tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26292601472892586472024-03-19T05:30:24.355-07:00AggghhhhhMichelle writes a bunch and yells at herselfMichellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-20397615551314959272013-11-19T18:16:00.002-08:002013-11-20T08:23:18.263-08:00Pitch Wars Mentor Wishlist!!Hey everyone! It's that time again! Pitch Wars is here and I'm psyched as hell to be a mentor!<br />
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Confused about what Pitch Wars is? Check it out <a href="http://www.brenda-drake.com/pitch-wars/">here!</a><br />
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And now for my wishlist. Keep in mind, if you think I'd like something but I don't specifically mention it on this list, send it! It doesn't hurt to send to me, and I look over every entry very carefully. If you submit to me, I'll definitely give it my whole time and consideration!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>WHY YOU WANT TO CHOOSE ME: </u></span></b><br />
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<b>1.</b> I know the query game like my own left foot. We'll work together and hone yours to disturbingly awesome sharpness.<br />
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<b>2. </b>I'm enthusiastic! I USE A LOT OF !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND CAPS!!!!!!!!!!!!! You will always get a quick response from me - I choose projects I'm enthusiastic about and you'll get the brunt of my undying love.<br />
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<b>3</b>. I'm cool and you're cool. Clearly we're a match made in heaven.<br />
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Also, thanks for choosing me! I mean, wow. I am honored. Have a kiss from a fabulous long-haired man whom I do not know the name or origin of.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLzHsRKyQSNjOEZAkhN7BHXhFseIoKuqKlVOv5bg2YTYZUFfwkykBT5VpvxZYtm2R2NQlnofhtavE0i7b1C7O69YSdKByADpRj2TF2JU7HCkAfFZWh-3DfuXTrXjJ_Ndmw5DKuH3PsowE/s1600/tumblr_inline_mi17k8id2g1qzj22i.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLzHsRKyQSNjOEZAkhN7BHXhFseIoKuqKlVOv5bg2YTYZUFfwkykBT5VpvxZYtm2R2NQlnofhtavE0i7b1C7O69YSdKByADpRj2TF2JU7HCkAfFZWh-3DfuXTrXjJ_Ndmw5DKuH3PsowE/s1600/tumblr_inline_mi17k8id2g1qzj22i.gif" /></a><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">I AM CONSIDERING YOUNG ADULT PROJECTS <u>ONLY</u>.</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. YA/Sci-Fi</span><br />
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This is the biggest want on my list. Space, futuristic technology, cool robots, aliens - anything that is Sci-Fi with teens is right up my alley. I'm not too keen on time travel, however, and I'm generally burnt out on the clone concept. Other than that, give me. I am making grabby hands at my screen but you just can't see them. Alas.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">2. YA/Historical</span><br />
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It's a commonly known fact I'm a huge history nerd. I love <b>Europe</b> and have a particular fondness for <b>Asia</b>. If your Historical has <b>Fantasy</b>, then double the YES factor from me. I've been dying for a good Historical Fantasy forever.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">3. YA/Horror/Thriller</span><br />
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As you may know, my debut novel is a thriller, and <b>there's quite a few agents raring for those</b>, so I'd love to work on a project with creepy elements like <b>kidnapping, stalking, murder, suicide</b>. Anything that pushes the boundaries of YA and takes us on a ride into the darker side is also right up my alley.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">3.5 YA/Contemporary</span><br />
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I'm a huge fan of contemporary in YA, however I generally <b>prefer darker contemporary</b> stories. If yours is a <b>light romance, I'll probably not like it. </b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">3.75 YA/Fantasy</span><br />
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I've been dying to read a good Fantasy. High Fantasy is a special love of mine, but regular fantasy quenches the thirst as well.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">4. In General</span><br />
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Don't be afraid to submit to me! I like <b>wit, spunk, and projects that aren't afraid to tackle hard subjects</b>. <b>Sarcasm</b> is a five star plus. <b>Tortured romance</b> is a five star plus. <b>Literary elements</b> are a five star plus. <b>Magical realism</b> is a huge plus. If in doubt, check my goodreads shelf (link on the sidebar!) to see if your project might be something I'd like!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>I Do Not Want:</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. YA/Contemporary with a focus on romance</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">2. YA retellings of fairy tales</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">3. YA Paranormal or Urban Fantasy</span><br />
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And now for the list of awesome agents who will be judging this contest!!<br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">1.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 7.0pt;"> <a href="https://twitter.com/louisefury" target="_blank"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span></span></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://twitter.com/louisefury" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">LouiseFury</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>–<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.thebentagency.com/home.php" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Bent Agency</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 19.5pt;">2.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 7pt; line-height: 19.5pt;"> <a href="https://twitter.com/sztownsend81" target="_blank"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span></span></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 19.5pt;"><a href="https://twitter.com/sztownsend81" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">SuzieTownsend</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>–<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://newleafliterary.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">New Leaf Literary</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">3.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 7.0pt;"> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://twitter.com/NicLitAgent" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">NicoleResciniti</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>-<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.theseymouragency.com/default.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">The Seymour Agency</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">4.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 7.0pt;"> <a href="https://twitter.com/johnmcusick" target="_blank"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span></span></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://twitter.com/johnmcusick" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">JohnM.
Cusick</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>–<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.greenhouseliterary.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">The Greenhouse Agency</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">5.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 7.0pt;"> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://twitter.com/sarahlapolla" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">SarahLaPolla</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>–<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.bradfordlit.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Bradford Literary Agency</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">6.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 7.0pt;"> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://twitter.com/LitAgentMarini" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">VictoriaMarini</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>-<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.gelfmanschneider.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Gelfman Schneider Literary Agency</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">7.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 7.0pt;"> <a href="https://twitter.com/jsinsheim" target="_blank"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span></span></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://twitter.com/jsinsheim" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">JessicaSinsheimer</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>-<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.sarahjanefreymann.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">8.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 7.0pt;"> <a href="https://twitter.com/bookaliciouspam" target="_blank"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span></span></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://twitter.com/bookaliciouspam" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Pamvan Hylckama Vlieg</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>-<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://forewordliterary.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Foreword
Literary</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">9.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 7.0pt;"> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://twitter.com/quinlan_lee" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">QuinlanLee</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>-<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://adamsliterary.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Adams
Literary</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">10.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 7.0pt;"> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://twitter.com/suddenlyjen" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">JenUdden</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>–<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://maassagency.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Donald
Maass Literary Agency</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">11.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 7.0pt;"> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://twitter.com/esc_key" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">EmilyKeyes</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>–<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://forewordliterary.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Foreward
Literary</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">12.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 7.0pt;"> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://twitter.com/SecretAgentBri" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Brianne Johnson</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>–<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://writershouse.com/content/home.asp" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Writers House</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">13.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 7.0pt;"> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://twitter.com/carlywatters" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">CarlyWatters</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span></span></a>–<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://psliterary.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">P.S. Literary</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">14.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 7.0pt;"> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://twitter.com/LanaPopovicZSH" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">LanaPopovic</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and
Natasha Alexis -<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.zshliterary.com/index.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Zachary Shuster Harmsworth</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">15.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 7.0pt;"> <a href="https://twitter.com/molly_jaffa" target="_blank"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span></span></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://twitter.com/molly_jaffa" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">MollyJaffa</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>–<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.foliolit.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Folio
Literary Management</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 19.5pt;">16.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 7pt; line-height: 19.5pt;"> <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanJGregory" target="_blank"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span></span></a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 19.5pt;"><a href="https://twitter.com/EvanJGregory" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">EvanGregorgy</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>-<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://ethanellenberg.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency</span></a></span><br />
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<br />Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-82133862299337469722013-08-09T22:51:00.002-07:002013-08-13T17:35:33.510-07:00Candid thoughts and toothpaste faces<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hello friends! It has been a while. おひさしぶりですね!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I just put toothpaste on my face to ward off zits. A nice woman at the grocery store told me it helps, so I'm trying it out. She was very candid and I think she inspired me to be a little candid.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So here are some very candid facts I wish I knew as I was working towards becoming an author</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>A.</b> There are no rules. The only writing rule is to write. Put as many ‘theys’ and ‘ands’ as you want in a sentence. Use every adverb in the world if you want. Do not sacrifice your wonderful natural voice because some poop king told you not to type the letters ‘ly’ too much. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>B.</b> The first book you write will not be the one that sells. (realistically!) Write many books. Love them all equally. Each of them helps you get better, and if you do snag an agent/publishing deal with one, you can always revamp the old ones and try to sell them, too, so it’s not like you’re dumping them forever. Don’t re-write a book that is your baby to death and choke the life out of the possibility of writing something new, exploring something new, and becoming better. If you do not change you will not improve. If you do not improve you will not advance (in the industry). It’s that simple. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>C. </b>You will get rejected. But if you focus on the fact they’re not rejecting you for YOU, but that agents/editors are rejecting you because it is a BUSINESS, it’s much easier to swallow. It’s a business. Let that become your mantra. No one hates you. No one hates your work. They just don’t think they can sell it and they need to put food on the table as well because they are humans and sometimes, when we get excited about our art, we forget that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>D. </b>Thanks! You are beautiful! Keep going! I have to wash this toothpaste off so hopefully when I blush I won't smell like burning mint. </span></div>
Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-63353166155868565332013-04-16T16:04:00.000-07:002013-04-16T16:04:08.980-07:00Queries are like cupcakes!! cuppppcakesssss!!!Hey guys! Long time no blog. Can I say that? Is 'blog' a legitimate verb now? It should be.<br />
