Michelle Hauck's Blog, page 120
January 9, 2014
Unveiling Team Snow!
The coolest of the cool, kings and queens of snow. You can find the bios of all the mentors over at Amy Trueblood's blog, but here are the frosty mentors who will be giving their sage advice to the fifteen Snow picks.
The biggest, the bestest, and the flakiest! Please give your very best welcome to TEAM SNOW:
Natalie BlittKat EllisLisa SillsOlivia HinebaughMelissa GreyTom TorreAmi Allen-VathVickie WeavilMatt SinclairLeslie StellaSG MarshKate Brauning
Look out Sun, this Team Snow is going to freeze your cookies! We're gonna stand tall like a snowman and crush the slush out of Team Sun.
(Don't forget to head over to Amy's blog, you can find out who wins her Sun Free Pass! Sun's gonna need all the help they can get.)
Subjectivity of the First 250 Words
Giving advice for opening pages is a lot more difficult than suggesting guidance for queries. Queries have certain rules to be met while first pages ... well first pages are more subjective. What will catch one person's attention might turn another person off. (For my query tips post go here.)
Instead of calling this ramble advice and tips, this post is more rightly titled subjective thoughts about the First 250. Ideas to consider.
Besides keeping your page clean and avoiding typos, I believe opening pages are about balance. Not too much of this and not too much of that. What does that mean?
You need a balance of exposition versus action. A balance of inner thoughts and dialogue. A balance of description against deed. And a balance of show versus tell.
In other words, you want to make sure you have action and explanation so confusion is limited. Starting out with pure action in your first pages without including some exposition will make it extremely difficult for a reader to follow what's happening. Readers will be lost and confused.
If you start in the middle of a battle and give no context of why, then why would the reader care what happens to the characters? In an opening page, having some exposition provides the reasoning and motivation. Just don't go in the other direction and have too much exposition without enough action. It has to be a mix. Things happening and short explanations where needed.
(And beware putting characters in peril before the readers can possibly have formed an attachment. It's better to form a connect with the character first and make readers care before leaping into critical danger.)
Be sure to balance description of the world around the characters and movement of the plot through action. Without description, characters seem to hang in space. Readers can't orient themselves to what is happening. Yet too much description becomes like stage directions. He stood up, and he walked across the room, and he grabbed the doorknob. Too much description usually comes at the expense of moving the plot forward.
(Don't waste a bunch of space giving a detailed description of the main character. Too much worry about the appearance of your character make them into a Mary Sue. I--and maybe others--prefer to form a picture of the main character in my head based on their personality, not their physical appearance.)
Inner thoughts help make us attach to the main character. They are a good place for voice and adding personality. It's a great showcase for things the main character can't say aloud. But you also need outward verbal expression or dialogue with other characters because nothing shows off a character like interaction. Once again balance is the key.
Oh, show versus tell, you say. You've never supposed to tell. Well, not exactly. If you don't tell at times the word count is going to be out of the ballpark. Somethings you just have to tell to shorten the story or because you'd spend the whole opening chapters in flashbacks.
Show as much of the plot and world building as possible, but these are items that must be fudged at times with exposition. But always, always show your main character's personality by their actions and words.
Don't tell us Timmy was angry. Show us by his actions. He stamps a foot. He yells. He turns red. Don't tell us Susie is a weak character and can't control her vices. Show us by having her eat two cupcakes for breakfast. Don't tell your main character has a bad coughing disease. Show by having her choke on her congestion.
Besides keeping a good balance, what else can make a first 250 words stand out?
Voice A character with attitude. A sly sarcastic wit. A heart of gold. Voice can create any of these things and more. The voice of your piece can make it stand out above hundreds of others if that voice is unique.
Unique concept If you opening page starts out in a situation like no other, you'll grab instant attention. A bank robbery. A spaceship ride. A funeral. On the other side, an ordinary opening isn't going to make readers sit up and take notice. First day of school. Waking up in the morning.
Clarity Don't overload the first pages with names and places. Like in a query, try to limit the people introduced and bring them in more gradually. Especially important if you use original names and lots of unique world building such as in fantasy.
Entice Something occurs in your first 250 to make the reader curious. A reader has to find out what happens. That can involve plot, world building, or the character's personality. Something makes a reader eager to learn more.
I hope this gives some ideas. Nothing is harder than perfecting your opening page--unless it's the opening chapter. You must entice with concept and voice and not weigh down with exposition, description and inner dialogue. Yet you must avoid confusion by having some of those things to provide context.
An opening 250 is a delicate balancing act. One in which it's impossible to please everyone. It is the ultimate show of talent and precision. Best of luck and I can't wait to see those first 250 in Sun versus Snow.
Instead of calling this ramble advice and tips, this post is more rightly titled subjective thoughts about the First 250. Ideas to consider.
Besides keeping your page clean and avoiding typos, I believe opening pages are about balance. Not too much of this and not too much of that. What does that mean?
You need a balance of exposition versus action. A balance of inner thoughts and dialogue. A balance of description against deed. And a balance of show versus tell.
In other words, you want to make sure you have action and explanation so confusion is limited. Starting out with pure action in your first pages without including some exposition will make it extremely difficult for a reader to follow what's happening. Readers will be lost and confused.
If you start in the middle of a battle and give no context of why, then why would the reader care what happens to the characters? In an opening page, having some exposition provides the reasoning and motivation. Just don't go in the other direction and have too much exposition without enough action. It has to be a mix. Things happening and short explanations where needed.
(And beware putting characters in peril before the readers can possibly have formed an attachment. It's better to form a connect with the character first and make readers care before leaping into critical danger.)
Be sure to balance description of the world around the characters and movement of the plot through action. Without description, characters seem to hang in space. Readers can't orient themselves to what is happening. Yet too much description becomes like stage directions. He stood up, and he walked across the room, and he grabbed the doorknob. Too much description usually comes at the expense of moving the plot forward.
(Don't waste a bunch of space giving a detailed description of the main character. Too much worry about the appearance of your character make them into a Mary Sue. I--and maybe others--prefer to form a picture of the main character in my head based on their personality, not their physical appearance.)
Inner thoughts help make us attach to the main character. They are a good place for voice and adding personality. It's a great showcase for things the main character can't say aloud. But you also need outward verbal expression or dialogue with other characters because nothing shows off a character like interaction. Once again balance is the key.
Oh, show versus tell, you say. You've never supposed to tell. Well, not exactly. If you don't tell at times the word count is going to be out of the ballpark. Somethings you just have to tell to shorten the story or because you'd spend the whole opening chapters in flashbacks.
Show as much of the plot and world building as possible, but these are items that must be fudged at times with exposition. But always, always show your main character's personality by their actions and words.
Don't tell us Timmy was angry. Show us by his actions. He stamps a foot. He yells. He turns red. Don't tell us Susie is a weak character and can't control her vices. Show us by having her eat two cupcakes for breakfast. Don't tell your main character has a bad coughing disease. Show by having her choke on her congestion.
Besides keeping a good balance, what else can make a first 250 words stand out?
Voice A character with attitude. A sly sarcastic wit. A heart of gold. Voice can create any of these things and more. The voice of your piece can make it stand out above hundreds of others if that voice is unique.
Unique concept If you opening page starts out in a situation like no other, you'll grab instant attention. A bank robbery. A spaceship ride. A funeral. On the other side, an ordinary opening isn't going to make readers sit up and take notice. First day of school. Waking up in the morning.
Clarity Don't overload the first pages with names and places. Like in a query, try to limit the people introduced and bring them in more gradually. Especially important if you use original names and lots of unique world building such as in fantasy.
Entice Something occurs in your first 250 to make the reader curious. A reader has to find out what happens. That can involve plot, world building, or the character's personality. Something makes a reader eager to learn more.
I hope this gives some ideas. Nothing is harder than perfecting your opening page--unless it's the opening chapter. You must entice with concept and voice and not weigh down with exposition, description and inner dialogue. Yet you must avoid confusion by having some of those things to provide context.
An opening 250 is a delicate balancing act. One in which it's impossible to please everyone. It is the ultimate show of talent and precision. Best of luck and I can't wait to see those first 250 in Sun versus Snow.
January 8, 2014
Getting the Call: Kate Larkindale
I'm so happy to have a fresh perspective on Indie presses. From experience I can say they are a great path to publishing. Meet Kate Larkindale as she shares her writing journey.
Like most writers, it started with writing. I spent about 10 years finishing my first novel. I thought it was amazing, but I was wrong. I didn’t recognize that until I joined an online writing community, Writing.com, and found people willing to read my work and critique it. And boy did I get critiqued!
Once I’d picked myself up from the quivering heap I fell into at hearing my book was crap, I revised the hell out of it, and made it about a million times better. I knew nothing about writing a query, so my first attempts at that were pretty woeful. No big surprise I got zero requests for that novel, despite it being a semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award in 2010.
So I wrote another book. And in between I wrote a lot of short stories and submitted them to publications around the world. I got a lot of rejections and that thickened my skin a lot. I also got a lot of stories accepted, and that just made me even more certain I wanted to be a published novelist.
That new novel was SO much better than my first woeful attempts. And I’d researched query writing by then, so I workshopped my query and tested it in various contests and online forums. And I got a few requests. Not many, but those agents who did read the book all complimented the writing, but passed because they didn’t feel the story was big enough.
So I wrote another book. And another. And another. I queried them all, getting more and more requests from both queries and contests. The feedback was positive, but I was still without an offer from an agent.
