Showing posts with label pitch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pitch. Show all posts
I had a blast experiencing the Pitch+250 Contest from the other side of the judging! They announced the winners yesterday and all the submissions I was rooting for from my batch of entries made it through this round, whoo hoo!
If yours didn't make it through, don't forget there is another Mystery Agent coming up September 1st on Operation Awesome. And if you need help with your pitches, you can't do better than WriteOnCon, which runs Augus 13-14 this year. But if you can't "tune in" during the conference, you can catch up in the archives at any time!
I got a request for my book last year from Pete Knapp during the live crit event and although it didn't end up in an offer (Crow's Rest ended up more urban fantasy than he was looking for; he prefers magical realism), his request came during a crucial moment in the life of that manuscript.
So I highly recommend you check out WriteOnCon and participate wherever and whenever you can!
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!
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!
Labels:
adult,
contest,
MG,
mystery agent,
na,
operation awesome,
pitch,
the writer's voice,
YA
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Last Saturday was the Spring Spirit Conference for our regional chapter of SCBWI, and WOW what a conference! This was my third year as a volunteer and although I felt like I made myself useful, it's nothing to all the work the real people in charge put in. Thanks to our RAs and planners, who performed marvelously under pressure!
We had a different location this year and I never want to go back to our old one--this one had powerful, free wi-fi and a nice layout. Plus, since we had a more flexible space it was done as tracks; you could choose novel, picture book, or nonfiction.
As a shepherd for two speakers, I got to see a little bit of everything. Started with an Early Bird session on perfecting your pitch with Rose Cooper and got to participate in the feedback a bit. It might have just given me the confidence to propose my own workshop on queries for next year. (And Rose, if you read this and wonder why I dragged out my tablet in the middle of the workshop, I was trying to find the link for a Pitch Generator I'd seen. Couldn't remember where, but it was on Carissa Taylor's blog.)
Then on to a picture book session with Gianna Marino, which was a great take on how writers can inspire illustrators by using their words in, um, inspiring ways. But she said it better.
But the highlights of the conference for me were getting to hear Andrew Harwell's (of Harper Collins) talk about openers and first lines. He gave very helpful feedback, and when I read mine he "liked it a lot". I was glad, but didn't take too much notice of it--figured he was being polite.
But when he then referenced my first lines in his next presentation, I swung into full-on squee mode. Which only got worse when I had the opportunity to pitch to agent Stephen Fraser and he requested. Felt great to get that validation that I'm doing some things right.
And as if all that conference excitement wasn't enough, on Sunday we took delivery of our new (new to us at least) trailer! It folds down
And it opens up
Planning on some writer's retreats in this!
We had a different location this year and I never want to go back to our old one--this one had powerful, free wi-fi and a nice layout. Plus, since we had a more flexible space it was done as tracks; you could choose novel, picture book, or nonfiction.
As a shepherd for two speakers, I got to see a little bit of everything. Started with an Early Bird session on perfecting your pitch with Rose Cooper and got to participate in the feedback a bit. It might have just given me the confidence to propose my own workshop on queries for next year. (And Rose, if you read this and wonder why I dragged out my tablet in the middle of the workshop, I was trying to find the link for a Pitch Generator I'd seen. Couldn't remember where, but it was on Carissa Taylor's blog.)
Then on to a picture book session with Gianna Marino, which was a great take on how writers can inspire illustrators by using their words in, um, inspiring ways. But she said it better.
But the highlights of the conference for me were getting to hear Andrew Harwell's (of Harper Collins) talk about openers and first lines. He gave very helpful feedback, and when I read mine he "liked it a lot". I was glad, but didn't take too much notice of it--figured he was being polite.
But when he then referenced my first lines in his next presentation, I swung into full-on squee mode. Which only got worse when I had the opportunity to pitch to agent Stephen Fraser and he requested. Felt great to get that validation that I'm doing some things right.
And as if all that conference excitement wasn't enough, on Sunday we took delivery of our new (new to us at least) trailer! It folds down
And it opens up
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!
It's going on now and there's room for 75 entries--don't miss out!
Labels:
contest,
MG,
middle grade,
mystery agent,
novel,
operation awesome,
pitch,
YA,
young adult
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comments
No, this isn't a post about escalating the hot candle wax trick from 50 Shades of Gray by using hot pitch. It's about some opportunities to pitch your book to agents!
