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WRITERS AND SINGERS

You hear a singer. Instantly you picture them, maybe recall that song or others they have sung. You remember where you were when that song impacted you. You know that singer is not like any other. You might not even remember their name, but in this day of smartphones, you instantly look it up. 

That is the type of writer you want to be. Someone reads something you've written and remembers you as being original . . . or leaving a mark on their life. 

It isn't about the number of books you've published . . . or how you published . . . 

It's about the mark those words leave on the world. 
It's about being original. 
It's about being memorable. 
It's about taking time to mold your phrasing into its best form. 

You don't want people to have just read you. You want them to absorb you such that they are thankful they took the time to take in what you've written. 

You want them to remember that impact well enough to keep your book on their shelves, tell their friends, and want to reread those words over again. 

SUPER SPONSOR 

HOPE'S APPEARANCES

SUCCESS QUOTE

SUccess Story

Hi Hope,

It's been approximately ten years since I began considering C. Hope Clark as a mentor, even though I'd never met her. I was introduced to her through her book The Shy Writer (updated as The Shy Writer Reborn). 

One of my earliest email exchanges with her was in 2011. She answered, which was remarkable in itself. I'd gotten used to not getting a reply when I approached other writers for advice. I'd just acquired an agent for my book detailing the ethnographic history on the cultural phenomenon of extreme couponing. Informed that I needed to build up my platform and begin speaking on my book's topic, I panicked. As an extremely shy introvert, I wasn't sure how I'd handle public speaking. Hope's book and her email suggestions emboldened me. 

I approached a community college, offering to do a couponing class. The fact that I informed them I'd need an overhead projector when they said yes reflects just how ill-prepared I was. I'd never done a PowerPoint. Hope's regular columns in her FundsforWriters newsletter have been so helpful, I purchased a copy of The Best of FundsforWriters and found myself quoting her in the workshops I teach. 

I've had six nonfiction books published in the last seven years, most recently, Called to Be Creative: A Guide to Reigniting Your Creativity. I've designed power points and workshops around each one and discovered that this shy introvert loves talking about her passions and encouraging others. The best compliment I ever got at one of my writing workshops was when a man said, "Do you know C. Hope Clark? You remind me so much of her."
 
Mary Potter Kenyon
www.marypotterkenyon.com


- - - 



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

 

Featured article

How to Use Google Alerts to Get Assignments and Build Your Career

By Rachel Carrington

People might think of Google Alerts as something once upon a time helpful but not anymore. I’ve been using Google Alerts for quite some time. It’s enabled me to find submissions I wouldn’t ordinarily find, follow some successful authors, and make contacts to further my career. 

By customizing Google Alerts, you can be notified for . . . well . . . just about anything you crave to know that will help build your career and your wallet. Once you are logged into Google, go to Google Alerts (https://www.google.com/alerts) and get started. 

Set up alerts for publishers and sites that are closed to submissions. 

When they open, you’ll get notified quickly, and won’t forget to check back. I followed several publishers and sites and was able to sell a guest post to a blog often closed to outside submissions because I had an alert set for an open submission period. 

You can simplify the alert with something like “The Writer submissions” or “Re:fiction open submissions,” so when the publisher updates the submissions page, you’ll get an alert. 

Alerts can let you know when there is a special call for submissions at your dream publisher. 

For instance, you’re trying to publish a young adult novel. Suddenly, you see one of your favorite publishers has an open call for an anthology for young adult short stories. That very well could be your way into the publisher. At the very least, it’s a chance to get your work in front of an editor’s eyes. 

Say you’ve been trying to sell to Hallmark Publishing. A good alert would be “Hallmark Publishing anthology” or “Hallmark Publishing short stories.” 

Set up alerts for an editor/publisher/agent you’re interested in working with. 

Google Alerts will let you know if that person shows up at a favorite blog or is interviewed. Just put their name into an alert. Meeting them provides opportunity to comment and potentially start a dialogue. You might even be able to ask questions that will get you one step closer to working with them. 

Narrow your focus. 

