tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42509889281635099612024-03-14T13:05:47.848-06:00Krista Van DolzerKrista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.comBlogger1279125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-90709864129368766732024-01-03T05:30:00.001-07:002024-01-03T05:30:00.130-07:00What Do You Think of This Query for My YA Fantasy?As many of you know, my agent medically retired toward the beginning of last year. I'd already been struggling to come up with my next project, and this setback didn't help. Gladly, #PitchMe came along, which gave me time to plot and plan. I wrote and revised a PB as soon as #PitchMe was done, then started working on a YA I'd been pondering for months. I've nearly finished the first draft, so now I'm just starting to think about how to pitch this project. It's still several months away from being ready to query, but I would love to get your thoughts on my query in the meantime. This is only the first draft, so I'm open to all feedback:<div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;">Dear [Agent]:</span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;">As the adopted son of the highest high chief of the Lands, Almundemba’s never felt like he actually belongs. He’s too pale, too paranoid, and more interested in plants than in governing the Lands. But Almund has one use for his political cachet, and that’s to alter the Exchange. For too long, this exercise of trading children like kukuis has benefitted his birth country more than his adopted one; he wants to rebalance the scales.</span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;">Relentless as the Tide used to be the only child of the highest high chief of the Lands—until he traded her for the Homish sovereign’s newborn when Relentless was a toddler. Twelve and seven years later, Relentless finally figures out why her adopted mother willingly Exchanged her son: because she needed a daughter to pledge marriage to the heir of her country’s vengeful neighbor. Relentless wants no part of this and hijacks the steamer bound for the Lands and the Exchange to abolish it for good.</span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;">This won’t be easy, though. The highest high chief of the Lands doesn’t wish to void the treaty that has kept his nation safe, and Almund has his own agenda. Luckily, Relentless has one more bargaining chip: a biological half sister who resembles her a lot. Setting her principles aside, Relentless kidnaps her half sister to pledge marriage in her place.</span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;">When Almund learns they’ve disappeared, he vows to bring his sister back. She’s the heir their country needs. But sisters have minds of their own, and this one has other plans. Now Almund must convince her she requires rescuing before she marries a monster—and he’ll need Relentless’s help.</span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;">[TITLE] is a 100,000-word fantasy for young adults inspired by hānai, the traditional Hawaiian practice of informally adopting children to bolster alliances. After my previous agent medically retired last year, I spent the next several months formulating the right project with which to secure a new one. This manuscript is that right project and has never been submitted.</span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;">Like my main characters, I was adopted as an infant. I’m also part Hawaiian and the author of four middle grade novels, including THE SOUND OF LIFE AND EVERYTHING (Putnam 2015) and THE MULTIPLYING MYSTERIES OF MOUNT TEN (Bloomsbury 2019).</span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;">Thank you for your time and especially your consideration.</span></div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-4371047987790745952023-11-27T06:00:00.002-07:002023-11-27T06:00:00.134-07:00When Hindsight Becomes Foresight<div style="text-align: left;"><i>Spoiler alert: this blog post mentions infertility, depression, and suicidal ideation. I've tried to address these topics with sensitivity and authenticity, but if you need to skip this post for the sake of your own mental health, I completely understand.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">About seven years ago, I decided it was time to have another kid. We already had three, but I'd thought for several years that our family wouldn't be complete until we had one more, and now the time finally felt right. My depression was under control, I'd stopped taking medication, and we'd moved closer to family. Plus, it felt like God was telling me the time was finally right. I was energized and hopeful.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I didn't get pregnant the first month, which wasn't weird, so it was fine. I didn't the second month, either--but my sister-in-law did. They announced their awesome news at a family gathering. I probably felt a little bad, but the women in my husband's family are notoriously fertile. It was fine. Completely fine.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I told my brother-in-law's wife that we were trying to conceive. She knew exactly how I felt. Though she and her husband didn't have trouble conceiving, she did have a hard time carrying pregnancies to term. We'd bonded before over our shared misery of having married into such a baby-come-easy family.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Then, a month or several later, she said she was pregnant, too.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This made me feel a little worse--or, you know, maybe a lot worse. I tried to be happy for her, but I wasn't, not at all. Now I was an awful person in addition to *not* pregnant.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This was sometime in the winter, which was colder, snowier, and generally more miserable than my last ten winters had been. I'm sure this had something to do with my worsening depression, but I was too far gone to make that logical connection, and my depression quickly spiraled into suicidal thoughts. Church was soul-suckingly bad, and family gatherings were worse. At least my *other* brother-in-law's wife had no bun in the proverbial oven and showed no signs of wanting one. We didn't talk as much, but I decided we were tight, on the same side, and all of that.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Until--you guessed it--she announced that she was having her first baby.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There were now three babies coming to my husband's family, and not a single one was mine. Why was God rewarding them but somehow not rewarding me? Was I less righteous, less deserving? Then why had I felt so strongly that the time was finally right?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This was in, like, February, and my suicidal thoughts were pretty much out of control. After sitting down to talk about it with my husband's parents, I decided I would give myself two more months to conceive. The thought of giving God a deadline didn't sit quite right with me, but even I could tell that this was rapidly becoming a life-or-death situation. Two more tedious months passed, and I didn't get pregnant.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Still.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I was beaten. I was vanquished. Scheduling that doctor's visit felt like admitting defeat. I mean, I knew I had to do it--for myself, my family--but I didn't *want* to do it. And I didn't understand why God had let me wander recklessly so far down the wrong path.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The day of the appointment came. I told the doctor all my crap. (I've been doing authenticity since before it became cool.) Then she told me something wondrous, something I'd wondered about but never let myself believe: there was a type of medication that would *not* affect the fetus even if I took it straight through an entire pregnancy.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This, of course, was the solution, the detour I couldn't see from where I was firmly stuck. I started this new medication, and after working out the dosage over the next several months, I managed to sweet-talk my husband into trying to conceive again. (He was understandably gun-shy after the year that we'd endured.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We got pregnant right away, and <a href="https://kristavandolzer.blogspot.com/2018/05/introducing-gummy-bear.html">our Gummy Bear</a> was born in April of 2018.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This wasn't the first time that, with the benefit of hindsight, I could see how Heavenly Father's plan was so much better than *my* plan, but I swore it would be the last. This ordeal had to have changed me. The next time I hit a roadblock, I couldn't spend weeks, months, or years working myself into a frenzy or shaking my fists at God. I had to hope. I had to trust. I had to let myself believe that God really does know what He's doing, that He's looking out for me, and that He knows how to do more with and make more of my life than I ever could alone.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I didn't know it then, but as it turned out, my next hard thing had already begun. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35890085-earth-to-dad">EARTH TO DAD</a> had sold to Capstone in February of 2017--right when, incidentally, I was going nuclear--and since then, perhaps you've noticed that I haven't sold a thing. *I* didn't notice right away, but it's become hard to ignore. I also had to leave an agent after he didn't connect with the new stuff I was writing, and the new agent I found had to medically retire in May earlier this year.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But honestly? I'm fine. Actually, completely fine. Do I wish I'd made a sale in the last six or seven years? Um, of course, yes, absolutely. But am I foaming at the mouth because my journey hasn't gone the way I wanted it to go? For once, thankfully, no. I still have some not-great days, but for the most part, I've been able to keep writing, writing, writing and give God the time and space to lead me down the proper road. I hope I'll know it when I see it, but until then, I'm content to keep waiting on the Lord. There are much worse ways to wait.</div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-73094395874980831722023-10-30T06:00:00.001-06:002023-10-30T06:00:00.147-06:00#PitchMe 2023 ResultsOur most successful round of #PitchMe EVER came to a close last week, and once again, I'm delightfully worn out. All told, this year's pitches racked up 95 total likes, several of which came from 6 additional agents and an extra editor who jumped in to make requests over the course of the day. What's more, EVERY SINGLE ENTRY got at least one like this year! Here's a breakdown of the action:<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717164355240779920">#1 PB: WREN'S FRIENDS</a> Amy Giuffrida, Saribel Pages</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717164607003906202">#2 PB: EILEEN COLLINS: DETERMINED, FOCUSED, FIERCE - NASA'S FIRST FEMALE PILOT & MISSION COMMANDER</a> Michelle Jackson, Morgan Strehlow, Natalia Vázquez</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717164858515595667">#3 PB: THE COPPER-COLORED MITTENS</a> Michelle Jackson, Amy Giuffrida</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717165110634913971">#4 PB: THE BOY OF THE CINNAMON ISLAND</a> Amy Giuffrida, Michelle Jackson</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717165362201153914">#5 PB: ECHO CAVE</a> Ivan Taurisano</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717165613221613943">#6 PB: SPACE KNIFE: THE TRUE STORY OF KING TUT'S DAGGER</a> Michelle Jackson, Natalia Vázquez</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717165864837906885">#7 MG: NO FINER THAN I AM</a> Elisa Houot, Jynastie Wilson</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717166116550701567">#8 MG: WHAT LINGERS AT THE CRESCENT</a> Alison Weiss, Saribel Pages</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717166368284717088">#9 MG: THE MARITIME DETECTIVE COMPANY: THE CURSE OF THE MERMAID'S PEARL</a> Jynastie Wilson, Whitney Ross, Morgan Hughes, Alison Weiss, Lindsay Auld, Elisa Houot, Kristin Ostby</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717166619712246241">#10 MG: THE SORCERER OF WESTMINSTER</a> Whitney Ross</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717166871445930488">#11 MG: HOW NOT TO DIE IN A SWAMP</a> Jynastie Wilson, Saribel Pages, Natalia Vázquez</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717167123162632470">#12 MG: TANGLED UP</a> Michelle Jackson, Asia Harden, Amy Giuffrida, Natalia Vázquez, Jennifer March Soloway</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717167374921511186">#13 MG: THE ODD ONES</a> Amy Giuffrida, Michelle Jackson, Kristin Ostby, Lindsay Auld, Vicky Weber</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717167626349334744">#14 YA: MURDERLAND</a> Shari Maurer, Jynastie Wilson</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717167878888415549">#15 YA: DEEP ROOTS</a> Joanna MacKenzie, Michelle Jackson, Jen Nadol, Jynastie Wilson, Whitney Ross, Andie Smith, Lindsay Auld, Jennifer March Soloway</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717168129745293698">#16 YA: A GOOD NIGHT TO SAY GOODBYE</a> Vicky Weber, Asia Harden, Najla Mamou, Amy Giuffrida, Michelle Jackson, Whitney Ross</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717168381428744351">#17 YA: TERRA</a> Asia Harden</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717168632953008138">#18 YA: LAWNMOWER LEAVING</a> Jynastie Wilson, Christina Lopez</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717168884850073900">#19 YA: SECRETS DON'T STAY BURIED</a> Elisa Houot, Joanna MacKenzie, Michelle Jackson, Asia Harden, Jen Nadol, Najla Mamou, Amy Giuffrida, Whitney Ross, Lindsay Auld, Jennifer March Soloway, Christina Lopez, Ann Leslie Tuttle</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717169136399524277">#20 YA: THE AMULET OF AMUN</a> Ellen Goff, Whitney Ross</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717169387961192586">#21 A: THE SELF-DESTRUCTION OF SYMPATHY D</a> Jennifer March Soloway</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717169639728300446">#22 A: BYSTANDER</a> Andie Smith</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717169891244155323">#23 A: BETWEEN BREATHS</a> Kimberly Fernando, Christina Lopez, Ann Leslie Tuttle</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717170143032201623">#24 A: THE LOST DIARIES OF VIVIAN SUMNER</a> Vicky Weber, Joanna MacKenzie, Michelle Jackson, Jenna Jankowski, Amy Giuffrida, Kimberly Fernando, Whitney Ross, Morgan Hughes, Andie Smith, Lindsay Auld, Jennifer March Soloway</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717170394891730974">#25 A: A LITTLE OVER THE TOP</a> Michelle Jackson</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717170646264758509">#26 A: THE DREAMS THEY CARRY</a> Jen Nadol, Najla Mamou</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717170897923223740">#27 A: HEIST RACE</a> Kristin Ostby, Christina Lopez, Joanna MacKenzie</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1717171149640269852">#28 A: SWEETHEARTS OF THE OVERTHROW</a> Vicky Weber, Joanna MacKenzie, Kimberly Fernando</div><div><br /></div><div>In addition, our two other finalists didn't make it to the agent and editor round because they accepted offers of representation after being selected!</div><div><br /></div><div>Last but certainly not least, THANK YOU. Whether you were an agent, an editor, an entrant, or a finalist, #PitchMe doesn't work without all of you. And #PitchMe REALLY wouldn't work without <a href="https://twitter.com/TaraShiroff">Tara Shiroff</a>, my partner (pitcher?)-in-crime. Thanks again for all your insights and boundless enthusiasm.</div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-27056207852583640682023-09-20T06:00:00.019-06:002023-09-20T06:00:00.141-06:00#PitchMe Finalists 2023<div style="text-align: left;">Please note that we had several entries with very similar titles, so definitely make sure your title AND initials match before you get too excited:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>PB</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A.N.W.'s ECHO CAVE</div><div style="text-align: left;">K.M.'s SPACE KNIFE: THE TRUE STORY OF KING TUT'S DAGGER</div><div style="text-align: left;">E.E.'s THE COPPER-COLORED MITTENS</div><div style="text-align: left;">M.T.'s EILEEN COLLINS: DETERMINED, FOCUSED, FIERCE - NASA'S FIRST FEMALE PILOT & MISSION COMMANDER</div><div style="text-align: left;">S.G.'s THE BOY OF THE CINNAMON ISLAND</div><div style="text-align: left;">M.S.'s WREN'S FRIENDS</div><div style="text-align: left;">N.G.'s THE LOCKDOWN RULE</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>MG</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">C.L.'s TANGLED UP (contemporary)</div><div style="text-align: left;">M.B.'s WHAT LINGERS AT THE CRESCENT (horror)</div><div style="text-align: left;">E.M.'s THE SORCERER OF WESTMINSTER (historical fantasy)</div><div style="text-align: left;">R.B.'s NIGHT BECOMES NOON (contemporary)</div><div style="text-align: left;">T.B.'s THE ODD ONES (fantasy)</div><div style="text-align: left;">M.A.'s THE MARITIME DETECTIVE COMPANY: THE CURSE OF THE MERMAID'S PEARL (mystery)</div><div style="text-align: left;">J.K.'s THE PECULIAR BLOOMS OF POSEY AVENUE (magical realism graphic novel)</div><div style="text-align: left;">M.D.'s HOW NOT TO DIE IN A SWAMP (horror)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>YA</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">B.R.'s A GOOD NIGHT TO SAY GOODBYE (historical mystery)</div><div style="text-align: left;">A.L.R.'s DEEP ROOTS (contemporary)</div><div style="text-align: left;">O.S.'s TERRA (fantasy)</div><div style="text-align: left;">M.R.'s MURDERLAND (thriller)</div><div style="text-align: left;">J.D.M.'s SECRETS DON'T STAY BURIED (thriller)</div><div style="text-align: left;">R.B.'s LAWNMOWER LEAVING (contemporary)</div><div style="text-align: left;">N.M.'s THE AMULET OF AMUN (historical adventure)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Adult</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">F.T.'s THE SELF-DESTRUCTION OF SYMPATHY D (speculative)</div><div style="text-align: left;">R.J.'s A LITTLE OVER THE TOP (contemporary romance)</div><div style="text-align: left;">L.F.'s BYSTANDER (thriller)</div><div style="text-align: left;">S.L.'s THE LOST DIARIES (Gothic mystery)</div><div style="text-align: left;">J.K.'s BETWEEN BREATHS (historical women's fiction)</div><div style="text-align: left;">D.L.'s THE DREAMS THEY CARRY (magical realism)</div><div style="text-align: left;">S.S.'s THE IMPERFECT STORMS (women's fiction)</div><div style="text-align: left;">S.P.'s HEIST RACE (thriller)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Congratulations, finalists! Tara and I can't wait to dig in and ultimately share these awesome projects with our agents and editors.