But first, some of my own news on that front. Queries for Crow's Rest were sent out last week, plus I made it through to the agent round of Brenda Drake's Pitch Madness--407 people entered, but only 64 were picked. Ha ha, I missed out on some of the decision-torture by being clueless that the judges were tweeting about entries by genre; I went back and looked later and apparently mine was up against a YA paranormal romance and ultimately won the slot. But it was close! I generally don't have as much confidence in my one-line pitches (and this one had a max of 35 words) as my queries, so I think it was the first-page sample that swayed them. Here's the pitch I sent:
Avery wants to evict the creature who has taken residence in her boyfriend's body, but preventing the corbin from fulfilling his mission will plunge the world into another Dark Age.
Our pitch and first page go up tomorrow (mine will be on S.M. Johnston's blog) and agents will be placing blind bids. Then on March 28 they'll reveal the winning bids, plus any ties. It all sounds very complicated, but it's exciting and maddening to be a part of these contests!
If you didn't make it into this one, or found out too late to submit, you can still get in on some of the fun by participating in the Pitch Madness Twitter Party with the hashtag #PitMad on March 29. "So get your 140 character twitter pitch ready. Make sure to include the hashtag #PitMad and try to fit the genre (YA, MG, Adult, NA, and so on) in the pitch. We've had some success stories come out of our previous PitMads so shine up the pitches!" says Brenda.
The other upcoming pitch opportunity is Operation Awesome's Mystery Agent Contest on April 1. Details of the agent's wishlist will go up on Operation Awesome tomorrow, so look for that.
These are a great way to see how your pitch compares to others in your genre (does it stand out, or does it sound too similar?), so I encourage you to enter these pitch contests!
But first, some of my own news on that front. Queries for Crow's Rest were sent out last week, plus I made it through to the agent round of Brenda Drake's Pitch Madness--407 people entered, but only 64 were picked. Ha ha, I missed out on some of the decision-torture by being clueless that the judges were tweeting about entries by genre; I went back and looked later and apparently mine was up against a YA paranormal romance and ultimately won the slot. But it was close! I generally don't have as much confidence in my one-line pitches (and this one had a max of 35 words) as my queries, so I think it was the first-page sample that swayed them. Here's the pitch I sent:
Avery wants to evict the creature who has taken residence in her boyfriend's body, but preventing the corbin from fulfilling his mission will plunge the world into another Dark Age.
Our pitch and first page go up tomorrow (mine will be on S.M. Johnston's blog) and agents will be placing blind bids. Then on March 28 they'll reveal the winning bids, plus any ties. It all sounds very complicated, but it's exciting and maddening to be a part of these contests!
If you didn't make it into this one, or found out too late to submit, you can still get in on some of the fun by participating in the Pitch Madness Twitter Party with the hashtag #PitMad on March 29. "So get your 140 character twitter pitch ready. Make sure to include the hashtag #PitMad and try to fit the genre (YA, MG, Adult, NA, and so on) in the pitch. We've had some success stories come out of our previous PitMads so shine up the pitches!" says Brenda.
The other upcoming pitch opportunity is Operation Awesome's Mystery Agent Contest on April 1. Details of the agent's wishlist will go up on Operation Awesome tomorrow, so look for that.
These are a great way to see how your pitch compares to others in your genre (does it stand out, or does it sound too similar?), so I encourage you to enter these pitch contests!
Labels:
Brenda Drake,
contest,
crow's rest,
pitch,
pitch madness,
pitmad,
S.M. Johnston
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If you have a polished young adult, middle grade, or new adult manuscript ready for submission, you might want to get in on the Pitch + 250 Contest on the Adventures in YA and Children's Publishing blog that opens TODAY.
Submissions close when they receive 100 entries or February 9th (whichever comes first), and there are three rounds of judging: bloggers, authors, and agents. Besides getting your work looked at by all those eyes, there are prizes:
"The winner will receive a three chapter critique (30 pages max) by Molly Jaffa of Folio Literary Management.
The 4 runners-up will each receive a one chapter critique (10 pages max) by one of our agent judges.
The remainder of the top 25 will receive a one chapter critique (10 pages max) by one of the judges."
It's a chance to get some valuable feedback on your work, so what are you waiting for? Oh, and the pitch needs to be under 250 words and make sure you put Pitch+250 in the subject line when you submit.
