Mandy Hubbard's Blog, page 16

Manuscript Critique Auction!

If you missed out on the auction I held for a full manuscript critique, don't fret! sbennettwealer  is hosting one on her blog right this minute.

Not only will you have your full manuscript critiqued by Sara (Who is INSANELY talented, let me tell you. I've read her debut AND another project of hers and  I am in awe of her talent!) her agent, Holly Root, will also be critiquing your first 10 pages and query letter.

Plus, it's still going to the same great cause-- cancer research!

So what are you...

AT ANY COST cover

Huh. So, apparently, my Harlequin NASCAR novella (June 1st!) has a cover, if Amazon is to be believed. Lookey!

A rejection rant: Part 2

Last year, I wrote this post on rejection, in which I said, "Repeat after me: Just because I was rejected, doesn't mean my work is unpublishable."

I also said: 
This month, two of my very good friends received offers from agents. Both agents are very well known, at major agencies. And both of these writers had
A) Significantly revised their manuscripts at one time or another
B) Received rejections. Plenty of rejections.
C) Kept right on querying.


And you know what? They both bear repearing. I w...

What is Young-Adult?

I wanted to do a quick post to clear up what, exactly, is "YA". I've been getting a lot of questions (and queries!) from writers who don't seem to be totally clear.

Mostly, it's becuase in the real world, people consider those in their 20's to be "young adults". Therefore, they think a book with a 25 year old protagonist qualifes as a YA book.

It doesn't.

With rare, rare, exceptions, your characters need to be 19 or younger, dealing with the issues and conflicts that are inherently teen. Most...

Current Query Stats:

Total queries received (and read) since February 11: 380
Full manuscripts requested: 31
Overall request rate: 8%
Full manuscripts read thus far: 15
Rejected: 12

Frequently (and not so frequently) asked questions....

Thank you, everyone, for asking such great questions! I answered many of them in the comments trail of the previous post becuase they were specific to that writer. But for the rest, here goes!!



About ME specifically:

Q: What are your current reponse times?

A: At the moment, I'm getting to most queries within 24 hours. My turnaround on fulls is anywhere from a day to probably about three weeks-- I still have a big stack to get through that have been steadily arriving since last week. Once I'm...

Pick My Brain?

Hi All,

I thought I'd post an open call for questions, so that I can link an FAQ page on my sidebar as it relates to my agenting, and the publishing idustry in general.

So here is your invitation! If you have any questions about the publishing industry, queries, the market, revisions, my natural hair color, how to drive a porsche, etc, post them in the comments. They can be general or specific to your situation. If they are VERY specific to you, I'll reply to your comment. If they are more gen...

Auction Results!

Many congrats and immense gratitude go to Laura, the winner in the manuscript critique auction. A donation of $950 will be made to Tara's fundraising page-- and to the Susan Kolman foundation which funds cancer research.

If you were outbid, don't fret! My good friend Sara Bennet-Wealer, author of the forthcoming RIVAL from Harper Collins, will be running her own auction next month. She's an insanely talented writer (I've had the pleasure of working with her on TWO of her projects) as well as ...

Query Stats

HI All,

As an author I was always fascinated by agent's stats for requests, and what genres. So here's the breakdown for my first three days;

Queries read: 125
Full manuscripts requested: 14
Rejections:111

Full manuscripts:

Historical
Fantasy (with a ficitonal historical setting-- castles/princesses/etc)
Time Travel
Realistic MG with a literary bent
YA romance/mystery
YA sci-fi
Urban Fantasy (2)
Humorous MG with a laugh-out-loud query
Paranormal by a multi-published author
Quirky 1920s historical

Big Announcement!

Today I get to share some exciting news! 

I have joined forces with Bob Difiorio, ( D4EO Literary ), where I will be representing authors of middle-grade and young adult fiction. (And yes-- since many have asked-- I absolutely still intend to continue my writing!) 

The official announcement-- which you are all free to copy and share with your querying friends, is as follows:

Mandy Hubbard has joined the D4EO Literary Agency where she will concentrate on YA and Middle-Grade fiction.

Mandy began her...