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EDITOR'S THOUGHTS

READING OTHERS WHILE YOU'RE WRITING YOURS

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”

— Stephen King

A friend recently said she cannot read someone else's book when she is writing. Jokingly, I asked her if she could walk and chew gum at the same time. . . two different sets of muscles. Reading and writing are two totally dissimilar tasks, and frankly, one should aid the other.

You may think that your writing is just yours, on this lone little path, with no need for outside influence. As a matter of fact, you may feel outside influence will hurt your story, or make you stray from your thoughts.

Who says your thoughts are all on target? Or, more, who says your story isn't in need of improvement? Who says the book you are reading can't more clearly define what you are trying to say in Chapter 13? Why can't one character's reaction spin your thoughts into a better direction for your own character?

Author Christopher Booker wrote a well-known book titled The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories. Georges Polti authored The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations, to categorize every dramatic situation that might occur in a story or performance. Writers study these lessons, and attempt to apply them to their own work, but then fall short of reading creative works to see how they might have been applied. 

Reading another creative work while you are writing your own is no different than studying a textbook while writing your term paper. It's incentivizing your writing. It gives more meaning, maybe better interpretation to your words to see how others have applied language.

We all know how it goes when someone tells a story to a friend, and then the friend tells another, then the friend tells another. Each time the story is different. The bones may be the same, but each story takes on a different flavor, takes a different direction, emphasizes a different lesson, maybe even creates different characters. No two storytellers tell a story alike.

You cannot accidentally plagiarize. But you can read something you like and mold it into a different animal. Every writer does that whether they admit it or not.

Austin Kleon wrote Steal Like an Artist, given to me by a good writing friend who knows how I feel about what is and isn't plagiarism. I loved the book. It's small, easily read, but if you take the time to dissect it, it's jam packed with wisdom about the very subject of this editorial. Read it. 

And if you do not believe me, consider someone more famous and profound:

"Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different. The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different from that from which it was torn." ~T.S. Eliot

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HOPE'S APPEARANCES

 SUCCESS QUOTE

SUccess Story

Hey, Hope, 

I LOVE your posts! I will friend you on FB so I can take part in the book giveaways. 

I have something I hope you will consider posting sometime soon. It's in regard to rejection and your post on hearing "No."

More than 30 years ago, I sent a query letter with the first chapter of a novella I was writing. I did everything you advised - having someone else proofread it, reading it aloud, making sure of word count, getting the Acquisitions Editor's name right, and so on.

When I received a letter in the mail with the logo of this publisher on the top left-hand side of the envelope, my heart more than skipped a beat. It was more like double-dutch skipped.

I opened the letter and then my heart sank as I read the words on the page. "Dear Writer," it began, "We appreciate your submitting your work to (name of publishing company). Unfortunately, we cannot consider your work at this time. We wish you luck in placing it elsewhere." 

Then, after "Sincerely, The Editors at (name of publisher), this person wrote by hand the following message: "You are a terrible writer. Never, ever, EVER submit to (name of publisher)." There was no signature at the bottom, just that cruel, handwritten bit of vitriol.

So I cried. Then I fumed. Then I re-read what I had sent this publisher. Then I went back to my keyboard, polished and refined and finished the novella, and submitted it to a five-state writing competition. It won second prize and a cash reward.

My message to your readers is: don't let rejection get you down. One of my mentors, the late Alex Haley (of ROOTS fame), once told me, "When someone tells you you're a terrible writer, don't believe them. When someone tells you you're the best writer ever, don't believe them. Just keep writing."

Now I have 20 books under my writer's belt, more than 800 articles published in a variety of newspapers and magazines, and 17 stories in the New York Times Bestselling "Chicken Soup for the Soul" anthologies. And I have never submitted anything else to that vitriolic publisher. 

Best,
T. (Theresa)
www.TJensenLacey.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 Begin Submitting Your Creative Nonfiction Writing

By Annette Gendler
 
Ten years ago, I would have told you to review Cliff Garstang's ranking of literary magazines for nonfiction and begin by submitting to the best. I did that for many years, dutifully submitting my short memoirs and personal essays to a prioritized list of literary magazines, with limited success. Thankfully, I eventually realized there was a better way to get published: 

Determine the subject you are writing about and look for openings at publications covering that subject. 