After my best friend and critique partner got a publishing contract from a small, e-book press, I decided maybe the time had come to test the waters there. So I sent off a query to Musa Publishing for one of my older books. I knew it had something, but the feedback I’d gotten on it was confusing. Every agent who read the manuscript gave me a wildly different reason for passing. I had no idea what to revise, or even if the book needed revising.
I got a request for the full manuscript (then called The Boyfriend Plague) after just a few weeks. I was quietly excited, but didn’t expect much to come of it. I’d had full requests before.
I was in the midst of querying a new book when out of the blue, Musa offered me a publishing contract. I was thrilled! A small press wasn’t exactly what I’d dreamed of when I wrote that first book, but after five years of writing and rejection, this felt like a first step. I didn’t sign the contract right away. I spent some time researching the publisher and reaching out to other authors who’d worked with them.
After much agonizing over whether it was the right decision, I signed the contract. The team at Musa were very open and quick to answer any questions I had. The head editor of the YA imprint had some interesting ideas about things she thought needed work in the book, and everyone seemed so passionate and enthusiastic about what they were doing.
And on the day my book was released out into the world, I think I made the right decision. My book looks beautiful. I had an editor who loved my words and worked hard with me to make them the best possible version of my story it could be. Yes, the deadlines were tight, and I wish I’d had more time for each round of edits, but over all, I’ve been very happy with my small press experience so far.
But despite that, I will still be querying agents with other books I’ve written, and books I plan to write in the future. I’m grateful to Musa for giving me my first taste of what publishing is all about, but I still dream of being able to walk into a bookstore or library and pick up my book off the shelf. And unfortunately, e-books don’t sit on shelves…
Available NOW! Amazon Musa Publishing Smashwords Goodreads
An Unstill Life
Things at home are rough for fifteen-year-old Livvie Quinn. Jules, her beloved older sister is sick again after being cancer free for almost ten years. Her mom becomes more frantic and unapproachable every day. School isn’t much better. Just when she needs them most, her closest friends get boyfriends and have little time for Livvie – except to set her up on a series of disastrous blind dates.
Livvie seeks refuge in the art room and finds Bianca, the school ‘freak’. Free-spirited and confident, Bianca is everything Livvie isn’t. Shaken by her mom’s desperation, her sister’s deteriorating condition, and abandoned by her friends, Livvie finds comfort and an attraction she never felt before with Bianca.
When their relationship is discovered, Livvie and Bianca become victims of persecution and bullying. School authorities won’t help and even forbid the pair to attend the Winter Formal as a couple. If Livvie defies them and goes, she risks expulsion and further ridicule from her classmates. At home, her mother’s behavior escalates to new levels of crazy and Jules is begging for help to end the pain once and for all.
While searching for the strength to make her life her own, Livvie must decide how far she’s willing to go for the people she loves.
GLTB YA
About The Author
Having spent a lifetime travelling the globe, Kate Larkindale is currently residing in Wellington, New Zealand. A cinema manager, film reviewer and mother, she’s surprised she finds any time to write, but doesn’t sleep much. As a result, she can usually be found hanging out near the espresso machine.Her short stories have appeared in Halfway Down The Stairs, A Fly in Amber, Daily Flash Anthology, The Barrier Islands Review, Everyday Fiction, Death Rattle, Drastic Measures, Cutlass & Musket and Residential Aliens, among others.She has written eight contemporary YA novels, five of which other people are allowed to see. She has also written one very bad historical romance. She is currently working on a new YA novel that is still looking for a title other than its Twitter hashtag, #juvvielesbian.
Author Links Website: http://katelarkindale.blogspot.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vampyr14Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4086706.Kate_Larkindale
Like most writers, it started with writing. I spent about 10 years finishing my first novel. I thought it was amazing, but I was wrong. I didn’t recognize that until I joined an online writing community, Writing.com, and found people willing to read my work and critique it. And boy did I get critiqued!
Once I’d picked myself up from the quivering heap I fell into at hearing my book was crap, I revised the hell out of it, and made it about a million times better. I knew nothing about writing a query, so my first attempts at that were pretty woeful. No big surprise I got zero requests for that novel, despite it being a semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award in 2010.
So I wrote another book. And in between I wrote a lot of short stories and submitted them to publications around the world. I got a lot of rejections and that thickened my skin a lot. I also got a lot of stories accepted, and that just made me even more certain I wanted to be a published novelist.
That new novel was SO much better than my first woeful attempts. And I’d researched query writing by then, so I workshopped my query and tested it in various contests and online forums. And I got a few requests. Not many, but those agents who did read the book all complimented the writing, but passed because they didn’t feel the story was big enough.
So I wrote another book. And another. And another. I queried them all, getting more and more requests from both queries and contests. The feedback was positive, but I was still without an offer from an agent.
After my best friend and critique partner got a publishing contract from a small, e-book press, I decided maybe the time had come to test the waters there. So I sent off a query to Musa Publishing for one of my older books. I knew it had something, but the feedback I’d gotten on it was confusing. Every agent who read the manuscript gave me a wildly different reason for passing. I had no idea what to revise, or even if the book needed revising.
I got a request for the full manuscript (then called The Boyfriend Plague) after just a few weeks. I was quietly excited, but didn’t expect much to come of it. I’d had full requests before.
I was in the midst of querying a new book when out of the blue, Musa offered me a publishing contract. I was thrilled! A small press wasn’t exactly what I’d dreamed of when I wrote that first book, but after five years of writing and rejection, this felt like a first step. I didn’t sign the contract right away. I spent some time researching the publisher and reaching out to other authors who’d worked with them.
After much agonizing over whether it was the right decision, I signed the contract. The team at Musa were very open and quick to answer any questions I had. The head editor of the YA imprint had some interesting ideas about things she thought needed work in the book, and everyone seemed so passionate and enthusiastic about what they were doing.
And on the day my book was released out into the world, I think I made the right decision. My book looks beautiful. I had an editor who loved my words and worked hard with me to make them the best possible version of my story it could be. Yes, the deadlines were tight, and I wish I’d had more time for each round of edits, but over all, I’ve been very happy with my small press experience so far.
But despite that, I will still be querying agents with other books I’ve written, and books I plan to write in the future. I’m grateful to Musa for giving me my first taste of what publishing is all about, but I still dream of being able to walk into a bookstore or library and pick up my book off the shelf. And unfortunately, e-books don’t sit on shelves…
Available NOW! Amazon Musa Publishing Smashwords Goodreads
An Unstill Life
Things at home are rough for fifteen-year-old Livvie Quinn. Jules, her beloved older sister is sick again after being cancer free for almost ten years. Her mom becomes more frantic and unapproachable every day. School isn’t much better. Just when she needs them most, her closest friends get boyfriends and have little time for Livvie – except to set her up on a series of disastrous blind dates.
Livvie seeks refuge in the art room and finds Bianca, the school ‘freak’. Free-spirited and confident, Bianca is everything Livvie isn’t. Shaken by her mom’s desperation, her sister’s deteriorating condition, and abandoned by her friends, Livvie finds comfort and an attraction she never felt before with Bianca.
When their relationship is discovered, Livvie and Bianca become victims of persecution and bullying. School authorities won’t help and even forbid the pair to attend the Winter Formal as a couple. If Livvie defies them and goes, she risks expulsion and further ridicule from her classmates. At home, her mother’s behavior escalates to new levels of crazy and Jules is begging for help to end the pain once and for all.
While searching for the strength to make her life her own, Livvie must decide how far she’s willing to go for the people she loves.
GLTB YA
About The Author
Having spent a lifetime travelling the globe, Kate Larkindale is currently residing in Wellington, New Zealand. A cinema manager, film reviewer and mother, she’s surprised she finds any time to write, but doesn’t sleep much. As a result, she can usually be found hanging out near the espresso machine.Her short stories have appeared in Halfway Down The Stairs, A Fly in Amber, Daily Flash Anthology, The Barrier Islands Review, Everyday Fiction, Death Rattle, Drastic Measures, Cutlass & Musket and Residential Aliens, among others.She has written eight contemporary YA novels, five of which other people are allowed to see. She has also written one very bad historical romance. She is currently working on a new YA novel that is still looking for a title other than its Twitter hashtag, #juvvielesbian.Author Links Website: http://katelarkindale.blogspot.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vampyr14Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4086706.Kate_Larkindale
January 7, 2014
Valuable Links- Mary Sue Test
One of the things I've been warned about along my writing journey is Mary Sue characters. Avoid a Mary Sue character.
Well, what is a Mary Sue?
A Mary Sue is a character that is too perfect to be realistic. And usually too flawless to be likable to a reader. Sly or insinuating people might say that a Mary Sue character is what the author wishes they were, but can never attain.
The problem with a Mary Sue is they often end up inspiring hatred instead of devotion. No one is perfect. In appearance or personality. And no reader likes to compare themselves to a fiction character who is.
A fun game to play is taking the Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test to find out if your character is a Mary Sue. The questions are hilarious! Really, don't miss it.
Confession: My first ms was loaded with Mary Sue characters. I answered yes to so many of these questions that it was embarrassing.
Well, what is a Mary Sue?
A Mary Sue is a character that is too perfect to be realistic. And usually too flawless to be likable to a reader. Sly or insinuating people might say that a Mary Sue character is what the author wishes they were, but can never attain.
The problem with a Mary Sue is they often end up inspiring hatred instead of devotion. No one is perfect. In appearance or personality. And no reader likes to compare themselves to a fiction character who is.
