So, I didn’t get the grant I applied for. Now that that’s over with, I can be a little more specific–it was the Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards, and I was Not Recommended for grant money (which would have been $5,000). I knew something like this would be a long shot given how competitive these grants are, but what put me in a sad mood was the fact that they shared my panel score with me. Yikes, was it low (I’m so embarrassed that I am not sharing it). They wanted my most recent completed work, so I submitted Son of the Siren to them, along with a brief application. I guess I was riding high off of my Finalist placement in the American Writing Awards that I thought, however briefly, that I had a chance.

So, no money for me.

I did, however, enter this scholarship contest a couple days ago that is also for $5,000. You have to be nominated (although you can nominate yourself, which is what I did), and you have to be an indie author. I didn’t see how winners would be chosen (if it’s by number of nominations, then I’m doomed), but I did tell them my financial story, my sales history of Son of the Siren, and what I intended to spend the money on. I hope through sheer need I win something like this. Because…

I have no idea how to market my books without spending money.

I’ve seen articles like this one floating around that encourage you to create your author website and blog, start an email newsletter, have an Amazon Author Central page, utilize social media, and get on YouTube. I have done all of these except for YouTube, and that’s because I don’t want to be seen on camera. Plus, making videos is a lot of work. I’m not ready to do that yet.

But I’ve done everything else the article listed. No ROI. No moving of the dial.

I’m trying my new theory of bombardment to be more successful at social media promo this time around, but honestly, there are things related to social media that I want that are not free. This being artwork of my characters.

I’ve seen commissioned art everywhere when it comes to author promo. Right now I have Pinterest models as placeholders who are *sort of* like my leads, but *not quite,* and one of the biggest things I want to do is commission art. I have my characters picked out. I already know which artists I want to work with. Some of it will be a mix of commercial use and noncommercial use. Guess how much it will cost me?

$925.

That’s not including costs to print said art (I want to make promotional stickers and postcards, but in much smaller quantities than what I had made for Son of the Siren).

I’ve requested and paid for two commissions so far, but it’s going to take me forever to afford to pay for them with how little I get paid adjuncting. The thing is, I need to promote the books sooner than later, and I feel like the longer it takes to get the art made, the less time it’ll allow for promotion.

I have other expenses coming up for Book Two, too. If I hire the same beta readers as before (which I would like to do, for the sake of continuity), I have to cough up $450 by March 1st in order to meet my end-of-April deadline for OHB.

You can see how else I hope to spend money in the post If I Had $5,000 for publishing. The thing is, in that dream list of stuff, I can’t afford most of it. To me, the non-negotiables are character art and beta reading, with beta reading being the most immediate and important expense. I’ll have to turn around and cough up another$450 for The Fear and the Flame, too.

I know that technically there are free beta readers out there, especially fellow authors who are willing to do it for free as long as it’s reciprocal. In a perfect world, I could do this, but with my own writing deadlines and teaching schedule, I don’t have the time to add a 60-80,000 word manuscript to my pile of work. The best thing I can do is pay people I trust for their effort.

I really wish there was more advice out there besides “promote yourself on social media” essentially. And I wish that I could find grants and scholarships for artists with serious financial need. The only one I could find is the SLF $1000 Working Class Writers Grant, which has already come and gone (but you bet I’m going to try to apply in September 2026). There is a PEN America grant for writers with financial need, but the money isn’t to go towards the art, but rather the financial crisis, which…isn’t my situation. I’m lucky for that, even though I still technically still live at poverty level. I’m grateful I have family who’ve helped me out and given me a roof over my head, and that I have some sort of income coming in, however small. I just don’t have an income from my books that I could put into…my books.

I’m sure this other $5,000 award will be highly competitive due to the sheer numbers of people applying. I don’t expect to get it, but I hope for it, because it would make life so much easier. If not, things will be quite tight financially in order for me to put at least something towards book publicity.

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Readers, any tips on how to get free promotion, or free money?