Tag Archives: Young-adult fiction

Books I’ve Recently Read And Enjoyed

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I don’t often blog about what I’ve read, mostly because Goodreads has my list if anyone is interested. But, I realize some of my blog readers may not be part of Goodreads. So, here are a few books I’ve read recently and enjoyed. And although Halloween has passed, I’m still in the mood for a good MG or YA ghost story, so feel free to make suggestions in the comments.

Lockwood & Co. The Screaming Staircase

LOCKWOOD & CO. THE SCREAMING STAIRCASE: (Jonathan Stroud) I listened to the audio book of this, which had an older voice than the age of the character. This distracted me a little. And while I felt the story moved a little slow due to the writer being heavy with backstory, it was full of ghosts and young kids trying to get rid of them as their daily paid jobs, which made me think of Ghostbusters! In the end, I quite enjoyed the tale.

THE AWKWARD PATH TO GETTING LUCKY: A NOVEL: (Summer Heacock) What can I say? Sometimes I read more than MG and YA. Okay? Okay. So, this story is very adult and hysterically funny about a woman’s lady-parts gone wonky and in need of mending. She gets guidance from her friends and coworkers at a bakery! Yes, there are plenty of sweets in this story:-) But no, this isn’t an erotic novel with explicit sex. That’s for porn people. Geesh!

JACK AND THE GENIUSES: AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD: (Bill Nye) Yep, I’ve always been a science nerd. Whether it’s an invention or research for cures, I’m in! And when you throw brainiac kids in the mix doing the inventions and solving a missing case mystery, doubly better!

WONDER: (R.J. Palacio) It’s no wonder the book has been on NYT Bestselling list for two years and is being made into a movie. It has ALL THE FEELS! While this may be a story about a boy with a deformed face and will make you cry, it also makes you laugh OUT LOUD so many times! The main character seems to find the good in people most of the time and is more generous with his understanding of them than they deserve! This will tug at your heart, but you’ll be happy you read the story. I PROMISE!

THE ADVENTURER’S GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL ESCAPES: (Wade Albert White)  The author is great at making the reader laugh, which is always a win. Orphans going on a dangerous quest, constant roadblocks, and unreliable characters make this story a fantastic read in a world of science and magic. Oh, and there is a cool dragon!

SAVAGE: DRAGONRIDER LEGACY 1: (Nicole Conway) While this suggests the first book of a new tale, it is really an extention of THE DRAGONRIDER CHRONICLES and is another great story of Maldobar and Luntharda. I thought I’d miss the character of Jaevid who had been in the previous books (Okay, I kind of did!) but Reigh is introduced and I couldn’t help but fall in love with him and his magic, which he has to adapt to practically in the same manner as Jaevid had to with his. And for those that loved THE DRAGONRIDER CHRONICLES as much as I did, there’s a sweet surprise at the end!

And there you have a quick view into what I’ve read lately. As you can see, my heart may be black in my writing, but I enjoy a range of genres and age groups when reading. Don’t forget to leave suggestions in the comments for some spooky reads for middle grade and young adult stories. Have a great day!

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

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Entangled Publishing Submissions

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Entangled

Have you just finished writing a steamy romance novel, or maybe a teen novel sprinkled with some love? Entangled Publishing doesn’t require writers to have agents to submit to them. That’s right! Polish that manuscript and send it to one of their imprints that best fits your story.

  • Amara – 70k-120k word single title adult romance novels.
  • August – 20k-70k word category romance featuring Gen-X characters.
  • Bliss – 20k-60k sweet category romance.
  • Brazen – 20k-60k erotic category romance.
  • Embrace – New Adult romance novels or novels with romantic elements.
  • Entangled Teen – 70k-120k word romance novels or novels with romantic elements.
  • Indulgence – 45k-60k contemporary category romance.
  • Lovestruck – 20k-60k contemporary, romantic comedy category romance.
  • Scandalous – 20k-65k historical category romance.
  • Scorched – 15k-65k novellas, serialized novellas, and full-length novels, all with erotic romance elements.
  • Teen Crave – 20k-60k paranormal/scifi/fantasy YA category romance.
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They even blog about special submission requests. Check them out here! So, if you haven’t written the novel that’s been nagging to leave your brain, get going! After all, it is NaNoWriMo!

Best of luck on your writing journey!

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

Miss Snark’s Secret Agent Contest

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Just a quick reminder that @AuthoressAnon is hosting her Secret Agent Contest tomorrow, Monday, April 3, 2017. She is the genius behind Miss Snark’s First Victim blog, which often hosts critique events and contests to help gain a literary agent.