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">On the other hand, I know that this news comes as a huge letdown to the majority of you. I wish one writer's acceptance didn't always have to equal another writer's rejection, but in most cases, it does (and in most cases, I've been on the raw end of that equation, so I know how much it hurts). To try to mitigate the sting, I'm once again offering feedback to everyone who entered #PitchMe. I took notes on every entry and wrote down something positive about every single one (and usually a suggestion, too). If you don't find an agent between now and October 26 and would like to hear my thoughts on your pitch, query, and first page, you're more than welcome to respond to your original submission with a request for that feedback. I only ask that you hold off until Thursday, October 26, the day AFTER the agent round, so I can spend these next few weeks reviewing the finalists' work.</div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-37531446912107535672023-09-19T06:00:00.003-06:002023-09-19T06:44:26.105-06:00A Couple of Notes on This Year's #PitchMe EntriesFirst off, thank you, thank you, thank you for submitting to #PitchMe. This contest doesn't work if we don't get a hefty batch of super promising submissions, and once again, you guys delivered. We've finalized most of our picks, but this year's entries were so great that we're still dilly-dallying over the last couple of slots.<div><br /></div><div><b>Overall Impressions</b></div><div><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Maybe it's because I've gotten used to reading queries, but so many of <a href="https://kristavandolzer.blogspot.com/2022/09/thoughts-on-this-years-pitchme-entries.html">the little things that stuck out to me last year</a> didn't stick out to me this one. I didn't notice or care how you spelled my name (or didn't), whether you admitted you're a first-time novelist, or even how you closed your query. I scanned for title, word count, category, and genre, then dove straight into the summary. If the author's bio paragraph connected their lived experience to their book's subject matter, that was certainly a plus, but if a query happened to skip over that pesky bio paragraph, I honestly might not have noticed. The story itself was king.</li><li>Established, best-selling authors can write anything they want, and publishers will throw money at it, but break-in stories have to clear a much, much, much, much higher bar. Write what you love, they say, and let your passion sell itself, but a part of me wonders how much experience such authors have with not selling anything. If you've been at this for a while, if agents and editors compliment your writing but never give you the time of day, it may be because your concepts aren't standing out.</li></ul><div><br /></div></div><div><b>PB Notes</b></div><div><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>There were 84 submissions within this category.</li><li>My #PitchMe spreadsheet has two columns for note-taking on each entry: "Pros" and "Cons." Too often, I found myself typing "Good query" under "Pros" and "Concept may not stand out enough" under "Cons." It's clear that so many of you are seasoned writers who've learned how to craft pitch-perfect queries and even manuscripts, but if agents have seen your concept over and over again, it may not matter how strong your query or even your manuscript is. Tara agreed. She pointed out that several of these entries were exceptionally well-written--but about a dog or cat.</li><li>On the whole, Tara thought these entries were really, really strong. In more than one case, she decided not to pick an entry simply because she didn't think it needed #PitchMe's help.</li><li>She--and I--also shied away from rhyming picture books because they're hard to critique and really have to be pitch-perfect to catch an agent's eye. If the verse is on, it's ON, but if the meter is off by even a single syllable, the whole thing kind of falls apart.</li></ul><div><br /></div></div><div><b>MG Notes</b></div><div><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>There were 44 submissions within this category.</li><li>And more than half of them--28, to be precise--were some kind of fantasy. Throw in the horrors with fantastical elements, and the number would be well over 30. Nothing wrong with fantasy, of course, and I loved some of these entries, but MG in general and MG fantasy in particular has become quite tricky to sell, so your project really has to go above and beyond.</li><li>Maybe it's just the time of year, but I also came across enough ghost stories in these entries that I started to take note. Here again, some of these ghost stories were my very favorite entries, but it also made me wonder if our agents might be experiencing ghost-story fatigue. </li><li>Lastly, multiple stories started on the first or last day of school, so those first pages had to work even harder to stand out.</li></ul><div><br /></div></div><div><b>YA Notes</b></div><div><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>There were 49 submissions within this category.</li><li>And quite a few of them were also fantasies. That said, there weren't nearly as many, but there were certainly enough to make me jot down a note.</li></ul><div><br /></div></div><div><b>Adult Notes</b></div><div><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>There were 84 submissions within this category.</li><li>And on the whole, I'd say that the adult submissions featured a better mix of genres. That said, experience has taught me that my fantasy and sci-fi tastes don't match up very well with what agents are looking for--which has everything to do with me and absolutely nothing to do with the amazing fantasy and sci-fi authors #PitchMe has featured in the past--so those ones really had to wow me to make it onto my longlist.</li></ul><div><br /></div></div><div>You may have done the math yourself, but of the 14 awesome agents and 5 lurking editors who will be checking in on #PitchMe, 6 will be looking for PB, 13 for MG, 13 for YA, and 11 for adult.</div><div><br /></div><div>Please meet me back here tomorrow for the list of finalists!</div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-78609663916654125142023-09-06T20:30:00.002-06:002023-09-06T21:10:41.109-06:00Second Submission Window for #PitchMe 2023 Now Open<div><i>UPDATE: The submission windows are now closed. We received 84 PBs, 44 MGs, 49 YAs, and 84 adults for a total of 261 entries. Finalists will be announced on Wednesday, September 20!</i></div><div><br /></div>Welcome to #PitchMe 2023! To enter, your manuscript must meet two conditions. First, it must be COMPLETE, NEVER-PUBLISHED, AND READY TO QUERY, and second, it must be in one of the following genres:<div><br /></div><div>PB fiction and nonfiction (all genres)</div><div>MG fiction (all genres)</div><div>YA fiction (all genres)</div><div>Adult fiction (all genres, including commercial, literary, and/or upmarket but excluding erotica)</div><div><br /></div><div>1. All submissions must be sent to kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com and include A TWITTER PITCH, A QUERY, AND THE FIRST 250 WORDS of your manuscript. (PB author-illustrators are also encouraged to share links to their online portfolios.) You must paste these items IN THE BODY OF YOUR E-MAIL; otherwise, I'll disqualify it.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Please submit ONLY ONE PROJECT. If you submit multiple projects, I'll only consider the first.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. It would also really help if you INCLUDE YOUR CATEGORY--PB, MG, YA, OR ADULT--SOMEWHERE IN YOUR SUBJECT LINE, but it's not a requirement.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. THERE WILL BE TWO 30-MINUTE SUBMISSION WINDOWS to (try to) accommodate work schedules and international entrants. The first submission window opens on Wednesday, September 6, at 10:30 a.m. EDT and closes at 11:00 a.m. EDT. The second submission window opens later that same day, Wednesday, September 6, at 10:30 p.m. EDT and closes at 11:00 p.m. EDT. Hopefully, you'll be awake and/or not at work during one of these 30-minute intervals!</div><div><br /></div><div>5. Once you send me your submission, I’ll send you a confirmation e-mail with a summary of these rules.</div><div><br /></div><div>6. Previous finalists may enter again AS LONG AS THEY HAVE A NEW MANUSCRIPT TO SUBMIT.</div><div><br /></div><div>For more information, including a timeline of events and a list of participating agents and editors, check out <a href="https://kristavandolzer.blogspot.com/2023/08/everything-you-need-to-know-for-pitchme.html">this post</a>. We can't wait to read your work!</div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-69178035763059086042023-09-06T08:30:00.008-06:002023-09-06T09:08:46.159-06:00First Submission Window for #PitchMe 2023 Now Open<div><i>UPDATE: The first submission window is now closed, but the second will open tonight at 10:30 p.m. EDT. For your information, we've received 39 PBs, 29 MGs, 32 YAs, and 59 adults so far!</i></div><div><br /></div>Welcome to #PitchMe 2023! To enter, your manuscript must meet two conditions. First, it must be COMPLETE, NEVER-PUBLISHED, AND READY TO QUERY, and second, it must be in one of the following genres:<div><br /></div><div>PB fiction and nonfiction (all genres)</div><div>MG fiction (all genres)</div><div>YA fiction (all genres)</div><div>Adult fiction (all genres, including commercial, literary, and/or upmarket but excluding erotica)</div><div><br /></div><div>1. All submissions must be sent to kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com and include A TWITTER PITCH, A QUERY, AND THE FIRST 250 WORDS of your manuscript. (PB author-illustrators are also encouraged to share links to their online portfolios.) You must paste these items IN THE BODY OF YOUR E-MAIL; otherwise, I'll disqualify it.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Please submit ONLY ONE PROJECT. If you submit multiple projects, I'll only consider the first.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. It would also really help if you INCLUDE YOUR CATEGORY--PB, MG, YA, OR ADULT--SOMEWHERE IN YOUR SUBJECT LINE, but it's not a requirement.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. THERE WILL BE TWO 30-MINUTE SUBMISSION WINDOWS to (try to) accommodate work schedules and international entrants. The first submission window opens on Wednesday, September 6, at 10:30 a.m. EDT and closes at 11:00 a.m. EDT. The second submission window opens later that same day, Wednesday, September 6, at 10:30 p.m. EDT and closes at 11:00 p.m. EDT. Hopefully, you'll be awake and/or not at work during one of these 30-minute intervals!</div><div><br /></div><div>5. Once you send me your submission, I’ll send you a confirmation e-mail with a summary of these rules.</div><div><br /></div><div>6. Previous finalists may enter again AS LONG AS THEY HAVE A NEW MANUSCRIPT TO SUBMIT.</div><div><br /></div><div>For more information, including a timeline of events and a list of participating agents and editors, check out <a href="https://kristavandolzer.blogspot.com/2023/08/everything-you-need-to-know-for-pitchme.html">this post</a>. We can't wait to read your work!</div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-25314115337064987012023-08-09T06:00:00.002-06:002023-09-05T12:54:57.933-06:00Everything You Need to Know for #PitchMe 2023#PitchMe is back for its third season, and <a href="https://twitter.com/TaraShiroff">Tara Shiroff</a> and I are ready to get to work. If you take what I love most about multi-agent query contests--mentoring great writers at wherever they happen to be on their publishing journey--and mash it up with a pitch fest, then you've basically got #PitchMe. Are you interested? Read on!<div><br /></div><div>Here’s the timeline:<br /><br />September 6: The submission windows open<br />September 20: Selected submissions announced<br />September 20-October 24: Mentoring takes place<br />October 25: Revised Twitter pitches posted; agents (and editors!) like their favorites</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Submissions</b></div><div><br /></div><div>To enter, your manuscript must meet two conditions. First, it must be COMPLETE, NEVER-PUBLISHED, AND READY TO QUERY, and second, it must be in one of the following genres:<br /><br />PB fiction and nonfiction (all genres)<br />MG fiction (all genres)<br />YA fiction (all genres)<br />Adult fiction (all genres, including commercial, literary, and/or upmarket but excluding erotica)<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>1. All submissions must be sent to kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com and include A TWITTER PITCH, A QUERY, AND THE FIRST 250 WORDS of your manuscript. (PB author-illustrators are also encouraged to share links to their online portfolios.) You must paste these items IN THE BODY OF YOUR E-MAIL; otherwise, I'll disqualify it.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Please submit ONLY ONE PROJECT. If you submit multiple projects, I'll only consider the first.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. It would also really help if you INCLUDE YOUR CATEGORY--PB, MG, YA, OR ADULT--SOMEWHERE IN YOUR SUBJECT LINE, but it's not a requirement.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. THERE WILL BE TWO 30-MINUTE SUBMISSION WINDOWS to (try to) accommodate work schedules and international entrants. The first submission window opens on Wednesday, September 6, at 10:30 a.m. EDT and closes at 11:00 a.m. EDT. The second submission window opens later that same day, Wednesday, September 6, at 10:30 p.m. EDT and closes at 11:00 p.m. EDT. Hopefully, you'll be awake and/or not at work during one of these 30-minute intervals!</div><div><br /></div><div>5. Once you send me your submission, I’ll send you a confirmation e-mail with a summary of these rules.</div><div><br /></div><div>6. Previous finalists may enter again AS LONG AS THEY HAVE A NEW MANUSCRIPT TO SUBMIT.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Selections</b><br /><br />I'll select 6 entries within each major category--PB, MG, YA, and adult--and up to 6 wildcards. I may pick 6 adults or 3 YAs and 3 MGs or just a single PB with those wildcards; it depends on what I know the agents are looking for and which submissions seem strongest.</div><div><br /></div><div>Once I've finalized my picks--with Tara’s help, of course--I'll e-mail the winning writers and announce the winning titles here and/or on my Twitter feed on Wednesday, September 20. Then the real work will begin!<br /><br /><b>Mentoring</b><br /><br />For the next roughly 5 weeks, the winning writers will revise their pitches, queries, and first pages with my and Tara’s help. You won’t be obligated to incorporate our thoughts, and the feedback we provide on your queries and first pages won’t actually be featured in the agent round itself. We just want to help you make your pitches, queries, and first pages the very best that they can be.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Liking</b><br /><br />On Wednesday, October 25, I'll post the revised pitches ON MY TWITTER FEED for the agents (and editors!) to review. Here are the awesome agents who’ll be liking your pitches:<br /><br /><a href="https://www.belcastroagency.com/">Amy Giuffrida</a> of <a href="https://www.belcastroagency.com/">Belcastro Agency</a></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/AnnLeslieTuttle">Ann Leslie Tuttle</a> of <a href="https://www.dystel.com/">Dystel, Goderich & Bourret</a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/ElisaHouot">Elisa Houot</a> of <a href="https://theseymouragency.com/">The Seymour Agency</a></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/ellenpauleygoff">Ellen Goff</a> of <a href="https://www.hgliterary.com/">HG Literary</a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/jennadol">Jen Nadol</a> of <a href="http://theunteragency.com/">The Unter Agency</a></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/marchsoloway">Jennifer March Soloway</a> of <a href="https://www.andreabrownlit.com/">Andrea Brown Literary Agency</a></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/joannamackenzie">Joanna MacKenzie</a> of <a href="https://nelsonagency.com/">Nelson Literary Agency</a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/kristinostby">Kristin Ostby</a> of <a href="https://www.greenhouseliterary.com/">Greenhouse Literary Agency</a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/lindsaydauld">Lindsay Auld</a> of <a href="http://www.writershouse.com/">Writers House</a></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/mlindorice">Michelle Jackson</a> of <a href="https://lcsliterary.com/">LCS Literary Services</a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/nylota">Saribel Pages</a> of <a href="https://www.galltzacker.com/">Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency</a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/sharimaurer">Shari Maurer</a> of <a href="https://www.stringerlit.com/">Stringer Literary Agency</a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/vickyweberbooks">Vicky Weber</a> of <a href="https://www.thepurcellagency.com/index.html">The Purcell Agency</a></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/Whitney_Ross">Whitney Ross</a> of <a href="https://www.highlineliterary.com/">High Line Literary Collective</a><br /><br />Each like will count as a partial or full request based on the agents’ preferences. Agents will be able to review and like your pitches for at least 24 hours, at which point you’ll be allowed to submit your materials to all the agents who requested them. These likes represent serious interest in your project, so PLEASE DON’T ACCEPT AN OFFER OF REPRESENTATION BEFORE GIVING THE #PITCHME AGENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A COMPETING OFFER.</div><div><br /></div><div>I've also enlisted the aid of some lurking editors. Their likes will also represent requests, BUT EVEN IF THEIR PUBLISHERS ALLOW YOU TO SUBMIT WITHOUT AN AGENT, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU WAIT UNTIL YOU SECURE REPRESENTATION. A smart, savvy agent is worth their weight in gold, and I'm hopeful agents will be even more interested in your project if they know you've got an editor request (or two!) in your back pocket.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/alioop7">Alison Weiss</a> of <a href="https://holidayhouse.com/site/pixel-ink/">Pixel + Ink</a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/asiacharden">Asia Harden</a> of <a href="https://twitter.com/mackidsbooks">Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers</a></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/christinaelpz">Christina Lopez</a> of <a href="https://twitter.com/stmartinspress">St. Martin's Press</a></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/jennas_lit">Jenna Jankowski</a> of <a href="https://twitter.com/Sourcebooks">Sourcebooks</a></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/Outspoken_Girl_">Natalia Vázquez</a> of <a href="https://twitter.com/charlesbridge">Charlesbridge</a></div><div><br /></div><div>So get those pitches polished up and plan to e-mail them to me--with your queries and first pages--on Wednesday, September 6, at 10:30 a.m. or 10:30 p.m. EDT. We can’t wait to read your work!