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When photographer Grace Weston decided to apply for a no-strings-attached $3,000 grant from the Oregon Arts Commission, her first step was to convene a group of her colleagues to look at her work. She laid her photographs on a table and asked, “How would you describe my photography if you were talking to someone else about it?” They threw out words like “psychological,” “dark,” “edgy,” and “humorous with a twist.” She scribbled down every word they said. Two weeks later, she read a rough draft of her one-page essay to a writer colleague. This essay, along with her work, would be the basis for the commission’s decision whether to give her the money.

“Is the part about my childhood too self-centered?” she asked.

“No,” said her writer friend. “It’s interesting. Anyone can relate to the isolation of childhood and the feeling of trying to make sense of a grown-up world. And it shows your development as an artist, which is part of the question they asked.”

Before she submitted her final application, she asked another writer friend to read her essay. “What’s missing? What’s working?” she asked. The friend read it over, suggested edits, and made sure she was answering all the questions on the application.

​Weston mailed the application the day before the postmark deadline. Two months later, she received a check in the mail for $3,000. Luckily for her, she won the grant, but take note: She didn’t do it alone. She relied on colleagues, professional groups, and a friend with writing expertise to help her brainstorm, edit, and find language to describe the power and dark humor of her work.

The first rule of grant writing is “Follow directions.” And if you do nothing more impressive than this, your application will be better than most. What makes grant writing challenging, especially for the individual artist, is that it you need to write about your work as if you didn’t create it. And that’s tricky because it requires a shift in your point of view.

When I’m writing and am ready to reread what I’ve written, I stand up in my writing studio and walk around, reading my work aloud. When I’m done writing and need to edit, I print out the pages and go to another room or to a café to read and revise. As I change gears from writer and creator to editor and audience, it helps me to shift my perspective, by moving my body, hearing the words spoken aloud, even changing my physical location. This shift allows me to read my work as if I didn’t write it.

Although you can write a proposal solo, your application will be much improved and the process of writing it much more enjoyable if you get others involved. Other people can provide perspective that is hard, if not impossible, to get on your own. Also, the more you practice strategizing, brainstorming, and editing someone else’s work, the better you’ll perform these tasks on your own application when you’re working alone.

Teamwork has the power to propel one artist faster and further than he could go on his own. For artists used to working in teams, ​like filmmakers, this approach is easy to envision. But regardless of whether you’re a loner or a collaborative artist, make your next grant proposal a group effort.

Assemble Your Team

Every artistic project, including the next grant you write, is a group effort. Writers need editors, actors need directors, even the most solo artists need at least one other person to provide perspective. Before you begin your next grant proposal, assemble your team of “experts” or maybe just friends with particular skills and an objective eye. Team members you’ll need are listed below, in the order in which you’ll need them.

RESEARCH PARTNER · Researching grants can be overwhelming. To avoid a potential rabbit hole of research, join forces with another artist and both commit to spending a set amount of time researching grants. On your own, it’s too easy to give up or procrastinate. For more details, see the “Schedule a Research Day” section in chapter 1 (this page).

BRAINSTORMING PARTNER · Ask a colleague or friend to help you decipher application questions and brainstorm answers. Read the questions to your partner and ask, “What does this question mean to you? What are all the possible ways I could answer this?” Read the criteria aloud to your friend and ask, “Does this sound like me? Do I qualify for this grant?” Your brainstorming partner doesn’t need to be another artist. Sometimes it’s better if she’s in a different field altogether.

INTERVIEWER · Enlist a friend or colleague to interview you about your project. This conversation helps you find the vocabulary to describe your ideas. Choose a friend who’s naturally curious and a good listener. Again, pick somebody not in your field so that you’ll be forced to explain ideas that you might gloss over with a fellow artist. Write ​down your exact words and phrases or have a third person act as a “scribe” and take notes as you’re talking. (How to use the interview to arrive at the core of your idea is detailed in the “Talk First, Write Later” section on this page in this chapter.)

AUDIENCE · Interview your audience about what they appreciate about your work; they’ll glimpse themes and connections you never considered. Let them help you find the language to describe your art. You can conduct interviews by e-mail, phone, or questionnaires. For details about how to solicit the most useful feedback from your audience, see the section “Interview Your Audience” on this page in this chapter.

TELEPHONE COACH · Before you call the granting agency, call your “telephone coach” first to rehearse the call. This exercise will help ​you describe your project and ask your questions succinctly, and it will warm you up for the call. The more you practice, the easier it will be.