Authoress

 

The submission window will be open from noon to 6pm EDT. The BOT will randomly select 50 entrants with 2 alternates. To enter, you’ll need the first 250 words from you polished and completed manuscript. (No unfinished stories, please!) This months accepted genres will be:

  • Romance (YA, NA, Adult)
  • Thriller (YA, NA, Adult)
  • Contemporary (YA, NA, Adult)
  • Time Travel (YA, NA, Adult)
  • Suspense (YA, NA, Adult)

So, get those words polished! You can find the entire information for submission guidelines on her website here. As always, good luck!

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

Encouragement for the Day!

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encouraging-pic1

The difficulties of writing a novel can be tedious and more difficult than some people think. Writers don’t just pound out perfection in one sitting the first attempt. It can take days, weeks, months, or even years to get the first draft done, depending on other work obligations. Most writers have a day job not involving their writing career and have to squeeze writing in any free moment they can.

After the first draft is finished, comes the editing, and editing, and editing. A writer then sends manuscript to critique partners (CPs) or beta’s to help find plot holes, voice problems, or anything else they spot helpful. Hopefully, the writer has already caught most grammar and punctuation errors, but if not, CPs and beta’s can help with that too. And behold…more edits, and edits, and edits! If a writer is lucky, they’ll have funds to hire a professional editor to help with their manuscript, but this can get very expensive.

When a writer thinks the project is  at it’s best, they send off to literary agents. Sometimes these turn into requests for more revisions, so there is more editing involved. Now, I’m not going to get into the difficulties of landing an agent, or how long it can take to get a publishers to agree to publish EVEN if you have an agent. But, let me say, it can take years of writing new manuscripts and rejection after rejection before getting an agent or a publisher. And even after getting an agent or publishing contract, guess what? There are MORE edits! The process is loooooong! Writer’s know what I’m talking about.

What happens sometimes is a writer can get discouraged after so many rejections. Sometimes they want to give up. But, giving up is the only certain way to make sure a writer doesn’t succeed. The key is to surround themselves with like-minded people. The writing community is very supportive with each other. When they fell discouraged, they should reach out! But no matter what they do, DON’T GIVE UP! Let me repeat that…

DON’T GIVE UP!!!!!!!

Keep writing words to weave into fabulous stories. People want to read them. And they shall, if writer’s keep trying!

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

The Bent Agency Internship Opportunity

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The Bent Agency

The Bent Agency has intern positions open for an adult fiction reader and for a young adult/middle grade reader.  To become an intern reader for the Bent Agency, you do not need to have any kind of publishing experience, but you should love to read and be familiar with all sorts of fiction in these categories.  In particular, it’s helpful to be familiar with the books on the New York Times bestseller list.

You do not need to live in New York since this is a remote internship. They do ask for a ten-hours-a-week commitment. Please note that it is unpaid. For details on qualifications and how to submit, go here.

As always, good luck!

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

HELP RAISE FUNDS FOR #EDITING

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manuscript

Okay, I’ve thought about this for a long time and it wasn’t an easy decision to make. No one likes airing their troubles. NO ONE! So, without whining about my various trips to the hospital over the past few years, my car breaking down, my daughters car breaking down, I’ll move right along to my purpose.

I received revise and submits from two different agents a while back and have been sitting on top of them because I don’t have the funds to pay a professional editor. (And this could be golden, but I need to edit before they forget about me.) Then, I thought about my other writerly friends who have had troubles with tumors, lupus, chronic depression (yes, this IS a disease folks), houses burning down, and the list goes on-and-on-and-on of things that can strap any of us financially. So, my thoughts were wouldn’t it be great to not only pay for my edits but have some giveaways for other writers to pay for THEIR edits too? (Oh, you know it would be!)

While beta readers and critique partners are great, they aren’t always available or they just don’t mesh with your style. There are various reasons this doesn’t always work out. So, I created a GoFundMe account to help raise money for my manuscript THIS SCARY MANOR BLOWS (and my other two manuscripts), as well to have giveaways for other writers. So, if you’re feeling generous, please donate to the GoFundMe account. Even the tiniest of donations can help myself and other writers.

And when you read the story on GoFundMe, you’ll notice that if I don’t get signed with the agents that requested the R&R’s, I’m going to spend some of the money on cover art and marketing to self publish. Which can always be an alternative route for those that will win the editing giveaways when I have them. After all, even literary agents recommend being hybrid authors. (For non-writer’s, this means to traditional publish and self publish.)

And lastly, for anyone wanting to know my writing style and if donating is worth it, I’ve decided to post my first chapter to THIS SCARY MANOR BLOWS. Go here to view it.

Please share this on twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, WordPress, and any other social media you may be on! Remember, this isn’t just for myself, I hope to pay this forward to other writers. It might just be YOU!

Thank you for reading and any donations that you contribute! And if you can’t contribute, then please-please, share on your social media accounts. Again, thank you!

