Michelle Hauck's Blog, page 50
January 4, 2016
Getting the Call with Jackie Yeager
There's no better way to start the New Year right then with a Call post. Let's start the year with inspiration and see what blooms!
I have news that I can finally share...I have an agent!!!After 8 years of writing, revising, querying, waiting, hoping, dreaming, and wishing to find the perfect literary agent to represent me and my middle grade work, I am thrilled to finally sayâ¦I am now represented by the amazing Rebecca Angus of Golden Wheat Literary!Please excuse me while I faint a little on the keyboard of my laptop. And then pinch myself, because Iâm still overwhelmed and shocked that Iâm not dreaming any of this. I mean 8 years, three manuscripts and loads of rejections in a supremely competitive marketplace has been my world until one week ago!If youâre interested to read on, Iâll share with you the story of how my writing career changed in one normal day. Just one. It wasnât too long ago that I mentioned on this blog that Iâve never dreaded Mondays the way many people do. I see each Monday as a day full of endless possibilities for the week to come. ( A little sappy, I know!) At the time though, I had no idea how true that statement would soon become for me.My writing journey began eight years ago with a middle grade manuscript and a dream to become a published author. I whipped out an entire novel in 6 months flat and sent it out to one literary agent after another, positive that each one would be the one. If I knew then that it would actually take me three manuscripts, many more revisions, countless rejections and all this time to get to this point, Iâm not sure I would have pressed on. Wow, am I glad Iâm a patient person.So how exactly did this big moment finally happen for me?In May of 2011, I was in the process of querying my second novel. I was also fresh off a trip to the University Maryland for the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals (a creative problem solving competition) with my team of 11 year-olds. It was an unforgettable experience and I decided right then, that I needed to write a new middle grade story. Not about Odyssey of the Mind specifically but about 5 kids who embark on an unforgettable journey. What that journey would be, I wasnât yet sure, but I knew that it had to be special. It had to be amazing. It had to be over the top.And so I spent the next year brainstorming what this story should look like. I began drafting in the spring of 2012, and by late spring of 2013 I had a completed draft and somewhat revised manuscript. I wasnât ready to query yet though. The story needed polishing, and many more revisions.I continued to revise over the summer and in the fall I found an amazing soon to be published critique partner on a blog I had been a long time reader of, Miss Snark's First Victim. And though separated by hundreds of miles, she was able to help make the story stronger. She also walked me through her publishing process. I learned so much from her and made a special friend as well. Faithful readers to this site will know Iâm talking about Beth Hautala, author of the amazing MG novel, Waiting For Unicorns. I am so grateful for her early feedback on this book.While Beth was reading for me, I began work on my query letter, knowing that Iâd be sending it out to literary agents eventually. Soon after, I saw that a well- respected agent was hosting a query letter eventâa mock slush pile read. In it, she would tell participating writers whether or not she would reject it if it came across her desk (and why) or if she would request additional pages. I was anxious to hear what she thought because she had requested the full of my second novel ( and eventually passed) the year before. To my shock and surprise my letter was one of 5 out of 616 that received a request for the full manuscript! As in, she wanted to read the whole MS, giving me a shot at representation (again)!Say what?? I nearly fell off my chair when I got that email.So naturally I panicked because this story had been read by no one yet. (Except a few chapters by Beth, but I hadnât gotten her feedback yet). My two critique groups for my earlier manuscripts had kind of disbanded and I hadnât found anyone else to read for me yet. My husband, like the Prince Charming with no writing experience that he is, offered to read itâto at least let me know about any glaring mistakes. So on a business flight across country, he emailed me and texted me page numbers where he needed clarification and where he saw typos. I was so thankful for his sharp eye and support on the fly!Months later, the agent politely declined to represent me. But what she offered instead was priceless. She emailed me pages of feedback detailing the strengths of the MS and her suggestions for how to make it stronger. She loved the concept, characters, and story but advised me to make some changes to make it strong enough for representation before querying other agents. She saw potential but not for her own list. I couldnât believe an agent would take the time to help a writer who she had no plans to represent.It took me over a year (with work and family commitments) to make the changes based on Bethâs feedback and the agentâs feedback too. It was a frustrating time because the changes were not major but I had little time to work on it! But as I chipped away (lots of late nights and early mornings) I saw my manuscript improving.But still my manuscript was not ready. Call me picky but I knew it needed more work.Enter fall of 2014. A new reader of this blog contacted me about becoming critique partners. She and I were in similar situations. We both wrote MG. We both had written several manuscripts. We both had received countless rejections, but we both also had a fiery determination to improve and make our stories stronger. We clicked right away, and I knew at once that not only would her feedback be invaluable, her friendship would be too. And I was right! The feedback I got from Melyssa Mercado was spot on and amazingly insightful. My story is what it is because of her and I value her friendship and support immensely. I began the querying process soon after, even though Mel was still working on my chapters. I couldnât help it. I knew it was too soon but I was impatient and had waited so long to get this story out there.So I sent the first round of queries out â 6 in all and got one partial request. That agent eventually passed so I stopped querying. I did however participate in my first Twitter pitch event, #Pitmad. It was a great experience. I made many new great writer friends, received two requests on my pitch, and soon submitted my query and pages to those agents. One requested additional pages, but ultimately she passed as well.During this time, I also submitted to Pitch Wars, an event hosted by Brenda Drake, where published authors can choose to mentor you in order to make your manuscript perfect and attract the attention of agents. I was not chosen, but the feedback on my query letter and first chapter was extremely helpful. Each mentor had a fresh perspective and made me look at my story in a new way. It was just the kick in the pants my query letter and opening pages needed.Throughout the winter, I worked hard to revise based on those comments and Melâs feedback too, but decided to wait on submitting until she was finished with my book.In May 2015, after Mel finished, I began round 2. I queried six more agents. This time, I received no requests. Discouraged, I began to think I was pitching this book all wrongâagain.In June, I decided to enter the next #PitMad Twitter event, in hopes of attracting the attention of agents (again). I received several favorites on my pitches this time, three from small presses, one from an agent who had already passed on my MS, and one from Jessica Schmeidler at Golden Wheat Literary, a brand new literary agency. Intrigued, I submitted to Jessica the first three chapters and synopsis, and waited for her response.Soon after, in July, I changed my query letter and my opening pages and decided to go ahead with round threeâanother six agents. I received