December Newsletter for Writers and Publishers

 

Tips for Successful Publishing - Newsletter December 2020

by 111Publishing and SavvyBookWriters

Dear Writer and Publisher Friends,

Christmas is only three weeks away and another year is almost over… Get a lot of new ideas and encouragement for the next twelve months in this December Newsletter. Apply for one or more of the writing contests and grants listed here:

Content:

- FREELANCE WRITING

- WRITING CONTESTS

- GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS / RESIDENCIES / FUNDING

- INSTAGRAM TIPS

- FREELANCE WRITING OFFERS

Houstonia

Engaging stories, as well as spectacular photography and cutting-edge design, our goal is a signature mix of in-depth news stories, provocative essays, and guides to the best of the city that no Houstonian can live without. Email editor Dianna Wray: dwray@houstoniamag.com. Rate $500+ based on experience.

https://www.houstoniamag.com/pages/about-us

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Good Mom On Paper

Essay from self-identified mothers of all kinds, at all stages of life, career, and parenting, and who are interested in exploring motherhood and art creation in all its many incarnations. Pitches only. Payment: $200

Deadline: Dec 15

https://bookhugpress.ca/goodmomonpaper/

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The New York Times  

Essay on Modern Love. Payment: $500. 

Deadline: Dec 31

https://www.nytimes.com/article/how-to-submit-a-modern-love-essay.html

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The Bark

This magazine about life with dogs and has a circulation of 250,000 readers. The magazine publishes essays and fiction, as well as a few short poems. They also publish book reviews. Reprints are accepted. Payment: Payment is upon publication; compensation varies according to the complexity and length of the article and is individually negotiated. Who Pays Writers lists a payment of 67 cents/word.

https://thebark.com/content/submission-guidelines

- WRITING CONTESTS

Brooklyn Non-Fiction Prize 

Sponsored by the Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival. Non-fiction essay between 4 to 10 pages, set in Brooklyn about Brooklyn and/or Brooklyn people & characters. (Up to 2500 words). Prize: $500.  Deadline: Dec 10

http://www.filmbrooklyn.org/

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Boulevard Short Fiction Contest for Emerging Writers

Awards $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 nonfiction with a nationally distributed press. Accepts works up to 8,000 words. All entries will be considered for publication and payment at our regular rates.  $16 Entry Fee.  Deadline Dec 31

https://boulevardmagazine.org/short-fiction-contest

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Litmags Virginia Woolf Award for Short Fiction

First Prize: $2,500, publication in LitMag & agency review. $20 Entry Fee. Deadline Dec 31

https://litmag.submittable.com/submit

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Fish Short Story Prize

Word limit 5,000 words. The top ten stories will be published in the FISH ANTHOLOGY 2021. First prize €3,000. Second prize a week at Anam Cara Writers’ Retreat and €300. Third prize €300. 

€20 Entry Fee.  Deadline Nov 30

https://www.fishpublishing.com/competition/short-story-contest/

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Short Memoir Prize

First prize: €1,000. The second prize is our online writing course and €200. Third prize €200. Write a piece of your life, send it to Fish. This contest is an opportunity to have your memoir published. The maximum number of words is 4,000.  €18 Entry Fee.  Deadline Jan 31

https://www.fishpublishing.com/competition/short-memoir-contest/

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New Writer Children's Book Awards

The EJK Award is given to a new writer for a picture book written in the tradition of EJK that highlights the universal qualities of childhood and the strength of the family; reflects the multicultural nature of our world. To be eligible, the author will have no more than three books published in English. Self-published books are not eligible for consideration. Prize $3,000. 

No Entry Fee.  Deadline Dec 31

https://www.degrummond.org/ezra-jack-keats-book-award-guidelin

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Natan Notable Books Award

Genre: Recen­t­­ly pub­­lished or soon to be pub­lished nonfic­­tion book on Jew­ish themes. Prize: $5,000.  Deadline: Dec 31

https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/natan-notable-books

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Acacia Fiction Prize

All who enter will receive a copy of the winning collection. The winner will receive $1,200. Please submit a collection of any combination of short stories, flash fiction, or novellas totaling between 40,000 and 75,000 words. 

