Heather Ayris Burnell is giving away a QUERY + FIRST FIVE PAGES critique. She is the author of KICK! JUMP! CHOP! THE ADVENTURES OF THE NINJABREAD MAN published by Sterling Children’s Books and is represented by Sean McCarthy.
To learn how to enter, read her post about the contest. The giveaway is open to all genres via Rafflecopter and ends in six days. Be sure to check out her book by clicking the link above to show her some love for her generosity!
As always, good luck!
P.D. Pabst
#PitchCB is Curtis Brown and Conville & Walsh’s own monthly Twitter novel pitching party, hosted by Richard Pike of C + W. On each #PitchCB day, writers searching for an agent can tweet a one-line pitch for their work. The pitch must be 140 characters or less, using the hashtag #PitchCB. Book agents will be online for each event to read each pitch and will be inviting successful authors to submit directly to them.
This month the event will occur on October 27, 2017. The window will be open for 24 hours, but only pitch once during that time! For complete rules, go here.
As always, good luck!
P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.
A cool twitter pitch party is coming on October 26, 2017 and I’m excited! Author Jason Huebinger is the host of #PitDark. This is one of my favorite contests because it’s strictly for manuscripts with darker elements, which is soooo down my alley. The event is between 8am and 8pm EST. Authors may pitch once an hour per manuscript. Please do not clog the feed by over pitching so agents don’t get frustrated and quit reading.
Hashtags for AGE CATEGORIES
Hashtags for GENRES & SUBGENRES
For complete rules, go here. (Note: If your curious about previous agent, editor, and film company participation, there is a link on this page.) As always, good luck!
P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.
Author Mentor Matchup was created by Heather Kaczynski and Alexa Donne. The object is to match new writers with authors further along in the publishing process and gain invaluable mentoring! That’s right, this is an opportunity to get your manuscript critiqued (for free) before submitting to agents!
Authors can select up to four mentors during the submission window between October 19. 2017 through October 24, 2017. Be sure to check the mentor BIOS to learn what age groups and genres they wish to see in their inbox!
Please note there is a two-step process for entering:
Be sure to include in the subject line the manuscripts Age Category +Genre + Title. (ie: YA Sci-Fi – Mars Plants are the Bomb) on the email submission. And check out the site in order to know how to select the mentors you wish to submit to because it isn’t clear quite yet. (I’m guessing this might be part of the submission form.) As always, good luck!
P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.
Here’s a chance to win a spot in Inked Voices’ upcoming Middle Grade Fiction First Pages Workshop with Tina Wexler of ICM Partners, which normally costs $82 for members and $99 for non-members. That’s right, you could get in for FREE!!!
To submit for your chance to win a spot in this great workshop, go here. Submissions close after October 10th, 2017. As always, good luck!
P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.
Agents and editors are taking live pitches on the SavvyAuthors blog! What you will need is a three line pitch (unless stated differently on their personal pitch page). Be sure to state the title, genre, word length, and your author name. Then post your pitch below that information. The format should look like this:
Title: This Scary Manor Blows
Genre: Middle Grade Paranormal
Length: 48,000 words
Author: P.D. Pabst
Agnes plays pretend in an old manor to keep her father’s memory alive and learns she must solve the murder of an eight-year-old ghost—daughter of Franz San Galli, the inventor of the radiator. Her non-believing brother wants her to grow up but she must convince him to acquire his help. After all, it’s not safe to play in secret passages and hidden rooms when a more sinister specter threatens her.
Be sure to read the guidelines thoroughly before pitching. And don’t forget to research each editor/publisher and agent to make sure your manuscript fits their wish list. To pitch editors/publishers, go here. To pitch literary agents, click here. And don’t delay! The Pitchfest ends tomorrow, September 17, 2017 at 11:59pm, EST.
As always, good luck!
P.D. Pabst
That’s right folks, today agents and editors tweet about their manuscript wishlists on twitter using the hashtag #MSWL. So, if you’re looking for an agent, read their wishes because you just might’ve written exactly what they are looking for. As for the editors, be sure and check their guidelines because not all of them accept unagented manuscripts. Then, why are they tweeting you ask? Because agents need to submit their clients just the same as when an author subs to an agent.
Don’t worry if you miss the live event, you can always scroll through the feed afterwards. And if you want to get more details regarding what agents/editors want, go to the website Manuscript Wish List. Now, quit dawdling and get to perusing the hashtag!
Good luck finding the perfect match!
P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.
Operation Awesome is hosting a Pass or Pages this month. For this round, the category is for middle grade Sci-Fi and Fantasy. Submissions open between September 11 (6am EST) to September 13 (6pm EST), 2017. This is an opportunity to get feedback from an agent on your query and first 250 words of your manuscript. Peeps, this is priceless! And as a possible bonus, the agent reserves the right to request your FULL (so make sure the full manuscript is polished and ready to send).
The participating agents are:
There will be a form for submissions on Operation Awesome when the entry window opens. For complete rules and previous feedback reveals, go here. As always, good luck!
P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.
Get your pitches ready for one of the coolest events hosted Brenda Drake on Thursday, September 7, 2017 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/editors to read. Things to remember:
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
For additional tips, go to Brenda’s Drakes Pitmad page. As always, good luck!
P.D. Pabst
Writer and blogger of MG/YA fiction
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 at midnight on August 30, 2017 and close on September 3, 2017 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.