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Queries.<br />
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Let's get into it with that one word. QUERIES. KWERE RIES.<br />
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Back when I was querying, I didn't think I'd write queries for my projects once I was represented. This is a lie. Query-writing is the number one most important tool I've cultivated. Writing a query ahead of a project helps to outline where the story is going, what the stakes are, and who the characters will be. It forces you to think like you did in the querying trenches - how to capture the attention of people with a story in less than two paragraphs.<br />
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Even now, I get a lot of people asking for help with their queries. I thought I'd breakdown my process for how I see/write queries.<br />
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Basically, queries to me are like cupcakes.<br />
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I know, you're like YUM WOW BEST ANALOGY EVER. Hopefully. Otherwise you're just staring at the screen like; 'this chick's crazy/obsessed with food'. Both are true. Alas.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-0wWFCdwL96h3cr6VCnsuzUaJEPvIx6FQrMK2AcKVwQwHmbHjg3_ZBL2ocx4CBWN06VIbPHZn-eBndFp5onygtzpVStEVcDseLmNOLWJqKmy9sgJeoKe76iP0WVjVf1n0-sjl5SuOm4k/s1600/Chocolate-cupcakes-1-e1343274163739.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-0wWFCdwL96h3cr6VCnsuzUaJEPvIx6FQrMK2AcKVwQwHmbHjg3_ZBL2ocx4CBWN06VIbPHZn-eBndFp5onygtzpVStEVcDseLmNOLWJqKmy9sgJeoKe76iP0WVjVf1n0-sjl5SuOm4k/s320/Chocolate-cupcakes-1-e1343274163739.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.glorioustreats.com/2010/04/recipe-perfectly-chocolate-cupcakes.html">picture credit</a>! Her blog is incredibly drool-worthy! go check it out~ </td></tr>
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(Keep in mind, the following is just how I do queries. It doesn't work for everyone, and your wonderful way is probably different, and that is amazing. I just thought it would be fun to share how I do mine!)<br />
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First up! The most important part of the query, in my opinion, the hook.<br />
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The hook is a lot like the cupcakey body of the cupcake. It sets the tone of the query, shows how blindingly good I am at being catchy (pft), and gives the reader an idea of the plot all in one or two sentences. It's best to be dramatic with the hook. Don't be afraid of being melodramatic. In fact, this is the one area of my query where I let myself be dramatic and maybe a little weepy.<br />
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Let's say I'm hypothetically writing a YA Fantasy inspired by A Game of Thrones/Legend of Korra. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.09375px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(^_~)☆</span></span><br />
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What I want is to zoom in on the hooky conflict. I need to make it about the main character's struggle, first and foremost. So!<br />
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<i>Yura is the first Darkest Burn mage born in a century.</i><br />
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<i>And the world wants to kill her. </i><br />
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Tahdahhh! Conflict. We know the story is about mages, about a girl who's a certain type of mage, and that because of that, her world wants her dead.<br />
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Now, we need to elaborate. WHY does the world want to kill her? Let's get into that right away so the reader isn't confused. Let's call that the frosting. The frosting is the best part, right? It's the whole reason you eat the cupcake in the first place! You can actually eat it by itself. That's how good it is.<br />
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<i>King Nalhalbet of Serko nearly conquered the world with his army of Darkest Burn mages. To stop him, King Farlin of Ral committed genocide against the Darkest Burns. With mage-types passed through bloodlines, the world rested easy - the Darkest Burn power could be abused by kings no longer. But magic found a way; it birthed Yura.</i><br />
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There. The world is fleshed in a little. We now know why they'd want to kill poor Yura. We could probably do without naming the countries each King is a part of, so maybe I'll take out the 'of Serko' and 'of Ral' later if need be, but I feel it adds to the flavor of the world, and shows the warring countries aspect. Let's bring our main character back in and combine her WITH the world. Her actions in it. It's all still frosting, mind. Make it delicious. <br />
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<i>When Yura's kidnapped by slavers her magic spirals out of control, killing the slavers, fellow slaves, and the mage-hunting knights assigned to assassinate her. One knight survives - Kahn, bastard of the King of Ral. Determined to complete his assignment and avenge the loss of his comrades, he travels with a guilt-wracked Yura and the old mage Vendal. Vendal takes Yura under his wing, teaches her to control her powers, and leads her to a safe haven in the capital of Lekk, where people flatter, manipulate, and backstab to make her power their own.</i><br />
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This is more set-up, specifically what happens in the book, and who else is involved in Yura's journey. Arguably I could shorten and combine a lot of this with the MAIN conflict, which is below. The MAIN conflict acts as the cupcake wrapper, keeping the cupcake in place and making it appealing. It's essentially the last chance you have to draw the reader into the story and leave them hanging, leave them wanting to read more. So make it good! <i> </i><br />
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<i>But a greater threat lurks; the King of Ral reanimates the corpses of the long-dead Darkest Burns in an effort to make another invincible army. They regenerate. They overrun villages and make their way to the capital of Lekk. </i><i>And the only thing that can destroy them permanently is true Darkest Burn magic - Y</i><i>ura's magic. </i><br />
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<i>If she can't master it, Lekk will perish. </i><i>If she can't control it, she'll kill innocents again.</i><br />
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<i>Darkest Burns will consume the world again. </i><br />
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In my personal opinion, I've done better MAIN conflicts, but I do like those last couple lines. Finally, we get to the sprinkles of the cupcake - the summarizing paragraph.<br />
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<i>The Darkest Burning is a 78k word YA/Fantasy, pitched as <b>A Game of Thrones</b> meets <b>Legend of Korra</b>. Thank you for your time.</i><br />
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Overall, the query is rather average. I've never done a fantasy YA query before, so this was my first try! It's a lot harder than, say, contemporary, which has a straightforward plot without a lot of world building, since we already live in that world! Although, any cupcake is a good cupcake, I think, and this one is no exception.<br />
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<br />Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-10588304348134195672012-12-31T14:53:00.004-08:002012-12-31T14:53:47.068-08:002012 was cool and also catsThis morning someone launched fireworks in my ear to wake me up and I sat up and realized; NEW YEAR.<br />
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GUYS WHAT IS TIME. WHERE HAS IT GONE WHERE WILL IT GO, INTO A VOID OF FOOD AND WRITING AND BREATHING AND SLEEPING AND BILLS AND POOPING? YES. I AM TWENTY-TWO. WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN. CAN IT HAVE ANY MEANING AT ALLOHMYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYGOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDD.<br />
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As I was calmly considering the meaning of time and the universe, I hit my cranium on the headboard and it jostled my thoughts about into a more acceptable frame of mind i.e. Not Insane.<br />
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2012 has been an incredible year.<br />
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I wrote three books. One of them got me represented by a fantastic agent who supports me and guides me in all the right ways. May 11th, my agent called me out of the blue and offered rep. The rest is history.<br />
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By June, we were on sub.<br />
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I am lucky and incredibly lucky and so freaking <i>lucky</i> and <i>grateful </i>that my submission time was relatively painless. I missed a whole world of horrible anguish. I got my share of kind rejections and static silence, and through it all my writing friends supported me.<br />
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Sometimes, before I became represented, I woke up with stress nightmares. Querying for three years took its toll, and only after I'd signed with my agent did the nightmares stop. My faith in myself, my work, and my agent became a driving force in my life. If the book got picked up, great. If it didn't, okay, fine, I can write an even better one! Just knowing there was someone in my corner (Hi Jessica!!) gave me the confidence to forge forward. And that's true to this day.<br />
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August 25th, Jessica let me know we had an offer. From a fantastic, mind-blowingly awesome editor and house.<br />
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I can't describe the moment. I should be able to, since I'm a writer. The closest thing I've got is the feeling you have when the roller coaster goes down too fast and your stomach lifts off your intestines and the little hollow floods with suspense. And then the coaster sits flat and everything gets back in place and you're so grateful for it, for feeling full and right again.<br />
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I talked to Sharyn and I knew. I knew the book belonged to her, and us, but most of all she<i> got it</i>. PRETENDING TO BE ERICA had not only found a good home, but the <i>right</i> home. <br />
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I did a lot of silly crying.<br />
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Because feeling right, seeing things become right, that's the best feeling in the world.<br />
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A few days after that I turned twenty-two and halloween and thanksgiving and christmas. I was a judge in PitchWars and got to read so many amazing manuscripts. I went on my first blind date (!!!), which is insane because I hate dates and am ridiculously shy, but hey, I DID IT. I became friends with lots more writers. I saw writer friends become better and faster and happier and sadder. The world gets so big the less you see, gets so small the more you see, and it's pretty and momentary but always there under the surface, like a tidepool.<br />
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When there's a lot of water, a lot of things, we can't see it. When there's a little water, we can see.<br />
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And now New Years.<br />
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I think most of all, what I learned this year is that living is scary. But fun.<br />
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Most of all, I learned that dreams really do come true. I was a cynic and I still am but holy shit. Life schooled me this year. It slapped me in the face and said "how dare you underestimate me". And that's made this year my best one so far.<br />
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I can do anything!<br />
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So can you!<br />
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Isn't that scary.<br />
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It's not about the journey, or the end. It's not about who you are or who you'll become. It's about finding what makes you happy. Happiest. And going for it really hard. All or nothing.<br />
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Because right now, you are all. And you are nothing.<br />
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Thank <i>you</i>. yes. <i>you</i>.<br />
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If you're scared, hold my hand. I'll be here for you if you need it.<br />
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Let's go.<br />
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<br />Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-38679652585047713992012-12-13T14:41:00.001-08:002012-12-13T14:48:41.650-08:00PM Announcement!Okay guys, it's the moment I've been waiting for. It's official. PRETENDING TO BE ERICA has now been announced in Publisher's Marketplace!<br />
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Here's the announcement screenshot (click to enlarge!);<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">December 11, 2012</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12px;">Michelle Painchaud's debut PRETENDING TO BE ERICA, a thriller about the daughter of Las Vegas' best conman, who is posing as the abducted daughter of a wealthy family in order to steal the family's most valuable asset, to Sharyn November at Viking Children's, by Jessica Faust at BookEnds.</span></b></div>
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I'm still in a state of shock, really. I found out about the deal right before my 22nd birthday, at the end of August. I never, in my wildest dreams, thought I'd get this far. BIG THANKS to Jessica and Sharyn for believing in me, for taking a chance on a book that, to this day, makes me cry while reading it. </div>
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Much love to my writing group the LitBitches, you guys have been a support ring like no other. I'll love you guys till the end of the world when we release the krakens. ^_~</div>
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Mega thanks to everyone on twitter who's been following me and giving the congrats - my arms are hugging you from a million miles away. Thanks to my family and friends for being super cool cats all around. </div>
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Also an obligatory thanks to caffeine and my body for still breathing even when I was freakin'. </div>
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Brb, doing this all day;</div>
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</span>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-47166647667595990032012-12-04T12:08:00.002-08:002012-12-04T12:08:38.094-08:00Pitch Wars - AGENT POST~~~<br />
