frame some very basic questions, e.g. ‘Just for the benefit of people who are new to this area, can you just summarise for us how cloud-based logistics works?’ 

Couch objections with care 

If you need to ask a difficult question, frame it as if you’re asking for someone else. For example: ‘What would you say to people who argue that it’s not appropriate for someone who doesn’t have ASD to write about this?’  

Read the transcript ruthlessly 

Once you have turned your audio file into a transcript, go through it fast and delete all the obvious filler. If you are simply doing a linear Q&A, you can start editing down from here, but if you need to shape your interview at all, with some narrative and additional material, print the transcript off and read the whole way through, highlighting sections you can use and looking for connections. Then, when you come to write, don’t slavishly follow the transcript from start to finish – just dip into and quote from it as needed. 

BIO: Dan Brotzel (@brotzel_fiction) is author of a collection of short stories, Hotel du Jack, and co-author of a new comic novel about an eccentric writers’ group, Kitten on a Fatberg (Unbound). For 10% off your order, quote KITTEN10





 

COmpetitions

YEOVIL LITERARY PRIZE
https://www.yeovilprize.co.uk/
£5-12 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 31, 2020. Five categories: novel (15,000 words max.), short story (limit 2,000 words), poetry (maximum 40 lines), writing without restrictions (see general rules), West Gazette Best Local Writing Award. Prizes range from £50 to £1,000 with first, second, and third place prizes given in the first four categories. One £100 award in the fifth category. 



FIRST NOVEL PRIZE
http://www.firstnovel.co.uk/
£25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 31, 2020. The First Novel Prize aims to discover a powerful new voice in fiction writing, across the English language world. If your novel is over 50,000 words and of an adult genre, then we would love to read it. First prize £1,000. Second prize £250. Third prize £100. Have you written a novel that is self-published or is yet to be published? Then this is the competition for you. Open to the English-speaking world.



THE NON/FICTION COLLECTION PRIZE
http://thejournalmag.org/book-prizes/prose-prize
$23 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 15, 2020. The Non/Fiction Collection Prize is awarded annually to a book-length collection of short stories, essays, or a combination of the two. The prize carries a cash award of $1,500 and publication with The Ohio State University Press under its standard contract. The award is open to writers of fiction and creative nonfiction, whether or not they have previously published a book. Manuscripts may be no fewer than 150 and no more than 350 typed double-spaced pages, 12-point font. 



TOR HOUSE POETRY PRIZE
http://www.torhouse.org/prize
$10 FOR THREE POEMS. Deadline March 14, 2020. Pays $1,000 for an original, unpublished poem not to exceed three pages. Pays $200 for honorable mention awards. Open to poetry of all styles. No longer than three pages. 



FOURTH GENRE ESSAY PRIZE
https://fourthgenre.submittable.com/submit/156529/fourth-genre-steinberg-essay-contest-2020
$20 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 15, 2020. Limit 6,000 words. We want essays that make the common uncommon—that’s not about the thing that it’s actually about. You know, the essay about your shoelace that’s not really about your shoelace. We want to read more of the nonfiction essays that reflect the intersections of race, ethnicity, culture, class, identity, gender, sexuality, diasporas, borderlands … that are cultural, lyrical, experimental, personal, environmental, self-interrogative, meditative, and reflective, as well as expository, analytical, exploratory, or whimsical. Although we can’t publish in color, we’re interested in essays with visual elements—graphic essays, blackout essays, and so on. 



ELUDIA AWARD
https://hiddenriverartssubmissions.submittable.com/submit
$20 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 15, 2020. This is a "first book" award for an unpublished book-length work of fiction - novel, short stories, novel-in-stories, no length limit, by a woman writer, age 40 or older. Include a synopsis of the entire book, an outline, and the complete manuscript, in that order. Winning manuscript receives $1,000 and publication on the Sowilo Press imprint of Hidden River Publishing. 



WILLIAM VAN WERT SHORT STORY OR NOVEL EXCERPT AWARD
https://hiddenriverartssubmissions.submittable.com/submit
$17 ENTRY FEE. Deadline June 30, 2020. Prize is $1,000. Any previously unpublished short story or novel excerpt of 25 pages or less. All novel excerpts must include a synopsis and outline of the whole novel and an explanation of where the submitted portion fits into the overall structure of the work.



JAMES JONES FIRST NOVEL FELLOWSHIP
https://wilkes.edu/academics/graduate-programs/masters-programs/creative-writing-ma-mfa/james-jones-fellowship-contest.aspx
$30 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 15, 2020. The award is intended to honor the spirit of unblinking honesty, determination, and insight into cultural and social issues exemplified by the late James Jones, author of From Here to Eternity and other prose narratives of distinction. A $10,000 award with two runners-up awards of $1,000 each. Entrants have to be unpublished in novel form and must be US citizens. A two-page (maximum) outline or synopsis of the entire novel and the first 50 pages of the novel-in-progress are to be submitted. 



