Someone searches “grants for writers” and up pops FundsforWriters in the search. Right there upfront. All you have to do is email someone, say you are a writer and ask for a check to publish your book. Right? Sigh. . . if only it were that easy. Following is a generalization of what we tell writers when they write asking for a grant. . . Okay…first, I’m so glad you found FundsforWriters. We post a lot of information about how to earn money as a writer. However, grants are not pots of money waiting for someone to dip into for their indie book project. Let’s discuss grants. You have to match what you’re doing to the mission of a grant provider. In other words, it’s as difficult if not more so than finding a publisher. What you’re doing with your book has to fit what the grant provider wants to support. All grantors have missions and purposes. Just like Coca Cola doesn’t make diapers. Just like Ford doesn’t make cell phones. Grantors give grants for very precise purposes. If you decide you want to pursue a grant, you have to apply and prove you are someone who matches what they need, because grantors More
Five Pro Tips for Killer Email Subject Lines
/ 2019-09-05When you email an agency or editor to query new work or chase a submission, the subject line is almost as important as all the other elements of your email put together. Here, based on 20 years of working with email agencies and the CRM teams of big brands, are my tips for writing a subject line (SL) that will help your email to stand out from a noisy inbox and have the best chance of being opened and responded to. Avoid being cryptic Let’s say, for example, that you have written a new sci-fi saga called The Dragons of Jupiter. You might be tempted to write an intriguing SL such as: “Why did the Dragons move to Jupiter?” Out of context, alas, this won’t make much sense, and your intended recipient is likely a very busy person who is not looking for intrigue from their crowded inbox. This is even more the case if your sender name is unfamiliar to them. Make instant sense Instead, craft SLs that work even out of context, are easy to understand and give the recipient a very clear idea of what the message is about even if they don’t open it there and More
Reading Aloud Can Pay Off – Literally
/ 2019-08-22Are you a writer who studied acting? Learned vocal techniques that enhance projection, enunciation, and relaxation? Have you practiced dance or movement? Become an experienced public speaker? Any of these skills can translate into a revenue stream for writers. Twenty-five years ago, in New York City, I enrolled in acting school. One of my reasons was to become a better writer. Acting is noted for engaging sensory detail, a necessity for writers. As my stories became richer, I took other performance-related classes, including voice, movement, and improvisation. All these techniques resulted in strengthening my reading aloud skills—and most writers at some point have to read their work aloud, be it to try out a chapter or to sell books. Reading aloud is also a great proofreading tool. In time, my public readings were noticed by prospective publishers. Fast forward ten years. I’m living in Taos, NM with one memoir published, a second one in the works, and various acting roles under my belt. I’m asked to teach “Theater Games” classes as a vehicle to explore and enhance creativity. At the fourth class, Judith, a schoolteacher, asked if she could bring a selection from a children’s book she was writing “so More
Teaching Others to Write. . . Online
/ 2019-08-02If you’ve been published for any length of time, you realize thousands upon thousands of writers still struggle to get published or to decide what they want to write. Some still need to learn the basics while others seek to be steered in the right direction. With enough experience and knowledge under your belt, you might be able to help them and, in turn, increase your writing profits. You don’t need to be a New York Times bestseller or have numerous awards to your credit to teach; however, you do need strong writing skills, proof that you’ve mastered an area of writing, and the ability to convey the knowledge you have learned to others. Choosing the topic to teach involves research as you look into writing courses already available. You don’t want to offer a course too similar or too generic, and what you do offer should be a component of writing with which you’re extremely familiar. For instance, if you’ve gotten rave reviews on your villainous characters, you could possibly teach a course for other aspiring suspense/thriller writers. Teaching writing courses involves designing the course, which includes writing all of the lessons and the assignments, and setting the price, More
Your 100 Fan Club
/ 2019-07-06By C. Hope Clark The older I get, the more simplified I seem to want my life. That’s why I toned FundsforWriters down over the years from four newsletters, to three, to two. . . and now one, just like I started years ago. More time to write. More time to enjoy myself while writing. I love losing myself in a story. But marketing, publishing, and so on tend to distract us and rob us of the joy. At a recent conference speaker, I spoke to writers about corralling all the to-do things on their plates and learning how to focus on writing. I suggested they do what I’m doing. . . write for their most avid 100 fans. You know who those are. They are the ones who review, who respond to your blog, who converse with you on Facebook, who like your Instagram posts. They don’t just say they love your work, but they talk it, naming characters and plot points that resonated with them. Why just 100? Because those are your concentrated dose of energy. You have a better feel for what they like. Since they’ve contacted you somehow, you feel a few degrees closer to them. You More
How to be a Welcome Guest Poster
