Switchup for the July Mystery Agent Contest on Operation Awesome

After a long hiatus, the Mystery Agent contest is back on Operation Awesome. There is an added step now--a Rafflecopter to enter for a slot in the contest. This will allow overseas/international folks to enter, and save the Operatives from having to camp out on the computer to close out the contest, yay!

July's Mystery Agent is looking for manuscripts in these categories:

- Young Adult horror/thrillers

- Contemporary YA with a hook

- Speculative fiction

- All kinds of adult romance

- Picture books

So if you have a polished, ready-to-pitch query, go here and enter the Rafflecopter for your chance at a contest slot! Good luck!

OA Today with Nancy Herman!

Whew, that was some Mystery Agent Contest yesterday! All my tweeting and sharing must have helped, because we had some new names in the entries.

Over on Operation Awesome today, I have a fabulous cover reveal with critique partner Nancy Herman! Hop on over and give her some cover love.

Upcoming Pitch Opportunities

We've missed a few months for the Mystery Agent Contests over at Operation Awesome, but now that the summer is winding down we'll be back on track with agents committed for August, September, and October. So keep an eye on Operation Awesome for details on a wishlist for the August 1 Mystery Agent Contest!

Plus, Adventures in YA & Children's Publishing is running another Pitch+250 Contest, and I've been invited to be one of the judges for Round 1! Here's how to enter (be sure to follow their blog for updates, including the agent judges reveal!):

Submissions will be accepted starting on Wednesday, July 31st at 6:00pm EST time. The submission window will close on August 3rd at 11:00pm EST time, or when we receive 50 submissions, whichever comes first. The entries will consist of a pitch of no more than 100 words plus the first 250 words of your completed manuscript. For your pitch, think logline, not query.

Pitch+250 is open to YA, NA, and MG submissions only. It will consist of 3 rounds of judging. We will accept a maximum of 50 submissions.

Round 1: A great set of bloggers will judge the submissions. The 25 submissions with the highest scores will move on to the next round.

Round 2: YA authors will judge the top 25 submissions. The 10 highest scores will move on to the next round.

Round 3: Agent and Editor judges will score the top 10 submissions.

The top 10 submissions will receive a critique from one of our judges. All 50 entrants will receive scorecards from each round of judging they participate in.

Starting at 6:00 pm Eastern time on Wednesday, July 31st, please send your pitch of no more than 100 words plus the first 250 words of your completed manuscript in the body of an email to 4kidlit (at) gmail (dot) com. We will accept a maximum of 50 submissions. You must include Pitch+250 in the subject line. Please use the following format in the body of your email:

Name:
Title:
Genre:
Email:

Pitch:

1st 250:

MORE Pitch Opportunities!

Sorry to yell with that all-caps MORE, but it seems like contest season is upon us! Here are some upcoming chances to pitch your book, in order of their submission periods:

Operation Awesome's Mystery Agent Contest for May will open May 1st; watch for details of the agent's wishlist and genres accepted, which will go up on Operation Awesome in the next week. UPDATE: the May Mystery Agent is looking for Horror, Mystery, Crime, Suspense, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Science Fiction, and Mainstream. Adult/YA (no MG). No romance or religious. Especially looking for YA Horror and Mystery-- think creepy and dark.

The Writer's Voice, a pitch+250 words contest, will have a lottery entry that opens on May 1. There are some rules and guidelines that must be followed, so check out any of the hosting blogs for info. This one is for MG and YA manuscripts.

And there's also a Query Kombat Contest & Tournament starting May 13, where queries and first 250 words will go head to head until one winner is declared. "Submissions for MG, YA, NA, and Adult works will be accepted. No picture books or non-fiction."

Good luck!

Pitch Your MG or YA Now at Operation Awesome

NOT an April Fools' trick! Just another great opportunity to pitch your book to a mysterious agent.

It's going on now and there's room for 75 entries--don't miss out!

OA Today & Carissa Taylor's Pitch Factory

I'm over on Operation Awesome today, with a post on where to get eyes on your query. This is a followup of my post a few weeks ago on query resources.

And speaking of Operation Awesome, we do a Mystery Agent Contest on the first of every month, and the most common pitch the agents want is one-sentence in length. This is the length I have the most trouble with (I'll take a full query any day, thank you) but help is on the way!

Carissa Taylor created a Pitch Factory--forms where you enter in your pertinent story details and it generates some pitches for you. I tried it with Crow's Rest, and while some of them were unintentionally funny, the others definitely got my wheels turning.

Could be a secret weapon for the next Mystery Agent happening April 1 (no joke).

My News: I've Joined Operation Awesome!

Yesterday, Operation Awesome ran a fun contest where they introduced half of their new bloggers by presenting three truths and a lie. And I couldn't guess on any of them, because I was Mystery Blogger #1! The reveal post is today, so now I'm able to make an official announcement.

I've joined the group at Operation Awesome! My posts will go up every other Monday, with my first one on February 4.

 

I've been a follower of OA since their debut, lured in by the fabulous Mystery Agent contests. If you're not familiar with that contest, go check out the archives! It's a great way to see a ton of pitches all in one place, with an eye for what works and what doesn't.

When I was invited to join OA, it was a no-brainer--this group is so supportive to the writing community at large and I needed to be part of it. They even contributed a crit/swag package for Pens for Paws Auction last year! 

There will now be fourteen of us blogging (the other four new bloggers will get their Mystery Blogger contest tomorrow--don't forget to enter for a critique!) so the Awesome will only increase. Click the shiny new button in my sidebar to go to the Operation Awesome site, and you may also want to like us on Facebook.

It's On--But You'd Better Hurry!

Operation Awesome's November Mystery Agent Contest is open, so I hope you have your one-sentence pitch ready to go!

The mystery agent is looking for
contemporary YA and MG, especially thrillers and mysteries
paranormal, sci-fi and post-apocalyptic/dystopian
adult fiction

Good luck to everyone who enters, and if you miss it, the entries are a great source for pitch ideas.


P.S. If you like cats and animal rescue groups, you might want to check out the blog I started to highlight the adoptable cats and resident felines of a sanctuary that I volunteer at, Fat Kitty City.