Tag Archives: Writing

San Francisco Writers Conference

December 24, 2016Literary, Writing Conferences & GetawaysAevitas Creative Management, Agents, Authors, books, California, Chronicle Books, Consultation, Dana Newman Literary, Editors, Fairbank Literary Representattion, Feedback, Fuse Literary, Harlequin/HarperCollins, Heather Graham, Irene Goodman Literary Agency, Jim Azevedo, John Perkins, Kimberley Cameron Literary, Literary Agents, Manuscripts, Mark Hopkins Hotel, Marketing, New York TImes Best Sellers, Peter Beren Literary Agency, Pitch Event, San Francisco, San Francisco Writers Conference, St. Martin's Press, Touchstone S&S, Trident Media Group, Viking Children's Books, William Bernahrdt, Writers, Writing, Writing Advicepdpabst

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The 2017 San Francisco Writers Conference will be held on February 16-19 at the historical Mark Hopkins Hotel. Meet keynoters:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Heather Graham
Author/Red Sneaker Writers founder William Bernhardt
New York Times bestselling author/Activist John Perkins

But the SFWC presenters list also includes many more bestselling authors, literary agents, editors, and publishers from major publishing houses. There are experts on self-publishing, book promotion, platform building, social media, and author websites.

PRESENTERS:
Jon Agee, children’s book author/illustrator
Nina Amir, author, speaker, journalist, nonfiction editor/coach/consultant
Kathleen Antrim, author, Co-President, of International Thriller Writers
Jim Azevedo, Smashwords Marketing Director
Aya de Leon, author and poet
Frances Caballo, SFWC social media director
Zoe FitzGerald Carter, author of Imperfect Endings: A Daughter’s Story of Love, Loss, and Letting Go
Stephanie Chandler, author, speaker and CEO
Mark Coker, Smashwords Founder
Rana DiOrio, Chief Executive Officer of Little Pickle Press
Julia Drake, co-founder of Wildbound PR
Selden Edwards, author of The Lost Prince
Kate Farrell, author, librarian, storyteller
Steaphen Fick, founder of the Davenriche Martial Artes School
Elizabeth Fishel, author of Getting To 30: A Parent’s Guide to the 20-Something Years (coauthored with Jeffrey Arnett)
Diane Frank, poet and author of six books of poems
Joel Friedlander, award-winning book designer and blogger
Tanya Egan Gibson, author, freelance editor and consultant
Cali Gilbert, author
Jewelle Gomez, author, poet, critic and playwright
Constance Hale, journalist and author
Melissa Hart, author and contributing editor at The Writer Magazine
K.J. Howe, author and Executive Director of ThrillerFest
Stuart Horwitz, founder and principal of Book Architecture
Carla King, adventure travel author, Founder of Self-Pub Boot Camp and Author Friendly
Michael Larsen, author, co-founder/co-director of the SFWC
Linda Lee, web site designer and WordPress expert
Donna Levin, author/writing teacher
Richard Loranger, writer, performer, visual artist
Mary Mackey, novelist, poet, screenwriter
Susie Meserve, memoirist, essayist, and poet
Tim McCanna, author of Bitty Bot and Watersong
Jennie Nash, author, teacher and CCO of AuthorAccelerator
Louise Nayer, co-authored How To Bury A Goldfish: 113 Rituals for Everyday Life.
Kathryn Otoshi, children’s book author
Douglas Rees, children’s book author and librarian
Olivia Rivers, children’s book author
Jordan E. Rosenfeld, author, editor and writing coach
Orna Ross, Irish indie author. She writes and publishes novels, poetry and the Go Creative!
Naheed Senzai, children’s book author
Lida Sideris, author of Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters
Justin Sloan, video game writer, novelist and screenwriter
Steven Spatz, writer,marketer and President of BookBaby
Elizabeth Stark, author,mentor and podcaster
Penny Warner, author and Agatha Award winner
Dylan Yates, author, writer and vocal coach

The lists for attending agents and editors looks topnotch! Some of the agents will even be accepting pitches during the Speed Dating For Agents. You can see a list of those participating here. Their are also editors doing eight minute consultations. More information on the consults is here. But for an idea of the many agents and editors that will be in attendance, here is a list:

