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!
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:
PB fiction* (all genres) MG fiction (all genres) YA fiction (all genres) Adult fiction (all genres, including commercial, literary, and/or upmarket but excluding erotica)
*Since I admittedly know less about writing and pitching PBs, I’ve asked PB author and two-time #TacoPitch winner Tara Shiroff to help me help you!
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.
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. 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.
5. Once you send me your submission, I’ll send you a confirmation e-mail with a summary of these rules.
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 Haitian, Afghan, and Hurricane Ida relief efforts.
For more information, including a timeline of events and a list of participating agents, check out this post. We can't wait to read your work!
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!
Here’s the timeline:
September 8: The submission window opens
September 22: Selected submissions announced
September 22-October 19: Mentoring takes place
October 20: Revised Twitter pitches posted; agents 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* (all genres)
MG fiction (all genres)
YA fiction (all genres)
Adult fiction (all genres, including commercial, literary, and/or
upmarket but excluding erotica)
*Since I admittedly know less about writing and pitching PBs, I’ve
asked PB author and two-time #TacoPitch winner Tara Shiroff to help me help
you!
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.
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. 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.
5. Once you send me your submission, I’ll send you a confirmation
e-mail with a summary of these rules.
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 Haitian, Afghan, and Hurricane Ida relief efforts.
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; 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 22. Then the real work will begin!
Mentoring
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.
Liking
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:
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.
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!
Update: President Nelson invited us to fast again this Friday, April 10. Christians around the world will be observing Good Friday, but people of all religious backgrounds--or no religious background at all--are invited to participate and ask God for relief from this global pandemic.
Tomorrow, I'll be participating in a worldwide day of fasting and prayer to bring needed relief from the effects of the novel coronavirus. Because I've experienced the blessings of fasting and prayer in my own life, I wanted to invite you to participate and experience those blessings, too. How do I fast and pray?
To fast, you purposely refrain from eating and drinking for a set period of time. I plan to fast for approximately twenty-four hours, so after eating dinner tonight, I won't eat again until dinner tomorrow.
But fasting is so much more than just not eating. To have the best fasting experience, consider combining it with prayer. When I begin my fast, I'll ask God to please moderate the effects of this new coronavirus, to strengthen the immune systems of those who've been infected and those who are working tirelessly to help them, and to relieve the suffering of those whose lives have been upended by this pandemic. I'll renew this prayer several times throughout the day, and then, just before I eat, I'll close my fast by thanking God for this opportunity and by asking him one more time to bless those around the world who've been negatively impacted by the coronavirus.
I'll also donate the value of the meals I didn't eat--and probably even more--to a charity that's working to assist doctors, nurses, and hospitals and/or relieve the physical, mental, or economic suffering brought on by this pandemic.
So to sum up, here's what you do:
1. Stop eating and drinking for a set period of time, usually twenty-four hours.
2. Pray to whichever deity you revere for needed relief from this pandemic.
3. Donate the value of the meals you didn't eat--or even more, if you're able to--to a charity like the American Red Cross, No Kid Hungry, or your local food bank. What if I can't fast for a medical reason?
There are several subsets of people who shouldn't fast for medical reasons. For instance, pregnant women and people with certain chronic illnesses shouldn't go without food or drink for any length of time. But everyone can participate in the spirit of a fast by praying and donating to a worthy cause. What if I don't make it the full twenty-four hours?
That's totally okay! The first time I tried to fast, I turned into such a blubbering mess that I had to go home and eat lunch. Fasting isn't easy; things worth doing rarely are. So even if you don't make it the full twenty-four hours, you can still say you fasted. God will still honor your effort. Is fasting painful?
Yes, especially if you've never done it before. You ARE going to feel hungry. Your stomach IS going to growl. But these sensations only serve to remind you that you're fasting, that you're sacrificing something to benefit your fellow humans and to plead for God's help. I didn't see this blog post until after the fact--can I still fast?
Absolutely! You can fast and pray on any day for any reason. God never takes a break:) Who came up with this idea?
