Announcing Pitch Wars Agents!

Pitch Wars ... the agents!

Are you ready for this? We have 16 incredible agents vying for our Pitch Wars team manuscripts. We're so excited to see what pitches they fall in love with, and what teams will win the coveted Pitch Wars Most Requested Manuscript title. 

And, in no particular order, here are the agents...

Louise Fury

L. Perkins Agency

Twitter: @louisefury 

Louise is seeking teen Sci-Fi and Young Adult horror.  She's also on the hunt for deep, dark contemporary YA and select Middle Grade fiction with a literary feel--it must be realistic and thought provoking and the characters must be authentic and original. Louise loves horror and romance, especially Regency and Victorian.

Jessica Sinsheimer

Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency

Twitter: @jsinsheim 

Jessica is seeking Literary, Women's, Middle Grade, and Young Adult Fiction.

Natalie Fischer Lakosil

Bradford Literary Agency

Twitter: @Natalie_Lakosil 

Natalie is looking for commercial fiction, with an emphasis in children’s literature (from picture book-teen), romance (contemporary, paranormal and historical), and upmarket women’s fiction. Specific likes include historical, multi-cultural, paranormal, sci-fi/fantasy, gritty, thrilling and darker contemporary novels, and middle grade with heart. 

Pam van Hyckama Vlieg 

Larsen Pomada Literary Agents

Twitter: @BookaliciousPam

Pam represents young adult and middle grade children’s book authors, and adult romance authors. 

Jordy Albert

The Booker Albert Agency

Twitter: @bluedragonfly81 

Jordy is on the look out for Romance (contemporary, historical/Regency, and paranormal). YA contemporary/historical or dystopian, sci-fi/fantasy with romance elements. She's also open to YA GLBT within those genres. She'd love to see unique, well-developed plots featuring time travel, competitions, or travel.

Andrea Somberg 

Harvey Klinger Inc.

Twitter: @andreasomberg 

Andrea's looking for the following categories: Fiction; literary, commercial, womens fiction, romance, thrillers, mystery, paranormal, fantasy, science fiction, young adult, middle grade.

Jennifer Mishler

Literary Counsel

Twitter: @literarycounsel 

Jennifer is seeking Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult Contemporary, Young Adult Literary, and Young Adult Historical. 

Suzie Townsend
New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc.
Twitter: @sztownsend81 

Suzie represents adult and children's fiction. In adult, she's specifically looking for romance (historical and paranormal), and fantasy (urban fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, epic fantasy). In Childrens' she loves YA (all subgenres) and is dying to find great Middle Grade projects (especially something akin to the recent movie SUPER 8).

  

Victoria Marini
Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents, Inc. 

Twitter: @LitAgentMarini

Victoria is looking for literary fiction, commercial fiction, pop-culture non-fiction, and young adult. She is very interested in acquiring engaging Literary fiction and mysteries / suspense, commercial women's fiction (romantic suspense, sci-fi, fantasy), and Young Adult (contemporary, sci-fi/fantasy, thriller and horror ).

Kerry Sparks

Levine Greenberg Literary Agency, Inc. 

Twitter: @Kerry_Sparks

Kerry is looking for Young Adult and Middle-Grade fiction, both commercial and literary. She tends to shy away from werewolves, zombies, faeries, and the like, but she’ll read anything with a fresh voice and compelling characters. She is particularly keen on contemporary YA, quirky MG, books with a strong cinematic element.  

Drea Cohane 

The Rights Factory Literary Agents

Drea is currently seeking: fiction, memoir, crime, non-fiction and YA. Her roster consists of British, American, and Canadian clients. International talent is welcome. 

Katie Shea

Donald Maass Literary Agency 

Twitter: @AgentShea

Katie specializes in fiction and memoir, especially women’s fiction and commercial-scale literary fiction, and realistic YA.  She is most interested in coming-of-age stories and stories of unique relationships.

 Elise Capron

Dijkstra Literary Agency

Twitter: @EliseCapron 

Elise is interested in serious character-driven literary fiction, well-written narrative nonfiction, and short story collections. (Note: She is not interested in Fantasy, young-adult/middle-grade, picture books, romance, and sci-fi.) She aims to work with writers who have a realistic sense of the market and their audience.

Jodell Sadler

Sadler-Caravette Children's Literary 

Twitter: @picturebklunch

Jodell is interested in YA, MG (especially funny) , fiction and nonfiction, book proposals, and picture books. She will also coach writers wanting to self publish.  She simply loves a well-paced story that moves her between joy and tears.