$25 Entry Fee.  Deadline Dec 31

https://kallistogaiapress.submittable.com/submit

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Boulevard Short Fiction Contest

Offers $1,500 and publication in Boulevard to the winning story by a writer who has not yet published a book of fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction with a nationally distributed press. We accept works up to 8,000 words.

$16 Entry Fee.  Deadline Dec 31

https://boulevardmagazine.org/short-fiction-contest

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River Styx Microfiction Contest

Submit up to 500 words per story. First prize $1,000. Up to three stories per entry fee. First, second, and third place winners will be published. All stories will be considered for publication. 

$15-$20 Entry Fee.  Deadline Dec 31

http://www.riverstyx.org/submit/microfiction-contest/ 

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Craft Creative Nonfiction Award

Submit up to 6,000 words of unpublished creative nonfiction. 

Three pieces will be selected with each awarded $1,000 

$20 Entry Fee.  Deadline Dec 31

https://www.craftliterary.com/craft-cnf-award/

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The Disquiet Prize

Contest winners in the categories of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction will have their winning work published in Granta.com, poetry in The Common, and nonfiction in NinthLetter.com. Genre and grand prize winners can choose to delay the prize trip to a future year or accept a substitute cash prize of $1,000 each. $15 Entry Fee.  Deadline Jan 15

http://disquietinternational.org/the-program/contests-scholarships/the-disquiet-prize

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Life Writing Prize - UK

Free to enter, the Prize is open to writers who have yet to publish a full-length work or have a literary agent. The winner will receive £1,500, an Arvon course, a writing mentor, two years’ membership of the Royal Society of Literature, and an optional development meeting with an agent or editor. Please send an unpublished piece of life writing up to 5,000 words. 

No Entry Fee.  Deadline Feb 1

https://www.spreadtheword.org.uk/enter-spread-the-words-2021-life-writing-prize/

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Zizzle Literary Flash Fiction Contest

First Prize: $1,000. Every week during our submission period, we’ll post one-sentence dialogue writing prompts on our social media platforms. Choose a dialogue prompt that inspires you and write a story that includes the prompt. We are looking for fiction that will appeal to young readers from age 11 and even to full-on grown-ups. 500 to 1,000 words in English. 

$5 Entry Fee. Deadline March 15

https://zizzlelit.com/contest/

- GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS / RESIDENCIES / FUNDING

J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award: US$25,000 for a Nonfiction book. Applicants for the award must already have a contract with a U.S.-based publisher to write a nonfiction book. Deadline: Dec 9

https://journalism.columbia.edu/lukas

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New Jersey Artist Recovery Grants 

These grant awards are based solely upon demonstrated financial need, and awardees will be randomly selected from all eligible applications received. Grants will be for $5,000.  Deadline December 15

https://www.state.nj.us/state/njsca/assets/pdf/2021-njsca-iar-guidelines.pdf

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Amant Residency

The NYC Residency Program for international artists offers four artists’ studios to enable practitioners during their three-month New York City visit. Artists who are currently based in NY cannot apply to the residency. Includes travel, space, and a $3,000 stipend.  Deadline Dec 18

https://www.amant.org/new-york/open-call-2020

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Rauschenberg Emergency Grants

An emergency grant program that provides one-time grants of up to $5,000 for medical or dental emergencies. The grants are available to visual and media artists, and choreographers living anywhere in the US or U.S. Territories.  

https://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/programs/grants/rauschenberg-emergency-grants

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Authors Contingency Fund

Applications are open to all professional authors who are residents in the UK or British subjects – including all types of writers, illustrators, literary translators, scriptwriters, poets, journalists, and others – for whom author-related activities make up a substantial amount of their annual income. Grants are up to £2,000 and designed to meet an urgent need.

https://societyofauthors.org/Grants/authors-contingency-fund

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Miss Sara Fellowship for Black Women Writers

The "Miss Sarah" Fellowship for Black Women Writers aims to provide Black women writers a restful environment conducive to reflection and writing in Asheville, NC. Participants will receive a $700 stipend & transportation. 