AGENTS:
Lisa Abellera, Kimberley Cameron and Associates (CA)
Peter Beren, Peter Beren Literary Agency (CA)
Jennifer Chen Tran, Fuse Literary (CA)
Amy Cloughley, Kimberley Cameron & Assoc. (CA)
Sorche Elizabeth Fairbank, Fairbank Literary Representation (NY)
Mark Gottlieb, Trident Media Group, LLC (NYC)
Sarah Levitt, Aevitas Creative Management (NY)
Laurie McLean, Fuse Literary (CA)
Mary C. Moore, Kimberley Cameron & Associates (CA)
Dana Newman, Dana Newman Literary (CA)
Kim Perel, Irene Goodman Literary Agency (NY)
Jody Rein, Jody Rein Books (CO)
Andy Ross, Andy Ross Agency (CA)
Rayhané Sanders, Lippincott Massie McQuilkin (NY)
Ken Sherman, Ken Sherman & Associates (CA)
Jennifer March Soloway, Associate Agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (CA)
Gordon Warnock, Fuse Literary (CA)
Carlie Webber, CK Webber Associates (CA)
Ted Weinstein, Ted Weinstein Literary (CA)
Anna Worrall, The Gernert Company (NY)
Adriann Ranta Zurhellen, Foundry Literary + Media (NY)

EDITORS:
Chuck Adams, Executive editor at Algonquin Books
Brenda Copeland, St. Martins Press
Jason Gardner, New World Library
Mary Knippel, Independent Editor
Heather Lazare, Editor & Publishing Consultant
Tyler Moss, Managing Editor at Writers Digest
Taylor Norman, Chronicle Books
Jane Ormerod, Founding editor at great weather for MEDIA
Mary Rakow, Independent Editor
Leila Sales, author and Associate Publishing Manager at Viking Children’s Books
Lauren Spiegel, Senior Editor at Touchstone (S&S)
Liz Stein, Editor at Park Row Books, a division of Harlequin/HarperCollins
Annie Tucker, independent writing coach, developmental editor, and copy editor
Monica Wesolowska, Editor and teacher of fiction and creative non-fiction
Lisa Westmoreland, Executive Editor at 10 Speed Press

For those attending, this sounds like a great four days of learning and marketing yourself!

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

Operation Awesome: Scouting New Blogger

December 22, 2016LiteraryBloggers, Career, Fiction, Group Blogging, Help, Job, Marketing, Non-Fiction, Operation Awesome, Pass or Pages, Reynolds Tribe, Schedule, Social media, Writers, Writing, Writing Creditpdpabst

THEY WANT YOU!

Operation Awesome is looking for a new team member to commit to blogging every Thursday in 2017. The schedule will be flexible around contests and other date-sensitive posts, but this blogger will still be expected to blog approximately four times a month. They state they also need help running their Pass Or Pages contest, so they’re hoping the new blogger will like to help with the contest as well!

If you’re not familiar with their site, head over there now. Requirements and guidelines to apply are here. They will accept applications until Friday, January 6th, 2017. Questions may be asked directly on their blog post (not mine), or on Twitter @OpAwesome6 or @reynoldstribe.

As always, goodluck!

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

2017 Minnesota Writing Workshop

December 18, 2016Literary, Writing Conferences & GetawaysAdult Books, Betsy Amster Literary, Childrens Books, Conference, Corvisiero Literary Agency, Dee Mura Literary, Editing, Editors, February, Fiction, Getting Published, Graywolf Press, How To Get Published, Jennifer De Chiara Literary, Kensington Publishing, Literary Agents, Manuscripts, Middle Grade Books, Mighty Media Press Children's Books, Minnesota, Minnesota Writing Workshop, Non-Fiction, Pitch Event, Red Sofa Literary, St. Paul, Stories, The Bent Agency, The Lark Group, Writers, Writing, Young Adult Bookspdpabst

The 2017 Minnesota Writing Workshop 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 (150 total). This workshop is a full-day “How to Get Published” writing event in St. Paul, MN on February 11, 2017.

Agents and editors confirmed to be in attendance and/or available to pitch are:

literary agent Laura Zats (Red Sofa Literary)
literary agent Gemma Cooper (The Bent Agency)
editor Yana Makuwa (Graywolf Press)
literary agent Mary Cummings (Betsy Amster Literary)
literary agent Kimiko Nakamura (Dee Mura Literary)
literary agent Vicki Selvaggio (Jennifer De Chiara Literary)
literary agent Jennie Goloboy (Red Sofa Literary)
editor Elizabeth May (Kensington Publishing)
literary agent Abby Saul (The Lark Group)
literary agent Samantha Fountain (Corvisiero Literary)
literary agent Dawn Frederick (Red Sofa Literary)
editor Lauren Kukla (Mighty Media Press Children’s Books)
literary agent Kaylee Davis (Dee Mura Literary)
literary agent Erik Hane (Red Sofa Literary)
and possibly more to be announced.

For information on how to enroll and where to stay, go here. As always, good luck!

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

#PitchMAS Twitter Party Tomorrow!

