SUCCESSFUL PUBLISHING - NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2025
Content of this newsletter:
- PUBLISHING NEWS & TIPS
- WRITERS RESIDENCIES, FELLOWSHIPS, & GRANTS
- PAID CONTENT
- WRITING CONTESTS
The eleventh month of the year, in the northern hemisphere, is usually considered the last month of autumn, before Thanksgiving and Advent start.
Find the most lucrative fellowships in this November Newsletter.
NaNoWriMo: Are you already working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel from scratch by November 30? NaNoWriMo helps you track your progress, set milestones, connect with other writers in a vast community, and participate in events that are designed to make sure you finish your novel. Oh, and best of all, it’s free!
- PUBLISHING NEWS & TIPS
Start Early
The most powerful and essential steps you can take toward promoting your book begin long before the actual writing of the book. Three years before the book is published--if you can--start building a network of supporters and reviewers. Keep track of everyone you meet as you research and write the book. Pay special attention to, and make notes about, those who demonstrate a genuine enthusiasm for you and your project.
As the project evolves, keep in touch with these people. You might send them an occasional email, or keep in touch via a social networking site like LinkedIn or BlueSky.
For significant milestones--the signing of your book contract, the completion of the manuscript, the arrival of the galley proofs, and the arrival of the finished books--you might bring key people together
Contribute to Web Forums
Every field has at least one or two forums that people interested in your subject know and read. Find and join these forums. Contribute to them freely. Give advice and reach out. Offer to help others. Put a link to your blog or website in your signature line. When you have a book contract and/or a book title, add the title to your signature line.
Start a Blog
Early in the process of researching and thinking about your book, start a blog. Add 120-130 words each day of helpful, inspirational information on issues in your field, which are related to the subjects in your book. Aim to create a genuinely useful body of knowledge over the following 12 months.
"Without commitment, you cannot accomplish anything, whether it's a relationship, a business or a hobby." ~ Neil Strauss
Go Global With all Book Formats
Through online book retailers, you can now reach multiple territories yourself as they distribute to 170 countries. Most of those country sales are small right now, but that’s because the online book sales markets are only just beginning. Fast forward a few years, and you’ll see how different things will be. The story in the last few years has been about the maturing U.S./U.K./Canadian digital market, but over the next few years, the focus will be on the rest of the world.
Amazon KDP Delivery Costs Can Eat Into Your Ebook Royalty
Many authors are unaware that KDP charges for each Kindle ebook delivery, which reduces your ebook royalty. Hidden deep in Amazon KDP Terms and Conditions is a table of delivery charges for Kindle ebook delivery.
Kindle Direct Publishing > Legal > Kindle Direct Publishing > Terms and Conditions > Pricing Page. While this might only look like pennies at first glance, once you understand that even a text-only ebook with a normal resolution cover will usually be around 2.00MB in size. Go easy on images in Kindle ebooks
If your cover image is very high-resolution, your ebook file size will start to increase dramatically.
So, if your ebook price is $2.99 and you are on the 70% royalty rate, you might think that your royalty will be $2.09, but in fact, it will only be $1.89 for a 2MB ebook file size after the $0.30 delivery charge has been deducted. Other ebook retailers can manage to deliver without any charges at all.
- WRITERS RESIDENCIES, FELLOWSHIPS & GRANTS
New Work Grant
The New Work Grant supports emerging individual artists and artist collectives of all artistic disciplines in their creation of new work. “New Work” is defined as work that has not been produced or presented to an audience before. Applicants may submit grant requests ranging from $2,500 to $5,000. Deadline Nov 18
https://www.nyfa.org/awards-grants/queens-arts-fund-new-work-grant
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Miss Sarah Fellowship
The "Miss Sarah" Fellowship for Black Women Writers aims to provide Black Women writers a restful environment conducive to reflection and writing. It also offers uninterrupted, independent time to plant the seed of an idea for a new writing project or to develop or complete a project underway. The selected writer will receive a ten-day solo residency in July 2026 and can choose whether to stay in Mars Hills, NC or near downtown Asheville, NC. Participants will receive a $1,000 stipend and transportation to and from Asheville, NC. Black women writers at any stage of their careers are invited to apply.
https://www.trilliumartsnc.org/writing-fellowships-guidelines
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Canadian Council Micro Grants
Rolling deadlines. Micro-grants will fund activities that will grow and advance your artistic career or practice. This may include engaging in career or artistic development activities, participation in a presentation or exhibition opportunity, increasing accessibility for audiences, artists and/or arts workers who are Deaf or have disabilities or market and network development. Up to $10 000 per application.
