Tag Archives: Fiction

Inspiration from Writer’s Rejections

May 29, 2017LiteraryAcceptance, Agree, Alex Haley, Authors, Belief, Believe, Book Babies, books, Elizabeth Jolly, Encouragment, Famous, Fiction, Form Rejection, Frank Herbert, Gertrude Stein, Inspiration, J.K. Rowling, Jack Canfield, James Patterson, John Grisham, Kathryn Stockett, Louisa May Alcott, Manuscripts, Margaret Mitchell, Mark Victor Hansen, Marketing, Nicholas Sparks, Non-Fiction, Not Right For Me, Onward, Perseverance, Rejection, Stories, Submisstions, Success, The Great Gatsby, Thick Skin, William Faulker, Writer's Rejection, Writers, Years, You're a Fraudpdpabst

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Rejection hurts no matter who or what you do, but if you’re going to be a writer you’d better develop some thick skin. While there are circumstances of instant acceptance and overnight fame, it’s rare. Writers get rejected a LOT.

First it starts with the manuscript. Writers send their book babies on submission to agents and get a lot of “not right for me” form rejections. If they’re lucky enough to land an agent, eventually the manuscript will go on submission to publishers. And sorry folks, that’s not an instant deal just because they have an agent. Publishers reject agents too. And even after a publisher picks up a novel, the fans can reject the story. For example, The Great Gatsby didn’t become famous until soldiers of World War II wrote home about the story, of which the government had sent to them to have something to read.

Writing is a lot of belief in the story and that it deserves to be told. They hold onto the dream that one day an agent and publisher will agree. They don’t let rejections allow them to quit. After all, giving up is the sure way to not succeed.

But all those rejections keep piling up! And from the dark corners of a writer’s mind, they hear “you’re a fraud” and “stop already”. So I offer encouragement. Not everyone succeeded their first try. Heck, many famous authors took years to get published. Here are a few to inspire writers to keep pushing forward.

John Grisham: A Time to Kill was rejected by 16 publishers.
James Patterson: Rejected by more than a dozen publishers.
J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter was rejected by 12 publishing houses.
William Faulkner: Sanctuary was said couldn’t be published.
Nicholas Sparks: The Notebook was turned down by 24 literary agencies.
Louisa May Alcott: The author of Little Women had been told to stick to teaching.
Margaret Mitchell: Gone With The Wind faced 38 rejections.
Frank Herbert: After 20 rejections, Dune was finally published.
Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen: Chicken Soup for the Soul had 134 rejections.
Kathryn Stockett: The Help author got rejected at least 61 times.

And sometimes it just takes years!

Alex Haley: After writing daily for EIGHT years, the Roots author found success.
Gertrude Stein: Submitted poems for TWENTY-TWO years before one got pubbed.
Elizabeth Jolly: Wrote about 30 years before her first publication.

So, as you can see, successful writing takes perseverance. And while there are success stories of writers who self publish, that’s a story for another day. For now, I hope this is enough encouragement for writers today!

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

Bath Children’s Novel Award is Open!

May 26, 2017Awards, Contests, LiteraryAuthors, Bath Children's Novel Award, Book Deal, books, Children, Cornerstones Literary Consultancy, Editing, Editors, Fiction, Genres, International, Jane Brittan, Judges, Lucy Van Smit, Middle Grade, MMB Creative, Monetary Prize, Mulcahy Associates Literary Agency, Novelist, Published, Salyanne Sweeney, Writers, Young Adultpdpabst

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The Bath Children’s Novel Award is a writing competition for unsigned novelists. This years judge is literary agent Sallyanne Sweeney of Mulcahy Associates Literary Agency (MMB Creative). And the sponsor is Cornerstones Literary Consultancy. The winner will receive £2,000 (approximately $2599 US) and a shortlist prize of £500 (approximately $649 US) Cornerstones Literary Consultancy vouchers.

This is The Bath Children’s Novel Award’s third year. It was created in 2015 to support and spotlight unsigned children’s novelists around the world. Inaugural winner Lucy Van Smit was swiftly signed by literary agent Sallyanne Sweeney, Jane Brittan attracted a Carnegie Medal nomination for her indie-published debut and shortlistee Sophie Cameron signed a book deal with Macmillan Children’s after accepting representation with literary agent Hellie Ogden for her YA novel Out of the Blue.

Entry for the award ends November 19th, 2017 (and remember, this is UK time zone)! Submissions are OPEN and invited for middle grade and young adult novels in all genres. For complete guidelines and entry fee information, go here. As always, good luck!