<br /><br />Have a question? Ask below!</div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-26482609984408895122023-04-13T06:00:00.009-06:002023-04-13T06:45:11.552-06:00One Thing I Enjoyed About EVERY Book I Finished in 2022: HarperCollins Edition<div>I said I'd come back and fill in these missing reviews once the HarperCollins strike ended, so here I am, a month or two late but hopefully no dollars short. I felt especially bad about omitting my reviews for Tiffany D. Jackson's titles, as I read both WHITE SMOKE and THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD last year and was blown away by both, so don't miss those ones below!</div><span style="color: #999999;"><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div>1. <b>WHEN WE MAKE IT by Elisabet Velasquez</b> I'd just started writing my first full-length novel-in-verse at this same time last year, so I picked this title up mostly for research purposes and got swept up in the story.</span><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">2. <b>THE SEVENTH SUN by Lani Forbes</b> Really vivid worldbuilding here (though I would have liked it even more if Ms. Forbes had differentiated her fantastical world from the Mesoamerican cultures she clearly drew from).</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">3. <b>GREYTHORNE by Crystal Smith</b> I really enjoyed Ms. Smith's debut, BLOODLEAF, and this sequel picked up right where the first book left off.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">4. <b>AN INCONVENIENT MINORITY by Kenny Xu</b> This one really made me think. Though I didn't agree with all his points, they made me reevaluate my worldview as a human being of European, Asian, and Pacific Islander descent.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">5. <b>THE LITTLE BOOK THAT BEATS THE MARKET by Joel Greenblatt </b>A quick, insightful read on stock market investing.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">6. <b>THE ONES WE'RE MEANT TO FIND by Joan He</b> A beautiful and memorable YA dystopian.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">7. <b>THE YEAR OF SHADOWS by Claire Legrand</b> Just the right amount of spookiness for an MG read.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">8. <b>LUCK OF THE TITANIC by Stacey Lee</b> Ms. Lee's historicals are all lush and atmospheric, and this one was no exception.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">9. <b>SUGAR TOWN QUEENS by Malla Nunn</b> Set in Durban, South Africa, this YA contemporary provided me a vivid peek into a culture that I previously didn't know much about.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">10. <b>BLACK WAS THE INK by Michelle Coles</b> Told in alternating timelines, this YA novel combines a charged contemporary narrative with an in-depth look at the work of Black congressmen and aides during the Reconstruction era. Highly insightful and informative.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>11. <b>KNEEL by Candace Buford</b> Football and social activism? Yes, please!<div><br /></div><div>12. <b>MANY POINTS OF ME by Caroline Gertler </b>A poignant MG read about loss and grief. Bonus points awarded for the emphasis on art! </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">13. <b>THE TAMING OF THE DREW by Stephanie Kate Strohm</b> Read and loved Ms. Strohm's LOVE A LA MODE a few years back and wanted to try another of her books. A fun summer read for all of you theater nerds (or for everyone who wishes they were a theater nerd!).</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">14. <b>NIGHT MUSIC by Jenn Marie Thorne</b> A lyrical YA contemporary romance featuring two musicians.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">15. <b>MAGIC UNLEASHED by Devri Walls </b>An intense YA urban fantasy that takes place in two dimensions.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>16. <b>IN ANOTHER TIME by Jillian Cantor</b> I'm a pushover for women's, historical, and speculative fiction, and IN ANOTHER TIME was a combination of all three. Read this one really quickly.<br /><span style="color: #999999;"><br />17. <b>THE GIRL WHO FELL BENEATH THE SEA by Axie Oh</b> A vivid retelling of a Korean folktale. One of my favorite reads this year.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>18. <b>AMARI AND THE NIGHT BROTHERS by B.B. Alston </b>Harry Potter meets Men in Black, but with supernatural creatures. My thirteen-year-old and I both really enjoyed it.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">19. <b>THE UNSINKABLE GRETA JAMES by Jennifer E. Smith</b> I'm a huge fan of Ms. Smith's YA contemporary romances, and this one held my interest, too.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">20. <b>I MUST BETRAY YOU by Ruta Sepetys </b>A heartbreaking novel set during the Romanian Revolution of 1989. Beautifully written as always.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">21. <b>HEALING HEARTS by Sarah M. Eden</b> A sweet historical romance between a Wild West doctor and the mail-order nurse he also thought would be his bride.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">22. <b>THE SPLENDOR by Breanna Shields</b> I love it when a book's setting is so lush and well-developed that it feels like an extra character. The titular hotel in Ms. Shields's THE SPLENDOR is both these things and more.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">23. <b>THE SLOW MARCH OF LIGHT by Heather B. Moore</b> A novelized account of an incredible true story. When an ordinary soldier agrees to become a spy in Cold War-era East Germany, he never dreams that he'll get caught--until he winds up in a Soviet prison.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">24. <b>ASHES ON THE MOOR by Sarah M. Eden </b>Can you tell I've got a thing for sweet historical romances? :) This one is set in a small mill town in Victorian England.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">25. <b>FLIRTING WITH FATE by J.C. Cervantes </b>A delightful YA contemporary romance with a dash of fantasy and a touch of genealogy.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">26. <b>THE RED PALACE by June Hur </b>A YA historical mystery set in the capital city when Korea was still called Joseon. I could have read this in one sitting.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">27. <b>THE LADY AND THE HIGHWAYMAN by Sarah M. Eden </b>Another sweet historical romance, and probably the best one I read last year. Elizabeth and Fletcher are wildly successful penny dreadful authors who end up dueling behind their pseudonyms while falling in love in real life.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">28. <b>THE GENTLEMAN AND THE THIEF by Sarah M. Eden</b> A companion novel to THE LADY AND THE HIGHWAYMAN that features two new leads.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">29. <b>DEFY THE NIGHT by Brigid Kemmerer</b> Loved the fractured and multifaceted relationships in this first book of a new YA fantasy series.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">30. <b>THROW LIKE A GIRL by Sarah Henning</b> The book combined two of my favorite things: football and YA contemporary romance.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">31. <b>FAMILY OF LIARS by E. Lockhart</b> Ms. Lockhart's prose never disappoints. If you liked WE WERE LIARS, you'll almost surely like this one, too.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">32. <b>HEARTBREAKERS AND FAKERS by Cameron Lund</b> A quick, breezy summer read featuring a love rectangle and a pair of jilted exes who decide to start fake dating and inevitably fall in love.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">33. <b>THE MERCHANT AND THE ROGUE by Sarah M. Eden</b> Another companion novel to THE LADY AND THE HIGHWAYMAN. I could read these all day!</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">34. <b>HOLLOW FIRES by Samira Ahmed</b> A heartbreaking but important read.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">35. <b>ENDURING FREEDOM by Jawad Arash and Trent Reedy</b> An incredibly impactful story that's essentially a novelization of how the authors met in real life during the war in Afghanistan. I had the amazing opportunity to hear these two talk last summer, while Mr. Arash was still in the midst of fleeing his homeland after the United States withdrew and the Taliban took Kabul.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">36. <b>THE SILENCE OF BONES by June Hur </b>Another YA historical mystery set in Korea when it was still called Joseon. The relationship between Seol and the police inspector she works for was particularly interesting.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">37. <b>TIPS FOR MAGICIANS by Celesta Rimington </b>A bittersweet MG contemporary with a dash of fantasy and a healthy dose of hope.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">38. <b>THE FOREST OF STOLEN GIRLS by June Hur</b> See THE RED PALACE and THE SILENCE OF BONES above. The setting in this one was especially atmospheric, and Ms. Hur clearly has a knack for coming up with titles.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">39.<b> I GUESS I LIVE HERE NOW by Claire Ahn </b>I discovered k-dramas last year and must have been subconsciously drawn to other Korean stories because I randomly picked up a bunch at the library, too. I really enjoyed this book set in present-day Seoul.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">40.<b> KEEP YOU CLOSE by Karen Cleveland </b>Found this one on clearance at my local grocery store! I don't read many adult thrillers, but this one kept me reading.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>41. <b>THOUGHTS & PRAYERS by Bryan Bliss </b>Also found this one on clearance at my local grocery store! Tackling gun violence in a YA novel is a tall task, but Mr. Bliss took a unique approach by telling us what happened to three loosely connected survivors.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">42. <b>THE REVOLUTION THAT WASN'T: GameStop, Reddit, and the Fleecing of Small Investors by Spencer Jakab</b> A most intriguing look at 2021's weird stock market machinations. Nonfiction usually takes me a few days longer to read, but I galloped through this book.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">43. <b>THE HISTORIAN by Elizabeth Kostova </b>Very methodically paced, but as an homage to--and, in some respects, a continuation of--Bram Stoker's DRACULA, it was pretty much perfect.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">44. <b>YOU, ME, AND OUR HEARTSTRINGS by Melissa See </b>Another YA contemporary romance featuring two musicians. I also appreciated the disabled representation.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">45. <b>THE ONE WHO LOVES YOU THE MOST by Medina</b> I randomly picked up a handful of books last year featuring adopted MCs, but this was the only one written by an adopted author. As <a href="https://kristavandolzer.blogspot.com/2021/03/how-i-found-my-birth-mom.html">a fellow adoptee</a>, I appreciated that.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">46. <b>THE OTHER SIDE OF PERFECT by Mariko Turk</b> A YA contemporary about a rising ballerina who suffers a career-ending injury and auditions for her high school's musical to find new meaning in life. As a midlist author struggling to find her place, I related to Alina and the emotional journey she went on over the course of this book. One of my favorite reads last year.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">47. <b>THE HIKE TO HOME by Jess Rinker </b>An engaging romp just off the Appalachian Trail to find a legendary castle. I think this is just the sort of vicarious adventure MG readers want to go on.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>48. <b>THE PAPER GIRL OF PARIS by Jordyn Taylor</b> Told in alternating timelines, this YA novel combines a charming contemporary romance with a historical spy thriller. Both timelines ended up holding my attention (which is really hard to do!).<br /><br />49. <b>WHITE SMOKE by Tiffany D. Jackson </b>I don't read a ton of horror, and the horror I do read is generally of the MG variety, so I started reading this with a fair amount of trepidation. I needn't have worried. Ms. Jackson nailed the tension and the escalating stakes without drifting into gore. I especially loved the twist!</div><div><br /></div><div>50. <b>SOLO by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess</b> THE CROSSOVER will forever be one of my all-time favorite novels-in-verse, so I'll pick up just about anything Mr. Alexander writes, no questions asked. The fact that this novel-in-verse was about a young man on the hunt for his birth mom was a delightful surprise.<br /><br /></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">51. <b>THE LOVE THAT SPLIT THE WORLD by Emily Henry</b> This book is problematic from a representation standpoint, but it did hold my interest and compelled me to keep reading.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">52. <b>THE PRINCESS WILL SAVE YOU by Sarah Henning</b> Another of my favorite reads last year. A gender-swapped Princess Bride? Yes, please!</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">53. <b>KIKI KALLIRA BREAKS A KINGDOM by Sangu Mandanna</b> MG fantasies based on Indian mythology are quite common these days, but I really liked how this one incorporated art.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">54. <b>THE QUEEN WILL BETRAY YOU by Sarah Henning </b>The sequel to Ms. Henning's THE PRINCESS WILL SAVE YOU. If that one's concept reeled me in, this one's intricate worldbuilding and complex relationships kept me thoroughly hooked.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">55. <b>RIVALS by Katharine McGee </b>The third installment in Ms. McGee's American Royals series. Am I aware these books are essentially soap operas? Absolutely, yes. Will that make me stop reading them? Absolutely not.</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">56. <b>THE KING WILL KILL YOU by Sarah Henning </b>A fitting conclusion to Ms. Henning's trilogy. Though the story did feel thinner (in all likelihood because Ms. Henning originally envisioned this as a duology), I was so wrapped up in the characters I couldn't have cared less:)</span></div><div><br /></div><div>57. <b>GALLANT by V.E. Schwab</b> I'll always be a fan of Ms. Schwab's alluring prose, and though the pace of this book could be lovingly described as deliberate, I loved how much life she breathed into each of the book's settings.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">58. <b>THE HAWTHORNE LEGACY by Jennifer Lynn Barnes</b> A fitting sequel to Ms. Barnes's THE INHERITANCE GAMES. Thank goodness Avery finally picks a boy in this one! :)</span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #999999;">59. <b>THE GIRL FROM EARTH'S END by Tara Dairman</b> A sweet story about developing your talents to save a family member. I especially liked the lush fantastical world in which this novel was set.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>60. <b>THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD by Tiffany D. Jackson</b> Saw this one at the library after reading WHITE SMOKE and immediately snatched it up. This book was creepy, heartbreaking, and incredibly brave. (And quite a bit bloodier than WHITE SMOKE, admittedly, though I wouldn't say the descriptions were too graphic.) Maddy, the MC, turns out to be many things--including a mass murderer.<br /><br /></div><div>Would still love to hear your favorite reads and recommendations of 2022!<br /></div></div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-87239112372293699312023-01-24T08:40:00.001-07:002023-01-24T08:55:34.760-07:00One Thing I Enjoyed About EVERY Book I Finished in 2022<div style="text-align: left;">Last year, I had a great time combing through my Goodreads list to come up with <a href="https://kristavandolzer.blogspot.com/2022/01/my-top-ten-reads-of-2021.html">my top ten reads of 2021</a>. This year, I decided to make a comprehensive list of one thing I enjoyed about EVERY book I finished in 2022. (Note that I've included every book I FINISHED, not necessarily every book I read. Sometimes I set books aside for one reason or another, which is such a subjective metric that I don't keep track of them.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">1. <b>WHEN WE MAKE IT by Elisabet Velasquez</b> I'd just started writing my first full-length novel-in-verse at this same time last year, so I picked this title up mostly for research purposes and got swept up in the story.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">2. <b>THE SEVENTH SUN by Lani Forbes</b> Really vivid worldbuilding here (though I would have liked it even more if Ms. Forbes had differentiated her fantastical world from the Mesoamerican cultures she clearly drew from).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">3. <b>GREYTHORNE by Crystal Smith</b> I really enjoyed Ms. Smith's debut, BLOODLEAF, and this sequel picked up right where the first book left off.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div>4. <b>AN INCONVENIENT MINORITY by Kenny Xu</b> This one really made me think. Though I didn't agree with all his points, they made me reevaluate my worldview as a human being of European, Asian, and Pacific Islander descent.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">5. <b>THE LITTLE BOOK THAT BEATS THE MARKET by Joel Greenblatt</b> A quick, insightful read on stock market investing.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">6. <b>THE ONES WE'RE MEANT TO FIND by Joan He </b>A beautiful and memorable YA dystopian.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">7. <b>THE YEAR OF SHADOWS by Claire Legrand</b> Just the right amount of spookiness for an MG read.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">8. <b>LUCK OF THE TITANIC by Stacey Lee</b> Ms. Lee's historicals are all lush and atmospheric, and this one was no exception.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">9. <b>SUGAR TOWN QUEENS by Malla Nunn </b>Set in Durban, South Africa, this YA contemporary provided me a vivid peek into a culture that I previously didn't know much about.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">10. <b>BLACK WAS THE INK by Michelle Coles </b>Told in alternating timelines, this YA novel combines a charged contemporary narrative with an in-depth look at the work of Black congressmen and aides during the Reconstruction era. Highly insightful and informative.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">11. <b>KNEEL by Candace Buford</b> Withheld*</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">12. <b>MANY POINTS OF ME by Caroline Gertler</b> Withheld*</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">13. <b>THE TAMING OF THE DREW by Stephanie Kate Strohm</b> Read and loved Ms. Strohm's LOVE A LA MODE a few years back and wanted to try another of her books. A fun summer read for all of you theater nerds (or for everyone who wishes they were a theater nerd!).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">14. <b>NIGHT MUSIC by Jenn Marie Thorne </b>A lyrical YA contemporary romance featuring two musicians.