Though you can set up alerts for book marketing or book promoting tips or tips for social media marketing, I would suggest you narrow the focus for better results. For instance, tips for Instagram marketing, tips on promoting your book backlist, etc. This will save you time from having to remember to Google for tips and updates. 

Set up alerts for writing contests. 

You can specify contest type like “romance writing contest” or “horror writing contest.” I was notified immediately about a contest hosted by an author, outside the normal listing of writing contests. I entered and won first place. That wouldn’t have happened without Google Alerts.  

I usually keep at least two alerts running for contests. One is “short story contests,” and the other is “writing competitions,” but you can also use “niche writing contests” or a topic like “science fiction writing contests.” 

Don’t forget your own name. 

Lastly, every writer should have their name set up in Google Alerts to learn what is being said about you on the web, when an article you’ve written is being published, and will give you the opportunity to correct any misinformation that is posted on a website, blog, or even social media.

With Google Alerts, you can filter for best results or all results. (I choose all results.) You can choose how often you want to be notified like once a day or once a week. You can even choose to be instantly notified, to keep you ahead of the game with topics like writing contests and submission calls. And you can even select where you’d like the information to come from, like news, blogs, or the web. Though it’s an older app, it is still one of the handiest and most helpful for writers. 

BIO:
As well as being a published author of fiction, Rachel Carrington is also a nonfiction writer and has written for the New York Times, Startrek.com, The Writer, and many others. She is also a writing instructor at Women on Writing and a contributor to Red Shirts Always Die. You can visit her on the web at www.rachelcarrington.com and Instagram @rcarrington2004. 

COmpetitions

FRIENDS OF AMERICAN WRITERS
http://www.fawchicago.org/awards.php
Deadline December 10, 2020. The author must be a resident (or previously have been a resident for approximately five years) of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota or Wisconsin; or the locale of the book must be in a region identified above. The books can be fiction or creative nonfiction. Self-published (vanity press) and ebooks are not eligible. The book must be published in the calendar year prior to the awards year. Currently we are evaluating books published during 2020. Prize: $500 - $2,000. 



ROSWELL AWARD SCIENCE FICTION COMPETITION
http://litfestpasadena.org/program/the-roswell-award-women-hold-up-half-the-sky/
NO MENTIONED ENTRY FEE. Deadline December 15, 2020. Heading into its sixth year, the competition offers cash prizes for science fiction writing on any theme. In addition, special prizes will be awarded for feminist-themed sci-fi. The competition winners and honorable mentions will be announced and a culminating event held at LitFest Pasadena in May 2021. Stories must be original, 1,500 words or less, not published or posted, and not fan fiction. 



ANISFIELD-WOLF BOOK AWARDS
http://www.anisfield-wolf.org/submissions/#guidelines
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline December 31, 2020. The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards recognizes outstanding works that contribute to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of cultural diversity. Awards are given for fiction, poetry and nonfiction. Books must be written in English and published and copyrighted in 2020 to be eligible for the 2021 prize. Award recipients traditionally receive $10,000 from the Anisfield-Wolf fund.



NATAN NOTABLE BOOKS
https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/natan-notable-books
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline December 31, 2020. Natan Notable Books is a twice-yearly award for nonfiction books on Jewish themes. Natan Notable Books highlights vital books and authors, and brings innovative and important ideas to the attention of diverse audiences. Natan Notable Book winners receive a Natan Notable Book seal and $5,000 for the author, marketing/​distribution coaching and promotion from Jewish Book Council and Natan, and customized support designed to bring the book and the author to new audiences.



TEST SITE POETRY SERIES
https://interimmagazine.submittable.com/submit
$25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline December 16, 2020. A prize of $1,000 and publication by the University of Nevada Press will be given for a new, full-length collection of poetry. All entrants to the contest will also receive a free print issue of Interim. The Test Site Poetry Series is open to all writers, regardless of previous publication, though we don't accept manuscripts that have already been published. All submissions must be at least 48 pages. 