Deadline Dec 15

https://www.trilliumartsnc.org/writing-fellowships-guidelines

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Mark Lynton History Prize

US$10,000, is awarded to a book­-length work of history on any topic that best combines intellectual distinction with felicity of expression. Books must have been published in the US between Jan 1st and Dec 31, 2020

https://columbiajournalismawards.submittable.com/submit

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Vermont Arts Council

Artist Development Grants range from $250-$1,000 and support artists at all stages of their careers. Grants can fund activities that enhance mastery of an artist’s craft or skills and activities that increase the viability of an artist's business.  Deadline Jan 11 

https://www.vermontartscouncil.org/grants/artists/artist-development

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NYSCA/NYFA Artists Fellowship

This $7,000 grant is awarded in fifteen different disciplines over a three-year period (five categories a year) and the application is free to complete. The Artist Fellowship is for a NY State residency, and/or residency in one of the Indian Nations located therein.  Deadline Feb 10

https://www.nyfa.org/awards-grants/artist-fellowships/

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Mississippi Arts Commission Individual Projekt Grants

Grants of $2,000 provide funding to support ideas and projects organized by or for individual artists in Mississippi.  Deadline March 1

https://arts.ms.gov/grants/

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Graywolf Press Literary Fellowship

A paid, comprehensive, ten-month fellowship designed to support a person who is interested in learning more about the publishing industry through an introductory, hands-on experience.  This is a 24 hours/week, a non-exempt ten-month position with a start date in February 2020. Compensation includes $25,000, paid time off, health and dental insurance.

https://graywolfpress.submittable.com/submit/178571/2021-citizen-literary-fellowship

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- INSTAGRAM TIPS

How to Post Images From Your Computer to Instagram - Step-by-step explained. After searching for months for a solution on how to upload my photos from my laptop to Instagram, I finally found it:

http://content-on-demand.blogspot.com/2020/12/how-to-post-images-from-your-computer.html

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We are truly blessed! Looking back to the last 12 months and also forward to the new year, let’s be thankful for all the positive things we experienced. I wish you a wonderful December and a very Merry Christmas or Chanukah. Stay healthy!

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How to Post Images From Your Computer to Instagram

 

I was searching for months how to directly upload my (thousands) of photos to Instagram.
It seemed to be impossible. No one knew how to do it, all the "experts" said there is no way - you have to use your smartphone... Until I found an article last week in Business-Insider...
Many thanks to the author! He wrote:

"Posting on Instagram from your phone or computer? If you're using Safari on a Mac, or Google Chrome on a Mac or PC, posting on Instagram from a computer isn't complicated.

On a Mac Computer Using Safari

1. Open the Safari browser, then click the word "Safari" from the taskbar at the top of the screen.

2. Select "Preferences" from the dropdown menu, then hit the "Advanced" tab on the popup window.

Select "Preferences" under "Safari."

3. At the bottom of the Advanced window, click the box beside the words "Show Develop menu in the menu bar."

Make sure you check the bottom option. 

4. Open a new Safari window, and then hit the word "Develop" from the taskbar at the screen's top.

5. On the dropdown menu, hover over "User Agent," then select "Safari – iOS – iPhone." It'll also include the current Safari version number.

Select the "iPhone" option. 

You are now viewing Safari as if you're on a mobile device, and you can upload images or other media right from your computer.

Go to the Instagram website, and you'll see the "+" button at the bottom of the page, which you can click to post. 

However, note that uploading from a computer does have some constraints — you can't post videos or multiple pictures and have limited editing tools. 

