Tag Archives: Authors

Harlequin #SexyBlitz Subs Ending

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On August 1st, 2016, Harlequin put a call out for writers of sexy, contemporary romance because they’re launching a new sexy contemporary series! They dubbed this the #SexyBlitz submissions. Ooo-la-la. So if you have a manuscript you’ve polished in this category, this is for you. But you need to hurry because the subs close on September 15, 2016.

You’ll need to send your first three chapters and a synopsis to submit. But be sure and check out their series guidelines before sending your manuscript!

As always, good luck!

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

Harlequin: Ooooh…Canada Romance Subs ending soon!

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hqnLogo-Header

Okay, so there are imprints with Harlequin that you can continue to sub your juicy romance novels. But the Ooooh..Canada Romance Subs get to bypass the slush pile through September 12th, 2016! Thus, if you’ve written an unputdownable manuscript with a Canadian hero, this is nearly your final call.

You’ll need to send your first chapter and a 3-7 page synopsis to Harlequin’s Ooooh…Canada Blitz. And as always, good luck!

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

#PitMad is Tomorrow!

Contests, Literary, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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Nothing soothes the writerly soul than a good twitter pitch party! Tomorrow is Brenda Drake‘s infamous #PitMad between the hours of 8am-pm (EDT). Common age category and genre hashtags are below.

Age Categories:

#PB = Picture Book
#C = Children’s
#CB = Chapter Book
#CL = Children’s Lit
#MG = Middle Grade
#YA = Young Adult
#NA = New Adult
#A = Adult

Genres/Sub-genres:

#AA = African American
#AD = Adventure
#CF = Christian Fiction
#CON = Contemporary
#CR = Contemporary Romance
#DIS = Disabilities
#DV = Diversity
#E = Erotica
#ER = Erotic Romance
#ES = Erotica Suspense
#F = Fantasy
#H = Horror
#HA = Humor
#HF = Historical Fiction
#HR = Historical Romance
#INSP = Inspirational
#IRMC = Interracial/Multicultural
#MR = Magical Realism
#M = Mystery
#Mem = Memoir
#LGBT
#LF = Literary Fiction
#NF = Non-fiction
#R = Romance
#P = Paranormal
#PR = Paranormal Romance
#RS = Romantic Suspense
#S = Suspense
#SF = SciFi
#SPF = Speculative Fiction
#T = Thriller
#UF = Urban Fantasy
#W = Westerns
#WF = Woman’s Fiction

The rules clearly state to only pitch THREE times per manuscript during the contest. Don’t break the rules and clog the feed! Also, please remember anyone can stalk the feed. So, do your research before submitting your manuscript!

As always, good luck!

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

Pitch America for Latinx Voices

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Pitch América

A pitch contest focused on Latinx voices

This contest will feature the first 500 words and the 35 word pitch of completed and polished manuscripts written by Latinx authors. This is a diversity contest with many well known agents and editors participating.

Submissions open on August 16 at midnight EDT and close on August 17, 2016 at 11:59 EDT. Please check out the website for complete guidelines.

As always, good luck!

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

 

MidAmeriCon II: THE 74th WORLDCON

Literary, Writing Conferences & Getaways, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

MidAmeriCon II

Kansas City, MO will be hosting the 74th World Science Fiction Convention (MidAmericCon II) at the Kansas City Convention Center Wed to Sun, August 17-21, 2016. You can meet some of your favorite authors, illustrators, and more at this fantastic event. Even more exciting, George R. R. Martin, the author of Game of Thrones, will be participating. The list is too long to name everyone, but you can view those attending here. Hurry and get signed up!

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

Scrivener for Writers

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For years I’ve heard writers say they use Scrivener to help them write their manuscripts and I’ve recently decided to give it a whirl with my new manuscript. The software features a corkboard to organize, which even helps with writing a synopsis and moving index cards around. Other features include the Outliner, Scrivenings, Text Editing, Scriptwriting, and more. For a full description of all the features go here. And the best part about this software helping writers with their manuscript is it only costs $40 USD (available for windows and mac).

