Amazing Writing Contest at Miss Snark's First Victim

Must be contest season because I found another one coming up in December from

Miss Snark's First Victim

SOUNDS AMAZING!

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Finally, the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! On Tuesday, December 7, the gavel will fall on our first-ever BAKER'S DOZEN AGENT AUCTION. And you won't want to miss it!

BAKER'S DOZEN WHAT??

Auction! As in, agents placing bids. Here's how the whole thing will work:

• 40 entries will be posted on the auction block. Of these 40, 15 will be for the adult market and 25 for MG/YA.
• Each entry will consist of a log line followed by the first 250 words of the manuscript.
• Thirteen participating agents (our baker's dozen) will place bids on the entries they like. The minimum bid requirement is a request to read the first 5 pages.
• The auction will remain open for 24 hours. At the close, each entry will go to the highest bidder, at whatever "price" they bid (up to a request for a full).

It's that simple!

Some other things you need to know:

• All contest entries will be open to critique by everyone.
• Each contest entry will receive a critique from at least one of three agented authors who have agreed to participate.
• Each contest entry will receive a critique from a Special Guest Editor.

Because let's face it. It's not a given that everyone will receive an agent bid. We all know that's not how things work in the Publishing Universe. So this way, EVERY PARTICIPANT will receive something valuable.

IMPORTANT: Not every entry will be accepted. Here's the breakdown:

MIDDLE GRADE AND YOUNG ADULT, including all subgenres and literary:

I will accept 50 submissions, from which 25 will be selected for the contest.

ADULT FICTION (genres listed below):

I will accept 25 submissions, from which 15 will be selected for the contest.

ADULT GENRES INCLUDED IN THE AGENT AUCTION:

• Women's fiction
• Historical fiction
• Thriller (including historical)
• Mystery
• Romance (including historical and paranormal)
• Fantasy (including urban and all subgenres)
• Science Fiction (including all subgenres)
• Suspense
• Literary

Author Jodi Meadows will assist me with the slush pile. Her experience as an agent's assistant has honed her critical eye, so I'm counting on her expertise to help me cull through the entries (I don't relish this part, I assure you).

SUBMISSION SCHEDULE:

Submissions for the contest will be held on two separate dates in November, one for adult and the other for MG/YA. Winners will be notified after we've gone through the contest slush. Winning entries will be posted on Saturday, December 4, to give the agents time to look over them before the bidding starts on Tuesday.

ALSO VERY IMPORTANT:

• This contest is for COMPLETED, POLISHED, QUERY-READY MANUSCRIPTS only. If you're not ready to embark on the querying process, please do not enter.
• This contest is open to ALL PAST PARTICIPANTS AND WINNERS OF SECRET AGENT CONTESTS and ANY OTHER CONTEST OR CRITIQUE SESSION with THE FOLLOWING EXCEPTION: If you enter the November SA contest and then enter the same work in the Agent Auction, that work has to show a considerable amount of editing as per the feedback you received during the contest. Reason: Despite the excitement of the auction, the main thrust of this contest is CRITIQUE. And it will be a waste of time to the critters (and to you) if you haven't made substantial changes. Acceptance of these entries will be at the discretion of Jodi Meadows and me.
• This contest is open to NON-AGENTED AUTHORS ONLY.

WHO ARE THE THIRTEEN AGENTS??

Heh. Not telling! But I'll announce their names prior to the onset of the auction. Unlike our Secret Agent contests, these agents will use their real names during the bidding.
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If you have any questions, leave them as a comment on her announcement post.

GOOD LUCK to all who enter!

Contest News for Aspiring YA Authors

Here's a great contest for aspiring YA writers!

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YA Novel Discovery Contest

Get in Front of Top YA Editors and Agents with

ONLY the First 250 Words of Your YA Novel!

No query? No pitch? No problem!

Have a young adult novel—or a YA novel idea—tucked away for a rainy day? Are you putting off pitching your idea simply because you’re not sure how to pitch an agent? No problem! All you have to do is submit the first 250 words of your novel and you can win both exposure to editors, and a reading of your manuscript from one of New York’s TOP literary agents Regina Brooks.

