Tera, one of my incredible betas took it upon herself to make a mock cover for BLUE LOTUS. It is SO pretty!
Thank you so much to all my beta readers and critique partners. You guys are incredible!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
I love my betas and critique partners!
I meant to do this a while ago, but I was about to go on vacation and forgot.
Tera, one of my incredible betas took it upon herself to make a mock cover for BLUE LOTUS. It is SO pretty!
Thank you so much to all my beta readers and critique partners. You guys are incredible!
Tera, one of my incredible betas took it upon herself to make a mock cover for BLUE LOTUS. It is SO pretty!
Thank you so much to all my beta readers and critique partners. You guys are incredible!
Friday, September 24, 2010
Fabulous Friday - Agent Interview - Suzie Townsend of Fine Print Literary
Today's Fabulous Friday - Agent Interview's fabulous agent is Suzie Townsend from Fine Print Literary Management in New York. You can take a look at her biography on the Fine Print Lit website here.
SWW: How did you get into agenting?
ST: I was actually teaching high school English and feeling a little disillusioned. Meanwhile my younger sister graduated college and started working in textbook publishing. I kept hearing about everything she did and thinking "I would like that." So I picked up and moved and took an unpaid internship at FinePrint to learn the industry. And I loved it. Luckily they loved me too.
SWW: What genres do you rep?
ST: I represent children's books - middle grade and YA. And I'm also representing adult genre fiction - particularly all subgenres of romance, fantasy, science fiction.
SWW: A query comes across your in-box that has you jumping out of your seat to request the full ASAP. What is it about?
ST: For me, it's less plot (what it's about) and more character and voice. I can say I'm reading all YA science fiction, thriller, and horror queries extra closely because I'm really looking for those right now. And the same with adult paranormal romance and adult urban fantasy. But I'm first and foremost into character and I request fulls based on pages. I read the query and then jump down to check out the pages. There I want a great opening line - something that hooks me and shows voice.
SWW: What are your pet peeves for queries?
ST: When authors tell me about myself. I know me - and it's always frustrating when they say something about me that's wrong. Or when someone sends a query that tells me to go to their website without saying what the book is about. Then there's the do not mention phrases, it's frustrating to here things like "Oprah will love this!" or "This manuscript will be an awesome movie!" or "By signing me, I'll make you a millionaire!" It all points to unrealistic expectations or lack or research, and all I really want to know is the book.
SWW: The query rocked - so you requested a partial/full. Now you're passing. What happened between query and pages?
ST: A lot of things can happen here. Maybe the plot unraveled somewhere, or character motivations are missing, or the first 50 pages are really polished and then the rest of the ms doesn't feel edited (it happens). Or it's just good.
And this is one of the hardest things about publishing. There really aren't a lot of bad manuscripts. There are some, but mostly what I request and see are manuscripts that are good but just not great. In today's market they need a wow factor or something that doesn't let me forget about the characters and their story long after I've finished reading. The projects I end up signing are the ones that all my colleagues in the office know about because when I finish I'm stuck on those characters for days and I talk about them all the time.
So then the question is how do you give a manuscript the wow aspect, and part of that will always be subjective, but strong characters with strong voices do it every time.
SWW: What do you want to see more of in your submission pile?
ST: I would love an upmarket women's fiction manuscript with some kind of unique commercial hook (like Time Traveler's Wife), high concept literary YA and middle grade (like How I Live Now and When You Reach Me), adult paranormal romance or urban fantasy that breaks out of the typical genre tropes, and a dark romantic fantasy (like The Black Jewels Trilogy or The Kushiel Series).
SWW: Do any of your clients have books coming out soon?
ST: Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers just came out on September 14th! Allison Pang's Brush of Darkness comes out January 25th. Hannah Moskowitz's Invincible Summer is out April 19th, and Arlaina Tibensky's And Then Things Fall Apart is out in June.
ST: Eternal Brush of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost
SWW: Salty or sweet?