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">15. <b>MAGIC UNLEASHED by Devri Walls</b> An intense YA urban fantasy that takes place in two dimensions.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">16. <b>IN ANOTHER TIME by Jillian Cantor</b> Withheld*</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">17.<b> THE GIRL WHO FELL BENEATH THE SEA by Axie Oh</b> A vivid retelling of a Korean folktale. One of my favorite reads this year.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">18. <b>AMARI AND THE NIGHT BROTHERS by B.B. Alston</b> Withheld*</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">19. <b>THE UNSINKABLE GRETA JAMES by Jennifer E. Smith</b> I'm a huge fan of Ms. Smith's YA contemporary romances, and this one held my interest, too.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">20. <b>I MUST BETRAY YOU by Ruta Sepetys</b> A heartbreaking novel set during the Romanian Revolution of 1989. Beautifully written as always.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">21. <b>HEALING HEARTS by Sarah M. Eden</b> A sweet historical romance between a Wild West doctor and the mail-order nurse he also thought would be his bride. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">22. <b>THE SPLENDOR by Breanna Shields</b> I love it when a book's setting is so lush and well-developed that it feels like an extra character. The titular hotel in Ms. Shields's THE SPLENDOR is both these things and more.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">23. <b>THE SLOW MARCH OF LIGHT by Heather B. Moore</b> A novelized account of an incredible true story. When an ordinary soldier agrees to become a spy in Cold War-era East Germany, he never dreams that he'll get caught--until he winds up in a Soviet prison.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">24. <b>ASHES ON THE MOOR by Sarah M. Eden</b> Can you tell I've got a thing for sweet historical romances? :) This one is set in a small mill town in Victorian England.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">25. <b>FLIRTING WITH FATE by J.C. Cervantes</b> A delightful YA contemporary romance with a dash of fantasy and a touch of genealogy.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">26. <b>THE RED PALACE by June Hur</b> A YA historical mystery set in the capital city when Korea was still called Joseon. I could have read this in one sitting.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">27. <b>THE LADY AND THE HIGHWAYMAN by Sarah M. Eden</b> Another sweet historical romance, and probably the best one I read last year. Elizabeth and Fletcher are wildly successful penny dreadful authors who end up dueling behind their pseudonyms while falling in love in real life.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">28.<b> THE GENTLEMAN AND THE THIEF by Sarah M. Eden</b> A companion novel to THE LADY AND THE HIGHWAYMAN that features two new leads.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">29. <b>DEFY THE NIGHT by Brigid Kemmerer</b> Loved the fractured and multifaceted relationships in this first book of a new YA fantasy series.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">30. <b>THROW LIKE A GIRL by Sarah Henning</b> The book combined two of my favorite things: football and YA contemporary romance.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">31. <b>FAMILY OF LIARS by E. Lockhart</b> Ms. Lockhart's prose never disappoints. If you liked WE WERE LIARS, you'll almost surely like this one, too.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">32. <b>HEARTBREAKERS AND FAKERS by Cameron Lund</b> A quick, breezy summer read featuring a love rectangle and a pair of jilted exes who decide to start fake dating and inevitably fall in love.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">33. <b>THE MERCHANT AND THE ROGUE by Sarah M. Eden</b> Another companion novel to THE LADY AND THE HIGHWAYMAN. I could read these all day!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">34. <b>HOLLOW FIRES by Samira Ahmed</b> A heartbreaking but important read.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">35. <b>ENDURING FREEDOM by Jawad Arash and Trent Reedy</b> An incredibly impactful story that's essentially a novelization of how the authors met in real life during the war in Afghanistan. I had the amazing opportunity to hear these two talk last summer, while Mr. Arash was still in the midst of fleeing his homeland after the United States withdrew and the Taliban took Kabul.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">36. <b>THE SILENCE OF BONES by June Hur</b> Another YA historical mystery set in Korea when it was still called Joseon. The relationship between Seol and the police inspector she works for was particularly interesting.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">37. <b>TIPS FOR MAGICIANS by Celesta Rimington</b> A bittersweet MG contemporary with a dash of fantasy and a healthy dose of hope.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">38. <b>THE FOREST OF STOLEN GIRLS by June Hur</b> See THE RED PALACE and THE SILENCE OF BONES above. The setting in this one was especially atmospheric, and Ms. Hur clearly has a knack for coming up with titles.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">39.<b> I GUESS I LIVE HERE NOW by Claire Ahn</b> I discovered k-dramas last year and must have been subconsciously drawn to other Korean stories because I randomly picked up a bunch at the library, too. I really enjoyed this book set in present-day Seoul. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">40.<b> KEEP YOU CLOSE by Karen Cleveland</b> Found this one on clearance at my local grocery store! I don't read many adult thrillers, but this one kept me reading.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">41. <b>THOUGHTS & PRAYERS by Bryan Bliss</b> Withheld*</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">42. <b>THE REVOLUTION THAT WASN'T: GameStop, Reddit, and the Fleecing of Small Investors by Spencer Jakab</b> A most intriguing look at 2021's weird stock market machinations. Nonfiction usually takes me a few days longer to read, but I galloped through this book.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">43. <b>THE HISTORIAN by Elizabeth Kostova </b>Very methodically paced, but as an homage to--and, in some respects, a continuation of--Bram Stoker's DRACULA, it was pretty much perfect.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">44. <b>YOU, ME, AND OUR HEARTSTRINGS by Melissa See</b> Another YA contemporary romance featuring two musicians. I also appreciated the disabled representation.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">45. <b>THE ONE WHO LOVES YOU THE MOST by Medina</b> I randomly picked up a handful of books last year featuring adopted MCs, but this was the only one written by an adopted author. As <a href="https://kristavandolzer.blogspot.com/2021/03/how-i-found-my-birth-mom.html">a fellow adoptee</a>, I appreciated that.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">46. <b>THE OTHER SIDE OF PERFECT by Mariko Turk</b> A YA contemporary about a rising ballerina who suffers a career-ending injury and auditions for her high school's musical to find new meaning in life. As a midlist author struggling to find her place, I related to Alina and the emotional journey she went on over the course of this book. One of my favorite reads last year.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">47. <b>THE HIKE TO HOME by Jess Rinker</b> An engaging romp just off the Appalachian Trail to find a legendary castle. I think this is just the sort of vicarious adventure MG readers want to go on.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">48. <b>THE PAPER GIRL OF PARIS by Jordyn Taylor</b> Withheld*</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">49. <b>WHITE SMOKE by Tiffany D. Jackson</b> Withheld*</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">50. <b>SOLO by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess</b> Withheld*</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">51. <b>THE LOVE THAT SPLIT THE WORLD by Emily Henry</b> This book is problematic from a representation standpoint, but it did hold my interest and compelled me to keep reading.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">52. <b>THE PRINCESS WILL SAVE YOU by Sarah Henning</b> Another of my favorite reads last year. A gender-swapped <i>Princess Bride</i>? Yes, please!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">53.<b> KIKI KALLIRA BREAKS A KINGDOM by Sangu Mandanna</b> MG fantasies based on Indian mythology are quite common these days, but I really liked how this one incorporated art. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">54. <b>THE QUEEN WILL BETRAY YOU by Sarah Henning</b> The sequel to Ms. Henning's THE PRINCESS WILL SAVE YOU. If that one's concept reeled me in, this one's intricate worldbuilding and complex relationships kept me thoroughly hooked.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">55. <b>RIVALS by Katharine McGee</b> The third installment in Ms. McGee's American Royals series. Am I aware these books are essentially soap operas? Absolutely, yes. Will that make me stop reading them? Absolutely not.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">56. <b>THE KING WILL KILL YOU by Sarah Henning</b> A fitting conclusion to Ms. Henning's trilogy. Though the story did feel thinner (in all likelihood because Ms. Henning originally envisioned this as a duology), I was so wrapped up in the characters I couldn't have cared less:) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">57. <b>GALLANT by V.E. Schwab</b> Withheld*</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">58. <b>THE HAWTHORNE LEGACY by Jennifer Lynn Barnes</b> A fitting sequel to Ms. Barnes's THE INHERITANCE GAMES. Thank goodness Avery finally picks a boy in this one! :)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">59. <b>THE GIRL FROM EARTH'S END by Tara Dairman</b> A sweet story about developing your talents to save a family member. I especially liked the lush fantastical world in which this novel was set.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">60. <b>THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD by Tiffany D. Jackson</b> Withheld*</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And that's my list! Which ones did I miss? Would love to hear your favorite reads and recommendations of 2022!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">*I'm withholding my reviews of all HarperCollins titles in accordance with the wishes of their striking union members, but only if those books were HarperCollins properties at the time that they were published. When management starts negotiating and everyone goes back to work, I'll try to remember to come back and fill in these missing reviews.</div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-2227890372958522372022-10-21T09:07:00.000-06:002022-10-21T09:07:21.180-06:00#PitchMe 2022 Results and Wrap-upAnother #PitchMe's come and gone, and I'm delightfully worn out. #PitchMe pitches racked up 72 likes earlier this week from our agents and editors (and several pitches scored 3 additional likes from an outside agent and editor, too)! Here's a breakdown of the action: <br /><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582718708958494723">#2 PB: MY BA'S AMBODO</a> Kaitlyn Leann Sanchez, Jennifer Herrington, Michael Carr, Elisa Houot<div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582718960767848448">#3 PB: SOUR DOUGH</a> Jennifer Herrington</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582719212849532928">#4 PB: THE PICKLE INCIDENT</a> Alison Weiss</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582719464407064576">#5 PB: WHISPER TO THE WORRY STONES</a> Jennifer Herrington, Lindsay Auld, Stefanie Molina, Kristin Ostby, Cherrita Lee</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582719966763180041">#7 PB: QUOKKA CAN'T FROWN</a> Jennifer Herrington, Stefanie Molina, Cherrita Lee</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582720218413109251">#8 MG: KONRAD BLOOM AND THE REJECTS OF TECH-E ACADEMY</a> Kaitlyn Leann Sanchez, Lindsay Auld, Alison Weiss</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582720470163529730">#9 MG: A RECIPE FOR DISASTER</a> Elizabeth Bewley, Alex Aceves, Lindsay Auld, Lisa Mangum</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582720721872207873">#10 MG: MAIRA AND THE RAINBOW CITY</a> Elizabeth Bewley, Lindsay Auld, Lisa Mangum</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582720973547126784">#11 MG: NEWTON'S NOVELTIES</a> Jennifer Herrington, Jon Cobb, Lindsay Auld, Shari Maurer</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582721728526143489">#14 MG: MURDER AASAN</a> Jennifer Herrington, Jon Cobb, Lindsay Auld, Michael Carr, Kristin Ostby, Savannah Brooks (plus Kristie Choi)</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582721980410646528">#15 YA: THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF A FLOWER</a> Alex Aceves, Stefanie Molina, Lisa Mangum, Savannah Brooks</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582722231804755970">#16 YA: SONG FOR LOST SOULS</a> Lisa Mangum</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582722483685163010">#17 YA: ONCE UPON A ROAD TRIP</a> Jennifer Herrington, Elizabeth Bewley, Alex Aceves, Elisa Houot</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582722735418986496">#18 YA: BEAUTY TO ASHES</a> Elizabeth Bewley, Alex Aceves, Michael Carr, Kristin Ostby, Elisa Houot, Lindsay Auld, Ali Lake</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582722986695659521">#19 YA: MY NAME IS MARY READ</a> Ali Lake</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582723238571843584">#20 YA: DANCING WITH THE ALL-STARS</a> Jennifer Herrington</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582723490188185606">#21 YA: THE WONDER BENEATH</a> Elizabeth Bewley, Alex Aceves, Michael Carr, Kristin Ostby</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582723741875949568">#22 YA: A MAJOR IN DROWNING</a> Jennifer Herrington, Elizabeth Bewley, Lindsay Auld, Shari Maurer, Kristin Ostby, Jon Cobb (plus Michelle Z. Jackson)</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582723993349390343">#23 A: PROMISE THEM A STORM</a> Jon Cobb</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582724999894515714">#27 A: AT THE END OF TIME</a> Kaitlyn Leann Sanchez, Elizabeth Bewley, Jen Nadol, Kristin Ostby, Lisa Mangum (plus Michelle Z. Jackson)</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582725251795890176">#28 A: FINDING THE MUGWORT GIRLS</a> Savannah Brooks</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582725503416352769">#29 A: THE SOMEDAY GAME</a> Kaitlyn Leann Sanchez, Jen Nadol, Julie Crisp</div><div><div><br />In addition, one of our PBs came to the agent round with an offer on the table!<br /><br />Also, I just want to say that, if you didn't get a like--or even if you didn't get picked as a finalist--I still believe in you, and I hope you believe in you, too. The only trait every published author has in common is persistence, so keep bashing your head against that brick wall until it comes crumbling down.</div><div><br /></div><div>Last but certainly not least, THANK YOU. Whether you were an agent, an editor, an entrant, or a finalist, I couldn't have done this without you. And I REALLY couldn't have done this without PB partner-in-crime <a href="https://twitter.com/TaraShiroff">Tara Shiroff</a>. Thanks again for all your insights and boundless enthusiasm.</div><div><br /></div><div>Until next year!</div></div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-3386847321865456262022-09-20T07:30:00.017-06:002022-09-20T07:37:58.736-06:00This Year's #PitchMe Finalists<div style="text-align: left;"> Without any ado, here are the #PitchMe finalists* in no particular order:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>PB</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">A.W.'s THE PICKLE INCIDENT</div><div style="text-align: left;">A.W.'s WORRY STONES (a different A.W., I promise!)</div><div style="text-align: left;">R.J.'s QUOKKA CAN'T FROWN</div><div style="text-align: left;">R.M.K's HEADLINE FROM THE HEIGHTS</div><div style="text-align: left;">K.R.'s I'M NOT A CINNAMON ROLL</div><div style="text-align: left;">K.P.'s MY BA'S AMBODO</div><div style="text-align: left;">S.K.R.'s SOUR DOUGH</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">(Also, it's worth mentioning that <a href="https://twitter.com/TaraShiroff">Tara</a> reads these entries blind so her opinions are unbiased!)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>MG</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">T.M.'s A RECIPE FOR DISASTER (contemporary)</div><div style="text-align: left;">C.L.'s MAIRA AND THE RAINBOW CITY (fantasy)</div><div style="text-align: left;">A.M.'s ARDEN WOOD AND THE MAGICAL MUSICAL (contemporary fantasy)</div><div style="text-align: left;">C.D.'s KONRAD BLOOM AND THE REJECTS OF TECH-E ACADEMY (sci-fi mystery)</div><div style="text-align: left;">S.P.'s MURDER AASAN (fantasy mystery)</div><div style="text-align: left;">J.K.'s NEWTON'S NOVELTIES (sci-fi)</div><div style="text-align: left;">D.A.'s THE TRINITY KNOT (historical)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>YA</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">P.C.H.'s ONCE UPON A ROAD TRIP (romantic comedy)</div><div style="text-align: left;">K.N.'s DANCING WITH THE ALL-STARS (contemporary romance)</div><div style="text-align: left;">J.W.'s MY NAME IS MARY READ (historical)</div><div style="text-align: left;">K.B.'s SONG FOR LOST SOULS (fantasy)</div><div style="text-align: left;">A.T.'s THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF A FLOWER (contemporary)</div><div style="text-align: left;">E.C.'s A MAJOR IN DROWNING (speculative mystery)</div><div style="text-align: left;">K.O.'s BEAUTY TO ASHES (horror)</div><div style="text-align: left;">I.L.C.'s THE WONDER BENEATH (fantasy)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Adult</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">P.T.Z.'s DARK RUN (thriller)</div><div style="text-align: left;">M.F.'s PROMISE THEM A STORM (fantasy)</div><div style="text-align: left;">D.B.'s DREAM MACHINE (sci-fi)</div><div style="text-align: left;">M.P.'s THE WIZARD'S CORPSE (fantasy mystery)</div><div style="text-align: left;">E.K.'s FINDING THE MUGWORT GIRLS (cozy mystery)</div><div style="text-align: left;">R.M.'s THE SOMEDAY GAME (speculative romance)</div><div style="text-align: left;">S.L.'s AT THE END OF TIME (literary fantasy)</div><div style="text-align: left;">E.J.C.'s TOPSIDERS (sci-fi)</div><br />Congratulations, finalists! I really can't wait to dig in and help you make these awesome projects just a little awesomer.<div><br /></div><div>If your submission wasn't chosen, thank you so much for submitting, and please, please, please don't give up. I took notes on every entry and wrote down something positive about every single one (and usually a suggestion, too). If you don't find an agent between now and October 20 and would like to hear my thoughts on your pitch, query, and first page, you're more than welcome to respond to your original submission with a request for that feedback. I only ask that you hold off until Thursday, October 20, the day AFTER the agent round, so I can spend these next few weeks reviewing the finalists' work.