https://canadacouncil.ca/funding/grants/upcoming-funding-opportunities/micro-grants
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New York Times Fellowships
This year will include reporters, visual journalists, an audience editor, and an A.I. Initiatives fellow. Fellows work full-time, in either the newsroom or the Opinion section. They are paid and receive benefits, and gain access to speakers and a writing coach. The fellowship is set to begin on June 1, 2026, and end on May 21, 2027. Ideal candidates will have some newsroom or equivalent experience and will demonstrate a strong commitment to journalistic independence. Deadline Nov 19
https://www.nytco.com/press/applications-open-for-2026-27-new-york-times-fellowship/
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The Gulliver Travel Grant. The Gulliver Travel Grant is awarded annually to assist writers of speculative literature in their non-academic research. These funds are used to cover airfare, lodging, and other travel expenses. Travel may be domestic or international. You may apply for travel to take place at any point in the following year. Grant: $1000. Deadline: November 30, 2025.
Pen Emerging Voices Fellowship
The Emerging Voices Fellowship provides a virtual five-month immersive mentorship program for early-career writers from communities that are traditionally underrepresented in the publishing world. The program is committed to cultivating the careers of Black writers and serves writers who identify as Indigenous, persons of color, LGBTQ+, immigrants, writers with disabilities, and those living outside of urban centers. Opens in January 2026.
https://pen.org/emerging-voices-fellowship/
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Maryland Creative Grants
The Creativity Grant for Projects is available to independent artists and arts organizations. There are two options to choose from: the Planning & Development grant is intended to support the early stages of research and development for a proposed project; the Implementation grant is intended to support the execution of a specific arts project/event/program. Pays $1,000 - $4,000. Must be a resident of Maryland. Deadline March 31, 2026
https://msac.org/programs/creativity-grants/creativity-grants-projects
- WRITING CONTESTS
Black Fox Literary Contest
The theme for this round is “Liar Liar.” The prize is $325 and a print publication in the Winter 2026 issue. All submissions are considered for print publication in the Winter 2026 issue. Submissions should be no more than 5,000 words. For poetry, send up to three poems in the same document. For flash fiction, send up to two stories in the same document. $12 Entry Fee. Deadline Nov 30
https://blackfoxlitmag.com/contests/
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J.F. Powers Prize for Short Fiction
Short fiction. Prize: $500. Deadline: Nov 30
https://www.dappledthings.org/the-jf-powers-prize-for-short-fiction
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USNI Leadership Essay Contest
This Contest focuses on the roles of leadership and character in the U.S. Sea Services from the perspective of tomorrow's leaders. Junior officers (LCDR/Major and below) from the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard are eligible to participate." Prize: $5,000. Deadline: Nov 30
https://www.usni.org/essay-contests/2025/2025-leadership-essay-contest
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Hudson Review Short Story Contest
Short story up to 10,000 words. First prize is $1000. Second and third prizes are $500. Winning stories will be published in The Hudson Review. All entries will be considered for publication. Payment at regular rates. Deadline: Nov 30
https://hudsonreview.com/news-events/
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Mslexia Women’s Single Poem Competition
This competition is open to unpublished poems of any length, on any subject. Your £10 entry fee allows you to submit up to three poems. 1st: £2,000; 2nd: £500; 3rd: £250. Unpublished Poet Prize is an additional award for the best unpublished poem by an unpublished poet: £250. The four winners, plus sixteen additional finalists, will have their poems published in the March 2026 issue of Mslexia. £10 Entry Fee. Deadline Dec 8
https://mslexia.co.uk/competitions/single-poem-poetry/womens-poetry-competition-2025/
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Boulevard Short Fiction Contest
$1,500 and publication in Boulevard awarded to the winning story by a writer who has not yet published a book of fiction, poetry, or creative non-fiction with a nationally distributed press. We accept works up to 8,000 words.
$18 Entry Fee. Deadline Dec 31
https://www.boulevardmagazine.org/short-fiction-contest
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Story Unlikely Short Story Contest
There are no restrictions on genre: fantasy, sci-fi, memoir, fiction/nonfiction, etc - we don't care as long as it's written and told with quality and care. The story itself cannot exceed 7,000 words (except for WRITER level Members, who get a bonus 3,000 words added!). There are no restrictions on age or location of participant, and no need to ask us for permission to participate in the contest. $3,000 first place, $1,000 second place, $750 third place, and $250 for our new REPRINT CATEGORY. We tend to pick up a few of the finalists for publication in our monthly magazine! - per our standard guideline pay, as well.
