Krista Van Dolzer's Blog, page 2

What Do You Think of This Query for My YA Fantasy?

As many of you know, my agent medically retired toward the beginning of last year. I'd already been struggling to come up with my next project, and this setback didn't help. Gladly, #PitchMe came along, which gave me time to plot and plan. I wrote and revised a PB as soon as #PitchMe was done, then started working on a YA I'd been pondering for months. I've nearly finished the first draft, so now I'm just starting to think about how to pitch this project. It's still several months away from bein...

When Hindsight Becomes Foresight

Spoiler alert: this blog post mentions infertility, depression, and suicidal ideation. I've tried to address these topics with sensitivity and authenticity, but if you need to skip this post for the sake of your own mental health, I completely understand.
About seven years ago, I decided it was time to have another kid. We already had three, but I'd thought for several years that our family wouldn't be complete until we had one more, and now the time finally felt right. My depression was under co...

#PitchMe 2023 Results

Our most successful round of #PitchMe EVER came to a close last week, and once again, I'm delightfully worn out. All told, this year's pitches racked up 95 total likes, several of which came from 6 additional agents and an extra editor who jumped in to make requests over the course of the day. What's more, EVERY SINGLE ENTRY got at least one like this year! Here's a breakdown of the action:
#1 PB: WREN'S FRIENDS Amy Giuffrida, Saribel Pages#2 PB: EILEEN COLLINS: DETERMINED, FOCUSED, FIERCE - NASA...

#PitchMe Finalists 2023

Please note that we had several entries with very similar titles, so definitely make sure your title AND initials match before you get too excited:
PB
A.N.W.'s ECHO CAVEK.M.'s SPACE KNIFE: THE TRUE STORY OF KING TUT'S DAGGERE.E.'s THE COPPER-COLORED MITTENSM.T.'s EILEEN COLLINS: DETERMINED, FOCUSED, FIERCE - NASA'S FIRST FEMALE PILOT & MISSION COMMANDERS.G.'s THE BOY OF THE CINNAMON ISLANDM.S.'s WREN'S FRIENDSN.G.'s THE LOCKDOWN RULE
MG
C.L.'s TANGLED UP (contemporary)M.B.'s WHAT LINGERS AT THE CRES...

A Couple of Notes on This Year's #PitchMe Entries

First off, thank you, thank you, thank you for submitting to #PitchMe. This contest doesn't work if we don't get a hefty batch of super promising submissions, and once again, you guys delivered. We've finalized most of our picks, but this year's entries were so great that we're still dilly-dallying over the last couple of slots.
Overall Impressions
Maybe it's because I've gotten used to reading queries, but so many of the little things that stuck out to me last year didn't stick out to me this one...

Second Submission Window for #PitchMe 2023 Now Open

UPDATE: The submission windows are now closed. We received 84 PBs, 44 MGs, 49 YAs, and 84 adults for a total of 261 entries. Finalists will be announced on Wednesday, September 20!
Welcome to #PitchMe 2023! To enter, your manuscript must meet two conditions. First, it must be COMPLETE, NEVER-PUBLISHED, AND READY TO QUERY, and second, it must be in one of the following genres:
PB fiction and nonfiction (all genres)MG fiction (all genres)YA fiction (all genres)Adult fiction (all genres, including co...

First Submission Window for #PitchMe 2023 Now Open

UPDATE: The first submission window is now closed, but the second will open tonight at 10:30 p.m. EDT. For your information, we've received 39 PBs, 29 MGs, 32 YAs, and 59 adults so far!
Welcome to #PitchMe 2023! To enter, your manuscript must meet two conditions. First, it must be COMPLETE, NEVER-PUBLISHED, AND READY TO QUERY, and second, it must be in one of the following genres:
PB fiction and nonfiction (all genres)MG fiction (all genres)YA fiction (all genres)Adult fiction (all genres, includi...

Everything You Need to Know for #PitchMe 2023

#PitchMe is back for its third season, and Tara Shiroff and I are ready to get to work. If you take what I love most about multi-agent query contests--mentoring great writers at wherever they happen to be on their publishing journey--and mash it up with a pitch fest, then you've basically got #PitchMe. Are you interested? Read on!
Here’s the timeline:

September 6: The submission windows open
September 20: Selected submissions announced
September 20-October 24: Mentoring takes place
October 25: Revise...

One Thing I Enjoyed About EVERY Book I Finished in 2022: HarperCollins Edition

I said I'd come back and fill in these missing reviews once the HarperCollins strike ended, so here I am, a month or two late but hopefully no dollars short. I felt especially bad about omitting my reviews for Tiffany D. Jackson's titles, as I read both WHITE SMOKE and THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD last year and was blown away by both, so don't miss those ones below!
1. WHEN WE MAKE IT by Elisabet Velasquez I'd just started writing my first full-length novel-in-verse at this same time last year, so I picke...

One Thing I Enjoyed About EVERY Book I Finished in 2022

Last year, I had a great time combing through my Goodreads list to come up with my top ten reads of 2021. This year, I decided to make a comprehensive list of one thing I enjoyed about EVERY book I finished in 2022. (Note that I've included every book I FINISHED, not necessarily every book I read. Sometimes I set books aside for one reason or another, which is such a subjective metric that I don't keep track of them.)
1. WHEN WE MAKE IT by Elisabet Velasquez I'd just started writing my first full...