ST: Sweet
SWW: If you could give writers querying you one piece of advice, what would it be?
ST: Take. Your. Time.
SWW: Do you twitter?
ST: @sztownsend81 and confessionsofawanderingheart.
SWW: If you were stranded on a desert island with only one book to read, what is it?
ST: I can't be stranded with my kindle and it's 3G? If I have to choose, I'm going to be logical and choose the book that I've reread the most The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. (Ender's Game, Time Traveler's Wife, and several manuscripts I've read in the past couple months are close behind though.) Really I'm just not sure if I could live with only one book.
Thank you Suzie Townsend from Fine Print Literary Management for participating in this interview. If you are interested in querying Suzie please follow her submission guidelines that can be found here.
SWW: How did you get into agenting?
ST: I was actually teaching high school English and feeling a little disillusioned. Meanwhile my younger sister graduated college and started working in textbook publishing. I kept hearing about everything she did and thinking "I would like that." So I picked up and moved and took an unpaid internship at FinePrint to learn the industry. And I loved it. Luckily they loved me too.
SWW: What genres do you rep?
ST: I represent children's books - middle grade and YA. And I'm also representing adult genre fiction - particularly all subgenres of romance, fantasy, science fiction.
SWW: A query comes across your in-box that has you jumping out of your seat to request the full ASAP. What is it about?
ST: For me, it's less plot (what it's about) and more character and voice. I can say I'm reading all YA science fiction, thriller, and horror queries extra closely because I'm really looking for those right now. And the same with adult paranormal romance and adult urban fantasy. But I'm first and foremost into character and I request fulls based on pages. I read the query and then jump down to check out the pages. There I want a great opening line - something that hooks me and shows voice.
SWW: What are your pet peeves for queries?
ST: When authors tell me about myself. I know me - and it's always frustrating when they say something about me that's wrong. Or when someone sends a query that tells me to go to their website without saying what the book is about. Then there's the do not mention phrases, it's frustrating to here things like "Oprah will love this!" or "This manuscript will be an awesome movie!" or "By signing me, I'll make you a millionaire!" It all points to unrealistic expectations or lack or research, and all I really want to know is the book.
SWW: The query rocked - so you requested a partial/full. Now you're passing. What happened between query and pages?
ST: A lot of things can happen here. Maybe the plot unraveled somewhere, or character motivations are missing, or the first 50 pages are really polished and then the rest of the ms doesn't feel edited (it happens). Or it's just good.
And this is one of the hardest things about publishing. There really aren't a lot of bad manuscripts. There are some, but mostly what I request and see are manuscripts that are good but just not great. In today's market they need a wow factor or something that doesn't let me forget about the characters and their story long after I've finished reading. The projects I end up signing are the ones that all my colleagues in the office know about because when I finish I'm stuck on those characters for days and I talk about them all the time.
So then the question is how do you give a manuscript the wow aspect, and part of that will always be subjective, but strong characters with strong voices do it every time.
SWW: What do you want to see more of in your submission pile?
ST: I would love an upmarket women's fiction manuscript with some kind of unique commercial hook (like Time Traveler's Wife), high concept literary YA and middle grade (like How I Live Now and When You Reach Me), adult paranormal romance or urban fantasy that breaks out of the typical genre tropes, and a dark romantic fantasy (like The Black Jewels Trilogy or The Kushiel Series).
SWW: Do any of your clients have books coming out soon?
ST: Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers just came out on September 14th! Allison Pang's Brush of Darkness comes out January 25th. Hannah Moskowitz's Invincible Summer is out April 19th, and Arlaina Tibensky's And Then Things Fall Apart is out in June.
 |
| Buy it here |
 | ||
Preorder here
|
SWW: What are you currently reading? (Other than fantastic client manuscripts and slush)
ST: Eternal Brush of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost
SWW: Salty or sweet?
ST: Sweet
SWW: If you could give writers querying you one piece of advice, what would it be?
ST: Take. Your. Time.
SWW: Do you twitter?