A fun game to play is taking the Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test to find out if your character is a Mary Sue. The questions are hilarious! Really, don't miss it.
Confession: My first ms was loaded with Mary Sue characters. I answered yes to so many of these questions that it was embarrassing.
January 6, 2014
Snow Free Pass Winner
This is an appropriate day to announce the Free Pass winner into my snow picks. Since Saturday night we've gotten about 13 inches of snow, were under a winter storm warning and then a blizzard warning. Now every school system in the area is closed for the day--including my work so I have a snow day--and we have a wind chill of -26F with an actual temperature of -8F.
I want to express my intense gratitude to everyone who entered. This Free Pass garnered 1766 entries! As the much missed and still loved Harry Carey of the Chicago Cubs would say--HOLY COW!
Thanks to everyone who tweeted and blogged about the contest and helped spread the word. An incredible thanks to anyone who bought a copy of Kindar's Cure. It's hard for an author, especially a debut author, to ask for help, but you all came through in spectacular fashion. And special appreciation to those of you who went out of their way and wrote a review for Kindar.
Now the winner into my snow picks, who will also get an early view of the special question about Sun versus Snow. (You'll be sworn to secrecy on this, by the way. So be ready for that.) The rafflecopter has chosen:
Melissa Menten
Congrats, Melissa! You are the next contestant on the Sun versus Snow. You will be seen by mentors! You will be seen by agents! Best of luck!
And time for our second winner. The runner up who will receive a query and first 250 critique!
Charyse Allan
Congrats to you Charyse! I look forward to reading your query and giving you my best help!
I will contact the winners shortly, unless they beat me to it. Thanks again to all who enter. I can't wait to see your entries on January 18th. And the special format instructions for Sun versus Snow will be posted on January 13th.
January 3, 2014
Getting the Call: Amy Pine, Megan Erickson, Natalie Blitt
This is a new one for me. We have three writers that are such good friends, they wanted to do their call posts together. I can't imagine the joy spread across, not only getting your own agent, but seeing your best friends also achieve their dreams.
(And they are also mentors for Sun versus Snow.So look for Amy, Natalie, and Megan again there.)
Here is inspiration times three:
Usually a writer's agent call is a personal story, one that is about his or her individual quest. But that’s not how we see our stories. Our “getting the call” tales feel intertwined with one another. It’s the story of how we all three met, supported one another, and found our agents.
Amy PineI think it's safe to say that I would not be where I am on this writing journey if it wasn't for my CPs. My first ever CP, Jen (She's Nat and Megan's CP too now, btw), is the reason I've written the three books I've already completed. The community that we've formed with Natalie and Megan, as friends and critique partners, is the reason I get to take part in this post today.
Megan EricksonWriting has always been a solitary activity for me. One I did when I was alone, when I needed to sort out my thoughts and have conversations with all those people swarming in my head. But my favorite thing I learned in 2013 is writing doesn’t have to be solitary. That it’s rewarding to let others into my head and to peer into theirs.
Natalie BlittMy story started like most writers, writing a lot. And then maybe like some of you, I stopped.Because I was entirely convinced that I would never be good enough. And I didn't want anyone to know that. Writing is so public. No one goes to my sister's office and sees how she does her job. But when you share something you wrote, they can see the sum total. They can tell you suck, that you think you're good but you're not. So I stopped writing.
Until November 2011 when I challenged myself to write a novel (hello nanolove). THE TRUTH ABOUT LEAVING was born, and I cautiously shared it with friends who loved me and would be gentle in their critique. And then revised. For 18 months.In late April 2013, I decided I was ready to query. I did a ton of research, and started sending out queries. I got requests. And flat out rejections. Often on the same day. I cried and called friends. I thought about giving up. Every time I got a rejection, I sent out more queries. And cried. And started to work on another book because I was obsessed with QueryTracker and slowly going mad.
AmyMy beginning goes back a couple of books, but I'll tell you where this one, the one got me THE call, started. It was actually a JuNoWriMo. I'd never done NaNo because I'm a teacher by day, and November is so busy, but June? I could do June. So I did. I was super excited because this was the first book I'd beat sheeted using Blake Snyder's SAVE THE CAT. It was my first time not pantsing a novel, and for my highly organized self, it was a glorious experience writing this way, and it helped me "win" JuNo. Then I spent two months polishing this book, but I was so scared to share it. That's right. Book three, and I was still shaking in my boots to share, which is why I almost chickened out of doing WriteOnCon. But I had everything to gain and nothing to lose, so thankfully, I did it. Because Natalie and Megan and so many other writers I met, whose gorgeous words I got to read and who critiqued and encouraged my writing as well.
MeganMy beginning goes back a couple of books as well - an indie adult romance, a shelved New Adult series and several half-finished WIPs. I began my New Adult contemporary romance, DO THE MATH (then titled SWITCHING NUMBERS), when I was pregnant with my second child. After she was born, I picked it back up and finished it summer of 2013. At that point, I’d been active on Twitter for over six months. And all I heard was how important it was to have critique partners. I saw other writers talking about their relationships, and I was envious. I wanted that. I wanted to connect with other writers and go through this crazy journey with them.
Natalie & Megan & AmyOur stories came together at WriteOnCon. On the board, on twitter, in the countless (read: thousands) of emails we exchanged back and forth.
And then in that terrifying moment when you ask another writer, a writer you so admire, if she’d be interested in having you read her manuscript. Because you want to know (desperately) what happens after the first five pages that she posted on WriteOnCon.
And she says yes. And wants to read your manuscript. And you agree.
NatalieSo now I had these amazing writer friends and these phenomenal CPs. And then came Brenda Drake’s terrifying Pitch Madness. I worked on my pitch. I slaved over it. Megan and Amy virtually held my hand as I entered. And then all over twitter, the slush readers were talking about entries they loved (clearly not mine) and those that were all wrong (all mine). Rounds and rounds (ok, only three) for months (ok, weeks). I went into a three-day Jewish holiday where I had no access to any electronics (at all), knowing the results would be posted while I was in hiding. And I came out to find more squees and tweets and messages than I could imagine. The amazing Marieke Nijkamp had fought for my entry, and Shelley Watters featured it on her blog. And on agent day, a dream agent put down her highest bid for it: a full request.
This was not happening to me.
But we were still in Jewish holiday land, so I went back into my no-tech world for another three day holiday, and came out to find a heart-stopping email from the ninja agent from writeoncon who’d requested the manuscript. She wanted to talk. SHE. WANTED. TO. TALK.
We had a great phone call. I loved her. I talked with Megan and Amy. Over and over. And then I did what I thought would be the best part: I emailed all the other agents and told them I had an offer.
Here’s the truth: it sucked. I hated that week. I had all the doubts. I was terrified the ten agents with my fulls would tell me it was crap. I was terrified they’d like it. And then dream agent from Pitch Madness emailed me. She wanted to talk. SHE. WANTED. TO. TALK.
We had a great phone call. I loved her. I talked with Megan and Amy. Over and over. All the same stuff. I couldn’t have two agents though? It sounds like a great problem to have. But for me? Not at all. I HATED IT. I didn’t want to say no. Maybe I should say no to both of them, just to be fair? I’m clearly crazy.
After a lot of thinking, talking to writers I trust and admire, and more emails that should be legally allowed by gmail, I said yes to dream agent from Pitch Madness. Which is how I came to be represented by the lovely Carly Watters of P.S. Literary.
The morals of the story: Be less afraid. Share your work. Accept critique. Accept rejection. Write more books. Support other writers. Accept support.
Most importantly? Find amazing CPs because nobody else will talk you out of a tree like they will.
MeganI had sent out a decent amount of queries when it was time for PitMad, the Twitter contest. I polished up some pitches, threw them up and received a LOT of favorites - some from agents and some from publishers and I was elated. I sent my query and sample pages off to the agents who requested. I emailed one of the publishers - told the editor I was honored and respected her but I was holding off to hear back from some agents. She was gracious and lovely, told me she respected that and she’d still welcome my manuscript in the future.
Then I waited. And waited. More rejections rolled in and the funk set in. I believed in DO THE MATH with all my heart and I wanted someone else to believe in it too. At that point, I’d exhausted most of my queries. That publisher’s email stared at me from my inbox. I didn’t want to query and sub simultaneously but I WANTED to be published by that publisher. I did my research. So after some encouragement from Amy and Natalie and other writer friends, I subbed to the publisher with my first three chapters. She quickly asked for my full. And then a month later, my phone rings, and it’s a call from New York. I had a bad cold and answered the phone sounding like a man. She offers to publish DO THE MATH and I think my voice completely went out as I squealed.
I did still have some queries out to a couple of agents. As professional courtesy, I emailed them about my publisher offer, not expecting much. But Marisa Corvisiero of Corvisiero Literary Agency (who, incidentally, I had queried as a referral from one of her clients, Stina Lindenblatt), said she’d love to read my manuscript - that my synopsis intrigued her.
She read it in one day. She sent me a gushing email that had me in tears. She formally offered me representation and asked to talk on the phone. I still couldn’t believe this was happening to me. After months of rejections I had interest - REAL interest. Marisa and I talked on the phone and it was like I had a long-lost sister or something. She talked like me, and her enthusiasm blew me away. She was impressed with DO THE MATH, and overall she said she saw my talent and potential and wanted to guide my career. But I had one other agent to talk to yet, so I couldn’t accept on the spot. Plus, I knew the right thing to do was at least think on it. But there was really no question. Marisa was my spirit agent. I accepted her offer the next day.