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

2017 Chicago Writing Workshop

May 19, 2017Literary, Writing Conferences & GetawaysAdult, Allium Press, Authors, Chicago Writing Workshop, D4EO Literary, Editors, Feedback, Fiction, Fuse Literary, Holloway Literary Agency, Hone Your Craft, Instruction, Jennifer De Chiara Literary, Literary Agent, Manuscripts, Marketing, Middle Grade, Networking, Non-Fiction, Pitch, Red Sofa Literary, Register, Sourcebooks, Speilburg Literary, St. Martin's Press, Stories, The Bent Agency, The Seymour Agency, The Unter Agency, Trace Literary Agency, Writers, Writing, Young Adultpdpabst

Chicago Writing Workshop

Per the Chicago Writing Workshop website, this writing event (June 24, 2017) 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:

editor Lauren Jablonski (St. Martin’s Press)
literary agent Alice Speilburg (Speilburg Literary)
literary agent Jennifer Unter (The Unter Agency)
literary agent Laura Zats (Red Sofa Literary)
literary agent Kelly Van Sant (D4EO Literary)
literary agent Tracy Brennan (Trace Literary Agency)
literary agent Gemma Cooper (The Bent Agency)
literary agent Dawn Frederick (Red Sofa Literary)
literary agent Michael Caligaris (Holloway Literary Agency)
editor Grace Menary-Winefield (Sourcebooks and Sourcebooks Landmark)
literary agent Alexandra Weiss (Jennifer De Chiara Literary)
literary agent Marcy Posner (Folio Literary)
literary agent Loretta Caravette (LR Children’s Literary)
literary scout Jen Karsbaek (Fuse Literary)
editor Emily Clark Victorson (Allium Press)
agent assistant Lesley Sabga (The Seymour Agency)
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.

Spring WOW’em Pitchfest hosted by SavvyAuthors

May 15, 2017Contests, LiteraryAdult, Agents, Authors, Blog, Editors, Fiction, Literary Pitch, Manuscripts, May, Middle Grade, Pitch Event, Publishing, SavvyAuthors, Spring WOW'em Pitchfest, Writers, Writing, Young Adultpdpabst

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SavvyAuthors is hosing a Spring WOW’em Pitchfest for authors with completed and polished manuscripts. They’ll have agents and editors available on their blog from 9am May 17 to 11:59pm May 19, 2017 (Sorry they don’t mention time zone.) In order to participate, writers will need a three line pitch. And I believe the contest will take place directly in the comments. For complete rules, go here.

Please note the link on the contest page for agents seems to be broken, but you can find the participating agents here. You can also find the editors on this page. As always, good luck!

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

Children’s and Teens Fiction/Non-Fiction #DVPit Hosted by Lit Agent Beth Phelan

April 21, 2017Contests, Literary#DVpit, Adult, Agents, Authors, Beth Phelan, Childrens Books, Disabled Persons, Diversity, Editors, Feedback, Fiction, LGBTQIA, Manuscripts, Marginalized Voices, Non-Fiction, People of Color, People With Illiness, Pitch Event, Pitching, Publsihing, Religious, Stories, The Bent Agency, Twitter, Unagented, Underrepresented Cultures, Writerspdpabst

The search for diversity within books has increased, not just with secondary characters but main characters. The world wants to see a fabulous palette of colors and cultures among the stories they read and the publishing industry is responding! This prompted literary agent Beth Phelan of The Bent Agency to create DVpit.

According to the site, #DVpit is a twitter event created to showcase pitches about and by marginalized voices. This includes (but is not limited to): Native peoples and people of color; people living and/or born/raised in underrepresented cultures and countries; disabled persons; people with illness; people on marginalized ends of the socioeconomic, cultural and/or religious spectrum; people identifying as LGBTQIA+; and more.

The next event will spread over two days. April 25th will be for Children’s & Teen Fiction/Nonfiction (picture books, chapter books, graphic novel, middle grade, young adult). April 26th will be for Adult Fiction/Nonfiction (all genres, commercial and literary). Each day the event will run from 8am-8pm ET using the hashtag #DVpit. Be sure and pitch your manuscript on the correct day because agents/editors will search the feed on the specific day of the categories they represent/acquire.

As always, good luck!

