FundsforWriters - December 25, 2020 - I'll Never Be Published

Published: Fri, 12/25/20

VOLUME 20, ISSUE 52 | DECEMBER 25, 2020

Message from Hope

Best of wishes to you. Love you all.

C. Hope Clark
Editor, FundsforWriters
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TOP SPONSOR

WRITING AND COMMUNITY: HOW TO FIND YOUR TRIBE

A free mini-course with writer/editor Kate Meadows

Do you crave feedback for your writing? Encouragement and accountability for a regular writing habit? A community where you can openly share your work and connect with other creative minds?

Join me for this virtual free mini-course, where I’ll talk about 5 key values of a writing tribe and how to find a group that fits your goals, personality and lifestyle! Connect with other writers who share similar goals and who, like you, are seeking a place where creative minds can come together.

Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021
9 a.m. MST
Zoom

[REGISTER] https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAqceGrqjgpH9FSIXIsxEcIlf1m94x8HAXD

Questions? Email [email protected]!

EDITOR’S THOUGHTS

"I'LL NEVER BE PUBLISHED"

After the December 11 newsletter about traditional publishing, I received an email from a distraught reader and thought I'd share because the lesson is an oldie but a goodie. We shall call the writer JANET.

JANET: I decided I will climb up and around by submitting to journals and see how I can balloon my bio. I'm still filled with traditional aspirations, but do you know what? Agents these days don't care that you have published in several journals. They only want to know if your work has been in Granta or the New Yorker. And those doors aren't easy to walk through.

HOPE: We cannot paint all agents with the same broad brush. While the better the journals the better the reputation (frankly, this is life as a whole, in theory), agents can also see that you are continually published and striving to climb the ladder if you appear in journal after journal, regardless the titles. If you are published 15 times, it matters so much more than if you are published three. And a variety of journals shows you can reach a variety of readers. And the more you write, the more likely other journals will publish you as well. Agents understand everything we do, but not everyone gets rewarded. They have their job and we have ours.

They also look online for your presence. They read your social media and see where you have published online. Read your bio and your website. Yes, they are interested in good writing, but they are also savvy enough to see that readers will search online for details on an author, too. Never underestimate the fact that the Internet drives presence these days.

JANET: They (agents) have their own preferences that sometimes are difficult to explain. . .

HOPE: Like every publisher has its preferences, and sometimes they don't know what they want until they see it. There isn't a magic formula or textbook how-to to write just what a publisher or agent wants. Voice is difficult to explain, and that is what they seek, and they only know a good one when they see it. That's not unusual or a negative against them.

JANET: ...and their response time is unbelievably long.

HOPE: Let me give you a hint. If they haven't gotten in touch in a couple weeks, they probably won't. Just keep submitting elsewhere, time after time after time.

JANET: They don't want to help an aspiring writer with her career.

HOPE: That is not their job. Their job is to find good writing and get it published. Good being the ambiguous word. Good also meaning to them that the writing makes money.

JANET: Publishing traditionally has always been my dream. I can't imagine publishing otherwise. But can good writing still be published?

HOPE: Yes, it can, and hold onto your dream. Publishing is undergoing growing pains, but the publishers still need to publish to stay alive. People's reading habits and tastes are changing. Your job is to continually write and continually submit. I strongly suggest you submit and submit and submit, story after story, continually looking forward, not looking back to see who replied.

JANET: Again, thank you for your thoughts. Some submission guidelines are particularly instructive and rational, but I also heard that there are publishers who only accept debuts.

HOPE: Not many but some, but why would you want such a publisher? Contests, yes, I can see that, but publishers want to make more money selling names that the public recognizes. Thus, the reason it is difficult for them to accept debuts in many cases. Which makes your plan to keep submitting to journals a solid one.

The process has not changed much over the years except you can sometimes pitch on Twitter, submit online via Submitter, and respond quicker via email. You write and write and submit until accepted. That part is still just as simple as that. And the truth is the whole ordeal teaches you how to write better.

It is still about the writing. Go back and remember what made you want to write in the first place and revisit that place.

SUPER SPONSOR

From my mailbox to yours . . . Merry Christmas from Hope

HOPE'S APPEARANCES

Email: [email protected] to schedule events, online or otherwise. There's starting to be life out there!

February 24, 2021 - Zoom - Scottsdale Society of Women Writers - 8 PM Eastern
March 21, 2021 - Keynote - St. Andrews Women's Club, Chapin, SC - 6 PM Eastern

SUCCESS QUOTE

"Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in."