Corvisiero Literary Agency 

Brittany and Michelle are teaming up to look for Adult, YA, and MG manuscripts. 

 Michelle Johnson
Twitter: @MJsRetweet 

Michelle’s published one novel, The Footloose Killer, and edited several others for publishing houses and private clients. She also is a Script/Story consultant on an independent film in Halifax, NS, Canada, and enjoys working closely with writers to help them develop their voice and craft.

Brittany Howard
Twitter: @brittanydhoward

When reading, Brittany  loves to be introduced to new and interesting people and places. She looks for strong voice, good storytelling, and fascinating relationships between characters—romantic or otherwise. More than anything, she loves when a book surprises her.

There's just one more day to get your applications in for Pitch Wars. Make sure to check out this post here to get all the details.

Details for the Small Press Pitch Contest and Agents Interview Questions

We’ve come to our final contest in GUTGAA this year! I can’t believe we’ve already been at this for a month. I’m so happy for those of you who’ve already gotten requests from agents! And if you haven’t yet, there is still today and tomorrow:) AND if you end up getting no requests, I can’t reiterate enough how very subjective this all is. If writing is your passion, keep at it! There a ton of agents in this world and my contest only had 12.

Speaking of those 12, I have the final two parts of their interview questions up. If you didn’t get to read part 1 go HERE and do it now. Some really good nuggets of advice there:)

Go HERE for part 2
Go HERE for part 3

Now for the rules of the GUTGAA Small Press Pitch Contest...
PLEASE READ BELOW IF YOU PLAN ON ENTERING THE CONTEST. YES, IT IS A LOT, BUT YOU MAY BE DISQUALIFIED IF YOU DON'T FOLLOW THE RULES.

First and foremost, you must sign up on the GUTGAA Master List HERE if you want to join in the contest.

New Email Address
If you were around for the Agent Pitch Contest, you know the email for submitting is not my regualar email. You will be sending your query and first 150 words for the small press pitch contest to gutgaa(at)gmail(dot)com. Easy enough, right?

How to Submit Your Agent Pitch Contest Entry
There will be two entry windows: 11:00 AM EST and 4 PM EST. You will send your query and first 150 words of a COMPLETED manuscript to the email address: gutgaa(at)gmail(dot)com. Each window will close after I have 50 entries, making a final total of 100 entries. I will email you with the words "you're in" if you made it. I know you will be excited, but, so I can stay organized, please don't respond to the email. You are only allowed ONE entry and the entry can only have ONE query and ONE first 150 words. If your 150 words ends in the middle of a sentence, you may go to the end of that sentence.

Format for the Small Press Pitch Contest Entry
I’m not going to be a huge stickler on font and size of the font. I know that emails can change that without you wanting it to. BUT I am going to be a stickler on the format of your entry. I hate to do it, but if you do not follow the guidelines, I will have to pass on your entry. Also, once your entry is in, I cannot change anything on it so make sure it is exactly the way you want.

Please send me your entry single spaced, email style (meaning do not indent, please single space, and only one space between paragraphs. This makes the process so much easier for me and the blog hosts.

Email Subject Line must read:
GUTGAA Small Press Pitch Contest: YOUR NAME
(This is SOOOOO important. This is another one I will have to disqualify if it isn’t this way.)

Body of the email:
TITLE
GENRE - ex: YA sci-fi  (I need it this specific for grouping purposes please)
WORD COUNT

QUERY:

I need the meat of your query here. Again, no "Dear Agent" or "I choose you because". Also, no word count or credentials (please see example below).  

First 150 Words:

I need the first 150 words of your completed manuscript here (please see example below).

Example entry submission:

EMAIL SUBJECT LINE: GUTGAA Small Press Pitch Contest: DEANA BARNHART

Ripple
YA sci-fi
99,000

Query:

Kali Addison turns seventeen the day nukes annihilate her dad's time machines. Her birthday presents? A dead family and the truth--time travel has nothing to do with science and everything to do with her.

Since her dad's work has turned to ash, it seems Kali is now a freaking time machine, and those responsible for ridding the world of them know she's even more. Too bad Kali doesn't. Maybe the oh-so-hot guy, who shows up every time she's catapulted into the past can help her figure things out. But knowing the truth would mean facing a life she forgot for a reason.

Now she must decide what's more important: Continuing to live in the dark, or embracing the danger of who she's always been. If she chooses wrong. Time is up. For everyone.


First 150 Words:

I hate time travel.

It's the one absolute thought I have in my head when I crane my neck to take in the massive Clandestine, in all its bland glory. The Commoners appear just as dull as the timeport with their solemn expressions and outfits the color of dirty snow.