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<big><big><b><big>Pitch Wars ... the agents!</big></b></big></big></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Are you ready for this? We have <i><b>16</b></i> incredible agents vying for our Pitch Wars team manuscripts. We're so excited to see what pitches they fall in love with, and what teams will win the coveted Pitch Wars Most Requested Manuscript title. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.louisefury.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><i><b>Louise Fury</b></i></a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://lperkinsagency.com/about_the_agency" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><b>L. Perkins Agency</b></a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/louisefury" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Twitter: @louisefury</a></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Louise is seeking <span style="text-decoration: underline;">t</span>een Sci-Fi and Young Adult horror. She<span style="font-size: small;">'s</span> also on the hunt for deep, dark contemporary YA and select Middle Grade fiction with a literary feel--it must be realistic and thought provoking and the characters must be authentic and original. Louise loves horror and romance, especially Regency and Victorian.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5QRkWShmd5pPApqx2Wq-yQROPMB3nJep0Opq_KQ3Jolf7Y-7tb3cOzPumoatK9_mhtofzpbGs6vfwIbBThZbi25fMuoJOgFC0CJvAnsw2qIUtzST94gZnSGsInNfWWQbqqbFoJjgtuDs/s1600/Jessica+Sinsheimer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5QRkWShmd5pPApqx2Wq-yQROPMB3nJep0Opq_KQ3Jolf7Y-7tb3cOzPumoatK9_mhtofzpbGs6vfwIbBThZbi25fMuoJOgFC0CJvAnsw2qIUtzST94gZnSGsInNfWWQbqqbFoJjgtuDs/s1600/Jessica+Sinsheimer.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Jessica Sinsheimer</i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.sarahjanefreymann.com/about.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency</a></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/jsinsheim" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Twitter: @jsinsheim</a></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jessica is seeking Literary, Women's, Middle Grade, and Young Adult Fiction.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #1155cc;"><i><a href="http://www.adventuresinagentland.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Natalie Fischer Lakosil</a></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.bradfordlit.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Bradford Literary Agency</a></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Natalie_Lakosil" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Twitter: @Natalie_Lakosil</a></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Natalie<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>is looking for commercial fiction, with an emphasis in children’s literature (from picture book-teen), romance (contemporary, paranormal and historical), and upmarket women’s fiction. Specific likes include historical, multi-cultural, paranormal, sci-fi/fantasy, gritty, thrilling and darker contemporary novels, and middle grade with heart. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://bookalicious.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><i><b>Pam van Hyckama Vlieg</b></i></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.larsenpomada.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Larsen Pomada Literary Agents</a></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/BookaliciousPam" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Twitter: @BookaliciousPam</a></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Pam represents young adult and middle grade children’s book authors, and adult romance authors.</span> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY22IswJf_jyB5409hoP0Wj9TYJkzjYEdnUDSXVc8BAo90Z7AXlYbdi5_0AlTQL8JDJNTghaToYDTytW4OVoZVe1vExB2ImPy1bCfvDA73Yms2H4wGt6bUGV445J1qOMGHmtZBTmnnZ2A/s1600/jordy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY22IswJf_jyB5409hoP0Wj9TYJkzjYEdnUDSXVc8BAo90Z7AXlYbdi5_0AlTQL8JDJNTghaToYDTytW4OVoZVe1vExB2ImPy1bCfvDA73Yms2H4wGt6bUGV445J1qOMGHmtZBTmnnZ2A/s1600/jordy.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://jordyalbert.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><b><i>Jordy Albert</i></b></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.thebookeralbertagency.com/agents.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">The Booker Albert Agency</a></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/bluedragonfly81" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Twitter: @bluedragonfly81</a></b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jordy is <span style="font-size: small;">on the look out for</span> Romance (contemporary, historical/Regency, and paranormal). YA contemporary/historical or dystopian, sci-fi/fantasy with romance elements. She<span style="font-size: small;">'</span>s also open to YA GLBT within those genres. She'd love to see unique, well-developed plots featuring time travel, competitions, or travel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.andreasomberg.com/cms/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><i><b>Andrea Somberg</b></i></a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.harveyklinger.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Harvey Klinger Inc.</a></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/andreasomberg" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Twitter: @andreasomberg</a></b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Andrea<span style="font-size: small;">'</span>s looking for<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>the following categories: Fiction; literary, commercial, womens fiction, romance, thrillers, mystery, paranormal, fantasy, science fiction, young adult, middle grade.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvmQitRsUWmaK34hsoL12NlTQvMDQuBSdPGVWYcj8CFT_6G8wHwJhz-u1LD10b_eKopVZlWw4llKWWZFfExk60Yac9lqEeYSD8KiQXPokpriS46d7lskSj4c950XHH7Ws7XEDLs9ceq8/s1600/Jenn+Mishler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvmQitRsUWmaK34hsoL12NlTQvMDQuBSdPGVWYcj8CFT_6G8wHwJhz-u1LD10b_eKopVZlWw4llKWWZFfExk60Yac9lqEeYSD8KiQXPokpriS46d7lskSj4c950XHH7Ws7XEDLs9ceq8/s1600/Jenn+Mishler.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Jennifer Mishler</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.literarycounsel.com/index.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Literary Counsel</a></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/literarycounsel" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Twitter: @literarycounsel</a></b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jennifer is seeking Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult Contemporary, Young Adult Literary, and Young Adult Historical. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdy1f6IeuFyFTzZoQHM1qzOSaxkoHW4Y54gs_2ECVDo2_OXJK-oTs0JDYbSvaGgJ1IwxQAXSCbudL2iUYCPgVsoQ84g6DIBwtVZIilzvZv5HFR8szEFkW_6Ojfwd12Q3VKszzWHQf1_Qo/s1600/suzy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdy1f6IeuFyFTzZoQHM1qzOSaxkoHW4Y54gs_2ECVDo2_OXJK-oTs0JDYbSvaGgJ1IwxQAXSCbudL2iUYCPgVsoQ84g6DIBwtVZIilzvZv5HFR8szEFkW_6Ojfwd12Q3VKszzWHQf1_Qo/s1600/suzy.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://confessionsofawanderingheart.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><b><i>Suzie Townsend</i></b></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://newleafliterary.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc.</a></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/sztownsend81" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Twitter: @sztownsend81</a></b> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Suzie represents adult and children's fiction. In adult, she's specifically looking for romance (historical and paranormal), and fantasy (urban fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, epic fantasy). In Childrens' she loves YA (all subgenres) and is dying to find great Middle Grade projects (especially something akin to the recent movie SUPER 8).</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMEEaVplQC1EOaoU1c-UWpiqBF-QzAbWBH_ce5-Du61-y8906Gi-Erq3pRMxz_uaQiDJyeW4UZyhxcHksgUS51ybVo4BKNqQCqu_n4Jn0EdfGao-InaaFX5K6HCc5rr4KVzmeFaVaAUpo/s1600/victoria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMEEaVplQC1EOaoU1c-UWpiqBF-QzAbWBH_ce5-Du61-y8906Gi-Erq3pRMxz_uaQiDJyeW4UZyhxcHksgUS51ybVo4BKNqQCqu_n4Jn0EdfGao-InaaFX5K6HCc5rr4KVzmeFaVaAUpo/s1600/victoria.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Victoria Marini</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.gelfmanschneider.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents, Inc.</a></b><i><b> </b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/LitAgentMarini" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Twitter: @LitAgentMarini</a></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Victoria is looking for literary fiction, commercial fiction, pop-culture non-fiction, and young adult. She is very interested in acquiring engaging Literary fiction and mysteries / suspense, commercial women's fiction (romantic suspense, sci-fi, fantasy), and Young Adult (contemporary, sci-fi/fantasy, thriller and horror ).</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVblenzcexN_Px-zOdozN6x0tLzK4q6IC7LUH0Xn_9U0JEU5Y3H991_EMFEuP8DRpX-YpMyn5o9k_apDgpFdOsma1zLCCWUfkOcmH_DboSuNW0e2eSY3QiA4ccctfrqLCXZarmJJ_-Rck/s1600/Kerry+Sparks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVblenzcexN_Px-zOdozN6x0tLzK4q6IC7LUH0Xn_9U0JEU5Y3H991_EMFEuP8DRpX-YpMyn5o9k_apDgpFdOsma1zLCCWUfkOcmH_DboSuNW0e2eSY3QiA4ccctfrqLCXZarmJJ_-Rck/s1600/Kerry+Sparks.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><a href="http://www.mynameispabst.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Kerry Sparks</a></b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.levinegreenberg.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Levine Greenberg Literary Agency, Inc.</a> </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Kerry_Sparks" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Twitter: @Kerry_Sparks</a></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Kerry is looking for Young Adult and Middle-Grade fiction, both commercial and literary. She tends to shy away from werewolves, zombies, faeries, and the like, but she’ll read anything with a fresh voice and compelling characters. She is particularly keen on contemporary YA, quirky MG, books with a strong cinematic element. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://literarychampion.wordpress.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><i><b>Drea Cohane</b></i></a> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.therightsfactory.com/index.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">The Rights Factory Literary Agents</a></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Drea is currently seeking: fiction, memoir, crime, non-fiction and YA. Her roster consists of British, American, and Canadian clients. International talent is welcome.</span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Katie Shea</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.maassagency.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Donald Maass Literary Agency</a></b><i><b> </b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/AgentShea" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Twitter: @AgentShea</a></b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCBAR4BhIVcUyfRiL91q92yOCnBhe3i1GNM-ib1cBU8JVIGt7P72rzAFqGWLC8QQu1Sqo9AlyebPR1qFxXlk92CJnh7HyIkzDrExvJdxiwnNibXvcu7zWz5EUJe3b1rNuBC_Ys-PyWXZ8/s1600/Katie.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCBAR4BhIVcUyfRiL91q92yOCnBhe3i1GNM-ib1cBU8JVIGt7P72rzAFqGWLC8QQu1Sqo9AlyebPR1qFxXlk92CJnh7HyIkzDrExvJdxiwnNibXvcu7zWz5EUJe3b1rNuBC_Ys-PyWXZ8/s1600/Katie.png" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Katie specializes in fiction and memoir, especially women’s fiction and commercial-scale literary fiction, and realistic YA. She is most interested in coming-of-age stories and stories of unique relationships.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sandra-Dijkstra-Literary-Agency/204596008168" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"></a></b></i><b><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sandra-Dijkstra-Literary-Agency/204596008168" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Dijkstra Literary Agency</a></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/EliseCapron" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Twitter: @EliseCapron</a></b><b> </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>E</b>lise is interested in serious character-driven literary fiction, well-written narrative nonfiction, and short story collections. (Note: She is not interested in Fantasy, young-adult/middle-grade, picture books, romance, and sci-fi.) She aims to work with writers who have a realistic sense of the market and their audience.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.picturebooklunch.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><b><i>Jodell Sadler</i></b></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.sadler-caravetteliterary.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Sadler-Caravette Children's Literary </a></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/picturebklunch" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Twitter: @picturebklunch</a></b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrdvibW2EHymJdoAfC9NkEf70AQ5ZrSrBAAochET1lkrsBVoroKJV6JuJgquVDa6U4J-cYrWxIRnLuPthKEJsu3u87r1lfsncy9Z_uw7Yg-wiHQEQDJJIZ-VNZ_4JlJjyRxUlPpmhqa1s/s1600/Jodell.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrdvibW2EHymJdoAfC9NkEf70AQ5ZrSrBAAochET1lkrsBVoroKJV6JuJgquVDa6U4J-cYrWxIRnLuPthKEJsu3u87r1lfsncy9Z_uw7Yg-wiHQEQDJJIZ-VNZ_4JlJjyRxUlPpmhqa1s/s1600/Jodell.jpeg" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jodell is interested in YA, MG (especially funny) , fiction and nonfiction, book proposals, and picture books. She will also coach writers wanting to self publish. She simply loves a well-paced story that moves her between joy and tears.</span><b></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.corvisieroagency.com/Home_Page.php" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Corvisiero Literary Agency</a> </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Brit</b><b>tany and Michelle are teaming up to </b><b>look for Adult</b><b>, YA, and MG manuscripts.</b> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKLI62I8a90ecxSAkDh5NZlqZYnVhYxIxnxloNRoDrB0XhGQ1HytWvttTsyJdvX1koI2cYH_JNWfdHld3YsfoSEMnA-tflaVjUBqt5lbnTtEPIAZ84pKYztTm4j9gPg-71ngZKc-cUePA/s1600/michelle.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKLI62I8a90ecxSAkDh5NZlqZYnVhYxIxnxloNRoDrB0XhGQ1HytWvttTsyJdvX1koI2cYH_JNWfdHld3YsfoSEMnA-tflaVjUBqt5lbnTtEPIAZ84pKYztTm4j9gPg-71ngZKc-cUePA/s1600/michelle.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <i><b>M</b></i><i><b>ichelle Johnson</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/MJsRetweet" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Twitter: @MJsRetweet</a></b><i><b> </b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #333333;">Michelle’s published one novel, The Footloose Killer, and edited several others for publishing houses and private clients. She also is a Script/Story consultant on an independent film in Halifax, NS, Canada, and enjoys working closely with writers to help them develop their voice and craft.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Brittany Howard</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/brittanydhoward" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Twitter: @brittanydhoward</a></b><i><b><br /></b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When reading, Brittany loves to be introduced to new and interesting people and places. She looks for strong voice, good storytelling, and fascinating relationships between characters—romantic or otherwise. More than anything, she loves when a book surprises her.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">There's just one more day to get your applications in for Pitch Wars. Make sure to check out this post <a href="http://brenleedrake.blogspot.com/2012/11/pitch-wars-take-cover-its-coming_14.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">here</a> to get all the details.</span></span></b></span></span></div>
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Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-58574757904575121512012-11-26T05:20:00.000-08:002012-11-26T11:49:57.461-08:00PitchWars pt. II: Mentor Bio/Wishlist Post!!!LET'S GET RIGHT TO IT. It's very early in the morning, so have some doughnuts before we begin;<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">~~*~*~*~*Submissions for PitchWars start today ~*~*~*~</span><br />
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The cut off time to get your applications (query & first five pages of manuscript) in is 8AM EST on December 5.<br />
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Send your applications to brendadrakecontests@gmail.com. Writers can apply for up to 3 coaches.<br />
The coaches' categories are set. Coaches can only consider the categories they've signed up for. Writers cannot apply for a coach that is not in their category.<br />
