Friday, March 28, 2014

Nest Pitch Introductions - A pitching contest with an Australian and Croatian flavour

There’s a special Easter tradition throughout central and northern Croatia – making Easter Nests. On the afternoon or eve of Easter Saturday children go out into the garden and collect leaves, grass, twigs, with which to make a “nest” for the Easter Bunny – that’s where he places his Easter-Egg-Presents. The children go to bed that eve wondering if the Easter Bunny will like or love their nest, because the best nest gets the best and biggest eggs!

#NestPitch is based on this idea where an author’s ‘pitch’ is the nest and the Easter Treats are the Agents (SECRET BUNNY AGENT) requests. Why Croatian I hear you ask? Simple the Host Nikola Vukoja was born in Croatia.

However, as Nikola was raised in Australia, she couldn’t help but bring a little Aussie into the fold… more on that later.

So how does it work?

The submission window will open on April 1^st

For those who haven’t been watching/listening carefully, this is how #nestpitch will work. On April 1^st, you will send us your 35-word pitch + the first 300* words of your polished and ready manuscript.

NOTE; for Picture Books, it’ll be the first 100 words.

Go here for all the rules and conditions, and please follow the rules & submission guidelines.

Once Submissions are closed, our team of Slush Bilbies will pick the top 100-odd. For more information on the Slush Bilibies, go to here.

What’s a Bilby? It’s a super cute Australian Native Animal. Easter Chocolates in Australia are also made in the shape of a Bilby.

From there our Team of Bloggers, yep, I’m one of them, will each pick their favourite pitches to post on their blogs. The selected pitches will be notified via email also. For Blogger info go here.

This year there are NINE BLOGGERS, that’s 72 opportunities!

I’ve also added a list of the other Bloggers. Once the pitches are posted, the Secret Bunny Agents will hop from nest to nest and leave a chocolate treat.

For example:

Golfer Bunny has left you 1 Box of Caramel Eggs – for all the *TREATS* got to here.

You’ll need to know what Easter Treat equals what request so I suggest you save a copy of the Easter Treats request items to your desktop; or better still, print a copy off.

At the end of the Easter Egg Treats day… you will be sent a second email with a list of agents who made a request. If any agents have given specific email addresses, this will be added to your email. If not, please email to the Agency Website but remember to follow the guidelines with regard to what to write in the Subject Line.

For a quick list of the agents refer below.

But wait; there’s still more! We also have MAGIC BUNYIPS!

Magic Bunyips are Agents who, like their name-sake, will be lurking around the blogs. If they see something they like, they’ll leave you a “treat” also. What’s a Bunyip? Well here’s a little bit more of that Aussie influence. Bunyips are mythical creatures who live around billabongs (ponds). They are very shy and secretive, a little strange-looking, but not all that mean and nasty. Sorry, we can’t tell you who the Bunyips are because, frankly, we’re not sure they’re real...

Now, because we know EVERYONE likes a reward for all their hard work, there’s going to be some prizes too. The pitch that gets the most over-all requests as well as the pitch the gets the most FULL requests will each receive an AMAZON Gift Voucher.

There are three gift vouchers up for grabs:

(i) Most overall requests (for selected pitches only)

(ii) Most FULLS requested (for selected pitches only)

(iii) First correct Match the Agent to the Mask (everyone can play!)

How this works:

Each of the agents has taken on a Secret Agent Bunny Mask and your job is to identify who is wearing which Mask. (you’ll find the Agent List here.

There’s an Amazon Voucher in it for the first correct answer. For more info, go here.

Remember all of the above winners will receive an AMAZON Gift Card

Go to here for more information.

Now to the Bunny Masks, and in no particular order Da-Daaaah!!!

(1) COCKTAIL BUNNY

(2) BOOKWORM BUNNY

(3) GIANT BUNNY

(4) LAPTOP BUNNY

(5) MAD SCIENTIST BUNNY

(6) SOCCER BUNNY

(7) JUGGLER BUNNY

(8) NINJA BUNNY

(9) ARTIST BUNNY

Oh, and don’t panic if you don’t see your genre or category, these are TOP agents who work for AWESOME agencies, eight agencies to be accurate, trust me, their colleges are watching, and waiting, and intending to leave treats under these Bunny Masks.

List of Agents:

Pam Van Hylckama – C0-founder /Agent - Foreword Literary

Melissa Jeglinski- Agent - The Knight Agency

Pooja Menon- Agent - KimberleyCameron & Associates

Gina Panettieri – President - Talcott Notch Literary

Jordy Albert – Co-founder & Senior Agent - The Booker Albert Literary Agency

Camilla Wray – Agent - Darley Anderson Literary (UK)

Sarah Negovetich – Junior Agent/PR Team Leader - Corvisiero Literary Agency

Cate Hart – Junior Agent - Corvisiero Literary Agency

Dr. Uwe Stender – President - TriadaUS Literary Agency

For Agent bio’s go here.

