High Hope for the Freelance Writer                                                                     

      C. Hope Clark, Editor

 

 

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I always send people to my friend Hope. She's like going to a train station for writers. Her knowledge can take you anywhere you want to go.     ~Bob Perks . www.bobperks.com, Author "I Wish You Enough"

Do you know how many other writers I know who have had a "Hope Awakening"? Didn't fully understand the gold in these newsletters until they finally had that epiphany of what a mine they're sitting on? You are SUCH a force in the writing world. I swear, you're the Oprah of the writing world. Thanks for all you do and all the encouragement you give. ~ Courtney Mroch

Your site is great, it is one of the few that to me feels like I am having a one on one conversation! ~Jamie Jenkins


9th ANNUAL FUNDSFORWRITERS ESSAY CONTEST

FundsforWriters.com and Literary Database team up to co-sponsor the 9th Annual FundsforWriters Essay Contest.

Theme: Writing that made a difference.

Both entry fee and no entry fee categories. First place winner receives $300. Six awards given. Limit 750 words. Deadline October 31, 2010. Winners announced December 1, 2010.

Guidelines here . . .

 


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(NOTE: So many people write about my editorials, I thought I'd list the FundsforWriters editorial of the week.  Watch what you wish for, however, because occasionally I step on toes in trying to speak the truth and help writers.)

Hope's Thought for the Week...

ALL PLANTS LOOK ALIKE

My husband, bless his heart, does anything I ask of him in the yard. Keep in mind my yard is three acres and we live in South Carolina, which means 95 degrees and air with enough humidity this time of year that you drink it instead of breathe. Yesterday, he was digging yet another hole in one of my many beds, preparing to plant a fig tree. I had ten plants in various sized pots.

"Hand me the fig," I asked, as I knelt to plant.

"Which one's the fig?" he asked. "They're all just green plants to me."

We're all green plants to an agent or editor. Writers look alike in that mile-high slush pile of mediocrity. Yes, that's
how they see us . . . except for those with personality.

All of us feel we have exceptional stories to tell. If we didn't, we wouldn't write. However, when it comes to pitching
those stories, we not only have to write well, but we also have to sell well, flashing our character in that so-important
query letter.

I've consulted many writers about queries. The majority of them have the story idea in their head, but it never makes it to the query letter. We pour our hearts into the story itself, but don't quite find a way to voice it just as interestingly into the letter that makes or breaks the deal.

Same goes for your platform. As you attempt to design your online personality, stop trying to be what others have already created. Like the query letter, the blog has to demonstrate how unique you are without being garish or neon commercial.

If you are a fiction writer, consider these questions:

1. Why are you different from other writers?
2. How is your material different?
3. How relevant are you?
4. What is unique about your writing voice?
5. Why would anybody care what you wrote?

If you are a nonfiction writer, consider these questions:

1. Who are you?
2. Why are you qualified to write this material?
3. Who would endorse you?
4. Why are your ideas relevant?
5. What problem does your material solve?

Good writers are a dime a dozen. What makes you appealing? Why would an agent or editor look twice at your query, or read your blog to determine if you are marketable?

Name five of your favorite writers - columnists, feature writers, novelists or nonfiction authors. Doesn't matter.
Why are they your favorites? What characteristic about them makes their efforts stand out in a green jungle of other
writers?

Then stop and think. In a garden full of green plants, how does someone identify you?

 


                                                                 Hope

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The Latest Articles from the FFW Newsletters...

NOTE: Articles published in TOTAL FundsforWriters are not listed on the website to respect paid subscribers. Another reason to subscribe!

 Marketing! Marketing! Marketing! - By William Mills - Publishers require authors to perform a lot of the marketing themselves. Marketing does not come naturally to most authors since many of us are introverts, like me. We would rather spend all day in libraries or taking long walks in the woods mulling over plot or character development than hawking our stories.

 Overlooked Benefits of Self-Syndication - By Jill Pertler - When it comes to my writing career, I am big proponent of the what’s-in-it-for-me attitude. If I’m deciding whether to join a social networking site, post something on the web or accept a freelance assignment, I always ask myself that question. I did the same when contemplating self-syndication.