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For additional information about this contest go <a href="http://andtheworldsaidthatstoobad.blogspot.com/2012/11/pitch-wars-part-1.html">HERE</a>.<br />
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- This is open to finished manuscripts only.<br />
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- You may only enter one manuscript.<br />
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- Only the genres requested by each coach will be considered for the contest.<br />
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<b><u>Formatting:</u></b><br />
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<b>Subject line: </b>Pitch Wars Application: Coach Name you want to apply for: Title (Example: PitchWars Application: Brenda Drake: GONE WITH THE WIND)<br />
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<b>Name: </b>Your Name<br />
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<b>Genre: </b>The genre of your manuscript<br />
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<b>Word Count: </b>The word count of your manuscript<br />
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<b>Query letter here</b> (embedded in email). Single spaced. No indents. A space between each paragraph.<br />
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<b>First five pages of the manuscript here</b> (embedded in email). Single spaced. No indentions. A space between each paragraph.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">~*~*AS A REMINDER~*~*</span>: You can send an application for up to 3 coaches.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">~*~*~BIO~*~*~*</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIa3c9RUT9M2ZRrbQB_q78gnoWpuOFN3uewoGIDJdyRQX1Cft2tkiM_mTbj3hmIeSZjosPs2pMf7N9lBptshQ_jyhWmLoYoemW_J_JphCyhG7K5eFIdJRfSvnrmjBAyfEkrHtjvrFPzBQ/s1600/DORKING.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIa3c9RUT9M2ZRrbQB_q78gnoWpuOFN3uewoGIDJdyRQX1Cft2tkiM_mTbj3hmIeSZjosPs2pMf7N9lBptshQ_jyhWmLoYoemW_J_JphCyhG7K5eFIdJRfSvnrmjBAyfEkrHtjvrFPzBQ/s320/DORKING.png" width="240" /></a></div>
Michelle is the YA author of PRETENDING TO BE ERICA, a young adult thriller forthcoming from Viking/Penguin in 2014. After four years and six books in the querying game, she's got a solid handle on how to pitch and polish a book for the querying ring. She's also exceptionally terrible at talking about herself, but would like you to know she's 22-going-on-old-cat-lady, likes baking, and can't contain her childish enthusiasm for video games, manga, pretty dresses, and Channing Tatum. Her work is represented by the indomitable Jessica Faust of BookEnds, LLC. She's best at pinpointing weak spots in a manuscript and smoothing out a work's plotting pace. She's blunt, prefers to speak her mind, and won't mince words when it comes to critiquing, but is very good at what she does and hopes to work with someone fun and cool who loves their work and wants to see it become the best it can be!<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">***WISHLIST(now with a scary bacon face)***</span></u></b></div>
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All genres must be in the Young Adult (YA) category. I do not accept Adult, Middle Grade, or New Adult.<br />
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<u><b>GENERAL WANTS (AKA things I LOVE to see in a manuscript)</b></u><br />
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- If you've got YA that addresses any of these, regardless of genre, send it my way!<br />
- Quirky cast of deep, fully-realized characters<br />
- Romance as a subplot, not the main plot.<br />
- Main Character(s) with a strong, addictive voice. If you have a strong, unique narrator, I will definitely love love love it.<br />
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<i><b>My face if you have these in your manuscript:</b></i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">but i really do like you</td></tr>
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<u><b>SPECIFIC WANTS: (DISCLAIMER: IF YOU HAVE A GREAT YA AND AREN'T SURE IT FITS IN THESE GENRES, DON'T WORRY, SEND IT MY WAY ANYWAY)</b></u><br />
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- <b>Contemporary:</b> I prefer the darker, creepier contemporaries. Any contemporary with an edge (drugs, suicide, death in the family, plain old anger issues, etc) is often something I like. <b>Thrillers </b>and <b>Horrors</b> are right up my alley. Murder, kidnapped children, redemption, struggles, blackmail, mistaken identity - it spices things up. I want a legitimate sense of dread and tension. An artsy, literary twist to the work would be awesome, too; think <b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8603765-imaginary-girls">Imaginary Girls </a>by Nova Ren Suma</b>.<br />
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- <b>Historical:</b> I'm the biggest sucker for foreign history - usually not in the U.S. Give me Europe, Asia, Africa, all of it. <b>Libby Bray's <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7728889-the-diviners">The Diviners</a></b> is a great example set in the U.S. If it has magical/speculative elements, even better! I love reading about dresses, food, and plucky MCs who don't feel quite at home in their timeframe. <br />
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<b>- SciFi:</b> This genre is too often confused with Dystopian these days. I don't want future societies, but FAR future societies. Give me spaceships, space stations, aliens, lasers, viruses, robots, new planets, and crazy Blade Runner fashion. Give me grand adventures and a motley spaceship crew ala <b>Joss Whedon's Firefly. </b><br />
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GOGOGO SUBMIT TO ME~~~<br />
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Check back soon for a complete list of the amazing agents participating in the contest. There's over a dozen!<br />
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Our mentors ...<br />
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<div id="preview-13Nov2012" style="border: 2px solid #bbb; color: #bbbbbb; text-align: center;">
<b>Mister</b></div>
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<br />Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-87774682234445611932012-11-14T08:00:00.000-08:002012-11-23T13:05:28.439-08:00PITCH WARS PART 1Good morning, guys! I'm psyched to be a mentor in Brenda Drake's PitchWars contest.<br />
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As some of you may know, I entered PRETENDING TO BE ERICA in one of her contests a while back, and got great response and feedback from it, so I can't stress enough what an awesome opportunity this is.<br />
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Without further ado, here are the details!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5sWuBQIU07Y1dZSE5-ICoY-m-bFFnxar6bqAbLHsYBX-13Htam3SqO0CATfErCJ-ZKShq55uXoSW28RyyNhk2ArZD_yENIZFx8U96k6OjFiM7VK7RgEBhHmBr7FvExNIlsMNuyt0_aEU/s1600/Pitch+Wars.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5sWuBQIU07Y1dZSE5-ICoY-m-bFFnxar6bqAbLHsYBX-13Htam3SqO0CATfErCJ-ZKShq55uXoSW28RyyNhk2ArZD_yENIZFx8U96k6OjFiM7VK7RgEBhHmBr7FvExNIlsMNuyt0_aEU/s320/Pitch+Wars.png" width="289" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">W</span>e're extremely excited to announce an upcoming event
where agented authors, industry interns,
and editors team up with aspiring writers to shine up their manuscripts and
pitches to present to some awesome agents.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Here's the deets...<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->The teams will consist of 1 agented author or
industry intern or editor (coaches) and 1 aspiring author.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->November 26: The coaches (listed on the linky
below) will post on their blogs what genre/category they want to coach. They'll
be very specific genres. Aspiring writers will hop around and decide which
coaches best fit their manuscripts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->November 26 - December 5: Aspiring writers will submit 3
"applications" to their top choices for coaches to the contest email
(brendadrakecontests@gmail.com) during the allotted times (8AM to 8PM EST).
That means, participants will send three separate emails to the contest email
addressing each with one of their three top choices for coach.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Coaches will
read the applications and pick teammates.The coaches don't have to pick from
their applications. If a coach passes on an application, it is then up for
grabs and another coach, if they haven't connected to their applicants, can
snatch it after notifying the applicant and if the applicant chooses the coach.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]-->December 12: Teams will be announced. On the
announcement post there will be instructions on how the winners must send their
work.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]-->December 12 through January 16: Each coach will
read their teammate's manuscript and give general notes on any issues they
find. The coach will help their teammate get his or her pitches ready for the
agent round.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]-->Note: The material for the agent round will be a
3 sentence pitch and the first 250 words of your manuscript. Coaches will read
manuscripts and query letters only once and give notes. It is up to the writer
to use the notes from their coaches to get the manuscript and query letter in
as best shape as they can to send to requesting agents. The coaches will
critique the three sentence pitch and first 250 words. The coaches will read
them as many times as they deem necessary. In no way will writers expect the
coaches to read the manuscript and query letter more than once or the pitches
more than twice. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->January 20: Coaches will submit shined pitches
to the contest email.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->January 23 and 24: Agents will read and make
requests on the pitches they like (it is likely that not all participants will
get requests).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
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</span></span><!--[endif]-->January 25: We'll announce the team with the
most requests and who will take home the winning prizes (an amazon gift card
for each).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->This is open to finished manuscripts only.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->You may only enter one manuscript.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Only the genres requested by each coach will be
considered for the contest.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Formatting...<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Subject line: Pitch Wars Application: Coach Name you want
to apply for: Title (Example: Pitch Wars Application: Brenda Drake: GONE WITH
THE WIND)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Name: Your Name<o:p></o:p></div>
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Genre: The genre of your manuscript<o:p></o:p></div>
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Word Count: The word count of your manuscript<o:p></o:p></div>
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Query letter here
(embedded in email). Single spaced. No indentions. A space between each
paragraph.<o:p></o:p></div>
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First five pages of the manuscript here (embedded in
email). Single spaced. No indentions. A space between each paragraph.<o:p></o:p></div>
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````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">REMINDER: You can send an application
for up to 3 coaches. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Our mentors ...<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-70110598538414158362012-10-16T23:16:00.000-07:002012-10-16T23:16:25.443-07:00writing and how it saved meSometimes I stare out the window and just marvel. At rain, or clouds, or how the world keeps spinning. <div>
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Mostly I marvel about how writing saved me. </div>
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Once upon a time, I was a very different girl. A girl who didn't like herself. Or life. A girl who thought maybe if she left for good, off into that nothingness void, no one would mind. </div>
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Today I researched the five stages of grief for a WIP and realized, when I was that Very Different Girl, I went through all five stages. And right on the edge of the last stage, Acceptance, right when I was getting used to the idea of a world without me, writing found me. </div>
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Writing listened. It let me say the things I wanted to, the things I felt, without judging. It just blinked its cursor at me and gave me more page space. Infinite page space. I could say anything. So I said everything. </div>
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Soon, I started looking forward to writing. I woke up happy that I got to write another day. I had a purpose. I could swallow anything life threw at me, as long as I could sit down at the end of the day and write until my fingers went numb. Writing let me create, and love, and hate, and cry, all at the same time. </div>
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I didn't think about leaving life, anymore. </div>
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I'm okay now, of course. Time heals all wounds. </div>
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But writing helped me hang in there until Time could get to me. </div>
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In a way, it's a religion. But writing is so much more than that. Maybe one day I'll be skilled enough to explain it right. </div>
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It is a state of being. A force of energy. The prettiest, quietest supernova you will ever feel the heat of. </div>
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I hope, I really, really really really really really really hope, that the love I have for it reaches you when you read my stuff. My books. There will be many. And I hope, wherever you are, you'll read them and feel my love in a non-creepy way.</div>
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Or in a creepy way. </div>
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EITHER ONE WORKS.</div>
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Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-16426297340999395572012-09-26T17:05:00.000-07:002012-09-26T17:16:36.529-07:00Obsessions of september<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
these were a few of my obsessionthings this month</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">TIGHTS</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WEIRD HAIR COLORS</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">weird hair colorsx2</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SO GOOD SO GROSS SO GOOD</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I hate arugula but the garden exploded.<br />
apples+cheese makes it bearable.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HARRY PO- i mean SHERLOCK</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.google.com/url?source=imglanding&ct=img&q=http://pokemon.marriland.com/images/boxart/pinballrs.jpg&sa=X&ei=aJdjUOfaMeHWiwKXmYCgDA&ved=0CAkQ8wc&usg=AFQjCNGEjt7hJt8ikMs8l-3uWgf5_snRuQ" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.google.com/url?source=imglanding&ct=img&q=http://pokemon.marriland.com/images/boxart/pinballrs.jpg&sa=X&ei=aJdjUOfaMeHWiwKXmYCgDA&ved=0CAkQ8wc&usg=AFQjCNGEjt7hJt8ikMs8l-3uWgf5_snRuQ" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">found my old cartridge! 700mil points on<br />
sapphire board BEAT THAT</td></tr>
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<u><span style="font-size: large;">Writing wise: </span></u></div>
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-Revisions for Project 1 done/sent off to amazing agent <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;">d=(´▽`)=b</span><br />