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On a Mac or PC Using Google Chrome

1. Go to the Instagram website and log into your account.

2. Right-click anywhere on the page, and then click "Inspect" in the right-click menu.

You can open Chrome's Inspection menu by right-clicking. 

3. On the right side of the screen, a window filled with code will appear. At the top of this menu, click "Toggle Device Toolbar" icon — it looks a phone in front of a tablet. Make sure the toolbar at the top of the page says "Responsive."

The icon to change your browser format is small and will be highlighted blue when it's on. 

4. Refresh the page.

5. Close the Inspection window.

Like above, you're now viewing Instagram as if you're on a mobile device. Once you close the Inspection menu, you'll see a "+" button at the bottom of the page,  click on it to post pictures. However, you can't post videos or multiple pictures, or those in .png and you will have limited editing tools. 

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From Your Smartphone:

1. Log into your account on the Instagram mobile app.

2. Tap the square at the bottom of the screen with a "+" (plus) symbol inside.

3. Select the photo (or video, or GIF) you wish to post from your phone's library or snap a new image with your smartphone camera. To make a multi-image post – you can use up to 10 pictures in one post – tap the gray circle with an image of layered squares and then tap the images you'd like to use.

4. Hit "Next" at the top of the screen, then select your filter if you wish to use one, and hit "Edit" to make other changes to the way the image's crop, brightness, saturation, and more.

5. Hit "Next" to add text and location, tag people, and pair other platforms – like Facebook or Twitter – to syndicate your post there, too.

6. Hit "Share" to make your post live on Instagram."

Read the detailed article boasting helpful screenshots here:

https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-post-on-instagram

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What is Socialism Really?

 

Many right-wing and conservatives - not only in the USA - are blaming centrists and liberals for "socialism", especially during the last election. They might confuse it with communism.  This from folks who have never experienced or lived in a socialism or communism regime - unless they are born in Cuba, the Eastern bloc, or in the former DDR.  Nor did they experience the way of social-democratic lifestyle that can be found in many wealthy European countries...

SOCIALISM for the RICH...

Tax rebate checks corporations received from Trump's tax plan: 

• Amazon: $129 million
• Delta: $187 million
• Chevron: $181 million
• GM: $104 million
• IBM: $342 million

Now they claim $600 is socialism...
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To bring in a bit of humor into the socialism debate, I am referring to a comedy I recently watched on German TV.  The topic was about right-wings that are fearing socialism. He ensured them that Joe Biden was for many years Senator of Deleware, a notorious tax haven, and held his hand over the finance industry - typical for a socialist!?  To expect him to turn the US into a socialist country is just absurd. 

Then it was explained to Trump fans: Socialism is when children are taken care of by the government, politically brain-washed, later placed into the military, when people could only go into state-sponsored vacation places, and when the government builds a wall so that no one can leave the country.  And: if there were no Bananas available in stores  : )

It's called Real-Existing Socialism.  Did only work in the DDR for less than 50 years ...

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Then What is Socialism Really?

so·cial·ism

noun

It is a political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

In Marxist theory: a transitional social state between the overthrow of capitalism and the realization of Communism.  See also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53vmQNVBm0w

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Talking About Socialism

In National Review, Kevin Williamson wrote: “All this talk about socialism isn’t about socialism,” Williamson writes. “It’s about the status quo.” The idea that “capitalism” has failed us and that “socialism” is the answer relies on a cartoonish oversimplification of reality. 

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Paying a living wage, offering affordable health insurance, and fair taxation is NOT socialism! 

It prevents people from the anxiety of uncertainty and it pays back and supports capitalism as it almost automatically generates higher tax-income for the State, and higher earnings for producers and retailers -  as average folks are able to consume a lot more on items they cannot afford with a minimum wage.

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Remember FDR:

Roosevelt’s initiatives, meant to curb the misery brought on by the Great Depression, directly funded millions of government jobs, employing everyone from photographers to brush-clearing conservation workers. To pay for this, he raised the income tax—which hadn’t even existed two decades earlier—to 75 percent on the highest incomes. The rich were subsidizing the poor, and that was A-OK with FDR.