Regina Brooks is the founder of Serendipity Literary Agency and the author of Writing Great Books for Young Adults. Brooks has been instrumental at establishing and building the careers of many YA writers, including three-time National Book Award Honoree and Michael Printz Honoree Marilyn Nelson, as well as Sundee Frazier—a Coretta Scott King Award winner, an Oprah Book Pick and an Al Roker book club selection. As an agent, she is known for her ability to turn raw talent into successful authors.

ADDITIONALLY: The top 20 submissions will all be read by a panel of five judges comprised of top YA editors at Random House, Scholastic, Candlewick,  Harlequin, Sourcebooks and Penguin. The first 100 will receive free autographed copies of Writing Great Books for Young Adults by Regina Brooks. Of the 20, they will pick the top five submissions and provide each author with commentary. These five winners will also receive a free ONE YEAR subscription to The Writer magazine. ONE Grand Prize Winner will win a full manuscript reading and editorial consultation from Regina Brooks and free 10-week writing course courtesy of the Gotham Writer’s Workshop.

Please submit all entries via the contest website at WritingClasses.com/YAPitch. One entry per person; anyone age 13+ can apply. Open to the U.S. & Canada (void where prohibited). Entries for the YA Novel Discovery Contest will be accepted from 12:01am (ET) November 1 until 11:59pm (ET), November 30th

NOVEMBER IS NaNoWriMo

In honor of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo.org)—an international event where aspiring novelists are encouraged to write an entire novel in 30 days—this contest is meant to encourage the aspiring YA author to get started on that novel by offering an incentive for completing the first 250 words.

So enter now! http://bit.ly/YAContest

GREAT PRIZES
The Grand Prize Winner will have the opportunity to submit an entire manuscript to YA literary agent Regina Brooks AND receive a free, 10-week writing course, courtesy of Gotham Writers' Workshop.

The Top Five Entrants (including the Grand Prize winner) will receive a 15-minute, one-on-one pitch session with Regina Brooks, one of New York’s premier literary agents for young adult books. They will also receive commentary on their submissions by editors at HarperCollins, Penguin, Harlequin, Random House, and Sourcebooks. In addition, they will receive a year’s subscription to The Writer magazine!

The Top 20 Entrants will receive autographed copies of Writing Great Books for Young Adults by Regina Brooks.

JUDGING

YA literary agent Regina Brooks and her team , will read all of the entries and determine the top 20 submissions. These submissions will then be read by Nancy Mercado, Executive Editor at Roaring Brook Press(Macmillan); Nicole Raymond, Editor at Candlewick; Cheryl Klein, Senior Editor at Arthur Levine Books (Scholastic); Leila Sales, Editor Viking (Penguin) Evette Porter, Editor at Harlequin and Leah Hultenschmidt, Executive Editor at Sourcebooks. These judges will whittle the top 20 down to five, and each of the five winners will be provided commentary on their submissions

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If you enter - GOOD LUCK!

Eavesdropping and Student Drivers

Driving to Gregory's soccer game the other day, Gregory and his best friend, Cody, were in the back seat discussing how their driver's training was going. Here's what I heard. 


Gregory: "I'm scared to go on the freeway because I have this problem with driving straight."


Cody:  Gasp. "Me too!"


Then they high-fived.


Mom: Glancing back nervously. "Okay, you guys should never drive next to each other."


Yeah, it was a little scary, but reminded me that for a writer eavesdropping is an essential skill.

And for the record...

Gregory drove on the freeway the next day and managed to stay in his lane. To be safe, we made sure Cody was home. 

Who Says Teenagers Aren't Mature?

Mom and I were planning our trip to New York. Due to scheduling conflicts with family stuff  which I won't mention (Gregory's soccer, Gregory's soccer, Gregory's soccer) it became apparent that a red-eye flight would be our only option - leaving around 10 pm and getting in at 5 am. The conversation went like this.


Mom: "We'll just deal with it and suffer in silence."


Me: "No, Mom. You'll suffer in silence. I'll complain."


Since I was so honest about how whiny and immature I planned to be, I think that shows a deep sense of maturity. Who's with me? 


(For the record, Mom didn't buy this argument.)

Meaningful Chats at My House

The other day Mom and Jake were having a deep serious conversation at the kitchen island - which is where all serious conversations should take place, lots of comfort food available. Here's what I walked in on.

Mom: "So it would be prudent for you to take it slow."

Jake: Pause. "Why are we talking about fruit?"   

Eavesdropping - it's great fodder for your writing.