Today, I match them.

Preparation for a journey through time doesn't allow for distractions like color or commotion. There are no windows here either. So no way to enjoy the cool spring breeze or hear the birds chirp me a happy birthday song.

Nope.

I get to be serenaded by the whispers of curious onlookers wondering why I'm travelling with the rest of the public, being jostled about from line to line, until we make it to the time dock I choose.   

I guess I have that on my side. My loser friends, Sage, Greer and Flip, are letting me pick the "when" we travel to as my birthday present.

Monday, the entries that made it in will be divided into groups of 25 and will be posted on host blogs. My blog will be one and the other hosts awesome enough to help me out are:
Tara Tyler
Juliana Brandt
Ink in the Book (Talynn)
Covert 1st Round Judge Names:
The first round of the contest will be making it past the judges that I introduced to you HERE. They will be prowling the entries under secret identities. So if you see the names below on any of the entries, pay close attention.

Lone Star
Indigo
Honey Badger
Escape Artist
Writerlicious
Mystery Science Theater Geek
Rose Cardinal
Kinderella
Saphira
The Purple Pixie
Slave to the Muse
Manchee
Jammy Dodgers
Goldilocks
Marlowe
I’m Just Sayin’

I think that’s it! If you want to gab it up on Twitter, the hashtag we’ve been using and will continue to use is: #GUTGAA

See you there!

Agent Q&A, Prizes and Nothin' but Love

Today is one of those massively beautiful Fridays!
First, it's my 10 year anniversary! Yay for me and hubs:)
Second, we've got 50 FINALISTS picked and going on to the agent round of the GUTGAA Pitch Contest! Yay again!
Third, the ever impressive agents participating in the above pitch contest have answered some of your burning questions!
Fourth, it's PRIZE day and we're doubling up!!!!
Fifth- The Small Press Pitch Contest Editors, Small Presses and 1st Round Judges were announced this week. Check them out HERE and sign up for the contest on the master GUTGAA list HERE

Whew, that was a mouthful and we're just getting started:)

A quick note to those who didn't make it into the agent round...
Win or lose, I can't tell you how impressed I was with the entries this year. Sadly, I was buried under planning the small pitch contest, badgering the hosts/judges and sending/answering endless emails to be able to comment on them. Please know, however, that I am your number one fan. I got gushy and starry eyed over many that I read. For those who didn't win, I can't tell you enough, how massively subjective this industry is. This contest is one tiny blip in the writing world. If you only received one vote, some negative comments, or not many comments at all, don't take it to heart. Apply the knowledge I hope you've gained and move on, more prepared than before. If writing is your passion, DON'T GIVE UP!

FINALISTS
The 10 moving on from my blog are:
#1 Night of the Living Zom-Peas
#4 The Artsy Fartsy Spider
#7 The Only Infinite
#12 Tomboy Rules: Blossoms are Always Prepared
#17 Harold - The Kid Who Ruined My Life and Saved the Day
#19 Duet with the Devil's Violin
#25 Rules of Rodentia
#28 Everdream
#29 Endangered
#37 Feral Kingdom
If you want to check out the winners on the host blogs, check out the links below:
Adult: Jaye Robin Brown
YA 1: Falling For Fiction
YA 2: Robin Weeks
YA 3: Cassie Mae
Congrats to you all! you can find all 50 entries here Monday morning as we start the Agent Round!

Now, who doesn't want to get inside an agents head?
Lucky us, we were able to do just that! And, their answers were so fabulous, I’ve had to divide them into three parts. So be on the lookout for more Q&A's to come! Note: More than one agent answered these questions. The agents name will follow their answer.

1) If your book doesn’t fit perfectly into one genre, how do you recommend categorizing it? Ex: pick a genre vs. naming them all.

I’d recommend being as specific as you can without going overboard. You want to convey that you’ve written a complex novel without sounding directionless or like you don’t know the market. Smart, concise phrasing can be helpful here. For example, “Contemporary YA romance with a speculative twist” is technically three genres (contemporary, romance, speculative), but it’s not unwieldy. “My YA contemporary/romance/sci-fi/horror novel,” on the other hand, is a bit of a mouthful. Both of those phrases could be describing the same book, though. Molly Jaffa

I say, pick the genre that makes you the most happy! Does saying it's one thing or the other make the pitch just work better, feel easier, spice up your life a little? Use that one.
Tricia Lawrence

