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The newsletter

A sample issue

This is what arrives once a week: one opportunity worth your time, one note on rates or contracts, one craft lesson, and anything we've corrected or added to the library.

Sample issue. The weekly newsletter hasn't started sending yet; this page shows its format and voice. Every listing in a real issue is checked against its source the week it runs.

National Writers · Week of

Opportunities

  • Fund for Investigative Journalism grants. Regular grants of up to $10,000 for investigative stories; freelancers are eligible. Next regular deadline: January 29, 2027, 11:59 p.m. ET. Guidelines at FIJ.
  • Fine Arts Work Center fellowships. Seven-month residencies in Provincetown for four poets and four fiction writers who haven't published a full-length book. Deadline November 15, 2026, with a $40 fee (later deadlines cost more). Listing at Poets & Writers.

Rates and contracts: what a per-word quote hides

A dollar a word sounds like a rate. It isn't one until you know the hours. A 1,200-word piece that needs four interviews, two rounds of edits, and a fact-check can take three times as long as one you write from notes. Before you accept a per-word offer, estimate the hours, divide, and compare the result with your floor from the rate calculator. If it falls short, quote a flat fee for the assignment instead.

Then put the kill fee in writing. An assignment letter that says nothing about cancellation leaves you with nothing if the piece is dropped. Ask for a percentage before you start reporting.

Craft: cut the throat-clearing

Many first drafts start a paragraph or two before the story does. Writers warm up on the page, and the warm-up survives into the draft. Try this before you file: delete your first paragraph and read what's left. If the piece still makes sense, and usually starts faster, leave it out. If something essential disappeared, move just that sentence down to where the reader needs it.

From the library

  • Correction: for payments made in 2026, clients file a 1099-NEC at $2,000, not $600. You still owe tax on every dollar. Updated glossary.
  • New: the glossary is now searchable, with entries for pitch calls, rate sharing, and copyright registration.

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