Hi! I'm keeping content here, but I've moved, please find me over at EllieWrites2.com. See you there!
Showing posts with label EllieWrites2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EllieWrites2. Show all posts
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Getting Ready for #pitchwars on Monday, 11/26, Plus #pitchmas Coming Up
Okay, there's been a lot of twitter chatter on this next contest, so I'm including a bit more detail than usual. However, you'll still need to follow the links for the full details.
On Monday, 11/26 Brenda Drake and a team of authors will be hosting PitchWars.
On December 4-6, Pitchmas, A Holiday Pitchfest (multi agent/editor) will be happening on Jessa Russo and FeakySnucker's blogs. On December 4th Jessa will be hosting a pitch polishing workshop leading up to the first opportunity to pitch that evening on Tamara (FeakySnucker) Blog. PLUS a list of participating editors and agents is up for anyone who wants to peruse:
Red Sofa Literary Agency, in honor of NaNoWriMo is posting writing and submission advice every day! Day #13 - Best time to Query is good, as is Day #10 - Revise, Revise and Revise again. Heck all of them are good, go and take a look.
Lit Reactor had a good post recently about Eight Words to Seek and Destroy in your Manuscript. They always have interesting and informative articles as well - from editorials on the Sock Puppet incidents at Amazon (and Amazon's reaction) to grammar tips to a discussion titled "Should Some Books Be Banned?" Not a bad place to check out or subscribe to the 'feed' for. (They also have classes and seminars, however I have no experience with them and cannot personally recommend them, so do your due diligence and ask around, read reviews, etc, before signing up)
Rachelle Gardner is on a roll with posts on What Does Your Online Activity Say About You?, 'The Best Blogging Tip Ever' and Writing a One Sentence Summary.
Finally one several of my friends (an myself as well!) can relate to: Writer Beware Blogs Guest Blog Post: Mustering the Courage to Turn Down a Publishing Contract. While the hosts of all these contests I link to do their best to provide clear and unfettered access to publishers and agents, you still need to do your due diligence and check out each one. I'd suggest you do it prior to entering so if there's a request for more information you can go in eyes wide open and not just in a heady rush. To be clear, I'm not saying there have been any publishers which are on any of the 'beware' lists, or anything of that nature, in any contest that I am aware of, just that it make sense to not automatically assume a publisher (or agent) is in 'good standing' because they are taking part in a contest. (and that was clear as mud, but hopefully you get the point)
Along the same vein, Sarah LaPolla's blog post on 'Shady Business' ties in well with the above post. She talks about 'new' agents who have no experience as well as new (e)publishers and has EXCELLENT advice on what to look for (and what to watch out for).
Happy reading, and to those people participating in NaNoWriMo, go, go go! Fingers crossed you make your goal. (Making a note to myself, if I ever organize a pitch contest, I might want to run it the last week of November. People should be over their exhaustion from the explosion of Fall contests. Maybe a 'black friday' one. Liking this idea! Something to mull over for next year).
AND here are the mentors!:We're extremely excited to announce an upcoming event where agented authors, industry interns, and editors team up with aspiring writers to shine up their manuscripts and pitches to present to some awesome agents.
Here's the deets...
· The teams will consist of 1 agented author or industry intern or editor (coaches) and 1 aspiring author.
· November 26: The coaches (listed on the linky below) will post on their blogs what genre/category they want to coach. They'll be very specific genres. Aspiring writers will hop around and decide which coaches best fit their manuscripts.
· Between November 26- December 5: Aspiring writers will submit 3 "applications" to their top choices for coaches to the contest email (check site for parameters, formatting, etc!) That means, participants will send three separate emails to the contest email addressing each with one of their three top choices for coach.
Lots of YA, but some NA and four Adult in there too. A great opportunity to get some feedback on your manuscript AND query and get it in front of an agent. :-) .REMINDER: You can send an application for up to 3 coaches.Our mentors ...
Linky Widget expiration: 8 days ago.
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On December 4-6, Pitchmas, A Holiday Pitchfest (multi agent/editor) will be happening on Jessa Russo and FeakySnucker's blogs. On December 4th Jessa will be hosting a pitch polishing workshop leading up to the first opportunity to pitch that evening on Tamara (FeakySnucker) Blog. PLUS a list of participating editors and agents is up for anyone who wants to peruse:
With NaNoWriMo winding down I expect there may be a spate of other contests in mid-December, before the holiday lull. In the mean time, if you missed them last week, a bunch of sites have been posting some great writing advice:This will be a three-day event (you will not have to participate in all three days if you don't want to) where your peers will first help you hone your Twitter/Blog pitches and then you will have the chance to pitch your manuscript to your dream editor or literary agent!!! *All manuscripts must be completed and polished.
Red Sofa Literary Agency, in honor of NaNoWriMo is posting writing and submission advice every day! Day #13 - Best time to Query is good, as is Day #10 - Revise, Revise and Revise again. Heck all of them are good, go and take a look.
Lit Reactor had a good post recently about Eight Words to Seek and Destroy in your Manuscript. They always have interesting and informative articles as well - from editorials on the Sock Puppet incidents at Amazon (and Amazon's reaction) to grammar tips to a discussion titled "Should Some Books Be Banned?" Not a bad place to check out or subscribe to the 'feed' for. (They also have classes and seminars, however I have no experience with them and cannot personally recommend them, so do your due diligence and ask around, read reviews, etc, before signing up)
Rachelle Gardner is on a roll with posts on What Does Your Online Activity Say About You?, 'The Best Blogging Tip Ever' and Writing a One Sentence Summary.
