HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

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4th of July Photo

Hooray! It’s another year of celebrating the Declaration of Independence, which was adopted 238 years ago on July 4, 1776. It’s a time of celebration with our families and friends, watching fireworks, and eating lots of food.  As you prepare for your day of fun, here are a few facts you may not know:

  • Although adopted on July 4, it wasn’t officially signed on this day.
  • More than one copy exists.
  • A riot broke out in New York upon the news and a statue of George III was melted to shape more than 42,000 musket balls.
  • Eight of the 56 signers were born in Britain and not America.
  • Richard Stockton became the only signer to later recant his support of the revolution.
  • One of the copies sold for $8.1 million.

For expanded explanations and additional things you may not know, go to History.com. And as always, be safe and have a great day!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of YA/MG fiction

PITCH WARS CONTEST IS APPROACHING

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This is not an event where writers sit around a table spitting saliva all over each other fighting for a chance to get the attention of the agent they strapped to the center, all while spewing their loglines. Oh no, this is much safer…and dryer. I promise.

Girls wanna have fun

(Photo used with permission.)

 

This is a wonderful contest hosted by the contest queen herself, Brenda Drake. What’s great about this particular contest is the winning entrants get mentored by either an agented (and published) author or a professional editor. These are people who’ve been in the trenches and/or worked in the writing industry long enough to offer priceless feedback. And further, they will critique the winner’s entire manuscript. That’s right…THE WHOLE ENCHILADA.

And after months of the winners pulling their hair out making all requested edits, they will be rewarded with an agent round. It begins November 4, 2014. What does that mean? The participating agents will begin requesting their favorite entries to read from pitches posted to the blog. This years agents haven’t been revealed yet, but you can go here to see the agents from the previous Pitch Wars.

You must have a polished manuscript to enter the contest, but no worries because submissions start August 18, 2014. But know, this date will fall upon you before you realize. So, get to crackin’, er tappin’!

And don’t forget, check out the mentors for this year here and be sure to follow Brenda’s blog for updates on the contest.

As always, good luck and happy writing.

 

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA Fiction

AN AUTHORESS CONTEST

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For all writers who haven’t noticed, the lovely Authoress posted a #Blogpitch contest on her website Miss Snark’s First Victim. This starts as a logline contest on twitter in which 10 winners will be picked to get critiques. All persons leaving critiques will be entered for a chance to win a 15 page line edit from the wonderful Authoress! How cool is that?

To Qualify:

  • Follow Authoress on Twitter
  • Have an active writing-related blog (posting at least once a week)
  • Have a clean manuscript. Although it can be a work “in progress”, absolutely NO FIRST DRAFTS!

How to enter:

  • Submission window starts  noon (EDT) on Monday, June 30 and ends at noon (EDT) on Tuesday, July 1, 2014.
  • Tweet your 128 character (or fewer) logline to #BLOGPITCH on Twitter

How it works after the tweets and the dates:

  • Authoress will choose 10 favorite loglines (Announced Thursday, July 3)
  • Winners will be invited to post their logline + first 250 words ON THEIR OWN BLOGS.
  • Winners MUST send links to Authoress by Sunday, July 6.
  • Authoress will post the 10 links on BLOG CRITIQUE TOUR DAY. (Posted on Wednesday, July 9.)
  • Everyone, including winners, can visit the blogs and leave a critique. (Each critique=1 entry in drawing for a 15 page line edit from Authoress.) Critiquing starts immediately. All critiques entered by Friday, July 11, will be entered into drawing.

(Note:  All genres except erotica or erotic romance will be accepted.)

INGREDIENT TO SUCCESSFUL PUBLISHING

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Let me start by telling you there isn’t a magic genie floating around in this post. Promise. So, don’t look. What I can promise is encouragement and a factual ingredient to succeed.

Since I started seriously putting pen to paper, I’ve encountered writers of all genres and age categories. But they all have one thing in common: wanting to know how to succeed in getting published. Sounds simple right?

It’s not.

Inspiration strikes and a writer splatters his fingers all over his keyboard. Voila! A brilliant manuscript is born. His NY Times Bestselling Novel is sent to all agents that area a perfect fit. Then he sits back and refreshes the inbox of his email, over and over. Finally, rejection after rejection starts trickling in. Some days, nothing but crickets (because most agents won’t send anything if they aren’t interested).

Doubt seeps into the writer.

Maybe his story wasn’t so brilliant after all. Maybe his writing sucks. Or maybe, just maybe, the agents don’t know what they’re talking about (but deep down he knows they do). What is he doing wrong? He is ready to put the manuscript away and never look back. He doesn’t know what made him think he could write.
Well, I’m here to tell you that HE was the one who said he could write. He felt it in his gut, he heard the story in his head and he made it happen. Sure, the man can self-pub if that’s what he chooses to do (and I wouldn’t without getting an editor, betas, etc.). But, what he really wants is to have his novel traditionally published. He wants a doggone fantastical agent! So, what should he do?

Never stop.

Yes, it’s that simple. The key ingredient to successful publishing is to never-ever give up! Think about it. If you’re writing a novel and give up, it never gets wrote. If you stop honing your craft, your writing suffers and is never perfected. If you stop submitting queries, you’ll never get an agent. And so forth, and so forth. Thus, my advice is to never stop. NEVER. EVER. EVER!

And remember, you ARE a brilliant writer and your story MUST be told (say this in the mirror every day). Perseverance is the key. As always, good luck and happy writing.

