LET'S GET RIGHT TO IT. It's very early in the morning, so have some doughnuts before we begin;
~~*~*~*~*Submissions for PitchWars start today ~*~*~*~
The cut off time to get your applications (query & first five pages of manuscript) in is 8AM EST on December 5.
Send your applications to brendadrakecontests@gmail.com. Writers can apply for up to 3 coaches.
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.
For additional information about this contest go
HERE.
- This is open to finished manuscripts only.
- You may only enter one manuscript.
- Only the genres requested by each coach will be considered for the contest.
Formatting:
Subject line: Pitch Wars Application: Coach Name you want to apply for: Title (Example: PitchWars Application: Brenda Drake: GONE WITH THE WIND)
Name: Your Name
Genre: The genre of your manuscript
Word Count: The word count of your manuscript
Query letter here (embedded in email). Single spaced. No indents. A space between each paragraph.
First five pages of the manuscript here (embedded in email). Single spaced. No indentions. A space between each paragraph.
~*~*AS A REMINDER~*~*: You can send an application for up to 3 coaches.
~*~*~BIO~*~*~*
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!
***WISHLIST(now with a scary bacon face)***
All genres must be in the Young Adult (YA) category. I do not accept Adult, Middle Grade, or New Adult.
GENERAL WANTS (AKA things I LOVE to see in a manuscript)
- If you've got YA that addresses any of these, regardless of genre, send it my way!
- Quirky cast of deep, fully-realized characters
- Romance as a subplot, not the main plot.
- Main Character(s) with a strong, addictive voice. If you have a strong, unique narrator, I will definitely love love love it.
My face if you have these in your manuscript:
 |
| but i really do like you |
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)
-
Contemporary: 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.
Thrillers and
Horrors 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
Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma.
-
Historical: I'm the biggest sucker for foreign history - usually not in the U.S. Give me Europe, Asia, Africa, all of it.
Libby Bray's The Diviners 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.
- SciFi: 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
Joss Whedon's Firefly.
GOGOGO SUBMIT TO ME~~~
Check back soon for a complete list of the amazing agents participating in the contest. There's over a dozen!
Our mentors ...
Mister
Linky's Magical Widgets -- Thumb-Linky widget will appear right here!
This preview willdisappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
For best results, use HTML mode to edit
this section of the post.