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-6k written for Project 2 <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;">。◕‿◕。</span><br />
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-11k written for Project 3 book <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; line-height: 22px;">。◕‿◕。</span><br />
<br />
-Still can't figure out which project to focus on more <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;">( ≧Д≦)</span><br />
<br />Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-16176324754896337472012-09-12T11:35:00.001-07:002012-09-12T14:46:28.414-07:00What I had trouble learning before I got an agent+booksale.Instead of 'what I learned about publishing after _____', I decided to focus on what comes before. The struggle. The sweet poison fog of self-doubt and small triumphs.<br />
<br />
All my eloquence goes into my books. So I'm just going to come out and say it straight.<br />
<br />
I'm not one of those authors who just wrote what she was obsessed with and got published because of it. You know the type. The fairy tale stories of 'first book' or 'second book' homerun hits.<br />
<br />
In sports talk, my journey was more like a bunch of bunting.<br />
<br />
And I loved every second of it.<br />
<br />
But that doesn't matter. I'm not going to talk about **~~~my journey~~~**, because that's something that's boring and you should experience for yourself. It's best understood when experienced firsthand. If I typed 'journey', and you read it and visualized a flood of pains and efforts and elation, then we're on the same page. The same journey.<br />
<br />
I wrote six books in the span of two years.<br />
<br />
This isn't to say 'oh look I'm so productive'. I just want you guys to know. I realized I was the only one in control of my writing career. I could make or break myself. So I wrote. Anything and everything. I tried lots of genres and every Main Character type. Conflicts. Villains. I tried everything because I didn't know what exactly would get me somewhere. I knew I wanted to be a writer, but I couldn't visualize of what genre, exactly. At first I was sure I would never write something not-fantasy/scifi. But that changed as I learned to love my books for the characters instead of the magic/cyborgs/witches/cool fights. For the <i>story</i> instead of the baubles.<br />
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All I knew was I wanted to write.<br />
<br />
Publishing is an amazing, intricate world full of possibilities. And everyone has their own way of writing. Stick to your way. Stick to what your heart knows.<br />
<br />
But. But if you want to get to that magic part of the journey, go outside what you know.<br />
<br />
That's what I learned. That success is luck, and hard work, and talent. But more than that, it's you challenging yourself. Trying new things constantly. Go for one book a year instead of writing one every three years. Put just a little more into writing. Sacrifice that one movie night to really delve into your characters and world. <i>Sacrifice.</i> Everything and anything short of your health and family. Dive into the deep end and come out the other side. Don't constrain yourself with what you know and love. Explore. Sacrifice your security and comfort, and find something new and invigorating.<br />
<br />
That's what we do as writers. Sacrifice.<br />
<br />
I learned, after writing six books, that writing is a living thing. It breathes, it demands so much of you, but most of all, it demands you become a better you. Quicker typist. Quicker wit. Tighter describer. More abstract thinker. If something isn't working, try something else. Go outside yourself. Push yourself to try a new genre, a totally new voice, free yourself from restraints of 'Don't do this POV' or 'don't make your character unlikable'.<br />
<br />
MAKE YOUR CHARACTER UNLIKABLE.<br />
<br />
DO THE POV.<br />
<br />
Do anything and everything you want in writing, because in this life, we can't do anything and everything we want.<br />
<br />
But on paper, we can do anything.<br />
<br />
We're writers.<br />
<br />
Go nuts. And if going nuts doesn't work, go bananas. Apples. Figs. SOMETHING DIFFERENT.<br />
<br />
Try something new with your writing, everyday. I know it's a lot to ask, when just 'trying' is a chore in itself. When you're tired and worn down and even typing seems a horrible task all you want to do is settle into the rut you've previously outlined for yourself as a writer. The comfortable writing. The easier writing.<br />
<br />
But if you really want to get better, faster, quicker - explore the scary blackness of 'what if'. What if I write a space opera today? What if I make a main character who's nice for once? What if I make her a chocolatier? What if I make him a criminal? What if I make a world of ice and mammoths, or casinos and mob bosses? What if I take all the magic spells out of this book? What if I put a bunch of magic spells in the book?<br />
<br />
What if I push myself out of my comfort zone?<br />
<br />
What if I become a better writer for it?<br />
<br />
It took me three years to learn that.<br />
<br />
Geez, I'm slow.<br />
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Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-65908424229387789732012-09-02T11:26:00.000-07:002012-09-02T11:26:08.510-07:00WAKE UP PUNCH MY QUERY, WAKE UP!Happy Labor Day weekend, author friends! I have been so incredibly busy my head is now on backwards. My lovely agent sold my book (check the Books page! Squeee!) and I'm getting ready for a move! Mostly my head is still on straight, and things are settling, so let's get back to regular communications!<br />
<br />
I'm proud to announce I'm re-opening the Punch My Query segment. For details on how to submit, see <a href="http://andtheworldsaidthatstoobad.blogspot.com/2012/05/introducing-punch-your-query.html">this</a> post! Ideally, I will post one PMQ every Friday. Please keep in mind that depending on how many submissions there are, I may not use your query. This could also be because a previous query was similar and addressed similar issues, but fear not! <b>If you submit, but I do not use your query, I will still read it privately and send you a paragraph or two of feedback</b>! That way, everyone wins!<br />
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I'm super excited to start this up again! Submit, submit!<br />
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Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-68573577351657816092012-06-17T18:19:00.004-07:002012-08-21T21:49:13.193-07:00Punch My Query - June 17th, 2012<br />
<span lang="EN"> HELLO! Many apologies for this delayed Punch My Query - sickness SUCKS. I’m back now though, so let’s get to Punching. Today’s query comes from <a href="http://snowmenwrite.blogspot.com/">Crystal and Erin</a> ( @SnowmenWrite </span><span lang="EN">on twitter). Thank you for volunteering your query!</span><br />
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<strong><u>||||||||||QUERY CRIT|||||||||||||||</u></strong><br />
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537 BC<br />
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Aphrodite abducts Eros’ love forcing him to flee Mount Olympus. <br />
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Thursday<br />
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Mariposa collides with a boy at a party who stares at her like he has seen a ghost. <br />
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<span style="color: #674ea7;">(Okay, let’s start off with the good; this is a very unique opening. It should be formatted a little differently to stay more in a query-like mold, but overall it’s an abrupt but interesting way to draw attention!)</span><br />
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As their fates are woven together the hope in Eros’ heart is restored. <span style="color: #674ea7;">(This is a little too vague here; whose ‘fates’? You have to be specific and mention the ‘who’ in the same sentence.)</span> But Aphrodite’s jealous nature leads her to interfere once more <span style="color: #674ea7;">(When did she ever interfere before? You‘re alluding to something that‘s never happened. I know mythology a bit, so I know she‘s pretty jealous, but the query has to read as if it makes sense to someone who has no idea of Greek mythology. You ensure maximum understanding and won‘t exclude an agent who may not know Greek mythos well),</span> setting Mariposa up to betray him <span style="color: #674ea7;">(how? Does Aphro make her kiss another boy? We need specifics).</span> Now broken, <span style="color: #674ea7;">(I think betrayed is the better word, here)</span> Eros escapes back to Mount Olympus leaving Mariposa defenseless in the hands of Aphrodite. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;">(Wait - what happened to Aphro abducting Eros’ love in the first sentence of the query? Did Aphro send the girl down to earth? Reincarnated her and wiped her memories? Include that.)</span><br />
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To fight for a chance to get Eros back, Mariposa sets out to prove her worth by enduring excruciating tasks. <span style="color: #674ea7;">(Who sets her on these tasks? Why does she want to get Eros back? You haven’t established that she loves him or that he loves her - I’m just not feeling their connection through your choice of words.)</span> But when she is sent to the underworld <span style="color: #674ea7;">(by who? Why? Did she do something bad?)</span> her chances of survival are lost in the mouths <span style="color: #674ea7;">(jaws maybe? Has more impact)</span> of the three-headed hound that guard its gates <span style="color: #674ea7;">(you can shorten this sentence, a lot of people know Cerberus). <span style="color: black;">Eros must find a way to look past his shattered heart and find her before her fragile human life is eternally lost.</span> (So who exactly is the hero? Do we follow the journey of Mariposa or Eros? This last sentence muddles things more than defines them.)</span><br />
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BROKEN EROS <span style="color: #674ea7;">(cute play on words!)</span> is our debut young adult mythological retelling <span style="color: #674ea7;">(you need a genre here. Young Adult is not enough. Is it Fantasy? From what I’m getting, it’s paranormal romance, but since that term is so overused, you could go with Fantasy) </span>completed at 79,000 words. <br />
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Overall, this is an above-average query. The sense of the stakes is woven throughout the book, if only because the stakes are romantic (ie, losing a love one, winning a loved one back, etc). I don’t get a strong sense of the characters or their love. It seems their love is supposed to be strong simply because they were *sparkles* <span style="font-family: Blackadder ITC; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Blackadder ITC; font-size: large;">meant to be </span></span>*sparkles*. This is a common mistake in a lot of queries and easily fixed with a strong, voice-y sentence that tells of their dastardly mutual attraction. <br />
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The voice of the query is very stiff and formal, almost to the point of choking the story, but in this case I think it sort of works - this is a story about Greek gods of old, and old language was formal. If nothing else, this query gives a strong sense of the voice of the overall book, and that’s something you always want to strive for. <br />
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Let’s try to rewrite it in a different way, shall we? <br />
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<strong><u>|||||||||||||MY REWRITE||||||||||||||||</u></strong><br />
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<i>537 BC </i>- Aphrodite abducts Eros’ love, and he flees Mount Olympus. <i>Thursday</i> - Sixteen-year-old Mariposa collides with a boy at a party who stares at her like he’s seen a ghost. <br />
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<span style="color: #674ea7;">(Put whichever age she is, I substituted sixteen. I feel it flows better as one sentence, and the italics help contrast what the original query left to a whole line of space.)</span> <br />
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Now reunited, Mariposa and Eros find comfort in each other, and their love becomes stronger than ever. In jealousy, Aphrodite pulls the two apart by tricking Mariposa into betraying Eros. Eros, heart wounded, flees to Mount Olympus.<br />
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Determined to win him back, Mariposa descends into the Underworld with a guarantee from Aphrodite that if she survives the trials within, the Goddess of Love will admit her trickery to Eros. Winning Eros back may kill Mariposa, but her life without him is already like death.<br />
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BROKEN EROS is a completed 79,000 word YA/Fantasy retelling of the Greek myth of Psyche and Eros. <span style="color: #674ea7;">(Do mention the specific myth you are retelling, please.)</span><br />
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<strong><u>||||||||||FINAL THOUGHTS||||||||||||</u></strong><br />
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Since I haven’t read the story, the query was a bit hard to put together. Overall I would detail more about the ‘trials’ Mariposa has to go through, and I would spend more time trying to elaborate on their chemistry. A perfect sentence that encompasses their attraction to each other can go a long way, and make both characters likeable. You also need to tie in how Mariposa ended up on earth after her abduction, and why her memory was (presumably) wiped (It needs to be spelled out clearly.)<br />
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Hopefully that was helpful! Thank you again, Crystal and Erin, and here’s wishing you the best of luck in your querying adventure!<br />
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Stay tuned next week for another Punch My Query!Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-52268229852799020742012-06-08T00:09:00.002-07:002012-08-21T21:49:27.878-07:00Punch My Query - June 8th, 2012<br />
<span lang="EN"> Welcome to the second Punch My Query! Today, the lovely <a href="http://nikkiurang.wordpress.com/"> Nikki</a><span style="color: #993399;"> </span> (@NikkiUrang on twitter) has volunteered her query for us! Thank you Nikki. My thoughts will be in purple text, as usual.<br />
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<strong><u>||||||||||QUERY CRIT|||||||||||||||</u></strong><br />
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Sixteen year old telekinetic Emma Jackson is trying desperately to control her new ability.<span style="color: #674ea7;"> (This is a very decent hook! But I feel like there could be more of Emma’s character injected in this sentence.)</span> When her emotions become too strong, objects around her explode. <span style="color: #674ea7;">(Again, nice detail, but more voice! More uniqueness!)</span> If she doesn’t get a handle on her ability soon, she might accidentally kill someone. Like her boyfriend. <span style="color: #674ea7;">(Awesome. This is the hook - that she might kill someone at anytime.)</span><br />