Finally one several of my friends (an myself as well!) can relate to: Writer Beware Blogs Guest Blog Post: Mustering the Courage to Turn Down a Publishing Contract. While the hosts of all these contests I link to do their best to provide clear and unfettered access to publishers and agents, you still need to do your due diligence and check out each one. I'd suggest you do it prior to entering so if there's a request for more information you can go in eyes wide open and not just in a heady rush. To be clear, I'm not saying there have been any publishers which are on any of the 'beware' lists, or anything of that nature, in any contest that I am aware of, just that it make sense to not automatically assume a publisher (or agent) is in 'good standing' because they are taking part in a contest. (and that was clear as mud, but hopefully you get the point)
Along the same vein, Sarah LaPolla's blog post on 'Shady Business' ties in well with the above post. She talks about 'new' agents who have no experience as well as new (e)publishers and has EXCELLENT advice on what to look for (and what to watch out for).
Happy reading, and to those people participating in NaNoWriMo, go, go go! Fingers crossed you make your goal. (Making a note to myself, if I ever organize a pitch contest, I might want to run it the last week of November. People should be over their exhaustion from the explosion of Fall contests. Maybe a 'black friday' one. Liking this idea! Something to mull over for next year).
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Thankful Post, The Second
Well clearly I should never sign up for a blog hop where I need to post daily updates the week before I'm helping out with a large art show! Uber bad timing on my part. So right now what I'm most I'm thankful for is everyone's understanding for the long delay between posts. :-)
This post is dedicated to my critique groups and partners. I've been a few over the years and they've really helped me grow as a writer. Plus I've made some great friends. Through them I've been exposed to a wide variety of writing, which is always a good thing. And been pushed and prodded to finish and submit. And been part of a discussion on... hmm, given the number of YA authors on this blog, probably should skip that one. :-)
So, thank you RWU - Romance Writers Unlimited (now defunct, :-( ), Critique Circle, (and, um, one which Daw used to sponsor but I can't remember the name of...) and ERA (Erotic Romance Authors - who are looking for members if you're interested!) plus my new partners who are helping me out (you know who you are). Getting non-family, non-judgmental feedback is so important.
Which leads me to my writing tip:
Learn to take criticism. Seriously, if you can't take criticism as a writer you're in the wrong profession. Because with a good critique you will have, NEED to have, people point out what's not working so you can fix it. And sometimes, no matter how much you think it's just fine, it isn't.
I'm not saying it doesn't hurt sometimes. It can be quite painful. But you need to step back, look at what they are saying, read what you wrote *through their eyes using the filter of their comments* and figure out a) what you need to fix and b) how to fix it.
The other thing you need to do is not think your work is awful because someone points out an area which needs work during the writing process. Holy cow, everyone revises and edits. EVERYONE. Steven King, JK Rowling, John Green, Herman Wouk. Just because someone thinks you need to clarify/boost/skip an area, work on a character, evaluate the story arc, rethink your conflict doesn't mean you're a terrible writer. It means they want to help you make your story even better. And you can do it! So go forth, find someone to give you feed back and write an even better story!
This post is dedicated to my critique groups and partners. I've been a few over the years and they've really helped me grow as a writer. Plus I've made some great friends. Through them I've been exposed to a wide variety of writing, which is always a good thing. And been pushed and prodded to finish and submit. And been part of a discussion on... hmm, given the number of YA authors on this blog, probably should skip that one. :-)
So, thank you RWU - Romance Writers Unlimited (now defunct, :-( ), Critique Circle, (and, um, one which Daw used to sponsor but I can't remember the name of...) and ERA (Erotic Romance Authors - who are looking for members if you're interested!) plus my new partners who are helping me out (you know who you are). Getting non-family, non-judgmental feedback is so important.
Which leads me to my writing tip:
Learn to take criticism. Seriously, if you can't take criticism as a writer you're in the wrong profession. Because with a good critique you will have, NEED to have, people point out what's not working so you can fix it. And sometimes, no matter how much you think it's just fine, it isn't.
I'm not saying it doesn't hurt sometimes. It can be quite painful. But you need to step back, look at what they are saying, read what you wrote *through their eyes using the filter of their comments* and figure out a) what you need to fix and b) how to fix it.
The other thing you need to do is not think your work is awful because someone points out an area which needs work during the writing process. Holy cow, everyone revises and edits. EVERYONE. Steven King, JK Rowling, John Green, Herman Wouk. Just because someone thinks you need to clarify/boost/skip an area, work on a character, evaluate the story arc, rethink your conflict doesn't mean you're a terrible writer. It means they want to help you make your story even better. And you can do it! So go forth, find someone to give you feed back and write an even better story!
Friday, November 9, 2012
Thankful Post, the first - My Kids
Yes, it's cliche. That doesn't make it any less true.