 How to Sell How-to - by Cindy Kerschner - If you ever read something and said, "That's a great idea, I could
do that," you know the value of how-to articles. If you read the same article and thought, "I know a better, faster or cheaper way to do that," you might have a future in writing how-to.

Online Research the Right Way - by Stephanie Suesan Smith, Ph.D. - Would you like to do all your research on the computer? I mean real publications, from your computer. The federal government funds a program that makes databases of magazines, newspapers, professional and scientific journals, and some books available online. In many cases, the entire text of the article is included.

 Job Hunting Strategies for the Expat Freelance Writer - By Suchi Rudra - So you've made the move abroad, you're still writing for some clients back home, but you'd also like to dig into the local and regional markets? Even if the local language remains a mystery to you, there are still plenty of ways to earn a decent income from local and regional freelance writing work in English.

 Eight Good Markets for Writers Abroad - by Chantal Panozzo - Whether you’re living abroad or just dreaming of it, the following are good markets to consider for your work.

 Reading for Cash - By Penny Lockwood Ehrenrkanz - Would you like to get paid for reading? Becoming a copyeditor is a way for you to turn the writing skills you use every day into additional income.

Payoffs of Social Network Profiles - By Reece W. Manley - The little email happily arrived in my inbox one day, amongst the hundred or so other which get my attention every day. It’s subject – Can you write for me? – certainly caught my attention.

 Digging for Foreign Gold - By Grace Tierney - Remember Cortes and his search for Aztec gold? The modern
equivalent for writers is selling your work to international markets. It is easier than you think.

 Five Reasons Every Writer Should Be on Twitter (And Check It Daily) - By Beth Bartlett - Would you turn down a free, daily writer’s conference packed with editor’s tips, job opportunities and networking with fellow scribes? If you’re not on the social network site Twitter, you’re missing out on some of the best online resources for writers.

 Connect, Reconnect and Keep Swatting Those Gnats - By Dawn Goldsmith - The phone message light blinked in the bedroom. I dropped the bags of medical detritus that my husband accumulated during his almost two week stay in the hospital. An unfamiliar, but friendly voice with a strangely familiar New England accent spoke from the machine. "I hope you remember me...."

 Access the Archives to Achieve Success - By Shaunna Privratsky - Would you like to break into a seemingly impossible market? How about landing an assignment at a high-paying magazine? I can’t guarantee success, but I can let you in on a secret weapon: the archives.

 All Credits (are not) Considered Equal (5 things about submitting strategically) - By Jennifer Brown Banks - Beware---all publishing credits are not created equal. This unwritten rule is unknown by many new or “unsavvy” scribes who crank out work on the regular without recognition or monetary rewards they desire.

 The Cost of Creating - By Kirsty Logan - Everyone I know has two job titles: the one they get paid to do, and the one they wish they got paid to do. I'm a waitress/ writer. My girlfriend is a graphic designer/musician, and my
brother is a lighting tech/filmmaker. They do the former to afford the equipment and studio time to do the latter, but as a writer I don't need to pay for electronics or locations.

Without Boundaries: Selling to International Markets - By Ruth Schiffmann - When it comes to marketing your stories and articles, think big, break boundaries, market globally.

 Third World Freelancing - By Melissa Koosmann - About two years ago, I decided to change my life. No longer would I drift along in a dead-end job, wishing to be a writer and doing nothing about it. After a whirlwind of discussions and preparations, we found my husband a job and left our old life behind. I started a full-time freelance career…from South Africa.

 Food Writing – The Market is Open! - By Susan Sundwall - Food and everything to do with it is a hot topic
on televisions shows, in magazine features, recipe contests, wedding planning, children’s shows – the list goes on. To tap this viable market, consider this advice.

 Flying High: The right way to send off your children's book - By Harriet Cooper - Andrew, a client of mine, finally finished the children's adventure book he started ten years ago. The book was almost ready to fly.