a few rejections from these and honestly just waited for the rest of the rejections to come in.Weeks later, I learned that Pitch Wars, the mentor competition I had entered last year was coming up. I decided to enter, thinking even if I didnât get picked for mentoring, I may get useful feedback on why my query letter and opening pages were not hooking the right agent for my book. (As I did the year before.) So I decided not to query another agent or enter another contest until I got their feedback. I figured it was a waste of time anyway. If my query and opening pages werenât strong enough, why bother? So, I spent the next week polishing my submission materials for Pitch Wars.But around 7am on July 15th, I woke up, glanced at my Twitter feed, and noticed another pitch party was happening that day, #Pit2Pub. I wasnât at all prepared to participate in this one. I didnât have a ton of pitches ready and I didnât feel like being tethered to Twitter all day, getting my hopes up once again. Besides, I had decided enough was enough for a while. But something convinced me to throw a couple of pitches out anyway and see what happens.So I tweeted two pitches. Just two. Definitely not enough to catch an agentâs eye as the fast moving twitter feed rolled by. I actually did get two favorites though, but from small e-book publishers. I was happy they were interested, but really I was still holding out hope that an agent would fall in love with my book and help me get it traditionally published.The next day, On July 16th, I got a notification from Twitter. I had another favorite on my pitch! And it was from an agent, Rebecca Angus. I looked her up and (almost) to my dismay, I realized she was also an agent at Golden Wheat Literary. Translation: It was the same agency that I had already submitted my chapters to, not another agency interested in my book. But I was excited thinking that maybe my book would be a good fit for their agency since now two agents there had favorited my pitches! So...since Jessica had not yet responded about my book, I sent a her a message asking how I should proceed. I also thanked Rebecca for her interest but pointed out that Jessica had my chapters already. Later that day, Jessica forwarded my chapters to Rebecca, whom she thought might be a better fit for my book.Okay then. I was excited, but not jumping for joy. Why? Well, lots of agents had read the opening chapters of my manuscriptâ16 so far. And they had all rejected it. And I had been through this whole process with my other two manuscripts also, so I was used to not getting my hopes up. But still the wait beganâagain!On July 22nd, I received an email from Rebecca Angus. She told me she loved my first few chapters and would like to read the full manuscript if it was still available! So of course I did a mini happy dance and sent her the full within the next few minutes.For days I tried to forget that my book baby was in Rebeccaâs hands, tried to forget that she could be the agent that finally loved it as much as me, tried to ward off negative thoughts and stay positive. But it was hard! I researched Golden Wheat Literary. I stalked Rebecca. Lol She followed me on Twitter! (gasp!) I followed her right back. I followed her clients. And mostly I tried to not get my hopes up. But I realized a LONG time ago, that doesnât work anyway. Think positive. Picture the outcome you desire, blah, blah, blahâ¦A few weeks passed and suddenly it was August 10th.A Monday. The day of the week most full of possibilities. :)Rebecca emailed me in the afternoon. She said she had read halfway through my manuscript and adored it so far. She wondered if it was still available and asked me a question.I practically passed out. She adored it so far! She adored it so far! OMG she adored it so far!I thanked her for her kind words, told her I hoped the rest could live up to her expectations, answered her question and then waited to hear from her again. And then I held my breath.But I didnât have to hold it long.Rebecca emailed me later that evening. She told me she had finished my manuscript and it was everything she hoped it would be and more! She said it again in all caps. She loved my story so much and wanted to set up a call to talk about representation. She wanted to call me!I read her email and my eyes filled. My breath caught and I almost broke down. Was this really happening to me? Had Rebecca just offered to represent me?I raced down the stairs to find my husband (my prince Charming who saved the day with this manuscript two years earlier). He screamed and hugged me. I beamed and called for my kids. They screamed and hugged me too. I turned around in circles, and spewed some incoherent words, not sure what to do next.I tried to respond to Rebeccaâs email but all I could think to write was OMG! OMG! OMG! So I decided to wait awhile before drafting that response!Eventually I remembered how to think again and we set up The Call for three days later. That night we spoke on the phone for over two hours. She told me what she loved about my book, her very specific plan for submitting it, and more. So much more. We clicked immediately and I knew from the first few moments that Rebecca and Golden Wheat Literary would be the perfect fit for me and for my MG story.She had been an Odyssey of the Mind kid. She understood the over the top world I had tried to create in my story. She loved the voice. She loved the characters. She loved the themes. She loved the futuristic elements. She loved the conflict. Listening to her gush about my little story, I felt like she loved it as much as I did. And I knew without a doubt that she was the right advocate for me and for my work.At the end of The Call, she officially offered to represent me and a half hour later, I had a contract in my hand! Rebecca gave me time to think it over an urged me to let any agents who had chapters of my manuscript know that I had an offer on the table and give them a chance to respond.As you can imagine, the next week was agonizingly slow. I nudged the other agents and had a request from one of the top ones on my list. Ultimately though, my decision was easy. I really no longer wanted representation by any of the other agents. I had an offer from my dream agent. I didnât want to wait! But I did wait the appropriate time. It was professional courtesy after all.Rebecca and I corresponded all week. She answered my neurotic questions and sent me amazing messages about my book on Twitter. I was anxious and excited and just wanted to make it official.Finally, I contacted Rebecca Angus, literary agent extraordinaire, thanked her again for the offer, told her I would be honored to work with her and Golden Wheat Lit, and signed the contract. Then I covered my face and let out a breath I had been holding for eight long years.I have an agent! I have an agent! I have an agent! And I feel so very blessed!So for all of you who think your time will never come, think againâ¦âAll our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.â ~ Walt DisneyThank you to all of you (my husband, my children, my family, my friends, my critique partners, my writing peeps, and those involved in PitchWars and #Pit2Pub) who believed that I could reach this milestone. It means everything to me.So now the hard work begins. My book isn't on bookstore bookshelves just yet. But at least this is a start! :)
---------------------------------------------------
Jackie Yeager writes middle grade magical realism, where anything is possible. Her stories are set in the real world, but have a hint of something spectacular too. She is represented by literary agent, Rebecca Angus of Golden Wheat Literary.
She lives in Rochester, NY with her husband (her real life prince charming), and their two teenage children (who happen to be royally amazing). When sheâs not living in her own fairy tale world, writing, or hanging out at her website, she spends her time ghostwriting e-books and blog posts for businesses, reading, running, and cheering for her family at their sporting events. Sheâs also the coach of a middle school Odyssey of the Mind team who recently competed at the World Finals!