For example I wrote several personal essays about the challenges of being a mother, none of which I had been able to publish. Then I stumbled upon a call for submissions from Kveller, the leading Jewish parenting site. They sought content for the local editions they were launching in various cities, among them my hometown of Chicago. I figured I should be able to package my own experience in a way that would meet their needs. My first article for them was "How My Kids and I Celebrate Tu BiShvat in Chicago." I have since written several first-person essays for them, all with the angle of life as a Jewish parent.

Target mainstream publications, such as local newspapers, national or local magazines. 

They publish daily or weekly and need lots of content (unlike literary magazines, which only publish a few issues a year). When my memoir Jumping Over Shadows came out, I was able to place an article in Woman's World for Valentine's Day, focused on a particular aspect of my own love story: "Proposals are Overrated." Most mainstream publications welcome submissions, even if they don't post guidelines. If you can't find submission info under "Contact Us," try to figure out which editor covers your subject area and email them. If that fails, contact one of their freelance writers and ask for help on how to get into that publication.

Seasonal topics offer a good entry point. 

Publications always need such content, see my Valentine's Day example above. Scrutinize your writing to see which season or holiday it might fit. An essay about your relationship with your father might be appropriate for a women's (or men's) magazine looking for Father's Day content. See if your piece offers a slant that would make it competitive. 

A student of mine wrote about reviving the relationship with her estranged father shortly before he passed away, presenting a unique angle for Father's Day. I’ve been able to publish two essays on Christmas in the premier Jewish publication Tablet. In fact, Giving Up Christmas was my first publication with them. Keep in mind that print magazines require about six months of lead-time for seasonal topics. Online publications are more flexible but still plan content a few weeks in advance.

Lastly, submit to publications you like to read. 

The chance of your voice and your topic jiving with that publication is much higher than engaging in blanket submissions to simply "the best literary magazines for nonfiction." My story "Thrown Out of the Family Home" appeared in the Wall Street Journal. Why? I enjoy reading their Mansion section on Fridays, and I had noticed a call for submissions asking readers to send in stories of beloved homes. It so happened that I thought my story about my odd love for my grandparents' former home in the Czech Republic might fit. It did!
 
BIO - Annette Gendler is the author of Jumping Over Shadows, the true story of a German-Jewish love that overcame the legacy of the Holocaust, as well as the guide How to Write Compelling Stories from Family History. She has been teaching memoir writing at StoryStudio Chicago since 2006. Visit her at annettegendler.com.





 

COmpetitions

THE JOHN LEWIS WRITING AWARDS
https://www.georgiawriters.org/john-lewis-writing-award/
NO ENTRY FEE. Deadline September 15, 2021. Applicants must be emerging writers who are Black or African American residents of Georgia for at least one year, or full-time students at a Georgia college or university at the time of application and on the date of the award. Writers may apply in only one genre and must submit the following: a completed award application, an essay of at least 500 words as a concise description of work and goals as a writer. Please tell us what inspires or challenges your writing career, and provide writing sample(s) of previously unpublished ten pages to include fiction, nonfiction or poetry. The winner in each genre will receive an award of $500, a scholarship to the next annual Red Clay Writers Conference, and an invitation to present a writing project in a future GWA virtual program.



THE SLIGHTLY FOXED BEST FIRST BIOGRAPHY PRIZE - UK
https://thebiographersclub.com/the-slightly-foxed-best-first-biography-prize/
£25 ENTRY FEE. Deadline October 31, 2021. The Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize awards £2,500 to the judges’ choice of the best first biography published each year. The author must be resident in the UK. Books must have a publication date between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021 (proofs are acceptable). 