TOMAZ SALAMUN PRIZE
https://verse.submittable.com/submit
$16 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 15, 2020. The Tomaž Šalamun Prize is open to poets at any stage of their career. Previous publication is neither a requirement nor a restriction. The winning chapbook will be published by Factory Hollow Press in Amherst, MA. A second chapbook will be selected by the editors for publication by Factory Hollow. The prize winner will receive $500, ten free copies of their chapbook, and a free one-month residency at the Tomaž Šalamun Centre for Poetry in Ljubljana, Slovenia. If a translation wins the prize, the translator will receive $500, ten copies of the chapbook, and the residency. 



42 MILES PRESS POETRY AWARD
https://42milespress.com/contest/
$25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline March 15, 2020. The prize is offered annually to any poet writing in English, including poets who have never published a full-length book as well as poets who have published several. Manuscripts submitted for the 42 Miles Press Poetry Award should exhibit an awareness of the contemporary “voice” in American poetry, an awareness of our moment in time as poets. The winning poet will receive $1,000, publication of his or her book, and 50 author copies. The winner will also be invited to give a reading at Indiana University South Bend as part of the release of the book.
 

GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS / CROWDFUNDING

RHODE ISLAND STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS INDIVIDUAL GRANTS
https://risca.online/grants/project-grants-for-individuals/
Deadline April 1, 2020. Project Grants for Individuals (PGI) provides $500-$3,000 grants to artist-instigated and organized arts projects with a strong public component. Through PGI, RISCA supports highly creative and talented artists who seek to create, produce, perform, teach, or share their work with the public. You must be a United States citizen or Green Card holder and a current, legal resident of the State of Rhode Island.



RHODE ISLAND ARTIST FELLOWSHIPS
https://risca.online/grants/artist-fellowships/
Deadline April 1, 2020. 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. 



DAISY PETTLES WRITING RESIDENCY AWARD - WOMEN 40+ IN AGE
https://daisypettleswritingcontest.com/womens-writing-awards-prizes/
$45 ENTRY FEE. Deadline April 15, 2020. Published or unpublished, all women writers, age 40 or older, are eligible. Applicant will be awarded the month-long residency and a $1,000 prize. First runner-up will receive $250. Second runner-up will receive $100. Residency lasts July 1, 2020 through July 31, 2020. Applicants with FINANCIAL HARDSHIP are encouraged to apply for a full or partial fee waiver. Includes a full month’s rent-and-utility-free-residency in the furnished Daisy Pettles Writer’s House, a vintage 1920s arts and crafts bungalow in historic Bedford, Indiana, just south of Bloomington, Indiana. 



ANDREWS FOREST WRITING RESIDENCY
https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/centers-and-initiatives/spring-creek-project/programs-and-residencies/hj-andrews-experimental-forest/long-term-ecological-reflections-writers-residence
Deadline May 1, 2020. Creative writers whose work reflects a keen awareness of the natural world and an appreciation for both scientific and literary ways of knowing are invited to apply for the Andrews Forest Writers Residency. The resident writers live at the Andrews Forest for one to two weeks, interact with the scientists, explore the forest, and write. Writers are encouraged to visit designated study sites for reflecting on and writing about the forest and their relation to it. These writings, which will form a collection spanning hundreds of years, will be gathered in permanent archives at Oregon State University. Free facilities and a $250 stipend.



BANDELIER ARTIST IN RESIDENCY PROGRAM
https://www.nps.gov/band/air.htm
Deadline March 31, 2020. The Artist-in-Residence program at Bandelier National Monument offers professional writers, composers, and visual and performing artists the opportunity to pursue their artistic discipline in the park’s inspiring and stimulating environment. Selected artists stay in an historic, Pueblo-style furnished residential facility for two to four weeks during the period from September 1 through mid-December 2020. No application fee is required, and no stipend is provided. In return for the opportunity, the artist agrees to contribute to Bandelier’s mission through public programs while pursuing their own artistic growth. Location Los Alamos, NM.



CRAIGARDAN RESIDENCY
http://www.craigardan.org/writers-residency/
The Writer's Residency is a year-round opportunity for writers to fully immerse themselves in an exquisite retreat environment conducive to working with no distraction. Writers live in a shared house. Housemates may include other writers, researchers, visual artists, culinary artists, or agriculturalists. In the summer, the writer-in-residence has solo access to their secluded cabin tucked in the trees from which to work. The (highly subsidized) residency fee is $250 per week or $1,000 per month ($33/day). The Creative Writing Fellowship is awarded to two artists each year - one Summer and one Winter residency. Interested writers may submit an application by March 1st for a Summer session (between June 1 and October 1) or by August 1st for a Winter session (between November 1 and May 1).  Fellows will be selected based on merit by a jury of professional writers. The Fellowship fully covers all residency fees for a residency of up to one month.  



FOGO ISLAND RESIDENCY
https://www.fogoislandarts.ca/programs/residencies/
The next application cycle will take place in Spring 2020, for residencies occurring in 2021-2022. Fogo Island Arts is a residency-based contemporary art venue for artists, filmmakers, writers, musicians, curators, designers, and thinkers from around the world. Location Fogo Island, NL, Canada. Provides opportunities for artists from a wide range of disciplines to live and work on Fogo Island for periods ranging from one to three months. Artists-in-residence are provided with accommodation and studio space, as well as a weekly stipend to offset the costs of materials, shipping, and day-to-day living expenses. Most travel expenses are also covered. Artists-in-residence must give one public presentation, performance, workshop, or lead a similar event during their residency.


