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3 Shifts Women Writers Need to Make: How to Finish Your Nonfiction Book!

Ensure you have the right foundation to support accomplishing this huge goal. 

During this live masterclass you will learn:  

• The importance of identifying your WHY—the vision you have for yourself and the big reason behind writing your book

• How to set manageable, realistic, achievable writing goals for yourself.

• Why you need to protect your schedule and probably don't need as much time to write as you think.

• My philosophy for establishing a holistic approach to getting a book done (hint: it doesn't include hours-long writing sessions or plowing through to get pages written).

Click here to register.

START LOCAL AND WORK OUT

We're stuck at home and sick of Zoom. How do we tell the world we are open for business as commercial or freelance writers or editors? 

We start at home and work out from there. Meaning, we start with who knows us, who lives near us, and who understands where we come from. 

This is an election year. People need copy for websites, social media, speeches, and advertisements. Start with your local school board, mayoral, or town council candidates. Let them know you are a hometown person, and you like what you see. Offer your services. Offer to write something for them, then after that, offer to write for pay. Do a remarkable job for them, and the campaign manager will remember you for other candidates. . . maybe in this, the same election cycle.

There's a lot of virtual learning out there. Offer your school district, schools, or teachers to write whatever they need, of course, knowing the platform from which they will teach. If the district isn't interested, contact homeschooling and online entities. You can discuss potions ranging from writing curriculum to tutoring students in writing and English. With all these hybrid and virtual educational configurations going on, families with working parents need tutors in the worst way. 

Begin with your neighborhood and work out from there. When people know who you are, they trust more readily. And more readily spread the word. "She lives right down the street." "She worked for ABC company on the other side of the bank on St. Andrews Road." For some reason, being able to put flesh and blood to a contract hire matters. Less likely that you are a scam or poor performer because, frankly, you have to continue living in that town.

Same goes for your creative writing, too. A local coffee shop in our tiny town sells dozens of my novels, and what's the first thing someone said when they told someone I could write their coming out speech? "She's our local author. She writes those mysteries in the coffee shop."

SUPER SPONSOR 

Narrator services -
vocal specialty to narrate authors' creativity and put their heart's textual voice into audio

Following are some of the words that I've had the honor of receiving about my voice...

"Kaitlynzq was able to use her voice...to completely captivate me" by C Gonzales with The Indie Express

..."treated to one of the most melodic and soothing voices that I had yet to experience" by Kay with KayBee’s Bookshelf

"...voice that feels like a warm caress...rich, melodic..." by Lynda with Books Direct

"I truly enjoyed...listening to the soft spoken yet powerful narration" by Amy with Bookshelf Reviews

Have your book turned into an audio book...

An audio created as a Retail audio sample to use for your publicity

A book, a poem, multiple books, multiple poems...

for more information & to contact me about your project, please follow this link's pathway

https://www.voices.com/actors/melodicprose


 

HOPE'S APPEARANCES

 
SUCCESS QUOTE

SUccess Story

Hope,

Thank you for responding, I never expected that. I feel like a rock star has gotten back to me!

This COVID stuff is disheartening...and, so, like you I retreat into my writing until an issue flares as can happen on a day-to-day basis. So many issues. 

So, this weekend I went walking and viewed the geese and the ducks. Yesterday my son and I drove 30 miles into the woods to view an amazing waterfall. Nature continues to uplift my spirit. Hang in there, Hope. You have done so much for so many. Without your amazing newsletter I never would have learned of Wild Acres in NC, Highlights Foundation workshops, or many others. Please know you have a devoted fan in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and if you ever get this way, well, we must meet up.

Ann Dallman


Wild Acres in NC

- - - 


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 Run a Short Story Competition 

By Dan Brotzel

Writers love competitions. There’s the creative stimulus of an interesting prompt, the promise of kudos, validation if you do well, and, of course, publication and prizes. 

Running your own competition is fun, too. It can develop your network and author brand, and may lead to other offers of work such as reviewing or webinars. Best of all, anyone can start one, and it’s pretty easy to do. Here are a few pointers.

Goals. 

Competitions are great for building your profile, supporting other writers, and networking. Better to focus on goals like these, rather than money-making or direct sales. 

Partner. 

