This Is Not One of Those Overnight Success Stories

This is the post I've written a thousand times in my head but never needed to put down on paper. This is the post I've dreamed about but never dared to hope I'd write. But then, life has a way of surprising you, and as far as surprises go, this one is pretty good:

From Publishers Weekly: Author of the popular blog Mother.Write.(Repeat.) (www.motherwrite.blogspot.com), Krista Van Dolzer, sold her debut novel, The Regenerated Man, to Shauna Rossano at Putnam. Agent Kate Schafer Testerman at kt literary handled the North American rights deal, and the book is scheduled for winter 2015. The middle grade novel is set in postwar California and, Testerman said, has elements of science fiction, as it follows a young girl who becomes the sole defender of “a bio-engineered Japanese soldier.”

Steve, otherwise known as THE REGENERATED MAN for the uninitiated, has had a bumpy road. When they say publishing slows down (read: comes to a standstill) in the summer, they mean it, so by the time fall rolled around last year, I was already feeling down and out. We'd given Steve a college try (whatever that means). Maybe it was time to pack it in and concentrate on the next manuscript.

Thank goodness Kate doesn't move on as easily as I do.

Long story slightly shorter: Shauna read the manuscript in a few weeks last September, then took it to her ed meeting. They liked it but had some issues. A few weeks later, she sent some notes, and I revised, revised, revised. I loved this manuscript so much, so I was grateful for the opportunity to make it even better. By Christmas, I was spending almost as much time revising as I was sleeping. By the end of January, I was (finally) done.

After Kate read the revision, she used words like "wow" and "amazing" to describe it, but we still had to wait and see what Shauna thought. And wait we did. Shauna was already swamped, conference season was just beginning, and in the ensuing weeks, I convinced myself that she was going to say no, that she would like it but not love it, that we'd be right back where we'd started. Even when I heard she was thrilled with the revision and taking it back to ed meeting, I didn't allow myself to hope. And when things didn't immediately come together, I told myself I'd told me so.

Then one morning, Kate sent me an e-mail. It was Putnam's offer.

How did John Lennon put it? "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans"? I've certainly found that to be true, especially in this business. But maybe, just maybe, that's part of its charm. Having everything figured out is kind of overrated. I'd much rather make it up as I go along.

#

A huge thank-you to Shauna for loving Steve as much as I do and fighting for him as long and hard as I would have. Another huge thank-you to the amazing and insightful critique partners who read and commented on early drafts: Liesl Shurtliff, Myrna Foster, Amy Sonnichsen, Jenilyn Collings, Ben Spendlove, Kelly Bryson, Mónica Bustamante Wagner, and Tara Dairman. I also have to give a shout-out to the KT Lit Sub Club, whose cheerleading and encouragement kept me (mostly) sane: Elizabeth Briggs, Susan Adrian, Erin Danehy, Sara Beitia, and our newest addition, Amy Sonnichsen. Last but certainly not least, a tip of my hat and a heartfelt hug to the incomparable Kate, granter of wishes and weaver of dreams. I must say, there's something to be said for boundless optimism:)

Oh, and one last thank-you to Honey Bear, our kids, and the rest of our family, but mostly Honey Bear. I don't know how I always manage to leave you out of these. It must be because you're always there, my only constant, the one person in the world who feels so much a part of me that I sometimes forget you're not. Nothing would be quite as bright if I didn't have you to share it with.

Thirty Is the New Twenty: Why New Adult Is Making Inroads

While the term New Adult has been floating around for the last couple of years, it's only really gotten traction in the last couple of months. A few weeks ago, Publishers Marketplace added New Adult as a subcategory, and at around the same time, a so-called New Adult title, Jamie McGuire's WALKING DISASTER, hit the number-one spot on USA Today's best-selling books list.

Now, I can't say what New Adult actually is. Several people have tried, including a writer at Shelf Awareness and another at USA Today, but I don't think anybody really knows where the needle's going to settle. So far, it appears that most New Adult titles are knockoffs of E.L. James's FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, at least according to the deal listings on Publishers Marketplace. But I suspect that this will change, that the category will break out--and in a big way--because of one simple truth:

People aren't growing up as quickly as they used to.