I'm not completely sure, but I'm going to say God. In fact, fasting is an element of many of the world's religions. I especially love what Isaiah had to say about fasting in Isaiah 58: "Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? "Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward. "Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; "And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: "And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. "And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in."
Aren't those amazing blessings?!
If you choose not to fast, I completely understand. But if you do decide to try it, thank you, thank you, and good luck. I hope you have a unique and inspiring experience.
My grandfather was born in Manila in 1922. He joined the United States Merchant Marines in the late 1930s, then transferred to the United States Army just after the start of World War II. After the war, he moved to the States, where he met and married my grandmother, the blond-haired, blue-eyed daughter of a pair of Danish immigrants. (In a roundabout way, their story inspired Steve, now known as THE REGENERATED MAN, as my grandparents faced mountains of prejudice in the early days of their marriage.) In other words, I feel connected to the Philippines and the people who live there. I always want to help people whose lives are touched by natural--and not-so-natural--disasters, but this is different. These people are MY people. Even though most of my grandfather's family immigrated to North America several decades ago, I probably have third and fourth and fifth cousins still living in the Philippines. Which is why I plan to donate to the relief effort straightaway. I know how you donate to a relief effort is a very personal decision, but if you've been looking for a reputable charity, you might consider LDS Charities. They bring clean water to small towns and villages in developing countries, provide neonatal resuscitation training to doctors and nurses in these same nations, and supply food and vaccinations to those in need. They also provide disaster relief through their Helping Hands initiative--you may have seen their bright yellow shirts around--as well as the Humanitarian Aid Fund, which you can donate to directly by clicking on that link. Because they cover their overhead with other funds, 100% of your donation will reach the survivors in the Philippines. I don't always like the Internet, but at times like these, I'm glad it gives us the capability to reach across the world and help those in need. Feel free to link to your favorite disaster relief organizations in the comments!
Just wanted to direct you to a couple of charity auctions I've heard about that will benefit those affected by Superstorm Sandy. First off, check out Jen Malone's "Kidlit Community Giving Back" auction. She's got some great items up for grabs, including these:
The auction will close on November 7 (NOT November 5, as I reported when I first posted this), so make sure to check back a few times between now and then.
Next, check out Kate Messner's "KidLit Cares" auction. She's also got some awesome goodies in her grab bag (including several I'm tempted to take a stab at):
These auctions will all close on different days, so pay close attention to those end dates, and check back often for new items!
UPDATE: Because this relief effort is too big for a single agency, you might consider donating to an aid organization other than the Red Cross over the course of the next few weeks. Catholic Charities is a long-established, well-respected organization that provides relief to the victims of natural disasters, as are The Salvation Army and LDS Charities. I'm not certain about Catholic Charities and The Salvation Army, but I know that 100% of the money donated to LDS Charities goes directly to the victims. (They cover their operating costs with other funds.)
Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of New York, New Jersey, and all the other states affected by Sandy. They're going to need our support for a good, long time.
This rare double post is to inform you that, in light of the massive earthquake that hit Haiti on Tuesday, my husband and I have decided to make a donation to our favorite humanitarian aid organization, LDS Humanitarian Services--and you get to determine how much we donate.
Just leave a comment in the section below sometime between now and nine o'clock Friday night. (I've got kids; I go to bed early.) For every unique comment (one per person) made on this post, my husband and I will donate one dollar to the earthquake relief effort in Haiti. Our donation will help provide personal hygiene and newborn care kits for earthquake victims, as well as food, water, medicine, and other needed supplies.
LDS Humanitarian Services, a branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is a well-respected aid organization and provides emergency and other relief around the world. They bring clean water to small towns and villages in developing countries, provide neonatal resuscitation training to doctors and nurses in these same nations, and supply food and vaccinations to those in need. They also provide vital disaster relief and have made an impact in such places as Indonesia, India and Pakistan, the Sudan, the Gulf Coast, and now Haiti.
If you’d like to make a donation yourself, check out their online contribution form. And don’t forget to leave your comment here.
