Krista Van Dolzer's Blog, page 13
September 14, 2016
An Agent's Inbox #14
Dear Ms. Johnson-Blalock,
Professor Beatrice Blake always figured that by twenty-six she’d feel like an adult instead of an awkward teenage PhD student. Despite all her accomplishments, the bookish girl still dominates.
A relationship with the new ski instructor, Jake, should do the trick. Athletic, light-hearted, and far outside the academic realm, Beatrice reasons he’ll bring variety to her life. Jake insists he likes her old-fashioned ways. Until her inability to even say the word s-e-x, l...
Professor Beatrice Blake always figured that by twenty-six she’d feel like an adult instead of an awkward teenage PhD student. Despite all her accomplishments, the bookish girl still dominates.
A relationship with the new ski instructor, Jake, should do the trick. Athletic, light-hearted, and far outside the academic realm, Beatrice reasons he’ll bring variety to her life. Jake insists he likes her old-fashioned ways. Until her inability to even say the word s-e-x, l...
September 12, 2016
Now Accepting Entries
I'm now accepting entries for this week's round of "An Agent's Inbox." Here's a quick refresher:
The Rules
1. To enter, your manuscript must meet two conditions: First, it must be COMPLETE, POLISHED, AND READY TO QUERY, and second, it must be in one of the genres The Agent represents (which are listed at the bottom of this post).
2. IF YOU PARTICIPATED IN AUGUST'S ROUND OF “AN AGENT’S INBOX,” please DO NOT participate in this one UNLESS YOUR HAVE A NEW MANUSCRIPT that meets the criteria listed a...
The Rules
1. To enter, your manuscript must meet two conditions: First, it must be COMPLETE, POLISHED, AND READY TO QUERY, and second, it must be in one of the genres The Agent represents (which are listed at the bottom of this post).
2. IF YOU PARTICIPATED IN AUGUST'S ROUND OF “AN AGENT’S INBOX,” please DO NOT participate in this one UNLESS YOUR HAVE A NEW MANUSCRIPT that meets the criteria listed a...
September 8, 2016
"An Agent's Inbox" Contest Alert
THIS IS NOT A CALL FOR ENTRIES! I'M JUST GIVING YOU A HEADS-UP. THE CONTEST OPENS NEXT MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12.
“An Agent's Inbox” is exactly what it sounds like--next week, I'm turning the blog into an agent's inbox, a public one. We'll get to see 25 queries along with their first pages, and we'll get to hear what a bona fide agent thinks of each one.
The queries and first pages will be yours, of course. I'll accept your entries this Monday, September 12, and then I'll post them next Wednesday, S...
“An Agent's Inbox” is exactly what it sounds like--next week, I'm turning the blog into an agent's inbox, a public one. We'll get to see 25 queries along with their first pages, and we'll get to hear what a bona fide agent thinks of each one.
The queries and first pages will be yours, of course. I'll accept your entries this Monday, September 12, and then I'll post them next Wednesday, S...
September 6, 2016
Book Review: THE CHANGELINGS by Christina Soontornvat
When fellow Sourcebooks author Christina Soontornvat asked if she could send me an ARC of her upcoming THE CHANGELINGS, my answer was something like, "Um, yes!" As I'm sure you've noticed, I don't do book reviews often, but I'm always up for reading and reviewing books for friends and longtime blog readers.THE CHANGELINGS opens with eleven-year-old Izzy and seven-year-old Hen's move back to the small town in which their father was born. A high-spirited girl who's memorized Grimms' fairy...
September 2, 2016
A Winner, a Book Review, and "An Agent's Inbox"
And the winner of Sarah S. Reida's MONSTERVILLE is momslifesponderings! Congratulations, Dana! I'll e-mail you shortly to get your mailing address so I can pass it along to Ms. Weiss.
In other news, I'll have a book review for you as soon as we get back from Labor Day. Christina Soontornvat's THE CHANGELINGS comes out this Tuesday, and she was kind enough to give me a sneak peek. (Hint: if you like fantastical adventures and/or surprise endings, you're sure to love THE CHANGELINGS!)
Also,...