</div><div><br /></div><div>*As I alluded to yesterday, the allocation of the wildcards is simply a reflection of what the agents who agreed to participate in #PitchMe are looking for right now. Of the 14 agents who signed up, 4 are looking for PB, 10 are looking for MG, 12 are looking for YA, and 10 are looking for adult. (The lurking editors are only on the hunt for kidlit, from PB to YA.)</div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-31030401454591624772022-09-19T08:48:00.000-06:002022-09-19T08:48:24.216-06:00Thoughts on This Year's #PitchMe EntriesI've now read every entry, and once again, you guys didn't make it easy on me! Multiple times, I added six or seven entries in a row to the longlist I was building, which made me keep wondering how I'd ever trim it down. As we make our final choices, here's a little food for thought:<div><br /></div><div><b>Overall Impressions</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Longtime agent Donald Maass has written multiple books about writing breakout novels, but writing break-IN<i> </i>novels--and especially PBs--is probably even harder. Established authors can write to trends and cover previously trod ground because they have relationships with agents and editors--and because those agents and editors know that their names alone sell books. For emerging authors, though, a PB about a dog or a YA about a boarding school may not generate interest.</li><li>Most queries ended with the <a href="https://queryshark.blogspot.com/">Query Shark</a>-approved "Thank you for your time and consideration," but many also added something along the lines of "I look forward to hearing from you." I brought this up last year, and I'm bringing it up again because I firmly believe queries shouldn't include this line. It can sound passive-aggressive if an agent has established a no-response-means-no policy, which is never a great look. Save this line for when you send agents requested material (because I firmly believe agents owe writers responses once they've requested your work).</li><li>It felt like roughly half of the novel-length entries were contemporaries while the other half were fantasies. This isn't good or bad--it's simply what the breakdown was--but if you're querying a manuscript in one of these two genres, you may be giving yourself a lot of extra competition.</li><li>More than one query admitted that this project was the first thing its author had ever written. Don't tell agents this upfront! The first thing most writers write is destined for the deep, dark drawer where people keep their old retainers and junior high-era school pictures, so don't make it easier for someone to reject your work.</li><li>And on a related note, you almost certainly don't need to tell agents that this manuscript would be your debut. If you don't mention other books that you've previously published, agents will assume it will be:)</li></ul><div><br /></div><b>PB Notes</b><br /><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>There were 142 submissions (!) within this category (one less than I reported a couple of weeks ago, as I found a duplicate).</li><li>Far too many of these entries failed to credit illustrators of the comp titles they used. If there's one thing I've learned from <a href="https://twitter.com/TaraShiroff">Tara</a>, it's ALWAYS CREDIT ILLUSTRATORS! They put the picture in PBs:)</li><li>I also thought some of the bios in these entries were too long. (And this wasn't just confined to the picture books, mind you; it just seemed to be an issue among more of these entries.) Unless your name is Stephen King, your bio paragraph should be the shortest one in your query--and if your name IS Stephen King, your reputation precedes you. Definitely tell us if you have any other published books, any lived experience with what your book is about, or an exceptional platform. (Hint: I don't think my platform is exceptional enough to mention in the body of a query, though I always include links to my blog, Twitter, etc., in my signature block.) Above all, keep it short and sweet.</li><li>A handful of these entries didn't mention their word counts, which made it really difficult to evaluate their marketability (especially in the context of this contest, as we may not have allowed you to send the full manuscript). If you want to give your picture book the best possible chance, keep your word count under 500. Nonfiction PBs have a lot more latitude--agents wouldn't bat an eye at anything under 1,000--but 500 words is a pretty firm ceiling in the current fiction market. </li></ul><br />I'll let <a href="https://twitter.com/TaraShiroff">Tara</a> have the last word on the PBs:<span style="color: #b45f06;"> "Comp titles do not have to be about the same topic as your own book, i.e. TIGERS ARE AWESOME does not have to comp to TIGERS ARE CUTE, TIGERS ARE ORANGE, and TIGERS ARE TERRIFYING. You can comp to any book that has a similar theme to your story (friendship! forgiveness! kindness!) or the type of story (lyrical, humorous), but you don't need to strictly stick to the exact topic of your book. <br /><br />"Please ensure your story is a story 'that's yours to tell.' I saw several PBs about neurodiversity where that was not the author's own background and some about disability because it was 'about my friend with a disability.' We need to leave room in the marketplace for stories from authors who have lived these experiences (neurodiversity, disability, etc.) themselves."</span><br /><br /><b>MG Notes</b><br /><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>There were 46 submissions within this category.</li><li>There were also lots of fairies. And stories that revolved around the current climate crisis. There's nothing wrong with fairies or the climate crisis, right (or at least there's nothing wrong with centering a book around them!), but in this batch of MG queries, those plot elements stood out.</li></ul><div><br /></div><b>YA Notes</b><br /><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>There were 49 submissions within this category.</li><li>I noticed lots of missions to avenge dead/missing parents in this batch of YA queries. (And when I say "lots," of course, I really mean, like, four or five, which isn't many in the end, but that plot point did stand out.) Same note as above: missions to avenge dead parents aren't dealbreakers on their own, but they may have made it harder for an entry to stand out.</li></ul><div><br /></div><b>Adult Notes</b><br /><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>There were 46 submissions within this category, which is actually one more than I told you two weeks ago. (Clearly, my counting skills need work...)</li><li>This year, I tried to focus on the writing, writing, writing. I mean, I try to focus on the writing every year, but in the past, I've gotten wooed by super marketable concepts and kind of let the writing slide. This year, I said, "No more!" so if I didn't think the writing was ready for prime time, I forced myself to pass on super great ideas.</li></ul></div><div><br />Lastly, I wanted to add that the nature of this contest creates some artificial issues that straight querying doesn't. Every agent who agreed to participate last year was looking for MG while significantly fewer were looking for adult. Conversely, almost every agent who's participating this year is looking for YA while significantly fewer are looking for PB. Since we want to feature projects that best match the agents' tastes, we have to choose fewer PBs than we otherwise would based on the number of entries (just like I had to choose fewer adults than I otherwise would have last year).</div><div><br /></div><div>Finalists announced TOMORROW instead of on Wednesday!</div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-29521462881666923812022-09-07T21:00:00.002-06:002022-09-07T21:53:34.425-06:00Second Submission Window for #PitchMe 2022 Now Open<p><i>Update: And that's a wrap! We ended up with 143 PBs, 46 MGs, 49 YAs, and 45 adults for a total of 283 entries. Finalists will be announced on Wednesday, September 21!</i></p><p>Welcome to #PitchMe 2022! To enter, your manuscript must meet two conditions. First, it must be COMPLETE, NEVER-PUBLISHED, AND READY TO QUERY, and second, it must be in one of the following genres:</p><div>PB fiction and nonfiction* (all genres)<br />MG fiction (all genres)<br />YA fiction (all genres)<br />Adult fiction (all genres, including commercial, literary, and/or upmarket but excluding erotica)</div><div><br /></div><div>*I’ve asked PB author and two-time #TacoPitch winner <a href="https://twitter.com/TaraShiroff">Tara Shiroff</a> to help me again!</div><div><br /></div><div>1. All submissions must be sent to kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com and include A TWITTER PITCH, A QUERY, AND THE FIRST 250 WORDS of your manuscript. (PB author-illustrators are also encouraged to share links to their online portfolios.) You must paste these items IN THE BODY OF YOUR E-MAIL; otherwise, I'll disqualify it.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Please submit ONLY ONE PROJECT. If you submit multiple projects, I'll only consider the first.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. It would also really help if you INCLUDE YOUR CATEGORY--PB, MG, YA, OR ADULT--SOMEWHERE IN YOUR SUBJECT LINE, but it's not a requirement.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. THERE WILL BE TWO 30-MINUTE SUBMISSION WINDOWS to (try to) accommodate work schedules and international entrants. The first submission window opens on Wednesday, September 7, at 11:00 a.m. EDT and closes at 11:30 a.m. EDT. The second submission window opens later that same day, Wednesday, September 7, at 11:00 p.m. EDT and closes at 11:30 p.m. EDT. Hopefully, you'll be awake and/or not at work during one of these 30-minute intervals!</div><div><br /></div><div>5. Once you send me your submission, I’ll send you a confirmation e-mail with a summary of these rules.</div><div><br /></div><div>6. Previous finalists may enter again AS LONG AS THEY HAVE A NEW MANUSCRIPT TO SUBMIT.</div><div><br /></div><div>For more information, including a timeline of events and a list of participating agents, check out <a href="https://kristavandolzer.blogspot.com/2022/08/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know.html">this post</a>. We can't wait to read your work!</div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-64992940284814587642022-09-07T09:00:00.002-06:002022-09-07T09:56:24.704-06:00First Submission Window for #PitchMe 2022 Now Open<div><i>UPDATE: The first submission window is now closed, but the second submission window will open at 11:00 p.m. EDT tonight. For your information, we've received 88 PBs, 26 MGs, 33 YAs, and 31 adults so far!</i></div><div><br /></div>Welcome to #PitchMe 2022! To enter, your manuscript must meet two conditions. First, it must be COMPLETE, NEVER-PUBLISHED, AND READY TO QUERY, and second, it must be in one of the following genres:<div><br /></div><div>PB fiction and nonfiction* (all genres)<br />MG fiction (all genres)<br />YA fiction (all genres)<br />Adult fiction (all genres, including commercial, literary, and/or upmarket but excluding erotica)</div><div><br /></div><div>*I’ve asked PB author and two-time #TacoPitch winner <a href="https://twitter.com/TaraShiroff">Tara Shiroff</a> to help me again!</div><div><br /></div><div>1. All submissions must be sent to kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com and include A TWITTER PITCH, A QUERY, AND THE FIRST 250 WORDS of your manuscript. (PB author-illustrators are also encouraged to share links to their online portfolios.) You must paste these items IN THE BODY OF YOUR E-MAIL; otherwise, I'll disqualify it.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Please submit ONLY ONE PROJECT. If you submit multiple projects, I'll only consider the first.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. It would also really help if you INCLUDE YOUR CATEGORY--PB, MG, YA, OR ADULT--SOMEWHERE IN YOUR SUBJECT LINE, but it's not a requirement.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. THERE WILL BE TWO 30-MINUTE SUBMISSION WINDOWS to (try to) accommodate work schedules and international entrants. The first submission window opens on Wednesday, September 7, at 11:00 a.m. EDT and closes at 11:30 a.m. EDT. The second submission window opens later that same day, Wednesday, September 7, at 11:00 p.m. EDT and closes at 11:30 p.m. EDT. Hopefully, you'll be awake and/or not at work during one of these 30-minute intervals!</div><div><br /></div><div>5. Once you send me your submission, I’ll send you a confirmation e-mail with a summary of these rules.</div><div><br /></div><div>6. Previous finalists may enter again AS LONG AS THEY HAVE A NEW MANUSCRIPT TO SUBMIT.</div><div><br /></div><div>For more information, including a timeline of events and a list of participating agents, check out <a href="https://kristavandolzer.blogspot.com/2022/08/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know.html">this post</a>. We can't wait to read your work!</div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-23084461859325028222022-08-17T06:00:00.003-06:002022-09-06T09:19:36.064-06:00Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About #PitchMe 2022#PitchMe is back, and I couldn't be more thrilled. If you take what I love most about multi-agent query contests--mentoring great writers at wherever they happen to be on their publishing journey--and mash it up with a pitch fest, then you've basically got #PitchMe. Are you interested? Read on!<div><br /></div><div>Here’s the timeline:<br /><br />September 7: The submission windows open<br />September 21: Selected submissions announced<br />September 21-October 18: Mentoring takes place<br />October 19: Revised Twitter pitches posted; agents (and editors!) like their favorites<br /><br /><b>Submissions</b><div><br /></div><div>To enter, your manuscript must meet two conditions. First, it must be COMPLETE, NEVER-PUBLISHED, AND READY TO QUERY, and second, it must be in one of the following genres:<br /><br />PB fiction and nonfiction* (all genres)<br />MG fiction (all genres)<br />YA fiction (all genres)<br />Adult fiction (all genres, including commercial, literary, and/or upmarket but excluding erotica)<br /><br />*I’ve asked PB author and two-time #TacoPitch winner <a href="https://twitter.com/TaraShiroff">Tara Shiroff</a> to help me again!</div><div><br /></div><div>1. All submissions must be sent to kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com and include A TWITTER PITCH, A QUERY, AND THE FIRST 250 WORDS of your manuscript. (PB author-illustrators are also encouraged to share links to their online portfolios.) You must paste these items IN THE BODY OF YOUR E-MAIL; otherwise, I'll disqualify it.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Please submit ONLY ONE PROJECT. If you submit multiple projects, I'll only consider the first.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. It would also really help if you INCLUDE YOUR CATEGORY--PB, MG, YA, OR ADULT--SOMEWHERE IN YOUR SUBJECT LINE, but it's not a requirement.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. THERE WILL BE TWO 30-MINUTE SUBMISSION WINDOWS to (try to) accommodate work schedules and international entrants. The first submission window opens on Wednesday, September 7, at 11:00 a.m. EDT and closes at 11:30 a.m. EDT. The second submission window opens later that same day, Wednesday, September 7, at 11:00 p.m. EDT and closes at 11:30 p.m. EDT. Hopefully, you'll be awake and/or not at work during one of these 30-minute intervals!<br /><br />5. Once you send me your submission, I’ll send you a confirmation e-mail with a summary of these rules.</div><div><br /></div><div>6. Previous finalists may enter again AS LONG AS THEY HAVE A NEW MANUSCRIPT TO SUBMIT.<br /><br /><b>Selections</b><br /><br />I'll select 6 entries within each major category--PB, MG, YA, and adult--and up to 6 wildcards. I may pick 6 adults or 3 YAs and 3 MGs or just a single PB; it depends on what I know the agents are looking for and which submissions seem strongest.</div><div><br /></div><div>Once I've finalized my picks--with Tara’s help, of course--I'll e-mail the winning writers and announce the winning titles here and/or on my Twitter feed on Wednesday, September 21. Then the real work will begin!<br /><br /><b>Mentoring</b><br /><br />For the next roughly 4 weeks, the winning writers will revise their pitches, queries, and first pages with my and Tara’s help. You won’t be obligated to incorporate our thoughts, and the feedback we provide on your queries and first pages won’t actually be featured in the agent round itself. We just want to help you make your pitches, queries, and first pages the very best that they can be.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Liking<br /></b><br />On Wednesday, October 19, I'll post the revised pitches ON MY TWITTER FEED for the agents (and editors!) to review. Here are the awesome agents who’ll be liking your pitches:<br /><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/AidaZLilly">Aida Z. Lilly</a> of <a href="http://ktliterary.com/">KT Literary</a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/Alexandra__Lake">Ali Lake</a> of <a href="http://www.janklowandnesbit.com/">Janklow & Nesbit Associates</a></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/ElisaHouot">Elisa Houot</a> of <a href="https://theseymouragency.com/">The Seymour Agency</a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/ElizBewley">Elizabeth Bewley</a> of <a href="https://www.sll.com/">Sterling Lord Literistic</a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/jennadol">Jen Nadol</a> of <a href="http://theunteragency.com/">The Unter Agency</a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/jl_herrington">Jennifer Herrington</a> of <a href="https://www.harveyklinger.com/">Harvey Klinger Literary Agency</a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/JonathanECobb">Jon Cobb</a> of <a href="https://www.hgliterary.com/">HG Literary</a></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/julieacrisp">Julie Crisp</a> of <a href="http://www.juliecrisp.co.uk/">Julie Crisp Literary Agency</a></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KaitlynLeann17">Kaitlyn Leann Sanchez</a> of <a href="https://www.contextlit.com/">Context Literary Agency</a></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/kristinostby">Kristin Ostby</a> of <a href="https://www.greenhouseliterary.com/">Greenhouse Literary Agency</a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/lindsaydauld">Lindsay Auld</a> of <a href="http://www.writershouse.com/">Writers House</a></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/verlit">Michael Carr</a> of <a href="https://www.veritasliterary.com/">Veritas Literary Agency</a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/sharimaurer">Shari Maurer</a> of <a href="https://www.stringerlit.com/">Stringer Literary Agency</a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/fiction_tech">Stefanie Molina</a> of <a href="https://www.ladderbird.com/">Ladderbird Literary Agency</a></div><div><br />Each like will count as a partial or full request based on the agents’ preferences. Agents will be able to review and like your pitches for a full 24 hours, at which point you’ll be allowed to submit your materials to all the agents who requested them. These likes represent serious interest in your project, so PLEASE DON’T ACCEPT AN OFFER OF REPRESENTATION BEFORE GIVING THE #PITCHME AGENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A COMPETING OFFER.