6 Easy ways to re-use your story ideas

If you believe all my published stories, I’ve done everything from stitching on a shirt button to jumping off a cliff while tied to another human being. I may not have been born with such a multitude of talents as hitting the bull’s-eye on a dart board, winning swimming competitions, and staging children’s theatre, but I have been blessed with a quirky imagination and a flair for language. These I’ve put to good use by reusing one idea to create many different stories. Call it recycling, re-purposing, re-packaging or re-working, here’s how you can take just one premise and turn it into a folder-full...

Read the full article in the December 2016 issue of Funds For Writers

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Words from the Wise

"Good piece, as usual."

C Hope Clark

Editor

Funds for Writers

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How FundsForWriters.com taught me to be a successful writer

Once upon a time, there was a writer. She’d had over a hundred feature articles published in various magazines, before she heard about FundsForWriters.com. “Hey, I’m a writer! I bet I could tell other writers a thing or two, and earn fifty cool ones,” she thought. So she dashed off a submission to the editor, Hope Clark. It was rejected. She tried again. And again. She had to pitch four times before her fifth submission was finally accepted. Even then, the piece seemed so less-than-satisfactorily edited, it spawned not one but two irate editorials, back-to-back, on the importance of perfecting...

Read the full article in the July 2016 issue of Funds For Writers

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600 words
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Words from the Wise

"LOL Thanks for this cute piece."

C Hope Clark

Editor

Funds for Writers

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Need motivation? Stop writing! (Enter a writing contest instead)

The most assiduous writer comes face to face with Writer's Block occasionally. The hand tires of embellishing the 59th promotional copy for Kirk's Paving and Tiling Solutions Ltd, the soul wearies of deconstructing the 16th time Joe Hero battles sundry demons. Creative juices dry up, creative muses leave the building, inspiration imitates a certain 1985 DeLorean and vanishes in a puff of smoke, leaving behind only the dusty smouldering ashes of a burnt out freelancer or novelist.

So you seek a jump-start. Because you are a writer, and write you must.

Disregard everything...

Read the full article in the July 2016 issue of Funds For Writers

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"Enjoyed the contest piece!"

C Hope Clark

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8 Questions you should ask before selling all rights

“We take all rights to your work,” warn the guidelines of a popular parenting blog. “Don’t submit to us if you are not comfortable with this.”

Handing over all rights, including copyright, of your work to another entity goes against the grain for many writers. Others, however, don’t bat an eyelid. You can always write more, right? So, in which situations does it make sense?

All Rights is a big deal, and Perpetual Exclusive Rights even more so. From the publishers’ point of view, even though they may cost big bucks, there are advantages to buying all rights. Overhead costs more when keeping track...

Read the full article in the June 2016 issue of Writers Weekly

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How to grab eye-catching expert quotes!

What do the following names have in common?

Jeffrey Archer, David Baldacci, Bernard Cornwell, Janet Evanovich, Jasper Fforde, Ken Follett, Jonathan Kellerman, Rebecca Tope.

Answer: My articles! These famous bestselling authors have all granted direct personal exclusive quotes to me.

A writer instills his own voice, personality, perceptions, knowledge, experiences, even moods into his work. It is one point of view and can sound opinionated. Adding commentary from external sources changes the tone of the article from opinion to analysis. Quotes liven up the content, humanizing...

Read the full article in the June 2016 issue of Freelance Market News

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"I LOVE IT! Wow, that's fantastic. I love that you have brought the process into the social media age (I wouldn't have thought about the fact that "they can Google you too"). And of course that quote from the "well-respected editor" just totally sets the tone for a fine article :)"

Moira Allen

Publisher

Writing World

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Tips to prepare for a child's hospital stay

When my two year old was recently ill, it was all arms to battle stations as we fought temperatures peaking 41.5 Celsius (106.7 F), dehydration and sleeplessness. At the hospital I was informed it could be either pneumonia or meningitis. So when it was confirmed that we’d escaped the latter, I was so relieved I nearly didn’t register what the doctor said next. “He’ll have to stay in the hospital for the next five nights, so we can begin the antibiotics treatment and monitor him closely.”

A hospital stay with your loved ones can be unsettling and often traumatic. It becomes almost unbearable...