My adulthood in brief: I got married at twenty, had a mortgage by twenty-two, and gave birth to my first child at twenty-three. Now at twenty-nine, I have three kids, am almost a third of the way through that thirty-year mortgage, and will probably be an empty-nester by the time I'm fifty. But what's become increasingly clear to me is that I'm an anomaly among my peers.

The twenties have morphed into a kind of extended adolescence, a time to figure out who you are and what you want without Mom or Dad or the vice principal looking over your shoulder. The legal barriers to self-discovery slide out of the way, and you can pretty much do and be and have it all (provided you can fit it in that two-hundred-dollar backpack you're planning to schlep across Europe or the Himalayas or wherever it is that people go to discover themselves nowadays). I'm not saying that's good or bad (though I do have an opinion on the topic); I'm simply saying that's how it is.

So it's no surprise that a similarly slanted cadre of books are finding a toehold in the marketplace. Twenty-somethings aren't adolescents, but in today's world, they're not adults, either. Readers figured that out a while back, and now New York City is finally catching up.

P.S. Don't miss the additional opinions/thoughts in the comments!

"The Writer's Voice" Details

“The Writer’s Voice” is a multi-blog, multi-agent contest hosted by Cupid of Cupid’s Literary Connection, Brenda Drake of Brenda Drake Writes, Monica B.W. of Love YA, and me. We’re basing it on NBC’s singing reality show The Voice, so the four of us will serve as coaches and select projects for our teams based on their queries and first pages.

Here’s the timeline:

May 1 May 2	Everybody enters the Rafflecopter lottery The lottery winners sign up on the widget
May 2-10	We select our team members from “The Writer’s Voice” Blogfest
May 10-20	We coach our team members, helping them polish their entries
May 20	We post our team members’ entries on our blogs
May 23-24	Agents vote for their favorites

Submissions

To enter, your manuscript must meet two conditions: First, it must be COMPLETE, POLISHED, AND READY TO QUERY, and second, it must be in one of the following genres*:

YA fiction (all subgenres)
MG fiction (all subgenres)

To determine who gets to participate in the blogfest, we’ll hold a single-entry Rafflecopter lottery on Wednesday, May 1. Last year, we were overwhelmed by the response, and in many instances, whoever had the fastest fingers--or the fastest Internet connections--made it in. This way, everyone will get an equal chance to participate.

The lottery will remain open for 12 hours on May 1, from 9:00 a.m. EDT to 9:00 p.m. EDT, at which point the Rafflecopter will select 150 random winners. Those winners will then sign up for the blogfest on one of Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets the next day, May 2. Once you sign up on the widget, you’ll post YOUR QUERY and THE FIRST 250 WORDS of your manuscript on your blog.

In summary, you must follow these three steps to enter:

1. Enter the Rafflecopter lottery on May 1 during the submission window listed above.

2. Sign up on the widget on May 2 if you win the lottery.
3. Post your query and the first 250 words of your manuscript on your blog.

Selections

We’re building our teams via “The Writer’s Voice” Blogfest, so YOU MUST HAVE A BLOG TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS CONTEST. We don’t care if you’ve had it for five years or five minutes; we just want to be able to fight over you in public:)

We coaches will review the entries and leave a comment on your post that says something like, “I want you!” If more than one of us wants you on her team, you’ll have to pick which coach you want to work with.

Coaching

We’ll select our 8 team members (plus 1 alternate) by May 10, then spend the next week and a half helping them put a final polish on their entries. You won’t have to take all of our suggestions, of course; we just want to help you make your entry the best that it can be before the agents get a look at it.