</div><div><br /></div><div>I've also enlisted the aid of some lurking editors. Their likes will also represent requests, BUT EVEN IF THEIR PUBLISHERS ALLOW YOU TO SUBMIT WITHOUT AN AGENT, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU WAIT UNTIL YOU SECURE REPRESENTATION. A smart, savvy agent is worth their weight in gold, and I'm hopeful agents will be even more interested in your project if they know you've got an editor request (or two!) in your back pocket.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/authoralexace">Alexandra Aceves</a> of <a href="https://holidayhouse.com/">Holiday House</a></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/alioop7">Alison Weiss</a> of <a href="https://holidayhouse.com/site/pixel-ink/">Pixel + Ink</a></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/Cherrita_Lee">Cherrita Lee</a> of <a href="https://www.beamingbooks.com/">Beaming Books</a></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/LisaMangum">Lisa Mangum</a> of <a href="https://shadowmountain.com/">Shadow Mountain Publishing</a></div><div><br /></div><div>So get those pitches polished up and plan to e-mail them to me--with your queries and first pages--on Wednesday, September 7, at 11:00 a.m. or 11:00 p.m. EDT. We can’t wait to read your work!<br /><br />Have a question? Ask below!</div></div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-1261691485107377602022-01-24T09:42:00.000-07:002022-01-24T09:42:19.299-07:00My Top Ten Reads of 2021<div style="text-align: left;">I read sixty books last year, which honestly seemed a little low until I remembered that, thanks to the pandemic, I'm not getting to the library nearly as often as I used to. Still, sixty isn't nothing, and in the spirit of New Year's, I thought I would share my ten favorite reads with you (in the order that I read them, not the order that I liked them).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div>1. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49021976-rhythm-of-war">RHYTHM OF WAR</a> by Brandon Sanderson </b>Mr. Sanderson is one of my very favorite authors, and the books in his Stormlight Archive are my very favorites of his books. RHYTHM OF WAR is the fourth book in the series, so if you want to start at the beginning, check out THE WAY OF KINGS.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>2. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53138247-your-life-has-been-delayed">YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED</a> by Michelle I. Mason </b>I got to read this as an ARC, which is why it shows up so early in this list. Michelle is one of my oldest and dearest writing friends, but I would have loved YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED even if she weren't. The first few chapters, in which the MC finds out her very normal-seeming flight landed twenty-five years to the day after it took off, totally sucked me in.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51942425-black-brother-black-brother" style="font-weight: bold;">BLACK BROTHER, BLACK BROTHER</a><b> by Jewell Parker Rhodes </b>I loved this book so much I paid my kids to read it, too, and discuss its themes with me. An age-appropriate but compelling look at race, unequal treatment, and genealogy--and did I mention that there's fencing? :)<br /><br />4.<b> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55429079-furia">FURIA</a> by Yamile Saied Méndez </b>Anyone who follows me on Twitter has probably figured out that I watch a lot of sports, so it stands to reason that I would love sports books--but FURIA is so much more. A worthy addition to Reese Witherspoon's book club.</div><div><br /></div><div>5. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35133922-educated">EDUCATED</a> by Tara Westover </b>I know I'm exceptionally late to this party, but EDUCATED was just as impactful as I'd heard it was. Though it was hard to read in places, I also found it to be an excellent example of narrative nonfiction.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>6. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54419228-fadeaway">FADEAWAY</a> by E.B. Vickers </b>I love the true-crime trend that's making the rounds in YA (see my reference to A GOOD GIRL'S GUIDE TO MURDER below), and though this starts in that same vein, it eventually develops into something much more meaningful. Must-read YA at its finest.</div><div><br /></div><div>7. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52765952-love-from-a-to-z">LOVE FROM A TO Z</a> by S.K. Ali </b>I heart Ms. Ali's YA romances because I feel such a sense of kinship with her YA characters. I wasn't raised Muslim, but my Christian faith came with a similar set of modesty and dating standards, so I wholeheartedly relate to Janna and Zayneb. This is my new favorite of Ms. Ali's books.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>8. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54419228-fadeaway">AS GOOD AS DEAD</a> by Holly Jackson </b>Ms. Jackson's debut trilogy, which starts with A GOOD GIRL'S GUIDE TO MURDER, is a tour de force. That said, I didn't like this book--BUT I thought it was amazing. Ms. Jackson took some massive risks with her plot and characters, and though it pained me to see what her characters became, I couldn't help but tip my hat to her sheer audacity. How's that for contradictory? :)</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>9. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49613673-cece-rios-and-the-desert-of-souls">CECE RIOS AND THE DESERT OF SOULS</a> by Kaela Rivera </b>This MG fantasy has it all: criaturas, brujas, and a courageous MC determined to consort with one so she can become the other (and save her sister in the process). A glittering debut that left me hungry for the sequel.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>10. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50892106-when-we-were-infinite">WHEN WE WERE INFINITE</a> by Kelly Loy Gilbert </b>My goodness, where do I start? I fell in love with Ms. Gilbert's writing when I read her debut years ago (that one's called CONVICTION, and you should also check it out), and thematically, this book hit even closer to home. Ms. Gilbert doesn't publish books nearly as often as I wish she did, but every time a new one comes out, it's a must-read for me.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Have you read any of these books, and if so, what did you think? And which books made your top ten?</div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-20062979757726544692021-11-22T12:43:00.000-07:002021-11-22T12:43:40.687-07:00Querying by the Numbers<div style="text-align: left;">Lots of folks have been discussing querying trends on Twitter, so I thought it might be time for another deep dive into <a href="http://kristavandolzer.blogspot.com/2010/04/queries-darn-queries-and-statistics.html">my querying statistics</a>. As some of you may know, I decided to query my most recent manuscript, an MG contemporary called SECRETS ROLLER COASTERS KEEP, not because my previous agent suddenly became a bad agent but because he no longer felt like the right agent for me. I was lucky enough to sign with <a href="https://www.jenniferherrington.com/">Jennifer Herrington</a> of <a href="https://www.harveyklinger.com/">Harvey Klinger Literary Agency</a> back in April of this year, so that's where these numbers come from.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'll forgo all the disclaimers I felt compelled to share last time, but you should take these facts and figures for precisely what they are: one writer's statistics querying one manuscript. If your numbers don't look like mine, that is no reason to fret. Every journey is unique, and every manuscript is, too.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I ended up submitting 77 queries over the course of three and a half months. You might think that's kind of high, and the truth is, it kind of is. But I've been around the block, so once I know my query's working, I commit and go all out. Here's how those replies broke down:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Partial requests: 6 (7.8%)</div><div style="text-align: left;">Full requests: 13 (16.9%)</div><div style="text-align: left;">Rejections: 45 (58.4%)</div><div style="text-align: left;">Non-responses: 13 (16.9%)</div><div style="text-align: left;">Offers: 3</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">(It's worth noting that I had at least twice as many non-responses until I received my first offer. It's also worth noting that some of these 13 non-responses eventually turned into responses, but only AFTER I'd accepted Jenn's offer of representation, so I didn't go back and change those outcomes in my notes.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Query Response Times (Rejections) depicts the frequency of response times (how many agents responded in zero days, how many agents responded in one day, and so on) for the 45 agents who rejected my query:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-agt6uQBsMQA/YZigZS8nMRI/AAAAAAAAA9M/UUtChlL21F4EYUBjpUjg3smNkWGz6Y-NwCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="752" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-agt6uQBsMQA/YZigZS8nMRI/AAAAAAAAA9M/UUtChlL21F4EYUBjpUjg3smNkWGz6Y-NwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h240/image.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">If these response times surprise you, you should know I make a point of querying agents who respond to almost every query and/or who respond quickly. Though I do confirm that they represent my category, I pay way closer attention to the response rates and times reported on <a href="https://querytracker.net/">QueryTracker</a> than to their #mswl. It's especially important to query fast-responding agents when you're getting your feet wet, as you need to figure out how well your query is performing, but I also feel like agents who treat querying writers well will also treat their clients well.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now for the positive replies. Query Response Times (Requests) depicts the frequency of response times for the 18 agents who requested a partial or full:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NnsYV9IPhY4/YZikFxgKbmI/AAAAAAAAA9U/rIdReJMIbEgVl2BTJQ2XgozNe8PazPMsgCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="752" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NnsYV9IPhY4/YZikFxgKbmI/AAAAAAAAA9U/rIdReJMIbEgVl2BTJQ2XgozNe8PazPMsgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h240/image.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The shape is generally the same, though it spikes several days later. Good news takes longer than bad news, at least in my experience, and these numbers bear that out. You may also want to know that the three query responses that eventually turned into offers are embedded in this graph at 1, 2, and 62 days to response.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;">Here's how the quartiles break down for both rejections and requests. For the uninitiated</span><span style="text-align: center;">, the median is the data point in the very middle of the set; 50% are below it while 50% are above. Likewise, the quartile Q1 is exactly halfway between the minimum and median while the quartile Q3 is exactly halfway between the median and maximum.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YvSUV3ddaM0/YZkYIHTkgyI/AAAAAAAAA9c/XzwNBB2i44Qhuerecewvo7d7l0Uqbg1oQCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="469" height="119" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YvSUV3ddaM0/YZkYIHTkgyI/AAAAAAAAA9c/XzwNBB2i44Qhuerecewvo7d7l0Uqbg1oQCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />What exactly does this mean? Look at the Combined column first. The median is 17 days, which means that 50% of the agents who responded to my query did so within 17 days. Now look at the Rejections column. Since Q3 is 39, we can say 75% of the agents who rejected my query did so within 39 days. I like looking at quartiles and especially the median because measures like the average are more influenced by outliers. Case in point: the Combined average is 23.8 days because that maximum response time is so much higher than the others.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;">Perhaps you'd also like to know what my response times looked like on partial and full requests. Sadly, the next graph doesn't differentiate between them--you can blame my laziness--but I hope you'll find it helpful.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_CjSGYFBqJw/YZkbXdq_AeI/AAAAAAAAA9k/GyAo9NAcHlMQyH33xHsqFEvS1CUbsCaawCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="752" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_CjSGYFBqJw/YZkbXdq_AeI/AAAAAAAAA9k/GyAo9NAcHlMQyH33xHsqFEvS1CUbsCaawCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h240/image.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />Somewhat surprisingly, the shape of this graph mimics the shape of the first two, which suggests that many agents respond to partials and fulls in about the same amount of time that they respond to queries. I should also let you know that one agent took 102 days to reject my full, but since I'd already accepted Jenn's offer of representation by that point, I didn't include it here. As for where my offers fall, they're embedded in this graph at 3, 33, and 94 days to response. (The 3-day response was to a partial, so the amount of time it took the agent to review my full isn't reflected in this graph.)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;">Here's how the quartiles break down (and this time, I did log partials and fulls separately):</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V73OAGddpSg/YZkfD4aj_GI/AAAAAAAAA90/7OcywY6WTRUcCv5jtAKpr42s2bFot2lsACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="469" height="119" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V73OAGddpSg/YZkfD4aj_GI/AAAAAAAAA90/7OcywY6WTRUcCv5jtAKpr42s2bFot2lsACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As you might expect, it generally takes agents longer to respond to fulls than partials. Also, my numbers are skewed because I received an offer roughly three and a half months after sending my first query, which forced the others to respond and created an artificial upper bound. (My query response times are probably also a little skewed for the same reason.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I think that's it from me! Have you queried this year, too, and if so, what would you add?</div></div></div></div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-34445878732466572752021-10-25T13:18:00.000-06:002021-10-25T13:18:34.943-06:00#PitchMe Results and Wrap-up<div>#PitchMe pitches racked up 66 likes last week from the members of our agent panel (and one pitch scored an extra like from an outside agent, too)! Here's a breakdown of the action: </div><div><br /></div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450824373389172736">#1 PB: THIS BOOK NEEDS A PASSWORD</a> Jennifer Herrington, Elizabeth Bewley<div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450824625282158592">#2 PB: HAND-ME-DOWN BOOTS</a> Tara Gonzalez, Analieze Cervantes, Jennifer Herrington</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450824877112504326">#3 PB: SLIME TIME</a> Jennifer Herrington</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450825128737050628">#4 PB: FINDING FADO</a> Joyce Sweeney, Jennifer Herrington</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450825380198113296">#5 PB: GUS THE MAGNIFICENT</a> Jennifer Herrington</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450825631499894795">#6 PB: LIGHTS OUT FOR LUDWIG</a> Jennifer Herrington</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450825883279822857">#7 PB: STORYBOOK SAFETY INSPECTOR</a> Pam Pho</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450826134862671878">#8 MG: IF ELEPHANTS COULD TALK</a> Jen Nadol, Pam Pho, Tara Gonzalez, Stefanie Molina, Elizabeth Bewley</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450826386629804040">#9 MG: BEAST SCOUTS OF THE WANDERING REACH</a> Aida Z. Lilly</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450826638028066825">#10 MG: THE INFLUENCER</a> Jen Nadol, Jennifer Herrington, Shari Maurer, Katherine Wessbecher</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450826890189500418">#11 MG: CUTTLEPUNK</a> Jennifer Herrington, Tara Gonzalez</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450827141604470794">#12 MG: THE SISTERHOOD OF ALOBIBI</a> Joyce Sweeney, Jennifer Herrington, Tara Gonzalez, Lindsay Auld, Shari Maurer, Analieze Cervantes, Katherine Wessbecher</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450827393245986823">#13 MG: THE GRAVEDIGGER</a> Tara Gonzalez</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450827644925141005">#14 MG: BLACKBIRD</a> Jennifer Herrington, Tara Gonzalez, Lindsay Auld, Stefanie Molina</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450827896910614534">#15 MG: EVIE AND THE BOY FROM THE SEA</a> Jennifer Herrington, Aida Z. Lilly, Analieze Cervantes</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/kristavandolzer/status/1450828148203941898">#16 YA: BLOWN AWAY</a> Aida Z. Lilly, Tara Gonzalez, Elizabeth Bewley</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450828399866380288">#17 YA: GEEK MYTHOLOGY</a> Pam Pho, Tara Gonzalez, Aida Z. Lilly</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450828651650424832">#18 YA: THE DEATH MOTHER</a> Aida Z. Lilly</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450829406562406405">#21 YA: THE SOLSTICE STONE</a> Aida Z. Lilly, Stefanie Molina, Analieze Cervantes, Katherine Wessbecher, Elizabeth Bewley</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450829658132344836">#22 YA: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD</a> Analieze Cervantes</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450830161427959810">#24 YA: FAUNA OF MIRRORS</a> Pam Pho, Stefanie Molina, Analieze Cervantes, Katherine Wessbecher</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450830413048418308">#25 A: SELF-CHECKOUT</a> Analieze Cervantes</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450830916490645508">#27 A: THE COYOTE PRINCIPLE</a> Jen Nadol, Katherine Wessbecher</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450831167897456641">#28 A: OLYMPIC ENEMIES</a> Jennifer Herrington, Elizabeth Bewley</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450831419693887497">#29 A: SECRET SISTER</a> Aida Z. Lilly, Elizabeth Bewley (plus Melissa Danaczko)</div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1450831671255703554">#30 A: BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO SEXTING</a> Jen Nadol, Aida Z. Lilly, Stefanie Molina, Elizabeth Bewley</div><div><br /></div><div>In addition, one of our PBs came to the agent round with an offer on the table, and one of our adult finalists, WITCHCRAFT & WHISKEY, had to bow out of the agent round because it received an offer. (Luckily, we had an alternate waiting in the wings!)