December 15, 2016Contests, LiteraryAgents, Authors, December, Editors, Guideliens, Jess Russo, Literary contest, Manuscripts, Pitch Contest, Pitch Party, PitchMAS, Tamara Mataya, Twitter, Unagented, Unpublished, Writers, Writingpdpabst

Jessa Russo and Tamara Mataya are celebrating the success of their blog contest with a #PitchMAS twitter party December 16, 2016 from 6am-6pm PST. This is for completed and polished unpublished manuscripts! You will need to create a 140 character pitch for twitter and use the age category and genre (if possible). Participating agents and editors will fave pitches that interested them. Check their twitter feed and/or agency website for guidelines on how to submit.

As for the twitter party guidelines, go here. As always, good luck!

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

2017 Poetry Competition

December 13, 2016LiteraryBeautiful, Classical Art, contest, Culture, December, Divine, Environment, Free Verse, Great Culture, Human Nature, Human Rights in China, Humor, Issues of Our Age, Monetary Prize, Natural World, Poems, Poetry, Poets, Riddles, Sublime, Terrorism, The Society of Classical Poets, Theme, Writers, Writingpdpabst

The Society of Classical Poets is holding a poetry contest with a monetary prize! Metered and rhythmed poetry is preferred but not required. They usually do not publish love poems, free verse, or overly dark poems that don’t teach a positive lesson. Poems are judged based on both form and character. The poem should ideally be written in 2016, but does not have to be. It is okay if you have submitted it to other contests or posted it on your blog.

The poems must be within the four themes used by the Society, and at least one poem must be in the “Issues of Our Age” theme:

(1) Beautiful & Sublime: Beauty in human nature, culture, the natural world, classical art forms, and the divine.

(2) Humor & Riddles: Clean humor only please.

(3) The Issues of Our Age:

A. Terrorism. Terrorists and their ideology plague the world like a hate-filled cancer that does not seem to go away. How can the world defeat such an invisible foe?
B. The Environment. Though debate remains over climate change and GMOs, environmental pollution undeniably compromises our water and air. Nature’s beauty and purity plays victim to technology and industrialization.
C. Human Rights in China. In a globalized world, the human rights violations in China are essentially in our own backyard. Particularly heinous is the persecution of the peaceful meditation practice Falun Gong. Poetry in this category may also be submitted here.

(4) Great Culture: Good figures, stories, and other elements from classical (pre-1900) history and literature. Grand prize is $500 and there is a high school prize of $100. (Look to the site for additional prizes.) The deadline is December 31, 2016 with winners announced February 1, 2017. As always, good luck!

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

The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition

December 11, 2016Contests, Literaryagent, Chicken House, Childrens Books, Competition, December, Editing, Fiction, Guidelines, Manuscripts, Middle Grade, Monetary Prize, publisher, Publishing, Representation, Royalty Advance, Stories, Times, Unagented, Writers, Writing, Young Adultpdpabst

While they no longer accept unsolicited manuscripts, they do offer unpublished and unagented writers of children’s fiction the chance to submit their work to the annual Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition. They’re looking for original ideas, a fresh voice and a story that children will love!

First prize is a worldwide publishing contract with Chicken House with a royalty advance of £10,000 (approximately $12,500 US), plus representation from a top children’s literary agent.

To enter, you must have written a completed full-length novel suitable for children/young adults aged somewhere between 7 and 18 years. The full-length , manuscript should be minimum of 30,000 words and do not exceed 80,000 words in length.

The deadline to enter is December 18, 2018. Also, there is an entry fee of £15 (approximately $18.76 US). For complete guidelines and entry form, go here.

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

Queries That Worked

December 4, 2016LiteraryAgents, Angst, books, Charlotte Dillon, Chuck Sambucnino, Contract, Dream, editor, Hopeful, Inquiry, Letter, Manuscripts, Paragraphs, publisher, Query, Query Sample, rejections, Snubby, Stories, Successful, Successful Queries, Summorizing, Words, Writer's Digest, Writers, Writingpdpabst

Every writer knows the angst of summing their fantastical manuscript into a couple brief paragraphs. This grueling step is necessary to write an intriguing query letter. (For non-writers, this letter is the introduction to a manuscript to swoon a literary agent and/or publisher into reading a writer’s story with hopes of being signed.) Writerly folks can spend hours, days, weeks, and months forming words together, rearranging, and deleting until the paragraphs are just right. And honestly, some writers struggle knowing when the query is the absolute best for sending out into the world.

And sometimes, the problem isn’t always summing up the story. With nearly 130 million books published in the world, it’s likely someone already wrote something similar. So a writer needs to know what makes their story different and highlight that in their query letter. And trust me, this isn’t necessarily as easy as it sounds.

Knowing the struggles of query letters, I decided to inform my readers of a couple places to view query letters that have worked in hopes it’ll help a few writers.