Voting

On May 20, we’ll post our team members’ queries and first pages on our blogs so that the agents can review them. Here are the awesome agents who’ll be voting on your entries:

Sarah Davies of Greenhouse Literary Agency

Catherine Drayton of InkWell Management
Mollie Glick of Foundry Literary + Media
Christa Heschke of McIntosh & Otis

Holly McGhee and Elena Mechlin of Pippin Properties

Ammi-Joan Paquette of Erin Murphy Literary Agency
John Rudolph of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management

Kate Schafer Testerman of kt literary

Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary & Media

Monika Verma of Levine Greenberg Literary Agency

Tina Wexler of ICM Partners

Caryn Wiseman of Andrea Brown Literary Agency

The agents will vote for their favorites on May 23 and 24. Each vote will count as a partial or full request depending on how many votes the entry receives. If an entry receives 1 or 2 votes, those votes will count as partial requests. If an entry receives 3 or more votes, those votes will count as full requests.

Voting will stay open until 9:00 p.m. EDT on May 24, at which point we’ll determine which coach’s team received the most votes. That coach will win bragging rights for time immemorial, and everyone who received requests will be able to submit their materials to all the agents who voted for them. These votes represent serious interest in your project, so PLEASE DON’T ACCEPT AN OFFER OF REPRESENTATION BEFORE GIVING “THE WRITER’S VOICE” AGENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A COMPETING OFFER.

So get those queries and first pages polished up, then meet us back here on Wednesday, May 1, between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. EDT. We can’t wait to read your entries! (And of course, if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments below.)

*We’re very sorry not to include any adult genres this year. We have to base the genres on the agents’ interests, and this year, all the agents who said yes happen to be agents who represent primarily YA and MG projects. There is a chance that a few more agents will sign up between now and May 1, and if a significant portion of those agents consider adult projects, we’ll certainly add some adult genres. But for now, we’ll stick with this.

LDS Writer Blogfest: Families Can Be Together Forever

I started this post last weekend, but the words weren't coming out as smoothly as I wanted them to. Like a lot of bloggers, I don't usually struggle with blog posts, so this was frustrating. Now I'm glad they didn't, as this last week has put a completely different spin on everything, including this post.

I had a lot of thrills and frills initially, but what I really wanted to say can be boiled down to these five little words: Families can be together forever. God sent us to this earth as families and asked us to love and serve each other because He knew this simple truth.

I don't know why tragedy strikes some families but misses others. I don't know why some people die young while others live with broken bodies that may or may not function properly. But I do know that all that is unfair in life--and all that is just plain hard--will be made right eventually through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. And I know that in the meantime, His grace is there to lift and heal us.

Almost eight years ago, my aunt died suddenly. She'd battled multiple sclerosis for many years, but none of us expected her to deteriorate so rapidly. My mom didn't even find out she was fading until after she'd already passed away. That was a hard time for our family and especially for my mom, who felt like she'd somehow failed her little sister.

Several years later, I was sitting in the temple, reflecting quietly on life and things, when I got the distinct impression that my aunt wanted to be there , that she wanted to feel the same peace and contentment I was feeling in that moment. At that point, I had never done any family history, but I knew I needed to learn. So I went into my local family history center, the same place I now volunteer every Tuesday night, and asked the little old ladies there what I needed to do so Susan could receive the same temple blessings I had.

This is why I'm so obsessed with family history--because I know that families can be together forever and that this is the way God has prepared for EVERY family to receive that blessing. He knows that the vast majority of His children never had the opportunity to go to the temple during their mortal lives, so He lets their descendants receive those ordinances for them (like the sealing ordinance, which is what binds families together on earth and in heaven). The first time I went to the temple, I received these ordinances for myself. Now every time I go back, I receive them on behalf of one of my ancestors.

I believe in God and His Son, Jesus Christ. I believe that Their whole goal is to lift us up to where They are. I believe They love us and are aware of us and want in every way to bless us. I believe Their ways are higher than our ways and that, even if we don't understand why certain things are happening, we will understand eventually.

I won't be online much for the rest of the week, but if you have a question you think I can answer, feel free to leave it in the comments. I'll respond as soon as I can. (And if you have specific questions about temples, you might check out this post, which at least covers the basics.)

Ms. Sarver's Winners!

Without any ado, the winners:

Best query: #12 NO SUCH THING
Runner-up: #29 VIOLENT DELIGHTS

NO SUCH THING wins a critique of the first 50 pages!