</div><div><br /></div><div>Also, I just want to say that, if you didn't get a like--or even if you didn't get picked as a finalist--I still believe in you, and I hope you believe in you, too. The only trait every published author has in common is persistence, so keep bashing your head against that brick wall until it comes crumbling down.</div><div><br /></div><div>Last but certainly not least, THANK YOU. Whether you were an agent, an entrant, or a finalist, I couldn't have done this without you. And I REALLY couldn't have done this without PB partner-in-crime <a href="https://twitter.com/TaraShiroff">Tara Shiroff</a>. Thank you for your insights and your boundless optimism.</div><div><br /></div><div>Until next year!</div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-66775110534277091312021-09-20T10:25:00.001-06:002021-09-20T21:30:07.471-06:00#PitchMe Finalists<div style="text-align: left;">Without any ado, here are the #PitchMe finalists* in no particular order:<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>PB</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">C.S.'s FINDING FADO</div><div style="text-align: left;">J.F.S.'s SLIME TIME</div><div style="text-align: left;">C.D.'s THIS BOOK NEEDS A PASSWORD</div><div style="text-align: left;">J.W.'s GUS, THE MAGNIFICENT</div><div style="text-align: left;">M.R.'s LIGHTS OUT FOR LUDWIG</div><div style="text-align: left;">K.L's BOOK LAND SAFETY INSPECTOR</div><div style="text-align: left;">A.L.'s HAND-ME-DOWN BOOTS</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>MG</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">T.G.'s BEAST SCOUTS OF THE WANDERING REACH (fantasy)</div><div style="text-align: left;">P.Z.'s THE SISTERHOOD OF ALOBIBI (mystery)</div><div style="text-align: left;">R.R.'s IF ELEPHANTS COULD TALK (contemporary novel-in-verse)</div><div style="text-align: left;">D.P.'s GOOD VIBRATIONS (contemporary)</div><div style="text-align: left;">D.A.'s EVIE AND THE BOY FROM THE SEA (fantasy)</div><div style="text-align: left;">A.V.'s CUTTLEPUNK (contemporary fantasy)</div><div style="text-align: left;">G.P.'s THE GRAVEDIGGER (horror)</div><div style="text-align: left;">K.B.'s BLACKBIRD (contemporary)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>YA</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">E.M.W.'s GEEK MYTHOLOGY (contemporary fantasy)</div><div style="text-align: left;">K.C.'s FAUNA OF MIRRORS (fantasy)</div><div style="text-align: left;">J.C.T's POST-MORTEM DEPRESSION (paranormal)</div><div style="text-align: left;">C.B.'s DARK CORNERS, BRIGHT SPACES (contemporary romance)</div><div style="text-align: left;">S.R.K's THE SOLSTICE STONE (contemporary/historical)</div><div style="text-align: left;">K.C.'s ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD (speculative)</div><div style="text-align: left;">J.S.C.'s BLOWN AWAY (contemporary)</div><div style="text-align: left;">A.H.'s THE DEATH MOTHER (magical realism)</div><div style="text-align: left;">E.C.'s THE FREE CITY (techno-thriller)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Adult</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">A.R.'s BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO SEXTING (romantic comedy)</div><div style="text-align: left;">N.S.'s THE COYOTE PRINCIPLE (literary mystery)</div><div style="text-align: left;">M.W.'s SECRET SIS (domestic thriller)</div><div style="text-align: left;">J.T.F.'s DRAGONS OF WIND AND LEAVES (fantasy)</div><div style="text-align: left;">H.R.'s WITCHCRAFT & WHISKEY (historical fantasy)</div><div style="text-align: left;">S.S.'s SELF-CHECKOUT (contemporary romance)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Congratulations, finalists! I really can't wait to dig in and help you make these awesome projects just a little awesomer.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">If your submission wasn't chosen, thank you so much for submitting, and please, please, please don't give up. I took notes on every entry and wrote down something positive about every single one (and usually a suggestion, too). If you don't find an agent between now and October 21 and would like to hear my thoughts on your pitch, query, and first page, you're more than welcome to respond to your original submission with a request for that feedback. I only ask that you hold off until Thursday, October 21, the day AFTER the agent round, so I can spend these next few weeks reviewing the finalists' work.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">*You probably noticed that I picked a few more MGs and YAs than PBs and adults. This is simply a reflection of what the agents who agreed to participate in #PitchMe are looking for right now. Of the 12 agents who signed up, 7 are looking for PB, 12 are looking for MG, 11 are looking for YA, and 5 are looking for adult.</div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-72948554900234528122021-09-17T06:00:00.007-06:002021-09-17T07:24:55.974-06:00Thoughts on #PitchMe Submissions<div style="text-align: left;"> I've now read all 251--or all 249, as there were several duplicates--of your amazing #PitchMe entries. *collapses on sofa* And my goodness, you guys didn't make it easy on me! Of the 249 submissions, I probably flagged at least a third and maybe up to half of them to consider for our spots. As I narrow down the list, here's a little food for thought:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Overall Impressions</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>If you have a connection to your plot or characters--say, if you and your MC are both retired detectives or Chinese Americans--make that connection very clear. Many writers did this well, but several queries made me wonder why this writer was the one telling this story through this lens. Don't ever make an agent guess!</li><li>Most queries ended with the <a href="https://queryshark.blogspot.com/">Query Shark</a>-approved "Thank you for your time and consideration," but many also added something along the lines of "I look forward to hearing from you." In an era when more agents are using auto-responders and simultaneously adopting a no-response-means-no policy, this line may come across as vaguely passive-aggressive. Just something to keep in mind.</li><li>FANTASY was, by far, the most represented genre across every category. That's not an awful thing, per se--I happen to love fantasy--but because of the volume, submissions within this genre had to work even harder to stand out. Several things that caught my eye: a fascinating world, an uncommon superpower, an especially high concept, or a unique genre mashup.</li><li>POST-APOCALYPTIC SETTINGS, especially in YA and adult, sort of caught me by surprise. At first, they struck me as fresh, but as I encountered more and more, they became strikes against their projects instead of points for them.</li><li>Another plot device I bumped into more than once was THE ENEMIES-TO-LOVERS TROPE, and not only in romance. Some of my favorite entries happened to use this plot device, and I know tropes are tropes in part because they're evergreen. But if you're going for unique, especially if you're writing romance, you might want to use another.</li><li>I also encountered lots of WITCHES across the novel categories and quite a few SECRET SOCIETIES in YA and adult.</li><li>Fairy tale retellings, or retellings of the classics, weren't nearly as abundant in MG or YA as they probably would have been a handful of years ago, which I think is a good thing and lines up with market trends. Conversely, in PB, I encountered quite a few FAIRY TALE AND/OR NURSERY RHYME REFERENCES. Unless you approach these stories in an unexpected way (and to be honest, several did), I fear they might not stand out. </li><li>Finally, I couldn't help but notice several uses of free cities--like the Free City of Detroit, a futuristic city-state. I was surprised to see this concept used by more than one writer, and now that Free Guy has come out, it might show up even more.</li></ul><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>PB Notes</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Per my tweet last week, there were 58 submissions within this category.</li><li>I have four young kids, including a three-year-old, so I've read quite a few PBs. When the text of a PB flows, even if it's not in VERSE, it's a delight to read out loud. And when it doesn't flow? It's not. You would think a verse would help, but unless it was consistent and the syllables lined up, I thought the verse fell kind of flat. In fact, in many instances, I thought the verse did a disservice to an otherwise great plot.</li></ul><br />And now in <a href="https://twitter.com/TaraShiroff">Tara</a>'s words: "I would say that we were blown away by the entries and really looked for something that stood out to us because we know that's what will stand out to an agent...whether it made us laugh, cry or was just completely unique. Stories that were well-written perhaps did not ultimately get selected as winners if they were too didactic or did not have a completely unique element. Agents want to be able to brand you (your books are funny, sweet, lyrical, family-driven, own voices, etc.), so if they ask you to submit additional picture books, they are going to expect that your additional submissions are similar in tone/theme. I would hold off on querying (we had several submissions where people said they had one great idea and no other books) until you have 3-5 fully polished manuscripts in case (and when!) an agent asks you for more work.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Some of the PBs had a lot of introduction and didn't get right into the action, which meant that the start was a little slow. Some of them did not have much dialogue throughout the story, and that would make a child potentially less interested. Some of them were much too long for a PB (we had a few that said they were over 800 words), and so really knowing that agents are looking to make offers on books that are approximately 500 words would be helpful for some writers. Some indicated in the query that they had a surprise, twisty ending, but since we only allowed a sample of the story we didn't see that awesome ending and that was unfortunate."<br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>MG Notes</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Per my tweet last week, there were 34 submissions within this category.</li><li>BULLYING was an extremely common theme among the MG submissions, so if that's your only hook, you might want to add another.</li></ul><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>YA Notes</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>There were 74 submissions within this category, which is one less than I reported last week, as there was a duplicate.</li><li>SIRENS seemed to be the paranormal soupe du jour among the YA entries. I came across VAMPIRES, too, but they weren't as prominent, perhaps because their vampirism didn't play as large a role in how their stories rolled out. </li></ul><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Adult Notes</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>There were 83 submissions within this category, which is one less than I reported last week, as there was a duplicate.</li><li>Of all the categories, this one was the most varied. I'm not sure why that would be, but I thought I'd point it out!</li><li>One question I kept asking as I read these entries was, "Does this love story work in a #metoo-mindful world?" Sadly, in some cases, the answer was simply no.</li></ul><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lastly, I wanted to say something about the nature of this contest and the issues it creates. Because I want to give the agents a unique and balanced list, I put these projects head to head far more often than I'd like. Do I pick this thriller or that one, and which of these fantasies with a shapeshifting raccoon do I think is very best? An agent can request them all, but I'm a lot more limited, so if you don't make it in, please know that I saw positives in every one of these entries and won't be able to include a lot of really awesome work.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Until next week!</div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-47575255798302524082021-09-08T09:00:00.003-06:002021-09-08T10:09:47.515-06:00Now Accepting #PitchMe Submissions<div><i>UPDATE: And that's a wrap! We received 251 submissions in the first hour, so the submission window is now closed. Keep an eye on this space--and on my Twitter feed--for more #PitchMe tidbits!</i></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div>Welcome to #PitchMe! To enter, your manuscript must meet two conditions. First, it must be COMPLETE, NEVER-PUBLISHED, AND READY TO QUERY, and second, it must be in one of the following genres:<div><br /></div><div>PB fiction* (all genres)<br />MG fiction (all genres)<br />YA fiction (all genres)<br />Adult fiction (all genres, including commercial, literary, and/or upmarket but excluding erotica)</div><div><br /></div><div>*Since I admittedly know less about writing and pitching PBs, I’ve asked PB author and two-time #TacoPitch winner <a href="https://twitter.com/TaraShiroff">Tara Shiroff</a> to help me help you!</div><div><br /></div><div>1. All submissions must be sent to kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com and include A TWITTER PITCH, A QUERY, AND THE FIRST 250 WORDS of your manuscript. (PB author-illustrators are also encouraged to share links to their online portfolios.) You must also paste these items IN THE BODY OF YOUR E-MAIL; otherwise, I'll disqualify it.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Please submit ONLY ONE PROJECT. If you submit multiple projects, I'll only consider the first.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. It would also really help if you INCLUDE YOUR CATEGORY--PB, MG, YA, OR ADULT--SOMEWHERE IN YOUR SUBJECT LINE, but it's not a requirement.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. The submission window opens on Wednesday, September 8, at 11:00 a.m. EDT and closes at 12:00 noon EDT or when we reach 150 entries, WHICHEVER HAPPENS LAST. If we haven’t reached 150 entries by September 14 at 11:00 a.m. EDT, the submission window will close then.</div><div><br /></div><div>5. Once you send me your submission, I’ll send you a confirmation e-mail with a summary of these rules.</div><div><br /></div><div>6. Lastly, because there's so much need in so many places around the world, I PLEDGE TO DONATE $1 FOR EVERY SUBMISSION RECEIVED, which I'll split evenly between <a href="https://www.unicefusa.org/?form=FUNZZFVXQHV&utm_content=earthquake_haiti_E2001&ms=cpc_dig_2020_Emergencies_20200109_google_earthquake_haiti_delve_E2001&initialms=cpc_dig_2020_Emergencies_20200109_google_earthquake_haiti_delve_E2001&msclkid=9ca8e1a027be1d8d30bb808c7be04f21&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Brand-Haiti-Beta-PFP&utm_term=unicef%20haiti">Haitian</a>, <a href="https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/unicef-ground-afghanistan-protecting-children-and-women/38877?form=FUNBZQRHHQQ&utm_content=afghanistan_E2001&ms=cpc_dig_2020_Emergencies_20210820_google_afghanistan_delve_E2001&initialms=cpc_dig_2020_Emergencies_20210820_google_afghanistan_delve_E2001&msclkid=e8e54ec2d34013e45b442fee887bb0e5&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Nonbrand-Afghanistan-Beta&utm_term=how%20to%20help%20afghanistan">Afghan</a>, and <a href="https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation.html/">Hurricane Ida</a> relief efforts. </div><div><br /></div><div>For more information, including a timeline of events and a list of participating agents, check out <a href="http://kristavandolzer.blogspot.com/2021/08/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know.html">this post</a>. We can't wait to read your work!</div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-52592221373150260432021-08-30T06:00:00.087-06:002022-09-06T09:20:00.913-06:00Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About #PitchMe<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">After taking a long break from "The Writer's Voice," I'm
back with another multi-agent query contest--this time on Twitter! If you take
what I loved most about "The Writer's Voice"--mentoring great writers
at wherever they happen to be on their publishing journey--and mash it up with
a pitch fest, then you've basically got #PitchMe. Are you interested? Read on!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here’s the timeline:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">September 8: <span>The submission window opens</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span>September 22: <span>Selected submissions announced</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span>September 22-October 19: <span>Mentoring takes place</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span><span>October 20: <span>Revised Twitter pitches posted; agents like their favorites</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Submissions</b></div><div><br /></div><div>To enter, your manuscript must meet two conditions. First, it must
be COMPLETE, NEVER-PUBLISHED, AND READY TO QUERY, and second, it must be in one
of the following genres:</div><div><br /></div><div>PB fiction* (all genres)</div><div>MG fiction (all genres)</div><div>YA fiction (all genres)</div><div>Adult fiction (all genres, including commercial, literary, and/or
upmarket but excluding erotica)</div><div><br /></div><div>*Since I admittedly know less about writing and pitching PBs, I’ve
asked PB author and two-time #TacoPitch winner <a href="https://twitter.com/TaraShiroff">Tara Shiroff</a> to help me help
you!</div><div><br /></div><div>1. All submissions must be sent to kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com and
include A TWITTER PITCH, A QUERY, AND THE FIRST 250 WORDS of your manuscript. (PB
author-illustrators are also encouraged to share links to their online
portfolios.) You must also paste these items IN THE BODY OF YOUR E-MAIL;
otherwise, I'll disqualify it.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Please submit ONLY ONE PROJECT. If you submit multiple projects, I'll only consider the first.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. It would also really help if you INCLUDE YOUR CATEGORY--PB, MG, YA, OR ADULT--SOMEWHERE IN YOUR SUBJECT LINE, but it's not a requirement. </div><div><br /></div><div>4. The submission window opens on Wednesday, September 8, at 11:00
a.m. EDT and closes at 12:00 noon EDT or when we reach 150 entries, WHICHEVER
HAPPENS LAST. If we haven’t reached 150 entries by September 14 at 11:00 a.m.