The fiery president defended his actions as pragmatic responses to the real, glaring needs of a changing society. The rich who criticized him, who cloaked their greed in an affinity for capitalism, were dangerously missing his point. He knew the ideological threats of communism and of fascism were real and were overtaking democracy in European countries.  By fulfilling the government’s obligation to assist its people, he was instilling confidence in the American system. He was vindicating the Founding Fathers.  Read more: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/08/16/democrats-socialism-fdr-roosevelt-227622

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Profit is Privatized, Risk and Bailouts are Socialized….

Not only during this pandemic or through the financial crisis everyone had and has to chip in. However, the percentage of income tax is not the same for a worker as it is for a huge corporation that can afford expensive tax lawyers and accountants to make sure they pay barely any tax.  Remember the amount Trump paid in a year, and how many years he paid no tax at all...  Same for Apple, Google, Facebook, or Amazon.

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Those Who Are Damning "Socialism"...  are using public streets, airports, ports, schools, and teachers, government agencies, hospitals and doctors, public servants' and politicians' work, just to name a few of their own "social" benefits.  And then they often pay only the minimum wage to their own employees instead of a living wage. A living wage would allow employees to earn enough income for a satisfactory standard of living and to prevent them from falling into poverty. Hypocritical?  On top of that, many of the largest and wealthiest companies in the world pay barely any tax...

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Rigged Capitalism

Elizabeth Warren said: "I am a capitalist. I believe in markets. What I don’t believe in is theft, what I don’t believe in is cheating. That’s where the difference is. I love what markets can do, I love what functioning economies can do. They are what make us rich, they are what create opportunity. But only fair markets, markets with rules. Markets without rules are about the rich take it all, it’s about the powerful get all of it. And that’s what’s gone wrong in America."

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Idling is for Dummies

The driver of this car idled for half an hour

On a road trip through British Columbia, Canada, on a sunny day in April, I had to wait at a construction site. I shut down the engine, not only because it looked like cars had to wait quite a while, but also there was a sign to do so.

I opened the car windows to give my dog and me some fresh air. A moment later I realized that the driver in front of me hadn't turned off his engine. I walked to him and friendly explained that I had opened my car's windows to give my dog some fresh air. And if he could please shut down his engine. His answer: "No, I will not!" I reminded him that it is also not helpful for the environment, as well as for his car's engine. No way that he obliged...

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Why Do Drivers Idle?

Why are they not better take care of their cars, the environment, or of their purse?  It is beyond me.  And it gets worse: since everyone has a smartphone, drivers sit in their car for twenty minutes on the phone while their engine is running...

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Killing Your Car's Engine?
A cold start means an extreme load for the engine, it leads to faster wear, because for example, the still viscous oil does not reach all lubrication points. 
On top of that, there is a higher emission of exhaust gases, because the fuel consumption is many times higher when the engine is cold.  Projected in this way, a gasoline engine would consume 25 to 30 liters per 100 kilometers.

My advice to drivers! Turn off your idling engines!

Reducing vehicle idling will cut pollution and save you money.

Read more here:

https://www.edf.org/attention-drivers-turn-your-idling-engines

https://www.lanesinsurance.com/idling-vehicles-are-bad-for-a-lot-of-reasons/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/how-big-a-problem-is-idling-1.5351917

Publishing Newsletter November 2020

 

Tips for Successful Publishing - Newsletter November 2020

by 111Publishing and SavvyBookWriters

Dear Writer Friends,

With the election behind us and/or lock-downs in your country, November is the perfect month to write, write and write even more.
And don’t forget to market your books: Thanksgiving is only three weeks away and Christmas only seven weeks!

Ready for NaNoWriMo?