VIOLENT DELIGHTS wins a copy of one of Ms. Sarver's clients' books, either Sangu Mandanna's THE LOST GIRL or Kim Culbertson's INSTRUCTIONS FOR A BROKEN HEART!

Best first page: #16 IN SIN
Runners-up: #7 BEYOND THE CASTLE WALL and #8 CRAZY DEEP

IN SIN also wins a critique of the first 50 pages!

And BEYOND THE CASTLE WALL and CRAZY DEEP also win copies of one of Ms. Sarver's clients' books, either Sangu Mandanna's THE LOST GIRL or Kim Culbertson's INSTRUCTIONS FOR A BROKEN HEART!

Congratulations, all! Please e-mail me at kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com for details on how to claim your prizes.

Oh, and I also randomly selected winners for my RUMP giveaway. I decided to pick two, since I kept you waiting for an extra day, and here they are:

Angela Citte and S.M. #12 (who also snagged one of Ms. Sarver's top spots!)

Angela and S.M., please e-mail me at kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com as well so I can get your copies of RUMP in the mail!

Last but not least, a very big round of applause for everyone who entered and/or critiqued and especially for  Ms. Sarver. This round of "An Agent's Inbox" was a huge success, and that's all thanks to you. I really appreciate it.

There's a lot more excitement coming up on the blog later this week, including all the juicy details on "The Writer's Voice" (which we plan to post this Thursday Friday), so do come back and check those out. Until then!

"An Agent's Inbox" Is Underway!

And here we go! Check out the entries, then leave some feedback in the comments if you feel so inclined. (ENTRANTS, PLEASE REMEMBER TO CRITIQUE AT LEAST THREE OTHER ENTRIES!) And I'm sure this goes without saying, but please keep your comments constructive (i.e., not rude or mean-spirited). If you want to think like The Agent, you might consider the question, "How much of the entry did you read, and if you didn't read it all, why did you stop?"

Also, don't forget that for every substantive comment you leave on one of the entries between today and Sunday night, I'll give you an entry in my RUMP giveaway. Your comments do have to be substantive (in other words, you can't just say, "I love this!" or "This stinks"), but if you comment on, say, three entries, you'll be entered to win three times. If you comment on TEN entries, you'll be entered to win TEN times, and so on. Anyone may comment, so anyone may win.

I'll announce Ms. Sarver's winners and prizes at the beginning of next week (as well as the random commenter who wins RUMP!), but until then, have at it!

(A few people have asked, so I just wanted to let our newcomers know that I always take out profanity when I'm formatting the entries. In other words, any asterisks you see in the entries are mine. I just prefer to keep things as PG-rated as possible on the blog:) )

An Agent's Inbox #30

Dear Ms. Sarver,

Zorya is seventeen, a high school senior in the Northern California Enclave. Popular at school, living a happy and comfortable life with her wealthy family, she has the best of everything: good grades, the newest smartphone, and the latest clothes.

Sitting in her history class, Zorya isn’t looking at the teacher. She’s looking across the room at David, the strange new boy in her school. She’s fascinated by his appearance, by the way he talks, and even how he eats. He’s the only one in the whole school who’s not like her. The only one who can go out in the daytime.

Zorya is one of the Oameni, now called “Nightwalkers” in polite society. They live on blood, and have great strength, resilience, and very long lives. They are not “undead” or supernatural creatures, but a living, breathing race that had been surviving in concealment for centuries, with only rumors and legends leaking into the Daywalker world.

As far as Zorya is concerned, history is just something you learn in school, but it’s something her parents lived. The Oameni were forced out of hiding fifty years ago. After a brief but bitter war with the Daywalkers, they made peace and began integrating themselves into the Daywalker world, building places like the Enclaves to live and prosper as they preferred.

Now Zorya’s easy life might be about to change. The peace between Daywalkers and Nightwalkers has lasted half a century, but not many know how fragile it is, and what it takes to defend it. Foremost among these defenders are the Aparators--the Protectors--highly-trained members of both races who work in secret and live with one foot in each world. They need bright young people who aren’t weighed down by the memories of war, the poison of prejudice, and the baggage of the old ways.