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Emma and her cousins form the Scarlet Order, a group of four girls chosen to protect an ancient power. <span style="color: #674ea7;">(Okay, this is a little abrupt. You go from Emma to suddenly four other girls, and they’ve formed an order? Why? How? What is this ancient power? That ancient power bit is especially too vague to grab an agent’s attention. How the heck did they get chosen? Divine will, I’m guessing. But I shouldn't be guessing. If I'm guessing, the agent is guessing too.)</span> An energy so strong that the Fallen will stop at nothing to get it, even if it means killing all four girls. <span style="color: #674ea7;">(I assume this was meant to be in the last sentence. Connect it with a hyphen or comma)</span> And <span style="color: #674ea7;">(Starting a sentence with ‘and’ can be voicey, but I’m afraid in this instance it doesn’t work)</span> if the Fallen <span style="color: #674ea7;">(Who? Who the heck are the Fallen? Again, you’re jumping around a bit here) </span>get their hands on the power, there is nothing left to stop them from manipulating the energy around them <span style="color: #674ea7;">(Um, what energy around them? From the ‘ancient power’? Is the ancient power everywhere? The Scarlet Order must have a hard time protecting it if it’s everywhere)</span>, enslaving mankind, and absorbing energy from humans to make them stronger. <span style="color: #674ea7;">(This is book logic and really doesn’t need to be in the query - leave the explanations for the story.)</span> Because <span style="color: #674ea7;">(again, starting sentences with an ‘and’ or ‘because’ might seem voicey, but it’s not working in this case)</span> if the Fallen don’t absorb from humans, they become human themselves.<span style="color: #674ea7;"> (Okay, so the Fallen aren‘t human. What are they? We need to know what they are right away, and much more clearly than you‘ve let on here. At this point, I’m really confused and feeling lost. What happened to her boyfriend? Getting control of her powers?)</span><br />
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But Emma’s loyalty to The Scarlet Order is shattered when she discovers her family’s darkest secrets, that she is part Fallen and the father she thought was dead lives right across town. <span style="color: #674ea7;">(Okay, these are two huge things that distract from the plot. You have not established that Emma has loyalty to the Scarlet Order at all in the paragraph before this. I don’t get a sense that she likes or even wants to be in the order - you didn’t give us any reasons why she joined/started it. I’m just not believing your character’s motives at all, because you haven’t spelled them out - don’t make the agent guess at motives, it’s an instant turn-off.)</span> When Emma’s boyfriend reveals his own secret, that he’s also part of the Fallen, her perfect world crumbles. <span style="color: #674ea7;">(Why? What perfect world? Her world was perfect when she was guarding an apocalyptic power from evil? Her world was perfect when she figured out she could blow people up? She wasn’t devastated at all by those things, either? Her world falls apart JUST because her boyfriend says he’s an evil dude in comparison to her duties/powers just seems unbelievable.)</span><br />
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Now Emma is faced with a choice: stay with the Scarlet Order and fight for everything she’s supposed to believe in <span style="color: #674ea7;">(What is she supposed to believe in? Have the Order really laid down concrete rules? Why would they?)</span> or trust the Fallen and fight against the people she’s not sure she hates despite their lies. <span style="color: #674ea7;">(Way too confusing. She’s not sure she hates them <i>despite </i>their lies? What lies? Why does she hate these Fallen again? Totally confusing sentence.)</span> Confused about which side to choose<span style="color: #674ea7;"> (why does she have to choose? Does someone force her to? Does she feel she needs to? And why? Again, motives need to be clear),</span> she must follow her instincts if she is going to survive. <span style="color: #674ea7;">(What? Why? Is she going to die if she doesn’t choose a side immediately? If so, say that.)</span> But Emma isn’t prepared for her instincts to push her toward the Fallen, the father she never knew, and the boy she’s always loved. <span style="color: #674ea7;">(You’ve presented the stakes at the end, which is good, but the stakes are so weak they don’t compel me to read more. Who cares if she chooses the Fallen side? What are the ramifications of choosing that side? Why is it so bad to choose that side? What will happen if she does? End with strong stakes and a question, not a statement.)</span><br />
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THE SCARLET ORDER, a YA Urban Fantasy novel, is complete at 65,000 words.<br />
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Overall, this was a very vague query. I felt lost constantly and could not get my bearings as the query jumped from point to point without linking them together. It had little to no voice, and by the end of it I didn’t want to read any more. I’m not saying this a bad query, it certainly tried very hard, but an agent would not request much off this query. If they do, that’s great! Nevermind me. <br />
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Let’s try to rewrite the query with what we have.<br />
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<strong><u>|||||||||||||MY REWRITE||||||||||||||||</u></strong><br />
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For sixteen-year-old Emma, getting mad means things around her go <i>boom</i>. <br />
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<span style="color: #674ea7;">(This is your hook. Telekinetic powers have been overdone, which is why I don’t mention them in the first sentence.)</span><br />
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Emma’s telekinetic powers rampage when her temper flares, and to tame them she joins a group started by her likewise gifted cousins called the Scarlet Order. Together, they keep a powerful concentration of energy safe from evil scumbags called the Fallen. The Fallen want to use it to make themselves gods. <span style="color: #674ea7;">(This is all the relevant information packed into a few sentences instead of spread out over two paragraphs. Since your information on the Fallen was very vague, I tried to construct some kind of stakes and left most of the technicalities of the Fallen (the human energy sucking, which still wasn’t very clear) to the book.)</span><br />
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But the Fallen are close. Too close. Emma’s boyfriend is one. Her father is one. Her choice to remain faithful to the Scarlet Order or defect to the Fallen will change the world for good - pitch it into a darkness ruled by the Fallen with humans as their slaves, or keep the world in mundane, tranquil light. <br />
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<span style="color: #674ea7;">(I’m sorry about the vague ending, but the stakes you presented were just not high enough. I couldn’t do much other than end with the generic light/dark, girl chooses to save/destroy the world.)</span><br />
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<strong><u>||||||||||FINAL THOUGHTS||||||||||||</u></strong><br />
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Overall, I did what I could with this query. The stakes are simply not high enough to constitute a truly good punch, and for that I apologize. Thank you, Nikki, for being a great sport, and I hope this query crit has helped in some way!<br />
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Feel free to let me know if you feel I was too harsh.<br />
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Stay tuned next week for our next Punch My Query!</span>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-58167606425495093242012-06-01T13:30:00.003-07:002012-08-21T21:49:42.952-07:00Punch My Query - June 1st, 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
(Note: That is not actually me or anyone I know. Thanks google!)<br />
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Welcome, one and all, to the first ever Punch My Query! Today, the lovely <a href="http://amandaburckhard.wordpress.com/">Amanda </a> (@AmandaBurckhard on twitter) has volunteered her query for us! Thank you Amanda. Let's jump right to it, shall we? My thoughts will be in purple!<br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN">To Alita, senior year means high school graduation and <i>Princeton here I come</i>! <span style="color: #674ea7;">(This is a good first sentence - but the change in tense with the ‘I’ is jarring. Cute, but jarring.)</span> That is, until she accidentally unleashes the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. <span style="background-color: white; color: #674ea7;">(Okay! You’ve got my interest!)</span><br />
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When she suddenly develops weird empathic, telekinetic, and clairvoyant abilities on her eighteenth birthday, the powerful combination draws a sadistic cloaked man who stalks and kidnaps her. <span style="color: #674ea7;">(There are too many vague things here. ‘Suddenly develops’, ‘weird’, and the telekinetic/clairvoyant description doesn’t really tell me what she can DO. Reading minds? Levitating? You might want to list specifics just to give us an idea.)</span> But the mysterious Alexareus <span style="color: #674ea7;">(who? We need to know who this guy is from the get-go.)</span> frees her from the man’s clutches and tries to teach her to control the stupid <span style="color: #674ea7;">(A nice bit of voice with this word, but maybe you could use something more powerful.) </span>powers that will be the death of her perfect GPA <span style="color: #674ea7;">(is that really all she‘s worrying about? With this sentence, you paint her as a girl who only cares about her grades, not the way the powers affect her relationships with family, her sense of self worth, and her identity.).</span> She falls for him. Hard. Harder than smacking the sidewalk after a ten story fall. <span style="color: #674ea7;">(This is an unnecessary sentence, but I can understand the need to draw a metaphor. Metaphors mostly waste space in a query unless they are REALLY original and breathtaking, which this is not.)</span><br />
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But happiness<span style="color: #674ea7;"> (Happiness? What happiness? There was happiness? Falling hard for a boy is happiness even when you’re confronted with huge power and responsibility and learning to control them? Hm.)</span> is short lived with a power mongering psycho <span style="color: #674ea7;">(who exactly is this psycho? What happened to the other psycho in the previous paragraph? Are they the one and same?)</span> after her. The cloaked sadist returns <span style="color: #674ea7;">(Ah, see, there. Use this first. Don’t confuse your reader with that previous psycho reference.)</span> and despite her wariness <span style="color: #674ea7;">(wariness is not a strong enough word, and every time you talk about how your MC feels, you need to write it in her style, voice, tone)</span>, he manipulates <span style="color: #674ea7;">(how? Need specifics that make us empathetic toward your MC and hate this antagonist more)</span> her lack of control and releases the Four Horsemen. <span style="color: #674ea7;">(I feel like this should be the beginning of the story. The Four Horsemen are what drew me in and what makes her special. Telepathic powers are overdone, but the Four Horsemen aspect has only been done a few times.)</span> Rioting ensues <span style="color: #674ea7;">(how? Does her town go crazy? Are they mad? How do they know about the Horsemen if they’re rioting? Or are they rioting because the Horsemen are manipulating them to riot?)</span>, diseases ravage livestock, and murder rates skyrocket <span style="color: #674ea7;">(where? In her town or the country or the world? Again, more specifics.)</span>. As the world dissolves around her <span style="color: #674ea7;">(dissolves is not strong enough, you need punch here),</span> she discovers the horrible origin of her powers: she’s the product of a wager between God and Lucifer. <span style="color: #674ea7;">(This threw me for a loop. You never mentioned Lucifer. The Four Horsemen aren’t strictly in league with Lucifer - they’re simple the heralds of the end. However, if you’re using this as the reason for her powers, it’s your choice. My job is to crit the query, not the story.) </span>She’s a pawn in their bet <span style="color: #674ea7;">(how? Does she have to do something to win the bet? Who’s pawn is she; god or the devil?)</span>, and the winner<span style="color: #674ea7;"> (How does one win?)</span> receives dominion over the souls of Earth.<br />
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Now she's the only one who can tip the scale of celestial rule <span style="color: #674ea7;">(why is she the only one?)</span> and force the riders back into their eternal prisons <span style="color: #674ea7;">(Ah, that‘s why. Try to move this part up). </span>Except that means sacrificing Alexareus. The riders have him, and they vow that if they have to go, so does her love. <span style="color: #674ea7;">(This is a great ending. You've stated the stakes. Always end with a problem - something that needs to be solved.)</span><br />
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THE UNLEASHING, complete at 75,000 words, is a YA paranormal suspense sprinkled <span style="color: #674ea7;">(do you want to say sprinkled, or maybe a more punchy word? Woven? Layered? Laced?)</span> with steamy romance.<br />
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All in all, this is a decent query. I feel most of the confusing aspects are due to the story, and not the query itself. Let’s try and rewrite it with what we have here.<br />
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<u><strong>|||||||||||||MY REWRITE||||||||||||||||</strong></u><br />
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High school senior Alita sees herself at Princeton; taking tests, meeting boys, not developing psychic powers, not crushing on a boy who saves her from a psycho who wants said powers, and definitely not unleashing the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. <br />
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<span style="color: #674ea7;">(Your first sentence needs to tell the agent who your MC is, and what your hook is. Blending these two can be tricky, but that’s exactly what you need to do in the first sentence. Make us like/relate to your character’s tone, and then tell us what the hook is. The most unique aspect. In this case, it’s our MC awakening the Four Horsemen. Again, there are so many elements in this book and some I don’t know since I didn’t read the book, and since we can’t change that, we’re going to work with the elements that make it stand out.)</span><br />
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The telekinetic abilities she’s developed on her eighteenth birthday aren’t just going to ruin her Princeton dreams - they’ve earned her a stalker who wants her powers, baited her, and used her lack of control over them to unleash the Four Horsemen. Murders, disease, and insanity ravages her town. But it’s not all doom and gloom - a dreamy boy named Alexareus tries to teach her to control her powers. <br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #674ea7;">(Here we’ve outlined the consequences of the first paragraph - we’ve fleshed out things a bit. Not too much, not too little. Keep in mind you always need to weave how the story affects your MC. In this case, we kept the Princeton aspect in the forefront.)</span><br />
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But she can fix it all. She can send the Horsemen back to whatever stinking hellhole they came from. All it takes is sacrificing Alexareus.<br />
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The Horsemen will take her love with them.<br />
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<span style="color: #674ea7;">(I didn’t elaborate on the god/devil bit, simply to keep the query punchy. In fact, you don't need to know about god/the devil at all in the query. Leave the logistics for the story. Again, ending with a question/the stakes is always good.)</span><br />
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THE UNLEASHING, complete at 75,000 words, is a YA paranormal suspense laced with a heaping helping of steamy romance.<br />
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<u><strong>||||||||||FINAL THOUGHTS||||||||||||</strong></u><br />
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Overall, this was a great first query to start with - it shows many of the mistakes a beginning querier might make. Thank you Amanda for being a great sport, and I hope you've all learned something about making your queries punchier! <br />
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Also feel free to yell at me if you thought I was too harsh.<br />