Writing for Businesses - By Aline Lechaye - Nowadays, businesses need writers, especially small businesses
which usually work with only one or two (mostly freelance) employees on the side. One of those freelance employees is very often a writer, because small businesses need writing for so many areas.

 A Dash of This, A Pinch of That - By Cynthia Briggs - Writing a cookbook has its delicious rewards, yet it’s one of the most competitive genres.

Write for Teens, are You Serious? - By Ruth Schiffmann - If you can jump back into those high school days while addressing the concerns of today’s teen, the challenges they face can provide endless topics for articles, fiction, interviews, quizzes, and more.

 Writing for the Homeschool Market - By Karen Lange - There’s really no secret formula to writing for homeschoolers, but if you aren’t acquainted with homeschooling it might seem intimidating. Here are a few insider tips to help get you started on the right foot.

 How to Make Your 8-to-5 Job Work for Your Writing - By JoAnna Haugen - Working an eight-to-five job doesn’t have to hold you back from your writing dream. Here are seven ways to get the most out of your day job:

 No Health Insurance Doesn’t Have to Mean Expensive Health Care - By Sonya Weiss - I am a full time freelance copywriter and marketer. I am also mom to four children with a genetic autonomic malfunction. Their bodies don’t regulate their heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature and a host of other functions that it should.

 High Dreams, Low Overhead - By Dean M. Shapiro - I woke up one recent morning feeling very depressed.
Not a nice way to begin a day – or an article – but don’t stop reading yet. The story gets better.

 Make Money Writing About Money - by Jessica McCann - In challenging economic times – and even as the economy gradually rebounds – many people are looking for ideas about how to budget, save, invest and manage their money. This presents more opportunities for freelance writers to pitch (and publish) articles on personal finance topics.

Art at the Hands of an Editor - By Richard Krawiec - I recently saw a statistic that claimed the number of self-published books, including print-on-demand, increased by over 100% last year, while the number of traditionally
published books declined. What the numbers effectively mean is that there are more writers now in this country than
readers. This is not a good situation for writers.

 Invoicing Tools for Writers - By Thursday Bram - Most writers want to write, rather than send out invoices or spend time on other paperwork. It is necessary to take care of such business details in order to get paid for your writing, but there are tools available to make the process a little easier.

 What Your Tax Preparer Wants to See From You - By Thursday Bram - Tax season is more complicated for writers than for anyone who relies on just one employer for income.

 Selling in the Big Apple - By Leigh Goodwin - The day I sold a column to The New York Times was unlike any other day. Like many first time columnists I had been rejected by newspapers for years.

 Don’t Query, Be happy! (Effective strategies for working smarter, not harder) - By Jennifer Brown Banks - Contrary to popular opinion, queries are not the only way to reach the pinnacles of publishing--no more than a college degree is a prerequisite for corporate success. Look at Bill Gates.

 Success within Convention: Using Genre Conventions to Boost your Opportunities - By Trisha J. Wooldridge - If you write genre fiction, particularly science-fiction, fantasy, horror or paranormal, conventions offer opportunities to meet agents, editors, and fans.

 

   

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Copyright 2000-2010, C. Hope Clark and FundsforWriters - FFW does not warranty the information on this site. This site and its contents are provided  on an "as is" basis without warranty. Information can change at a moment's notice, so FundsforWriters/C. Hope Clark does not represent that this information is complete or current by the time you access it. Please use at your own risk just as you would any information in your writing career - with educated caution. The names of companies, their magazines or other products mentioned on this site may be the trademarks of their respective owners. FundsforWriters/C. Hope Clark will not be held liable for damages arising out or or in connection with the use of this site. If this sounds like legalese, we apologize. We provide the freshest information we can find, but the Internet changes faster than we can be responsible for. We do not collect name or email information for distribution. Email addresses are not shared with other sources. Direct any questions to Hope@fundsforwriters.com - or by snail mail to 140-A Amicks Ferry Road #4, Chapin, SC 29036