paying writing markets | Belinda Y. Hughes Books

Hello to all, my name is Lori Colbeck and I am the begetter of BooksFromScratch.com. Belinda and I found each other on Twitter awhile ago and after she signed up for early access to the site, she generously invited me to write a guest post for her blog. As you can see, I accepted!

By way of explanation, Books From Scratch is a website with the intention of creating community between readers and writers. Together, they decide what direction a story will take as it is being written. Ultimately, that collaboration will create a manuscript that will be published.

Essentially, a website member can choose to write, read, and vote for any of fourteen fiction genres. Anyone can share the first chapter of a fictional story they’ve written, and if the community thinks it would be a good starter chapter, then the author of that chapter becomes a co-author of the total story, and the chapter is published.

After voters have selected the first chapter, a call goes out to the community for the second chapter. When submissions close, voting begins. The chapter with the most votes gets published, and the author of that chapter becomes a co-author of the total story. This process continues until there is a completed novel, which ideally fits the Three Act Structure for fiction and ends at a point appropriate for the genre.

Finally, From Scratch Publishing will execute a contract with the co-authors and proceed with the manuscript editing, marketing, and distribution. From Scratch Publishing will only publish books by the Books From Scratch community.

The web developers hope to have the beta version of the site up soon. I have been working on finalizing the publishing contract and website terms and conditions with my lawyer, so that everything is ready to go when the beta opens. Even beta testers will have an opportunity to sign the publishing contract, if their chapter wins!

Speaking of the contract, it will be available for members to view before submitting their work. My highest priorities are that the author’s copyright is protected, that they are paid equitably for their words, and that they are not beholden to From Scratch Publishing or prevented from signing publishing contracts elsewhere.

I want to give new authors a leg up as much as possible. By connecting them with a publishing house, even after contributing a single chapter, they will have a better idea of how to work with other houses. They can put on their resume that they’re published! On the website, there will be a repository of writer resources, forums for various topics, guest speakers, and other challenges to keep things lively.

I have programs in the works especially for Books From Scratch readers. They are in development and will, hopefully, be released mid-2015. For now, I’m hoping that having fantastic writers will satisfy their needs.

I am currently seeking volunteers for forum moderators, beta reading of chapters, and in the collection of writer resources. Please sign up at the bottom of BooksFromScratch.com in the Contact Us form if you’re available to help. I am always updating Twitter, rarely updating Tumblr, and occasionally on Facebook (which goes to Twitter anyway). If you would like early access to the site, please submit your email at BooksFromScratch.com in the ‘Get Early Access’ field. If possible, I’d appreciate any donations at PayPal (scroll down to the bottom of the homepage and click on the tiny credit card button), as this whole project is self-funded (and I have student loans for my Master of Science in publishing).

Can’t wait to collaborate,

Lori Colbeck
BooksFromScratch.com
From Scratch Publishing

Author Bio

I love my family more. My house is lived in. I drive my dream car. I am an introvert. I don’t like being marketed to. I want a passport. I am globophobic and peniaphobic. I vote. I do not understand making sweeping generalizations based on one aspect of a person’s life. I believe that once you go Mac, you never go back. I adore clichéd commencement speeches. I revere trees. I do not collect friends, I select them. I despise hiccups. I never pass up an opportunity to take a nap. I am not done.

Image credit USDAgov

You might be a garden writer if…

you get excited about coffee grounds, fruit rinds and eggshells.
you’re a card-carrying member of the Dirty Fingernails Club.
you consider bees, wasps, worms and beneficial nematodes to be highly qualified employees.
you say manure instead of bullshit.
you shop for meals and gifts from the windowsill, patio, backyard, landscape or roof.
the top words in your curse vocabulary are Monsanto, Snowpocalypse and drought.
your hunting rack holds a cultivator, shovel and rake.
your idea of a hot date is a garden show or seed swap.
you prefer pole beans to pole dancers and bush beans over Amanda Palmer’s Map of Tasmania.
shoppers ask your advice whenever you dash into your local garden center.
overalls, hiking shorts and Crocs dominate your wardrobe.
you’ve never once had to call a bondsman on behalf of your strippers.
the highlight of your week is #gardenchat on Twitter every Monday night at 8p CST.

Image credit bbalaji

Not to worry. There is a constructive therapy for all these symptoms. Send your gardening tips, how-to articles and personal stories to the garden writing markets below. If they like them, they will send you money to support your habit. Most payments include contributor copies for your clip files or to share with your loyal fans. Also, these markets are primarily nonfiction, so save your poetry and fiction for other publications.

I certify that I did not copy these garden writing markets from anyone else’s articles, lists, blog posts or directories. They are the direct result of my own crazed lust over Mother Earth News and a Google search for “gardening magazines.” All information in the notes below was carefully gleaned from each magazine’s official website.

Grab your shovel and dig in. Click the links below for more information on audience, slant and submission formats. I highly recommend reading sample copies and querying before submitting. These editorial staffers love to help writers. They make sure you’re not duplicating past content or accepted articles on file and that your work meets their needs, resulting in a happier experience for all. So go ahead. Thar’s gold in them thar garden writing markets!

Mother Earth News

Pays $25-100 per published “Country Lore” tip of 100-300 wds. Email and snail mail submissions accepted.

Capper’s

Fees negotiated per assignment. E-query first. Email and snail mail submissions accepted upon assignment. Sow Hoe is the gardening department. Prefers 500-1,500 wds. Pays on publication. Payment includes two copies. Buys shared rights. Author may republish elsewhere a year after publication date.

Greenprints

Pays up to $150 for up to 2,000 wds. Pays on acceptance. Buys First North American Serial Rights (FNASR). Accepts esubs, but prefers and pays by snail mail. Query first.

Small Farm Today

Pays 2-3.5 cents per published word. Prefers 1,400-2,600 wds. Accepts reprints. Buys first serial rights and nonexclusive print rights. Pays 60 days after publication. Check editorial calendar for topics and deadlines. Make extra money with colorful sidebar materials (photographs, art, graphs, charts, diagrams and cartoons) related to your article.

Back Home Magazine

Pays $35/printed page and up. Pays on publication. Kill fee offered. E-query first. E-subs welcomed. Buys First North American Serial Rights (FNASR). Make extra money with good quality, high resolution digital images relevant to your piece.

Texas Gardener

Pays $25-200 upon publication. Payment includes two copies. Prefers 700-1,050 wds. Query by email, disc or snail mail with outline or completed article. Include personal expertise and writing sample or published clips. Responds to queries in six weeks. Prefers high resolution digital images, but will consider slides or prints, all of high quality.

Author Bio

Belinda Y. Hughes is the author of Confessions of a Red Hot Veggie Lover 2: Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian Recipes and Living Proof. Her blog, Café Belinda, specializes in dairy free, gluten free, sugar free, Kosher, vegan and vegetarian recipes. When she’s not refilling her wildlife buffet, covered in compost or out hiking with her old labradachs, she is available for author interviews and guest blogging opportunities.

Publications

https://belindayhughes.wordpress.com/

http://cafebelinda.blogspot.com

http://amazon.com/dp/B00H4L35NM

Guest Blogs

http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2014/02/bringing-food-to-life-by-belinda-y.html

http://penpaperpad.com/2014/03/seniors-dont-sit-well-guest-post/

Author Interviews

http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2014/02/interview-with-author-belinda-y-hughes.html

Social Media

http://facebook.com/belinda.hughes.1656

https://plus.google.com/117025905891975822672/posts/p/pub