ST: @sztownsend81 and confessionsofawanderingheart.
SWW: If you were stranded on a desert island with only one book to read, what is it?
ST: I can't be stranded with my kindle and it's 3G? If I have to choose, I'm going to be logical and choose the book that I've reread the most The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. (Ender's Game, Time Traveler's Wife, and several manuscripts I've read in the past couple months are close behind though.) Really I'm just not sure if I could live with only one book.
Thank you Suzie Townsend from Fine Print Literary Management for participating in this interview. If you are interested in querying Suzie please follow her submission guidelines that can be found here.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Another great contest
Hi guys!
The Guide to Literary Agents blog is having another installment of the "Dear Lucky Agent" contest. This time it is for Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy writers (ahem - right up my alley! :) ) Here's the link if you want to enter: http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/Sixth+Dear+Lucky+Agent+Contest+Paranormal+Romance+Urban+Fantasy.aspx
The Guide to Literary Agents blog is having another installment of the "Dear Lucky Agent" contest. This time it is for Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy writers (ahem - right up my alley! :) ) Here's the link if you want to enter: http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/Sixth+Dear+Lucky+Agent+Contest+Paranormal+Romance+Urban+Fantasy.aspx
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
I'm a finalist!!
I entered @4kidlit's pitch to query contest, and I've made it to the top 20 finalists! http://childrenspublishing.blogspot.com/2010/09/pitch-to-query-contest-top-20-finalists.html
Now Sara LaPolla at Curtis Brown has the difficult task of deciding the 3 winners from the pool of finalists. So my chances are 1:6.7. Pretty good odds! *Fingers crossed*.
If you are interested in reading my query, rather than hunting for it on the contest blog, here it is for your enjoyment. I'd love to hear your comments! If you are an agent interested in reading a partial or full, please email me at swatterswrites@gmail.com.
Dear Ms. LaPolla;
When seventeen-year-old Anna Caerulea's father invites her to excavate a tomb with him in Egypt over the summer, she sees it as the first step in her path to becoming an archaeologist, which she has dreamed of since she was a child. Instead, she finds a different dream come true – Alex, her father’s intern, is not only so attractive he makes her heart ache, he’s the subject of every dream she had, long before she met him.
Together they discover a secret: their lives have been entwined in a millennia-long war between Anubis and Osiris. Anna and Alex must locate Osiris’ tomb before the death god is unleashed on Egypt, or their past is the only thing they’ll have together.
BLUE LOTUS is a paranormal romance targeted at young adults and is complete at 90,000 words.
I am a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a Graduate certificate in Epidemiology from (redacted).
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Shelley Watters
Now Sara LaPolla at Curtis Brown has the difficult task of deciding the 3 winners from the pool of finalists. So my chances are 1:6.7. Pretty good odds! *Fingers crossed*.
If you are interested in reading my query, rather than hunting for it on the contest blog, here it is for your enjoyment. I'd love to hear your comments! If you are an agent interested in reading a partial or full, please email me at swatterswrites@gmail.com.
Dear Ms. LaPolla;
When seventeen-year-old Anna Caerulea's father invites her to excavate a tomb with him in Egypt over the summer, she sees it as the first step in her path to becoming an archaeologist, which she has dreamed of since she was a child. Instead, she finds a different dream come true – Alex, her father’s intern, is not only so attractive he makes her heart ache, he’s the subject of every dream she had, long before she met him.
Together they discover a secret: their lives have been entwined in a millennia-long war between Anubis and Osiris. Anna and Alex must locate Osiris’ tomb before the death god is unleashed on Egypt, or their past is the only thing they’ll have together.
BLUE LOTUS is a paranormal romance targeted at young adults and is complete at 90,000 words.
I am a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a Graduate certificate in Epidemiology from (redacted).
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Shelley Watters
Monday, September 20, 2010
Last day to enter in CA Marshall's free edit contest
Hey guys!