Her website, www.swirlandspark.com is the site for kids (and kids at heart) who like to write. There youâll find middle grade book recommendations, writing tips for new writers, writing tools for tweens, and her weekly blog posts. Twitter
I have news that I can finally share...I have an agent!!!After 8 years of writing, revising, querying, waiting, hoping, dreaming, and wishing to find the perfect literary agent to represent me and my middle grade work, I am thrilled to finally sayâ¦I am now represented by the amazing Rebecca Angus of Golden Wheat Literary!Please excuse me while I faint a little on the keyboard of my laptop. And then pinch myself, because Iâm still overwhelmed and shocked that Iâm not dreaming any of this. I mean 8 years, three manuscripts and loads of rejections in a supremely competitive marketplace has been my world until one week ago!If youâre interested to read on, Iâll share with you the story of how my writing career changed in one normal day. Just one. It wasnât too long ago that I mentioned on this blog that Iâve never dreaded Mondays the way many people do. I see each Monday as a day full of endless possibilities for the week to come. ( A little sappy, I know!) At the time though, I had no idea how true that statement would soon become for me.My writing journey began eight years ago with a middle grade manuscript and a dream to become a published author. I whipped out an entire novel in 6 months flat and sent it out to one literary agent after another, positive that each one would be the one. If I knew then that it would actually take me three manuscripts, many more revisions, countless rejections and all this time to get to this point, Iâm not sure I would have pressed on. Wow, am I glad Iâm a patient person.So how exactly did this big moment finally happen for me?In May of 2011, I was in the process of querying my second novel. I was also fresh off a trip to the University Maryland for the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals (a creative problem solving competition) with my team of 11 year-olds. It was an unforgettable experience and I decided right then, that I needed to write a new middle grade story. Not about Odyssey of the Mind specifically but about 5 kids who embark on an unforgettable journey. What that journey would be, I wasnât yet sure, but I knew that it had to be special. It had to be amazing. It had to be over the top.And so I spent the next year brainstorming what this story should look like. I began drafting in the spring of 2012, and by late spring of 2013 I had a completed draft and somewhat revised manuscript. I wasnât ready to query yet though. The story needed polishing, and many more revisions.I continued to revise over the summer and in the fall I found an amazing soon to be published critique partner on a blog I had been a long time reader of, Miss Snark's First Victim. And though separated by hundreds of miles, she was able to help make the story stronger. She also walked me through her publishing process. I learned so much from her and made a special friend as well. Faithful readers to this site will know Iâm talking about Beth Hautala, author of the amazing MG novel, Waiting For Unicorns. I am so grateful for her early feedback on this book.While Beth was reading for me, I began work on my query letter, knowing that Iâd be sending it out to literary agents eventually. Soon after, I saw that a well- respected agent was hosting a query letter eventâa mock slush pile read. In it, she would tell participating writers whether or not she would reject it if it came across her desk (and why) or if she would request additional pages. I was anxious to hear what she thought because she had requested the full of my second novel ( and eventually passed) the year before. To my shock and surprise my letter was one of 5 out of 616 that received a request for the full manuscript! As in, she wanted to read the whole MS, giving me a shot at representation (again)!Say what?? I nearly fell off my chair when I got that email.So naturally I panicked because this story had been read by no one yet. (Except a few chapters by Beth, but I hadnât gotten her feedback yet). My two critique groups for my earlier manuscripts had kind of disbanded and I hadnât found anyone else to read for me yet. My husband, like the Prince Charming with no writing experience that he is, offered to read itâto at least let me know about any glaring mistakes. So on a business flight across country, he emailed me and texted me page numbers where he needed clarification and where he saw typos. I was so thankful for his sharp eye and support on the fly!Months later, the agent politely declined to represent me. But what she offered instead was priceless. She emailed me pages of feedback detailing the strengths of the MS and her suggestions for how to make it stronger. She loved the concept, characters, and story but advised me to make some changes to make it strong enough for representation before querying other agents. She saw potential but not for her own list. I couldnât believe an agent would take the time to help a writer who she had no plans to represent.It took me over a year (with work and family commitments) to make the changes based on Bethâs feedback and the agentâs feedback too. It was a frustrating time because the changes were not major but I had little time to work on it! But as I chipped away (lots of late nights and early mornings) I saw my manuscript improving.But still my manuscript was not ready. Call me picky but I knew it needed more work.Enter fall of 2014. A new reader of this blog contacted me about becoming critique partners. She and I were in similar situations. We both wrote MG. We both had written several manuscripts. We both had received countless rejections, but we both also had a fiery determination to improve and make our stories stronger. We clicked right away, and I knew at once that not only would her feedback be invaluable, her friendship would be too. And I was right! The feedback I got from Melyssa Mercado was spot on and amazingly insightful. My story is what it is because of her and I value her friendship and support immensely. I began the querying process soon after, even though Mel was still working on my chapters. I couldnât help it. I knew it was too soon but I was impatient and had waited so long to get this story out there.So I sent the first round of queries out â 6 in all and got one partial request. That agent eventually passed so I stopped querying. I did however participate in my first Twitter pitch event, #Pitmad. It was a great experience. I made many new great writer friends, received two requests on my pitch, and soon submitted my query and pages to those agents. One requested additional pages, but ultimately she passed as well.During this time, I also submitted to Pitch Wars, an event hosted by Brenda Drake, where published authors can choose to mentor you in order to make your manuscript perfect and attract the attention of agents. I was not chosen, but the feedback on my query letter and first chapter was extremely helpful. Each mentor had a fresh perspective and made me look at my story in a new way. It was just the kick in the pants my query letter and opening pages needed.Throughout the winter, I worked hard to revise based on those comments and Melâs feedback too, but decided to wait on submitting until she was finished with my book.In May 2015, after Mel finished, I began round 2. I queried six more agents. This time, I received no requests. Discouraged, I began to think I was pitching this book all wrongâagain.In June, I decided to enter the next #PitMad Twitter event, in hopes of attracting the attention of agents (again). I received several favorites on my pitches this time, three from small presses, one from an agent who had already passed on my MS, and one from Jessica Schmeidler at Golden Wheat Literary, a brand new literary agency. Intrigued, I submitted to Jessica the first three chapters and synopsis, and waited for her response.Soon after, in July, I changed my query letter and my opening pages and decided to go ahead with round threeâanother six agents. I received a few rejections from these and honestly just waited for the rest of the rejections to come in.Weeks later, I learned that Pitch Wars, the mentor competition I had entered last year was coming up. I decided to enter, thinking even if I didnât get picked for