Tuesday, April 8, 2014

The Business of Writing: Grants for Individuals



In my grant-writing class, I was given the opportunity to do something I didn't expect: write a grant proposal to fund my own research.  The Foundation Center has a Grants for Individuals database.  I am pretty sure it's not available for free.  If you want to access it, you may need to find a university or public library that has a full subscription. 

I write historical fiction and have plans for at least three research trips over the next year. When I searched for funding sources specifically for individuals doing historical research, I didn't find many.  But there are plenty for authors.  And lots for writers like me - not yet published older mommies.  However, there are apparently a lot of us, so the competition is fierce.  Once you apply, you have to wait a while to reapply for most of grants. 

I compiled a list of the grants that I may apply for down the line once I actually get something impressive on my CV (besides my vast experience as a software developer/nerd, which doesn't help at all). 

If anyone is interested, I can do some posts about the specific opportunities later (not just the ones for middle-aged mommy types of people).  Have you ever thought about applying for a grant to fund your writing?

6 comments:

  1. I knew there were grants out there for writers but never looked for them. Might be interesting if you posted some of them. (Ones you're not pursuing, of course!)

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  2. Yes. Please post about where to find these grants.

    Hugs and chocolate!
    Shelly

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  3. Wow, I had no idea these types of grants were available. I hope you get one if you end up applying down the road.

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  4. Tonja, what an excellent idea, applying for grants to fund writing. I'm also jazzed that you're applying for some--I hope you get some funds to help with your trips!

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  5. They do this pretty generously over in Wales from what I understand. They actually fund the arts while they are being created. Crazy, huh?

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  6. Grant writing is crazy hard. That's so cool that you sourced that list. Awesome!

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