TONY LOTHIAN PRIZE
https://thebiographersclub.com/the-tony-lothian-prize/
£15 ENTRY FEE. Deadline September 30, 2021. The £2,000 Tony Lothian Prize (sponsored by her daughter, Elizabeth, Duchess of Buccleuch) is for an uncommissioned proposal by a first-time biographer. Past winners have been successful in finding agents and publishers. Proposals of no more than 20 pages (unbound), including synopsis, 10-page sample chapter (double-spaced, numbered pages), CV, and notes on the market for the book and competing literature. 



WRITER'S DIGEST SELF-PUBLISHED EBOOK AWARDS
https://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions/self-published-ebook-awards
ENTRY FEE $99-$125. EARLY DEADLINE August 16, 2021. REGULAR DEADLINE September 20, 2021. Many, many categories. One grand prize winner receives $5,000, interview in Writer's Digest, paid trip to the conference. A first prize winner in each of many categories receives $1,000. Honorable Mention Winners will receive $50 gift certificate to Writer’s Digest Shop and an announcement on WritersDigest.com. The competition is open to self-published authors of English-language ebooks which were published (or revised and republished) electronically between 2016 and 2021. 



WOW! WOMEN ON WRITING SUMMER FLASH FICTION CONTEST
https://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php
$10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline August 31, 2021. Seeking short fiction of any genre between 250-750 words. The mission of this contest is to inspire creativity, communication, and well-rewarded recognition to contestants. Open internationally. Limit: 300 entries. Prizes - 20 winners! First place $400. Second place $300. Third place $200. All winners receive publication, interview, and $25 Amazon gift card. Seven runners-up receive $25 Amazon Gift Cards, publication and interview. Ten honorable mentions receive $20 Amazon gift card. Top 10 stories are published in the WOW! Women On Writing ezine, and contestants are interviewed on WOW's blog, The Muffin. Limit 300 entries.



WOW! WOMEN ON WRITING CREATIVE NONFICTION ESSAY CONTEST
https://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php#EssayContest
$12 ENTRY FEE. Deadline October 31, 2021. Seeking creative nonfiction essays on any topic (200-1,000 words) and in any style, from personal essay and memoir to lyric essay and hybrid, and more! The mission of this contest is to reward bravery in real-life storytelling and create an understanding of our world through thoughtful, engaging narratives. Open internationally. Limit 300 entries.
 

GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS / CROWDFUNDING

- - - 

BARBARA NEELY MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
https://mysterywriters.org/mwa-announces-the-barbara-neely-memorial-scholarship-program/
Deadline September 30, 2021. MWA has established a new scholarship program in honor of the late Barbara Neely, a trailblazing Black crime novelist who was named a Grand Master by MWA in late 2019. Two $2,000 scholarships will be awarded to two Black crime writers: one will be given to an aspiring crime writer who has yet to be published, and the second will be awarded to a published author. Deadline to apply is September 30, 2021. At the discretion of the winner, the scholarship can be used for such tools as writing classes or professional conferences, computer equipment or appropriate software, writing retreats or working weekends away from the cares and distractions of home. MWA requires only that the scholarship be applied to writing in the crime and mystery genre, which includes both fiction and nonfiction. The award also includes a one-year membership in Mystery Writers of America. Applicants must be Black, American citizens, and age 18 or older. They must submit a brief biography, completed application form, and 300-500-word statement on their interest in the mystery genre and in general terms (class, conference, equipment, etc.) how they would use the scholarship funds.



EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE FOR ARTISTS
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/coronavirus/mortgage-and-housing-assistance/
Arts practitioners and artists who have been experiencing housing instability, or are having trouble making rent or mortgage payments as a result of the coronavirus pandemic should know that they are not alone. Federal, state, and local governments are offering help with housing expenses and avoiding eviction. Information is available at the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau’s mortgage and housing assistance site on available resources.



NYC WOMEN'S FUNDS
https://www.nyfa.org/awards-grants/nyc-womens-fund-for-media-music-and-theatre
Deadline November 1, 2021. The NYC Women's Fund for Media, Music and Theatre, administered by NYFA in partnership with the City of New York Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME), provides grants to encourage and support the creation of content that reflects the voices and perspectives of all who identify as women. Film, theatre (live and online), music, and web productions are eligible for finishing funds in the following categories: Fiction Feature, Fiction Short, Fiction Webisode/Webseries, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short, Documentary Webisodes/Webseries, Classical/Experimental/Jazz/New Music, Music General, and Theatre Production. 