Your competition will need the oxygen of publicity and the reach of a ready audience, so look to your network for a partner with a mutual interest. A publisher or magazine might offer some goodies, as well as the all-important reward of publication. If you have a blog or a website that could publish the winning stories, well and good, but the bigger the platform, the better.

Judges. 

You may choose to be the judge of the competition, especially if tying it in with a new book of yours, but a panel of two or three judges, especially if they have some kudos, will add more appeal. With a high-profile judge, it’s common for them to select only from a shortlist.

Prizes. 

Some contests just offer publication. A free consultation with a literary agent or editor is always a strong draw. And – let’s face it – you can’t do better than cash. Even small sums will increase the number of entrants. 

Prompts and Word Count. 

Some competitions accept any topic, up to a set word count. But broad parameters can make judging difficult. How do you compare a 200-word flash against a 5,000-word novella? You could select a genre (e.g., humour or experimental fiction), or set a prompt, whether quite generic (e.g., Freedom or Trapped!), or specific (e.g., Self-isolation). 

Fees. 

Some contests charge a small fee to cover prize money and expenses. Writers can smell a money-making exercise and will balk at excessive fees. If you do charge, you may want to consider offering some conditional free entries, too. 

Promotion. 

Spread the word on social media, in Facebook groups, via influencers and every outlet at your disposal. Drip-feed messages to build anticipation and interest. Alert sites that list competitions such as this one, this one and this one.. 

Rules and Timelines. 

Be clear about eligibility (unpublished writers only or previously published stories allowed); multiple submissions; acceptable genres (some ban children’s stories and poetry); minimum age; rights (usually first publication only); formatting (typically 12 point, double-spaced); file naming (best to ask for stories to be sent blind). Set out timelines: final deadline, announcement(s) of winners, publication.  

Judging. 

Judging entries blind avoids you being swayed by a name. Come up with a longlist (20 titles out of 50+ entries), followed by a shortlist (10 stories), then a final announcement of a top three and a couple of honorable mentions. 

Space Announcements for Extra Buzz. 

Ask writers to celebrate on social media if listed but not to name their story; it adds to the suspense. People will enjoy spotting their title and receiving congratulations from their network. Join in the fun conversation and spread the news further. 

Winners. 

When announcing the final line-up, include a brief judge’s report, in which you/your top judge discuss some of the themes and stories that you enjoyed: examples here and here. As well as publishing the winning stories, you could include an interview with the winner. Some competitions will organise a reading of winning entries, perhaps as part of a festival. Some also publish a prize anthology. This is a lovely bonus, but you will need fees to offset the cost. 
 
Notifying Entrants. 

It’s nice to notify everyone by email, not just longlistees – even if it’s only to say thanks for taking part. A note of encouragement can leave people feeling positive about the competition – especially if you are planning to make this an annual event.  

BIO: Dan Brotzel is co-author of Kitten on a Fatberg (Unbound, forthcoming).


 

COmpetitions

UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS PRESS PUBLISHING LAB PRIZE
https://unopress.submittable.com/submit
$28 ENTRY FEE. Deadline August 31, 2020. The UNO PRESS LAB is accepting new submissions of book-length fiction. The winning author will receive a $10,000 advance and a contract to publish with UNO Press. The selected manuscript will be promoted by The Publishing Laboratory at the University of New Orleans, an institute that seeks to bring innovative publicity and broad distribution to the UNO Press Lab publications. We are open to submissions from March 1 to August 31. Abram Shalom Himelstein is the editor-in-chief at UNO Press. 



BOOKSIE POET LAUREATE PRIZE
https://www.booksie.com/contest/the-booksie-2020-poetry-contest-20
$7.95 ENTRY FEE. Deadline November 7, 2020. The poetry can be of any type, length, or content, but it must be your own. The poetry can be serious or whimsical, fact or fiction, but it should strike a chord that makes us sit up and take notice. Grand prize winner (Booksie Gold Poet Laureate) - $1,000, gold winner badge, writing featured across the site, $20 in books chosen by winner from the Booksie Bookstore, and two runners-up (Booksie Silver Poet Laureates). Runner-up $150, silver winner badge, writing featured across the site, $20 in books chosen by winner from the Booksie Bookstore. 