On November 1, thousands of participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel from scratch until  November 30.  NaNoWriMo provides support, encouragement, and a good old-fashioned kick in the pants (which some writers need) to write the rough draft of their novel in November. How it all works, is explained on NaNoWriMo’s website: 

https://nanowrimo.org/

Content:

- GRANTS & FELLOWSHIPS

- FREELANCE WRITING

- WRITING CONTESTS

- PUBLISHING TIPS

- AMAZON TOP REVIEWERS

GRANTS, FUNDING & FELLOWSHIPS

Woodcock Fund Canada

Emergency funding to professional Canadian writers in mid-project. Grants are $2,000 to $10,000. Must be a professional writer (minimum of two books published) facing an unforeseen financial need. Must be working on a project. 

https://www.writerstrust.com/programs/woodcock-fund-grant/

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Jentel Residencies

Residents are responsible for transportation to and from Sheridan, Wyoming, and for transporting or shipping personal items, materials, and equipment needed for creative work. As part of the residency award, a $400 stipend helps to defray some of these expenses.

 http://jentelarts.org/applicants/

WRITING CONTESTS

Nine Dots Prize

Theme: What does it mean to be young in an aging world? The Nine Dots Prize encourages innovative thinking and engaging new writing. Entrants must respond to the set question in 3,000 words & provide an outline showing how they would expand their response into a short book. Prize US$100,000!

No Entry Fee. Deadline Jan 18

https://ninedotsprize.org/

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Anthology Magazine Short Story Competition

€500 cash prize. Open to original and previously unpublished short stories in the English language by a writer of any nationality, living anywhere in the world. Theme: ‘Memories’, a maximum of 1,500 words. 

€10 Entry Fee. Deadline April 30

https://anthology-magazine.com/short-story/

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2021 Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award

At £30,000 - the world's richest - is open for entries.

The award, for a story of 6,000 words or less, is open to any novelist or short story writer from around the world who has been published in the UK or Ireland. Deadline Dec 4

https://shortstoryaward.co.uk/awards/2021/

FREELANCE WRITING

USA TODAY Newspaper

The Opinion section publishes analysis, argument, and essays on a wide variety of subjects. 550 to 750 words @ 50c/published word.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/12/04/submit-letters-columns-and-comment-social/2608825001/

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NationSwell 

Looking for freelance writers to tell impactful meaningful solutions stories between 800-1,500 words. We take both video and written pieces. Pay is $0.50-.065/word depending on experience and subject matter. 

https://nationswell.com/careers/#pitch

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Freelance Writing for Entrepreneur.com

Pieces typically run about 700-1,000 words. More expansive pieces that run over 1,500 words are welcome and will do better in search. Please use more than one example of a good company doing good things to illustrate your point (avoid any press-release-type promotion of one business that reads like ad content). Pay is around $1 per word.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/page/276150?_ga=2.74604242.1737486101.1537834177-1865186819.1537834177

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PUBLISHING TIPS

17 Bestseller Tips – from Trade Publishers Copied

If you ever see Marketing and Advertising from traditional publishers, it’s for their Bestseller authors only, such as "Advance Book Reviews", posted on their book’s cover, Book Tours and Signings of celebrity authors, media coverage including reviews, speaking engagements, and placing at major bookstores who report to Bestseller lists.  How can author-publishers use the methods of global trade publishers to promote their self-published books?  

https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2014/08/17/17-bestseller-tips-from-trade-publishers/

Aim Top Reviewers on Amazon

Top Customer Reviewers are a promise for well-written, meaningful and thorough reviews for your book. Receiving a positive review from one of Amazon’s top customer reviewers is a great endorsement and credibility for your book. However, it is tough to catch this group’s attention. But the rewards are often worth the extra effort. As with book bloggers, take the time to build a connection with these reviewers prior to pitching them, and it will increase your chances of getting reviewed.

Do they have a blog where they post their reviews? How do they review other books in your genre? Check out the “Customers Also Bought Items By” section on the right. This section provides a list of authors whose topic or genre is similar to your own.  You can also find reviewers on Amazon’s top reviewer site

http://www.amazon.com/review/top-reviewers - however, to reach those who review your genre, chances are better at bestseller reviews that are recommended in your book category.