I know, without a doubt, I wouldn’t be here with Amy and Natalie and the community of writers I met through Write On Con and Twitter and publishing contests. My story is just one of many wonderful stories because there is so much amazing talent out there. That was evident through a look at the Write On Con forums.
And as for the rest of my publishing journey? Stay tuned. ;)
AmyI had barely begun querying when Brenda Drake's Pitch Madness came around. But school was just starting for me, so I didn't want to get wrapped up in a contest when my focus needed to be in the classroom. But I love contests. I really do. And I knew that Pitch Madness would end with a Twitter pitch party, #pitmad, on September 12. I could fit that in. So I did. I tweeted a few pitches throughout the day. And I got a request from an agent to send my query, first three chapters and synopsis. Once again, thank the universe for my CPs because Natalie and Megan helped me whip my synopsis into shape because I was really excited about this agent.
On October 9, the same agent emailed and said some really nice things about my book, and she requested the full manuscript. I was totally cool [freaking out] and sent my manuscript along without a care in the world [I cared a lot. A real super lot.]. At this point my query was doing well. I'd received some other requests. And so began the waiting game.
Fast forward to November 21, a patient time in my life without lots of email refreshing [lies, all lies]. I was in Boston for NCTE, a national conference for English teachers. It was my first time there, so of course I was having a beer at Cheers. And of course I wanted to tweet a picture from my touristy adventure. So I got on Twitter, and the first thing I saw was that I had a new follower. It was an agent I was already following. It was an agent that had my full manuscript, the one who favorited my #pitmad tweet. Naturally, after tweeting my Cheers pics, I went straight to my gmail. Because I had this feeling that I should see if there was an important email waiting.
There was. My #pitmad requesting agent wanted to talk to me on the phone. She knew from my touristy tweets that I was in Boston, but she was free that afternoon to chat if I was. So I gave her my number, and she called. I was in a hotel in a strange city with no preparation other than a pep talk from Natalie shortly before THE call. I was so nervous, and #pitmad agent was so nice and had such wonderful things to say about my book and my writing in general. By the end of the phone call, she officially offered me representation. Ten days later on December 2, after hearing back from other agents with queries and fulls, I officially accepted and am thrilled to now be represented by the fantastic Courtney Miller-Callihan at Greenburger Associates.
Bottom line-I am where I am today because of the community of writers to which I belong. I have wonderful new friends (see other two writers in this post) whose words I fell in love with, and then I fell in love with the writers themselves. I do not/cannot write in a vacuum. And I'm grateful that because I put myself out there, I don't have to. [image error]
NatalieOn Twitter: @Natalie_BlittOn Facebook: Natalie Blitt -- AuthorWebsite: The Is the Book I Can't Stop Thinking About
MeganOn Twitter: @MeganErickson_On Facebook: Megan Erickson-AuthorWebsite: MeganErickson.org
AmyOn Twitter: @AJ_PineOn Facebook: AJ PineWebsite: AJPine.com
(And they are also mentors for Sun versus Snow.So look for Amy, Natalie, and Megan again there.)
Here is inspiration times three:
Usually a writer's agent call is a personal story, one that is about his or her individual quest. But that’s not how we see our stories. Our “getting the call” tales feel intertwined with one another. It’s the story of how we all three met, supported one another, and found our agents.
Amy PineI think it's safe to say that I would not be where I am on this writing journey if it wasn't for my CPs. My first ever CP, Jen (She's Nat and Megan's CP too now, btw), is the reason I've written the three books I've already completed. The community that we've formed with Natalie and Megan, as friends and critique partners, is the reason I get to take part in this post today.
Megan EricksonWriting has always been a solitary activity for me. One I did when I was alone, when I needed to sort out my thoughts and have conversations with all those people swarming in my head. But my favorite thing I learned in 2013 is writing doesn’t have to be solitary. That it’s rewarding to let others into my head and to peer into theirs.
Natalie BlittMy story started like most writers, writing a lot. And then maybe like some of you, I stopped.Because I was entirely convinced that I would never be good enough. And I didn't want anyone to know that. Writing is so public. No one goes to my sister's office and sees how she does her job. But when you share something you wrote, they can see the sum total. They can tell you suck, that you think you're good but you're not. So I stopped writing.
Until November 2011 when I challenged myself to write a novel (hello nanolove). THE TRUTH ABOUT LEAVING was born, and I cautiously shared it with friends who loved me and would be gentle in their critique. And then revised. For 18 months.In late April 2013, I decided I was ready to query. I did a ton of research, and started sending out queries. I got requests. And flat out rejections. Often on the same day. I cried and called friends. I thought about giving up. Every time I got a rejection, I sent out more queries. And cried. And started to work on another book because I was obsessed with QueryTracker and slowly going mad.
AmyMy beginning goes back a couple of books, but I'll tell you where this one, the one got me THE call, started. It was actually a JuNoWriMo. I'd never done NaNo because I'm a teacher by day, and November is so busy, but June? I could do June. So I did. I was super excited because this was the first book I'd beat sheeted using Blake Snyder's SAVE THE CAT. It was my first time not pantsing a novel, and for my highly organized self, it was a glorious experience writing this way, and it helped me "win" JuNo. Then I spent two months polishing this book, but I was so scared to share it. That's right. Book three, and I was still shaking in my boots to share, which is why I almost chickened out of doing WriteOnCon. But I had everything to gain and nothing to lose, so thankfully, I did it. Because Natalie and Megan and so many other writers I met, whose gorgeous words I got to read and who critiqued and encouraged my writing as well.
MeganMy beginning goes back a couple of books as well - an indie adult romance, a shelved New Adult series and several half-finished WIPs. I began my New Adult contemporary romance, DO THE MATH (then titled SWITCHING NUMBERS), when I was pregnant with my second child. After she was born, I picked it back up and finished it summer of 2013. At that point, I’d been active on Twitter for over six months. And all I heard was how important it was to have critique partners. I saw other writers talking about their relationships, and I was envious. I wanted that. I wanted to connect with other writers and go through this crazy journey with them.
Natalie & Megan & AmyOur stories came together at WriteOnCon. On the board, on twitter, in the countless (read: thousands) of emails we exchanged back and forth.
And then in that terrifying moment when you ask another writer, a writer you so admire, if she’d be interested in having you read her manuscript. Because you want to know (desperately) what happens after the first five pages that she posted on WriteOnCon.
And she says yes. And wants to read your manuscript. And you agree.
NatalieSo now I had these amazing writer friends and these phenomenal CPs. And then came Brenda Drake’s terrifying Pitch Madness. I worked on my pitch. I slaved over it. Megan and Amy virtually held my hand as I entered. And then all over twitter, the slush readers were talking about entries they loved (clearly not mine) and those that were all wrong (all mine). Rounds and rounds (ok, only three) for months (ok, weeks). I went into a three-day Jewish holiday where I had no access to any electronics (at all), knowing the results would be posted while I was in hiding. And I came out to find more squees and tweets and messages than I could imagine. The amazing Marieke Nijkamp had fought for my entry, and Shelley Watters featured it on her blog. And on agent day, a dream agent put down her highest bid for it: a full request.
This was not happening to me.
But we were still in Jewish holiday land, so I went back into my no-tech world for another three day holiday, and came out to find a heart-stopping email from the ninja agent from writeoncon who’d requested the manuscript. She wanted to talk. SHE. WANTED. TO. TALK.
We had a great phone call. I loved her. I talked with Megan and Amy. Over and over. And then I did what I thought would be the best part: I emailed all the other agents and told them I had an offer.
Here’s the truth: it sucked. I hated that week. I had all the doubts. I was terrified the ten agents with my fulls would tell me it was crap. I was terrified they’d like it. And then dream agent from Pitch Madness emailed me. She wanted to talk. SHE. WANTED. TO. TALK.
We had a great phone call. I loved her. I talked with Megan and Amy. Over and over. All the same stuff. I couldn’t have two agents though? It sounds like a great problem to have. But for me? Not at all. I HATED IT. I didn’t want to say no. Maybe I should say no to both of them, just to be fair? I’m clearly crazy.
After a lot of thinking, talking to writers I trust and admire, and more emails that should be legally allowed by gmail, I said yes to dream agent from Pitch Madness. Which is how I came to be represented by the lovely Carly Watters of P.S. Literary.
The morals of the story: Be less afraid. Share your work. Accept critique. Accept rejection. Write more books. Support other writers. Accept support.
Most importantly? Find amazing CPs because nobody else will talk you out of a tree like they will.
MeganI had sent out a decent amount of queries when it was time for PitMad, the Twitter contest. I polished up some pitches, threw them up and received a LOT of favorites - some from agents and some from publishers and I was elated. I sent my query and sample pages off to the agents who requested. I emailed one of the publishers - told the editor I was honored and respected her but I was holding off to hear back from some agents. She was gracious and lovely, told me she respected that and she’d still welcome my manuscript in the future.
Then I waited. And waited. More rejections rolled in and the funk set in. I believed in DO THE MATH with all my heart and I wanted someone else to believe in it too. At that point, I’d exhausted most of my queries. That publisher’s email stared at me from my inbox. I didn’t want to query and sub simultaneously but I WANTED to be published by that publisher. I did my research. So after some encouragement from Amy and Natalie and other writer friends, I subbed to the publisher with my first three chapters. She quickly asked for my full. And then a month later, my phone rings, and it’s a call from New York. I had a bad cold and answered the phone sounding like a man. She offers to publish DO THE MATH and I think my voice completely went out as I squealed.