VERMONT WRITERS' PRIZE
https://vermontwritersprize.submittable.com/submit/86155/vermont-writers-prize-deadline-january-1-2021
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline January 1, 2021. We look forward to reading your essay, short story, play, or poem. It must be on one central topic - Vermont! Whether it is about its people, its places, its history, or its values - the choice is yours! Your entry must be unpublished and 1,500 words or less. The Writers' Prize is open to all Vermont residents and students, but employees of Green Mountain Power and Vermont Magazine are not eligible. There will be a winner for prose and a winner for poetry, and each will receive a cash prize of $1,250. The winning pieces will be published in Vermont Magazine. 



STACY DORIS MEMORIAL POETRY AWARD
https://www.14hills.net/stacy-doris-mpa
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline January 1, 2021. The winning poet will receive $500 and publication in the 2021 issue of Fourteen Hills. There is no submission fee, and poems not chosen for the award will be considered for publication in Fourteen Hills. Minimum three pages; maximum ten pages; limit one poem.



BETHESDA MAGAZINE ESSAY CONTEST
https://www.bethesda.org/special-events/writing-contests
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline January 18, 2021. First Place: $500 and published in Bethesda Magazine. Second Place: $250. Third Place: $150. Honorable Mentions: $75. There are also high school prizes. Essays must be limited to 500 words or less about a topic of the writer's choosing. Only one entry per person. Residents of Washington, D.C. and the select counties of Maryland (Montgomery, Prince George's, Howard, and Frederick) and Virginia (Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William) are eligible.  



BETHESDA MAGAZINE SHORT STORY CONTEST
https://www.bethesda.org/special-events/writing-contests
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline January 18, 2021. First Place: $500 and published in Bethesda Magazine. Second Place: $250. Third Place: $150. Honorable Mentions: $75. There are also high school prizes. Stories must be limited to 4,000 words or less. Only one entry per person permitted. Residents of Montgomery County, MD and Upper NW Washington, D.C. (20015 and 20016 ZIP codes) are eligible.



OHIOANA WALTER RUMSEY MARVIN GRANT
http://www.ohioana.org/programs/ohioana-book-awards/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline January 31, 2021. Applicant must have been born in Ohio or have lived in Ohio for a minimum of three years. Applicant must be no older than 30 years of age on January 31, 2021. Applicant must not have had a book published. Entries may consist of up to four pieces of prose. No submission may total more than 40 pages or less than ten pages, double spaced with a 12-point font. 

 

GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS / CROWDFUNDING

BRIO - BRONX RECOGNIZES ITS OWN
https://www.bronxarts.org/grants/bronx-recognizes-its-own/
Deadline December 30, 2020. Bronx Recognizes Its Own (BRIO) provides direct support to individual Bronx artists who create works in the literary, media, visual, and performing arts. BCA awards grants up to $5,000 to Bronx artists each year, based solely on artistic excellence. Winners complete a one-time public service activity known as Artists for Community Enrichment (ACE), an essential component required of all BRIO recipients to be completed within a year of receiving the award. ACE provides artists with additional visibility and demonstrates to the community the wealth of artistic talent available in our borough.



TRANSLATION FELLOWSHIPS - NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS
https://www.arts.gov/grants/translation-projects
Deadline January 13, 2021. Grants of up to $25,000 each are given annually to translators of poetry and prose from any language into English. Applicants must have published, alone or in collaboration, at least 20 pages of literary translation in digital or print publications or at least one book of translation between January 1, 2006, and January 13, 2021. Using only the online submission system, submit 10 to 15 pages of translation and the original work, a project description, a résumé, a résumé for the original author, a justification of retranslation (if applicable), and a list of published translations into English with proof of eligibility. 



CREATIVE WRITING FELLOWSHIPS - NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS
https://www.arts.gov/grants/creative-writing-fellowships/program-description
Deadline March 11, 2021. The National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowships program offers $25,000 grants in prose (fiction and creative nonfiction) and poetry to published creative writers that enable recipients to set aside time for writing, research, travel, and general career advancement. The program operates on a two-year cycle with fellowships in prose and poetry available in alternating years. For FY2021, which is covered by these guidelines, fellowships in poetry are available. Fellowships in prose (fiction and creative nonfiction) will be offered in FY2022, and guidelines will be available in January 2021. 