Today is the last day to enter in CA Marshall's contest to win a free edit. Go here to enter today! http://www.camarshall.com/2010/09/freelance-editor-ca-marshalls-free-edit.html
You have until midnight ET. Good luck!!
Today is the last day to enter in CA Marshall's contest to win a free edit. Go here to enter today! http://www.camarshall.com/2010/09/freelance-editor-ca-marshalls-free-edit.html
You have until midnight ET. Good luck!!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Fabulous Friday - Agent Interview - Weronika Janczuk
Today's Fabulous Friday - Agent Interview's fabulous agent is Weronika Janczuk from D4EO Literary Agency.
SWW: How did you get into agenting?
WJ: I was involved for a bit as an intern at Flux, the YA imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide in MN, where I observed many different processes on the publishing end of things at work. I knew then that I wanted to work in publishing, but I felt that the opportunity to agent was better suited for my personality—I like being aggressive and proactive in my search for writers and, if I represent them, in my advocacy of their interests. I also really liked the idea of having an individualized experience as an agent; I pick my clients, I help shape their books, I work my own hours, etc., without being concerned about the inter-house politics at large publishing houses or the significant amount of non-editorial work editors often must do. After Flux, I interned with a set of different agents, including Bob Diforio at D4EO, where I was promoted to agent in late July.
SWW: What genres do you rep?
WJ: You can find a simple list of all the genres I represent here (http://www.weronikajanczuk.com/p/agent.html) and here (http://www.weronikajanczuk.com/p/what-i-read.html) is a more detailed breakdown of specific interests in terms of story content and writing style.
SWW: A query comes across your in-box that has you jumping out of your seat to request the full ASAP. What is it about?
WJ: I’m going to go about this question a bit literally and talk a bit about my newest client, Debra Orton, who’s written a sexy commercial love story. What really nabbed my interest were, first, the pages and, second, the titles in her comparative pitch: THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE meets 2012 with a pinch of MEN ARE FROM MARS. That really piqued my interest and, based on the pages, worked. I get really excited about commercial hybrids like her project that are tight and promising.
SWW: What are your pet peeves for queries?
WJ: Anything that isn’t a one-page-or-less breakdown of the plot in a way that entices me to read on—in other words, anything that drags, anything that is arrogant or presumptuous or assumptive, anything that is untrue, anything that doesn’t fit in with what I represent, anything overdone, anything with a limited scope, anything without good writing, etc. (As a note, I tend to read the pages first, as I note below, so with the pages—in many of the cases, the first few sentences—I’m missing the feeling of being in the hands of a talented and confident storyteller.)
SWW: The query rocked - so you requested a partial/full. Now you're passing. What happened between query and pages?
WJ: I request the first ten pages with the query and I tend to read the pages before I read the query, so in most cases it’s a matter of me not loving the writing and being super excited about possibility representing the manuscript in question. There have been some instances in which the manuscript’s fallen apart structurally or it’s clear that the author hasn’t streamlined the entire manuscript on the sentence or paragraph level. Sometimes the novel strays from the premise/question established early on. Very often I find that the exact reason is unidentifiable—it’s a lot of different small factors that make the manuscript imperfect for me as a reader and agent (and this isn’t always a reflection on the writer’s skill).
SWW: What do you want to see more of in your submission pile?
WJ: I am very, very hungry for a good romance and thriller right now, and I would also really like to see some fresh sci-fi and a literary horror. I wouldn’t mind taking on an additional fantasy client or two. Or, of course, a writer who’s written anything that is extraordinary—in any genre—that I can jump on first.
SWW: Do any of your clients have books coming out soon?
WJ: I’ve not yet made a sale, so no, but good things are brewing behind the scenes and I hope to have at least one client’s book out no later than the spring of 2012. But whether or not this happens depends entirely on a lot of factors beyond my control.
