Open Fund FAQs for writers: What is a track record?
We receive lots of questions from writers at different stages in their careers about how to evidence a ‘track record’. First off, we should say that our forms don’t request a ‘track record’. What we do ask is that you address our criteria relating to:
· the strength of your creative idea
· benefit to you and others, now and in the future
· effective management of the activity
This is usually easier for writers and other literature artists who have built up industry experience through previous publication and performance. In previous posts, we have already discussed the role a literary agent or publisher might play in supporting your application, including endorsements and reviews, and also samples of existing work. If it’s relevant to your application — for example, as a spoken word artist — there is space on the application form for you to include links to video clips rather than attaching a written sample.
What do I when a ‘track record’ seems key to building… a track record?
We understand that it can be difficult for writers at the earliest stages of their professional careers in any genre or form to address these criteria and, depending on your level of experience, other routes than Creative Scotland’s Open Fund may be better suited in the first instance: we began collating some of these in a blog post pre-pandemic. Targeted funding routes such as Create: Inclusion have been created specifically to help creative artists — including writers, spoken word artists, and other literature freelancers — reduce barriers to progression at all stages in their career.
Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of addressing the criteria, to help you work out if the Open Fund is right for you and your project at this point.
(i) The strength of your creative idea
The first criterion is probably the most straightforward; before considering applying to any fund we’ll take it as read that you have an idea you believe in. You may have some really strong sample writing or performance footage exploring this idea.
(ii) Benefit to you and others, now and in the future
The second criterion is tougher to address if you’re an unpublished writer or are not yet at the stage of being programmed by others.
As a debut novelist or page poet, you might evidence that your book is likely to deliver public benefit in future by reaching readers if you are one of those few lucky debut authors to have an offer from a publisher secured on the basis of a synopsis and samples. In that case, do include your advance in the income table (see here for more on advances, etc.). The involvement of an established literary agent might also help make this case.
If you have neither an agent nor a publisher you might like to think about other ways to build your networks and experience. Scottish Book Trust offers a New Writers Award mentoring scheme for example, with Creative Scotland support. Also within our network of Regularly Funded Organisations, Moniack Mhòr offers writer development opportunities, including bursary support for those unable to meet fees. Playwrights’ Studio Scotland offer a free script-feedback service, meeting space and mentoring. Scotland has a network of writers groups across every local authority and new writing magazines both place-based — from Northwords in the Highlands to Southlight in Dumfries and Galloway — and general (New Writing Scotland, Gutter and Extra Teeth are just three examples). Many publish work in Gaelic and Scots too. There are a variety of Spoken Word events and open-mic nights, as well as opportunities to build your craft via Social Media or other types of performance. Engaging with these opportunities is one way to build a portfolio of work to take to agents or producers, and a supportive community of fellow writers.
There is also a huge spectrum of development opportunity available outside the ‘arts sector’, from formal degree courses (with occasional bursaries), through commercially-aligned programmes from multinational publishers, to the informal support of the enthusiastic memberships of the Society of Authors, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustators (SCBWI) and more.
We understand that structural barriers may make some of the above opportunities more difficult to access. Making the jump from developmental opportunities to delivering that full-length work is a challenge for all, and again we understand that structural barriers may mean that this is more so for those facing said barriers. We plan to announce a support pilot in this area soon, specifically targeting unpublished fiction and non-fiction writers, as we understand that they benefit less from the Open Fund.
(iii) Effective management of the activity
In order to address our project management criteria, we’ll be looking for you to evidence that you can deliver work of the length and type for which you are applying, and to the standard to which you aspire.
We handle public funds and are responsible for ensuring value for these, so we look for evidence that work we fund will be delivered. For example, full-length books — poetry, short fiction, novels or creative non-fiction — or performance pieces are a considerable undertaking. If you are very emergent, we would point you again to the various opportunities to build your writing experience and networks through magazines, anthologies, open-mic slots and similar before applying for support for a full-length work.
While we cannot fund competitions, we understand that these are part of the landscape for many poets. We also understand that in many cases poetry collections do not attract advances and would recommend in all instances a conversation with an assessor prior to applying to ensure you understand how to present any publishing contract or publishing plans in your application.
If you have considered all of the above and believe your work answers both our creative strength and public benefit criteria, do consider how you can evidence that you have it in you to deliver the work via samples, synopses, structure notes and so forth. We suggest you browse some of the other Open Fund FAQs for Writers to help you make the strongest application you can.
In all of this, it is worth noting that the higher the ask, the higher the risk to public funds. It may be useful to reflect on the level of support you request against the risks your project poses.
As ever, we would advise all potential applicants to get in touch for advice prior to submitting an application. That way we can support you in understanding how best to address our criteria.
Do these notes answer your queries about evidencing your track record? If you have other queries, please do let us know in the comments or contact us direct.