~Bill Bradley, American politician and former professional basketball player

SUccess Story

Hope!

I have to say, your glorious newsletter has upped my confidence immensely throughout the years. I wanted to share my most recent success thanks to it! First off, I discovered the amazing Rockvale Writers' Colony, which I was fortunate enough to be able to attend for one glorious week in September. Hungry for more, I had the goal in mind of returning ever since. When you shared the Illinois Arts Council's grant opportunities for IL artists, I took a shot and applied for enough money to fund a dreamy four-week stay back at RWC. As luck would have it, I got the grant!! This will be my first writer's grant, and I am very proud of myself. I never would have found this serendipitous combination of opportunities if not for you. So thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me accomplish my deepest, most sacred goals.

Gratefully,

Kelly Baron
@kellybricebaron (Twitter)

- - -

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

Featured article

Help! I’ve Got Too Much Writing Work to Do!

By Dan Brotzel

The dilemma sounds like the sort of problem any freelancer would kill to have, but too much work can come with its challenges.

"Feast or famine" is a phrase often used to sum up the freelance workflow. One minute, you’re scrabbling around for commissions, and the next you’re staying up late every night to keep clients happy. What’s to be done?

Ask: temporary or permanent?

When you have a lot of work on your plate, you first consider how long-term the situation is. If it’s a case of making some extra cash with a couple of chunky one-off rush jobs, my tendency is to take them on, be prepared for a busy few days, and reap the benefit. I can always take things a bit easier after that. If, however, you find that you are working late several nights a week with such flash-in-the-pan jobs, then you have to think about other options. Is this how you want to always work or do you want something more solid in your professional plan?

Play the game of supply and demand.

A regular supply of excess work suggests that you are in high demand and should be taking commercial advantage. Look at your rates – are you charging consistently? If you have to work all these hours just to hit your basic income target, then clearly you aren’t always charging enough, or some work you’re taking on just isn’t profitable for you. If you are earning much less than you need, it may be time to make some decisions.

Prioritize clients and projects.

Think about how much money you aim to make every week or month. Now look at the clients and projects that you can rely on to get you there – not just the best or most profitable earners, but the most regular and loyal providers of work. The clients that provide the most security over time are the ones you really need to prioritize.

Consider putting up your rates.

Some of your clients – perhaps your favourite, historic ones – are probably on relatively low legacy rates that you’ve never revisited. Don’t be afraid to ask for more; it’s just business.

Consider whether some types of work/clients are worth it.

Look at how long different types of work take you. If some work is much more labour-intensive than other, better-paid jobs, you could always ask for a lot more income or request a much longer deadline to make it worth your while – safe in the knowledge that you are happy to walk away if need be. You may be surprised to find your new rate or deadline is accepted.

Make peace with work that’s worth more than money to you.

There may be some jobs you just want to keep because they are enjoyable or worth a lot of kudos. So be it, but accept that this puts more pressure on other work to hit your income target.

Consider drafting reinforcements.

When facing a glut of work, you may be able to seek help from a trusted writer friend(s). If this is a private, informal arrangement, you will be responsible for quality control, so factor in that effort. Make sure you are both clear and professional about the arrangement, to avoid issues later. And think about any possible client issues. Some clients exclude any outsourcing as part of their commissioning agreement.

Finally, if you regularly have too much work and you’re making more than your target income, perhaps it’s time to ask: do you need it all? Is it time to set some boundaries? By putting up prices and saying No to jobs that eat into your non-work time, you are making your writing business work for you by realising your true value – while also leaving you time for all the other parts of your life.

BIO: Read more of Dan Brotzel’s articles about writing on Medium and Dan Brotzel’s debut collection of short stories is Hotel du Jack (Sandstone Press)

COmpetitions

OMNIDAWN FIRST/SECOND POETRY BOOK CONTEST
http://omnidawn.com/contest/poetry-contests.htm#book-and-chapbook-contests
$27 ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 16, 2021. First prize is $3,000. Omnidawn poetry editors seek a wide range of styles, approaches, forms, diversities, and aesthetics to send to the judge (for example: lyric, prose poems, experimental, etc.). There are no citizenship requirements or limitations. If you are a poet in need of a free entry we offer 40 free entry passes at the beginning of each poetry contest. This contest is open to writers worldwide who have either never published a full-length book of poetry, or who have published only one full-length book of poetry, so that the winning book would become a poet's first or second published full-length book of poetry.