mentoring, I may get useful feedback on why my query letter and opening pages were not hooking the right agent for my book. (As I did the year before.) So I decided not to query another agent or enter another contest until I got their feedback. I figured it was a waste of time anyway. If my query and opening pages werenât strong enough, why bother? So, I spent the next week polishing my submission materials for Pitch Wars.But around 7am on July 15th, I woke up, glanced at my Twitter feed, and noticed another pitch party was happening that day, #Pit2Pub. I wasnât at all prepared to participate in this one. I didnât have a ton of pitches ready and I didnât feel like being tethered to Twitter all day, getting my hopes up once again. Besides, I had decided enough was enough for a while. But something convinced me to throw a couple of pitches out anyway and see what happens.So I tweeted two pitches. Just two. Definitely not enough to catch an agentâs eye as the fast moving twitter feed rolled by. I actually did get two favorites though, but from small e-book publishers. I was happy they were interested, but really I was still holding out hope that an agent would fall in love with my book and help me get it traditionally published.The next day, On July 16th, I got a notification from Twitter. I had another favorite on my pitch! And it was from an agent, Rebecca Angus. I looked her up and (almost) to my dismay, I realized she was also an agent at Golden Wheat Literary. Translation: It was the same agency that I had already submitted my chapters to, not another agency interested in my book. But I was excited thinking that maybe my book would be a good fit for their agency since now two agents there had favorited my pitches! So...since Jessica had not yet responded about my book, I sent a her a message asking how I should proceed. I also thanked Rebecca for her interest but pointed out that Jessica had my chapters already. Later that day, Jessica forwarded my chapters to Rebecca, whom she thought might be a better fit for my book.Okay then. I was excited, but not jumping for joy. Why? Well, lots of agents had read the opening chapters of my manuscriptâ16 so far. And they had all rejected it. And I had been through this whole process with my other two manuscripts also, so I was used to not getting my hopes up. But still the wait beganâagain!On July 22nd, I received an email from Rebecca Angus. She told me she loved my first few chapters and would like to read the full manuscript if it was still available! So of course I did a mini happy dance and sent her the full within the next few minutes.For days I tried to forget that my book baby was in Rebeccaâs hands, tried to forget that she could be the agent that finally loved it as much as me, tried to ward off negative thoughts and stay positive. But it was hard! I researched Golden Wheat Literary. I stalked Rebecca. Lol She followed me on Twitter! (gasp!) I followed her right back. I followed her clients. And mostly I tried to not get my hopes up. But I realized a LONG time ago, that doesnât work anyway. Think positive. Picture the outcome you desire, blah, blah, blahâ¦A few weeks passed and suddenly it was August 10th.A Monday. The day of the week most full of possibilities. :)Rebecca emailed me in the afternoon. She said she had read halfway through my manuscript and adored it so far. She wondered if it was still available and asked me a question.I practically passed out. She adored it so far! She adored it so far! OMG she adored it so far!I thanked her for her kind words, told her I hoped the rest could live up to her expectations, answered her question and then waited to hear from her again. And then I held my breath.But I didnât have to hold it long.Rebecca emailed me later that evening. She told me she had finished my manuscript and it was everything she hoped it would be and more! She said it again in all caps. She loved my story so much and wanted to set up a call to talk about representation. She wanted to call me!I read her email and my eyes filled. My breath caught and I almost broke down. Was this really happening to me? Had Rebecca just offered to represent me?I raced down the stairs to find my husband (my prince Charming who saved the day with this manuscript two years earlier). He screamed and hugged me. I beamed and called for my kids. They screamed and hugged me too. I turned around in circles, and spewed some incoherent words, not sure what to do next.I tried to respond to Rebeccaâs email but all I could think to write was OMG! OMG! OMG! So I decided to wait awhile before drafting that response!Eventually I remembered how to think again and we set up The Call for three days later. That night we spoke on the phone for over two hours. She told me what she loved about my book, her very specific plan for submitting it, and more. So much more. We clicked immediately and I knew from the first few moments that Rebecca and Golden Wheat Literary would be the perfect fit for me and for my MG story.She had been an Odyssey of the Mind kid. She understood the over the top world I had tried to create in my story. She loved the voice. She loved the characters. She loved the themes. She loved the futuristic elements. She loved the conflict. Listening to her gush about my little story, I felt like she loved it as much as I did. And I knew without a doubt that she was the right advocate for me and for my work.At the end of The Call, she officially offered to represent me and a half hour later, I had a contract in my hand! Rebecca gave me time to think it over an urged me to let any agents who had chapters of my manuscript know that I had an offer on the table and give them a chance to respond.As you can imagine, the next week was agonizingly slow. I nudged the other agents and had a request from one of the top ones on my list. Ultimately though, my decision was easy. I really no longer wanted representation by any of the other agents. I had an offer from my dream agent. I didnât want to wait! But I did wait the appropriate time. It was professional courtesy after all.Rebecca and I corresponded all week. She answered my neurotic questions and sent me amazing messages about my book on Twitter. I was anxious and excited and just wanted to make it official.Finally, I contacted Rebecca Angus, literary agent extraordinaire, thanked her again for the offer, told her I would be honored to work with her and Golden Wheat Lit, and signed the contract. Then I covered my face and let out a breath I had been holding for eight long years.I have an agent! I have an agent! I have an agent! And I feel so very blessed!So for all of you who think your time will never come, think againâ¦âAll our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.â ~ Walt DisneyThank you to all of you (my husband, my children, my family, my friends, my critique partners, my writing peeps, and those involved in PitchWars and #Pit2Pub) who believed that I could reach this milestone. It means everything to me.So now the hard work begins. My book isn't on bookstore bookshelves just yet. But at least this is a start! :)
---------------------------------------------------
Jackie Yeager writes middle grade magical realism, where anything is possible. Her stories are set in the real world, but have a hint of something spectacular too. She is represented by literary agent, Rebecca Angus of Golden Wheat Literary.
She lives in Rochester, NY with her husband (her real life prince charming), and their two teenage children (who happen to be royally amazing). When sheâs not living in her own fairy tale world, writing, or hanging out at her website, she spends her time ghostwriting e-books and blog posts for businesses, reading, running, and cheering for her family at their sporting events. Sheâs also the coach of a middle school Odyssey of the Mind team who recently competed at the World Finals!
Her website, www.swirlandspark.com is the site for kids (and kids at heart) who like to write. There youâll find middle grade book recommendations, writing tips for new writers, writing tools for tweens, and her weekly blog posts. Twitter
December 30, 2015
How to Help a Writer Friend
Chuck Sambuchino has a great post on how to support authors with new books out. See it here. It mentions reading in public, leaving reviews, and talking about the book on social media. I want to go beyond that a bit and ask a little more of my loyal followers.