In other news, I'll have a book review for you as soon as we get back from Labor Day. Christina Soontornvat's THE CHANGELINGS comes out this Tuesday, and she was kind enough to give me a sneak peek. (Hint: if you like fantastical adventures and/or surprise endings, you're sure to love THE CHANGELINGS!)
Also,...
August 18, 2016
From Submission to Offer with Alison Weiss
I'm thrilled to share my interview with Alison Weiss, an editor at Sky Pony Press. I got to pick her brain about Sarah S. Reida's MONSTERVILLE: A LISSA BLACK PRODUCTION, which comes out on September 20, but we're giving away a signed copy right here. DETAILS ON THAT GIVEAWAY ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST, but in the meantime, enjoy the interview!KV: First off, tell us a bit about MONSTERVILLE. What is it about, and what did you love about it?
AW: If I had to give a one-liner for Monstervi...
August 10, 2016
SOLD
When you sell your first manuscript, you're ecstatic. Your lifelong dream is (finally, always finally) coming true. You did it. You really did it.
But you can't make a career out of selling your first manuscript (unless your name is J.K. Rowling or Stephenie Meyer). You've got to keep selling them, and as I mentioned in this post, that was the one thing I hadn't been able to do.
Until now.
From Publishers Weekly: Brett Wright at Bloomsbury has won at auction Krista Van Dolzer's Don't Solve...
But you can't make a career out of selling your first manuscript (unless your name is J.K. Rowling or Stephenie Meyer). You've got to keep selling them, and as I mentioned in this post, that was the one thing I hadn't been able to do.
Until now.
From Publishers Weekly: Brett Wright at Bloomsbury has won at auction Krista Van Dolzer's Don't Solve...
August 9, 2016
Ms. Nelson's Winners!
Ms. Nelson picked her two favorite entries:
#8 KISSING A SUPERHERO
#14 MENDOCINO MUSIC
Ms. Nelson would like to request your first 50 pages!
She also picked a runner-up:
#4 NPC: NON-PLAYER CHARACTER
Ms. Nelson would like to critique your first 10 pages!
Congratulations, winners! Please e-mail me at kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com for instructions on how to submit your materials.
Thank you, Ms. Nelson, for taking the time to read and critique everyone's entries. And thank you, everyone else, for reading,...
#8 KISSING A SUPERHERO
#14 MENDOCINO MUSIC
Ms. Nelson would like to request your first 50 pages!
She also picked a runner-up:
#4 NPC: NON-PLAYER CHARACTER
Ms. Nelson would like to critique your first 10 pages!
Congratulations, winners! Please e-mail me at kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com for instructions on how to submit your materials.
Thank you, Ms. Nelson, for taking the time to read and critique everyone's entries. And thank you, everyone else, for reading,...
August 3, 2016
On Your Marks, Get Set, Critique!
Check out the entries below, then leave some feedback in the comments if you feel so inclined. (ENTRANTS, PLEASE REMEMBER TO CRITIQUE AT LEAST THREE OTHER ENTRIES!) And I'm sure this goes without saying, but please keep your comments constructive (i.e., not rude or mean-spirited). If you want to think like The Agent, you might consider the question, "How much of the entry did you read, and if you didn't read it all, why did you stop?"
I'll announce Ms. Nelson's winners and prizes at the beginn...
I'll announce Ms. Nelson's winners and prizes at the beginn...
An Agent's Inbox #14
Dear Ms. Nelson,
A decade after September 11th killed her voice teacher and her opera career, a still-traumatized soprano returns to Mendocino, where her rekindled passion for music threatens her relationships with her husband and son.
MENDOCINO MUSIC, upmarket women’s fiction complete at 96,000 words, explores the sacrifices necessary when talent pulls in one direction and love in another. New Yorker Marina Bridgepoint and her teen-aged son Jimbo move to her childhood home when her husband’s j...
A decade after September 11th killed her voice teacher and her opera career, a still-traumatized soprano returns to Mendocino, where her rekindled passion for music threatens her relationships with her husband and son.
MENDOCINO MUSIC, upmarket women’s fiction complete at 96,000 words, explores the sacrifices necessary when talent pulls in one direction and love in another. New Yorker Marina Bridgepoint and her teen-aged son Jimbo move to her childhood home when her husband’s j...
