C. Hope Clark

Founder and President, FundsForWriters www.fundsforwriters.com

Q&A with Hope Clark

Q: When you first left government employment to begin your writing career, did you have a plan for what direction your writing would take you--was FundsforWriters in your original "game plan"?

A: Yes, FundsforWriters was in the center of my game plan. Actually, I started FundsforWriters while still working full-time. I'm the first person to admit that a person should have a comfort level with their endeavor working before jumping full-time into it. When I started selling a few articles and realized that people wanted to read FundsforWriters newsletters and purchase a FundsforWriters ebook, I realized I had the potential to earn a living with words. I didn't have enough time to do everything that came my way, so I realized I could afford to take this risk. However, even with that positive attitude, I made sure that when I retired from government service (at age 46, by the way), that I had all bills paid off except the mortgage, had put money in the bank to cover emergencies, and had reliable health insurance.

Becoming an entrepreneur takes planning, not just a positive attitude. So many people jump into the fray and hope it works. That mindset does NOT work 99% of the time. They should do their homework, make plans with dates and dollars affixed, then jump in KNOWING it will work.

Q: How did you get the word out about FundsforWriters and grow your list to its current size?

A: Five ways actually:

1. Word-of-mouth. I'm a firm believer in giving back and taking the time to assist others. So I answered every single email that came my way--in great detail. That attention to customer service paid me back a hundred fold. People told their friends, and like a pandemic, the news spread across the Internet and in writing groups. I had 200 members in a month; 1,000 members in a year; 5,000 members in three years. Today I have 17,000 readers of all the newsletters.
2. Articles. I wrote articles for any website that would take an article. Some were free, others paid me. In the beginning, I tolerated free. I don't do that today and haven't for a number of years since I've realized that those writing for free usually pull down the income-producing abilities of writers as a whole. But, I included a generous bio at the end of each with a link to FundsforWriters.
3. Advertising. I mostly swap ads, but I purchased advertising in my competition--Absolute Write--during my second and third year since their advertising rates were so low. Now that I have a competitive membership base, I can swap without charge with most markets. But paid advertising is probably my least utilized way. I chose the largest venue on the Web for writers, capitalized on it, then moved on.
4. Writer's Digest (WD). The first year, people nominated me for the 101 Best Web Sites for Writers listing for Writer's Digest. I was flabbergasted. My membership jumped. Each year I remind readers of this wonderful listing, and they continue to nominate me. WD has chosen to select me for all six of the years I've been in business, and I'm hoping for a seventh in May 2007.
5. Attitude. One thing I noticed about other writing newsletters was the benign, generic nature of them. Ninety percent are afraid to be individualistic and exciting. They fill their pages with how-to ideas and markets and move on. They run together. So I write an editorial on whatever is in my head at the time. Often I rant like I'm fussing with a girlfriend about the calamities in my life. People adore it! Instead of saying "This is how you sell an article," I tell them about moving cross-country with dogs, gun collection, and the liquor cabinet in the pickup truck, then writing about it to stay sane during the process. Or I talk about how poison ivy consumed me for three months as I built a new home and how the ivy resembled the rejections in our career, but you don't stay out of the garden because it exists. And when I want to, I fuss about writers who make excuses instead of painting rose-colored-glasses stories. Writing is hard enough without listening to whiners. When I write like that, the emails pour in with resounding AMENS. I love it.

Q: As a Shy Writer, do you find the Internet to be the best marketing tool to share your message, and can you give us some examples of how you promote yourself online so effectively?

A: Oh absolutely, positively yes. The Internet gave me a voice. I retired from federal service to get away from the people confrontations. I was a manager, director of personnel by the time I retired. People's problems were my job, and it drained every ounce of me. When my health started deteriorating due to nothing but stress, a doctor and a psychiatrist said I needed to find other work. What better venue than writing online? I was in heaven. Reclusivity suits me. You have to drag me away from home to go to the grocery store. So when I started writing, before I retired, I noticed instantly that the Internet was the way to go, and that included a website. Why a writer doesn't see the dire need for a website is beyond me. It's as important as a computer. I've been online since online was available. I'm self-taught when it comes to websites (lots of learning curves there), because I rate that tool so high on my list of necessities.

