Getting it Done; Getting it Seen; Getting it Out There

There are a number of funders who provide support for innovative writing:-

Arts Council - Grants for the Arts Funding for individual artists, partnerships and organizations for arts projects.

Arts and Humanities Research Council - Fellowships in the Creative and Performing Arts scheme. The Creative and Performing Arts scheme provides a flat-rate grant for up to three years for the appointment of full-time research fellows in the creative and performing arts.

The Authors' Foundation gives grants to authors whose project is for a British publisher. Grants can be to help with research costs, or to buy time to write.

Hawthornden Castle Fellowship - A writer's retreat that provides a great opportunity to get that book finished.

Leverhulme Trust - The Artist in Residence Scheme is intended to support the residency of an artist of any kind (visual artists, creative writers, poets, and other producers of original creative work) in an institution of higher education or a museum in the UK.

The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) - Dreamtime Award. This award is aimed at exceptional achievers with at least ten years experience in their field who wish to take structured time away from their work to pursue ideas and activities which will benefit both themselves and their sector.

The Royal Literary Fund fellowship scheme This scheme is for writers working in partnership with British universities and colleges. Writers are appointed as Fellows based on their literary merit and aptitude for the role.

There are also all sorts of writer support sites out their on the web. In her book The Internet: A Writer's Guide Jane Dorner provides an extensive list. Most of these sites cater for a particular genre of writing ( such as non-fiction feature writing, scriptwriting or Poetry). They also vary in their target audience ( some aim at absolute beginners, other's provide workshop opportunities for devloping writers whilst others aim at seasoned pros). The following links demonstate the wide variety of opportunities out there on the www.

• Freelance Success A US-based resource targeted at established, professional non-fiction writers.
• Pleasure Dome An Online learning community for writers
• Writer's Block A Canada-based site with lots of resources for writers
• Writer's Digest A US-based magazine site ( probably of most interst to beginners)
• Writernet A UK-based site aimed at writers working in the dramatic arts

There are also a number of excellent sites dedicated to literature in a particular region. See for example -

• Creative Arts East ( East Anglia Region)
• LiteratureNorthEast (North East England Region)
• Lit.net (West Midlands of England Region)
• New Writing North (North East England Region)

There are a number of e-zines that provide writers with an opportunity to get their work out in the public domain. Selecting the right e-zine (and editor) for your work is an important decision. The advice I give to poets looking to send their work out to a poetry magazine for publication is to pop down to the Poetry Library (South Bank Complex, London) and find a magazine that is appropriate for your work at that time. The advice for e-zines is pretty similar. Do your research - find a an e-zine that you respect, find an e-zine that is publishing work that is in the same genre and vein as yours and follow the submission notes provided by the editor.There is an amazing list of e-zines at John Labovitz's E-Zine-List (needless to say some of the links are broken - but much of the information is good). It covers fiction, non-fiction and poetry.I like e-zines that also have a non-electronic format. This means that they will have editors and staff who are familiar with good editorial practice. Another great resource is the Poetry Library's New Poetry Magazines Archive. This is a great way to find a magazine for your work. Other lists include - Tim Love's Literary Magazines, The Poetry Kit List and New Hope International Review On-Line List.

Marketing has always been an important (if controversial) part of a writer's life. The WWW has become a very significant piece in the publishing jigsaw. If you are a best selling writer your publisher ( or a good friend) will probably take care of all of this for you. Writers Websites include:-

Simon Armitage

Harlan Coben

James Patterson

These websites keep the writer in the public eye through the regular newsletters, competitions and FAQs. They also direct potential buyers to the author's wares at their publishers website or book-selling sites such as amazon.com.

However, there is no reason why you can't do all this for yourself! A number of writers and poets have successfully used the WWW to promote their readings, their books and other activities. Good examples include:-

The Joy of Six Website (Note the books for sale)

Roger McGough Website (Note the mail order CD)

The following authors all make effective use of WWW to promote their writing:

Carole Matthews

links to:

http://www.carolematthews.com/

 

Ted Nelson

links to

http://www.xanadu.com.au/ted/

http://www.aus.xanadu.com/itimes/998

& http://ted.hyperland.com/

 

Kate Pullinger

links to

http://www.katepullinger.com

 

Tim Wright

links to

http://timwright.typepad.com/

http://www.nesta.org.uk/ourawardees/profiles/2077/

http://www.oldton.com/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1904902170/026-5859290-7632448

The WWW also provides new opportunities for distribution - for example - the development of print-on-demand technology by companies like BookSurge Publishing means that publishers and book-sellers can promote the wares of an unknown author without having to take a risk on a print run. The advantage of this approach is that it is possible to market your print work to a small and widely-distributed readership. The disadvantage is that you, the author, will have to take responsibility for a lot of activities that are normally undertaken by publishers ( e.g. copy editing, jacket design, promotion). Is this the future? self-publishing? Vanity publishing in a digital jacket?

 

return to main page