Not every book is going to be picked up by libraries or bookstores. Some authors, like me, have digital first books and aren't going to be displayed in bookstores or libraries unless someone asks for them. Next time you visit your library, consider filling out one of those little request forms and asking them to get a copy of Grudging. Or many libraries are online now and you can request right from your computer or phone. It only takes a few minutes, doesn't cost a thing, and could be a great help to getting the word out.
Also if you planned to buy a paperback copy of Grudging, order it in a bookstore. Bookstores will often purchase an extra copy to put on their shelves when a customer orders something. I'm afraid that's the only way Grudging will end up in stores as it's buried deep in the HarperCollins catalogs.
Thanks for your support and I hope you enjoy your holiday season and get lots of reading done!
Not every book is going to be picked up by libraries or bookstores. Some authors, like me, have digital first books and aren't going to be displayed in bookstores or libraries unless someone asks for them. Next time you visit your library, consider filling out one of those little request forms and asking them to get a copy of Grudging. Or many libraries are online now and you can request right from your computer or phone. It only takes a few minutes, doesn't cost a thing, and could be a great help to getting the word out.
Also if you planned to buy a paperback copy of Grudging, order it in a bookstore. Bookstores will often purchase an extra copy to put on their shelves when a customer orders something. I'm afraid that's the only way Grudging will end up in stores as it's buried deep in the HarperCollins catalogs.
Thanks for your support and I hope you enjoy your holiday season and get lots of reading done!
December 29, 2015
Book Review: The Mystic
The start of an enchanting new epic fantasy series from the founder of Dragonmount
I called to the Myst, and it sent us you.
For hundreds of years, high-born nobles have competed for the chance to learn of the Myst.
Powerful, revered, and often reclusive, Mystics have the unique ability to summon and manipulate the Myst: the underlying energy that lives at the heart of the universe. Once in a very great while, they take an apprentice, always from the most privileged sects of society.
Such has always been the traditionâuntil a new High Mystic takes her seat and chooses Pomella AnDone, a restless, low-born teenager, as a candidate.
Commoners have never been welcomed among the select few given the opportunity to rise beyond even the highest nobility. So when Pomella chooses to accept the summons and journey to Kelt Apar, she knows that she will have more to contend with than the competition for the apprenticeship.
Breaking both law and tradition, Pomella undergoes three trials against the other candidates to prove her worthiness. As the trials unfold, Pomella navigates a deadly world of intolerance and betrayal, unaware that ruthless conspirators intend to make her suffer for having the audacity to seek to unravel the secrets of the Myst.
Review:
Though clearly written for young adult and teens with simplistic characters and a romantic triangle, I did really enjoy the ending of Mystic. There were a few spoilers I guessed and one or two I didn't. That works well for me as I like to be right about some parts and surprised on others. :-)
I thought the world building depended a little two much on some random slang terms and respelling of the familiar terms like mother and father to make them more foreign. I didn't get enough sense of a deep rich history behind the people/world. It's easy to err with too much backstory about the world and characters, but I could have done with a little more here to add some depth.
I'm always glad to find another author of epic fantasy, and I'll look for more from this writer. I received this copy from Tor in exchange for a review.
December 22, 2015
Snow Free Pass 2016
I know this is a busy time of year so right to it!
Sun versus Snow is coming! As of right now we have sixteen agents. (Agents announced in January.) You can see the rules here. My last couple of contests averaged three success stories from my picks alone. My free pass winner from Query Kombat in June became the runner up and got an agent!
I know of one person from Sun versus Snow 2015 who not only got an agent but also a nice book deal!
This is an opportunity you don't want to miss. A free pass allows you to skip the slush and become an instant pick. You will get to work with a mentor to improve your query and first page. Your entry will be seen by our agents and any ninja agents. And you'll be the first member of Team Snow!
You must do two things to enter: leave a blog comment on this post and use the rafflecopter to record that you commented. If you aren't in the rafflecopter, it can't pick you as the winner. This insures the winner is random and no bias slips in.
In the blog comment I want a short paragraph on what your main character would do with a snowball. Your main character suddenly has a snowball what does he/she do with it. Be creative but clean. It should be fun and imaginative. There's no need to post something long. Try and stay under 200 words.
Use the rafflecopter for addition entries and to help spread the word. Please tweet about this mini contest and pass it along to your friends! The more the merrier!
BONUS:
Amy and I agreed I can have TWO free passes! But the right conditions must be met.
I picked December 22nd for my free pass to open for a reason. The paperback of Grudging comes out today and I wanted to celebrate!
So in honor of that happy event, here are the conditions for a second free pass (Winner also to be drawn by the rafflecopter.):
1. Grudging hits the top 100 on Amazon in the paid Kindle Store category.
2. Or Grudging hits the top 10 in the other Amazon categories of historical fantasy, epic fantasy, or fantasy.
3. Or Grudging reaches 20 honest reviews on Goodreads or Amazon.
For one or two, someone must send me a screen shot as proof it happened.
To give everyone plenty of time to write their paragraph, the mini contest will stay open until January 11th. Good luck and I hope to see you on Team Snow!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Sun versus Snow is coming! As of right now we have sixteen agents. (Agents announced in January.) You can see the rules here. My last couple of contests averaged three success stories from my picks alone. My free pass winner from Query Kombat in June became the runner up and got an agent!
I know of one person from Sun versus Snow 2015 who not only got an agent but also a nice book deal!
This is an opportunity you don't want to miss. A free pass allows you to skip the slush and become an instant pick. You will get to work with a mentor to improve your query and first page. Your entry will be seen by our agents and any ninja agents. And you'll be the first member of Team Snow!
You must do two things to enter: leave a blog comment on this post and use the rafflecopter to record that you commented. If you aren't in the rafflecopter, it can't pick you as the winner. This insures the winner is random and no bias slips in.
In the blog comment I want a short paragraph on what your main character would do with a snowball. Your main character suddenly has a snowball what does he/she do with it. Be creative but clean. It should be fun and imaginative. There's no need to post something long. Try and stay under 200 words.
Use the rafflecopter for addition entries and to help spread the word. Please tweet about this mini contest and pass it along to your friends! The more the merrier!
BONUS:
Amy and I agreed I can have TWO free passes! But the right conditions must be met.
I picked December 22nd for my free pass to open for a reason. The paperback of Grudging comes out today and I wanted to celebrate!