Read the full article in the May 2016 post of New Age Parents

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Singapore publication

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"I liked how you provided a comprehensive list of suggested items for parents to consider.  I believe it will come in really handy. :)"

Michelle Ang

Editor

The New Age Parents

"Wonderful article"

Melissa Michta-Thomson

Copy Editor

Calgary's Child

"It's a solid pitch... well-composed and on-target for our readership."

Kim Shiffman

Managing Editor

Today's Parent

"I love your intro!"

Ashley Trexler

Editor

Lies About Parenting

"Great post"

Samantha Angoletta

Senior Content Manager

Scary Mommy

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Sell more work by grabbing eye-catching quotes

What do the following names have in common?

Jeffrey Archer, David Baldacci, Bernard Cornwell, Janet Evanovich, Jasper Fforde, Ken Follett, Jonathan Kellerman, Rebecca Tope.

Answer: My articles! These famous bestselling authors have all granted direct personal exclusive quotes to me.

A writer instills his own voice, personality, perceptions, knowledge, experiences, even moods into his work. It is one point of view and can sound opinionated. Adding commentary from external sources changes the tone of the article from opinion to analysis. Quotes liven up the content, humanizing...

Read the full article in the May 2016 issue of Funds For Writers

or

Request to read the original article via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)

600 words
Nonfiction
US publication

***********************

Words from the Wise

"I LOVE IT! Wow, that's fantastic. I love that you have brought the process into the social media age (I wouldn't have thought about the fact that "they can Google you too"). And of course that quote from the "well-respected editor" just totally sets the tone for a fine article :)"

Moira Allen

Publisher

Writing World

From hospital to home

"He is fine. It's just a common cold," said the ER doctor.

I wasn't convinced. After three weeks of lingering cold with little improvement, my son's temperature had skyrocketed to 106.4°F and alarmed me. He sounded hoarse, and all he could do was cough and cry. I described all these symptoms to the doctor and carefully asked, "Are you quite sure?"

"His throat does look red, but that's normal with a cold," the doctor repeated.

"Thank you, doctor," I said, trying to keep my cool. "Only, I'd feel so much better if you took a throat swab – just for my reassurance and peace of mind. I'm really worried it...

Read the full article in the April/May 2016 issue of Parents Canada

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2100 words
Nonfiction
Canada publication

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Words from the Wise

"Nice work on this! Excellent work Devyani!"

Janice Biehn

Editor

ParentsCanada

"I liked how you provided a comprehensive list of suggested items for parents to consider.  I believe it will come in really handy. :)"

Michelle Ang

Editor

The New Age Parents

"Wonderful article"

Melissa Michta-Thomson

Copy Editor

Calgary's Child

"It's a solid pitch... well-composed and on-target for our readership."

Kim Shiffman

Managing Editor

Today's Parent

"I love your intro!"

Ashley Trexler

Editor

Lies About Parenting

"Great post"

Samantha Angoletta

Senior Content Manager

Scary Mommy

How to deal with noisy children... before the neighbours complain!

The doorbell rang just as my two-year-old emitted a piercing shriek of delight on finding a toy long thought lost.

"Your children make too much noise," complained the new neighbour. "They're too loud; they disturb us during our conference calls. Please can you tone it down a bit?" She was gone before I had time to draw breath.

With a mixture of embarrassment and fury, I shut the door and stormed back into the apartment screeching at my kids to shut up and mouthing impossible threats and punishments if they disobeyed. After a minute to collect myself, I reflected and questioned my reaction: did...

Read the full article in the Spring 2016 issue of Country Child

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975 words
Nonfiction
UK publication

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Words from the Wise

"Great article! Thanks for sharing :)"

Michelle Ang

Editor

New Age Parents

"I really like the tone and the points made."
Sarah Third
Editor
Country Child Magazine

"I enjoyed your humorous pitch, and it sounds like an interesting topic"
Dominique Lamberton
Associate Editor
Chatelaine

"This story is really well-written and is an important topic... Love the article."
Sarah Anne Mau
Managing Editor
Hawaii Parent

"This looks good and could be something of interest."
Anna Dixon
Deputy Editor
My Child Magazine

"I enjoyed your article."
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Editor
City Parent