TOP SPONSOR 

"In an endless sea of books of essays on writing,
WORDS comes across fresher and more genuine than the rest."
– C. Hope Clark, author of the Edisto Island Mysteries and Carolina Slade Mystery series
 
"Readers of this writing memoir will quickly realize they've found a marvelous handbook
on how to create a life with meaningful words."
– Heather Villa, freelance writer
 
"I thought I would read this book faster, but found myself savoring McCann's words,
and her well-chosen quotes. She included helpful writing resources in the back,
which means I will keep this book on my shelf."
– Katrina Shawver, author of 
Henry: A Polish Swimmer's True Story of Friendship from Auschwitz to America
 
Available everywhere in print and ebook. Coming soon to Audible.
Learn more at www.JessicaMcCann.com

 

WHAT'S COMFORTABLE

Isn't that what we are trying to find right now? Everything tangible is off-limits, so what the heck are we supposed to do with all this mental activity? 

Truth is, before COVID we were accustomed to doing instead of thinking. We moved from task to task, obligation to obligation without thinking about how it contributed to the bigger picture of our lives. So, now we are hunting for what to do to take up our minutes, hours, days.

Ever thought about how much time you wasted before? Have you learned a better sense of what is most important?

Nobody can come into my house so, guess what? The floor needs cleaning in a BIG way. I mean, you can write your name on my hardwood floors and piano bench. However, I needed a sense of nature to keep my spirits up and enjoy the day, so I've planted my spring garden, edged, weeded, and kept my sanity. Creatively I've written, edited, and turned in a manuscript. Do you know how fulfilling that feels. . . in lieu of vacuuming my floor?

Also, we are trying to connect with people for a change instead of avoiding them. We have learned who matters. We have learned to enjoy the simplicity of life. . . laughs and jokes, cooking, walking, crafts. We've taken what we could find and gotten creative. 

Why didn't we do this before? We were caught up in a whirlwind of DOING instead of LIVING. Plus, it's easier to follow what others are telling us to do. It's less tasking to go with the flow. Alone, with fewer options, we are doing more thinking for ourselves. For some, it's fearful. For others, it's liberating. 

Don't wait until you are forced to make a change. Right now, in the midst of this paradigm change of the entire world, we are open to new ways, new thoughts, new feelings, and fresh self-exploration. And there's less judgment because everyone is faced with the same odds and options. 

You can comfortably take the lead. You can comfortably decide what's best for you, and actually do it. Now you can be creative. . . not be reactive. Now you can be you. 

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Featured article

Backing into Publications

By Rachel Carrington

Freelance writers have to be motivated to reach for the brass ring. To some of us, that means publishing in a major magazine or national newspaper, a difficult achievement even with a substantial number of clips. A plethora of authors vie for the top spots, and once they’re in, they hold onto them. Fortunately, there is a back door to many of the major publications that offers a way to at least get your foot on the bottom rung of the ladder.

Vox, The New York Times, Writer's Digest, The Writer's Chronicle, Good Housekeeping, and even The Boston Globe offer opportunities for writers to submit low word count essays or blog posts about personal experiences, your writing journey, and even career advice. 

Writer's Digest looks for 600-word essays for their 5 Minute Memoir about the writing life, and the payment is $300. The guidelines are specific, including the email subject line, so be sure to read them before you submit! 

It can be difficult to pry open the door to Vox, as it’s one of the premier websites for explaining the news. Fortunately, they are looking for first-person narrative essays. They don’t have a word count listed, but they do provide sample essays that should offer a good go-by roadmap. According to the guidelines, they discuss pay after the piece is accepted. 

If you’re really into puzzles, you might want to consider submitting an essay to The New York Times. Called Solver Stories, these essays should be a personal story that involves relationships or issues in which puzzles are interwoven. The word count is 800-1,200, and the payment is $200. Having just signed the contract for publication of my story, I can tell you that the time from submission to acceptance was less than one month. 

Everyone has heard of Good Housekeeping magazine. It’s a big feather in the cap to get a piece published in its glossy pages. You might not be able to be on the front page of the magazine at first, but you can get your start by submitting a 500-word essay to their Blessings column which runs on the back page or, if you’ve overcome a significant medical problem, you could submit a health narrative. 

The Boston Globe also offers writers two ways to get a start with the magazine. Its Perspective column runs 800-word opinionated pieces on timely local news topics, and Connections looks for 650-word first-person essays on relationships of any kind. They do offer payment, but the guidelines stipulate that fees vary depending upon the column and the story length. 

Established writers who want to see their byline in The Writer's Chronicle could shoot for a blog post in The Writer's Notebook first, which has a lower word count of at least 1,000 words. If you’re offering career advice, the pay is $18 per 100 words. Other pieces are paid at $100 per post. 



While the turnaround times for many of these can be lengthy, your patience could be rewarded with a byline in a nationally recognized newspaper, magazine, or website. Not only will publication considerably boost your CV, but you will have the opportunity to establish a relationship with the editor that accepted your piece. Then you’re one step closer to the front pages.   