I always felt slightly embarrassed when I first rehearsed a call with my telephone coach, Dana, but not as embarrassed as I would have felt making the call cold. I also called Dana after the call to let her know how it went. Review what went well and what you wish could have gone better so you can improve your game the next time around.

EDITOR · The right editor is your most important team member. Enlist someone who is an excellent wordsmith to read drafts of your application. This person must be able to both pinpoint the strong sections and help you improve the weak ones. Always give your editor the list of questions you’re answering so she can brainstorm with you on how best to answer them.

If your editor often says, “It’s perfect, I wouldn’t change a thing!” then you need to find a more experienced editor. On the other hand, if your editor is never pleased with any of your drafts and the critiques keep getting harsher, seek a second opinion from another editor.

Every artist and writer I interviewed for this book had at least one person read the application before submitting it. Artist Rita Robillard asks two people to read her applications: Her daughter, a travel agent, reads the rough draft to make sure Robillard is answering the questions on the application and that the writing is clear; a friend who is a professional writer does a detailed edit of her final draft.

To edit your own work or that of a colleague, follow professional editor Jill Kelly’s example: “I keep in mind the assignment, such as the grant question, and I read for the clearest, best-organized answer to that question. I’m reading as if I’m the intended recipient of the application, and I’m looking for ways to strengthen the argument.”

PROOFREADER · Have a fresh set of eyes proofread your application before you submit it. Remember that you’re competing with other A-plus efforts. Ideally, the proofreader will be someone who hasn’t ​read your grant application before. A proofreader should have an eye for detail and check for typos, missing words, and misspellings as well as double-check the math in your budget. (See “Four Proofreading Tips” on this page.) Misspellings may not disqualify you, but they make you look like an amateur. A budget that doesn’t add up correctly is a big strike against you and could be a basis for rejection.

WORK SAMPLE ADVISER · Most grant applications require you to submit a work sample. Follow the guidelines for what format and how much to submit. Your sample must both feature your best work but also be the right match for the grant. Because you can’t show it all, your adviser will help choose the strongest sample for this application.

Linda Hutchins hires a consultant she’s worked with for years to help her choose her work samples. It’s easier for another person to see the big picture and assess what’s most important to show in the sample, she said. Before Hutchins could afford to hire a consultant, she asked her husband, sister, and a critique group for advice.

​For more information on preparing work samples, read the interview with professional photographer Grace Weston on tips for photographing your artwork in chapter 8 (this page).

Trade for Help

One way to recruit advisers is to barter, trading time (services) or products with other professionals. For example, I once received several hours of work from a graphic designer in exchange for home-cooked meals that I dropped off at his house. You might exchange services, hour for hour, or trade a piece of artwork for a few hours of time with a professional whose services you require.

The best people to trade with are those whose skills or personalities complement yours. For example, I have an introverted editor friend who hates to make phone calls to arrange readings and do public relations. I love talking on the phone and enjoy marketing. So, my friend edits and proofreads for me, and I make phone calls for her. We’re a perfect match.

Be selective in choosing the people you swap with—as careful as you would be if you were paying by the hour. Just because a person’s time is “free,” doesn’t mean it’s worth it. The wrong help is worse than no help at all. Once you’ve found someone to barter with, start by exchanging one hour. See how this person works with you; see how you enjoy the help. If this person doesn’t turn out to be someone you want to work with, don’t trade any more hours. If you decide to continue, be specific about what you’ll be bartering. You may even put it in writing or at least exchange e-mails about your understanding of the agreement. It’s up to each “trader” to keep track of hours. Check in with each other weekly or monthly to see how much time each of you has spent to ensure your arrangement is equitable.

When considering a trade, ask yourself, What expertise do I have that I would actually enjoy offering? What’s a skill that I need most? Devise an exchange that feels right to both you and your partner. And when the ​trade no longer works, end it. Trades are not meant to last a lifetime. Maintain them only as long as they’re useful to both of you.

As you would with any important partners, choose your team members wisely. Let your gut be your guide. Some colleagues will put down your ideas, no matter what. They won’t think you’re ready for any grant, ever. Sometimes it’s hard to spot these wet blankets at first—and honestly, we can all be miserly and critical at times. So, an artist friend who helped you once may not work out the second time around. In any case, take the opinions of others with the requisite grain of salt. Good advice will ring true. If you get feedback you truly don’t agree with, just say “thank you” and ignore it.