BEST OPENING PAGE COMPETITION
https://www.retreatwest.co.uk/best-opening-page-competition/
£15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline August 23, 2020. Submit up to 400 words from the opening page of your novel, memoir, or short story to win a writing retreat at Casa Ana in Spain. It’s the perfect location to immerse yourself in your work and spend uninterrupted time getting to grips with your story. Creative writing retreats are held five times a year at Casa Ana in the province of Granada, Spain. They are led by resident mentors, all of whom are published writers with years of teaching experience. First prize is a one-week writing retreat at Casa Ana from 14-28 November 2020 with one mentoring session included with resident mentor, Amanda Saint. Value €1,000. Second prize is a half-price one-week writing retreat at Casa Ana in November 2020. Value: €500. Third prize is detailed feedback on your opening 400 words from Amanda Saint.



THE ANZALDUA POETRY PRIZE
https://newfound.org/poetry-prize/
$15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline September 15, 2020. First place is publication, $1,000 prize, and 25 contributor copies. Three finalists will be announced, and all previously unpublished work will be considered for publication as a general submission to the journal. Submit 15 to 30 pages of poetry. Please include no more than one poem per page.



MSLEXIA FLASH FICTION COMPETITION
https://mslexia.co.uk/products/competition_entry_fee/mslexia-fiction-memoir-competition-2020-flash-fiction/
£5 ENTRY FEE. Deadline September 21, 2020. The competition is open to women of any nationality from any country, and welcomes flash fiction, in any genre, of up to 300 words in length (not including the title). Each entry fee allows you to submit one piece of flash fiction. The winner will receive £500, and three other finalists will each receive £50. All four winning stories will be published in the December 2020 issue of Mslexia.



RALEIGH REVIEW FLASH FICTION CONTEST
https://www.raleighreview.org/fall-flash-fiction-contest.html
$13 ENTRY FEE. Deadline October 31, 2020. First Prize includes $300 and publication in the Spring 2021 issue. Finalists will receive our standard $15 payment along with publication. All Finalists will receive a two-year subscription to Raleigh Review. All entrants will receive the Spring 2021 issue of Raleigh Review. Submit up to two unpublished works of flash per entry. Flash works should be no longer than 1,000 words each, combine both stories in one file.



FISHFOOD MAG SHORT STORY CONTEST
https://fishfoodlavajuice.submittable.com/submit/164714/fishfood-mag-short-story-contest
$17 ENTRY FEE. Deadline August 31, 2020. Stories must be under 1,000 words. There is no set theme, so feel free to get as creative as possible. The winner of the contest receives $1,000 plus publication of the story in FishFood Magazine.



MERIDIAN SHORT PROSE PRIZE
http://www.readmeridian.org/contests/
$6 ENTRY FEE. Deadline August 31, 2020. Send us your microfiction, hybrid bits, lyric essaylets, prose poems, short-short stories, whatever you call it. We want to read your vibrant, electric writing. The winner will receive $250 and publication in our print magazine. All submissions, including those selected as finalists, will be considered for publication. For reference, we published three finalists in our 2020 issue.

 

GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS / CROWDFUNDING

SOUTH CAROLINA INDIVIDUAL ARTIST FELLOWSHIPS
https://www.southcarolinaarts.com/grant/fel/
Deadline November 16, 2020. Fellowship awards are no longer based solely on artistic merit; achievements and commitment to discipline are also considered. The application process is no longer anonymous. The applicant must be a practicing individual artist (duos, collaborative works, and other ensembles are not eligible), working in one or more of the disciplines eligible for the application year and a legal resident of the US and SC. Up to four Fellowships are awarded each year (maximum of one in each discipline), with artistic disciplines rotating from year to year. The next eligible disciplines will be: 
FY22: Visual Arts, Craft, Media: Production, and Media: Screenwriting (apply fall 2020)
FY23: Prose, Poetry, Theatre: Acting, and Theatre: Playwriting (apply fall 2021)
FY24: Visual Arts, Craft, Music: Composition, and Music: Performance (apply fall 2022)
FY25: Prose, Poetry, Dance: Choreography, and Dance: Performance (apply fall 2023)



OATMEAL CREEK RESIDENCY
https://www.oatmealcreek.org/program
The facilities of Oatmeal Creek and the 240 acres of protected land provide the opportunity for solitude and self-discovery. Each year Oatmeal Creek awards three separate 21-day residencies between late February and mid-May. Each residency period is reserved for an individual resident. The program is open to emerging and established writers of all genres—fiction, nonfiction, poetry, playwriting, and screenplay. The residency provides a fully equipped private residence at no additional cost. Residents are responsible for their own food, materials, and transportation to the residency. Applications are accepted between the dates of August 1 and August 31. Oatmeal Creek provides an unrestricted honorarium of $750. Payment of the honorarium is made in two installments. The first half, $375 is disbursed upon arrival at Oatmeal Creek. The final payment is disbursed upon departure. 