So in honor of that happy event, here are the conditions for a second free pass (Winner also to be drawn by the rafflecopter.):
1. Grudging hits the top 100 on Amazon in the paid Kindle Store category.
2. Or Grudging hits the top 10 in the other Amazon categories of historical fantasy, epic fantasy, or fantasy.
3. Or Grudging reaches 20 honest reviews on Goodreads or Amazon.
For one or two, someone must send me a screen shot as proof it happened.
To give everyone plenty of time to write their paragraph, the mini contest will stay open until January 11th. Good luck and I hope to see you on Team Snow!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
December 19, 2015
Goodreads Giveaway
To celebrate the upcoming paperback release of GRUDGING, my publisher is having a Goodreads giveaway of five copies. You can go here to sign up to win!
December 18, 2015
Star Wars: What genre is it?
At first glance it seems obvious where Star Wars belongs if you were to categorize it under a book genre. But if George Lucas had been trying to write a query letter, he might have run into some difficulties.
Star Wars is obviously science fiction, right? It takes place in space with plenty of battles there. We skip from one gorgeous planet to another. The technology is like what people only dream about. Hand held devices that let you communicate over distances. There was nothing like that in the 1970's when the first movie came out. Intelligent robots that are your personal servants. Robots called droids to fight your battles in lieu of actual casualties. The ability to conquer the tremendous size of the galaxy by using hyperdrive and go places instantaneously--or as good as if your hyperdrive computer hasn't been deactivated.
The movies are also populated with aliens of every shape and color. Not only have they conquered technology, but they don't seem to have a race problem. Nobody is really putting down the blue people for instance or picking on someone because they have six legs or no legs if you're a Hutt. It's an equal opportunity universe where plenty of prejudices still exist and even a smattering of slavery. I find it rather humanizing that unlike Star Trek the world here isn't perfect. There are still bad parts and nasty people. Bribery and smuggling still exist. Greed and lust for power are motivations. Money passes hands. People are still imperfect. (Compared to say Star Trek where everyone works hard because they want to? or for the good of society? I was never sure, but they don't seem worried about paychecks.)
And can we have a little aside about Princess Leia. A princess who is kickass with a blaster. A no-nonsense girl who favors serious subjects. She's in the heart of every battle, withstanding torture and riding speeders with the best of them. But she can still look like a woman as she swings across a chasm. There's a role model!
So in Star Wars the inventive and imaginative settings and use of science and technology make it obvious this is science fiction. Until we come down to the heart of the plot and the Force.
The real center of the movies is a duel between two sides of the Force--the Sith and the Jedi.
As Han Solo calls it, the Force is a hokey religion that makes use of ancient weapons. It's a power no one can see that allows certain people to manipulate it and have lightening fast reflexes, jump incredible distances, and sense things before they happen. Not to mention change the minds of the weak. In other words, it's magic.
Oh, the later movies tried to classify it as science, talking about the Midichlorian levels and microscopic beings who live in our cells for our mutual benefit. The Force pervades all life. The Midichlorians continually speak to us of the Force. It's still your dressed-up magic system however you rationalize it.
However you want to explain it, try and write a query letter about the heart of the plot of Star Wars and you have to include the Force. And what is the Force but a key aspect of the fantasy genre.
What does the story really come down to. A spunky princess, a roguish smuggler, a hero-to-be fighting the evil dictator. It has themes of honor and valor like most fantasy. It speaks to redemption. All typical themes of fantasy.
Star Wars is mix of science fiction and fantasy. A common problem that faces many writers when they try to classify their work. It's a blending of the two--a hybrid! And like any good hybrid it takes the best of both worlds and brings them together to make something greater!
So take heart everyone who has trouble classifying their manuscript. If your story has a little bit of this genre and some of that genre, you just might become the most popular story of all time!
Star Wars is obviously science fiction, right? It takes place in space with plenty of battles there. We skip from one gorgeous planet to another. The technology is like what people only dream about. Hand held devices that let you communicate over distances. There was nothing like that in the 1970's when the first movie came out. Intelligent robots that are your personal servants. Robots called droids to fight your battles in lieu of actual casualties. The ability to conquer the tremendous size of the galaxy by using hyperdrive and go places instantaneously--or as good as if your hyperdrive computer hasn't been deactivated.
The movies are also populated with aliens of every shape and color. Not only have they conquered technology, but they don't seem to have a race problem. Nobody is really putting down the blue people for instance or picking on someone because they have six legs or no legs if you're a Hutt. It's an equal opportunity universe where plenty of prejudices still exist and even a smattering of slavery. I find it rather humanizing that unlike Star Trek the world here isn't perfect. There are still bad parts and nasty people. Bribery and smuggling still exist. Greed and lust for power are motivations. Money passes hands. People are still imperfect. (Compared to say Star Trek where everyone works hard because they want to? or for the good of society? I was never sure, but they don't seem worried about paychecks.)
And can we have a little aside about Princess Leia. A princess who is kickass with a blaster. A no-nonsense girl who favors serious subjects. She's in the heart of every battle, withstanding torture and riding speeders with the best of them. But she can still look like a woman as she swings across a chasm. There's a role model!
So in Star Wars the inventive and imaginative settings and use of science and technology make it obvious this is science fiction. Until we come down to the heart of the plot and the Force.
The real center of the movies is a duel between two sides of the Force--the Sith and the Jedi.
As Han Solo calls it, the Force is a hokey religion that makes use of ancient weapons. It's a power no one can see that allows certain people to manipulate it and have lightening fast reflexes, jump incredible distances, and sense things before they happen. Not to mention change the minds of the weak. In other words, it's magic.
Oh, the later movies tried to classify it as science, talking about the Midichlorian levels and microscopic beings who live in our cells for our mutual benefit. The Force pervades all life. The Midichlorians continually speak to us of the Force. It's still your dressed-up magic system however you rationalize it.
However you want to explain it, try and write a query letter about the heart of the plot of Star Wars and you have to include the Force. And what is the Force but a key aspect of the fantasy genre.
What does the story really come down to. A spunky princess, a roguish smuggler, a hero-to-be fighting the evil dictator. It has themes of honor and valor like most fantasy. It speaks to redemption. All typical themes of fantasy.
Star Wars is mix of science fiction and fantasy. A common problem that faces many writers when they try to classify their work. It's a blending of the two--a hybrid! And like any good hybrid it takes the best of both worlds and brings them together to make something greater!
So take heart everyone who has trouble classifying their manuscript. If your story has a little bit of this genre and some of that genre, you just might become the most popular story of all time!
December 16, 2015
Win Tons of SFF Books
My publisher Harper Voyager US is celebrating the end of the 2015 by giving away a copy of every book they published this year! That includes Grudging! So cool.