Sometimes your advisers will disagree with each other, and dissenting voices can make you feel more confused instead of more confident. (For exactly this reason, Hutchins uses only one adviser whose opinion she respects and trusts rather letting her entire artist group critique her grant application.)

Talk First, Write Later

One of the most important team members is your interviewer—the person you’ll run to when you realize that it’s impossible to find your way to the core of your idea without talking about it first. When you talk to a good listener, you say things that you would never write. When you speak, you use words, phrases, and a music of talking that is your unique voice. Talking about your project reignites your excitement and reconnects you with that glimmer of an idea long enough that it can grow.

​Your interviewer doesn’t need to be an artist or know your work. In this interview, you be the expert. Pick someone who can ask dumb questions and listen to you until the pith of your idea or project comes forth.

Ask your interviewer to use the following questions to jump-start your interview.

Interviewer Tips

The interviewer uses his or her best listening skills and asks simple questions, which often lead to the best answers. He or she shouldn’t be afraid to let you flail a little but can rephrase a question or ask a simpler one if you seem to be having trouble. The interviewer ​should be open to every word you say; the goal is to encourage you to talk.

When I interview someone, I try to put myself in a “dumb” state of mind where I question everything that doesn’t make sense to me or that I think the artist has skimmed over. In most interviews, the artist begins talking about her project in a very general way. I pay attention to my feelings as I’m listening. When I feel bored by her answers, I use this as a clue that she’s not getting to the hot center of her idea; when I feel excited, I take this as a sign that she’s close to what’s compelling, important, and unique about her project and her passion for it.

Simple questions help an artist keep digging. You may feel frustrated, even angered by your interviewee’s questions. Then suddenly you’ll say, “You want to know what my project is about?! I’ll tell you …” and spill it: a beautiful description of the heart of your idea.

Interview Notes

If possible, have another person, not the interviewer, take notes as you talk. This person should be able to write quickly and legibly or be a skilled typist. It’s not necessary to transcribe everything you say. Record the single words and phrases that capture the idea best.

If a note taker is not available, consider tape-recording the interview and transcribing it later. Test the recording device beforehand, so you know that it’s capturing your voice clearly.

Interview Your Audience

Another way to develop the material that you’ll use to answer your application questions is to interview your audience. People who know and love your art can provide you with a wellspring of information about what viewers gain from experiencing your work.

Interview your audience over the phone, in person, or with an e-mail questionnaire that asks specific questions. Choose audience ​members who know you and like your work. You’re not looking for a critique in these interviews. You want to find out how, why, and what your audience appreciates about your work. Their answers may give you new ways to express your themes and the impact you have on viewers.

Interview both colleagues and nonartists. Sometimes nonartists provide the best comments because they don’t use lingo and don’t feel they have to give smart answers. Don’t be shy about asking people—most people are flattered to be asked and enjoy offering comments.

At one of my solo performances, I had ushers pass out comment forms before the show and collect them afterward. These cards were a great way to chronicle the evening, and I received useful feedback that I incorporated into future shows and kudos that I might never have heard otherwise.

Phone or In Person

When you interview someone in person or over the phone, listen to their answers and write down all comments—positive, negative, and neutral. This interview is a time to listen and encourage them to talk; it’s not a conversation. It’s definitely not a time for you to explain or defend your work. If an audience member asks a question during the interview, write it down and say, “Thanks for asking. I’ll have to think about that. I’m here now to listen to what you have to say.” Then move on to your next question.

Pretend you’re an anthropologist gathering data from your tribe. Don’t judge the answers; simply collect them like a scientist working in the field.

E-mail

If you decide to conduct your interview via e-mail, send each questionnaire separately and address each e-mail personally; don’t send a generic e-mail to a long list of recipients. Most people hit the delete key when they receive a mass mailing. First send a message ​to each person asking whether he or she is willing to fill out a short questionnaire, then send it as a follow-up. Make this process as easy and fun as possible.

Sample Questions

Use the following sample questions to jump-start your interview with your audience. Choose the questions that best serve your purposes and will provide you with the answers you want. Rewrite these questions as needed.

E-mail or call a colleague and ask for help with one aspect of preparing your next grant proposal. Offer to help her do the same. Asking for help is not easy; let the grant-writing process help you practice.

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