I am very thankful for my kids who really ground me. As a single parent I am the sole shuttler, the sole feeder and the sole advisor/disciplinarian. With all these hats, and more, my kids understand that people have many different roles in life and totally 'get' that sometimes, particularly when I am caught up in a scene, I am a writer and support me in my role. Okay, maybe not so much when my older teen complains that he needs to eat now!, (working on that self sufficiency thing) but generally, particularly as they've hit their teen years, they leave me to do my thing when I tell them I'm sitting down to do some writing.
And that ties into my writing advice. Make your characters multi-dimensional. No one has just one role in life, they are a son or daughter, a person within a community, they are what people see them to be and they are what they see themselves to be. Show them in these roles, have them act in slightly different ways around different people. Are they less likely to curse around their parents? Are they going to be more patient with kids? Plus try to avoid cliches, find the unique, unexpected aspect of their personality, the person no one expects them to be, and show us that too.
This is part of a series of post for a blog hop started by Brenda Drake. Please be sure to visit the other participants!
I am very thankful for my kids who really ground me. As a single parent I am the sole shuttler, the sole feeder and the sole advisor/disciplinarian. With all these hats, and more, my kids understand that people have many different roles in life and totally 'get' that sometimes, particularly when I am caught up in a scene, I am a writer and support me in my role. Okay, maybe not so much when my older teen complains that he needs to eat now!, (working on that self sufficiency thing) but generally, particularly as they've hit their teen years, they leave me to do my thing when I tell them I'm sitting down to do some writing.
And that ties into my writing advice. Make your characters multi-dimensional. No one has just one role in life, they are a son or daughter, a person within a community, they are what people see them to be and they are what they see themselves to be. Show them in these roles, have them act in slightly different ways around different people. Are they less likely to curse around their parents? Are they going to be more patient with kids? Plus try to avoid cliches, find the unique, unexpected aspect of their personality, the person no one expects them to be, and show us that too.
This is part of a series of post for a blog hop started by Brenda Drake. Please be sure to visit the other participants!
| 1. | Casey Roach | 9. | Amy Trueblood | 17. | Jessika Fleck |
| 2. | Sarah J. Clift | 10. | Swagger Writers | 18. | Johana Vera |
| 3. | Fiona McLaren | 11. | Michelle Smith | 19. | Carrie Crain |
| 4. | Lizzy Froehle | 12. | Abby Cavenaugh | 20. | Katie Teller |
| 5. | Rachel @ Rachel writes things | 13. | Talynn Lynn | 21. | Debbie Causevic |
| 6. | Sarah Guillory | 14. | Veronica Bartles | 22. | You're next! |
| 7. | Robin Weeks | 15. | Ellie Heller | ||
| 8. | Stacey Trombley | 16. | Manju Howard |
Monday, October 22, 2012
10/22 Upcoming Multi-Agent Pitch/Query Contests: #bakersdozen #agenttreat #pitchmas
I'm trying to clean up my upcoming contest list. One thing I've noticed, there definitely seems to be some burnout right now. Mother. Write. (Repeat.) cancelled her monthly "Agent Inbox" (where people have the opportunity to be chosen submit a query to be read by an agent who then blogs instant feedback on the query on the blog).
However, if you're just jumping in and haven't done a query contest before, Sticking To The Story has a wonderful post on what to expect and how to get ready. Even if you've done them before there's LOTS of helpful information there.
Short list right now. Here are the multi-agented contests:
The ONLY multi-agent contest which has an entry this week (October 24), is Trick or Treat with Agents, so I'm going to put up the whole beautiful flyer they made up (it's hosted by the wonderful Brenda Drake, Kimberly Chase and Deanna Romito.) You will need to go the the blogs for information on agents wish lists and more particulars! (plus Brenda has a teaser up for her next big contest, Pitch Wars, which opens 12/10).
For this next week there's only one contest (that I am aware of) which has ONE agent/agency or publisher stopping by (at least that I know about). Miss Snark's First Victim will host Secret Agent (who is looking for MG and YA). The entry window for the lottery is on 10/22, so be sure to hop over to her blog to find out the details.
There are many blogs which host pitch contests for single agents, I don't have a complete list by any means. One of the best ways to find contests is on Twitter, by following authors you see on the contests, and the hosts and agents as well, you'll see information on new contests as the information hits the twitterverse.
Plus, up at the top of the blog, you'll see a link to a paper.li news article feed which pulls contest, agent news and publishing opportunities which I run across into one place. Easy to check and subscribe. There's general publishing news too, but mostly about pitch contests and submission opportunities. Wishing every who enters the best of luck!
First off, an apology: Due to unforeseen circumstances, I’m cancelling this month’s round of “An Agent’s Inbox.” And because of the general contest weariness I’ve noticed around the blogosphere/Twitterverse of late, I’m holding off on scheduling another until after New Year’s. I’m so sorry to anyone who was counting on entering a round this year!Plus, there's this piece from Natalie M. Lakosil, on an agent's perspective on the current frenzy of pitch and query opportunities and some agents feeling like they've seen a lot of the same things in multiple contests. I actually wasn't going to enter a contest because there were only two agents and one had already seen my entry multiple times. In the end I decided to enter because I had revised the story and there was that other agent. But the piece made a point I hadn't considered: keep track of which agents are participating in the contests so you'll know who's seen your work. I hadn't been doing that, but I will be now.