Successful Queries via Chuck Sambuchino at Writer’s Digest. The reason I love this sight is because he also lists commentary from the agent that signed the author and why it worked for them.
Query Samples via Charlotte Dillon.

And for authors receiving rejections, here are a few best sellers that got snubby rejections but went on to sell millions of copies! Don’t let go of your dream!

P.D. Pabst

Blogger and writer of MG/YA Fiction.

Tomorrow is #Pitmad on Twitter

November 30, 2016Literary#Pitmad, Adult, Age Category, Agents, Brenda Drake, Chapter Book, Children's, Editors, Fiction, Genre, Hashtags, Manuscripts, Middle Grade, New Adult, Nonfiction, Picture Book, Pitches, Rules, Stories, Subgenre, Three Pitches, Twitter, Unagented, Unpublished, Writers, Writing, Young Adulutpdpabst

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.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

November 24, 2016Literary, UncategorizedAbsolute Write, Adventurous, Agents, ARCs, Authoress, Beta readers, Brenda Drake, Chocolate, Critique Partners, Daughter, Debt, Editing, Editors, Family, Feedback, Free Books, Friends, Grandson, Happy Thanksgiving, Health, Illiness, Jessa Russo, Love, Mentors, Michelle Hauck, Mortgage, Pitches, Preditors & Editors, Publishers Marketplace, QueryTracker, Readers, Reading, Samantha Fountain, Stories, Thankful, Thanksgiving, Writer's Beware, Writingpdpabst

Thanksgiving is a designated time to remember what we are thankful for in life. For many, it’s having our health to spend time with family and friends while gorging on amazing meals until our stomach feels like it will explode. But there are others who might be joyful they survived a fatal illness to be here celebrating with people they love. Or maybe, there are those thrilled to still have a job, maybe paid off a mortgage, or even happy because they got that iPhone they’ve always wanted.

As for me, I’d like to thank:

My family and friends who’ve supported me with my writing. (And a special shoutout to Keith and Chris for donating on my GoFundMe page!)
My daughter and grandson for bringing me joy in my life with their adventurous spirit.
My readers. (Because without y’all, I’d have no reason to have a blog!)
All my critique partners, beta readers, and anyone who has ever glanced at a few pitches/pages/chapters and offered feedback (I LOVE you guys!).
Contest hosts for supplying fabulous opportunities with agents and mentoring, and for those who selected me at some point in the past, for one thing or another. (For example: Brenda Drake, Authoress, Michelle Hauck, Samantha Fountain, and Jessa Russo.)
The mentors that participated in contests. Your feedback was completely awesome!
All slush readers (agents, editors, mentors, etc.) are the bomb. We don’t send enough chocolate, and I apologize!
The creator’s of Preditors & Editors, Writer’s Beware , Absolute Write Forums, Publishers Market Place, and QueryTracker. (I use them often.)
All the authors that allowed me to participate in their book releases or cover reveals!
For all the ARCs I received, because FREE BOOKS before their published is AWESOME!
I have a job and I adore working with all my coworkers!
And finally (but not last), to God for giving me the strength to get through each day.

I’m sure there are many things and other people I may have forgotten, and ask forgiveness if I have. Everyone in my physical and virtual life are very important to me. Y’all give me strength to become the best me. Thank you for being a part of my life!

Whatever your reason for being thankful today, I wish you the Happiest of Thanksgivings!

XOXO

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

Under The Volcano Writing Retreat

November 18, 2016Literary, Writing Conferences & GetawaysAuthors, Book Signings, Cocinar Mexicano, Conference, Learning, Manuscripts, Mexico, Pyramid Hike, Reading, Tax Write Off, Tepoztlan, Under The Volcano, Vacation, Village Tour, Workshops, Writers, Writing, Writing In Progress, Writing Retreat, Writing Tipspdpabst

tepoztlan-mexico

Under The Volcano has master classes over a nine day stay in Tepoztlan, Mexico. This retreat is for writers wanting to vacation, learn, and write on their WIP simultaneously. Even greater, these types of trips are tax deductible for writers. (Yes, you heard that right.)

The next session will be January 12-22, 2017 and costs $1795 (US). This fee includes:

Tuition for 6 three-hour workshops
One individual conference
Opening reception, orientation and closing dinners and one other group dinner
Daily lunches by Cocinar Mexicano
Private faculty reading and dinner
Public readings and book signings
Village tour and other cultural events
Escorted pyramid hike
Closing dinner

The fee does NOT include Airfare, accommodation and ground transportation for the workshop. For information or questions, you can go to their website to access their email form. (Disclaimer: I’ve not attended this workshop, so do your own research!)

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

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