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

The Manuscript Academy

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the-manuscript-academy

The creator of Manuscript Wish List, Jessica Sinsheimer, now brings her adoring fans The Manuscript Academy. How amazeballs is this? The website proclaims it had the writer’s need, comfort, and budget in mind when creating the academy. And oh, how true! A writer can watch classes, panels, and ask questions in the forums from the coziness of their home. Hooray, no traveling!

Faculty includes:

  • Laura Barbiea: Social media manager at Alloy Entertainment, a publishing arm of Warner Brothers Entertainment. Actress.
  • Regina Brooks: Founder and president of Serendipity Literary Agency LLC.
  • Linda Camacho: Literary agent at Prospect Agency.
  • Jalissa Corrie: Marketing & Publicity Assistant at LEE & LOW BOOKS.
  • Melissa Edwards: Literary agent at Stonesong.
  • Julie Falatko: Author of Snappsy the Alligator (Viking 2016) and other books.
  • Erica Finkel: Works at Abrams Books from picture books to young adult novels.
  • Ali Fisher: Editor at Tor/Forge Books in the children’s and young adult division.
  • Monica Odom: Literary agent at Bradford Literary Agency.
  • Megha Parekh: Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Book Group.
  • Adriann Ranta Zurhellen: Literary agent at Foundry Literary + Media.
  • Chuck Sambuchino: Writer’s Digest Books edits the Guide to Literary Agents and managed the Guide to Literary Agents Blog. He is also an author of humor books.
  • Katharine Sands: Literary agent at Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency.
  • Amanda Shih: Assistant Editor at TarcherPerigee.
  • Jessica Sinsheimer: Associate Agent at the Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency and  known for #MSWL, ManuscriptWistList.com, #PubTalkTV
  • Stephanie Stein: Associate Editor at HarperCollins Children’s Books.
  • Roseanne Wells: Literary agent at The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency.

With that kind of line-up, how can you NOT sign up for this? For the Children’s conference: PB to YA starting November 5, 2016 the cost will be $179. Some of the things the academy promises is:

  •  Priority booking of one-on-one meetings
  • Submit your first page for a chance to be read to our panel
  • Craft and business classes
  • Forums and networking
  • Live literary events
  • Everything you’d learn at a conference–without leaving home

To learn about other conferences or to learn how to register, go to The Manuscript Academy.

As always, good luck!

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

“Dear Lucky Agent” Contest

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DearLuckyAgent24

Chuck Sambuchino announced Writer’s Digest is hosting the 22nd “Dear Lucky Agent” Contest. The agent judge is ANDREA MORRISON of Writers House.

andrea-morrison

 She started as an intern for Steve Malk in the California office in 2009, and has been in love with publishing and the company ever since. In NYC, she first learned under Brianne Johnson, and then went on to assist Rebecca Sherman and Geri Thoma. For this contest, she’ll want the first 150-250 words (i.e., your first double-spaced page) of your unpublished, completed book-length work of young adult (no high sci-fi or high fantasy, please). You must include a contact e-mail address with your entry and use your real name. Also, submit the title of the work and a logline (one-sentence description of the work) with each entry.

Please note, in order to be eligible to submit, you must mention this contest twice through any social-media. The contest will be live through the end of August 24, 2016, PST. Be sure to read all the contest guidelines before entering.

As always, good luck!

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

Peter Knapp MG & YA Critique Giveaway!

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Peter Knapp

Since Peter Knapp returned to Park Literary & Media, he has decided to give critiques to all middle grade and young adult submissions received before Tuesday, August 16th at 5pm ET that follow his guidelines. NOTE: This is NOT open to queries or submissions he has previously seen. No exceptions.

Be prepared to paste the first three chapters of your manuscript with your query. In the subject line put “Query – Peter Knapp – August 2016 Feedback Giveaway – [category + genre of your book]” (for example, “Query – Peter Knapp –  August 2016 Feedback Giveaway – MG Historical”). Remember, this is only for COMPLETED manuscripts. To make sure your submission does not get deleted, be sure to follow Peter’s entire guidelines.

As always, good luck!

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

 

 

Pitch To Publication

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Pitch to Publication

It’s almost time for Pitch To Publication hosted by Samantha Fountain. This contest is a golden ticket for the winners because not only do editors select manuscripts to edit, but there will be an agent round followed by a publisher round. It’s stretched over a few months for the winners, but when the contest comes to a close, a few might have agents as well as publishing deals!

The submission window will be on Saturday, March 5th 12:00pm EST to Sunday, March 6th 12:00pm EST. If you have questions, you can ask Samantha using the hashtag #P2P16 on twitter. The editors are listed on the website, along with what they are looking for. Samantha will also list the participating agents and publishers on the site, so stay tuned to her page!

As always, good luck!

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