SC FAST TRACK LITERARY GRANTS
https://schumanities.org/grants/howtoapply/#fasttrackliterarygrants
Deadline September 1, 2021. Fast Track Literary Grants are intended to support new or existing public literary programs such as (but not limited to) writers series, festivals, conferences, workshops, or writer’s residencies at schools. Awards are $3,000 or less.



ART-TRAIN INDIVIDUAL ARTIST TRAINING - INDIANA
https://springboardforthearts.org/art-train-training-artists/
The Art-Train Individual Artist Training is for artists who are interested in building on their existing skills to collaborate in and with their communities through their local agencies, non-profits, and arts councils. Artists will deepen practices around creative problem solving, equitable community engagement, and creating arts-based strategies to address recovery efforts. After taking a synchronous virtual training, artists receive one year of ongoing virtual support through an online resource library and optional bi-weekly group coaching rooms with Art-Train staff, experts and an expanding network of peers (every other Thursday).



FREE LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR INDIANA ARTISTS
https://indianalegalhelp.org/
Pro Bono Indiana's (IndianaLegalHelp.org) Lawyers for the Arts project provides legal assistance at no cost to artists and small arts organizations in the state of Indiana. To obtain help, please call 812.402.6303 (Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 am to 11:00 am CT).



PEGGY RAMSAY FOUNDATION - UK
https://www.peggyramsayfoundation.org/
The Peggy Ramsay Foundation seeks to perpetuate Peggy Ramsay’s ideals, by directly helping dramatists at very different stages of experience in ways which we are determined to keep as quick and unbureaucratic as possible. We give money to theatre writers giving them the time and the space to write. You can be a writer who’s only had one play professionally produced, a writer who’s had dozens of successes or a writer who’s somewhere in between - if you’re struggling to pay the bills, then we can help. We only support writers resident in the British Isles.



ARVON
https://www.arvon.org/writing-courses/grants/
Our grants help writers who are unable to afford our full course fees. For our residential courses, we offer two types of grants – Low Income Grant and Teachers Grant. If you couldn’t attend an Arvon week without some financial help, we encourage you to apply. Teachers Grants are a fixed amount of £200. With Low Income Grants, you can apply for any amount up to the full course fee, although most receive between £200 and £500. Last year we were able to help more than 90 percent of all writers who applied. You must be resident in the UK and able to demonstrate that you do not have the financial means to cover the full cost of an Arvon course.



CREATIVE SCOTLAND OPEN FUND FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS
https://www.creativescotland.com/funding/funding-programmes/open-fund/open-fund-for-individuals
No deadline. The Open Fund will support a period of research, development, and delivery of creative activity for up to 24 months. We will ask you to tell us the start and end date for this activity and to describe the outcomes, benefits and impacts that you wish to achieve. This fund is designed to support creative activity such as a specific project, production or a period of research and development. It can support an individual’s time where this is related to specific creative outcomes. Open to freelance and self-employed artists and creative practitioners living in Scotland who are at least 18 years old. Must have a UK bank account. You can apply for between £500 and £100,000.



THE LITERARY CONSULTANCY - UK
https://literaryconsultancy.co.uk/
TLC is the only editorial consultancy recognised by Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) for our wider work in the literary industry, and we offer a nationally-funded Free Reads programme designed to offer our core services, at no cost, to low-income writers. A range of partnerships and individual donations have helped us to further develop this scheme, which we now run as a Quality Writing for All campaign and includes campaigns, free event tickets, and additional support for writers facing barriers.



LEWIS CENTER HODDER FELLOWSHIP
https://arts.princeton.edu/fellowships/hodder-fellowship/
Deadline September 14, 2021. Writers and non-literary artists of exceptional promise will be awarded a stipend of $86,000 for a ten-month appointment to pursue independent projects at Princeton University during the academic year. Fellows also receive $5,000 (per academic year) for research expenses and $2,000 (per academic year) for classroom expenses. Fellowships are not for degree-seeking individuals.  

