Here’s the timeline:
September 6: The submission windows open
September 20: Selected submissions announced
September 20-October 24: Mentoring takes place
October 25: Revised Twitter pitches posted; agents (and editors!) like their favorites
September 6: The submission windows open
September 20: Selected submissions announced
September 20-October 24: Mentoring takes place
October 25: Revised Twitter pitches posted; agents (and editors!) like their favorites
Submissions
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:
PB fiction and nonfiction (all genres)
MG fiction (all genres)
YA fiction (all genres)
Adult fiction (all genres, including commercial, literary, and/or upmarket but excluding erotica)
PB fiction and nonfiction (all genres)
MG fiction (all genres)
YA fiction (all genres)
Adult fiction (all genres, including commercial, literary, and/or upmarket but excluding erotica)
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.
2. Please submit ONLY ONE PROJECT. If you submit multiple projects, I'll only consider the first.
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.
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!
5. Once you send me your submission, I’ll send you a confirmation e-mail with a summary of these rules.
6. Previous finalists may enter again AS LONG AS THEY HAVE A NEW MANUSCRIPT TO SUBMIT.
Selections
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.
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.
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!
Mentoring
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.
Mentoring
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.
Liking
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:
Amy Giuffrida of Belcastro Agency
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:
Amy Giuffrida of Belcastro Agency
Joanna MacKenzie of Nelson Literary Agency
Kristin Ostby of Greenhouse Literary Agency
Lindsay Auld of Writers House
Kristin Ostby of Greenhouse Literary Agency
Lindsay Auld of Writers House
Michelle Jackson of LCS Literary Services
Saribel Pages of Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency
Shari Maurer of Stringer Literary Agency
Vicky Weber of The Purcell Agency
Saribel Pages of Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency
Shari Maurer of Stringer Literary Agency
Vicky Weber of The Purcell Agency
Whitney Ross of High Line Literary Collective
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.
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.
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.
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!
Have a question? Ask below!
Have a question? Ask below!