I did still have some queries out to a couple of agents. As professional courtesy, I emailed them about my publisher offer, not expecting much. But Marisa Corvisiero of Corvisiero Literary Agency (who, incidentally, I had queried as a referral from one of her clients, Stina Lindenblatt), said she’d love to read my manuscript - that my synopsis intrigued her.
She read it in one day. She sent me a gushing email that had me in tears. She formally offered me representation and asked to talk on the phone. I still couldn’t believe this was happening to me. After months of rejections I had interest - REAL interest. Marisa and I talked on the phone and it was like I had a long-lost sister or something. She talked like me, and her enthusiasm blew me away. She was impressed with DO THE MATH, and overall she said she saw my talent and potential and wanted to guide my career. But I had one other agent to talk to yet, so I couldn’t accept on the spot. Plus, I knew the right thing to do was at least think on it. But there was really no question. Marisa was my spirit agent. I accepted her offer the next day.
I know, without a doubt, I wouldn’t be here with Amy and Natalie and the community of writers I met through Write On Con and Twitter and publishing contests. My story is just one of many wonderful stories because there is so much amazing talent out there. That was evident through a look at the Write On Con forums.
And as for the rest of my publishing journey? Stay tuned. ;)
AmyI had barely begun querying when Brenda Drake's Pitch Madness came around. But school was just starting for me, so I didn't want to get wrapped up in a contest when my focus needed to be in the classroom. But I love contests. I really do. And I knew that Pitch Madness would end with a Twitter pitch party, #pitmad, on September 12. I could fit that in. So I did. I tweeted a few pitches throughout the day. And I got a request from an agent to send my query, first three chapters and synopsis. Once again, thank the universe for my CPs because Natalie and Megan helped me whip my synopsis into shape because I was really excited about this agent.
On October 9, the same agent emailed and said some really nice things about my book, and she requested the full manuscript. I was totally cool [freaking out] and sent my manuscript along without a care in the world [I cared a lot. A real super lot.]. At this point my query was doing well. I'd received some other requests. And so began the waiting game.
Fast forward to November 21, a patient time in my life without lots of email refreshing [lies, all lies]. I was in Boston for NCTE, a national conference for English teachers. It was my first time there, so of course I was having a beer at Cheers. And of course I wanted to tweet a picture from my touristy adventure. So I got on Twitter, and the first thing I saw was that I had a new follower. It was an agent I was already following. It was an agent that had my full manuscript, the one who favorited my #pitmad tweet. Naturally, after tweeting my Cheers pics, I went straight to my gmail. Because I had this feeling that I should see if there was an important email waiting.
There was. My #pitmad requesting agent wanted to talk to me on the phone. She knew from my touristy tweets that I was in Boston, but she was free that afternoon to chat if I was. So I gave her my number, and she called. I was in a hotel in a strange city with no preparation other than a pep talk from Natalie shortly before THE call. I was so nervous, and #pitmad agent was so nice and had such wonderful things to say about my book and my writing in general. By the end of the phone call, she officially offered me representation. Ten days later on December 2, after hearing back from other agents with queries and fulls, I officially accepted and am thrilled to now be represented by the fantastic Courtney Miller-Callihan at Greenburger Associates.
Bottom line-I am where I am today because of the community of writers to which I belong. I have wonderful new friends (see other two writers in this post) whose words I fell in love with, and then I fell in love with the writers themselves. I do not/cannot write in a vacuum. And I'm grateful that because I put myself out there, I don't have to. [image error]
NatalieOn Twitter: @Natalie_BlittOn Facebook: Natalie Blitt -- AuthorWebsite: The Is the Book I Can't Stop Thinking About
MeganOn Twitter: @MeganErickson_On Facebook: Megan Erickson-AuthorWebsite: MeganErickson.org
AmyOn Twitter: @AJ_PineOn Facebook: AJ PineWebsite: AJPine.com
January 2, 2014
Query Questions with Jenny Bent
Writers have copious amounts of imagination. It's what makes their stories so fantastic. But there's a darker side to so much out of the box thinking. When a writer is in the query trenches, their worries go into overdrive. They start pulling out their hair and imagine every possible disaster.
Here to relieve some of that endless worrying is a new series of posts called Query Questions. I'll ask the questions which prey on every writer's mind, and hopefully take some of the pain out of querying. These are questions that I've seen tossed around on twitter and writing sites like Agent Query Connect. They are the type of questions that you need answers for the real expert--agents!
If you have your own specific query question, please leave it in the comments and it might show up in future editions of Query Questions as I plan to rotate the questions.
Jenny Bent of the Bent Agency is just opening back up to queries after several months away. This interview should help you nail your query to her.
Does one typo or misplaced comma shoot down the entire query? Not for me, I have heard other agents say that it does for them.
Do you look at sample pages without fail or only if the query is strong? It's more that if a query is very weak, I won't look at pages. If I am on the fence about the query, I definitely look at the pages.
Do you have an assistant or intern go through your queries first or do you check all of them? I have an assistant weed out the ones that fall outside the genres I am looking for; I look at all the rest.
If the manuscript has a prologue, do you want it included with the sample pages? Yes.
Some agencies mention querying only one agent at a time and some say query only one agent period. How often do you pass a query along to a fellow agent who might be more interested? Fairly often. Probably about once a day. It doesn't always result in a request of course, but often it does.
Do you prefer a little personalized chit-chat in a query letter, or would you rather hear about the manuscript? Probably the manuscript although I don't mind a bit of chit chat.
Most agents have said they don’t care whether the word count/genre sentence comes first or last. But is it a red flag if one component is not included? Not for me, no.
Is there a bias against querying authors who have self-published other books? Not for me. I love self-publishing, always have.
How many queries do you receive in a week? How many requests might you make out of those? I get 50-100 a day. I request a few manuscripts a week.
Many agents say they don't care if writers are active online. Could a twitter account or blog presence by a writer tip the scales in getting a request or offer? And do you require writers you sign to start one? I certainly don't require it. If an author had a huge twitter account or huge blog following that could certainly tip the scales.
Some writers have asked about including links to their blogs or manuscript-related artwork. I’m sure it’s not appropriate to add those links in a query, but are links in an email signature offensive? Not to me, no.
What bio should an author with no publishing credits include? I like some information about why they chose to write this particular book--what relevant life experience do they have that relates to what they are writing about. Or what inspired them?
What does ‘just not right mean for me’ mean to you? So many things. It might not be a genre I represent, I might think it's badly done, I might think it's well done but just not my taste. It's not a phrase that writers should struggle to figure out, because it's pretty much impossible to know.
What three things are at the top of your submission wish list? A great female-driven thriller or suspense novel, well-done women's fiction with a compelling hook, a great funny/emotional YA like Eleanor and Park.
What are some of your favorite movies or books to give us an idea of your tastes? This changes ALL THE TIME. I mostly love goofy movies with some thrillers mixed in. Better Off Dead, Hot Tub Time Machine, LA Confidential, Old School, Bridesmaids, to name a few. For my favorite books, go to my Pinterest page: http://www.pinterest.com/jennybent/books-i-ve-loved-but-did-not-represent/
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Jenny Bent represents literary and commercial adult, young adult, and middle grade fiction and nonfiction in the areas of memoir, humor and select narrative nonfiction.I was born in New York City but grew up in Harrisonburg, Virginia in a house full of books where I spent many lazy afternoons reading in a sunny window seat. I went on to England to get a BA/MA with first class honors from Cambridge University, but I began my career in publishing as an undergraduate, with jobs at Rolling Stone and Ladies Home Journal. I then worked with prominent agent Raphael Sagalyn and with Michael Cader, the force behind the website Publishers Marketplace, before establishing a successful career at several boutique agencies. In 2003 I joined Trident Media Group, where I was promoted to Vice President before leaving to found the Bent Agency in 2009. I now live in Brooklyn in an apartment full of books and while there are not quite so many lazy reading afternoons, I manage to fit one in now and then.My list is varied and includes commercial fiction, literary fiction, memoir and humor. All of the books I represent speak to the heart in some way: they are linked by genuine emotion, inspiration and great writing and story telling. I love books that make me laugh, make me cry, or ideally do both.
Here to relieve some of that endless worrying is a new series of posts called Query Questions. I'll ask the questions which prey on every writer's mind, and hopefully take some of the pain out of querying. These are questions that I've seen tossed around on twitter and writing sites like Agent Query Connect. They are the type of questions that you need answers for the real expert--agents!
If you have your own specific query question, please leave it in the comments and it might show up in future editions of Query Questions as I plan to rotate the questions.
Jenny Bent of the Bent Agency is just opening back up to queries after several months away. This interview should help you nail your query to her.
Is there a better or worse time of year to query? It's generally not good to do it around the holidays when people are stressed and rushed.
Does one typo or misplaced comma shoot down the entire query? Not for me, I have heard other agents say that it does for them.
Do you look at sample pages without fail or only if the query is strong? It's more that if a query is very weak, I won't look at pages. If I am on the fence about the query, I definitely look at the pages.
Do you have an assistant or intern go through your queries first or do you check all of them? I have an assistant weed out the ones that fall outside the genres I am looking for; I look at all the rest.
If the manuscript has a prologue, do you want it included with the sample pages? Yes.