All you have to do to win is enter here. You can see the entire list there, too.
Thanks for being a fan of Harper Voyager books. Weâve been pretty lucky this year, because someone has said itâs okay for us to work on science fiction, fantasy, and horror books for a living.How ridiculous is that?(If you answered âVery,â then weâre with you. But weâre not going to keep working as long as they donât realize how crazy that is!)But besides that, weâve also gotten to partner with some amazing authors and publish some of the very best science fiction, fantasy, and horror. And sure, maybe weâre biased, but one thing you always have to remember: when an imprint publishes a book, weâve made a conscious decision to do itâbecause we love it.
All you have to do to win is enter here. You can see the entire list there, too.
December 15, 2015
Guest Post on Sequels
I'm over at Dan Koboldt's talking about how I managed to get a trilogy and giving advice on how to plan sequels when the first book hasn't sold yet.
December 14, 2015
Announcing Sun versus Snow in 2016
To help everyone prepare, here is the information you'll need to enter Sun versus Snow. The submission for Sun versus Snow will be February 1st at 4 pm Eastern time. Act fast. We will only be taking the first 200 entries. Please do not enter early or your entry will be deleted. You can resend at the proper time if this happens accidentally.
Confirmation emails will be sent. If you don't receive one, don't resend. We don't want duplicate entries. Please check with us on twitter first to confirm your entry did or did not arrive, then you may resend.
There is only ONE, yes that's right, ONE entry per person allowed. Any attempt to cheat will result in entries being thrown out.
This contest is only for finished and polished stories. The story can't have been in the agent round of any other contest. This is to provide fresh material for the agents and to give others a chance.
Amy and I have decided not to accept picture books for this contests. Though we love picture books, contests just don't seem to be the best place to get them requests. We do accept all MG, YA, NA and Adult genres, excluding erotica.
To enter you must be followers of our blogs. Click the 'join this site' button on my blog. You can find Amy's blog here.
The Format:
Send submission to Sunversussnow (at) yahoo (dot) com. Only one submission per person is allowed. It doesn't matter if you write under different names or are submitting different manuscripts. You are still one person and get one entry.
Here's how it should be formatted (yes, include the bolded!) Please use Times New Roman (or equivalent), 12 pt font, and put spaces between paragraphs. No indents or tabs are needed. No worries if your gmail doesn't have Times New Roman. No worries if the email messes up your format. Yes, we will still read it! :-)
(Here's a trick to keep your paragraph spacing: copy and paste your entry into your email and then put in the line spaces. They seem to get lost when you copy and paste. It may look right but sending scrambles the spacing.)
Subject Line: SVS: TITLE, Age Category + Genre (example: SVS: GRUDGING, Adult Epic Fantasy)
In The Email:
Title: MY FANTASTIC BOOK (yes, caps!)Genre: YA dystopian (Age category and genre. YA/MG is not a genre.)Word Count: XX,XXX (round to the nearest thousand)
My Main Character would use sun or snow to battle their biggest obstacle:
Which would your character find more helpful in fighting through their biggest obstacle--hot or cold. And why? Tell us which weather would be the most helpful to your character.
(Can be in your MC's POV, but doesn't have to be. 100 words or less.)
Query:
Query goes here! Include greeting and main paragraphs. Please leave out bio, closing, and word count + genre sentence. You may include comps if you'd like. There is no word count limit on the query but please aim for 250 - 300 words.
First 250 words:
Here are the first 250 words of my manuscript, and I will not end in the middle of a sentence. But I will not go over 257 words. Be reasonable and don't make us count. Don't forget to space between paragraphs!
That's it for now. Get those entries ready for February 1st and leave any questions in the comments or ask on twitter.
Mentors and agents will be posted in January. As of now, we have fifteen fabulous agents!
Also stay tuned for Michelle's Free Pass. It could happen at any time. She hasn't really decided.
Happy holidays and we can't wait to get started!
Confirmation emails will be sent. If you don't receive one, don't resend. We don't want duplicate entries. Please check with us on twitter first to confirm your entry did or did not arrive, then you may resend.
There is only ONE, yes that's right, ONE entry per person allowed. Any attempt to cheat will result in entries being thrown out.
This contest is only for finished and polished stories. The story can't have been in the agent round of any other contest. This is to provide fresh material for the agents and to give others a chance.
Amy and I have decided not to accept picture books for this contests. Though we love picture books, contests just don't seem to be the best place to get them requests. We do accept all MG, YA, NA and Adult genres, excluding erotica.
To enter you must be followers of our blogs. Click the 'join this site' button on my blog. You can find Amy's blog here.
The Format:
Send submission to Sunversussnow (at) yahoo (dot) com. Only one submission per person is allowed. It doesn't matter if you write under different names or are submitting different manuscripts. You are still one person and get one entry.
Here's how it should be formatted (yes, include the bolded!) Please use Times New Roman (or equivalent), 12 pt font, and put spaces between paragraphs. No indents or tabs are needed. No worries if your gmail doesn't have Times New Roman. No worries if the email messes up your format. Yes, we will still read it! :-)
(Here's a trick to keep your paragraph spacing: copy and paste your entry into your email and then put in the line spaces. They seem to get lost when you copy and paste. It may look right but sending scrambles the spacing.)
Subject Line: SVS: TITLE, Age Category + Genre (example: SVS: GRUDGING, Adult Epic Fantasy)
In The Email:
Title: MY FANTASTIC BOOK (yes, caps!)Genre: YA dystopian (Age category and genre. YA/MG is not a genre.)Word Count: XX,XXX (round to the nearest thousand)
My Main Character would use sun or snow to battle their biggest obstacle:
Which would your character find more helpful in fighting through their biggest obstacle--hot or cold. And why? Tell us which weather would be the most helpful to your character.
(Can be in your MC's POV, but doesn't have to be. 100 words or less.)
Query:
Query goes here! Include greeting and main paragraphs. Please leave out bio, closing, and word count + genre sentence. You may include comps if you'd like. There is no word count limit on the query but please aim for 250 - 300 words.
First 250 words:
Here are the first 250 words of my manuscript, and I will not end in the middle of a sentence. But I will not go over 257 words. Be reasonable and don't make us count. Don't forget to space between paragraphs!
That's it for now. Get those entries ready for February 1st and leave any questions in the comments or ask on twitter.
Mentors and agents will be posted in January. As of now, we have fifteen fabulous agents!
Also stay tuned for Michelle's Free Pass. It could happen at any time. She hasn't really decided.
Happy holidays and we can't wait to get started!