In other news, today is my very first post as a contributor to Operation Awesome! Come join me over there and find out the real stories behind the truths and a lie revealed during the Mystery Blogger introduction. And by the way, my posts on this blog will likely go to every other week to allow for my OA posts every other Monday.
(And if you're wondering what this picture has to do with any of the above, our Operation Awesome mascot is an owl. He is however a cartoon, and not this great-horned owl which I photographed in Alaska.)
Submissions close when they receive 100 entries or February 9th (whichever comes first), and there are three rounds of judging: bloggers, authors, and agents. Besides getting your work looked at by all those eyes, there are prizes:
"The winner will receive a three chapter critique (30 pages max) by Molly Jaffa of Folio Literary Management.
The 4 runners-up will each receive a one chapter critique (10 pages max) by one of our agent judges.
The remainder of the top 25 will receive a one chapter critique (10 pages max) by one of the judges."
It's a chance to get some valuable feedback on your work, so what are you waiting for? Oh, and the pitch needs to be under 250 words and make sure you put Pitch+250 in the subject line when you submit.
In other news, today is my very first post as a contributor to Operation Awesome! Come join me over there and find out the real stories behind the truths and a lie revealed during the Mystery Blogger introduction. And by the way, my posts on this blog will likely go to every other week to allow for my OA posts every other Monday.
(And if you're wondering what this picture has to do with any of the above, our Operation Awesome mascot is an owl. He is however a cartoon, and not this great-horned owl which I photographed in Alaska.)
Brief post today--just directing your attention to a great contest opportunity.
YAtopia and Entranced Publishing are teaming up for a pitch contest, with a chance at a slot in an online editing workshop and possible e-publication on the line.
On September 7th (UPDATE: they've moved it up to September 1!), you'll need to have the following ready for their pitch contest post:
- Name
- Email
- Title
- Age-range & Genre
- Word-count
- Hook (100 words or fewer)
So head on over and check out the details!
YAtopia and Entranced Publishing are teaming up for a pitch contest, with a chance at a slot in an online editing workshop and possible e-publication on the line.
On September 7th (UPDATE: they've moved it up to September 1!), you'll need to have the following ready for their pitch contest post:
- Name
- Title
- Age-range & Genre
- Word-count
- Hook (100 words or fewer)
So head on over and check out the details!
Amazon will open soon for entries for the 2012 Breakthrough Novel Award--are you ready? Here are the quick details from their website:
"The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award brings together talented writers, reviewers, and publishing experts to find and develop new voices in fiction. The 2012 international contest will award two grand prizes: one for General Fiction and one for Young Adult Fiction. Each winner will receive a publishing contract with Penguin, which includes a $15,000 advance.
Open submissions for manuscripts will begin on January 23, 2012 and run through February 5, 2012."
One of the most important components of your entry is the pitch, and I thought I'd round up some web pages with useful advice on pitches, and the related query summary:
Have to start out with Pitch University; so much good stuff squirreled away in the articles and case studies!
Nathan Bransford has many concise, helpful blog posts on crafting a pitch, but his post on "The One Sentence, One Paragraph, and Two Paragraph Pitch" handily combines his advice in one place.
The Absolute Write Water Cooler forum has a Query Letter Hell section in Show Your Work, and it is a crash course in what works and what doesn't in a query.
And see that blogroll I have in the sidebar? Hit all those blogs and do a search for "queries" and "pitches", and you'll find a gold mine of information from agents, editors, and writers. Even doing a search on Google will yield some worthwhile sources.
Good luck to those who enter--and even if you don't enter, it's a great excuse to polish your pitch!
(clip art source)
If you haven't been following Pitch University, you may not have seen the good news/bad news scenario that followed my video pitch submission. The good news was that both my pitches were chosen for the Pitch Evaluation Lab last Wednesday. The bad--well, more terrifying than bad--news was that I had to finish revisions by that Friday morning. Knowing that I had a dentist appointment Thursday morning, as well as our crit group Thursday afternoon. And to make it more interesting, we had an intense thunderstorm with wind gusts of up to 80mph--all of which will be picked up by microphones if they're sensitive enough.
But I squeaked in under the wire, and I'm pretty pleased with the results. These will come in handy for the SCBWI Spring Spirit Regional Conference next weekend. I'm pasting my revised pitches below, or you can go to Pitch U's site and see the Before & After with Adam Friedstein's comments.
