FINDING YOUR STRENGTH (NICHE) BY HOPE CLARK



C. Hope Clark and her blind dog Dixie

Today it's my pleasure to welcome guest C. Hope Clark. She heads "Funds For Writers," a newsletter of inspiration as well as opportunity. Funds for Writers began in March 2000 after a women's writing group in Georgia opened Hope's eyes to the fact that it's hard to write when you can't afford ink for the printer or postage for the manuscripts. As a guest speaker, she initially planned a topic on the writer's need for the Internet. That subject quickly eroded to finding funds for all aspects of writing. Since her day job involved financial management and government grants, she offered a few words of advice. Boy! Did that ever blow into a bigger deal than she imagined!

Now she heads http://www.fundsforwriters.com/, which received the designation of 101 Best Web Sites for Writers by Writer's Digest Magazine - for 2001 through 2008. All because she likes writers to feel good about themselves and have as many tools at their fingers as possible. Readers say they sign up more for the editorials than anything else. She says she just has fun writing them.

You can find out about her newsletters at her links below. Hope and her husband live in Chapin, South Carolina. She graduated from Clemson University with honors and a degree in Plant Science/Agrinomy. Her honors and awards are far too many to list here. In spite of her prestigous background, she says she gets up in the morning to write, garden and be a decent person.
 
By day she manages FundsforWriters.com - 37,000+ readers.
 
By night she pens mysteries in her series. She just landed a contract for her Caroline Slade mystery series with Bell Bridge Publishing. Hope says she's combined her education and history with agriculture, and her experience in federal investigations, with her husband's career as a federal agent. Agriculture now has more flavor than beans and corn. It has crime, intrigue and a splash of Southern humor amidst the mystery.
 
"I enjoy these stories so much sometimes I can't tell the difference between my past and the antics of Carolina Slade."


Wow, Hope, that series sounds terrific. I can't wait to read the mysteries as soon as they're published, can you? Now, here's Hope's guest post:

     FINDING YOUR STRENGTH


"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." ~Einstein

When my children were small, I used to remind them not to make fun of people who didn't excel. I'd cup my hands and say that everyone had the same amount of talent. It was just that some people spread theirs across lots of areas, and others concentrated theirs in one or two. For instance, someone who performed well in math might not be able to write an essay or draw a picture.


Because one writer creates great thriller novels doesn't mean he can write poetry. Pat Conroy, one of my favorite authors of all times, reads poetry each day before he writes. But he doesn't write it. He just wants the beautiful word flow of great poets to enter his mind before he tries to formulate his prose. I now understand why he writes such marvelous sentences.



Hope and her friend Sherlock



I cannot tell a joke. I have terrible balance. I can't sing (though I try). I sketch with some mediocrity. Same goes for my cooking. And about the time I think I'm doing well at gardening or chicken raising, someone puts me to shame.

THE POINT IS TO FIND WHERE YOU DO WELL AND ENJOY THE TASK.

If you judge me on how well I dance ballet, I come across clumsy, klutzy and inept. Put me in a room of ballerinas, and I'm the ugly duckling. Never let me try anything but dancing, and I think I'm the biggest dunce that ever lived.
 

Hope on her home's porch

















As a personnel director, I attempted to guide managers to place employees according to strengths. I tried to make them realize that just because you had five clerks at the same pay rank, didn't mean that they were equally strong in all areas. One might be a better receptionist, another a typist, another a multi-media expert, another an expert organizer.

My suggestion? FIND YOUR NICHE, then judge not lest ye be judged. Focus on finding your talent, then work incessantly at perfecting that talent.

Hope

THE BLOG - http://hopeclark.blogspot.com/
TWITTER - http://twitter.com/hopeclark
FACEBOOK - http://www.facebook.com/chopeclark
FUNDS FOR WRITERS http://www.fundsforwriters.com/


Thanks for stopping by, Hope. Please let us know when your Carolina Slade mysteries are for available!

Guest Hope Clark Advises Writers About Themselves

Hope Clark and her dog Dixie
Although mostly blind and deaf, Dixie loves a drive

Hope Clark is the energy behind the newsletters Funds For Writers and Funds For Writers Small Markets out of South Carolina, which are received by a large network of writers. Each week she offers both paying and merely promotional markets for writers, along with terrific career advice. Here is one of her colums that resonated with me, reprinted with her permission.

I WANT TO TELL YOU SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF

Writers seek validation first and foremost. New or seasoned, we hang on feedback. We write and edit, but we fear venturing off on errant tangents, writing words that don't mean squat. So we spend countless hours reading websites, blogs, magazines, and books. We endure hours of misery in critique groups, sometimes walking away with gems, other times with empty hands and bruised egos. What we wouldn't give to have the guts to waltz into a room of readers with our book, shaking it, standing before the crowd to say, "This is a story you'll never forget." And really mean it.

This business, however, is wrought with naysayers. Funny, but it's usually those who break one little strategic rule along the way who gets noticed. Agents and publishers want someone fresh, but want what has always worked, too. That's why it's so difficult to give them what they want. They aren't sure what it is. They just know it when they see it.

Wouldn't it be nice to be comfortable in yourself . . .and your writing? Let's find some suggestions that may
help you on that journey in nailing your comfort zone.

1. Write . . . daily. Each day takes you closer to your true voice. There are no shortcuts. It takes thousands
of words to reach that voice that stands for you, and you alone.

2. You are unique. No one is like you. No one has your voice, stories or characters. Embrace that individuality. No one can offer the world what you have.

3. Everyone doesn't have to like you, to understand you. Sometimes the mysticism becomes your strong suit. Your task is to know when to use that magic.

4. Practice makes perfect. Only you can know when your work is polished well enough to present to the masses. If you aren't sure, it's not ready. That little voice that makes you wonder, is trying to tell you something.

5. Persistence gains more ground than creative inspiration. Be the tortoise, slow and steady, always moving toward the goal. A hot idea today might be a dud two months from now. Love being alone with yourself, working through the words.

6. Whether you receive positive or negative feedback, be selective in what you take to heart.

Bottom line . . . writing is all about your decisions, not someone else's. You will have hundreds of decisions in a writing career, but only a tiny number of them are not completely in your hands.

Hope Clark

http://www.fundsforwriters.com/
THE BLOG - http://www.hopeclark.blogspot.com
TWITTER - http://twitter.com/hopeclark
CONSULT WITH HOPE - http://www.fundsforwriters.com/ConsultHope.htm
FACEBOOK - http://www.facebook.com/chopeclark

Thanks so much, Hope. Great advice!