Some agencies mention querying only one agent at a time and some say query only one agent period. How often do you pass a query along to a fellow agent who might be more interested? Fairly often. Probably about once a day. It doesn't always result in a request of course, but often it does.
Do you prefer a little personalized chit-chat in a query letter, or would you rather hear about the manuscript? Probably the manuscript although I don't mind a bit of chit chat.
Most agents have said they don’t care whether the word count/genre sentence comes first or last. But is it a red flag if one component is not included? Not for me, no.
Is there a bias against querying authors who have self-published other books? Not for me. I love self-publishing, always have.
How many queries do you receive in a week? How many requests might you make out of those? I get 50-100 a day. I request a few manuscripts a week.
Many agents say they don't care if writers are active online. Could a twitter account or blog presence by a writer tip the scales in getting a request or offer? And do you require writers you sign to start one? I certainly don't require it. If an author had a huge twitter account or huge blog following that could certainly tip the scales.
Some writers have asked about including links to their blogs or manuscript-related artwork. I’m sure it’s not appropriate to add those links in a query, but are links in an email signature offensive? Not to me, no.
What bio should an author with no publishing credits include? I like some information about why they chose to write this particular book--what relevant life experience do they have that relates to what they are writing about. Or what inspired them?
What does ‘just not right mean for me’ mean to you? So many things. It might not be a genre I represent, I might think it's badly done, I might think it's well done but just not my taste. It's not a phrase that writers should struggle to figure out, because it's pretty much impossible to know.
What three things are at the top of your submission wish list? A great female-driven thriller or suspense novel, well-done women's fiction with a compelling hook, a great funny/emotional YA like Eleanor and Park.
What are some of your favorite movies or books to give us an idea of your tastes? This changes ALL THE TIME. I mostly love goofy movies with some thrillers mixed in. Better Off Dead, Hot Tub Time Machine, LA Confidential, Old School, Bridesmaids, to name a few. For my favorite books, go to my Pinterest page: http://www.pinterest.com/jennybent/books-i-ve-loved-but-did-not-represent/
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Jenny Bent represents literary and commercial adult, young adult, and middle grade fiction and nonfiction in the areas of memoir, humor and select narrative nonfiction.I was born in New York City but grew up in Harrisonburg, Virginia in a house full of books where I spent many lazy afternoons reading in a sunny window seat. I went on to England to get a BA/MA with first class honors from Cambridge University, but I began my career in publishing as an undergraduate, with jobs at Rolling Stone and Ladies Home Journal. I then worked with prominent agent Raphael Sagalyn and with Michael Cader, the force behind the website Publishers Marketplace, before establishing a successful career at several boutique agencies. In 2003 I joined Trident Media Group, where I was promoted to Vice President before leaving to found the Bent Agency in 2009. I now live in Brooklyn in an apartment full of books and while there are not quite so many lazy reading afternoons, I manage to fit one in now and then.My list is varied and includes commercial fiction, literary fiction, memoir and humor. All of the books I represent speak to the heart in some way: they are linked by genuine emotion, inspiration and great writing and story telling. I love books that make me laugh, make me cry, or ideally do both.
January 1, 2014
SUN VERSUS SNOW AGENTS ARE HERE!
Get ready to choose sides! Will it be sun or snow!
Amy Trueblood and I have an all new query contest to decide the perfect winter weather. You can find the info here!
Currently, we have FIFTEEN agents signed up for the contest. Submission is on January 18 and there will be a post before then to detail how to format.
Thanks to all the agents who found the time in their busy schedules to make this contest happen. You are all AWESOME.
Please tweet your thanks to them using the hashtag #sunvssnow.
PS: My Free Pass is available until January 6th. And Amy has started her own Free Pass. There's still time to get some entries!
Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for...the agent list. Can you figure out which winter weather they will favor?
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Jordy Albert of Booker Albert Literary Agency
Jordy Albert is a Literary Agent and co-founder of The Booker Albert Literary Agency. She holds a B.A. in English from Pennsylvania State University, and a M.A. from Millersville University of Pennsylvania. She has worked with Marisa Corvisiero during her time at the L. Perkins Agency and the Corvisiero Literary Agency. Jordy also works as a freelance editor/PR Director. She enjoys studying languages (French/Japanese), spends time teaching herself how to knit, is a HUGE fan of Doctor Who, and loves dogs.
She is looking for stories that capture her attention and keep her turning the page. She is looking for a strong voice, and stories that have the ability to surprise her. She loves intelligent characters with a great sense of humor. She would love to see fresh, well-developed plots featuring travel, competitions/tournaments, or time travel. Jordy is specifically looking for:
* Middle Grade: contemporary, fantasy, action/adventure, or historical.
* YA: sci-fi, dystopian/post-apocalyptic, contemporary, historical (Though I am open to looking at other sub-genres, I'm looking for YA that has a very strong romantic element).
* NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE.
* Romance (contemporary and historical).
Molly Jaffa of Folio Literary Management
Molly has been working closely with Folio authors’ projects since 2008, and is an Associate Member of the Association of Authors’ Representatives (AAR). In addition to building her selective but growing list of clients, Molly utilizes her editorial background, previous work experience in the e-publishing industry, and intimate knowledge of the Folio list in her position as Folio’s Co-Director of International Rights. She actively pursues sales of international and audio rights and attends all major international book fairs, helping Folio clients’ books reach wide audiences in as many formats as possible. Molly is an avid reader, and when she’s not devouring manuscripts, she can usually be found camped out in the aisles of the Union Square Barnes & Noble (until they kick her out at closing time).
* Middle grade and YA fiction. Interest in paranormal
Pooja Menon of Kimberley Cameron & Associates
Pooja Menon joined Kimberley Cameron & Associates as an intern in the fall of 2011, with the aim of immersing herself in the elusive world of books and publishing. She soon realized that being an agent was what she was most drawn to as the job was varied and challenging. She represents both fiction and non-fiction for Adult and YA markets.Her passion for reading inspired her to acquire a BA in Literature and Media from England. Her love for writing then took her to Los Angeles where she pursued an M.F.A in Fiction from the Otis School of Art and Design.In fiction, she is interested in literary, historical, commercial, and high-end women's fiction. However, she's most drawn to stories with an international flavor, vibrant characters, multi-cultural themes, and lush settings.In fantasy, she's looking for original, layered plots with worlds as real and alive as the ones that were created by J.K Rowling and Tolkien.In YA, she's looking for stories that deal with the prevalent issues that face teenagers today. She is also interested in fantasy, magical-realism, and historical fiction.*YA, cont and fantasy
* fantasy, magical realism
*historical fiction and high-end women's fiction.
Sarah Negovetich of Corvisiero Literary Agency
Sarah Negovetich is fully aware that no one knows how to pronounce her last name, and she's okay with that.
Her favorite writing is YA, because at seventeen the world is your oyster. Only oysters are slimy and more than a little salty, it's accurate if not exactly motivational.
Sarah's background is in Marketing. FYI, your high school algebra teacher was right when they told you every job uses math. She uses her experience to assist Corvisiero authors with platform building and book promotion.
Sarah is only accepting MG and YA fiction manuscripts.
She is open to any genre within those age groups, but prefers speculative fiction.
Contemporary is not her favorite, but she will look at it. She is not interested in seeing poetry, novels in verse, short stories/novellas or anything focused on saving the environment (she's all for recycling, but doesn't want to represent it).
*YA and MG, prefers speculative fiction.
Christa Heschke of McIntosh & Otis, Inc.
Christa Heschke graduated from Binghamton University with a major in English and a minor in Anthropology. She started in publishing as an intern at both Writers House and Sterling Lord Literistic, where she fell in love with the agency side of publishing. Christa has been at McIntosh and Otis, Inc. in the Children's Literature Department since 2009 where she is actively looking for picture books, middle grade, young adult and new adult projects and is currently building her list. She is a fan of new adult and young adult novels with a romantic angle, and strong, quirky protagonists. In young and new adult, Christa is especially interested in contemporary fiction, horror and thrillers/mysteries. She’d also like to see any steampunk and fantasy (urban and high), that pushes the boundaries of what's currently on the shelves, perhaps a new take on these genres that has yet to be seen. As for middle grade, Christa enjoys humorous contemporary, adventure and magical realism for boys and girls. For picture books, she’s drawn to cute, character driven stories.
*Picture books, MG, YA and NA.
*Romantic angles.
Lana Popovic of Zachary Shuster Harmsworth
Lana holds a B.A. with honors from Yale University, a J.D. from Boston University School of Law, and an M.A. with highest honors from the Emerson College Publishing and Writing program. She joined Zachary Shuster Harmsworth in 2012, after working at the Perseus Book Group foreign rights department and the Kneerim & Williams Literary Agency.At ZSH, Lana works closely with authors on a wide range of both fiction and nonfiction projects, and is committed to providing extensive editorial guidance. She is particularly interested in edgy YA, from gritty coming-of-age novels to contemporary fantasy and supernatural romance. She is also keen to represent thoughtful chick lit, literary thrillers, and well-crafted projects in the fantasy and mystery genres. In terms of nonfiction, Lana is looking for fresh perspectives on popular culture and science from bloggers, academics, and journalists.*edgy YA
*chick lit
*literary thrillers
*fantasy and mystery
Lara Perkins of Andrea Brown Literary Agency
Lara Perkins is an Associate Agent and Digital Manager at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. She has been with the agency for over three years, working closely with Senior Agent Laura Rennert, with whom she jointly represents a number of clients, in addition to building her own list.