VERMONT ARTIST DEVELOPMENT GRANTS
https://www.vermontartscouncil.org/grants/artists/artist-development
Deadlines September 28, 2020; January 11, 2021; and May 10, 2021. Grants can fund activities that enhance mastery of an artist’s craft or skills; activities that increase the viability of an artist's business; or for teaching artists, developing the skills necessary to provide instruction in K-12 schools remotely during the COVID-19 crisis. Funding may also support aspects of the creation of new work when the activity allows the grantee to accept a rare and important opportunity. Open to individual Vermont artists who have been residents of Vermont for a minimum of one year prior to the application deadline and are residents at the time the award is granted, and are 18 years of age or older at the time of application. Grant amounts range $250-$1,000. 



MONSON ARTS RESIDENCIES
https://monsonarts.org/residencies/
Deadline September 15, 2020. Monson Arts’ residency program supports emerging and established artists and writers by providing them time and space to devote to their creative practices. During each of our two-week and four-week programs throughout the year, a cohort of roughly five artists and five writers are invited to immerse themselves in small-town life at the edge of Maine’s North Woods and focus intensely on their work within a creative and inspiring environment. They receive a private studio, private bedroom in shared housing, all meals, and $1,000 stipend ($500 for two-week residencies). Application for this program is open to anyone at any stage of their career, working in visual arts, writing, and related fields (i.e., audio, video, photography).



TUSEN TAKK RESIDENCIES
https://www.tusentakk.org/overview
Deadline September 15, 2020. Tusen Takk’s three- to twelve-week residencies are geared for accomplished artists to explore new ideas or expand current work that affirms and enriches the human spirit, giving form to chaos and perception to beauty. A residency at Tusen Takk is a time to create; it’s also a time for artists to consider how their work engages with the history of its medium and how it intersects with existential questions of meaning and purpose. Tusen Takk was designed to host one resident, or two in collaboration. The single most important qualification for artists invited to Tusen Takk is that they have created a body of work that exemplifies excellence. Tusen Takk welcomes applications from both emerging and established visual artists in photography, printmaking, sculpture, painting, fiber arts, as well as writers and composers. Location Leland, Michigan. Artists who participate in the Tusen Takk Foundation residency receive free housing, an honorarium of $625 a week, and more. 



VIRTUAL MINI-LESSON GRANTS FOR ARIZONA ARTISTS
https://azarts.gov/news/teaching-artist-opportunity-virtual-mini-lesson-grants/
Deadline September 10, 2020. In response to these challenges, the Arizona Commission on the Arts is offering a pair of new grants to support Arizona teaching artists in the creation of virtual mini-lessons that focus on mindfulness, fun, and relief for young people and older adults as well as their guardians and caregivers. Artists will be compensated $500 to produce one mini-lesson video, with the opportunity to produce up to three for a total of $1,500, plus an additional $125 stipend to attend virtual trainings.

 

FREELANCE MARKETS / JOBS

(A few of these were noticed in https://www.makealivingwriting.com/freelance-writing-jobs-26-fresh-home-garden-pubs-that-pay/) 

HOME ENERGY
http://homeenergy.org/pdf/HEM_WritersGuide_Rev.pdf
Home Energy offers authors $0.20 per word up to a maximum of $500, plus $10 for each piece of useable art (photos and figures). Trends are short stories explaining a single advance or research result. Length: 400–1,800 words maximum. Features are longer and provide more in-depth information. Length: 1,800–3,500 words maximum. Field Notes provide readers with first-person testimonials. They are oriented toward home performance contractors in the field. They focus on a person’s individual experience building or renovating an energy-efficient, healthy, and affordable home or multifamily building, or developing a home performance contracting business. They must include at least two or three photos. Length: 1,500–3,000 words maximum. 