If you also use Scrivener, let others know in the comments how you feel about the software. Have a great day and happy writing.

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

The 2016 Cleveland Writing Workshop

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Houston Writing Workshop

The 2016 Cleveland Writing Workshop will be held on June 4th, 2016 in Cleveland Ohio. According to the website this writing event is a wonderful opportunity to get intense instruction over the course of one day, pitch a literary agent (optional), get your questions answered, and more. Note that there are limited seats at the event (125 total). Some of the agents participating are:

  • Kimiko Nakamura with Dee Mura Literary
  • Mallory Brown with TriadaUS
  • Vicki Selvaggio with Jennifer De Chiara Literary
  • Moe Ferrara with BookEnds Literary
  • Kaylee Davis with Dee Mura Literary
  • Fred Tribuzzo with The Rudy Agency

Be sure to register early since seats are limited, especially if you want to pitch and agent in person.

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

Ireland Writer Tours

Literary, Writing Conferences & Getaways, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Emerald Forest

Oh my gosh in chocolate heaven! There is an Ireland Writer Tours not just once this year but several times! How can someone choose which one to attend? June 5-12 tour will be hosted by Entangled editor Kate Brauning and author Pamela Nowak while the July 10-17 tour will be hosted by editor Lisa Maxwell and author Jaye Robin Brown. Then there is the much talked about August 7-14 tour hosted by author and contest queen Brenda Drake and the co-founder of Entangled Publishing Liz Pelletier . And lastly, there’s the August 21-28 hosted by author Dianne Salerni and editor Janet Lane.

The tours are mini-writers’ conferences that help get your manuscript ready for publication. With dinner in a haunted castle and visits to a mysterious lake, ancient forest and a cave with eerie true stories, the tour is filled with enchantment and enough creepy to spark your writing juices.  Combine this with professional critiques and editing advise and you’ve got one helluva trip! And don’t forget you can write this off at tax time since it’s a learning event.

Get your passports ready! And happy day writing.

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

#PitMad Is Tomorrow!

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Just a quick post from my mobile (so excuse any typos or wonky layouts). I want to make sure all my readers know Brenda Drake’s #PitMad is tomorrow! So get your 140 character pitch ready. If you won’t be home, you can always use TweetDeck to schedule your tweets.

And most importantly, be aware of the new rules! You are only allowed THREE pitches per manuscript. This is because #PitMad has become so popular that agents are having issues keeping up with the feed and many pitches are getting lost in the flow of abundance.

Also make a note NOT to RT to show support for a friend. (Tag them without RT to let them know.) And always-always remember to NOT favorite another pitch you like. This is for agents and publishers to request material.

For complete rules, go to the #PitMad page on Brenda’s site.

 

#PITMAD, hosted by @BrendaDrake is TOMORROW 9/10/15

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Don’t forget the quarterly pitch event with Brenda Drake is tomorrow Thursday, September 10, 2015 on twitter under the hashtag #PitMad. If you are new to the game of writing, this is where you create a 140 character pitch for your FINISHED manuscript and tweet for agents to read. Things to remember:

  • Pitch submission time is 8am-8pm EDT (New York time)
  • You must fit the hashtag of #Pitmad within the 140 characters.
  • Include the category hashtag (#YA, #MG, #A, #NA, #PB, and #NF)
  • Include the genre hashtag (Ex: #PR for paranormal romance or #M for mystery)
  • Change tweets up. (Twitter will remove identical ones thinking they are spam.)
  • DON’T FAVORITE TWEETS! This is for agents or editors only. (If you want to support a friend, do it by retweeting.)
  • If you won’t be available this day, schedule tweets using Tweetdeck.
  • Only tweet once per thirty minutes so you don’t congest the feed.
  • Don’t tweet agents and editors directly unless they tweet you first, or openly state it’s okay to tweet them direct.
  • Scammers can’t be controlled on an open pitch party. DO YOUR HOMEWORK before you submit from a favorite. You can check against Preditors & Editors, Publishers Marketplace, or Absolute Write Forums.

For additional tips, go to Brenda’s Drakes Pitmad page. As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Writer and blogger of MG/YA fiction