However, if you're just jumping in and haven't done a query contest before, Sticking To The Story has a wonderful post on what to expect and how to get ready. Even if you've done them before there's LOTS of helpful information there.
Short list right now. Here are the multi-agented contests:
The ONLY multi-agent contest which has an entry this week (October 24), is Trick or Treat with Agents, so I'm going to put up the whole beautiful flyer they made up (it's hosted by the wonderful Brenda Drake, Kimberly Chase and Deanna Romito.) You will need to go the the blogs for information on agents wish lists and more particulars! (plus Brenda has a teaser up for her next big contest, Pitch Wars, which opens 12/10).
The following week, on October 30 and November 1, Miss Snark's First Vicitim (MSFV for short) will have the first entry windows for the ADULT authors who want to try to get in to Baker's Dozen. (This week she's having the secret agent contest, information in the single agent/publishing house section below). Here are the windows for Bakers Dozen entries (be sure to go to the site for all the details!)
ADULT ROUND 1: Tuesday, October 30 (100 entries) ADULT ROUND 2: Thursday, November 1 (100 entries) YA/MG ROUND 1: Tuesday, November 6 (150 entries) YA/MG ROUND 2: Thursday, November 8 (150 entries)AFTER NaNoWriMo, December 4-6, Pitchmas, A Holiday Pitchfest will be happening on Jessa Russo and FeakySnucker's blogs:
This will be a three-day event (you will not have to participate in all three days if you don't want to) where your peers will first help you hone your Twitter/Blog pitches and then you will have the chance to pitch your manuscript to your dream editor or literary agent!!! *All manuscripts must be completed and polished.I'm keeping an eye on Cupid's Literary Connection, I'm guessing they'll have a contest announcement before the end of the month.
For this next week there's only one contest (that I am aware of) which has ONE agent/agency or publisher stopping by (at least that I know about). Miss Snark's First Victim will host Secret Agent (who is looking for MG and YA). The entry window for the lottery is on 10/22, so be sure to hop over to her blog to find out the details.
There are many blogs which host pitch contests for single agents, I don't have a complete list by any means. One of the best ways to find contests is on Twitter, by following authors you see on the contests, and the hosts and agents as well, you'll see information on new contests as the information hits the twitterverse.
Plus, up at the top of the blog, you'll see a link to a paper.li news article feed which pulls contest, agent news and publishing opportunities which I run across into one place. Easy to check and subscribe. There's general publishing news too, but mostly about pitch contests and submission opportunities. Wishing every who enters the best of luck!
Sunday, October 14, 2012
10/14 Upcoming Multi-Agent Pitch/Query Contests: #bakersdozen #agenttreat #pitchmas
Gearing up to Get an Agent is over, thanks to Deana Barnhart for all her hard work. Bummer that not all the small press editors made it over, but cool that those who did went to the 'source' blogs and made requests.
As for what's coming down the pike, I've only copied little snips of information from each blog. Be sure to click through for full details!
Before you submit, if you've been doing a lot of contests you might want to read this piece from Natalie M. Lakosil, on an agent's perspective on the current frenzy of pitch and query opportunities.
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THIS WEEK Miss Snark's First Victim will be having the third 'pre' contest chance to get your logline polished before her very popular Baker's Dozen Contest . This is one of the few opportunities which is running through November. Be aware there is a fee for everyone in the submission rounds. Information below:
Now for a couple of contests which have ONE agent/agency or publisher stopping by:
YAtopia and Down Under Wonderings are hosts for Pitchon. The OPPORTUNITY TO ENTER IS MONDAY, OCTOBER 15:
Up in my header there's a link to a paper.li news article feed which pulls contest, agent news and publishing opportunities which I run across into one place. Easy to check and subscribe. There's general publishing news too, but mostly about pitch contests and submission opportunities.
Entering any of these can help you get one step closer to becoming published.
Wishing everyone luck! (me too!)
If you've never done a query contest Sticking To The Story has a wonderful post on what to expect and how to get ready. Even if you've done them before there's LOTS of helpful information there.
p.s. There are many blogs which host pitch contests for single agents. For instance We Do Write has a monthly one (from their site: Our next Three-Two-One Pitch contest will be held November 15 + 16. Be sure to follow the blog and stay tuned for details!).
PITCH EVENTS HAPPENING MID-OCTOBER AND BEYOND
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I've divided these into two categories. The first is events that have multiple agents/editors looking at entries, and at the bottom I'll list some of the events which have single agents/publishers looking at entries. For this last category I can't possibly list them all so I will be making judgement calls on which ones to list..
THIS WEEK Miss Snark's First Victim will be having the third 'pre' contest chance to get your logline polished before her very popular Baker's Dozen Contest . This is one of the few opportunities which is running through November. Be aware there is a fee for everyone in the submission rounds. Information below:
We will have 3 critique rounds for those of you who would like feedback on your loglines prior to submitting. These rounds will be run as lotteries. Times TBA.