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See you next Friday with another Punch My Query! If you wish to enter your query, please see <a href="http://www.andtheworldsaidthatstoobad.blogspot.com/2012/05/introducing-punch-your-query.html">this</a> post for details.<br />
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<3 Love<br />
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Michelle</span></span>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-11477822354711865222012-05-31T20:13:00.002-07:002012-06-01T14:32:10.156-07:00Introducing: Punch My Query!<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">Q</span>uerying is scary. Scary in the 'being-five-years-old-and-watching-The-Shining-for-the-first-time-and-realizing-what-REDRUM-means' way. Okay, maybe not that scary. But it's disturbing - disturbs your sleeping habits, your angsting habits, and most importantly, your refresh-my-inbox habits. <br />
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Fear not! I'm here to make things less scary. Querying is only scary when you have a less-than-stellar query. With a great query comes great confidence!<br />
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Allow me to introduce a new segment original to this blog; Punch Your Query! Volunteer queriers submit their queries to me. <br />
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<strong><em>What I'm doing;</em></strong><br />
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<strong>1.</strong> Critique the query to help you queriers know what works and what doesn't.<br />
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<strong>2.</strong> Giving the query a makeover! I rewrite the query as if I was querying the project. The author is free to use this query however they wish, or not at all!<br />
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<strong><em>Why we're doing it;</em></strong> To help queriers everywhere learn how to shorten, tighten, and make a fabulous query to bolster request rates and hopefully land an agent! Also, we know how hard querying is. It's hell, in the literal 'hot-fire-scary-horned-guy' sense. I want to do everything I can to help out fellow queriers.<br />
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<em><strong>My qualifications;</strong></em> I don't claim to be a query expert. I'm only recently agented, but I queried nonstop for three years with five books. The book that landed me my wonderful agent got a 28% request rate! (For comparison, the average request rate is somewhere around 2-5%). This is not me bragging - just trying to let you know that you're in good hands.<br />
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<strong><em>How to submit; </em></strong>This query crit is entirely for free. If you wish to submit a query (I accept Young Adult queries only, as they are my speciality), please click the <u>CONTACT ME</u> tab at the top and find my gmail address. Send the query in the body of the email with any email title you wish! <br />
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<strong><em>When it happens;</em></strong> We'll be doing this every Friday! Stick around for the first post tomorrow!<br />
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v418/bawanaal/lets-do-this.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v418/bawanaal/lets-do-this.jpg" /></a>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-51919910991474359272012-05-18T14:37:00.001-07:002012-05-19T13:46:33.494-07:00How I Got My Agent (SQUEE edition)Three days before I got The Call, I was crying. <br />
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All writers cry. If you're like me, you cry about Game of Thrones, your day job, your general existence, and the fact your F key is slightly sticky so when you try to vent your anger to your pals it just comes out as a long string of "UCK EVERYTHING"s. Writers; if you aren't crying about your manuscript, how awesome a scene you just wrote was, or a full request, you're doing it wrong. Or you're just tougher than 99% of us. <br />
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But that day I was crying about rejection. The big R. The dreaded R. The R-That-Must-Not-Be-Named. A wonderous agent had picked my manuscript out of the slush and emailed me back and forth that night while she read. Ultimately, she asked for a time to call. My face was something like this; <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29-ovIZJI82xAo23EJeUbqXzpld4DEVCpQzYfGuXlZtzK99jU-MdiBHi5Rzdh_7wY1cbgRaJO8Ae73EnsxW-t0AvPRpsLVvs-ckGKwmO8J_TqUD1ahs-M_ikTIuld4DnQx7mMYGo23Y4/s1600/tumblr_llv4bcNYli1qdoqnm.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29-ovIZJI82xAo23EJeUbqXzpld4DEVCpQzYfGuXlZtzK99jU-MdiBHi5Rzdh_7wY1cbgRaJO8Ae73EnsxW-t0AvPRpsLVvs-ckGKwmO8J_TqUD1ahs-M_ikTIuld4DnQx7mMYGo23Y4/s200/tumblr_llv4bcNYli1qdoqnm.png" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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We arranged a call time via email. I went to bed <strike>hysterical</strike> nervous. The next morning we had a great talk, I made a huge fool of myself stuttering over my words, and she suggested revisions. I threw everything I had into those revisions, knowing a fantastic agent was waiting for them. I poured over every word, every sentence, tweaked and re-tweaked for a month. I took a day off work to make a three day productive final weekend, forgot to eat, and stopped only for tea. <br />
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When I turned the revisions in, I was so confident. So, so confident. It made the fall that much harder. After twelve days of anxious waiting, Agent 1 turned me down. The revisions just weren't working. I thanked the agent for her time and proceeded to cry my eyes out again. It was never going to work, was it? This was my sixth book, and it was going to fail like all the others. <br />
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After my angst reduced from a hot-boil to a just-as-hot simmer, I revenged queried. I sent out a huge slew of queries to everyone, anyone, knowing that Agent 1 had only been my second query. There was a whole world out there that hadn't seen Book 6. I had no hope, though. No real hope. Hope had dive-bombed off the roof of my heart after the revision rejection.<br />
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One of my writer friends directed me to Agent 2, who tweeted she was open for queries that weekend only. I queried her for the heck of it. (OH GOD SO GLAD I DID.)<br />
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And then magic started happening. Sunday - two requests. Monday - two more. Tuesday - two more. Wednesday - one request and Agent 3 emailed me to arrange a call time next week. I didn't celebrate. I kept my poker face and thought it would never pan out. Hope started to pick itself up from the cement. My writer friends assured me this was great news, and it was, but I still had my cautious mode on full blast. I wouldn't be let down again. Not again. <br />
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Thursday - three requests. The sheer amount in such a small time was starting to scare me. My other books got maybe, <em>MAYBE</em>, four requests.<br />
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And then Friday came, and delightful Agent 2 called me out of the blue. No email to set up a time, just a straight call. I was (embarrasingly) on the toilet. I heard my phone ring in the other room and was like; SIGH. THESE TELEMARKETERS. NO PEACE EVEN ON THE CRAPPER.<br />
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When I came out I tapped the voicemail, and listened, fully ready to delete it. Telemarketers call from New Jersey all the time. My eyes bugged out. It was an AGENT. I called her back right away. <br />
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She read and loved it, and I fangirled over her. There was laughing, a little bit of tears, and happy shouting. She offered.<br />
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Everything from that point on became a fantastic blur. I nudged agents. Got four other offers, four calls with four seperate and wonderful agents. I had a week to decide. <br />
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FINALLY, I called Agent 2 today and told her I chose her. <br />
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But really, we chose each other.<br />
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I'm proud and flattered and a million other things to announce <strong><span style="font-size: large;">I'm now officially represented by Jessica Faust of BookEnds LLC.</span></strong><br />
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So, to the past me sitting there crying over the revision rejection, just know, in your alternate past reality, that things worked out, that the revision did NOT lead to failure, but rather, TAKEOFF. With the support/help/time of a million other people and several other agents, you got to where you are today. It's been three years and five books long, but you've finally made it. <br />
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Thank you, readers. <br />
Thank you, supporters.<br />
THANK YOU FRIENDS.<br />
Thank you, whoever you are, for reading this.<br />
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Yes, <em>you</em>. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>TOTAL STATS:</u></span><br />
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<strong>Books written before The One: </strong>5<br />
<strong>Queries Sent for The One:</strong> 67<br />
<strong>Form Rejections:</strong> 23<br />
<strong>Revise and Resubmit:</strong> 1<br />
<strong>Requests:</strong> 18<br />
<strong>Offers of Representation:</strong> 5Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-43810597866034468962012-04-15T21:14:00.001-07:002012-04-15T21:14:26.831-07:00A TRIUMPHANT RETURNGuys. Life has been cruel. It's kept me from you. <br />
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Let's be honest here, life has changed us all so much from last we spoke, we hardly know each other.<br />
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Let's have some oreos and wine on the kitchen floor and get re-acquainted.<br />
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So, I've been busy. Writing many books. Querying many books. Trying to concentrate on working an actual job whilst doing all these things. Plus, PLUS, having a LIFE. Crazy talk. Lives? No one has those, it's all college and husbands and what not.<br />
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I'll talk about tons of things in the next coming months. But mostly, thank you for sticking around, and look forward to some maybe-good news. (hint hint hint)<br />
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;)Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-31296439268935433662011-09-02T15:26:00.000-07:002011-09-02T15:56:27.526-07:00A spoon full of OH GOD makes the worldbuilding go down in the most delightful way.Summer's over. You heard me. September 1st is when summer ends, in my books. You might still eat ice cream in the heat of the day or dream about beaches when it hits an odd 90 degrees, but the fact of the matter is SUMMER IS OVER AND WORK/LIFE WILL SOON GO BACK TO NORMAL.<br />
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This summer I went on vacation. Not to Tahiti, or Europe. No, I went somewhere better for a full two months. I saw a million things and ate a million new foods, and made new friends who will stay with me the rest of my life.<br />
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Where exactly was this place? In my head. Yup. Sounds nerdy. Sounds terribly psychotic. But hey, HEY, if you're a writer, you better be a little psychotic, or your writing might turn out boring!<br />
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Seriously, though. Let's talk about worlds.<br />
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A lot of people (okay, two people, and they were drunk) ask me how I write such vivid worlds. I answered them like this at the time;<br />
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"HUGGGGGGHBLURGGGGH well, y-you know, I just write, just sit down and goddamn write, where'd the spiked iced tea gooooo I need a refilllllllll!"</i><br />
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In retrospect, that question haunted me a bit, and I've got a better answer, now. Worldbuilding can be hard. We all know that. Some people are just better at it than others, some people specialize in ONLY worldbuilding, some people learn it, others refine the skill. The point is, worldbuilding either comes to you, or it doesn't. Worldbuilding is abstract thinking in its finest form. You need to know every detail, down the last bit.<br />
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That's what they say, of course.<br />
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In reality, if you're like me, you run away at the approximate speed of <i>THAT IS A TERRIFYING PROSPECT</i> if someone brings up the word 'worldbuilding'. I know how it feels, loves. I know. It's hard. And scary. I used to be like this to the nth degree. I used to get very good advice from agents I was querying that told me to beef up my worldbuiling considerably, but they wouldn't tell me how. I got so frustrated knowing I had to work on an aspect of the book, but not knowing how to!<br />
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So this summer, I figured it out. <br />
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When people say worldbuilding, what does your mind jump to? Tiny details of food and places of an imaginary make, right? You need a whole seven notebooks to keep it all straight, right?<br />
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Right?<br />
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WRONG.<br />
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Worldbuilding can most certainly be complicated, but it doesn't have to be intimidating. Don't keep a book unless it really helps you. These are the three vital questions that you need to know the answers to to write your world convincingly;<br />
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<b>1. People <br />
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2. Environments<br />
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3. Beliefs<br />
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PEB. That's a great acronym. It doesn't sound suggestive at all. <br />
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<b>People</b> means what kinds of living beings inhabit your world, be they people or aliens. Think about your races - tall and dark to the south maybe, and pale and short to the north? Maybe the west part of your world is infested with sea-going people with red hair. Keep the traits simple and each race assigned to certain areas of your world. <br />
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<b>Environments</b> refers to what your world looks like, acts like, and moves like. Think seasons, what types of plants, animals, and weather. If you feel overwhelmed by that, keep it simple - divide your world into North/South/East/West sectors. When thinking about environments, also keep in mind what types of civilizations there are. Maybe in the north it's only tiny villages that brave the harsh and rugged winters. Maybe in the south, there's huge metropolises that thrive off hydroelectric power because they are so close to lakes. Remember, the natural environment of the world determines what shape civilization takes. Don't overthink it, just go to the most logical conclusion. Big bodies of water? Civilization in that area will focus on sailing, fish will be their largest sustenance, and trading will bring in lots of variety in terms of people. <br />
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<b>Beliefs</b> are a little more complex, but don't make it agonizingly hard on yourself. When thinking about beliefs, first think about what major religions/organizations there are in your world. The scope of Beliefs can range from churches to militias to a single village to an entire society built around a belief. Huxley had one in Brave New World - the belief that some people were born better than others formed the basis for the society in the book. If you have a large religion, ask yourself where that religion dominates in the world, and what it's core principal is. A core principal should only be one sentence. If you need more than one, you're overthinking. Ask yourself what the main purpose of the religion/organization/belief is. Is it providing spiritual relief to downtrodden people? Is it, like the Hunger Games namesake pastime, used to keep people in line? Is it, like in Harry Potter, an entire school devoted to education for young magical people?<br />