Lara is a fan of smart and raw young adult fiction, character-driven middle grade fiction with a totally original, hilarious voice, and so-adorable-she-can't-stand-it picture books, preferably with some age-appropriate emotional heft. She's a sucker for a great mystery and is passionate about stories that teach her new things or open up new worlds. More than anything, she has a soft spot for the wonderfully weird, the idiosyncratic, and the entirely unexpected.
Recent deals, together with Laura Rennert, include Matthew Ward's middle grade novel, THE FANTASTIC FAMILY WHIPPLE, sold in a two book, six-figure deal to Razorbill, and P.J. Hoover's young adult novel, SOLSTICE, forthcoming with Tor Teen in June 2013.
Lara has a B.A. in English and Art History from Amherst College and an M.A. in English Literature from Columbia University, where she studied Victorian Brit Lit. In her pre-publishing life, she trained to be an architect, before deciding that books, not bricks, are her true passion. She spent over a year at the B.J. Robbins Literary Agency in Los Angeles before coming to Andrea Brown Literary.
*adorable picture books
*smart and raw YA*character-driven Middle grade
Paula Munier of Talcott Notch Literary ServicesWriters are my tribe. I began as a journalist, and over the years I’ve penned countless new stories, articles, essays, collateral, and blogs, as well as authored/co-authored more than a dozen books, most recently Fixing Freddie, 5-Minute Mindfulness, and A Miscellany of Murder. Along the way, I’ve added editor, acquisitions specialist, digital content manager, and publishing executive to my repertoire—the common denominator being my commitment to writers and writing, no matter what my title. From Gannett, Greenspun, and Prima Games to Disney, Quayside, and F+W Media, I’ve fought the good fight for good writing and good writers. And I’ve loved every minute of it.But now, as an agent, I have the opportunity to support talented writers in the most direct manner possible, helping my clients do good work, land great publishing deals, and build successful writing careers. So if you’re a writer as obsessed with words and stories as I am, and you’re in it for the long haul, consider working with me. My specialties include mystery/thriller, SF/fantasy, romance, YA, memoir, humor, pop culture, health & wellness, cooking, self-help, pop psych, New Age, inspirational, technology, science, and writing.P.S. If you write crime fiction…you should know that I’m very involved with the mystery community, having served four terms as President of the New England chapter of Mystery Writers of America as well as on the MWA board. (I’m currently VP of that organization.) I’ve also served as both co-chair and Agents and Editors chair on the New England Crime Bake committee for seven years and counting. And I’m an active member of Sisters in Crime.
*mystery/thriller
*SF/Fantasy
*Romance
*YA
Gina Panettieri of Talcott Notch Literary ServicesBeing an agent is really all I can imagine doing. Books, and the amazing people who write them, have been the focus of my life for more than two decades. I remember packing to move my house and needing a separate small truck just for all the books, and I had given awaycountless volumes to the libraries for fundraisers already! But so many of them were treasured friends I couldn't bear to part with, no matter the effort required to maintain the relationship.And this specific role I play, being given the chance to find and nurture new books, to work with some of the most creative and talented writers, scientists and psychologists, cooks and criminologists, experts from every field of study, makes what I do feel so different fromwork that my inbox feels like Santa's magical Christmas bag. It's always full, always overflowing, but brimming with the potential of something spectacular. All I've got to do is pull the little ribbon...Perhaps that's why I have such trouble limiting myself to just a few genres. I find it all fascinating! History, business, self-help, science, gardening, cookbooks, crafts, parenting, memoir, true crime and travel. Teach me something new, something I couldn't find somewhere else, something based on original research and that's the hook I'm looking for. With fiction, I love quirky, edgy characters. Send me women's fiction, paranormal, urban fantasy, horror, science fiction, historical, mystery, thrillers and suspense.
*women's fiction
*paranormal, urban fantasy, horror, science fiction
*historical
*mystery, thrillers, suspense
Pam van Hylckama Vlieg of Forward Literary
Pam van Hylckama Vlieg started her literary career as assistant to Laurie McLean in early 2012. By April Pam was promoted to Associate Agent at Larsen Pomada. In January of 2013 after selling twenty-one books in her first year of agenting Pam was promoted to agent. When Laurie McLean mentioned creating Foreword, Pam jumped at the chance to follow her mentor and create a new agency together.Pam is interested in the following genres:*High concept young adult in any genre. Some of Pam’s favorite recent YA books are: The Masque of the Red Death, Cinder, Shadow and Bone, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Small Damages, and Insignia.*Middle grade in these genres: fantasy. Pam’s recent favorite MG books are: The Peculiar, The Emerald Atlas, Storybound, The Prince Who Fell from the Sky, and Icefall.*Romance in these categories: historical, fantasy, contemporary, and erotica. Pam’s favorite romance titles released recently are: Loving Lady Marcia, Be My Prince, Rogue’s Pawn, and The Siren.*New Adult in all categories will be considered. Pam has enjoyed Suddenly Royal, and Leopard Moon in this genre.*Speculative fiction in these genres: urban fantasy, paranormal, and epic/high fantasy.
Artwork by Lisa BrownMackenzie Brady of Sheedy Literary Agency
Mackenzie joined Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency in 2011, after interning at FinePrint Literary Mgmt and Farrar, Straus & Giroux. She is currently looking for narrative non-fiction focusing on science, sports, psychology and travel; and compelling contemporary and voice-driven YA fiction. Mackenzie received a B.S. in Microbiology from Penn State University.
*Contemporary YA
Annie Bomke of Annie Bomkie Literary Agency
Annie Bomke is a literary agent with over a decade of experience helping authors succeed. She has worked with internationally bestselling authors such as Ken Blanchard, Spencer Johnson, John Assaraf, John David Mann, and Bob Burg. She has edited a wide range of projects—from hard-nosed business books to otherworldly historical novels. Authors have called her the pH test for good writing, and a bedrock for literary quality control.
Annie has loved the publishing industry since her position as an Editorial Assistant at Zoetrope: All-Story, a literary magazine founded by Francis Ford Coppola. She explored her love of books managing Alcala Gallery, an art gallery and rare bookstore, and even had a brief stint as a technical writer for a Department of Defense contractor. Whether she was reading a 19th century treatise on medicine or a query letter for a high-tech thriller, she has always been fascinated by the way people think and express themselves in writing.
She has worked on a wide variety of genres including mainstream and literary fiction, self-help, business, health/diet, memoir, parenting, relationships, psychology, and humor, but she is most passionate about character-driven literary fiction, mysteries, thrillers, historical fiction, and psychology.
*literary fiction
*mystery
*thrillers
*historical fiction
Adriann Ranta of Wolf Literary Services
Adriann Ranta is a literary agent at Wolf Literary Services. A magna cum laude graduate of the University of Arizona, Adriann’s first introduction to publishing was at The Editorial Department, a freelance editorial firm based in Tucson, AZ. After making the move to New York, Adriann spent two years at Anderson Literary Management before moving to Wolf Literary in 2009, where she keeps her own list, and co-represents select clients with Gillian MacKenzie of the Gillian MacKenzie Agency.
While an avid reader of most subjects and themes, Adriann is most interested in gritty, realistic, true-to-life stories with conflicts based in the real world. She likes edgy, dark, quirky voices, unique settings, and everyman stories told with a new spin. She lives in Brooklyn, has many tattoos, and is an evangelical fan of the X-Files.
*Edgy and dark
Dawn Frederick of Red Sofa Literary
Established by Dawn Frederick, previously of Sebastian Literary Agency, she brings a broad knowledge of the book business to the table—with multiple years of experience as a bookseller in the independent, chain, and specialty stores; sales, marketing, & book development at a YA publisher, a published nonfiction author, and an agent associate literary agent at Sebastian Literary Agency in 2002 (before Red Sofa Literary was established).In addition to her literary agent duties, she extensively volunteers with her local library system, while still finding time to spend quality time on her “wheels.”She carries a B.S. in Human Ecology, and a M.S. in Information Sciences from an ALA accredited institution. “Not only do I know what people like to read and are currently reading; I also have the experience of working one-on-one with authors, book distribution centers, and literary organizations.”· Graphic Novels — No manga please.
· History - Books that will engage the commerical reader. ex: Michael Beschloss
· Humor – I loved The Zombie Survival Guide, How to be a Villain, and Yiddish with Dick and Jane.
· Pop Culture – Especially Americana, and anything quirky
· Social Issues/Current Affairs—Women’s Studies, GLTB Studies, Social Sciences, and more.
· Sports — Less mainstream, more extreme sport, ex: Roller Derby
· Women’s Narratives – chicklit nonfiction, Latina, African-American, and more.
· Young Adult – Fiction, Nonfiction
· Middle Grade - Fiction, Nonfiction
Laura Zats of Red Sofa LiteraryLaura Zats graduated from Grinnell College with degrees in English and anthropology. While completing her studies, she took advantage of her love of Young Adult (YA) literature and wrote a thesis on identity formation in YA. She’s been working as an editor since 2011 and has held positions at companies in both the US and the UK. In 2013, Laura joined Team Red Sofa as an intern but quickly became more of an apprentice, leveling up to Associate Agent in the same year.Even though she loved YA books first, titles that are Middle Grade, romance, and Sci-fi/Fantasy have been slowly taking hold. Picking a favorite genre now would be like choosing between puppies and kittens. In her free time, Laura likes to craft, swing dance, bake, and binge on Netflix marathons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Doctor Who. Romance
· Young Adult and Middle Grade– Fiction, especially contemporary
· Contemporary Women’s Fiction
· Science Fiction/Fantasy
· Erotica
· New Adult
There you have it!! Is that an amazing group of agents, or what?