ROUND 1: Tuesday, September 25 (submissions on Monday, September 24)ROUND 2: Tuesday, October 9 (submissions on Monday, October 8)ROUND 3: Tuesday, October 16 (submissions on Monday, October 15)
SUBMISSION DATES FOR THE AUCTION
ADULT ROUND 1: Tuesday, October 30 (100 entries)
ADULT ROUND 2: Thursday, November 1 (100 entries)
YA/MG ROUND 1: Tuesday, November 6 (150 entries)
YA/MG ROUND 2: Thursday, November 8 (150 entries)
WINNER NOTIFICATION 25 adult category winners notified via email: Monday, November 12
35 YA/MG category winners notified via email: Monday, November 19
60 WINNING ENTRIES POSTED: Friday, November 30 AUCTION GOES LIVE FOR AGENTS: Tuesday, December 4 (for 24 hours)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Brenda Drake is hosting TWO Pitch events in October. The first of which you can sign up for NOW. Be ready to put yourself out there! #PITCHLIVE is all about 'live', or in this case video, pitches. YOU MUST SIGN UP AND HAVE YOUR PITCH 'LIVE' ON YOUR WEBSITE BY 8am MONDAY 10/15 TO ENTER THIS!
- There will be a $10 entry fee for this contest. Yes, that is $2 more than last year. Blame it on Paypal fees. (And no, I won't be raising the fee every year just for the fun of it. I feel like $10 is a fair entrance fee.) To avoid confusion: Yes, every entry must pay the fee. This is the ONLY EVENT I charge for, simply because of the amount of work it takes to pull it off.
- A maximum of 500 entries (200 adult, 300 YA/MG) will be accepted. Of these, 60 winners will be chosen (25 adult, 35 YA/MG). ++ (more information on site)
I'm so excited to announce PITCH LIVE! What is it, you ask? It's a video of your best elevator pitch to an agent. I wanted to give you guys enough time to produce a video of an elevator pitch for your finished novels, so I'm posting this now. We already have a couple agents signed up to view the top 30 videos (if we get that many), but there will be more agents. I'll announce the agents in a post soon. The contest is for Adult, New Adult, Young Adult, and Middle Grade fiction. The elevator pitch should be creative, as if you ran into an agent at a conference.And, coming up soon she'll have a special pre-halloween treat:
I'm thrilled to announce a very exciting and delicious contest that I was invited to co-hostwith the extremely talented Kimberly Chase and Deanna Romito. Submissions will open October 24th at 11 AM EDT with thefirst 150 entries making it in (all rules must be followed correctly to advance).
AFTER NaNoWriMo, December 4-6, Pitchmas, A Holiday Pitchfest will be happening on Jessa Russo and FeakySnucker's blogs:
This will be a three-day event (you will not have to participate in all three days if you don't want to) where your peers will first help you hone your Twitter/Blog pitches and then you will have the chance to pitch your manuscript to your dream editor or literary agent!!! *All manuscripts must be completed and polished..I'm keeping an eye on Cupid's Literary Connection, I'm guessing they'll have a contest announcement before the end of the month. For any of the blogs above I'd strongly suggest following them and/or subscribe to their feeds and you can be 'in the know' for when the next one comes up.
Now for a couple of contests which have ONE agent/agency or publisher stopping by:
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GOING ON RIGHT NOW! (no idea how long it'll be open) Pitch DIRECTLY to Deb Werksman at the Casablanca Authors Blog. You have to go to the site for formatting information, etc. (Not familiar with Sourcebooks Casablanca? Look here for information) A tease to tempt you:It’s one of those months when I don’t want to read my own writing—I want to read YOURS! Voila—time for a pitch session!These are the IRON-CLAD rules!1) ONLY single-title romance 85,000 to 100,000 words or commercial women’s fiction2) Erotic romance, paranormal, historical, romantic suspense, contemporary romance
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You have until Tuesday, October 16 to enter This Writers World's Spooktacular Pitch Event where the contestants in the final round will be bid on by two agents from the Corsiviero Literary Agency:.The Spooktacular Pitch Extravaganza will open for submissions on October 13 at 8am EDT and stay open until October 16 at 12am EDT. On October 17 I will pull 50 names and have you email me your pitches to a special contest email then. So make sure you check back on October 17! .... This contest is open to Adult, Young Adult, New Adult and Middle Grade fiction so bring it on!
YAtopia and Down Under Wonderings are hosts for Pitchon. The OPPORTUNITY TO ENTER IS MONDAY, OCTOBER 15:
Commissioning and Managing Editor of Hardie Grant Egmont, Marisa Pintado, will be poised and ready to take your pitches both here on YAtopia and on Down Under Wonderings on October 15th. Marisa is looking for YA in any genre and is accepting submissions from any where in the world. It's your chance to skip the slush pile and put your pitch right under the nose of a fantastic editor. There's even better news - there is no limit on how many requests Marisa will make from the contest.
Window submission times for October 15
Submission Window 1
Down Under Wonderings:
- New York: 12 am
- London: 5am
- Brisbane: 2pm
- Sydney: 3pm
Submission Window 2
YAtopia October 15:
- New York: 8 am
- London: 1pm
- Brisbane: 10pm
- Sydney: 11pm
Remember - there will only be 100 entries per blog. If you want to enter your own pitch to the workshops then this post will tell you all about how to submit your pitch. It's a good idea to do this if you're planning to enter the competition..
Up in my header there's a link to a paper.li news article feed which pulls contest, agent news and publishing opportunities which I run across into one place. Easy to check and subscribe. There's general publishing news too, but mostly about pitch contests and submission opportunities.
Entering any of these can help you get one step closer to becoming published.
Wishing everyone luck! (me too!)