BIO - Rachel Carrington has been writing for over 35 years and has been published in both nonfiction and fiction. She also teaches fiction writing classes for Women on Writing. Find her on the web at www.rachelcarrington.com. 
 

COmpetitions

BACOPA LITERARY REVIEW
https://writersallianceofgainesville.submittable.com/submit
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 31, 2020. First prize $300. Second prize $100. Prizes offered in each category of creative nonfiction (up to 2,500 words), fiction (1,000-3,000 words), poetry, short-short (up to 750 words), and humor (up to 1,500 words). Submit to one genre only. 



FLASHPOCALYPSE FLASH FICTION CONTEST
https://themolotovcocktail.com/flashpocalypse/
$8 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 4, 2020. Your entry must include an apocalyptic or dystopian element of some kind. But that comes with one important caveat: no viruses or pandemics! $300 for Flashpocalypse winner. $150 for second place. $75 for third place. All submissions must absolutely be under 1,000 words, and we tend to look more kindly on 750 or fewer.



AUBURN WITNESS POETRY PRIZE
http://www.southernhumanitiesreview.com/auburn-witness-poetry-prize.html
$15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 2, 2020. A prize of $1,000 and publication in Southern Humanities Review is given annually for a poem of witness in honor of the late poet Jake Adam York. The winner also receives travel expenses to give a reading at a poetry event at Auburn University in Alabama in October with the contest judge. Every entrant will receive a copy of SHR featuring the prize-winning poems. Each entrant may submit up to three poems of witness.



INKITT THRILL SEEKER CONTEST
https://www.inkitt.com/thriller-writing-contest
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 31, 2020. First place: $500, an exclusive badge for your book cover and an Inkitt social media feature! Second place: $100, an exclusive second-place book badge and an Inkitt social media feature! Third place: $50 and an exclusive third-place book badge! The minimum word count per submission is 7,500 words. Novels must be in English. Enter your thriller, horror, mystery, scary, crime or any other book with a dark, suspenseful, or thrilling theme. 



NEW VOICE IN POETRY PRIZE
https://culturerecordings.co.uk/projects/new-voice/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 1, 2020. A brand-new competition for emerging spoken word UK poets and performers who are yet to publish a full collection of work. To enter, you will need to upload two recorded audio poems. Poems can be voice-only or voice accompanied by sound/music. The winner will have their work recorded and published alongside a collection of established poets from across the UK, as well as receiving a £250 prize. Open to 18- to 35-year-olds based in the UK.
 

GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS / CROWDFUNDING

HISTORIC JOY KOGAMA HOUSE FELLOWSHIPS
https://www.kogawahouse.com/wp/blog/2020/03/01/call-for-applications/
Deadline April 30, 2020. Writers from out of town or out of country are invited to live at the 1912 heritage house, usually for two-month periods, while creating new work, and often while in residence interact and collaborate with a wide community of writers and readers in Greater Vancouver. We are looking for writers to live and work in the leafy Marpole neighbourhood of South Vancouver, for residencies that take place over the next two years. Most residencies run for two months, although a one-month period is also available on request. Residencies are open to any writer who has published (either professionally or self-published) two manuscripts and who writes on topics or represents a community that reflects and builds upon the legacy of Joy Kogawa as a writer and as a formerly interned Canadian of Japanese heritage.



RAGDALE FELLOWSHIPS
https://ragdale.org/residency/fellowship/
Nearly 200 residencies and fellowships are offered annually to creative professionals of all types, making Ragdale one of the largest interdisciplinary communities in the country. During each residency session, 13 artists-in-residence enjoy uninterrupted time for work, a supportive environment, dynamic arts exchanges, 50 acres of idyllic prairie, and a family-style dinner each evening. 



WRITE ON DOOR COUNTY
http://www.writeondoorcounty.org/
We welcome applications from emerging and established writers in any contemporary literary genre. Location Fish Creek, Wisconsin. Currently, Write On can accommodate one to two writers at a time. Bedrooms are located on the second floor of the house with a shared bath. We encourage applications from pairs of writers as well as solo artists. Residents are responsible for transportation to and from Sheridan and for transporting or shipping personal items, materials, and equipment needed for creative work. Residents also shop and prepare meals and purchase personal items. 



JENTEL ARTS
http://jentelarts.org/eligibility-benefits/
Any visual artist or writer over 25 currently residing in the United States or any U.S. citizen living abroad is eligible. Individuals currently enrolled in an academic institution are ineligible to apply until after they complete their program. Each resident receives a $400 stipend distributed in weekly increments to help defray living and meal preparation expenses during the program.



SIENA ARTS INSTITUTE
https://www.sienaart.org/Residencies/Summer-Residency-Program/Summer-Residency-Description/
The Siena Art Institute’s Summer Residency Program awards accomplished professional artists and writers the opportunity to stay for a month in the beautiful historic city of Siena, in the heart of Tuscany, Italy. The month-long Summer Residency Program grants resident artists a studio space at the Siena Art Institute and a private one-bedroom apartment in the historic city center of Siena, as well as flight compensation for getting to and from Italy. Summer Residents are granted uninterrupted time to pursue their own independent projects, as well as the opportunity to explore the area of Siena and interact with the local community.   