Deadline January 14, 2026 non-members and January 31, 2026, for members.
https://www.storyunlikely.com/#contest
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Driftwood Press Short Story Contest
The Grand Prize winner will receive $400 USD and five copies of the issue in which the story appears. The winner will also have the opportunity to be interviewed about their work; the interview will be published alongside the story. Runner-ups will be offered publication, an accompanying interview, $200 USD, and one copy of the issue in which their work appears. Fiction only. 1,000-5,000 soft word limit. $30 Entry Fee. Deadline January 15, 2026.
https://www.driftwoodpress.com/storycontest
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Nature Chronicles Prize
We are a biennial, international, English-language literary award, proud to have established itself as a generator of stimulating, contemporary essay-length non-fiction on nature. The winner will receive £10,000 and five runners-up £1,000 each. All six winning entries will be published in our third anthology. The competition is open to any work of non-fiction prose between 2,000 and 8,000 words long on a topic the writer considers to be contemporary nature writing. It is for work originating in the English language.
£15 Entry Fee. Deadline January 31, 2026.
https://naturechroniclesprize.com/
- PAID CONTENT - FREELANCE WRITING
Southwest Contemporary
In Southwest Contemporary, Volume 13, we want to explore "The Road" as an idea, as a function, as an experience, as a connecting space, and sinew. We are interested in highlighting artists who are examining roads materially and conceptually—from time-honored trails to soaring concrete cathedrals of freeway overpasses. The fee will be agreed upon at the time of commission, and typically ranges $100 to 500. Deadline Nov 7
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American Craft
As a nationwide, membership-based nonprofit, we leverage the transformative possibilities of craft through storytelling, resources for artists, and unique experiences designed to bring makers and appreciators together. Seeking pitches for reported articles, essays, and opinion pieces for the Summer 2026 “Revolution” issue. Pay is $0.50–$1/word. Deadline Nov 10
https://craftcouncil.org/magazine/writers-guidelines/
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New Naratif
If you are a writer, journalist, researcher, scholar, or activist passionate about various issues in Southeast Asia, you might be interested in writing for New Naratif. We are looking for feature or explanatory articles of 1500-2000 words long, which have to be original and have never been published in any other publication before. Payment $150-$200.
https://newnaratif.com/pitches/
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Grassroots Thinking
An independent publication focused on the stories that matter to the Black working class. We explain the news, politics, and culture through reportage, analysis, commentary, interviews, and essays with an anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist lens. Pay is based on an estimated $0.10/word, starting at $75 per story.
https://www.grassrootsthinking.com/submissions
Yellow Scene Magazine
They distribute 35,000 magazines throughout Boulder County and the North Metro area - covering arts, entertainment, news, politics, social issues, education, healthcare, science, oil & gas, elections, food, and drink. Also seeking beat reporters for the Boulder area, and seeking cuisine writers.
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Medscape
Publication is interested in stories that explore the human side of working in medicine — including topics like mental health, side gigs, relationships, parenting, fitness, and personal finance. The focus is on shared experiences and challenges that resonate across the medical field. Rate $1 per word for reported features (typically around 1,500 words), and up to $1,500 for video interviews or content. Pitch Sarah Yahr Tucker, Medical Lifestyle Editor at stucker@webmd.net. Other general pitches can be made at submissions@medscape.net
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/how-pitch-stories-medscape-guide-journalists-2025a1000d00
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Lilith Magazine
Features usually run 2,000 words, news briefs 500 words or less. Fiction should be under 3,000 words. Back-page pieces run 800 words. Poetry submissions should include no more than 3 poems, totaling no more than two pages. Lilith Magazine welcomes submissions of high-quality, lively, original writing: reporting, analysis, opinion pieces, memoir, fiction, and poetry with a feminist take on subjects of interest to Jewish feminists.
https://lilith.org/contact/writing-for-lilith/
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Sixty
Sixty welcomes writers and artists of all experience levels and backgrounds to pitch ideas for traditional and experimental arts writing as well as creative writing around topics and practices that are relevant to the cultural landscapes of the Midwest and Chicago. They accept pitches on an ongoing basis and pay all writers. Sixty Inches From Center pays a standard rate of $150 per article to writers.