Clicking on an author's name will bring you to their author page, which will include a listing of their books and the customer reviews page. When you click on the name of a reviewer you can find the reviewer’s Amazon profile. Look for their contact info, such as an email address social media link, or a link to their website (not always provided). Follow them on social media and study their submission guidelines - as you should do with every book reviewer, before sending a pitch.

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Have a great day, a productive rest of the month, and a fantastic Thanksgiving.

All the best, Doris

Books by Doris-Maria Heilmann:

"To the TOP" With Smart Free Marketing

a business guide for Entrepreneurs and Self-Employed

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08957T6XN/

At B&N, Apple, Kobo & dozens of other retailers via the universal link: https://books2read.com/u/mqv8Z1

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 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  

https://books2read.com/u/bMre1a

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 their Books Without Spending a Lot of Money 
https://books2read.com/u/mZ5gdp

Kristine Rush’s Sound Advice in These Trying Times

Kristine Kathryn Rush's advice that applies not just to a freelance business or a commercial enterprise, but also to households:

At a minimum, draw up an income and expense sheet.

• Predict how that sheet will look a month from now.
• Predict how it will look six months from now.
• Predict how it will look a year from now.
• Predict how it will look five years from now.

Review those sheets every two weeks. Make changes as needed.

Businesses (and households) that have those sheets will do better economically than businesses that don’t have those sheets. That small bit of information and prediction will allow the business to remain nimble.

In addition, you need other things:

• A plan for a bad scenario (losing your best client, for example, or your job).
• A plan for a good scenario (getting additional income, which might result in more work).
• A plan for a great scenario (more work than you can handle—which can be dangerous to an unprepared business).
• A plan for the worst-case scenario (loss of a key employee, loss of a year’s worth of revenue like many arts venues are facing right now, and more).

If you do these things, you’ll be better off than people who don’t do them. You won’t scramble when the bad things happen. You’ll have a possible solution, which will give you something to start with.

You’ll find similar advice in "The Freelancer’s Survival Guide". You’ll also find advice like it in business blogs and articles across the web.  The one thing you won’t find, though, is this:

Learn how to pivot.  Sometimes I call that being nimble.  But it’s more than that.  At least you’ll have a game plan to haul out should the going get rough (or get worse).

Read the helpful article here:
https://kriswrites.com/2020/08/26/business-musings-pivot/

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Writers: Lots of Grants, Fellowships, and Prizes for YOU

Amazing how many opportunities for writers and artists are out there at the moment.  Maybe the largest numbers we have seen in months...  Apply today!

 

Vancouver Writers-in-Residence
The Vancouver Public Library is seeking two Writers in Residence in order to highlight the importance of Canadian writing and creativity. In 2021 the library will host a Summer Residency and a Fall Residency.  Deadline Oct 29.
http://www.vpl.ca/writer

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Oregon Literary Fellowships
These Fellowships are intended to help Oregon writers initiate, develop, or complete literary projects in poetry, fiction, literary nonfiction, drama (including scripts for television and film), and young readers literature. Literary Arts will award nine fellowships in the amount of $3,500. One of these fellowships is specifically for a writer of color.  Deadline Oct 30
https://literary-arts.org/2021-oregon-literary-fellowship-guidelines/
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Vancouver Indigenous Storyteller in Residence
The Indigenous Storyteller in Residence will develop and lead exciting public events that promote intercultural understanding and story sharing between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. They will support and provide advice to community members and aspiring storytellers through one-on-one consultations and group workshops. Contract terms: $17,000 for four months of full-time activity ($4,250 per month on a self-employed basis).
http://www.vpl.ca/storyteller