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Honestly, these three things are just a way to get you started. When you think about these things, everything else will sort of fall into place in your head or come to you while you're thinking - it's a guarantee. Dive into your world headfirst, and dive hard, dive like you live in that world everyday - food, children, relationships. Focus big, and then go small. Worldbuilding is meant to be detailed, but it's not good if you lose your sight of the big picture, first.<br />
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And good luck!! Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-54521267060390598842011-07-13T00:55:00.000-07:002011-07-13T00:55:51.294-07:00Another ridiculously neat YA contest!Phew, so many awesome contests happening, guys. This one is held by YAtopia again, and keep in mind there are only fifty slots and a sentence limit. It's right <a href="http://yatopia.blogspot.com/2011/07/agent-contest-with-vickie-motter.html">here</a>.<br />
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Hopefully some of you get to enter! And good luck!Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-4453368671867101842011-07-09T13:53:00.000-07:002011-07-09T13:53:32.097-07:00YA Pitch Contest!Hey guys! I know most of you write YA, so here's an awesome opportunity to pitch to Bree Odgen of Martin Literary Management. <br />
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Go on <a href="http://yatopia.blogspot.com/2011/07/elevator-pitch-competition-with-agent.html">here</a> and present your best elevator pitches, and good luck!Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-52583672853368090992011-06-25T13:47:00.000-07:002011-06-25T14:09:38.245-07:00First 250 - The World That Does Not BowHey guys! This is another entry for a Shelley Watters contest (honestly, she has the best ones, if you aren't already entered, check it out <a href="http://shelleywatters.blogspot.com/2011/06/birthday-blowout-first-page-contest.html">here</a>. <br /><br />The first 250 below are of my Sci-fi/thriller/post-apocalyptic YA called The World That Does Not Bow. Comments are loved and appreciated and most certainly returned in kind! Thanks again!<br /><br /><br /><br />|||||||||||||||||||||<br /><br /><br /><br /><em>The first time I saw the headmistress, I was dying.<br /><br />It wasn't a good death. I wasn't dying nobly, enlisted on the frontlines of the northern war like my dad would’ve wanted. Mom would’ve wanted me to die when I was old, surrounded by my grandchildren and a garden that was impossible in the diseased soil of our village. Both of them talked about how they hated the thought of dying at the hands of the Wave. Starvation, the raiders, mad dogs. Anything but the Wave. Too many had been wiped out before. Too many had been imbedded in the monster’s crimson skin and left to forever scream inhuman warnings as half-masticated corpses. <br /><br />When the warning siren rang from the watchtower, the ocean was rippling just outside the driftwood wall that spanned the fishing ponds. I could see it from the stone windows. High tide. Rictor came running into the dark temple, his hat askew. The Elder had been in the middle of our song lesson. He talked in quiet voices with Rictor. Incense was thick and heavy around us, sweet enough to eat. The Elder dismissed us and we skipped out, thrilled to be free of class.<br /><br />Around us, the village panicked. People ran and gathered up their children, baskets of the days gathering of fish spilled as feet tripped over them. Fires were extinguished. The rich-voiced birds in the tall palms were absent, the hushed whispers and terrified cries drowning them out. <br /><br />The Wave was coming.</em>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-69068186197037845432011-06-21T14:45:00.000-07:002011-06-21T16:06:06.173-07:00My writing process is mostly...full of cake.<em>Anonymous reader here! :) I love your blog.<br /><br />I have...I guess a post-request? I have been having writer's block, and it always helps me to know about other writers' processes - like, where they write, what time of day they do it, if there are any habits that help them, etc.<br /><br />If you ever have the spare time, I'd be really excited if you'd post about your writing process. Thanks :) </em><br /><br />Hello anonymous!! You're a wonderful person. I know this because you use the :) smiley, and anybody who uses that is a 100% bonafide AWESOME PERSON in my book. But seriously, I like your question. I like it lots, and I'm gonna try my best to give you an equally likeable answer!<br /><br />Obviously, every writer is completely different. Our styles are different, the genres we choose to tackle vary, and that's only the start! What works for me might not work for you, but gosh darn it I sure hope it does.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6POn1j_NCSSDaoll3Q8xliHmWYI92CVVfKY0jmwL-EH9wX9QqrP0Hhm00jZcVWYKIXA0s9WhqUpm11V3WauBy3xPbGovr_X_7oNcvhLv0un4yrVcuPnb7AnEL8IbrwNdm5OQDl2oT9fo/s1600/goshdarnit.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 235px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6POn1j_NCSSDaoll3Q8xliHmWYI92CVVfKY0jmwL-EH9wX9QqrP0Hhm00jZcVWYKIXA0s9WhqUpm11V3WauBy3xPbGovr_X_7oNcvhLv0un4yrVcuPnb7AnEL8IbrwNdm5OQDl2oT9fo/s320/goshdarnit.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620795752349005650" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />In all seriousness, I'm the type of writer who likes to sit at the computer for three or four weeks and frenzy out a really, REALLY rough draft skeleton thing. I take one or two months to revise that skeleton. I've finished two books in this fashion, so it's worked out pretty well for me! If you're slower, that's awesome too!<br /><br />If you wanna get in the mood to write, the most essential bit is MUSIC. Put on some jams you adore out the whazoo. Make a little playlist of songs you NEVER get tired of listening to, freshen it up with some new things you like, etc. Hit 'loop' and think about the scene you're writing as if it were a movie, with that music in the background. My favorite guilty pleasure (and loltastic nerdgasm habit) is to put some very epic trailer music, such as from 300 or Inception, and imagine my book, my characters, my plot being weaved through that music as though it were a movie. It gets me pumped to keep writing the book itself!<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFxm8H4teu4vVjuOpvTywi17NtQSRR3Su8fWu-6fzu4vVA_kaIXHzpBxXooKaf0BvhAWvFREbD-GHao60rOFGlnGpS5IfWO-FHsbgyWdJOZAJLa4zLihXlVY1dvNfo6ETh6t465tCRWY/s1600/gudmuzik.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 235px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFxm8H4teu4vVjuOpvTywi17NtQSRR3Su8fWu-6fzu4vVA_kaIXHzpBxXooKaf0BvhAWvFREbD-GHao60rOFGlnGpS5IfWO-FHsbgyWdJOZAJLa4zLihXlVY1dvNfo6ETh6t465tCRWY/s320/gudmuzik.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620799049219988034" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Music helps the creative juices to flow. Picture various action-y or other important scenes in your book playing to music. You might find new inspiration!<br /><br />Another method of breaking writer's block in half like a boss is to become extremely attached to your characters. I do this a lot, because my characters are lovely and very real to me. Sometimes I hold conversations with them. It takes a lot of work to have a one-sided conversation, but if you pose them normal questions, it challenges your brain to come up with a correct response that would fit their personality. This can help you love them more/want to spend more time with them and will give you vital clues as to how to write them better!<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHifQvSGOybN2Xy5fbCcGfwnP9t1DteXdoCikC_EH5Dsupf-5wERv8FxrsR467F_NRpdhf6VmQ7Ja4vwrOXQzB98ae3wfIIb4PYq-pvgtrhbykkC_wYHTNoVI0znH5I_5ZUS_I0b2CC4o/s1600/LEAVEHER.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 235px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHifQvSGOybN2Xy5fbCcGfwnP9t1DteXdoCikC_EH5Dsupf-5wERv8FxrsR467F_NRpdhf6VmQ7Ja4vwrOXQzB98ae3wfIIb4PYq-pvgtrhbykkC_wYHTNoVI0znH5I_5ZUS_I0b2CC4o/s320/LEAVEHER.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620803546250720978" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Keep in mind, doing this in public might get you arrested! But, seriously, try it out right before you go to bed at night, when it is most quiet and easy to imagine things. It's almost meditative, and it's worked wonders for me.<br /><br /><br />The last resort I usually reserve for the VERY HARDEST of times is to bake. BAKE BAKE BAKE. For you this might be different - a mindless task that is completely NOT writing at all can help you gain perspective. Weeding, painting, going for a walk. All are totally legit and can really aid you when you need to step back from the work and see if you're being a nutcase about it.<br /><br /><br /><br />Above all, what motivates me to write is the realization that I'm not getting any younger. Time is awastin'! I want to share those stories and help people like books helped me. Do all you can whenever you can, try your hardest every second. A lot of the time, that means forcing yourself to write when you don't want to. Do that. Don't let anything defeat you or slow you down, ever. YOU are making your own success or failure entirely. So fight hard and fight long!<br /><br />PS. Caffiene and sugar are magic pick-me-ups!!<br /><br />PPS. Stay in school<br /><br />PPPS. When you get famous, don't forget me. <br /><br />PPPPS.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqJoaG_38quIhm9U4hZe7ipFGBjFIVi_ZuY_KQUI7r1jUJ22-NgYdWomnODDZydIGSeqi7YSHQyjm6Llz9RwGRbMmnDzgvSrc1-sXLe9pxAO5STEcUzC5LbHgDkvFKC-tU_KXjLQwEsg/s1600/HUNTYOUDED.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 235px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqJoaG_38quIhm9U4hZe7ipFGBjFIVi_ZuY_KQUI7r1jUJ22-NgYdWomnODDZydIGSeqi7YSHQyjm6Llz9RwGRbMmnDzgvSrc1-sXLe9pxAO5STEcUzC5LbHgDkvFKC-tU_KXjLQwEsg/s320/HUNTYOUDED.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620807128913173938" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Love,<br /><br />MichelleMichellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-20209747510309142542011-06-04T23:19:00.000-07:002011-06-04T23:55:16.335-07:00The WSJ Debacle And How They Were Targeting The Wrong IssueIf you haven't heard of it yet, you will. If you're involved in books at all, or the YA industry, this news will circulate. The Wall Street Journal recently published an <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303657404576357622592697038.html?mod=e2tw">article</a> on how YA books nowadays are chock full of violence, gritty issues, and general debauchery. <br /><br />Uh.<br /><br />Let's start out by being nice. We like the WSJ. We do. The article was well thought-out, and very informed of the history of YA as a whole. We wonder, however, if they were perhaps aiming at the wrong issue in YA.<br /><br />The 'censor what your kids read' issue is a very important one, of course. In a tweet chat about YA a while back, I said that YA should be the genre, out of all the literary genres, to push boundaries. I stand by that today. The entire debate is one that will rage between mothers/Wholesome American Values and authors for many generations.<br /><br />However, I found it interesting that WSJ decided to tackle the issue of 'grit' in YA, when kids today are exposed to hundreds of the same things, but on TV. This is what we call a double standard. Many people brought up the contrasting issue; "God forbid my kid become an avid reader". There's no doubt YA is the darkest and most gritty of any sort of literary genre, except perhaps those murder mysteries, and even those are detached and tend not to hold a tenth of the emotional pull that YA does. If it gets kids reading and thinking, it's gotta be a good thing, right?<br /><br />There's a bigger problem than 'dark' in YA. It's a problem no one really addresses, because everyone is fearful of stepping on toes. If WSJ ever decided to do an article on the alarming vapidness of today's YA, it would be very interesting. This problem is more prevalent in YA than even 'dark' trends, but much of it is waved off because that same vapidness tends to make the big money because it is so accessible. Watered down. <br /><br />I'm friends with local teens in my area and beyond, I know teens all over the world thanks to this wonderful internet thing, and many of them are frustrated by the insincerity of the tone in YA. The soulless-seeming love interests. The lack of character and lack of heartfelt interaction that preaches some kind of whitewashed moral that sex, or anything outside of the middle america's comfort zone, is a thing to be frowned on. Is this what the moms, such as in WSJ's article, want us to write? The public would like us to dumb down YA <em>EVEN FURTHER</em> just so their minds can be eased? <br /><br />This article may have been about 'dark' themes in YA, but it was subtly pointing out the dichotomy that is the biggest problem in YA today; the seemingly omnipresent state of 'distilled' teenage life that is represented in these books. If the book isn't 'dark', it will more than likely be what many teens deem a 'disappointment', in terms of characters, trying-too-hard tone, or even overall plot. The trend of (mostly fantasy) YA is, as of now, desperately gasping for some new blood, and this is evident in the way teens are now becoming more vocal about their dissatisfaction with YA today.<br /><br /><br />If the teens are feeling the lack of originality in YA, that means we're becoming too comfortable and stagnant in a world of books where we chase after trends, strive desperately and fail in crafting a believable 'teen' voice, and censor ourselves and hence, the quality of the work as well, to get published. Are we still writers if we aren't making works that speak to teens? <br /><br />Thanks WSJ, for making us stop and think.Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629260147289258647.post-77129981495861293432011-05-28T16:38:00.000-07:002011-05-28T16:42:18.360-07:00HEARTSTOPPERS - YA/Contemp - 47kHey guys! This is my first 250 for Shelley's contest. (Which is here; http://shelleywatters.blogspot.com/2011/05/made-of-awesome-contest.html) Thanks for your comments!<br /><br /><br />--------<br /><br /><br />It’s not my fault Hailey Demetropolis wants to punch out my teeth.<br /><br />She doesn’t punch, really; like all pretty girls she prefers the roundhouse, open-hand slap. The one that’s easy to stop, and even easier to counter with my signature face jab. I call it the Nose Job. In Hailey’s case, it'll be her second. Her eyes flare as she pulls a perfectly manicured hand back. I lash out with my knuckles. Her body crumples backward, and the greenery surrounding the eleventh hole streaks red. When her head comes up, her hand is pressed over her torrentially bloody nose as her minions screech.<br /><br />“You bitch!” A blonde growls.<br /><br />“Look; unibrow, cameltoe, orange tan,” I point to the three of Hailey’s lackeys, “Do me a favor and put some ice on that for her. And give her the name of your plastic surgeon, okay? He’s obviously much better.” <br /><br />From behind them I can see the golf course security sprinting towards me, visors bobbing. I take off running down the green. <br /><br />“Stop!” The security yells. I can barely hear their voices over their panting. <br /><br />“Too many Doritos, boys?” I dance around a sand trap. Women with cardigans on their shoulders and men with expensive watches all gape as my entourage and I speed towards them. <br /><br />“Afternoon.” I nod breathlessly as I pass, taking one of their golf bags and throwing it to the ground before trotting into a sprint again. The security swears and maneuvers around the bulky shape.Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079557797478488058noreply@blogger.com13