Examples?

I chat every two months at www.writerschatroom.com.

I still answer every single email--positive or negative in nature. Each email has additional resources to enable a writer to research further. I respect each person no matter how much they've been published or how hard they're struggling. People appreciate respect, and it's not a common practice in this world of making a dollar and a name.

I am consistent. That is sorely lacking online. Websites, newsletters, chats, forums come and go when the founders get bored, tired or sick of being creative. Consistency wins every time. When people trust you to be there each weekend no matter what, they can afford to tell their friends, writer's groups and fellow writers in other online venues about this great website that is honest, reliable, and cares. The newsletters have been late four times in almost seven years--once when I was moving and couldn't find Internet access, and another time while visiting family in Europe--again without access.

I praise people. People love to be stroked. I know I do. So regardless of the negativity, you find the positive. I have no patience for those who wallow in excuses. One can find as many excuses to succeed as to fail.

Q: As a baby boomer woman, you have redefined yourself and your writing goals over the past several years. Do you attribute that to "coming of age" (the midlife "pause") or do you think that's the natural evolution a small business owner experiences in the life of their business?

A: Coming of age, definitely. I realized in my early forties that life was short. During a particularly stressful time in my bureaucratic career, I deduced that if I retired in my 60s and looked back, I wouldn't feel satisfied with my performance as a person. I'd done a fine job with the government during my 25 years, but they'd had me long enough. It was time to see what I could do on my own, using my own brain and resources.

My husband agreed to my early retirement and I agreed to him taking a promotion anywhere in the U.S. That's how we moved from South Carolina to Arizona for almost three years. That compromise enabled us financially to do what we both loved. And I told my sons entering college at the time that if I couldn't afford to support them, they'd have to work their way through school. This was an opportunity I could not afford to pass up. They told me later that I turned into a much happier mom in making the decision I did.

In other words, I reached an age where priorities fell into place, and they weren't directed by money or what people thought. Some coworkers told me I was taking a big risk leaving work at age 46 with kids in college, and they wouldn't have the nerve. They're still in a cubicle. I'm at home having a ball. I feel I was old enough to take the leap wisely with knowledge gained from age, so the risk factor was greatly reduced with common sense from the miles I'd already trod in my life.

Q: What advice would you give other baby boomer women who are looking to shift their focus from the outside world to empowering themselves through their "passion pursuits"?

A: Plan thoroughly and think it through. I mentioned earlier that I did not leap overnight. I planned for three years by paying off bills, hoarding money in the bank, and preparing the family for my goal. I also respected myself as a writer and taught my family and friends through my steady practice of the craft, that writing was a serious matter. One son kids me today, asking when I'll become the next Stephen King. I tell him I'm not Stephen King. I'll be the next Hope Clark. I don't aim to copy. I aim to break ground. What other advice do I give?

• Respect yourself. If you don't feel positive about stepping out, no one else will.
• Plan ahead. Money in the bank; health insurance; few to no bills.
• Goals. Set benchmarks for what is considered success. Set dates, dollar figures, quantity of sales, readership, whatever. Tangibles are very important. Saying you'll make more money in a year is a worthless goal. State how much, from where and when. Have a marketing/business plan. For instance, one year from now, how much money did you make? How many articles sold? How many chapters written? How many new connections did you make?
• Organize. Be able to put your hands on your business. The income, the expenses, the taxes, the sales. Otherwise, write for a hobby. Short and sweet.

Q: Anything else you'd like to share about yourself or your business?

A: Diligence. It sounds trite, but it's true. I intend to outlast the competition. I've seen some of that competition disappear. People ask how I got to this point. By working one day at a time.

Visit yourself. Every couple of months, sit back and analyze where you are and how close you are to your goals. Tangents happen. Sidetracking happens. Every two months is frequent enough to get back on track.

Don't try to be someone else. Be yourself. As I say in The Shy Writer: An Introvert's Guide to Writing Success, sell your words, not your soul. When people remember you, will they say you are the next Nora Roberts, Tess Gerritsen or Pat Conroy? Hopefully not. You want to be you. Let others want to be you. That's what I call success.

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