EDT, the submission window will close then.<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">5. Once you send me your submission, I’ll send you a confirmation
e-mail with a summary of these rules.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">6. Lastly, because there's so much need in so many places around the world, I PLEDGE TO DONATE $1 FOR EVERY SUBMISSION RECEIVED, which I'll split evenly between <a href="https://www.unicefusa.org/?form=FUNZZFVXQHV&utm_content=earthquake_haiti_E2001&ms=cpc_dig_2020_Emergencies_20200109_google_earthquake_haiti_delve_E2001&initialms=cpc_dig_2020_Emergencies_20200109_google_earthquake_haiti_delve_E2001&msclkid=9ca8e1a027be1d8d30bb808c7be04f21&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Brand-Haiti-Beta-PFP&utm_term=unicef%20haiti">Haitian</a>, <a href="https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/unicef-ground-afghanistan-protecting-children-and-women/38877?form=FUNBZQRHHQQ&utm_content=afghanistan_E2001&ms=cpc_dig_2020_Emergencies_20210820_google_afghanistan_delve_E2001&initialms=cpc_dig_2020_Emergencies_20210820_google_afghanistan_delve_E2001&msclkid=e8e54ec2d34013e45b442fee887bb0e5&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Nonbrand-Afghanistan-Beta&utm_term=how%20to%20help%20afghanistan">Afghan</a>, and <a href="https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation.html/">Hurricane Ida</a> relief efforts. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Selections</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'll select 6 entries within each major category--PB, MG, YA, and
adult--and up to 6 wildcards. I may pick 6 adults or 3 YAs and 3 MGs or just a
single PB; it depends on what I know the agents are looking for and which
submissions seem strongest.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Once I've finalized my picks--with Tara’s help, of course--I'll
e-mail the winning writers and announce the winning titles here and/or on my
Twitter feed on Wednesday, September 22. Then the real work will begin!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Mentoring</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">For the next roughly 4 weeks, the winning writers will revise <span style="background: white;">their pitches,
queries, and first pages with my and Tara’s help. You won’t be obligated to
incorporate our thoughts, and the feedback we provide on your queries and first
pages won’t actually be featured in the agent round itself. We just want to
help you make your pitches, queries, and first pages the very best that they can
be.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Liking</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;">On Wednesday,
October 20, I'll post the revised pitches ON MY TWITTER FEED for the agents to
review. Here are the awesome agents who’ll be liking your pitches:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/AidaZLilly">Aida Z. Lilly</a> of <a href="http://ktliterary.com/">KT Literary</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://twitter.com/author_analieze">Analieze Cervantes</a> of <a href="https://www.harveyklinger.com/">Harvey Klinger Literary Agency</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://twitter.com/ElizBewley">Elizabeth Bewley</a> of <a href="https://www.sll.com/">Sterling Lord Literistic</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://twitter.com/jennadol">Jen Nadol</a> of
<a href="http://theunteragency.com/">The Unter Agency</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://twitter.com/jl_herrington">Jennifer Herrington</a> of <a href="https://www.harveyklinger.com/">Harvey Klinger Literary Agency</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://twitter.com/JoyceGrackle">Joyce Sweeney</a> of <a href="https://theseymouragency.com/">The Seymour Agency</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/KatWessbecher">Katherine Wessbecher</a> of <a href="https://bradfordlit.com/">Bradford Literary Agency</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/lindsaydauld">Lindsay Auld</a> of <a href="http://www.writershouse.com/">Writers House</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/NerdyPam">Pam Pho</a> of <a href="https://www.d4eoliteraryagency.com/">D4EO Literary Agency</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/sharimaurer">Shari Maurer</a> of <a href="https://www.stringerlit.com/">Stringer Literary Agency</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/fiction_tech">Stefanie Molina</a> of <a href="https://www.ladderbird.com/">Ladderbird Literary Agency</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/taratgonzalez">Tara Gonzalez</a> of <a href="https://emliterary.com/">Erin Murphy Literary Agency</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Each like will count as a partial or full request based on the agents’
preferences. Agents will be able to review and like your pitches for a full 24
hours, at which point you’ll be allowed to submit your materials to all the
agents who requested them. These likes represent serious interest in your
project, so PLEASE DON’T ACCEPT AN OFFER OF REPRESENTATION BEFORE GIVING THE
#PITCHME AGENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A COMPETING OFFER.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So get those pitches polished up and plan to e-mail them to
me--with your queries and first pages--on Wednesday, September 8, at 11:00 a.m.
EDT. We can’t wait to read your work!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Have a question? Ask below!</div></div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-75183426691409550122021-07-26T06:00:00.001-06:002021-07-26T06:00:00.275-06:00Q&A with Victor Pineiro, MG Author of TIME VILLAINS<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tFBo_OYQEqk/YPziXu1tfJI/AAAAAAAAA8g/11OdbA8e8LgedITZNEuE0QetabNfgAT2ACLcBGAsYHQ/s275/TIME%2BVILLAINS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="183" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tFBo_OYQEqk/YPziXu1tfJI/AAAAAAAAA8g/11OdbA8e8LgedITZNEuE0QetabNfgAT2ACLcBGAsYHQ/w213-h320/TIME%2BVILLAINS.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>Absolutely thrilled to welcome author <a href="http://www.victorpineiro.com/">Victor Piñeiro</a>, whose MG debut, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54717139-time-villains">TIME VILLAINS</a>, came out earlier this month. Victor's wide-ranging career has taken lots of twists and turns, but I love how writing books was always Victor's number one. Read on for how all that turned out! </div><div><br /></div>KV: TIME VILLAINS sounds like a fun fantasy adventure. How did you first come up with the idea?<div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;">VP: Fifteen years ago my brother and I stumbled on a magical forest. We took a wrong turn while exploring Western France and ended up in Paimpont, Merlin’s enchanted woods. It was sunset, we raced around the ancient trees hoping we’d stumble on the legendary Fountain of Eternal Youth, and at some point realized we had to find our way back to our car before dark. The whole experience was so mystical and thrilling that it stayed with me. Over a decade later I had the seed to a story: a magical table that summons anyone from history or fiction to dinner, once you answered the question, “If you could invite any three people to dinner, who would they be?” But why would a table be magical in the first place? The idea tossed and turned in my head for ages before I remembered the enchanted forest. Then I got overwhelmingly excited to create a series around it, casting all of my favorite fictional and historical characters.</span><br /><br />KV: Which three guests would YOU invite to a magical dinner party? Why?</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;">VP: My list changes day to day but usually it’s two historical figures and one very out-there fictional character. I’m a huge poetry fiend so probably Walt Whitman, and maybe Julia de Burgos (Puerto Rico’s greatest poet). For the fictional character I’d probably go with Galadriel, Gandalf or Aslan--might as well bring in someone magical to really spice things up!</span></div><div><br /></div><div>KV: Career-wise, you've been involved in everything from public school teaching to filmmaking and multimedia content development. How did you end up writing novels?</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;">VP: It’s funny, being a published author has been the dream and goal since I was a kid, so it’s just taken me quite awhile to get there! In my teens and twenties I couldn’t silence my inner critic long enough to write novels, so I turned to poetry and screenplays, writing and producing documentaries for a spell. From there I became the voice of Skittles, YouTube, Google and other brands on social media, which really helped me hone my skills when it came to voice. I finally coaxed a book out in 2017 after writing daily on my (long) commute for three years. It was a very unconventional first book--the only kind I could coax out on my first try--so I shelved it and started working on TIME VILLAINS. It’s funny how circuitous the path to achieving our goals can be, and how that’s usually a blessing in disguise.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>KV: How is publishing a novel similar to making a film, and how is it different?</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;">VP: I think a story is a story is a story. Finding and developing a documentary’s story as it comes together isn’t all that different from doing the same with a novel. The process is surprisingly similar, and even more so with a screenplay. The real difference is in the rhythm of collaboration. With a film, even tiny indie productions, you’re all in constant contact and collaboration. The director is driving it, but they’re checking in with everyone all the time, or showing newly edited scenes daily, etc. With a novel (at least in my experience) you’re on your own for long stretches of time before you send drafts to your editor, agent or readers.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>KV: We met through <a href="https://diversevoicesinc.org/">DiverseVoices, Inc.</a>'s inaugural <a href="https://diversevoicesinc.org/dvdebut">DVdebut program</a>, which paired debut novelists from diverse backgrounds with mentor novelists from similar backgrounds. How has your Puerto Rican heritage influenced your art in general and TIME VILLAINS in particular?</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;">VP: Just the other day I fell in love with the term nepantla, an Aztec word that means in-betweenness--the liminal space between worlds. It’s been adopted by Chicano culture to describe the discomfort they feel trying to walk the tightrope between the world of the colonizer and the colonized.</span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;">That’s the tension I love to explore with my characters. It’s my experience as a first generation, light-skinned Puerto Rican, who moved to the US as a child. It’s the experience so many of my friends and family had existing in two cultures laid awkwardly on top of each other.</span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;">Whether I’m writing a children’s book about a magical school or a YA book about enduring anxiety, the characters will always be negotiating a life in two worlds. The protagonists will often feel strange that the language they’re most fluent in isn’t their first, that a big chunk of their identity is hidden from even their closest friends, that they’re not deep enough in their native culture to understand the humor.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>KV: What other writing projects do you have in the pipeline?</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;">VP: I’m three drafts into my next book and it couldn’t be more different than Time Villains. It’s a YA novel that deals with mental health (mostly crippling social anxiety) and explores being Latinx in an American high school. There’s some light sci-fi/fantasy elements because I love using them to propel the story.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>KV: Any last words of advice or encouragement you'd like to share with us?</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;">VP: Absolutely! There are a few misconceptions that would’ve had me writing novels decades ago, so I take any chance I can get to relay them to other aspiring/young writers.</span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #b45f06;">The most important one (for me at least)--an hour a day can be enough. I always thought I needed to quit my job and write eight hours a day to finish a novel, which held me back for years. Then I read a Murakami interview where he said he completed his first novel by writing an hour a day after work. In that moment I felt like the universe gave me permission to write mine. And whether I got a half hour or an hour a day, I’ve written three novels at that pace and am working on the fourth.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Ah, what great advice, Victor. Writers are people who write, whether it's a little or a lot. No one ever has to wait to start putting their thoughts down.</div><div><br /></div><div>Have a great Monday, everyone!</div>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250988928163509961.post-56038851053208495272021-05-12T06:00:00.012-06:002021-05-12T08:18:59.456-06:00Book Recommendation and ARC Giveaway on Twitter: YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED by Michelle I. Mason<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zJY1ogVWr9E/YJrRPYJ36FI/AAAAAAAAA7c/__PFr0oV8TwPtURsqPCAqrsL467yasOvgCLcBGAsYHQ/s276/YOUR%2BLIFE%2BHAS%2BBEEN%2BDELAYED.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="183" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zJY1ogVWr9E/YJrRPYJ36FI/AAAAAAAAA7c/__PFr0oV8TwPtURsqPCAqrsL467yasOvgCLcBGAsYHQ/w212-h320/YOUR%2BLIFE%2BHAS%2BBEEN%2BDELAYED.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><p>Michelle and I have been writing friends for a long, long time, so when her manuscript landed an agent, then a book deal, within a matter of weeks, I couldn't have been more thrilled. The fact that her manuscript sold to my editor at Bloomsbury was just the icing on the cake and a fun coincidence--until it occurred to me that I could probably beg an ARC of YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED off our mutual editor.</p><p>Which, of course, was what I did:)</p><p>YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED has a hugely commercial premise: seventeen-year-old Jenny gets on a plane in New York City in 1995 and gets off again in St. Louis--in 2020. Her parents are now senior citizens, her formerly younger brother is now old enough to be her dad, and her best friend and boyfriend are now married. To each other. What's more, something's going on with the flight's investigation, and as a budding reporter, Jenny can't help but dive in.</p><p>I couldn't put this book down. Knowing what was coming, I could NOT leave Jenny hanging until she'd also figured out what the heck was going on, and then I wanted to keep reading because her life was so messed up and I felt supremely bad. Also, because her new best friend, the seventeen-year-old son of the aforementioned best friend and boyfriend, was supremely sweet, and though I could see it coming from 30,000 feet away, their awkward relationship was still fun to watch unfold.</p><p>I've already preordered my copy of YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED, so with Michelle's permission and a signed bookmark to boot, I'm super excited to pass my ARC along. <b>The giveaway will be on </b><a href="https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1392483786177138695" style="font-weight: bold;">Twitter</a>,<b> </b>so head over there to enter. I wish you all kinds of luck!</p>Krista Van Dolzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830193414560232842noreply@blogger.com0