The Aparators, including members of Zorya’s own family, have plans for Zorya and David’s future that might be quite a bit different from what they imagined. Zorya is also about to discover that life outside the Enclave is quite a bit different than she imagined, and sometimes a lot more dangerous.

Zorya is contemporary YA speculative fiction, complete at 98,300 words. I have appended the first 250 words below, and would be happy to send further material at your request. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
T.B.


ZORYA

My name’s Zorya. Mother says I’m named after Zorya Vechernyaya, goddess of the Evening Star. That’s sort of cool.

There were fifteen of us in my classroom that fall--the entire high school senior class population of the Northern California Enclave. And then there was David. Named after David, I guess.

He wasn’t one of us. He was one of them.

I propped an arm on my desk and casually leaned my head on my hand, turning my face a bit to the right. That way, I could look at him without...looking like I was looking at him. Up at the front of the room Madame Stefonia was writing something on the whiteboard, so she probably wouldn’t notice right away that I wasn’t paying attention.

The moonlamps were turned up high so David could see well enough to read and write. Their eyes are really bad--I don’t think they can even see colors at night. On the other hand, I could see him just fine. Unlike me, he was watching the teacher and busily taking notes.

He was blonde, which in a room full of black hair made him stick out like a snowball on an asphalt road. He was almost a year older than me, almost a foot taller, and even skinnier. His eyes were dark brown, which was as weird around here as the blonde hair. His voice had a twinge of accent, Texas I think, and my G**, the tan. It was only the third week of school and he hadn’t been here long enough to start losing it.

An Agent's Inbox #29

Dear Ms. Sarver:

Because of your interest in contemporary YA, I believe my novel VIOLENT DELIGHTS would be a good fit for your list.

Sixteen-year-old Jenna and her boyfriend Cass think a suicide pact is the only way out. Between Jenna's friends thinking Cass is a freak, her dad running away with his skanky secretary and their parents trying to keep them apart, it's the only answer. But when the day comes, only one shot is fired.

And Jenna is left alone.

Alone and alive.

Now stuck in therapy, she begins to realize what really went down her junior year.

Why Cass killed himself.

Why she didn't when she promised she would.

And how maybe she hadn't seen Cass for who he really was until too late.

Complete at 67,000 words, VIOLENT DELIGHTS is told in non-linear chronology. I think it will appeal to fans of HEATHERS, HATE LIST by Jennifer Brown and BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver. I am currently an intern for XX agency, and an intern at Entangled Publishing, LLC. I am a regular attendee of Book Expo America, the American Library Association conference and have volunteered for the past two years at the Boston Book Festival. Per the submission guidelines, a sample is pasted below. The full manuscript can be sent upon request.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best,
R.S.


VIOLENT DELIGHTS

Day Zero

Today’s the day.

I can feel it in the pulse that sings through my veins, in the way it rings all the way up to my ears.

I drum my fingers on the desk as I hone in on the ticking hands of the clock.

G**, could it go any slower?

My eyes are instantly drawn to Cass. His dark hair shakes as he grins at me, tapping the edge of his pocket. My eyes land on the bulge there. I can’t stop my smile as he winks. Mr. Garrison coughs in our direction, but I ignore him. Nothing matters to me anymore, nothing but Cass and our plan.

I can’t wait to prove them all wrong. Just me and Cass versus the world, showing them that nothing will keep us apart. Nothing.

I flick my wrist back and forth, stopping for a moment when I realize that this is one of the last times I’ll ever feel my pulse.

The bell rings, sending everyone scattering out the door. I raise my eyebrows at Cass, but he just shakes his head. “Timing is everything, Jenna.”

As we file out into the hallway, Cass grabs my hand in his sweaty palm. How can he be nervous? He’s the one who suggested this. Is he having second thoughts? Should I be having second thoughts? My heart thumps and I swallow, trying to erase all the fear building up inside me. But when he squeezes my hand, reassurance flows through me, and all my doubts fly out the window.