I’d much rather have an author pick the closest genre or category for their work rather than claim it’s “everything.” Labeling it with a genre helps us know how we should read your query. For example, if your main character’s best friend is a talking dolphin and you don’t specify if it’s a fantasy or magical realism, I’ll be very confused. If you’re not 100% accurate, it’s not a huge problem, but a writer should be able to know the difference between science fiction and fantasy, or literary fiction vs. thriller. If they’re way off, then that’s usually a sign they haven’t read enough in the genre they write. Sarah LaPolla

In general, I think it's best to pick a genre. In YA, I think there's a little more flexibility than adult in terms of genre-bending. But the key to genre is just giving the reader the right idea of what to expect. Hannah Bowman

Pick a genre. For example, if you have a mystery/fantasy, decide which of those is the main focus. Is it about a murder that happens to involve magic, or vice versa? Sara D’Emic

This happens a lot with romance. I usually tell people to call it historic with strong romantic elements, or with rom elements, etc. SF with rom elements, etc. Linda Glaz
I would definitely suggest trying your best to pick a genre, or even two, that fits your work most closely. It’s a little off-putting to receive a query for a sci-fi, fantasy, adventure, romance aimed at a middle grade audience with adult potential. Jennifer Azantian

I like to name them all so that I get a good idea what the novel is all about. Brittany Booker

2) How do agents and editors go about selecting the queries that make the cut or queries that don't - beyond the blatant ones where the agent/editor could tell the submitter didn't even bother to see if their story fit the submission preferences specific to that agent/editor?

I always notice to see if I LIGHT UP! Does the query interest me? How do I know? (I can force myself to be interested in a lot of things, so I pay attention to how I react the most.) Am I stoked by a query? That's the one I'm going to pay attention to. And for authors, a hint: see answer to #1 above; if it makes you really happy, chances are it just might make an agent and editor react the same way. Tricia Lawrence

First I look at genre to see where the author sees this novel going on a bookshelf. Then I read a query for the premise of the book. If it doesn’t stand out as original or interesting to me, it’s a pass. If I like the premise, then I look for hints in the query about what type of characters I’ll be reading about (or just the main character). I need to be interested in the main character, regardless of how strong the premise is. Then it just comes down to the writing. If I like the sample pages, I request more. If I don’t like them enough, it’s a pass. Sarah LaPolla

For me, a lot rides on the concept: often books come in with a premise that just doesn't interest me, that I wouldn't want to read an entire book about. Partly because I represent a lot of fantasy/sci-fi which are very concept-driven genres, that's my first question. And, of course, the writing in the query has to be clear and appealing: you're really telling a story in your query, and if you can't tell the story in 250 words in a way that makes me want to keep reading, you probably can't tell it in 100,000 words in a way that will make me want to keep reading. That sounds harsh--and it's certainly not a perfect system--but it's nearly always true. Hannah Bowman

Stellar writing stands above all else even with small errors, etc, If your characters pop off the page with reality, that truly helps and a plot that is unpredictable unless it’s purist romance and then we all have a clue what’s going to happen. Linda Glaz

The first thing I look for is a solid story with good writing. If it passes this round, it goes into the subjective land of intuition. Did I fall in love with this character and voice? Do I think this story is unique and fascinating enough to continue holding my attention the whole way through? If the answer to both questions is, “yes”, I request more. Jennifer Azantian

For me, if the author does not read the guidelines on how our agency prefers our queries that is a turn off. I like queries that reflect the way the novel is written. Formal is a good thing to a point, but I like to be talked to by a person and not a robot. Also, too long of a query is a turn off. Do not bore the agent to death either; just tell us what you’re working on quickly and simple. Brittany Booker

3) I would love to hear some feedback on querying agents if you've first had an offer from a small press. How should this be stated in the query? As long as nothing is promised to the small press, is it OK to mention the offer in the query, even if you're unsure you want to work with them?

I definitely want to hear about that offer. It does not make me LIGHT UP just to know about it, but if I do LIGHT UP from your query, I'm gonna want to know about it. Tricia Lawrence

As long as nothing is promised to the small press, is it OK to mention the offer in the query, even if you're unsure you want to work with them? I think it's OK to mention, but realize that that's not necessarily a selling point for an agent--we may want the freedom to submit your project elsewhere, without being bound by a tight deadline before the small press offer expires. Hannah Bowman

I would. Take an opportunity to toot your horn. But always be honest about it. (easy to check) Linda Glaz

Yes, I would definitely mention the offer. It’s good for agents to know that there is interest. I’d even go as far as saying it gives you a leg up. Jennifer Azantian

Yes, an offer is creditability to the agent. It let’s us know that a press or an editor saw your work as worthy. It also gives the author a platform that is good to have. Brittany Booker

4) What do you think distinguishes historical YA from adult historical? Is it length (both wordcount-wise and timeline-wise), theme, adult situations and responsibilities vs. more light-hearted ones? If it involves something like a 15-year-old getting engaged, a 17-year-old getting married, or an 18-year-old having a baby or serving as a soldier, would that take it out of the YA category and into the adult category, even if the characters are depicted as young people where it really counts and even though such things were considered normal for teens as recently as 40-50 years ago?