/ 2019-06-29Posting on guest sites is a great way to increase your profile, develop your personal brand – and subtly plug a product or service. Here’s how to increase your chances of getting your posts accepted… Writing guest posts is a great way to promote your work and build your personal writer’s brand. I’ve done a lot of this recently, to promote my book, Kitten on a Fatberg. I’ve spent quite a lot of time sending off ideas, reading submissions guidelines, and liaising with editors. Here are some of the things I’ve learned along the way… Have something to say Start by sitting down and thinking of a few topics that you could write about. These need to hit the content sweet spot – that happy overlap between the things you want to talk about, the things people might want to hear about, and the things the blog or website might actually want to publish. Look for topics that are editorial in nature but aligned with your product. My book is a comic novel written with two co-authors, for example, so I’ve pitched various ideas to do with writing humour, crowdfunding a novel, collaborating on a book and so on. Research More
7 Nudges to Work Into Your Query Letters
/ 2019-06-29Nudges are psychological levers that can be used to help influence and persuade people because they work with the way our minds are wired. Here are some common nudges you can work into your query letters and project submissions… Nudge Theory is a branch of economics designed to help us all make better decisions by appealing to the way our minds are wired. Instead of expecting people to make rational, considered decisions about everything, or trying to boss people into doing what’s good for them, nudges appeal to the mental shortcuts we all make when faced with choices. Nudges are widely used in social policy and the corporate world now, to help people make better choices in everything from pensions to well-being. Richard Thaler, one of the developers of nudge theory, won the Nobel Prize for Economics last year. For example, we tend to take the path of least resistance when it comes to decision-making and will, as a rule, opt for the default option. For this reason, it’s suggested that state pension schemes and organ donation policies should be opt-out rather than opt-in. Marketers have long used many a wide range of nudges and are finding new ways to nudge people More
Five Tips for Creating a Phenomenal Newsletter
/ 2019-06-10A successful newsletter goes beyond generating a massive mailing list—although that is the tacit tenant that drives us all. Smart authors strive to create content that not only compels subscribers to read and share but also urges them to act in a manner that generates sales. This goes beyond the basic, and frankly overused, taglines such as “I have a gift for you,” or “Buy my book for a free gift.” This type of marketing push is vague and lacks the creativity you possess as a writer, so here are five stress-free ways to give your newsletter that coveted edge. 1 – Use the subject line to offer a specific value. Since newsletters by definition are promotional tools, avoid leading with the obvious sales pitch. Instead, give your audience something other authors can’t. If you write cozies, promote your book with a subject line like “Detective Dolly’s Ten Tips on How to Hide Anything” or “Six Lasagna Recipes from Detective Dolly.” Offer value that shows you know your audience, and place those items at the end of the email (so the reader scrolls through the entirety of your content). 2 – Lead with your most important information. Pre-sales, book signings, More
Could Content Writing Help You Make Ends Meet as a Writer?
/ 2019-05-25Content could be your best chance of making up the extra income you need to keep your writing ambitions on track. So what is it and how does it work? Content is the material produced by businesses to market themselves and covers all of these and more: social media messages, website collateral, print brochures, brand videos, infographics, email newsletters, white papers, ebooks, and sponsored articles. Is content the same as advertising? It’s more a cross between advertising and journalism. The idea is that people are tired of constant promotional messages – buy this now! – and are becoming increasingly savvy shoppers: before they buy anything, they do loads of research online, for instance, in online forums and on social media. So to reach them, businesses now need to be part of that research process. And that means offering useful information and inspiration to support their decision-making: content. So what does content look like? It’s the difference between a mortgage website that just says, “check out our deals,” and one that also says ‘First-time mortgages: a handy guide for new homebuyers’. Since the company is an expert in mortgages, it can tell people some useful things that will help them make More
Show, Don’t Ask
/ 2019-05-18By C. Hope Clark Don’t ask an editor what you can write for him. Writers aren’t just about putting words together. They are about bringing fresh material to the table. Writers are a dime a dozen. New ideas are a dime a dozen. Writers who can write and produce fresh ideas hit the sweet spot. Don’t ask questions like: 1) What can I write for you? 2) Is this the sort of thing you publish? 3) What are your guidelines? 4) Are you accepting submissions? We’re talking ANY sort of writing whether you pitch magazines, apply for copywriting gigs, write nonfiction, or create novels. Your job as a writer is to make an editor’s work easy, not add to their pile. Come to them with solutions, not more work, and yes, answering inquisitive emails is work when you multiply it times a hundred each and every day. At the risk of being repetitious, the golden rule for any writer attempting to earn money is this: Don’t make work for an editor (or agent or publisher). Approach the editor/agent/publisher with a proposal that makes them eager. . . makes them feel like you are more than worth their time. Make a More