But I squeaked in under the wire, and I'm pretty pleased with the results. These will come in handy for the SCBWI Spring Spirit Regional Conference next weekend. I'm pasting my revised pitches below, or you can go to Pitch U's site and see the Before & After with Adam Friedstein's comments.
In case anyone is wondering why I haven't posted in a while, I've been busy making videos. Pitch University's Pitchfest starts up again March 20, with agent Adam Friedstein of Anderson Literary Management viewing and commenting on video pitches.
I've done a new pitch for my completed YA novel, Spirits from the Vasty Deep, as well as my work-in-progress, Crow's Rest. We can't submit our videos until Sunday the 20th, but I thought I'd put them up here for a sneak peek.
Is anybody else submitting a pitch this time around? And you may have noticed that Pitch University is now offering a query feedback option!
I've done a new pitch for my completed YA novel, Spirits from the Vasty Deep, as well as my work-in-progress, Crow's Rest. We can't submit our videos until Sunday the 20th, but I thought I'd put them up here for a sneak peek.
Is anybody else submitting a pitch this time around? And you may have noticed that Pitch University is now offering a query feedback option!
Pitch University launches their first "Pitch U Pitchfest Week," wherein agent Christine Wittohn of BookCents Literary Agency will consider your pitches. If a video pitch intimidates you, they've added options for audio and written submissions to ease you into the process.
There are lots of details to get straight, so be sure to read the rules carefully. I recorded a pitch last week that I liked, and after re-reading their rules I discovered that I'd left out the important "completed" tag. So I tackled it again, and I thought I'd post the result today, in case anyone sees some glaring errors I need to fix by Sunday.
And as a bonus, some advice to prospective pitchers on word choice: beware dangerous word combinations like "sets a ship," or you could end up with a blooper like this:
Yes, I said "Olivia Herald sets a shit" before I cracked up. Mom would be so proud.
If you'd like to read the text of the pitch, it's the same one that's on my Novels page above.
There are lots of details to get straight, so be sure to read the rules carefully. I recorded a pitch last week that I liked, and after re-reading their rules I discovered that I'd left out the important "completed" tag. So I tackled it again, and I thought I'd post the result today, in case anyone sees some glaring errors I need to fix by Sunday.
And as a bonus, some advice to prospective pitchers on word choice: beware dangerous word combinations like "sets a ship," or you could end up with a blooper like this:
Yes, I said "Olivia Herald sets a shit" before I cracked up. Mom would be so proud.
If you'd like to read the text of the pitch, it's the same one that's on my Novels page above.
First, the winner for my First Ever Contest to win some wall candy for your writing space:
Thanks to those who entered and congratulations to Theresa Milstein! Shoot me an email at strikingnotes(at)yahoo(dot)com with your mailing address and your pick for your second photo! Don't forget that you can pick anything from my website
And in other contest news, Shelli on the Market My Words blog is running a Pay It Forward Contest through Feb. 4. In appreciation for all those that helped her along the way, she's offering up a referral to her own agent. Understandably, she's not randomly picking a writer to recommend--Shelli's generously using her own time and effort to find a new voice and help bring some well-earned attention to them. The rules are on her contest link above, but she does ask that you pay it forward by acknowledging those that have helped you along the way.
In my early days, the El Dorado Writers Guild helped me break a lot of newbie habits. They still meet, if anyone else needs an open, caring group. My YA critique group, including Nancy Herman, Rachel Allen Dillon, Christina Mercer, Joe Vollmer, Thelma White, and new member Janelle Weiner are vital. And betas Karla Nellenbach and Alison Kemper Beard have helped me see where I'm being stubborn, and called me on things I was trying to get away with. Whew, where would I be without all of you? Still writing on my own, repeating the same bad habits, that's where!
And lastly, I wanted to remind everyone that Operation Awesome is doing another Mystery Agent contest starting tomorrow, and this time they are asking for a 25-word pitch. So get flexing those pitching muscles so you can be ready to enter--they fill up fast!
Thanks to those who entered and congratulations to Theresa Milstein! Shoot me an email at strikingnotes(at)yahoo(dot)com with your mailing address and your pick for your second photo! Don't forget that you can pick anything from my website
And in other contest news, Shelli on the Market My Words blog is running a Pay It Forward Contest through Feb. 4. In appreciation for all those that helped her along the way, she's offering up a referral to her own agent. Understandably, she's not randomly picking a writer to recommend--Shelli's generously using her own time and effort to find a new voice and help bring some well-earned attention to them. The rules are on her contest link above, but she does ask that you pay it forward by acknowledging those that have helped you along the way.