December 11, 2015
The Quiet Gender Glass Ceiling in Fantasy
I was reading through some discussion groups on Goodreads last week and saw a thread asking for favorite female fantasy/science fiction writers. There were many names there, but that got me thinking. The number of great female fantasy writers debuting lately keeps going up. We have a history of greats from earlier years like Ursula le Guin, Andre Norton, and Anne McCaffrey. But I still see reports of women writing under their initials in my genre so they can possibly be mistaken for men. Uh, J.K. Rowling anyone?
An author at my publisher told me her books sold better when she changed to her initials. And this was recently.
Then I looked at a different discussion thread. This one asked for people's top five epic fantasy authors. When asked about their "favorite" fantasy/science fiction writers, the lists are full of male writers. There might be one woman included on maybe half the lists. The names that come up over and over are Martin, Butcher, Sanderson, Rothfuss, Tolkien with a scattering of other males like Sullivan and Brooks. The occasional woman does make an individual's list but usually down at the bottom around number five.
This seems to be particular true in my subgenre of epic fantasy. Most of the recent successful women authors are more inclined to appear in lists of urban fantasy. Or else they write for young adult.
When will that change?
Are women writers not as good with writing fantasy or science fiction? Are we always seen as writing "fluffy" versions of fantasy or science fiction? Books that are all about feelings and love triangles. I can't believe the first and I don't think the second is true by a long shot.
Is it a matter of timing? This genre has been a man's game for so long that women are still trying to keep up. Maybe twenty years ago that could be true, but this argument doesn't hold water anymore. There have been plenty of women writers for plenty of years. So why can't we crack the top five lists?
It wasn't that long ago that hurtful gender comments came out, of all places, the SFWA. That's the organization for science fiction and fantasy writers of America meant to support writers. Some male writers there made disparaging comments about their female colleagues, making it feel more like the SFMWA (science fiction and fantasy male writers of America). If they still feel this way, does the reading public also?
Maybe the problem lies in publishers providing more support for their male authors. Do they get better marketing? Or are male authors just more able to attend major cons and make panels for fantasy and science fiction? More able to leave their families and travel?
Are men just better at speaking up and clawing their way forward? Maybe they are less afraid and feel more entitled to advertise their writing. I bet they don't feel embarrassed they are making a pest of themselves on social media.
Maybe male readers are afraid to try female written books and find them equally good. Or maybe most readers of SFF are still male. I find that unlikely. All the groups of SFF lovers seems equally split between men and women.
I don't really know the answer. I just feel the invisible discrimination in these top five lists. I'm not saying the male writers should be held back or the female writers should get special treatment. I'm just saying why isn't there parity? Why do males continue to dominate? When will female writers see equal success and head the top five lists?
I admit that as a fantasy writer I have a vested interest in seeing this glass ceiling go away. But I'd still feel this way if I didn't. Yet, I can't help wondering if I'd sell better if I used Michael instead of Michelle.
In the interest of plugging amazing female writers of epic fantasy, I want to mention Kristen Britain and her Green Writer series, Kate Elliott and her many series, including Jaran and Crown of Stars, and Rachel Aaron with her Legend of Eli Monpress series. There are many more, but those are three of my favorites. I want to plug a couple of just starting fantasy writing women in Vicki Weavil and Rena Rocford and Holly Jennings.
Tell me what you think. Do you sense the same problem and who are your favorite female authors? Does that quiet gender discrimination still exist? Do women have a glass ceiling in fantasy or is it my imagination?
And if you're male and reading this, do you read female authors? If not, give one a try, as an experiment if nothing else.
An author at my publisher told me her books sold better when she changed to her initials. And this was recently.
Then I looked at a different discussion thread. This one asked for people's top five epic fantasy authors. When asked about their "favorite" fantasy/science fiction writers, the lists are full of male writers. There might be one woman included on maybe half the lists. The names that come up over and over are Martin, Butcher, Sanderson, Rothfuss, Tolkien with a scattering of other males like Sullivan and Brooks. The occasional woman does make an individual's list but usually down at the bottom around number five.
This seems to be particular true in my subgenre of epic fantasy. Most of the recent successful women authors are more inclined to appear in lists of urban fantasy. Or else they write for young adult.
When will that change?
Are women writers not as good with writing fantasy or science fiction? Are we always seen as writing "fluffy" versions of fantasy or science fiction? Books that are all about feelings and love triangles. I can't believe the first and I don't think the second is true by a long shot.
Is it a matter of timing? This genre has been a man's game for so long that women are still trying to keep up. Maybe twenty years ago that could be true, but this argument doesn't hold water anymore. There have been plenty of women writers for plenty of years. So why can't we crack the top five lists?
It wasn't that long ago that hurtful gender comments came out, of all places, the SFWA. That's the organization for science fiction and fantasy writers of America meant to support writers. Some male writers there made disparaging comments about their female colleagues, making it feel more like the SFMWA (science fiction and fantasy male writers of America). If they still feel this way, does the reading public also?
Maybe the problem lies in publishers providing more support for their male authors. Do they get better marketing? Or are male authors just more able to attend major cons and make panels for fantasy and science fiction? More able to leave their families and travel?
Are men just better at speaking up and clawing their way forward? Maybe they are less afraid and feel more entitled to advertise their writing. I bet they don't feel embarrassed they are making a pest of themselves on social media.
Maybe male readers are afraid to try female written books and find them equally good. Or maybe most readers of SFF are still male. I find that unlikely. All the groups of SFF lovers seems equally split between men and women.
I don't really know the answer. I just feel the invisible discrimination in these top five lists. I'm not saying the male writers should be held back or the female writers should get special treatment. I'm just saying why isn't there parity? Why do males continue to dominate? When will female writers see equal success and head the top five lists?
I admit that as a fantasy writer I have a vested interest in seeing this glass ceiling go away. But I'd still feel this way if I didn't. Yet, I can't help wondering if I'd sell better if I used Michael instead of Michelle.
In the interest of plugging amazing female writers of epic fantasy, I want to mention Kristen Britain and her Green Writer series, Kate Elliott and her many series, including Jaran and Crown of Stars, and Rachel Aaron with her Legend of Eli Monpress series. There are many more, but those are three of my favorites. I want to plug a couple of just starting fantasy writing women in Vicki Weavil and Rena Rocford and Holly Jennings.
Tell me what you think. Do you sense the same problem and who are your favorite female authors? Does that quiet gender discrimination still exist? Do women have a glass ceiling in fantasy or is it my imagination?
And if you're male and reading this, do you read female authors? If not, give one a try, as an experiment if nothing else.