  

FREELANCE MARKETS / JOBS

FEMEDIC
https://thefemedic.com/about/write-for-us/
Our Editorial stream covers all aspects of health that are non-clinical in nature in relation to women's health. This includes social and political factors, identity, culture, discrimination, gender, lifestyle, and sharing particular experiences. This content is usually issue and experience-led, and does not require clinical knowledge or expertise to investigate. Features are for telling reported stories in more depth, and cover a broad range of women’s health-related topics. All pieces are generally around 700-900 words, but you are welcome to pitch something longer. For features, our current rate of pay is £150. For personal essays (no additional reporting or research required), the rate is £100.



AMERICA
https://www.americamagazine.org/submissions
America Media is the leading provider of editorial content for thinking Catholics and those who want to know what Catholics are thinking. America Media leads the conversation about faith and culture by producing excellent, unique, relevant and accessible content across multiple platforms. America Media accepts select unsolicited, unpublished content for dissemination in print, web, and other digital formats. Seeks pitches for feature-length reported pieces, essays and analysis. Feature-length pieces should be approved as a pitch and discussed with editors before a full manuscript is prepared and submitted. “Faith in Focus” essays starting from personal faith experience, “Short Take” opinion essays, and short poems of 40 or fewer lines. Pays 25 cents/word. 



LIGHT MAGAZINE BC
https://lightmagazine.ca/about-us/
If you are interested in writing for our publications, we favour positive and encouraging perspective on a range of life issues (health – wellness and fitness, stress, relationships, marriage, parenting, divorce and remarriage, singleness, finances, balancing career and life, the building years, mid-life and seniors issues, cultural shifts, changing media and much more). These articles should provide helpful truths for life, offering helpful related resources. Also seeks profiles of Christian individuals who live out a personal Christian faith, features on local community concerns and needs, stories and profiles of individuals, churches and Christian ministry projects that are impacting local communities. Accounts of Christian faith, life and mission that have inspired greater involvement in church life. Articles should be 400–800 words in length and should be personable in style, down to earth with little or no Christian jargon or editorializing. Pays ten cents/word. 



POWER FOR LIVING
https://dcc-knowledge-base.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Power-for-Living-Writers-Guidelines.pdf
Power for Living is a weekly publication and part of the David C Cook adult curriculum line. Every eight-page issue includes one feature article and several shorter pieces such as a column, devotional, or poem that portray the power of God in our daily lives. Our readership consists primarily of adults, aged 50 and older. Features are 1,200 to 1,500 words. We are looking for first-person or third-person stories that portray the power of God in someone’s life. Pays $375. Also considers poetry, columns, and devotionals. 

 

Publishers/agents

MACGREGOR & LUEDEKE AGENCY
http://www.macgregorandluedeke.com/about/
We are currently closed to fiction submissions and will not be responding to these queries. We are open to nonfiction submissions. We represent a range of genres, and we work with award-winning, bestselling authors as well as authors who are making a smaller—but still significant—splash in the market.



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. Ladderbird is committed to the growth and development of both new and veteran authors. We hope to introduce works with unique perspectives and diverse voices to the literary world. 



JANKLOW & NESBIT LITERARY AGENCY
http://janklowandnesbit.com/submissions
Janklow & Nesbit Associates is a premier literary agency dedicated to the interests of our writer clients in all aspects of their careers. We offer the care and personal attention of a boutique agency and the strength and expertise of a large firm. For fiction submissions, send an informative description, a brief synopsis and the first ten pages. For nonfiction submissions, send an informative description, a full outline, and the first ten pages of the manuscript. For picture book submissions, send an informative description, full outline, and include a picture book dummy and at least one full-color sample. 



THE STEPHANIE TADE AGENCY
https://www.stephanietadeagency.com/aboutus
We are a full-service literary agency with a focus on nonfiction, particularly in the categories of physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being.

 

SPONSORS

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 2000-2021, C. Hope Clark
ISSN: 1533-1326

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