If you've never done a query contest Sticking To The Story has a wonderful post on what to expect and how to get ready. Even if you've done them before there's LOTS of helpful information there.
p.s. There are many blogs which host pitch contests for single agents. For instance We Do Write has a monthly one (from their site: Our next Three-Two-One Pitch contest will be held November 15 + 16. Be sure to follow the blog and stay tuned for details!).
Sunday, October 7, 2012
10/7 Upcoming Multi-Agent Pitch/Query Contests: #bakersdozen #pitchlive #agenttreat #HLandS
Here's what I am aware of for the second week of October. Remember, if you know of more just comment here or tweet me at EllieWrites2 and I'll add. I've only copied little snips of information from each blog. Be sure to click through for full details! A lot of this looks familiar, but there is at least one new one out there!
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PITCH EVENTS HAPPENING IN THE FIRST HALF OF OCTOBER
I've divided these into two categories. The first is events that have multiple agents/editors looking at entries, and at the bottom I'll list some of the events which have single agents/publishers looking at entries. For this last category I can't possibly list them all so I will be making judgement calls on which ones to list.
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Entering any of these contests can help you get one step closer to becoming published. Many of them offer excellent feedback opportunities, something you do NOT get through regular querying.
Wishing everyone luck! (me too!)
If you've never done a query contest Sticking To The Story has a wonderful post on what to expect and how to get ready. Even if you've done them before there's LOTS of helpful information there.
***Note: This post is duplicated on my other blog as well. I will be transferring content from there slowly.
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PITCH EVENTS HAPPENING IN THE FIRST HALF OF OCTOBER
I've divided these into two categories. The first is events that have multiple agents/editors looking at entries, and at the bottom I'll list some of the events which have single agents/publishers looking at entries. For this last category I can't possibly list them all so I will be making judgement calls on which ones to list.
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THIS WEEK Miss Snark's First Victim will be having the second 'pre' contest chance to get your logline polished before her very popular Baker's Dozen Contest:
It's here! Well, almost. Welcome, everyone, to the season of the third annual BAKER'S DOZEN AGENT AUCTION! For the newcomers: The Baker's Dozen Agent Auction is MSFV's biggest event of the year. 60 250-word entries, hand-picked by Jodi Meadows and Authoress, will be placed on the auction block for agents to bid on (with requests for pages, up to a full manuscript request). It bears the name "Baker's Dozen" because the original auction in 2010 included 13 agents--a baker's dozen. The actual auction is in December, but the fun starts NOW! We will have 3 critique rounds for those of you who would like feedback on your loglines prior to submitting. These rounds will be run as lotteries. Times TBA.
ROUND 1: Tuesday, September 25 (submissions on Monday, September 24)ROUND 2: Tuesday, October 9 (submissions on Monday, October 8) ROUND 3: Tuesday, October 16 (submissions on Monday, October 15)
Brenda Drake is hosting TWO Pitch events in October. The first of which you can sign up for NOW. Be ready to put yourself out there! #PITCHLIVE is all about 'live', or in this case video, pitches.
I'm so excited to announce PITCH LIVE! What is it, you ask? It's a video of your best elevator pitch to an agent. I wanted to give you guys enough time to produce a video of an elevator pitch for your finished novels, so I'm posting this now. We already have a couple agents signed up to view the top 30 videos (if we get that many), but there will be more agents. I'll announce the agents in a post soon. The contest is for Adult, New Adult, Young Adult, and Middle Grade fiction. The elevator pitch should be creative, as if you ran into an agent at a conference.
And, coming up soon she'll have a special pre-halloween treat:
Announcing...Trick or Treat with Agents Contest
I'm thrilled to announce a very exciting and delicious contest that I was invited to co-hostwith the extremely talented Kimberly Chase and Deanna Romito. Submissions will open October 24th at 11 AM EDT with thefirst 150 entries making it in (all rules must be followed correctly to advance).
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Details here (Kat Ellis' blog) For Hook, Line & Sinker which will open on October 13. PLUS if you go to the site there's information on how you can enter to skip for a chance to skip through round one and go straight to the second round.
That's right kids, on October 13th the entry window opens at 11AM EDT! Take your entries to the appropriate blog based on category. Dee is hosting Middle Grade at www.writeforapples.com, Summer will be hosting the party for Adult at www.Fizzygrrl.com and I'll be hosting Young Adult right here:http://katelliswrites.blogspot.com! There'll be details on what your entry should include COMING SOON. And here is where it gets real, yo. We have agents coming to play. Oh yeah, that's right. Real, live, top drawer agents will be coming by to make requests!
Now, we can't tell you who just yet, but we will say that you can't count them all on one hand...
I'm keeping an eye on Cupid's Literary Connection, I'm guessing they'll have a contest announcement before the end of the month. For any of the blogs above I'd strongly suggest following them and/or subscribe to their feeds and you can be 'in the know' for when the next one comes up.
