Voting closed this morning at 9 am...thus I'm pleased to now announce the winner of the first ever Query Critique and First Chapter Contest...The Swailing by Wendy Brant. Congrats Wendy!!!
Thank you so much everyone for participating. Over 500 people voted :) I hope to do this again sometime in the future.
Wendy, please email me your query and first chapter to my query email: chquery@mcintoshandotis.com
Also, finalists please feel free to query me as well! A special shout-out to Kathleen and Shaylene!
Monday, October 21, 2013
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
And the finalists are...
Thank you everyone for participating today and posting your pitches! I have selected three entries completely at random. You'll find the finalist's entries below. Take a look and vote for your favorite using the poll at the bottom of the page. Polling is open until 9am Monday, October 21st. 1 vote per person please and anyone can vote, regardless if you entered the contest or not!
Congratulations finalists, Shaylene King, Wendy Brant and Kathleen S. Allen!!!
On a side note, I will be reviewing all the pitches and making requests. I will reply directly to your post, so keep an eye out tomorrow to see if your entry was requested :)
Congratulations finalists, Shaylene King, Wendy Brant and Kathleen S. Allen!!!
On a side note, I will be reviewing all the pitches and making requests. I will reply directly to your post, so keep an eye out tomorrow to see if your entry was requested :)
Shaylene King
LIBERTY LANE AND THE ONE-GIRL REBELUTION
MG Humor
38,500 words
American Idol meets the Bible in this modern retelling of the book of Esther as re-imagned through quirky tweenager Libery Lane O'Shea. Instead of an ancient beauty pagent, it's a cut throat singing competition and Liberty must decide between standing for truth and losing or minding her own business and winning.
Wendy Brant
THE SWAILING
YA Dystopian Romance
90,000
Spunky but naïve Ember and her desperate but cute hired guide, Finn, embark on a quest across the no-longer-united United States to find Ember's missing family. Their challenges while traveling through regions of stubborn extremism teach them a whole lot about themselves, and certainly a little something about love.
THE SWAILING
YA Dystopian Romance
90,000
Spunky but naïve Ember and her desperate but cute hired guide, Finn, embark on a quest across the no-longer-united United States to find Ember's missing family. Their challenges while traveling through regions of stubborn extremism teach them a whole lot about themselves, and certainly a little something about love.
Kathleen S. Allen
THE PIRATE’S DAUGHTER
YA historical
62,000
When her pirate mother returns to claim her, seventeen year old servant, Jenny is not interested in being trained as a pirate. Jenny’s refusal triggers the destruction of her village, so Jenny has no choice but to either go with her mother or flee.
THE PIRATE’S DAUGHTER
YA historical
62,000
When her pirate mother returns to claim her, seventeen year old servant, Jenny is not interested in being trained as a pirate. Jenny’s refusal triggers the destruction of her village, so Jenny has no choice but to either go with her mother or flee.
Which pitch is your pick?
Query and First Chapter Critique Contest starts now!
The contest is live! From 11am-6pm ET (8-3 PT) today (October 16th) I will be allowing entries. All you have to do is reply in the comments section with your name, the title, genre and word count of your project, along with a two line pitch (children's only please!). I will not be looking at anything that is sent outside of this time frame. One entry per person please!
See my last post for more details on the rest of the contest. I will be updating here and on Twitter.
Good luck everyone!
See my last post for more details on the rest of the contest. I will be updating here and on Twitter.
Good luck everyone!
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Critique and First Chapter Contest is On!
All of you have patiently been waiting for the Critique Contest that was to happen after I reached 1,000 followers. I haven't gotten there yet, but the number isn't important. I just thought it'd be a fun milestone to start the contest. That said, let's just get the contest under way now!
Mark your calendars: Next Wednesday, October 16th is the day to get in your pitches. I will create a post that morning and from 11-6 ET (8-3 PT) will be allowing entries. All you have to do is reply to that blog post in the comments section with your name, the title, genre and word count of your project, along with a two line pitch (children's only please!). I will not be looking at anything that is sent outside of this time frame. One entry per person please!
I will pick three at random and have you guys vote for your favorite on the blog. I will leave this part open for a few days, so you'll have from Thursday, October 17 until Monday, October 21 to vote.