December 31, 2013
Query Questions with Rebecca Friedman
Writers have copious amounts of imagination. It's what makes their stories so fantastic. But there's a darker side to so much out of the box thinking. When a writer is in the query trenches, their worries go into overdrive. They start pulling out their hair and imagine every possible disaster.
Here to relieve some of that endless worrying is a new series of posts called Query Questions. I'll ask the questions which prey on every writer's mind, and hopefully take some of the pain out of querying. These are questions that I've seen tossed around on twitter and writing sites like Agent Query Connect. They are the type of questions that you need answers for the real expert--agents!
If you have your own specific query question, please leave it in the comments and it might show up in future editions of Query Questions as I plan to rotate the questions.
Hello and welcome to Rebecca Friedman. Rebecca recently opened her own agency and you can now find her at The Rebecca Friedman Agency.
Is there a better or worse time of year to query?
There are definitely slower times when I can devote more energy to the query pile, but it's not the same every year. The only time that almost guarantees a longer wait period is the holiday season. The office is busy, people are on vacation, and there are usually a lot of loose threads to pull together before the end of the year: all that pushes slush pile management lower down on my priority list.
Does one typo or misplaced comma shoot down the entire query?
One typo won't send a great query directly to the trash, but after two or three, I start to notice. I want to know that you put as much time into pitching a book that I will put into representing it.
Do you look at sample pages without fail or only if the query is strong?
I do look at them, but that doesn't mean it's not important to have a strong query. The excitement with which I read sample pages after a good query can make all the difference.
If the manuscript has a prologue, do you want it included with the sample pages?
Yes. The beginning of a book is absolutely crucial to hooking a publisher, so I want to see that your opening is strong.
Do you prefer a little personalized chit-chat in a query letter, or would you rather hear about the manuscript?
For the most part, a query should zero in on pitching the manuscript, but there is room for personalization. I like to see that an author has done their homework: mentioning one of my previous titles or discussing how your book suits my taste and would fit my list are two examples that often catch my interest. This doesn't guarantee anything, of course, but if I know you spent a little extra time crafting a query for me, I'm more likely to spend a little extra time reading.
Most agents have said they don’t care whether the word count/genre sentence comes first or last. But is it a red flag if one component is not included?
Missing it is not a deal-breaker if a query is great, but that is definitely crucial information.
Writers hear a lot about limiting the number of named characters in a query. Do you feel keeping named characters to a certain number makes for a clearer query?
While there's no hard and fast rule, I've definitely gotten hit by name overload. A query should make me want to read more, not summarize the story. It should be streamlined and intriguing; in most cases, naming all the important characters gets in the way of actually pitching the book.
Should writers sweat the title of their book (and character names) or is that something that is often changed by publishers?
Titles and character names can absolutely change, but that doesn't mean they aren't vital in the querying process. A good title that grabs my attention can make all the difference when I'm reading queries for four hours straight.
If a writer makes changes to their manuscript due to feedback should they resend the query or only if material was requested?
If I'm interested in seeing a revision, I tell an author in my response. If I give the notes without specifying, it doesn't hurt to ask, but I wouldn't put too many eggs in that basket.
What bio should an author with no publishing credits include?
Some basic information (where you live, what you're doing, education, etc). A few personal details can be very charming. It's not just the project an agent is signing; it's also the author, so I want to who you are.
What does ‘just not right mean for me’ mean to you?
Often, I come across a query that is strong and intriguing, but for one reason or another, I'm not the right agent to represent it. Maybe it's a genre I don't work in; maybe it's too close to another book on my list; maybe the market is too challenging for this type of book--it's a catch-all term for a huge array of potential hurdles.
What themes are you sick of seeing?
Everyday guy's wife/daughter/sister gets kidnapped and kicks off a series of action-packed events.
Do you consider yourself a hands-on, editorial type of agent?
Absolutely. The amount of work I do on a manuscript changes from book to book, but I always go through at least a couple of revisions with a client before sending it to publishers.
What three things are at the top of your submission wish list?
Journalistic nonfiction with a strong voice, literary novels of suspense, and contemporary books that deal with issues without being "issue books."
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Rebecca Friedman started her own agency, Rebecca Friedman Literary, in 2013. Previously, she worked at the Hill Nadell Agency and Sterling Lord Literistic. She is most interested in commercial and literary fiction with a focus on literary novels of suspense, women’s fiction, contemporary romance, and young adult, as well as journalistic non-fiction and memoir. A graduate of Barnard College, she now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two daughters.
Here to relieve some of that endless worrying is a new series of posts called Query Questions. I'll ask the questions which prey on every writer's mind, and hopefully take some of the pain out of querying. These are questions that I've seen tossed around on twitter and writing sites like Agent Query Connect. They are the type of questions that you need answers for the real expert--agents!If you have your own specific query question, please leave it in the comments and it might show up in future editions of Query Questions as I plan to rotate the questions.
Hello and welcome to Rebecca Friedman. Rebecca recently opened her own agency and you can now find her at The Rebecca Friedman Agency.
Is there a better or worse time of year to query?
There are definitely slower times when I can devote more energy to the query pile, but it's not the same every year. The only time that almost guarantees a longer wait period is the holiday season. The office is busy, people are on vacation, and there are usually a lot of loose threads to pull together before the end of the year: all that pushes slush pile management lower down on my priority list.
Does one typo or misplaced comma shoot down the entire query?
One typo won't send a great query directly to the trash, but after two or three, I start to notice. I want to know that you put as much time into pitching a book that I will put into representing it.
Do you look at sample pages without fail or only if the query is strong?
I do look at them, but that doesn't mean it's not important to have a strong query. The excitement with which I read sample pages after a good query can make all the difference.
If the manuscript has a prologue, do you want it included with the sample pages?
Yes. The beginning of a book is absolutely crucial to hooking a publisher, so I want to see that your opening is strong.
Do you prefer a little personalized chit-chat in a query letter, or would you rather hear about the manuscript?
For the most part, a query should zero in on pitching the manuscript, but there is room for personalization. I like to see that an author has done their homework: mentioning one of my previous titles or discussing how your book suits my taste and would fit my list are two examples that often catch my interest. This doesn't guarantee anything, of course, but if I know you spent a little extra time crafting a query for me, I'm more likely to spend a little extra time reading.
Most agents have said they don’t care whether the word count/genre sentence comes first or last. But is it a red flag if one component is not included?
Missing it is not a deal-breaker if a query is great, but that is definitely crucial information.
Writers hear a lot about limiting the number of named characters in a query. Do you feel keeping named characters to a certain number makes for a clearer query?
While there's no hard and fast rule, I've definitely gotten hit by name overload. A query should make me want to read more, not summarize the story. It should be streamlined and intriguing; in most cases, naming all the important characters gets in the way of actually pitching the book.
Should writers sweat the title of their book (and character names) or is that something that is often changed by publishers?
Titles and character names can absolutely change, but that doesn't mean they aren't vital in the querying process. A good title that grabs my attention can make all the difference when I'm reading queries for four hours straight.
If a writer makes changes to their manuscript due to feedback should they resend the query or only if material was requested?
If I'm interested in seeing a revision, I tell an author in my response. If I give the notes without specifying, it doesn't hurt to ask, but I wouldn't put too many eggs in that basket.
What bio should an author with no publishing credits include?
Some basic information (where you live, what you're doing, education, etc). A few personal details can be very charming. It's not just the project an agent is signing; it's also the author, so I want to who you are.
What does ‘just not right mean for me’ mean to you?
Often, I come across a query that is strong and intriguing, but for one reason or another, I'm not the right agent to represent it. Maybe it's a genre I don't work in; maybe it's too close to another book on my list; maybe the market is too challenging for this type of book--it's a catch-all term for a huge array of potential hurdles.
What themes are you sick of seeing?
Everyday guy's wife/daughter/sister gets kidnapped and kicks off a series of action-packed events.
Do you consider yourself a hands-on, editorial type of agent?
Absolutely. The amount of work I do on a manuscript changes from book to book, but I always go through at least a couple of revisions with a client before sending it to publishers.
What three things are at the top of your submission wish list?
Journalistic nonfiction with a strong voice, literary novels of suspense, and contemporary books that deal with issues without being "issue books."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rebecca Friedman started her own agency, Rebecca Friedman Literary, in 2013. Previously, she worked at the Hill Nadell Agency and Sterling Lord Literistic. She is most interested in commercial and literary fiction with a focus on literary novels of suspense, women’s fiction, contemporary romance, and young adult, as well as journalistic non-fiction and memoir. A graduate of Barnard College, she now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two daughters.
December 28, 2013
Sun versus Snow Mentors
Amy Trueblood has the list of mentors who will be helping improve and refine the chosen Sun and Snow queries! Head to her blog Chasing the Crazies to see the list.
Amy also has a free pass opportunity to get into the SUN picks in her post! Don't miss out at a chance for a guaranteed spot in Sun versus Snow with FIFTEEN agents. (Agents announced Jan. 1.)
The best part is many of these mentor are former contestants. Amy Pine, Melissa Grey, and Olivia Hinebaugh among others were all entrants to contests I co-hosted. And many others found success and help in other contests. They are eager to give back to the writing community and help other writers.
Remember, anything is possible!
For a chance at a spot in my Snow picks, please use the rafflecopter below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