I think age is a huge indicator, but there's also how the writing feels. Sometimes the ages can be say wildly wrong, but the writing voice feels YA or feels more adult. Tricia Lawrence

I think if the voice feels authentically like a teenager and the storyline deals with issues that modern teenagers can relate to (like making major choices on your own, deciding who you want to be, dealing with your family's/culture's expectations, etc.) a historical novel can be YA even if the main character has adult responsibilities. But it's also entirely possible for a novel with a sixteen-year-old protagonist to be more of an "adult" book, just because the teen experience isn't central to the story. Hannah Bowman

If it involves something like a 15-year-old getting engaged, a 17-year-old getting married, or an 18-year-old having a baby or serving as a soldier, would that take it out of the YA category and into the adult category, even if the characters are depicted as young people where it really counts and even though such things were considered normal for teens as recently as 40-50 years ago? Jennifer Azantian

Adult and YA fiction to me are separated by the age and voice of the character. If the voice talks like a twenty five year old and is sixteen that isn’t good. The author needs to think like a 16 year old or a 25 year old. I think if the story is set in a time and the child gets married it should be considered on how old the child is. Basically, I think it’s the age and voice. Brittany Booker

5) Do you see much of a market for more old-fashioned, quieter, more character driven books instead of fast-paced, plot-centric books?

Yes, I do. Wounded narrators are the arrows that hit the mark; seriously, I can't resist a character who is walking around with a unique worldview because of what she's been through. Sometimes the plot or the character seem superimposed and I really believe it's because the writer needs to take a closer look at how the character is reacting to the plot world. If there's smoke, the character should be coughing, choking, seeing life through a haze, for example. Tricia Lawrence

I’m not sure how “old-fashioned” character-driven pieces are. They’re still very much present, and if you look at books like The Hunger Games and Harry Potter, you’ll find that beneath their high concept premise, they are about characters. There are been plenty of books with similar settings that haven’t reached as wide an audience, and I think a huge part of that is because audiences connected with these characters in a way that went deeper than their role in the plot. In that way, I don’t think it matters how high concept or “quiet” a book’s premise is as long as you write compelling characters your reader will want to follow anywhere.
Sarah LaPolla

Yes, as along as "old-fashioned" doesn't mean "antiquated writing style and cliche plot." There's plenty of room for character driven novels, but you have to make sure that your ideas are fresh and that it's still entertaining. Sara D’Emic

Again, if the story is stellar, it will have appeal. Linda Glaz

The short answer is no. Books aimed for older audience yes, maybe. However, books aimed for children, YA or Adults below their 50s I would say since the universe has changed and there is entertainment on demand, the action needs to be continuous. This is to keep the reader’s interest. Brittany Booker

Though I look at the market, I don't always follow it for submissions and trends. If a book speaks to me, I would be willing to take it on even if it's not considered in "vogue" at the moment. I'm always game for starting a market trend! Sarah Younger

6) What's hot in middle grade right now and what agents would love to see?

Boy adventure. Funny, funny, funny. I  want to see boy and girl characters that seem as if we know them already in a situation that seems fresh and new—because of the character.
Tricia Lawrence

I do not represent middle grade because of the fact it’s hard for me to determine what that age wants. Middle grade is a hard age for children. If I were representing it I would say something that shows a child that it’s okay to be their selves and that’s the only way to be happy. But, of course it would have to be full of an adventure that the main character goes through to come to that conclusion. Brittany Booker

And to shut this fabulous Friday down, let's give away some prizes!

Today we're giving away prizes for two winners,

Prize 1: 

Autographed copy of Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Boys

Journey's of Wonder Anthology by Leslie Rose, Ian Kezsbom and Lisa Gail Green

Prize 2:

50 Page critique by 1st round judge extraordinare, Melodie Wright

Journey's of Wonder Anthology by Leslie Rose (see above)

And the winners are!!!!

Prize 1: Alexandra Hayman

Prize 2: Dana Edwards

CONGRATS!!!!!