On Monday, October 21 I will contact and announce the winner and critique their query letter and first chapter.
Also, for everyone else, I will read through all the pitches so some requests may also come out of the contest :) Keep checking my blog for updates and I'll also keep everyone informed throughout the contest as well via Twitter.
Mark your calendars: Next Wednesday, October 16th is the day to get in your pitches. I will create a post that morning and from 11-6 ET (8-3 PT) will be allowing entries. All you have to do is reply to that blog post in the comments section with your name, the title, genre and word count of your project, along with a two line pitch (children's only please!). I will not be looking at anything that is sent outside of this time frame. One entry per person please!
I will pick three at random and have you guys vote for your favorite on the blog. I will leave this part open for a few days, so you'll have from Thursday, October 17 until Monday, October 21 to vote.
On Monday, October 21 I will contact and announce the winner and critique their query letter and first chapter.
Also, for everyone else, I will read through all the pitches so some requests may also come out of the contest :) Keep checking my blog for updates and I'll also keep everyone informed throughout the contest as well via Twitter.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Critique and First Chapter Contest
Ok, everyone, if you're following me on Twitter then you already know I have decided to offer a critique/first chapter contest once I reach 1,000 followers on Twitter. I thought it'd be a fun thing to do and also a nice reward for all the amazing writers who follow me :) I have some details now, but will give more specifics when I get to 1,000!
The plan is to create a post on my blog (which I will announce on Twitter) and give you guys a few hour window to reply in the comments section with your name, the title, genre and word count of your project, along with a two line pitch (children's only please!). I will pick three at random and have you guys vote for your favorite. I will then contact the winner and critique their query letter and first chapter. Also, for everyone else, I will read through all the pitches so some requests may also come out of the contest :) I just ask that you only post during the time frame (which I will give later on) and do not post after the window has closed.
The plan is to create a post on my blog (which I will announce on Twitter) and give you guys a few hour window to reply in the comments section with your name, the title, genre and word count of your project, along with a two line pitch (children's only please!). I will pick three at random and have you guys vote for your favorite. I will then contact the winner and critique their query letter and first chapter. Also, for everyone else, I will read through all the pitches so some requests may also come out of the contest :) I just ask that you only post during the time frame (which I will give later on) and do not post after the window has closed.
Friday, August 2, 2013
Welcome Teresa Yea (thelitconnection(at)wordpress(dot)com) to the M&O family!! I fell in love with her YA gothic horror page-turner and we also really connected over our love of movies, especially scary ones!
I always say an Agent/Author relationship is a partnership. We'll be working a lot together so it's always great when you connect on a more personal level as well.
I always say an Agent/Author relationship is a partnership. We'll be working a lot together so it's always great when you connect on a more personal level as well.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
I wanted to take a moment to welcome a new writer to the M&O family: welcome aboard Suzanne Warr (http://www.suzannewarr.com./)!!!
Suzanne caught my eye with a funny, middle grade adventure story about ninja chickens---honestly, she had me at ninja chickens (love!) and when I could see how talented of a writer she was on top of that it was a no brainer. Yay!
Suzanne caught my eye with a funny, middle grade adventure story about ninja chickens---honestly, she had me at ninja chickens (love!) and when I could see how talented of a writer she was on top of that it was a no brainer. Yay!
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Hi everyone! I hope you're enjoying Summer so far and keeping cool.
Check out Adventures in YA & Children's Publishing's feature: Seven Agents Talk About the Most Common Submission Mistakes where I am one of the agents giving insight.
It's a wonderful blog that has many great articles and resources for writers. I'd recommend following them!
Check out Adventures in YA & Children's Publishing's feature: Seven Agents Talk About the Most Common Submission Mistakes where I am one of the agents giving insight.
It's a wonderful blog that has many great articles and resources for writers. I'd recommend following them!
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Happy Wednesday everyone!
First off, Agent Tips: From Querying to Accepting an Offer is now up on the blog. Check it out! I plan on doing more "Tips" articles like these from time to time. If you have any suggestions, let me know.
Second, congratultions to Ed Young and Barbara DaCosta--Nighttime Ninja (Little, Brown, 2012) won The Children's Choice Book Award for
Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year!!