 

FREELANCE MARKETS

CHICKEN SOUP: AGE IS JUST A NUMBER
http://www.chickensoup.com
Deadline May 31, 2020. So, you're a certain age now, and you're ready for what's next. You might be enjoying an empty nest, or starting a second career, or winding down a first one. You might be downsizing, or traveling, or caring for elderly parents. You might be going on the adventure of a lifetime or taking long walks in the woods. The one thing you know for sure is that you're not ready to stop living! You feel energetic and young and there is still so much more to see and do and give and enjoy. We are looking for stories about the humorous or serious sides of life after 60. Pays $200 and ten copies for up to 1,200 words. 



CHICKEN SOUP: STORIES OF DIVINE INTERVENTION
http://www.chickensoup.com
Deadline August 31, 2020. Miracles are all around us if we're open to them. Sometimes we just can't explain how good things came about. Are they celestial, otherworldly, heavenly? However they happened, these events give us peace and comfort, guidance, hope, and faith. These true stories can be religious or non-religious. We just want them to make people say "wow" — stories that will give our readers chills, in a good way! Pays $200 and ten copies for up to 1,200 words. 

 

Publishers/agents

LITTLE CURFEW PRESS
http://littlecurlewpress.com/submissions/
The range of literature we admire is varied. But what we seek most is something we haven’t seen before. We want beautiful. We want poetic. We want subtle. We want your fearless longshot of words on the page. We want works with a strong ecological undercurrent. Chances for acceptance, however, increase for certain literary undercurrents and subjects.



713 BOOKS
https://713books.submittable.com/submit
We are only looking for writers who have not yet published a book of literary fiction. We're especially looking for female and LGBTQ voices. We're looking for novels and story collections between 45,000 and 100,000 words. 



AGATE PUBLISHING
https://www.agatepublishing.com/blog/how-to-submit-a-project-to-agate
Agate is considering submissions in the general areas of fiction and nonfiction (including works for young readers) by African American writers, for its Bolden imprint; food, cooking, and nutrition-related nonfiction, for its Surrey imprint; business-interest nonfiction, for its B2 imprint; and nonfiction books on Midwestern topics or by Midwestern authors, for its Midway imprint. 



ANANKE PRESS
http://anankepress.com/about-ananke-press/submissions/
Submission period for 2020 opens in the early summer. We are drawn to what is broadly defined as speculative fiction: fantasy, science fiction, slipstream, and weird, including magical realism. We are always interested in unlikely protagonists, undiscovered territories, and unfamiliar voices — as long as the story is masterfully told. We’re publishing novels, either standalone or as part of a series, and are also open to short works such as novellas or collections of short stories. We are not looking for poetry, nonfiction, or graphic novels at this time.



APRIL GLOAMING PRESS
http://aprilgloaming.com/submissions.html
April Gloaming Publishing is a Nashville-based independent press that aims to capture and better understand the Southern soul, Southern writing, and the Southern holler. Southern authors are steeped in the grotesque, nourished, and entranced by the land, are constantly cultivating and questioning their way to a truth, in hopes to better understand themselves and the land that bore them. April Gloaming celebrates the genre-benders, those rare works that bring the old and the new together into something entirely transcendent. 



ARDENT WRITER PRESS
http://ardentwriterpress.com/submissions-page/
We are seeking fiction and nonfiction writers. If you are an author looking for an Alabama publisher, then consider what we offer. We seek to specialize in an author-friendly business relationship in hopes of reaching writers with an intelligent and imaginative story to tell readers.



ATELIER26 BOOKS
http://www.atelier26books.com/about-us.html
Atelier26 is an independent publisher in Portland, Oregon, that exists to demonstrate the powers and possibilities of literature through beautifully designed and expressive books that get people listening, talking, and exchanging ideas. Please send us work that displays a sensitivity to the nuance, power, and infinite potential of language; writing that demonstrates on every page the author's awareness of good craft while being unafraid to depart from the conventions of the classroom and the status quo of the publishing industry; writing that glimmers and surprises at both the level of its lines and in its larger vision.



AUBADE PUBLISHING
http://www.aubadepublishing.com/submit-manuscripts
We are looking to publish manuscripts of the Fantasy genre. We are also looking to publish novels of the Gothic genre. They can be set in modern times, or in the past, provided they are Gothic in style. Aubades, songs written about love at daybreak, originated in France during the Middle Ages. True to our name, Historical or realist fiction (especially pertaining to the medieval period) will also be accepted. We are also looking to publish collections of poetry. All styles are accepted: anything from epics to sonnets, satirical or sincere, structured, or free verse, we’ll consider it.



BELLE LUTTE PRESS
http://bellelutte.com/submit/
Belle Lutte Press currently welcomes unsolicited fiction manuscripts. Belle Lutte Press strives to fight the Good Fight and is hell-bent on publishing original, high-quality fiction novels and novellas. Location Louisiana. 
 

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

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ISSN: 1533-1326

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