Now for a couple of contests which have ONE agent/agency or publisher stopping by:
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GOING ON RIGHT NOW! (no idea how long it'll be open) Pitch DIRECTLY to Deb Werksman at the Casablanca Authors Blog. You have to go to the site for formatting information, etc. (Not familiar with Sourcebooks Casablanca? Look here for information) A tease to tempt you:
It’s one of those months when I don’t want to read my own writing—I want to read YOURS! Voila—time for a pitch session!These are the IRON-CLAD rules!1) ONLY single-title romance 85,000 to 100,000 words or commercial women’s fiction2) Erotic romance, paranormal, historical, romantic suspense, contemporary romance
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This Writers World will be hosting a Spooktacular Pitch Event with two agents from the Corsiviero Literary Agency:
.The Spooktacular Pitch Extravaganza will open for submissions on October 13 at 8am EDT and stay open until October 16 at 12am EDT. On October 17 I will pull 50 names and have you email me your pitches to a special contest email then. So make sure you check back on October 17! .... This contest is open to Adult, Young Adult, New Adult and Middle Grade fiction so bring it on!
YAtopia and Down Under Wonderings are hosts for Pitchon. Right now there is a pre-contest blog hop with contestants getting their pitches polished before the main event:
Commissioning and Managing Editor of Hardie Grant Egmont, Marisa Pintado, will be poised and ready to take your pitches both here on YAtopia and on Down Under Wonderings on October 15th. Marisa is looking for YA in any genre and is accepting submissions from any where in the world. It's your chance to skip the slush pile and put your pitch right under the nose of a fantastic editor. There's even better news - there is no limit on how many requests Marisa will make from the contest.Up at the top I've put a tab for "Submit that Story Already!" a paper.li article feed that pulls the contest, agent news and publishing opportunities which I run across into one place. Easy to check and subscribe. There's general publishing news too, but mostly about pitch contests and submission opportunities.
Entering any of these contests can help you get one step closer to becoming published. Many of them offer excellent feedback opportunities, something you do NOT get through regular querying.
Wishing everyone luck! (me too!)
If you've never done a query contest Sticking To The Story has a wonderful post on what to expect and how to get ready. Even if you've done them before there's LOTS of helpful information there.
***Note: This post is duplicated on my other blog as well. I will be transferring content from there slowly.
Monday, September 24, 2012
SUBMISSION WINDOW FOR #PITCHON *WORKSHOP* - now open!
Workshops for Get Your Pitch On start on October 1, and....
Window to submit your workshop pitch is open now!
But don't freak out if you missed the original post on 9/24, at this time we don't have a set deadline given the large number of spaces available. (Each host blog has set the number of pitches they can host. Only once those spots are full will the submission window close.) Of course you'll want to get your pitch into the workshop in well before 10/15 when pitches will be taken on both Down Under Wonderings and YAtopia to skip the slush pile and get your story in front of Managing Editor of Hardie Grant Egmont, Marisa Pintado.
How to submit:
Email your draft pitch to pitchonws@gmail.com and include PitchOnWS and the title of the manuscript in the subject line. Pitches must follow the formatting as specified for the Get Your Pitch On contest. Guidelines are here and you can see the list of blogs participating here.(FYI: Example email subject line: PitchOnWS Looking for Alaska)
Important Rule:
If you want to participate in a workshop, you must critique at least ONE other pitch. Want an incentive for doing even more? Head on over to the other host blogs to critique more pitches. For each critique you leave in the comments, you get an entry into the drawing to win one of eight 10-page critiques from one of the following: Sharon Johnston, Larissa Hardesty, Stephanie Diaz, Catherine Scully, Jodie Andrefski, Paula Sangare, Talynn and Kaitlin Adams. Please use the exact same name for all of your critiques. Also, Sarah Nicolas will be giving away three query critiques! The opportunity ends 10/14/2012.
A little more detail on the mechanics of the workshop:
Pitches will be posted on blogs and comments will be made with comments & suggested corrections for the pitch. ON MY BLOG (everyone is doing this a little differently) if you email me with an UPDATED pitch, I will do my best to change your post to reflect the new one.
A strong suggestion: When you find your pitch make a comment and/or 'subscribe' to comments so you can keep track of what is being said. When you make comments on someone's pitch you might want to do the same!
An important heads up:
An interview with Commissioning and Managing Editor of Hardie Grant Egmont, Marisa Pintado, will be coming up soon on Down Under Wonderings so that you have an idea what she's looking for. Pitches will be taken on both Down Under Wonderings and YAtopia on October 15th. The exact contest opening times will be included posts that day (although there may also be a sneak bit of information at the interview!).
Good luck everyone!
p.s. Here's an excellent article on ways to approach your log line/pitch and keep it concise: The logline—Who needs it? How do I write one? by Kelly Whitley
Saturday, September 22, 2012
9/22: Upcoming Pitch/Query Contests from Around the Web: #pitchon #gutgaa #bakersdozen #pitchlive
Ready? Here's the line-up of pitch events I am aware of coming down the pike. Remember, if you know of more just comment here or tweet me at EllieWrites2 and I'll add. I've only copied little snips of information from each blog. Be sure to click through for full details!
PITCH EVENTS HAPPENING NEXT WEEK:
On Monday, September 24, Miss Snark's First Victim is having the first of MANY rounds and levels of entry for her very popular Baker's Dozen Contest:
It's here! Well, almost. Welcome, everyone, to the season of the third annual BAKER'S DOZEN AGENT AUCTION! For the newcomers: The Baker's Dozen Agent Auction is MSFV's biggest event of the year. 60 250-word entries, hand-picked by Jodi Meadows and Authoress, will be placed on the auction block for agents to bid on (with requests for pages, up to a full manuscript request). It bears the name "Baker's Dozen" because the original auction in 2010 included 13 agents--a baker's dozen. The actual auction is in December, but the fun starts NOW!