 

FREELANCE MARKETS / JOBS

HIGH COUNTRY NEWS
https://www.hcn.org/about/submissions
High Country News is an award-winning nonprofit monthly magazine with a robust website that tells the complex story of the Western United States, through coverage of its people, communities and landscapes. We are not interested in writing that mythologizes the West, nor that follows offensive lines of thought. We welcome writers with a strong point of view and a good story to tell. We pay on publication, between $0.25 and $1.50 per word, depending on the writer’s experience and our experience with the writer. Our kill fee is 25%. Please keep pitches brief, between 200 and 300 words. Tell us, in an engaging and jargon-free style, what the story is, its scope and what’s at stake, and why High Country News is the best place to tell it. 



CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL: ANGELS
https://www.chickensoup.com/story-submissions/possible-book-topics
Deadline March 31, 2021. Have you experienced a divine intervention, answered prayer, or other miraculous occurrence courtesy of someone you think just might have been an angel? Do you have a guardian angel who seems to swoop in and help you when you need it? Pays $200 and ten copies for up to 1,200 words. 



CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL: PRETEENS
https://www.chickensoup.com/story-submissions/possible-book-topics
Deadline December 15, 2020. Chicken Soup for the Soul has always provided support to preteens from all over the world. We’re collecting up-to-date stories written by preteens, teens, and men and women under age 35. We want these stories to represent how the world is today for preteens, and we’re hoping for stories about the pandemic, technology, social media, and other modern-day concerns. Pays $200 and ten copies for up to 1,200 words. 



CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL: TEENS
https://www.chickensoup.com/story-submissions/possible-book-topics
Deadline December 15, 2020. Chicken Soup for the Soul has always provided support to teenagers from all over the world. We’re collecting up-to-date stories written by teens and men and women under age 35. We want these stories to represent how the world is today for teenagers, and we’re hoping for stories about the pandemic, technology, social media, and other modern-day concerns. Pays $200 and ten copies for up to 1,200 words. 



WOMEN ARTISTS DATEBOOK
https://www.syracuseculturalworkers.com/art/call-for-art
Deadline January 15, 2021. Poetry pays $70, plus four datebooks. Submissions accepted in any style or language (please provide English translation). Limit four poems may be submitted: 30-line maximum per poem. Seeking inspirational work that promotes activism and healing. 



COSMIC ROOTS AND ELDRITCH SHORES
https://cosmicrootsandeldritchshores.com/submissions/
We accept new work as well as reprints, prose, and poetry, from 1,000-word flash fiction on up though shorter pieces are favored. Looking for well-written original work in science fiction, fantasy, myth, legend, fairy tales, and eldritch in written, podcast, video, and graphic story form from around the world. Also any fact-based articles, interesting information, reviews, and humor in any discipline that relates to the type of stories we publish. Pays mainly six cents/word. 



THE MODERN DEITY’S GUIDE TO SURVIVING HUMANITY, DERELICT, and WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE ANTHOLOGIES
https://www.patreon.com/posts/40888189
Deadline December 31, 2020. Zombies Need Brains LLC is accepting submissions to its three science fiction and fantasy anthologies THE MODERN DEITY’S GUIDE TO SURVIVING HUMANITY, DERELICT, and WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE. THE MODERN DEITY’S GUIDE TO SURVIVING HUMANITY is to feature urban fantasy stories set in the modern-day world with some type of god or deity as the central focus of the story. DERELICT is to feature stories involving abandoned ships, whether it be ships at sea or starships in space. WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE is to feature science fiction and fantasy stories, including alternate history stories, where two different cultures “collide” in some way. Pay rate will be an advance of a minimum of eight cents per word.  



MODERN LOVE
https://www.nytimes.com/article/how-to-submit-a-modern-love-essay.html
Although Modern Love has evolved into a podcast, a book, a TV show and Tiny Love Stories in its 16 years, the column’s central mission remains the same: to publish honest personal essays about contemporary relationships. We seek true stories on finding love, losing love and trying to keep love alive. We welcome essays that explore subjects such as adoption, polyamory, technology, race and friendship — anything that could reasonably fit under the heading “Modern Love.” Send submissions to: [email protected]. Please put the subject of your essay or a possible title in the email subject line. Limit your essay to 1,500-1,700 words. Modern Love has two submission periods, September through December and March through June. Payment $500. 