THE CRUCIBLE FIRST NOVEL AWARD
https://www.grindstoneliterary.com/crucible-award
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 1, 2021. For crime, mystery, and thriller novels. The Crucible First Novel Award is a brand new, free to enter competition for unrepresented authors. We are looking for the best new novels in crime, mystery, and thriller, and are asking entrants to submit the first 5,000 words of their manuscripts, along with a 150-word elevator pitch. We will choose the best 20-30 entries, and compile them into the Crucible Chapbook, which will be sent to a list of agents and agencies.

GRINDSTONE SHORT STORY PRIZE
https://www.grindstoneliterary.com/short-story-prize
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline May 1, 2021. The Grindstone Short Story Prize returns this year, seeking out the best short fiction writers from around the world. Writers are asked to submit a piece of short fiction between 1,000 and 3,000 words, of any genre, aimed at adult readers. Grand Prize - £500. Runner Up - £200. Four Shortlisters - £50. The top 20 entries will be curated into our yearly anthology and published in print.

FLASH 500 SHORT STORY COMPETITION
https://flash500.com/short-stories/
£7 ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 28, 2021. First: £500. Second: £200. Third: £100. The competition is international and welcomes non-UK entrants. Stories must not exceed 3,000 words.

GRINDSTONE INTERNATIONAL NOVEL PRIZE
https://www.grindstoneliterary.com/novel-prize
£16 ENTRY FEE. Deadline April 1, 2021. The 2021 Novel Prize is open to unpublished or self-published, un-represented authors working on a novel aimed at Young Adult or Adult audiences. Open to entrants from all over the world, our previous winners and shortlists have hailed from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, to name a few, and have gone on to find much success in the publishing industry. To be eligible, the finished (or projected finished) length must exceed 70,000 words. Works in progress are accepted in this competition, and entries may be of any genre. Entrants are asked to submit the opening 3,000 words, accompanied by a short synopsis in the same file. Grand Prize - £1,000 plus full manuscript request. Runner Up - £500. Four Shortlisters - £100. All Prize Winners receive 25 percent CBCreative Online Course Discount plus Atmos Collections Invitation. The top 20 entries from the initial judging phases will also be curated into a chapbook and sent directly to a list of literary agencies.

WATERSTON DESERT WRITING PRIZE
https://highdesertmuseum.org/waterston-submission/
NOTE SEEING AN ENTRY FEE. Opens January 1 through May 1, 2021. The Prize annually honors literary nonfiction that illustrates artistic excellence, sensitivity to place, and desert literacy — with the desert as both subject and setting. The Prize will recognize one writer with a $2,500 cash award, a reading and reception at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon, and a residency at PLAYA at Summer Lake, Oregon. Limit ten pages.

MOGFORD FOOD AND DRINK SHORT STORY PRIZE
https://www.mogfordprize.co.uk/
£15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline January 13, 2021. Food and drink must be at the heart of the winning tale. Your short story could, for instance, be about crime or intrigue; about a chance meeting over a drink; a life-changing conversation over dinner; or perhaps the details of a relationship explored through food or drink. Your short story should have a maximum of 2,500 words. There is no minimum and the title is not included in the word count.

WOMEN'S PRIZE TRUST
https://bridgetwhelan.com/2020/09/19/women-if-you-have-started-writing-a-novel-enter-this-competition/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline January 17, 2021. Discoveries invites all unpublished women writers over 18 and living in the UK or Ireland and writing in English to submit to the Discoveries Prize. The prize doesn’t require writers to have finished a novel – only to have started one – and it is free to enter. It is open to any genre of adult fiction and you only need to submit the first 10,000 words of your novel plus a synopsis (and you’re allowed a very generous 1,000 words). The winner will be offered representation by Curtis Brown Literary Agency and a cash prize of £5,000. All longlisted and shortlisted authors will be offered personalised packages of mentorship from a Curtis Brown agent or industry expert tailored to their individual needs, as well as free or discounted places on Curtis Brown Creative’s writing courses.