In my early days, the El Dorado Writers Guild helped me break a lot of newbie habits. They still meet, if anyone else needs an open, caring group. My YA critique group, including Nancy Herman, Rachel Allen Dillon, Christina Mercer, Joe Vollmer, Thelma White, and new member Janelle Weiner are vital. And betas Karla Nellenbach and Alison Kemper Beard have helped me see where I'm being stubborn, and called me on things I was trying to get away with. Whew, where would I be without all of you? Still writing on my own, repeating the same bad habits, that's where!
And lastly, I wanted to remind everyone that Operation Awesome is doing another Mystery Agent contest starting tomorrow, and this time they are asking for a 25-word pitch. So get flexing those pitching muscles so you can be ready to enter--they fill up fast!
without posting something to the blog! I was sick over the weekend and am still getting caught up on things, but I have been playing around with a video book pitch. It's hard to condense an entire book, and I was looking around for examples. Stumbled on this video, which has 50 ultra-condensed book summaries:
Okay, technically they're spoilers, but it's a really quick way to get a feel for the important bits of a book. And I loved their comment on Breaking Dawn, hee hee.
Okay, technically they're spoilers, but it's a really quick way to get a feel for the important bits of a book. And I loved their comment on Breaking Dawn, hee hee.
2011 is just around the corner, and already some exciting new opportunities for writers are stacking up.
Starting January 24, the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest will be open for submissions, including your pitch. Each winner will receive a publishing contract with Penguin, which includes a $15,000 advance. There is a general fiction category and a young adult fiction category, and last year it was really interesting to read all the entries during the 4 elimination rounds.
One of my crit partners made it through to the semi-finals, and got a lovely Publisher's Weekly review to show for it. I am planning on entering in 2011, if this round of agent submissions doesn't pan out.
The other opportunity to stretch your pitching muscles comes with the launch of the Pitch University site on January 1. Their manifesto lets you know what to expect:
Writer POV:
1. Writers write books.
2. We re-write books.
3. We do not pitch.
4. We do not sum up in "sound bites."
5. That is foreign and evil.
6. We especially do not sum up in person, because we are not salespeople.
7. In fact, sales is never taught in creative writing classes, because it is a totally unrelated career.
The Dilemma:
1. Editors and Agents need us to sum up.
2. So do Readers.
3. They believe us when we say what our book is about.
4. But we suck at this and are apt to stutter, wander, and make something brilliant sound like fragmented (yet earnest) dream-lings of a lunatic mind.
5. Or just something lacking characters, plot, and any hint of conflict.
6. They--the editors, agents, and readers--offer to meet us in public, face-to-face, at conferences, pitchfests, and bookstores.
7. We call this the public land of our suckiness.
8. Because the hardest thing of all is that we actually keep trying to get this right.
9. We love what we do.
10. Enough to learn to pitch.
11. Yeah, that much.
12. Today, we're here at Pitch University, and we are ready to rock.
Sounds good to me--I have a query that I like, but whenever anyone asks, "What's your book about?" I'm left with my mouth hanging open as I fumble for a response that does my story justice. NOT professional, and I used to be a professional storyteller, for Pete's sake! We got a camcorder for Christmas, so now there's no excuse for me not to try this.
Starting January 24, the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest will be open for submissions, including your pitch. Each winner will receive a publishing contract with Penguin, which includes a $15,000 advance. There is a general fiction category and a young adult fiction category, and last year it was really interesting to read all the entries during the 4 elimination rounds.
One of my crit partners made it through to the semi-finals, and got a lovely Publisher's Weekly review to show for it. I am planning on entering in 2011, if this round of agent submissions doesn't pan out.
The other opportunity to stretch your pitching muscles comes with the launch of the Pitch University site on January 1. Their manifesto lets you know what to expect:
Writer POV:
1. Writers write books.
2. We re-write books.
3. We do not pitch.
4. We do not sum up in "sound bites."
5. That is foreign and evil.
6. We especially do not sum up in person, because we are not salespeople.
7. In fact, sales is never taught in creative writing classes, because it is a totally unrelated career.
The Dilemma:
1. Editors and Agents need us to sum up.
2. So do Readers.
3. They believe us when we say what our book is about.
4. But we suck at this and are apt to stutter, wander, and make something brilliant sound like fragmented (yet earnest) dream-lings of a lunatic mind.