CAST OF WONDERS PODCAST
https://www.castofwonders.org/submissions/
Cast of Wonders is a young adult short fiction market, open to stories up to 6,000 words in length. 
We’re dedicated to publishing fiction that reflects the entire spectrum of the human experience. Stories are presented in audio format, which means our audience rarely skim past boring bits. We’re looking for fiction with strong pacing, well-defined characters, engaging dialogue, and clear action. We pay eight cents per word for original fiction of any length (yes, including flash!). For reprints, we offer a $100 flat rate for Short Fiction, and a $20 flat rate for Flash Fiction. 



RATTLE
http://www.rattle.com/submissions/guidelines/
Rattle publishes unsolicited poetry and translations of poetry. Submissions are open year-round, always welcomed, and always free. Contributors in print receive $200/poem and a complimentary one-year subscription to the magazine. Online contributors receive $100/poem. All free submissions are automatically considered for the annual Neil Postman Award for Metaphor, a $2,000 prize judged by the editors.



EXPERIENCE LIFE MAGAZINE
https://experiencelife.com/about-us/experience-life-writers-guidelines/
Experience Life is a progressive health/fitness/quality-of-life magazine (we call it “a healthy-way-of-life magazine”). It’s also the membership magazine of Life Time — a large and rapidly growing health and fitness organization with dozens of industry-leading facilities located throughout the country. The magazine is written for a general audience of active, educated, discerning people who are interested in good health and passionate about self-improvement, well-being, and living a good, satisfying life. Each issue of Experience Life includes three in-depth features (2,500 to 3,500 words), plus four departmental neighborhoods of shorter pieces. We also publish several digital-only articles each month on our website, ExperienceLife.com. 


 

Publishers/agents

CEMETERY GATES
https://cemeterygatesmedia.com/submissions/
Beginning September 1, 2020, we’ll accept submissions for 40k+ word manuscripts from authors who’ve never published a novel. Paying $500 signing bonus plus $500 advance upon publication, and a 20 percent (publisher) / 80 percent (author) royalty share. You’re welcome to submit one complete, original, and unpublished 40k+ word manuscript to [email protected] if you have at least two paid horror writing credits and have never published a novel. If you have novellas and short story collections in print, you’re still eligible. We’re looking for horror stories in the vein of what we’ve previously published, not dystopian science fiction nor dark fantasy, and we likely won’t publish YA.



MORHAIM LITERARY AGENCY
https://www.morhaimliterary.com/
Our aim is to match talented writers with skilled publishing professionals in order to bring quality fiction and nonfiction into the world. Howard Morhaim Literary Agency is known for representing authors working at the top of their fields and staunchly advocating for their rights. Our roster of clients includes New York Times Bestsellers, award-winning academics, and debut authors alike; we champion them all throughout their long publishing careers. To query an agent, please email your query letter and the first three chapters of your novel or your full nonfiction book proposal. 



PIPPIN PROPERTIES
https://www.pippinproperties.com/about
Pippin Properties, Inc. is an agency devoted primarily to picture books, middle-grade, graphic novels, and young adult novels, also representing adult projects on occasion. Though our primary focus is on the highest caliber literature for young people, we also eagerly represent our clients' fiction, nonfiction, and graphic works should they decide to write for an adult-trade readership. Additionally, we are a little bit obsessed with licensing every ancillary right to our books that we can, from live stage to theatrical to merchandise to audio.



LAURA DAIL LITERARY AGENCY
http://www.ldlainc.com/
A small, full-service literary agency representing fiction and nonfiction, commercial and literary, for both adults and children. We represent a wide range of diverse authors, including bestselling authors of children’s fiction, award-winning journalists, historians, chefs, and humorists. We provide thoughtful attention at every stage of a book’s life—from editorial to marketing to sales and the licensing of subsidiary rights. We are the author’s partner and advocate for the life of the book, and we love it.
 

SPONSORS

www.fundsforwriters.com/advertising 

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 2000-2020, C. Hope Clark
ISSN: 1533-1326

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