UTAH EMERGENCY COVID-19 FUNDS
https://artsandmuseums.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Utah-Individual-Artist-Emergency-Funds-Guidelines-FINAL.pdf
Dedaline April 28, 2020. The Utah Individual Artist Emergency Funding is a resource dedicated to supporting working artists residing in Utah who have experienced financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Focused on lost income, these one-time relief funds of $500 will be provided to artists for as long as the fund can sustain requests. Funding will be made available for artists practicing in various disciplines including visual, digital, folk/traditional, film, music, performing, literary, craft artists, etc.

 

FREELANCE MARKETS

THE FREELANCER
https://contently.net/2020/04/08/resources/how-to-pitch-the-freelancer/
The Freelancer offers analysis of the creative freelance space and strategies for how individuals can maximize their freelance careers within the world of content marketing. Our audience is comprised of experienced freelance creatives: writers, designers, photographers, videographers, and more. Content can be broadly targeted toward these groups or narrowly focused targeting one subset. Pay for a typical 700-1,000-word story ranges from $300-$350, but could be more or less depending on length, sourcing requirements, and other factors. What we’re looking for now (last updated: April 15, 2020) are stories that help freelancers navigate the coronavirus crisis, professionally and personally. Favorable topics include remote work, productivity, finding work, the economic fallout, emergency assistance, personal essays, financial management during downturns, and more.



THE MASSACHUSETTS REVIEW
https://www.massreview.org/submission-guidelines/general-guidelines
We seek a balance between established writers and promising new ones. We're interested in material of variety and vitality relevant to the intellectual and aesthetic questions of our time. Nonfiction: Articles and essays of breadth and depth are considered, as well as discussions of leading writers; of art, music, and drama; analyses of trends in literature, science, philosophy, and public affairs. Fiction: We consider one short story per submission, a maximum of 30 pages or 8,000 words. Poetry: A poetry submission may consist of up to six poems. There are no restrictions for length, but generally, our poems are less than 100 lines. Translation: Fiction, poems, or essays are accepted. We no longer consider plays or book reviews for publication. At the time of publication, we pay a $100 honorarium for work published in a single issue. Authors also receive two complimentary contributor's copies.



THE BARE LIFE REVIEW
https://www.barelifereview.org/post/announcing-tblr-4-the-climate-issue
Deadline June 1, 2020. The Bare Life Review is now accepting submissions for its fourth print volume, a special climate-themed issue. For this volume of the journal only, we are expanding our eligibility criteria to include non-immigrant artists who have experienced displacement as a result of climate disaster. We now offer $750 for accepted full-length prose pieces and $300 for accepted poems or shorter prose. 

 

Publishers/agents

BLUE MOON
https://bluemoonpublishers.com/write-for-us/
From novels and short story collections to memoirs and guidebooks, we publish a variety of fiction and nonfiction books that will have a meaningful impact on our readers. From women’s fiction to young adult, our core categories and themes include books on history, diversity, music, adventure, nature and environment, caregiving, grief and loss, cooking, and more. We are also interested in Women’s Literary Fiction: books written by women that address real issues in a modern way that is sensitive and thoughtful. 



JO FLETCHER BOOKS
https://www.jofletcherbooks.com/landing-page/jo-fletcher-books/jo-fletcher-books-submissions/
We only accept submissions that can be categorized as Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror. We do not accept short stories or novellas. We do not publish children’s books or YA. We do not accept unfinished manuscripts. We accept manuscripts that have been previously self-published as long as the author is happy to let all rights revert to us on signature of any contract.



AETHON BOOKS
https://www.aethonbooks.com/submissions
At Aethon Books, we’re open to all genre fiction, with a focus on Science Fiction and Fantasy. We don’t care what sub-genre you write in. Hard Sci-fi, Epic Fantasy, Space opera, Military Sci-fi, Alt/History, Time Travel and more, our main concern is story, story, story. We are only looking to publish novel-length work that can either stand alone or is part of a greater series. No novellas or short story collections at this time. 



TARTARUS PRESS
http://www.tartaruspress.com/submissions.html
We are looking for short story collections and novels of between 75,000 and 120,000 words. Subject matter and style: We would like to receive literary strange/supernatural fiction. We are not interested in high fantasy, violent horror, or young adult fiction. If you write within a traditional genre such as vampire or ghost fiction, then please make sure that the more clichéd trappings of your genre are, at best, a very marginal part of your work. Please note: we do not publish teen, children's, or young adult fiction.



PARVUS PRESS
https://parvuspress.com/submissions/
We pay advances on novels of $500 to $1,000. Digital royalties start at 15 percent of sales and escalate up to 50 percent. We pay on time, if not faster, and royalties are paid quarterly. We’re a publisher of Science Fiction and Fantasy. We’re accepting only completed novels (Minimum 60,000 words). Do not query manuscripts on spec. We’re accepting only works that have not been previously published in any form (including self-published).

 

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FINE PRINT

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C. Hope Clark
E-mail: [email protected]
140-A Amicks Ferry Road #4
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Copyright 2000-2020, C. Hope Clark
ISSN: 1533-1326

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