MAGMA POETRY COMPETITION
https://magmapoetry.com/magma-2020-21-poetry-competition/
£5 ENTRY FEE. Deadline January 15, 2021. Two entries. The Judge’s Prize – poems of 11 to 50 lines. The Editors’ Prize – poems of up to 10 lines. First prize for the Judge’s and Editors’ Prize is £1,000, second prize £300 and third prize £150. The six prize-winning poems will be published in Magma, and there will also be five special mentions for the Judge’s Prize and for the Editors’ Prize. Winning and commended poets will be invited to read their poems at a Magma Competition Event in Spring 2021.

O BHEAL FIVE WORDS POETRY COMPETITION
https://www.obheal.ie/blog/five-words-poetry-competition/
5 EURO ENTRY FEE. Deadline January 26, 2021. Every Tuesday at midday (UTC) from April 14, 2020 – January 26, 2021, five words are posted on this competition page. Entrants will have one week to compose and submit one or more poems including all five words given for that week. A prize of 750 euros will be awarded to the winner, plus 500 euros for second place and 250 euros for third place. These three, if available will be invited to read at Ó Bhéal’s 14th anniversary event, on Monday, April 12, 2021. Should we be able to host a physical event at that time, then an additional travel fee of 100 euro plus B&B accommodation will be provided for this. The overall winner also receives a physical award, hand-crafted by acclaimed glass artist (and poet) Michael Ray. The shortlisted poems and winning entry will also be published in Five Words Vol XIV – the next annual anthology of five-word poems, to be launched at the same event. A shortlist of 12 poems including the overall winner will be announced by the first week of March 2021.

FISH PUBLISHING SHORT MEMOIR PRIZE
https://www.fishpublishing.com/competition/short-memoir-contest/
€18 ENTRY FEE. Deadline January 31, 2021. The best ten memoirs will be published in the FISH ANTHOLOGY 2021. First: €1,000. Second: Writing Course (online) + €200. Third: €200. Word limit 4,000 words.

MICHAEL WATERS POETRY PRIZE
https://www.usi.edu/sir/awards-contests/waters-prize/waters-prize-2021-guidelines
$35 ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 1, 2021. Southern Indiana Review will award a prize of $3,000 and publication for a full-length poetry manuscript written in English. Must consist of at least 40 and no more than 100 pages of poetry.

ACCENTI WRITING CONTEST
https://accenti.ca/writing-contest/rules/
$30 ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 1, 2021. The topic is open. The contest is open to prose works. Entries can be fiction, nonfiction or creative nonfiction. Entries must be previously unpublished and not under consideration by any other publication. Entries must be original and not a translation of a previously published work. Maximum length: 2,000 words.

ELMBRIDGE LITERARY COMPETITION
https://www.rcsherrifftrust.org.uk/copy-of-the-2020-elmbridge-literary
£5 ENTRY FEE. Deadline February 5, 2021. The Competition will once again run in partnership with publishers Sampson Low, who will publish the winning entries as a Chapbook. Small and affordable forms of literature, Chapbooks historically were sold on the streets, and covered a range of subjects from fairy tales and ghost stories to news of politics, crime or disaster. Short stories must be in English, previously unpublished and a maximum length of 1,000 words (8-13 years) or 1,500 words (14+). Short story and poetry categories. First £250. Second £150. Third £100.

GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS / CROWDFUNDING

HAMBIDGE RESIDENCIES
https://www.hambidge.org/guidelines-apply
The Hambidge Center is situated on 600 forested acres in the mountains of north Georgia and offers miles of nature trails, meadows, waterfalls, a swimming hole, and an abundance of wildflowers. Apply from December 1 through January 15 for the SUMMER SESSION (May through August). Apply from March 1 through April 15 for the FALL SESSION (September through December). Apply from August 1 through September 15 for the SPRING SESSION of the following year (mid-February through April). We seek applications from emerging and mid-career creatives, as well as from those who are established with national or international reputations. Applications for residency are judged primarily on the quality of submitted work samples and professional promise. The residency fee is $250 per week. Note: the actual cost of a residency is $1,500/wk. Every year, the Hambidge Center raises funds to supplement $1250 for every residency week, leaving each resident with only the $250/wk fee. Hambidge offers limited financial aid scholarships to accepted residents. Priority will be given to minority residents with the goal of a more diverse and inclusive residency program. NOTE: The April 15th deadline for Fall Session 2020 (September-December) residency applications has been EXTENDED to May 1st.

RAUSCHENBERG MEDICAL EMERGENCY GRANTS
https://www.nyfa.org/awards-grants/rauschenberg-medical-emergency-grants/
The Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grants program provides one-time grants of up to $5,000 for unexpected medical, dental, and mental health emergencies experienced by artists in the past six months. Only visual and media artists and choreographers may apply to this program.