The first round of #PitchOn will start on September 24 as well, with a chance to enter the pitch workshop. (My other blog will one of the hosts!):
Just as it's important to get someone else to look over your manuscript before you query, it's a good idea to get feedback on your pitch before you post. We have about twenty blogs who are ready to help you hone your pitch. These workshops start on October 1.
At the end of the week, on Friday, September 28 Deana Barnhart has the GUTGAA small press contest:
Friday: Small Press Pitch Contest Call for Entries - There will be one window for entries--at 11AM EST. I will accept a max of 100 entries. To enter the small press pitch contest you will need to paste in the body of an email the query and first 150 words of your completed manuscript and send it to gutgaa(at)gmail(dot)com. Go HERE for details about what I mean by query and first 150 words as well as the format for entries. I will take entries until 11:59 PM EDT or until I get 100 entries. I will post the format directions on this day as well.
Brenda Drake is hosting ANOTHER Pitch event in October but you can sign up NOW. Be ready to put yourself out there! #PITCHLIVE is all about 'live', or in this case video, pitches.
I'm so excited to announce PITCH LIVE! What is it, you ask? It's a video of your best elevator pitch to an agent. I wanted to give you guys enough time to produce a video of an elevator pitch for your finished novels, so I'm posting this now. We already have a couple agents signed up to view the top 30 videos (if we get that many), but there will be more agents. I'll announce the agents in a post soon. The contest is for Adult, New Adult, Young Adult, and Middle Grade fiction. The elevator pitch should be creative, as if you ran into an agent at a conference.
OCTOBER EVENTS:
In addition to Pitchon and Bakers Dozen which will be continuing into October, I've found the following events: Hook, Line and Sinker! Details here (Kat Ellis' blog) For Hook, Line & Sinker.That's right kids, on October 13th the entry window opens at 11AM EDT! Take your entries to the appropriate blog based on category. Dee is hosting Middle Grade at www.writeforapples.com, Summer will be hosting the party for Adult at www.Fizzygrrl.com and I'll be hosting Young Adult right here:http://katelliswrites.blogspot.com! There'll be details on what your entry should include COMING SOON. And here is where it gets real, yo. We have agents coming to play. Oh yeah, that's right. Real, live, top drawer agents will be coming by to make requests!This Writers World & Plot Bunnies will be hosting a Spooktacular Pitch Event in October as well:
Now, we can't tell you who just yet, but we will say that you can't count them all on one hand...
Again, these blogs along with Cupid's Literary Connection frequently have pitch events. Follow them, subscribe to their feeds and you can be 'in the know' for when the next one comes up. And don't forget Savvy Author. You can sign up for free, and take advantage of pitch opportunities there as well (they had a huge event for paying members recently too and seem to on a bit of a break).Here are the details I know you're burning to know. The Spooktacular Pitch Extravaganza will open for submissions on October 13 at 8am EDT and stay open until October 16 at 12am EDT. On October 17 I will pull 50 names and have you email me your pitches to a special contest email then. So make sure you check back on October 17!"What do we have to do?"Great question! Polish and spit-shine your 3 line pitch (no word limit. Just 3 lines only. If you go over 3 lines, you'll be disqualified and someone else will take your spot) and the first 250 words of your finished and polished ms (if it ends in the middle of a sentence, feel free to go to the end of that sentence.) This contest is open to Adult, Young Adult, New Adult and Middle Grade fiction so bring it on!
Entering any of these can help you get one step closer to becoming published. Wishing everyone luck! (me too!)
If you've never done a query contest Sticking To The Story has a wonderful post on what to expect and how to get ready. Even if you've done them before there's LOTS of helpful information there.
p.s. There are many blogs which host pitch contests for single agents. For instance We Do Write has a monthly one (coming up soon!). ***Note: This post is duplicated on my other blog as well. I will be transferring this content there slowly.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
The UNOFFICIAL #GUTGAA Small Press Query Hop
Here we go!
Put your query up on your blog & link to it here. Remember it's a two way street, help out other Gutgaans by visiting their blogs as well. Good luck everyone!
Remember to keep up on the twitter hashtag #GUTGAA - people will be revising and asking for more input I'm sure!.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Belated GUTGAA Links! Here are ALL the FAB Authors
I've so enjoyed doing GUTGAA (that's Gearing Up To Get An Agent) over at Deana Barnhart's blog. So many wonderful people, I wanted to share the list. Oh, and despite the option so sign up at the end, please go to Deana Barnhart's blog to sign up!
Hello Blogger World!
Well I'm back to having a blogger site (in addition to my EllieWrites2 Wordpress site) because there are so many things I can do here that can't do there. Like, oh, link to blog hops, and um, blog hops. Okay, I'm sure there's more but that's the reason I started this blog.
So, off to set up links to the first blog hop and get things done! If you want to read more of my usual posts, go to my other site EllieWrites2. Lots of stuff there!
So, off to set up links to the first blog hop and get things done! If you want to read more of my usual posts, go to my other site EllieWrites2. Lots of stuff there!
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