SWW: What are you currently reading? (Other than fantastic client manuscripts and slush)
WJ: A lot of YA (which, as a note, I don’t represent right now)—I’m catching up on the big titles out there right now (PARANORMALCY, PERSONAL DEMONS, THE DUFF) and I’m also reading some romance and a lot of non-fiction. I just finished a historical analysis of the Salem witch trials. I’m also halfway through Julia Glass’ I SEE YOU EVERYWHERE. (That’s a bit of a random mesh, but that’s how I am as a reader.)
SWW: Salty or sweet?
WJ: Depends entirely on what we’re talking about and my mood. Right now, at this very second, salty.
SWW: If you could give writers querying you one piece of advice, what would it be?
WJ: Your query isn’t done yet. And neither is your manuscript. Set both aside for a few weeks and come back with a fresh—and, most importantly, objective—perspective and fix again.
SWW: Do you twitter?
WJ: I do tweet, yes—@WeronikaJanczuk.
SWW: If you were stranded on a desert island with only one book to read, what is it?
WJ: I’d probably go with A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN by Betty Smith. (Ask me this tomorrow and you’ll get a different answer.)
Thank you Weronika Janczuk from D4EO Literary Agency for participating in this interview. If you are interested in querying Ms. Janczuk please follow her submission guidelines that can be found here.
Stay tuned for next week's exciting installment of Fabulous Friday - Agent Interview where I will be interviewing the fabulous Suzie Townsend from Fine Print Literary Agency!
http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/d4eo/
SWW: How did you get into agenting?
WJ: I was involved for a bit as an intern at Flux, the YA imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide in MN, where I observed many different processes on the publishing end of things at work. I knew then that I wanted to work in publishing, but I felt that the opportunity to agent was better suited for my personality—I like being aggressive and proactive in my search for writers and, if I represent them, in my advocacy of their interests. I also really liked the idea of having an individualized experience as an agent; I pick my clients, I help shape their books, I work my own hours, etc., without being concerned about the inter-house politics at large publishing houses or the significant amount of non-editorial work editors often must do. After Flux, I interned with a set of different agents, including Bob Diforio at D4EO, where I was promoted to agent in late July.
SWW: What genres do you rep?
WJ: You can find a simple list of all the genres I represent here (http://www.weronikajanczuk.com/p/agent.html) and here (http://www.weronikajanczuk.com/p/what-i-read.html) is a more detailed breakdown of specific interests in terms of story content and writing style.
SWW: A query comes across your in-box that has you jumping out of your seat to request the full ASAP. What is it about?
WJ: I’m going to go about this question a bit literally and talk a bit about my newest client, Debra Orton, who’s written a sexy commercial love story. What really nabbed my interest were, first, the pages and, second, the titles in her comparative pitch: THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE meets 2012 with a pinch of MEN ARE FROM MARS. That really piqued my interest and, based on the pages, worked. I get really excited about commercial hybrids like her project that are tight and promising.
SWW: What are your pet peeves for queries?
WJ: Anything that isn’t a one-page-or-less breakdown of the plot in a way that entices me to read on—in other words, anything that drags, anything that is arrogant or presumptuous or assumptive, anything that is untrue, anything that doesn’t fit in with what I represent, anything overdone, anything with a limited scope, anything without good writing, etc. (As a note, I tend to read the pages first, as I note below, so with the pages—in many of the cases, the first few sentences—I’m missing the feeling of being in the hands of a talented and confident storyteller.)
SWW: The query rocked - so you requested a partial/full. Now you're passing. What happened between query and pages?
WJ: I request the first ten pages with the query and I tend to read the pages before I read the query, so in most cases it’s a matter of me not loving the writing and being super excited about possibility representing the manuscript in question. There have been some instances in which the manuscript’s fallen apart structurally or it’s clear that the author hasn’t streamlined the entire manuscript on the sentence or paragraph level. Sometimes the novel strays from the premise/question established early on. Very often I find that the exact reason is unidentifiable—it’s a lot of different small factors that make the manuscript imperfect for me as a reader and agent (and this isn’t always a reflection on the writer’s skill).
SWW: What do you want to see more of in your submission pile?