Jack Straw Writers Program
In its 25th year of the Jack Straw Writers Program, it has included more than 275 writers from the Pacific Northwest and beyond who represent a diverse range of literary genres.  Deadline Nov 2

https://jackstraw.submittable.com/submit/90532/jack-straw-writers-program
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Shearing Fellowship
Visiting fellows will join a community of creative writers and scholars in a thriving literary scene in Las Vegas and on the campus of UNLV. For emerging & distinguished writers who have published at least one book with a trade or literary press, this fellowship includes a stipend of $20,000 paid over a 4-month period, eligibility for health coverage, free housing in the bustling district of downtown Las Vegas.
https://blackmountaininstitute.org/fellowships/apply/
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The Orwell Prize for Political Fiction
Open to novels and short story collections first published in the UK or Ireland in the calendar year 2020. Fiction that explores ideas and issues, political themes, dilemmas, and injustices through imagined narratives. Prize: £3,000.00.
Deadline: Oct 30
https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-prizes/2021-prizes/rules/

Adina Talve-Goodman Fellowship
Open to fiction writers aged 21+ who have not yet published a book and have never been enrolled in an MFA program. The writer must not have a book under contract with an agent and/or publisher at the time of application. Prize: Free tuition for all of One Story's online classes and programming, a travel stipend of $2,000, and tuition to attend a week-long summer writers' conference in Brooklyn.   Deadline: Oct 30

https://www.one-story.com/index.php?page=fellowship

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
is the most prestigious literary award in the US. The authors must be living in American citizens. Self-published works not accepted. Genres: Novels, novellas, and collections of short stories. Prize: $15,000. Deadline: Oct 31
http://www.penfaulkner.org/award-for-fiction/submission-guidelines/

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McLitterick Prize
Open to authors over age 40 on December 31, 2020. The work must have been first published in the UK in the year in which the deadline falls (and not first published abroad), or be unpublished. Prize: £4,000.00.  Deadline: Oct 31
McKitterick Prize
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The Barbellion Prize
The prize is awarded annually to an author whose work has best spoken of the experience of chronic illness or disability. The awarded work can be of any genre in fiction, memoir, biography, poetry, or critical nonfiction from around the world - whether it is in English, in translation, traditionally published, or self-published. Prize £600. No entry fee.  Deadline Oct 31
https://www.thebarbellionprize.com/
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Otherwise Award Fellowships
$500 grants for emerging creators who are changing the way we think about gender through speculative narrative. If you think that description could apply to you, even if you are not working in a format most people would recognize as the science fiction or fantasy genre, you are eligible to apply for a Fellowship.  Deadline Oct 31

https://otherwiseaward.org/otherwise-fellowships/how-to-apply
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Jack Straw Artist Residency Programs for Musicians
An accessible building in Seattle's University District - houses two recording studios, a New Media Gallery, and other exhibition spaces. Residents in the Artist Support Program have access to the studios, as well as the potential to borrow equipment for remote recording.  Deadline Nov 1
http://www.jackstraw.org/programs/asp/Residency_Programs_FAQs.shtml

The Gotham Book Prize
Awarded once a year to the best book (works of fiction and nonfiction are eligible) published that calendar year that either is about New York City or takes place in New York City. The winner will receive $50,000.   No Entry Fee. Deadline Nov 1
https://www.gothambookprize.org/

Quarterly West
The winners will each receive $1,000 and publication in Issue 102 of Quarterly West. To enter, please submit up to three poems or a prose piece (i.e., fiction, nonfiction, or any hybridization therein) through Submittable. Up to three poems per entry, no more than eight pages. Send one longer piece of prose or up to three pieces of flash prose (1,000 words or less) per entry.
$10 Entry fee. Deadline Nov 2

https://www.quarterlywest.com/submit

2021 Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award
At £30,000 - the world's richest - is open for entries.
The award, for a story of 6,000 words or less, is open to any novelist or short story writer from around the world who has been published in the UK or Ireland.  Deadline Dec 4
https://shortstoryaward.co.uk/awards/2021/

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Best of luck!  Always remember: if you don't apply you cannot get any of these benefits!