5. Or just something lacking characters, plot, and any hint of conflict.
6. They--the editors, agents, and readers--offer to meet us in public, face-to-face, at conferences, pitchfests, and bookstores.
7. We call this the public land of our suckiness.
8. Because the hardest thing of all is that we actually keep trying to get this right.
9. We love what we do.
10. Enough to learn to pitch.
11. Yeah, that much.
12. Today, we're here at Pitch University, and we are ready to rock.
Sounds good to me--I have a query that I like, but whenever anyone asks, "What's your book about?" I'm left with my mouth hanging open as I fumble for a response that does my story justice. NOT professional, and I used to be a professional storyteller, for Pete's sake! We got a camcorder for Christmas, so now there's no excuse for me not to try this.
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.
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.
Since they've been dropping hints, I expect Operation Awesome to announce their one-sentence pitch any day now. So have that one-sentence pitch ready to go!
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Along with the logline (one-sentence pitch), the Guide to Literary Agents blog wants the first 150-200 words of your finished YA manuscript. "Top 3 winners all get: 1) A critique of the first 10 pages of your work, by judge Tamar Rydzinski. 2) A free one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com." This is the 7th contest he has run, so there might be similar opportunities in the future. No entry fee, but he does ask that you spread the word about the contest and/or add him to your blogroll. Contest is open Oct. 21-Nov. 3, with winners notified "by e-mail within three weeks of end of contest. Winners announced on the blog thereafter." Found via Rachel Allen Dillon
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For an entry fee of $15, Gotham Writers' Workshop has a Young Adult Novel Discovery Contest opening on November 1. They want the first 250 words of your YA novel plus the title, and the Grand Prize Winner will have the opportunity to submit an entire manuscript to YA literary agent Regina Brooks and receive a free, 10-week writing course, courtesy of Gotham Writers' Workshop.
The Top Five Entrants (including the Grand Prize winner) will receive a 15-minute, one-on-one pitch session with Regina Brooks, one of New York’s premier literary agents for young adult books. They will also receive commentary on their submissions by editors at Candlewick, Scholastic, Harlequin, MacMillan, Viking, Roaring Brook Press, and Sourcebooks and receive a one-year subscription to The Writer magazine.
The First 100 Entrants will receive a copy of Writing Great Books for Young Adults by Regina Brooks. Winners are announced on Feb. 4, 2011, and be sure to read all the official rules.
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Along with the logline (one-sentence pitch), the Guide to Literary Agents blog wants the first 150-200 words of your finished YA manuscript. "Top 3 winners all get: 1) A critique of the first 10 pages of your work, by judge Tamar Rydzinski. 2) A free one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com." This is the 7th contest he has run, so there might be similar opportunities in the future. No entry fee, but he does ask that you spread the word about the contest and/or add him to your blogroll. Contest is open Oct. 21-Nov. 3, with winners notified "by e-mail within three weeks of end of contest. Winners announced on the blog thereafter." Found via Rachel Allen Dillon
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For an entry fee of $15, Gotham Writers' Workshop has a Young Adult Novel Discovery Contest opening on November 1. They want the first 250 words of your YA novel plus the title, and the Grand Prize Winner will have the opportunity to submit an entire manuscript to YA literary agent Regina Brooks and receive a free, 10-week writing course, courtesy of Gotham Writers' Workshop.
The Top Five Entrants (including the Grand Prize winner) will receive a 15-minute, one-on-one pitch session with Regina Brooks, one of New York’s premier literary agents for young adult books. They will also receive commentary on their submissions by editors at Candlewick, Scholastic, Harlequin, MacMillan, Viking, Roaring Brook Press, and Sourcebooks and receive a one-year subscription to The Writer magazine.
The First 100 Entrants will receive a copy of Writing Great Books for Young Adults by Regina Brooks. Winners are announced on Feb. 4, 2011, and be sure to read all the official rules.
In a similar contest on Operation Awesome, one of my critique partners got an "honorable mention"--which led to a request for a full! This is a great exercise, also, to distill your book into just a few sentences.
Pretty simple to enter on Shelli's blog ; this month's agent is Susan Hawk of The Bent Agency.
Pretty simple to enter on Shelli's blog ; this month's agent is Susan Hawk of The Bent Agency.
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