FRENCH CULTURE GRANTS
https://frenchculture.org/grants-and-programs/books-and-ideas/2769-publishing-grants-prizes
Deadline May 15, 2021. The Book Department of the Cultural Services works to promote French and Francophone literature and to encourage English translations of French works. We oversee three grant programs to help publishers and translators with acquisition of rights cost and translation cost.

ICELANDIC LITERATURE CENTER
https://www.islit.is/en/grants/travel-grants/nr/3533
Deadline January 15, 2021. Travel grants are temporarily also for online events. Only organisers of events abroad can apply for grants for the participation of Icelandic authors in online events. This arrangement will be regularly reviewed to keep up with developments. Icelandic authors, foreign publishers, or organisations arranging events can apply for travel grants for Icelandic authors travelling to promote their works abroad. It is possible to apply for the grant up to eight weeks after the travel. The travel grant is a contribution towards flight or train cost, not accommodation or other travel expenses.

FREELANCE MARKETS / JOBS

BETTER HUMANS
https://medium.com/better-humans/write-for-better-humans-4c6c9884fc08
We offer two payment structures. A $500 flat-rate commission for empathic tutorials, usually about 3,000 words long, under an exclusive contract that gives us the rights to publish your work. “Exclusive contract” means that the work hasn’t been published elsewhere and you won’t be able to publish it elsewhere, with one exception: you can use your article in an ebook after one year. Or a pay-for-performance, where you are paid monthly by Medium based on member read time, and in which you retain rights to the article. The article must not be duplicated elsewhere on Medium. Better Humans is a vast and growing collection of diverse, well-tested advice on every aspect of self-improvement. We’re one of the top ten publications on Medium. Our goal is to bring you the world’s most trustworthy writing on human potential and self-improvement.

ELEMENTAL
https://elemental.medium.com/about
Elemental is a new Medium publication for science-backed health and wellness coverage. Every day, you will find new ambitious and trustworthy reporting on the many ways to live a healthy life. You can email us at [email protected]. Pays up to $1/word.

FORGE
https://forge.medium.com/about
Forge is here to examine and illuminate our constant struggle to get more done, invest in creativity and focus, and be happy doing it. We bring journalistic rigor and credible, peer-reviewed science to bear. We don’t use vague inspiration-speak or glibly suggest quick fixes to major personal problems. Pays up to $1/word.

GEN
https://gen.medium.com/about
GEN is a new Medium publication focused on politics, power, and culture. Every day, you will find stories that will help you understand the powerful forces reshaping our world. You can email us at [email protected]. Pays up to $1/word.

HEATED
https://medium.com/heated/about
Our goal is to showcase the links between food and just about everything else: agriculture, politics, history, and labor; culture and cooking; identity, family, and love. It’s a new, ongoing, and exciting project, one in which we intend to involve lots of different voices and views — including, we hope, yours. Pays up to $1/word.

HUMAN PARTS
https://humanparts.medium.com/about
Human Parts is Medium’s home for personal stories and perspectives. From the mundane to the extraordinary to the downright weird, we’re here to explore what it means to be human. Pays up to $1/word.

Publishers/agents

O'CONNOR LITERARY AGENCY
https://oconnor.nyc/
A boutique Manhattan literary agency, the O’Connor Literary Agency moves your project from scattered thoughts, to pages-long manuscript, to publisher and finally to sale. Tell your story; share your unique take on the world. He agents middle-grade novels, middle-grade nonfiction and adult nonfiction in history, science, and technology. Associate Jonathan Agin ([email protected]) is looking for serious nonfiction—mainly history, politics, and popular culture. His clients include journalists, academics, and other writers working to make complex, intriguing, sophisticated concepts accessible.

LADDERBIRD LITERARY AGENCY
https://www.ladderbird.com/
Ladderbird is a full-service boutique literary agency out of the Boston area with a passion for bringing marginalized voices to the forefront. We work with authors at all levels to create the right path towards achieving each author's specific goals. Six different agents represent different genres. Pitch a particular agent.

EPOQUE PRESS
https://www.epoquepress.com/submissions
As a new independent publisher we are seeking out new voices representing the best in literary fiction. We are open to both new and established authors working in any genre. At present we are seeking submissions of novels and collections of short stories.