P.D Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA Fiction

Writers of Today, It Matters

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An education doesn’t always mean a writer can capture your attention. Even those with years of experience might leave you to hunger for something more profound. Or the pen artists with a natural ability for prose can fall short of fulfilling a story. Nothing guarantees a writer’s success.

Nothing.

But the internet has empowered people to become writers regardless of education, experience, or natural ability. They type across blog pages, or self-publish a novel, and pray someone will fall in love with their words. Unknown people become journalists and authors overnight. And this is Fab-tastical! (Even for making up words.)

So what’s the problem? The lack of planning, researching, and editing before publishing. No matter who you are, people will eventually tire of constant misspelled words, repetition of the same word ten times in a brief paragraph, or saying the main character from your novel shot a villain with a pistol 500 yards away…which I’m not sure is even possible.

Don’t rush your work and lose credibility as a writer because you error too often. Edit beyond using spellcheck. Read outloud what you write to hear how it flows off your tongue. Research to get facts straight so your story sounds plausible. And although a degree isn’t needed, educate yourself in the field you wish to pursue.

Disclaimer: This post was not written due to vomiting through a cold toilet seat which offered no comfort for reading a horribly written journalist’s story and wondering how the heck he got paid. Just sayin’.

As always, best of luck. Now go forth and write.

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and Writer of MG/YA Fiction

2014 Baen Fantasy Adventure Award

Literary

For all lurking contest junkies, here’s a new one brought to my attention from my friend Tom Brosz. Thanks Tom! You only need to create 8000 words. That’s right, a mere eight-thousand! Most thrilling? You have until June 30th to create these wonderful stories.

Baen Books will announce the winner of the inaugural Baen Fantasy Adventure Award at this year’s Gen Con to the best of original short fiction capturing the spirit and tradition of great storytellers as Larry Correia, Robert E. Howard, Mercedes Lackey, Elizabeth Moon, Andre Norton, J.R.R. Tolkien, David Weber and Marion Zimmer Bradley.

All the details can be found here.

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The Next J.K. Rowling Contest

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The Independent has begun a nationwide search (in UK and Ireland only) for the next J.K. Rowling. Meaning, they want a brilliant-ass children’s writer. The winner can not have current literary representation and must never have been published (traditionally). This prized person still qualifies even if self published. If chosen, the announced winner will receive a publishing deal with a £5,000 advance, literary agent representation with LBA and a trip to Venice to visit the home of luxury pen-maker Montegrappa.

All the details are here.

Pass this on to all your friends living in the UK and Ireland. Good luck and happy writing!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and Writer of MG/YA Fiction

“DEAR LUCKY AGENT” CONTEST presented by Writer’s Digest

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Sorry for the late notice, but I just learned “Dear Lucky Agent” Contest is in full swing and about to wrap up. However, the window for submission is still open. So let’s not panic people! Writer’s Digest presents this contest on the GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS blog by Chuck Sambuchino.

Agent Andrea Somberg from Harvey Klinger Inc. will be the judge. She will pick three winners to receive a critique of the first 10 double-spaced pages of your work and a one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com ($50 value). She reserves the right to request your manuscript for consideration to represent your wonderfulness!

• Your story must be complete and polished.
• Submit the first 150-200 words of your book.
• Submit a logline (one sentence description of the story).
• You can submit as many times as you wish. (I assume they mean more than one story.)
• Only YA fiction this time around.
• Submission window is live thru April 9th, 2014, PST. (Yes, you need to hurry!)

For further information, head over to the “Dear Lucky Agent” Contest announcement. Or visit Harvey Klinger Inc. to direct query Andrea Somberg.

As always, good luck and happy writing!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and Writer of MG/YA Fiction

WORD WEDNESDAY

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With several days of the week behind us, Wednesday is when we tend to get sluggish as we long for Friday. I thought it’d be a good day to try a word exercise and wake our minds. Today’s word:

DOORKNOB

In one sentence, tell a story using the word above. You can post to the blog or you can do it in the comfort of your home (or work, I won’t tell). It can be any genre. But absolutely no erotica please. Here’s an example:

Ellen’s hand withdrew from her younger brother’s doorknob when she noticed a small glob of something resembling a booger.

Gross, I know. But remember, I write MG people! Here’s one more:

Jack shivered in the corner of his room watching the doorknob rattle, a demonic groan coming from the other side.

Okay. Your turn. Be creative and enjoy your day no matter where you are.

 

P.D.Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA Fiction

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

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Although St. Patrick’s Day began as a religious holiday in Ireland, people across many nations now celebrate March 17, the day believed to be Patrick’s death. Here are some noted facts:

  • St. Patrick was not Irish.
  • Born a nobleman in Britain about 400 A.D.
  • An atheist in his early years
  • Kidnapped by Irish pirates at age 16
  • A slave in Ireland for 17 years
  • Rediscovered his faith while in Ireland
  • Returned to Ireland as a missionary
  • Legend states St. Patrick used the three-leaved shamrock to explain Christian Holy Trinity. (But it’s said no evidence proves he ever did.)
  • Still unclear if St. Patrick died in Ireland

And for those who are Irish, know someone who is Irish, or just want to help celebrate for their own pleasure, put on your green clothes, green hats, green glasses, green everything, and have some green beer, or green cake, or green potatoes, or anything drinkable/edible green…but pah-lease don’t call me later when you are feeling oh-so green!

Be safe and have fun! And again, Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA Fiction