Tag Archives: Editing

Pass or Pages Submission Date

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PASSORPAGES

Once again, Operation Awesome is hosting a Pass or Pages entry between September 12-14, 2016. This event is for YA Speculative Fiction (including all subgenres of science-fiction, fantasy, and magical realism). When the submission window opens, you’ll fill out a form on their blog with all the pertinent information. Part of that is submitting your query and first 250 words of your manuscript. (Those that go over this limit will be disqualified.) You don’t need to personalize your query or include your bio, but be sure to include your word count and title in it.

Those that are chosen get detailed feedback from the participating agents about why they pass. A few lucky ones will get requests to send their full manuscript to an agent. Either way, it’s a win-win situation!

As always, good luck!

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

FicFest Writing Contest

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

FicFest

Today the guidelines and theme should be revealed for the FicFest contest on Tiffany Hoffman’s blog. This is another contest where the winners will get help revising their manuscripts for 8 weeks before the agent round.

Update: Go here for guidelines and theme!

Here is a schedule for the event:

March 27, 2016 @ 7:00 PM EST
Meet the Team Leads & Their Members!

April 3, 2016 @ 6:00 PM EST
Agent List Announced

April 17, 2016 @ 7:00 PM EST – 10:00 PM EST
Q & A with Team Leads & Host
(Twitter – Using #FicFest)

April 24, 2016 @ 12:00 AM EST – April 25, 2016 @ 11:59 PM EST
SUBMISSION

April 26, 2016 – May 3, 2016
Teams will chose their finalists/alternate

May 4, 2016 @ 10:00 AM EST
Finalists/Alternate Reveal

May 5, 2016 – June 30, 2016
Revisions

July 8, 2016 @ 12:00 AM EST – July 14, 2014 @ 11:59 PM EST
Agent Round

As always, good luck!

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

Writer’s Digest Annual Conference

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

Writers Digest Conference

The Writer’s Digest Annual Conference is August 12-14, 2016 at New York Hilton Midtown. There are some great agents participating in the workshop and the PitchSlam event. For a complete list of agents, go here. They have an early bird special that ends on April 1, 2016. So if you’re planning to go, now is the time to register. I mean, who doesn’t want to join in the PitchSlam fun!

Happy learning and good luck!

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

Skylark Literary Agency: The Tales For Teens Competition

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

Skylark-Logo-CMYK

Great news! Skylark Literary Agency has put together a competition for fiction manuscripts geared toward young readers of ages 13-15. (Non-fiction is not accepted.) They are looking for uplifting stories with a compelling story and strong characters. They are asking that there be no sex in your completed manuscript.

The Guest Judges

Lauren Fortune, Senior Commissioning Editor, Fiction, Scholastic Children’s Books

Ellen Holgate, Editorial Director, Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Florentyna Martin, Children’s New Titles Buyer, Waterstones

The Prize

The prize will be a one-to-one editorial critique of your finished manuscript by phone, or in person (locations allowing), with Joanna and/or Amber. We will suggest ways in which you could polish and perfect your novel to improve its chances of representation and publication, and seek to answer any queries you may have about the children’s publishing industry in general.

The Deadline!

The deadline for competition entries is March 27, 2016. So CLICK HERE for how to enter together with the full terms and conditions.

As always, good luck!

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

The 2016 Chicago Writing Workshop

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

Chicago Writing Workshop

Per the Chicago Writing Workshop website, this writing event (May 14, 2016) is a wonderful opportunity to get intense instruction over the course of one day, pitch a literary agent or editor (optional), get your questions answered, and more. Note that there are limited seats at the event (200 total). They will inform everyone directly on the website when seats are closed.

Here are a few of this years faculty that will be in attendance:

  • literary agent Gordon Warnock (Fuse Literary)
  • literary agent Chip MacGregor (MacGregor Literary)
  • literary agent Nicole Resciniti (The Seymour Agency)
  • literary agent Regina Brooks (Serendipity Literary)
  • literary agent Adam Chromy (Movable Type Literary)
  • literary agent Dawn Frederick (Red Sofa Literary)
  • literary agent Veronica Park (Corvisiero Literary)
  • literary agent John Willig (Literary Services)
  • literary agent Gemma Cooper (The Bent Agency)
  • literary agent Marcy Posner (Folio Literary)
  • literary agent Eric Smith (P.S. Literary)
  • literary agent Alice Speilburg (Speilburg Literary)
  • acquiring editor Laura Apperson (St. Martin’s Press)
  • literary agent Rachel Burkot (Holloway Literary)
  • literary agent Abby Saul (Browne & Miller Literary)
  • literary agent Susan Hawk (The Bent Agency)
  • literary agent Thomas Flannery Jr. (AFI Vigliano)
  • literary agent Jennie Goloboy (Red Sofa Literary)
  • literary agent Samantha Fountain (Corvisiero Literary)
  • and more to come.

 

Since the seats are limited, don’t delay in registering. I’m signed up to go to this one, so if your attending, I’ll see you there!!!

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

 

Writers Fest & Conferences

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SOKYBookFest_logo-300x164

The Southern Kentucky Book Fest will be held April 23, 2016. Southern Kentucky Book Fest is one of the state’s largest literary events and is presented by Barnes and Noble Booksellers, Warren County Public Library, and WKU Libraries.