HOMESTEAD
https://www.homestead.org/write-for-homestead-org/writers-guidelines/
Our current rate is $100 for 1,000-2,500 words or greater, with sufficient images. We pay upon publication. We buy all rights. How to maximize the number of manuscripts you sell to us: stay in touch. Send us a short list of three to six topics you’d like to write an article around. We’ll pick those that appeal to us and probably give you the go-ahead on at least one of them.



MAINE ORGANIC FARMER AND GARDENER
https://www.mofga.org/Publications/The-Maine-Organic-Farmer-Gardener/writers-guidelines
The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener is the newspaper of The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA). Most of The MOF&G is written by MOFGA staff members. We do run a few articles by freelancers in each issue. Please send queries to [email protected]. We pay 20 cents per word, on publication, for the edited version of articles. Payment covers first and electronic rights and photos accompanying articles.



MAKE A LIVING WRITING
https://www.makealivingwriting.com/blog-post-ideas-send-your-best-pitch-about-freelance-writing/
Deadline August 31, 2020. Develop an original idea about the business and craft of freelance writing. We don’t accept any generic, researched-off-the-Internet writing topics we’ve all seen 1,000 times before. Write a pitch with a working headline and a brief outline of the points you’ll cover in the guest post. 



FUNNY TIMES
https://funnytimes.com/about/submissions/
Our print publication pokes fun at politics, news, relationships, food, technology, pets, work, death, environmental issues, business, religion (yes, even religion), and the human condition in general. Not much is off-limits, so do your best to make us laugh. Plus, we’re advertising-free, so whatever we like, we use. Stories — the funniest you have ever written — should be about 500-700 words. Don’t send us things that aren’t funny. We won’t publish them. Don’t overwhelm the editors. Send your top five to ten cartoons or three to five stories. Tell us where you’ve been published before and let us know who else thinks you’re funny (this will not necessarily be held against you). We pay upon publication, not acceptance, and the rates are $30-$50 per cartoon based on reproduction size and $60 for each story. 

 

Publishers/agents

THE AMPERSAND AGENCY
https://theampersandagency.co.uk/
We are a UK-based literary agency representing authors of commercial and literary fiction and nonfiction, as well as books for children aged eight and upwards. We draw on a century of experience in negotiating publishing contracts, as well as handling rights in our authors’ books for film, tv, theatre, radio, and digital platforms. In a changing landscape, we embrace opportunities to find the widest possible audience for our authors across all media and throughout the world.



THE NORTH LITERARY AGENCY
http://thenorthlitagency.com/hit-the-north/
We are looking for all types of fiction and narrative nonfiction. Please note we do not represent academic writing, poetry, self-help, picture books or screenplays. The North was founded in October 2017 by four agents with decades of experience in the book world: not only as agents but as booksellers and publishers – and even a writer. We’re a small agency, but we think our list of best-sellers and award winners shows that we punch above our weight. In a business dominated by large London publishers and agencies, we’re proud to be one of very few literary agencies based in the north, though our reach is global, with writers published in more than 30 territories around the world.



RUNNING WILD PRESS - RIZE IMPRINT
https://runningwildpress.submittable.com/submit
Deadline August 31, 2020. The purpose of the RIZE Imprint is to demonstrate Running Wild's commitment to diversity and inclusivity by ensuring that authors of historically underrepresented backgrounds have their voices amplified. We are specifically looking for submissions from new and experienced fiction writers of color—in the adult and young adult markets—to highlight how cultural diversity has shaped our social and political landscapes in North America and across the globe. All genres are appreciated (55K+), but we do not accept children's books or graphic novels. Unagented submissions are welcome. All genres, all forms. Cross-genre encouraged.



ATMOSPHERE PRESS
https://atmospherepress.submittable.com/submit/148637/full-length-book-submissions
Deadline September 1, 2020. Atmosphere Press, an author-friendly collaborative press, is open for full-length books in any conceivable genre: we've done everything from novels to poetry collections to children's books to business advice to self-help to sci-fi, and we're always looking to deepen our offerings in these categories, and find even more to explore. Wow us with something great!



TERRAPIN BOOKS - A POETRY PRESS
https://www.terrapinbooks.com/guidelines.html
We will be open for submissions of full-length poetry manuscripts from August 1, 2020 thru August 31, 2020. We plan to select two to four manuscripts each submission period. A manuscript of approximately 40-55 poems. This will produce a book of approximately 90-110 pages. Terrapin Books is committed to publishing outstanding books of poetry by outstanding poets. 
 

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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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