WJ: I am very, very hungry for a good romance and thriller right now, and I would also really like to see some fresh sci-fi and a literary horror. I wouldn’t mind taking on an additional fantasy client or two. Or, of course, a writer who’s written anything that is extraordinary—in any genre—that I can jump on first.
SWW: Do any of your clients have books coming out soon?
WJ: I’ve not yet made a sale, so no, but good things are brewing behind the scenes and I hope to have at least one client’s book out no later than the spring of 2012. But whether or not this happens depends entirely on a lot of factors beyond my control.
SWW: What are you currently reading? (Other than fantastic client manuscripts and slush)
WJ: A lot of YA (which, as a note, I don’t represent right now)—I’m catching up on the big titles out there right now (PARANORMALCY, PERSONAL DEMONS, THE DUFF) and I’m also reading some romance and a lot of non-fiction. I just finished a historical analysis of the Salem witch trials. I’m also halfway through Julia Glass’ I SEE YOU EVERYWHERE. (That’s a bit of a random mesh, but that’s how I am as a reader.)
SWW: Salty or sweet?
WJ: Depends entirely on what we’re talking about and my mood. Right now, at this very second, salty.
SWW: If you could give writers querying you one piece of advice, what would it be?
WJ: Your query isn’t done yet. And neither is your manuscript. Set both aside for a few weeks and come back with a fresh—and, most importantly, objective—perspective and fix again.
SWW: Do you twitter?
WJ: I do tweet, yes—@WeronikaJanczuk.
SWW: If you were stranded on a desert island with only one book to read, what is it?
WJ: I’d probably go with A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN by Betty Smith. (Ask me this tomorrow and you’ll get a different answer.)
Thank you Weronika Janczuk from D4EO Literary Agency for participating in this interview. If you are interested in querying Ms. Janczuk please follow her submission guidelines that can be found here.
Stay tuned for next week's exciting installment of Fabulous Friday - Agent Interview where I will be interviewing the fabulous Suzie Townsend from Fine Print Literary Agency!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Enter to Win a Free Edit from CA Marshall
Sorry for the blog spam everyone, but the fabulous freelance editor CA Marshall is having a contest on her blog for a free substantial edit. You can enter every day until September 20th. And I REALLY want to win! http://www.camarshall.com/2010/09/freelance-editor-ca-marshalls-free-edit.html
If you have a completed manuscript - you should go enter, or better yet, hire her!
Also (This is not part of the contest requirements)- if you're not following her on twitter at @CA_Marshall, you totally should. She has lots of query advice (she's also an intern at a literary agency). I love her #queries sessions. I always learn so much from her. And she's just overall a really nice person to follow on twitter!
If you have a completed manuscript - you should go enter, or better yet, hire her!
Also (This is not part of the contest requirements)- if you're not following her on twitter at @CA_Marshall, you totally should. She has lots of query advice (she's also an intern at a literary agency). I love her #queries sessions. I always learn so much from her. And she's just overall a really nice person to follow on twitter!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Chance for a free edit from CA Marshall
If you haven't already - head over to CA Marshall's blog and enter for a chance to receive a free substantial edit. http://www.camarshall.com/2010/09/freelance-editor-ca-marshalls-free-edit.html
She is a freelance editor, so if you're not in the mood to compete for a free edit, you can always hire her. She also provides free query help! (And her comments are gold. Trust me.)
She is a freelance editor, so if you're not in the mood to compete for a free edit, you can always hire her. She also provides free query help! (And her comments are gold. Trust me.)
Monday, September 6, 2010
Amazing Amazing Amazing contest by CA. Marshall (Did I mention AMAZING?)
My dear twitter friend CA Marshall is having a contest over on her blog. She's a freelance editor and the grand prize is a FREE substantial edit. You can enter here.
And if you don't win, you can hire her as a freelance editor. Her rates are very reasonable, and she's a great person too!
And if you don't win, you can hire her as a freelance editor. Her rates are very reasonable, and she's a great person too!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)