https://sixtyinchesfromcenter.org/2025-pitch-to-sixty
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The Hustle
Pitches include explainers on unusual or timely economic topics, profiles of people or companies taking unconventional approaches, and stories that dig deeper than the daily news. We’re looking for short features (800 to 1,000 words) and long features (1,300-2,000 words). We typically pay about $0.80-$1 per word, depending on the amount of reporting.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tx9NV87x6KpOTrSInGSpdHDlG7_jpMWQb2E4hWb5_H0/edit?tab=t.0
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Greater Good Science Center
Greater Good, the online magazine of the Greater Good Science Center, reports on scientific findings into the roots of individual and collective well-being, positive relationships, and compassionate behavior—what we call “the science of a meaningful life.” Their base rate is 25 cents per assigned word, to be negotiated with an editor and agreed upon by all parties. For certain types of pieces, they pay a flat rate of $200-$300.
https://ggsc.berkeley.edu/get_involved/write_for_us
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Crepuscular Magazine
Crepuscular is interested in micro-fiction stories exploring places, characters, and questions buried in the grey areas between this and that, here and there, night and day, alive and dead, evil and good, feminine and masculine, up and down, real and unreal. While we lean toward speculative pieces, we have a love for those in-between-y pieces that blur genre. We accept horror (both spec and non), fantasy, science fiction, general/literary fiction, and everything in between. The maximum word length is 250 words. Pays ten cents/word.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/submission-85137677
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Cosmos Institute
Offering $1,000 each for essays around 2,000 words in length to be published on our Substack. If you’re interested, send us three short paragraphs summarizing your article using the form. Our team is interested in writing about how AI can support human flourishing, organized around five core themes:
https://cosmosinst.typeform.com/pitches
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Writer’s Digest
The No. 1 magazine for writers celebrates the writing life and what it means to be a writer in today’s publishing environment. We consider completed manuscripts on spec, as well as original pitches. Your query should discuss how the article will benefit our readers, why the topic is timely, and why you are the appropriate writer to discuss the topic. For manuscripts, we pay 50 cents per word, on acceptance, for first world rights for one-time print use and perpetual electronic use. Should they want to reprint anything we've purchased from you in anything other than electronic format, they will pay you 25% of the original purchase price per use. Especially seeking March/April 2026 THEME: Achieve Perfect Pacing. Click here to submit your pitch for March/April 2026:
https://forms.gle/aAe5GRpUKXAy79TW7
https://www.writersdigest.com/resources/submission-guidelines
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Foodism
We currently pay for print-first features and travel guides, which are then repurposed online. Familiarize yourself with our past Foodism and Escapism issues, and any upcoming themes. The Food Feature flat rate of $600 for 1,200 – 1,500 words. The Travel Feature flat rate of $600 for 1,200 – 1,500 words. The Travel Guide is around 500 words and up, and we pay $0.40 per word.
https://foodism.ca/write-for-us/
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Chicken Soup for the Soul
They are seeking true stories (900–1,200 words) for multiple upcoming anthologies. Pay is $200 and 10 contributor copies. December Holidays: Deadline February 28, 2026. Cat Tales: Deadline March 1, 2026. Married Couples: Deadline March 31, 2026.
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Thanksgiving is in three weeks, and Christmas is in seven weeks!
Countdown to introduce your books to reader communities, at libraries, schools, or retirement home readings.
Use Draft2Digital.com to get into the library market for free. Organize some giveaways, and, and, and… maybe write a rough draft of your next novel.
November is a busy month for writers : )
“Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”
~ Stephen King
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Books by Doris-Maria Heilmann:
111 Tips to Create Impressive Videos:
How to Plan, Create, Upload, and Market Videos
https://www.books2read.com/u/3GYnpa
111 Tips To Make Money With Writing
The Art of Making a Living Full-time Writing
An Essential Guide for More Income as a Freelancer
https://books2read.com/u/bWZMjz
111 Tips on How to Market Your Book for Free:
Detailed Plans and Smart Strategies for Your Book’s Success
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111 Tips to Get Free Book Reviews:
Best Strategies for Getting Lots of Great Reviews
plus 1,200+ reviewer contact links
https://books2read.com/u/mZ5nx5
111 Tips to Create Your Book Trailer
How to Create, Where to Upload, and How to Market Your Videos
https://books2read.com/u/mVZkjr
Book Marketing on a Shoestring:
How Authors Can Promote Books Without Spending a Lot of Money
https://books2read.com/u/mZ5gdp
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