The Kentucky Writers Conference and Teen Writers Conference will occur on April 22, 2016. Information on registration and schedule of events will post sometime this month. Keep a watch for the important information as I’m sure they’ll fill up fast.

Have a great day writing.

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

Entangled Editor open for Query Critique

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Kate Brauning

Kate Brauning is the senior editor at Entangled Publishing and author of How We Fall. While she doesn’t usually do freelance editing, she has opened for query critiques through February 2, 2016. Feedback from Kate will be invaluable and she’s pricing these at only $30! So, if you’ve been struggling to get the words right in your query, this might be for you. All the information on how to pay and submit is on her blog.

Happy writing and editing!

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

Pitch to Publication

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Whoa! Did I read that right? This appears to be the Holy Grail of writerly competitions hosted by Samantha Fountain! Okay-okay. So, this won’t provide youth or food in abundance, but it sure as heck is gonna make winners feel extremely happy as it might have the special power to see them get a publishing deal by the end of the year.

Much like Brenda Drake’s PitchWars, Pitch to Publication has mentors that will edit the entire manuscript of the winning entrants. They will go through everything with a fine-tooth comb to make the manuscripts shine before the agent round. However, these mentors are ALL freelance editors, where PW mentors are a mix of agented authors and editors (which is still awesome BTW).

But the difference doesn’t stop there. After the agent round, there will be a publishing house round. (I may have squealed after reading that. Go ahead, you can too.) So basically, if an agent decides to represent one of the entrants, s/he will have time to further edit before the publishing round, but the team can also decide to sit the pub round out. Why on earth would they do that? Perhaps they’ll want longer to work the MS, or any other varied reason.

Here are some important dates:

June 29-July 3: Submissions window for entrants. You can choose up to FIVE mentors. Window closes at midnight on July third.

July 6-16: Editors will make requests for first 50 pages. If a mentor requests pages, they’ll want to see them within 24 hours.

July 17: Noon CST, editors must have sent in their 1st, 2nd, 3rd choices to Samantha Fountain.

July 20: Editor/Author teams will be announced.

July 27- August 28: This will be the time chosen writers will work on their manuscripts with the editors.

August 31- September 1: The agent round.

September 21: The agent needs to have replied to the writer/writers with a rejection or offer of representation. If offer, they’ll have a few more weeks to tweak things.

October 12-13: The Publishing house round.

Unfortunately, if Samantha has listed the agents and publishing houses that are participating, I couldn’t find the links. But, Samantha is responsible for Agent Match, which had agents from Writers House, The Bent Agency, Corvisiero Literary Agency, McIntosh and Otis, TriadaUS Literary Agency, and more! So as you see, she has fabulous connections! I expect she will have many great agents and publishers for this contest too.

Be sure to check out Samantha’s blog for links to the mentors. After reading what they’re looking for, select only five to submit to. There is also more information to know regarding the dates she’s listed. READ THIS SECTION on her blog!  If writers scroll further down the page, they’ll see complete instructions on how to format entries. Read the instructions carefully so your entry doesn’t get deleted. Now, go get those subs ready!

As always, good luck!

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

Critique Partners

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pencil

If you’re a writer, I can’t stress enough the importance of finding critique partners/beta readers. That’s right, I spoke in plural terms. Each partner might uncover different aspects of your story, such as weaknesses in your character, plot holes, typos, stilted dialogue, pacing and much more. No matter how perfect you think your story is, someone will find an error. And it’s better to find as many errors as possible before you start submitting to agents or publishers, and most importantly BEFORE you self publish!

So where do you find these partners? I found most of mine on Twitter hashtags during writing contests. Someone almost always puts a call out to swap stories for critique. Many times, you gain a permanent partner. There are private writing groups on Facebook that you can join, or places like CPseek. Absolute Write Forums, Write On Con events, local writing groups, and even English departments at your local college and university. Also following blogs of agented writers (such as Brenda Drake or Authoress for starts), can help you find opportunities for free critiques. I’ve found that the writing community is extremely supportive of one another, and among them is a wealth of knowledge!

Things to look for in a partner:

  1. They not only praise but offer the needed critique. If a partner does nothing but praise over your work, they don’t offer you any room to improve.
  2. They offer suggestions. Okay, this doesn’t mean they tell you exactly how to fix something, but at least tell you why something doesn’t work for them. This way, you know what direction to go.
  3. Similar tastes. If you write for middle grade, you may want to find someone who does the same because you both understand ‘voice’ for that genre. Or maybe you write strictly fantasy and want someone who writes the same. But remember, finding someone who writes exactly the same genre and category isn’t completely necessary, as long as they have a passion for the types of stories you write. (But it does help.)
  4. Can meet your dead line. That’s if you have a dead line. If you do, be clear up front and state the time frame. (Ex: You hope to polish your manuscript before entering an upcoming contest.)

There might be other things you desire in a critique partner, but this list is just a starting foundation. For ideas on the worst critique partners, read Chuck Sambuchino’s The Top 10 Worst Types of Critique Partners

As always, good luck and happy writing!

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

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