Editor Interview: FundsforWriters Newsletter & Blog

Income earning advice

Poets & Writers
Writer's Digest
Strand Magazine
The Writer
Mother Earth
Capper's

My favorite authors are Pat Conroy, Lisa Gardner, Howard Browne, Peter May, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett. But I'm not fickle. I'm always open to a sound, solid, yet lyrical voice in a mystery/suspense plot. I think any writer can learn to freelance and publish features and articles, and I devour blogs and news, seeking those voices.

The motivation is unique. I started this publication when I could not find what I needed, and as I've learned the writing business, I've passed on my discoveries and failures. It has proven to be a strong connect to my readership. I also understand grants and crowdfunding better than the average soul. With a diverse background in grants, freelance writing, and creative writing, I've covered a lot of ground and continue to stay abreast of changes. I try to keep the publication and website personal, which is lacking on so many outlets these days where the reader sees no human being behind the product. I also reply to questions within 24 hours . . . a trait I've quite proud of.

Other than the standard "read the publication/guidelines before submitting"? Have a unique idea. My readers are writers, so telling someone how to make money on the internet isn't going to cut it. Tell me how you identified a unique market, or how you pitched differently, or how you landed a gig with a great, outside-the-box query, or how an experience in your life opened a new writing door, and I might read it. Be able to read and write English like a native, and that's no joke. Do not ask me for a topic to write about. Half of why we purchase an article is the unique idea. Show you are online savvy and have a website/blog that's kept up to date. Don't say you've written for content mills or Huffington Post. The premise for FundsforWriters is that writers deserve to be paid. Better to tell me you have not written before than to tell me you sell your soul to markets that do not pay. Finally, have experience in whatever you are pitching.

How I Broke Into (list magazine or publisher).
How I Broke the Rules in Landing (list the gig).
How I Turned a Short Story Into Five Different Sales.
How I Landed My Agent.
What They Don't Tell You About Self-Publishing
What They Don't Tell You About Traditional Publishing
We want stories with teeth. We want resources or very real experiences that a writer can carry into their lives and implement. We want a bio with links along with a PayPal address. We want the story in the email, not attached. We want to see that the writer has read FFW and understands the dynamics and motivational energy we try to instill into our readers from our articles. A simple how-to is boring. A how-to with strong anecdotes carries more weight. And we assume all of our readers can write, so no how-to-write ideas unless it's how to understand guidelines and write for acceptance.

They talk in generalities and elementary terms which makes for telling instead of showing. Novice-type stuff. They submit something unaffiliated with writing. They submit in broken English when it's obvious we are US-based. They submit, proclaiming they are new writers, asking for me to teach them how to edit until it's an acceptable article. They don't read the word count. They don't read the list of topic areas we find acceptable as posted in the guidelines. They don't have PayPal. They ask me to make exceptions for all and any of the above.

All we ask is for a brief bio with link(s). We will accept good articles regardless of publication credits, but will not accept authors who are not active online. We are an online publication, so they need to be familiar with the environment. If someone has only published with content mills or Huff Post, we lean toward rejection since those entities are anti-writer in their payment methods. We want writers to be proud of who they are.

Our pieces are limited to 600 words, so they are quick reads. However, we can reject most within reading the first 200 words. We usually give them that much. With short pieces, the topic has to be meaty and the writing tight, so if it isn't catchy within a third of the piece, it isn't going to work.

Nothing other than the editor reading it and liking it. At that point, the editor follows the bio links or any links in the article, and if those check out, it's good. It's mostly about the unique topic and the writing quality with a simple, one-step process. Nothing rocket science.

No two days are alike. I rise late because I work into the night. Check email, collect the queries, and then when I have a handful, I look at them all at once. That might be daily or might be once a week. The process is quick because of our short pieces, but also because most submissions do not meet the basic guidelines. Those are easy to reject. Those that meet all the guidelines, which is in the minority, are given strong attention, because if they can follow guidelines and meet the flavor of the publication, they have a strong possibility of publication. Once a writer writes for us, they usually come back....and we love it that way.

If I find the piece intriguing, I'll do what it takes to edit a piece for publication and take the extra time. Same goes for a writer who followed the guidelines and is "almost there" in terms of the article. I want a good writer to return to me, because they've been groomed, trained, and know what we like. I've done everything from developmental to line edits, and if the writer tried in their submission, I'll reject with edits. And no....the author goes not get to approve the final edits.

Sorry, but we are not aware of awards for our type of articles.