Here's a list of winners: http://www.cbcbooks.org/sub-news.php?id=1005#.UZJWn76045x.twitter
Ed accepting the award: http://instagram.com/p/ZRUlw3RvrQ/#
Lastly, I had answered one of the questions from my first post, but thought I'd showcase it here for those who are interested:
Hi everyone! Thanks for your questions. I'm seeing many of you are asking about MG and the difference between it and YA-both tone-wise and theme-wise.
Think of YA as a PG-13 movie and MG as a PG movie. For middle-grade there's rarely any swearing, if so it's very minimal, no sex, minimal violence (of course there will be action scenes and people can die, but there wouldn't be any graphic description of the violence or blood/gore). There is darker MG, but it'd perhaps be more creepy or eerie than terrifying/distrubing. MG is generally age 8-11, so these are young children.
To answer GKByrne, 13-15 is in the YA age range. I wouldn't consider that MG, although something for 12-13 is on the cusp so that could have cross-over appeal. Middle grade romance is usually more "puppy love"--they sit together at lunch or hold hands once, maybe a kiss on the cheek, but it's generally very "tame."
First off, Agent Tips: From Querying to Accepting an Offer is now up on the blog. Check it out! I plan on doing more "Tips" articles like these from time to time. If you have any suggestions, let me know.
Second, congratultions to Ed Young and Barbara DaCosta--Nighttime Ninja (Little, Brown, 2012) won The Children's Choice Book Award for
Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year!!Here's a list of winners: http://www.cbcbooks.org/sub-news.php?id=1005#.UZJWn76045x.twitter
Ed accepting the award: http://instagram.com/p/ZRUlw3RvrQ/#
Lastly, I had answered one of the questions from my first post, but thought I'd showcase it here for those who are interested:
Hi everyone! Thanks for your questions. I'm seeing many of you are asking about MG and the difference between it and YA-both tone-wise and theme-wise.
Think of YA as a PG-13 movie and MG as a PG movie. For middle-grade there's rarely any swearing, if so it's very minimal, no sex, minimal violence (of course there will be action scenes and people can die, but there wouldn't be any graphic description of the violence or blood/gore). There is darker MG, but it'd perhaps be more creepy or eerie than terrifying/distrubing. MG is generally age 8-11, so these are young children.
To answer GKByrne, 13-15 is in the YA age range. I wouldn't consider that MG, although something for 12-13 is on the cusp so that could have cross-over appeal. Middle grade romance is usually more "puppy love"--they sit together at lunch or hold hands once, maybe a kiss on the cheek, but it's generally very "tame."
Friday, May 3, 2013
I wanted to take a quick moment to welcome three wonderfully talented ladies to the M&O family:
Jamie Gehin
Hilary Harwell
Rachel Pudelek
So excited to be working with you!
Jamie Gehin
Hilary Harwell
Rachel Pudelek
So excited to be working with you!
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Welcome to the first ever Neverending Stories blog post!
This blog is the place to get information on conferences I'll be attending/events to meet me at and contests I'm judging as well as what I'm currently looking for, and interview/question sessions with my clients.
I plan on doing the occasional post where I'll cover topics such as querying, finding the right agent, creating engaging first pages, tips on revising, social media presence etc.
I also will give you the opportunity to ask me questions directly and make suggestions for topics you'd like to see me cover. I'd really like this to be a fun, interactive place for writers!
On the sidelines, is a post with tips on querying Agents. I look forward to sharing that with you soon!
In honor of the first post, I'd love to hear from you: What's a topic within children's publishing you'd like to see me cover?
This blog is the place to get information on conferences I'll be attending/events to meet me at and contests I'm judging as well as what I'm currently looking for, and interview/question sessions with my clients.
I plan on doing the occasional post where I'll cover topics such as querying, finding the right agent, creating engaging first pages, tips on revising, social media presence etc.
I also will give you the opportunity to ask me questions directly and make suggestions for topics you'd like to see me cover. I'd really like this to be a fun, interactive place for writers!
On the sidelines, is a post with tips on querying Agents. I look forward to sharing that with you soon!
In honor of the first post, I'd love to hear from you: What's a topic within children's publishing you'd like to see me cover?