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

Curtis Brown and Conville & Walsh’s #PitchCB on #Twitter

April 19, 2017Contests, Literary#PitchCB, Adult, Agents, Authors, books, Conville & Walsh, Curtis Brown Literary Literary and Talent Agency, Fiction, Jess Whitlum-Cooper, Manuscripts, Middle Grade, Pitch Event, Richard Pike, Twitter, Writers, Young Adultpdpabst

This Friday (April 21st) will be the #PitchCB twitter event hosted by Curtis Brown Literary and Talent Agency and Conville & Walsh. These events are held on the fourth Friday of most months (so you can catch the next event if you miss this one), hosted by Jess Whitlum-Cooper and Richard Pike of Curtis Brown

In order to submit, prepare a 140 character pitch including #PitchCB hashtag for your completed manuscript. The window will be open for 24 hours and remember to only pitch once! If your pitch is “liked”, submit directly to that agent following the agencies’ submission guidelines.

As always, good luck!

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

Inked Voices Workshop

April 17, 2017Contests, Literary, Mentor ProgramAdult, Cultural, Diversity, Don Congdon Associates, Ethnic Backgrounds, Fiction, First Pages, Gender Diversity, Inked Voices, Katie Grimm, LGBTQIA, Native People, Online, People of Color, People with Disabilities, Religious Minorities, We Need Diverse Books, Workshoppdpabst

Inked Voices

Inked Voices is giving away a spot in their upcoming Online First Pages Workshop with Katie Grimm of Don Congdon Associates. The spot is for a writer of a diverse background novel related to their experience, frequently shorthanded on Twitter as #ownvoices. Submissions should be literary or upmarket adult fiction.

Diverse experiences include, but are not limited to: LGBTQIA, Native, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities (learn more about We Need Diverse Books in children’s literature: http://weneeddiversebooks.org/mission-statement/).

If you’re interested, fill out the submission form before April 23rd, 2017. As always, good luck!

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

Last Day for Query or First Page Workshop via Brenda Drake

April 15, 2017Contests, Critiques, LiteraryAuthors, Blog, Brenda Drake, Critique, Feeback, Fiction, First Page, Mentees, Mentors, Middle Grade, New Adult, Pitchwars, Queries, Rafflecopter, Stories, Writers, Young Adultpdpabst

B-workshop

Brenda Drake and her team have put together to have a free query or first page critique workshop to help authors prep for PitchWars! During May, June, and July, Pitch Wars mentors will be helping writers shine up their query or first page. They will be posted after being critiqued on the blog, so only enter if you’re willing to have everyone see it.

They have 80 query spots and 80 first page spots. Whoa, that’s a lot! But only you’re only allowed to choose one and enter your information.

This is for all genres in the middle grade, young adult, new adult, and adult categories of fiction. Your manuscript does not have to be complete to enter. Winners will be announced April 17th and will receive an email, so be ready to submit your sample for critique immediately. But today is the last day to enter, so hurry to get a chance to shine that query or first page!

As always, good luck!

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

#TeenPit Submissions Open Today!

April 15, 2017Contests, Literary#TeenPit, Authors, Brenda Drake, Feedback, Fiction, High School, K. Hopkins, Manuscripts, Mentoring, Middle Grade, Parents, Pitchwars, Students, Submissions, Teachers, Teenagers, Teens, Writers, Young Adultpdpabst

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This is a reminder that #TeenPit submissions open today at 8am EDT. The event is hosted by K. Hopkins. The main objective is to select a teen writer for a guaranteed slot in PitchWars (hosted by Brenda Drake) later this summer. Teens who wish to enter #TeenPit must be high school-aged students (grades 10-12). The mentors are only accepting middle grade and young adult manuscripts (absolutely no adult stories, sorry).

For complete details, go here. As always, good luck!

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

The Bent Agency Adult Fiction Intern

April 14, 2017Internship, LiteraryAuthors, books, Experience, Fiction, Intern, Librarians, MFA Students, New York, Passion, Publishing, Reader, Remote Locations, School Teachers, The Bent Agency, Unpaid, Writerspdpabst

The Bent Agency

The Bent Agency is looking for an adult fiction intern. This is a great way to learn more about an agent’s work and decision-making process. Past interns have been writers for adults, adult librarians, elementary school teachers, MFA students, and passionate readers. This is an unpaid internship which will require a ten hour per week commitment and you do NOT have to live in New York.

They’re looking for someone who enjoys books by authors such as:

– Erin Morgenstern
– Tana French
– Eleanor Brown
– Jacqueline Sheehan
– Jodi Picoult
– Gillian Flynn
– Lori Roy
– Laurie Notaro
– Celia Rivenbark
– Elin Hilderbrand
– Kristin Hannah
– Jeannette Walls
– Kate Atkinson

They’ve had this posted for two days, so don’t delay if you’re interested. The candidates pile up super fast and the submission window could close soon. For complete details, go here. As always, good luck!

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

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