Finally, here’s a schedule, so you don’t miss any of the fun:

Mar 30^th Post on Twitter submission window to open April 1^st

Apr 1^st -2^nd Submission windows open 1^st April NOON USA EST - 11.59am 2^nd April USA EST

Apr 3^rd -10^th 1^st Round – Slush Bilbies select top 120 nests*

Apr 12^th Unmask the Agent window open NOON USA EST until 8.00pm Apr 12^th USA EST.

Apr 11^th -15^th 2^nd Round – Nest Bloggers pick their 72 nests*

Apr 16^th3rd Round – Nest Bloggers post their top choices

Apr 17^th-19^th 4th Round Secret Bunny Agents stock *nests

Easter Sun.

Stocked *nests* revealed/Secret Bunny Agents identities revealed

Apr 21^st Unmask the Agent Winner Revealed

Apr 30^th Additional surprise revealed!

Nest Bloggers:

Brooke Powell

Kimberly P. Chase

Jeffe Kennedy

Tina Moss

Amanda Foody

Dannie Morin

Sharon M Johnston

Sharon Bayliss

Stacey Nash

Slush Bilbies:

Emily Mead The Loony Teen Writer

Susan Nystoriak

Cassandra Page

Louise (Lou) Gornall

Heather Bryant

Katy Upperman

Stacey Trombley

Saturday, March 22, 2014

#PitMad Twitter Party Workshop

First up, thank you so much to everyone who gave Team Smartie support during Pitch Madness. It was such an awesome ride again. You can see my team listed on this post here. Please read each one and give them some love.

Now, if you plan of entering the Pitch Madness Twitter After Party, aka #PitMad, then you need to hone your pitches. Yes, PITCHES. Don't just have one. You can post twice an hour so vary it up.

If you'd like help you can find it here on my blog, but here's the rules:

You need to post your full query and your draft pitches (130 words including #PitMad).
You MUST comment on at least two other entries to provide feedback.

So, here's an example of the process.

My query for my YA SciFi Dirty Rainbow:

Cyborgs freak out Jenna McBride. Her mother and

her bestie, Hetty, assure her cyborgs are simply

mindless drones used for labour since men became

extinct. As the Australian head-of-state, Jenna's

mother should know.

When Hetty has a horrific fall, cyborgs take her

mangled body away for treatment. Her mother

attempts to alter Jenna’s memories to ensure she

doesn’t learn the truth: Hetty will never return. With

the help of her neighbour, Ashley, Jenna

investigates why her mother would take such a

drastic measure. But Ashley has a secret too; she’s

on Australia’s most-wanted list. Falling for Jenna is

hazardous for their health.

In her search for answers, Jenna discovers the

grisly truth about Hetty’s disappearance, cyborg

creation, and her mother’s role in it all. But she also

puts Ashley in danger. Jenna must choose: family

loyalty, or save Hetty and Ashley from the woman

who raised her.

And here's a sample of just some of the pitches I created from that.

Your mum should love you, care for you and protect you.

Not erase your memory and arrest your girlfriend. But

Jenna's does #PitchMAS SciFi

Cyborgs shouldn't freak out Jenna. They are just mindless

drones created for labour after the extinction of men, right?

#PitMad YA SciFi (Scored a request)

Extinction of men didn't stop women. They perfected

procreation, developed drone cyborgs for

labour&created Utopia, at a price. #PitMad YA

When Jenna finds her GF's name on her mum's

undesirable list with a capture order she must decide

between family and love #PitMad YA SciFi (Scored a

request)

Men extinct? No worries, use drone cyborgs for manual

labour. Mindless androids devoid of feelings. Then one

waves at Jenna #PitMad YA SciFi

Don't be an imperfect. Don't be scared of cyborgs. Don't

fall for the country's no.1 wanted when your mum is the

leader #PitMad YA SciFi

Another example using my debut novel SLEEPER.

The Blurb:

A new heart should mean new life, not a living nightmare.

Mishca Richardson’s life is at an all-time high after her heart transplant. With new boyfriend, Ryder, the two of them have the perfect summer romance. Even the nightmares that have been plaguing her sleep since her operation can’t dull the high she’s on.

Things start to unravel as Mishca develops superhuman abilities. She does her best to hide them so as not to end up a science experiment in a lab. But she can’t ignore the instant attraction she experiences when she meets her university professor, Colin Reed.

Torn between the blossoming love and the obsession, Mishca must decide if she wants Ryder or Colin. But the organization responsible for her changes and her connection to Colin, is moving to secure Mishca so that she can be the weapon he always intended her to be. If Mishca can’t resist her programming she’ll have a lot more to worry about than romance.

Some potential Twitter pitches:

After a heart-transplant Mishca turns into regular superhuman. She tries to hide them, but how long until her maker finds her #PitMad NA

A new heart should mean new life, not a living nightmare. Mishca is about to find out just how evil love-at-first-sight can be. #PitMad NA

Mishca discovers love-at-first-sight is no fairytale, it’s a living nightmare, when she falls for her uni professor. #PitMad

So add your query and draft pitches below and I'll give you some feedback. Don't forget to Pay-It-Forward with others.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Pitch Madness Clue edition...Game On

It’s been a long week of reading through all the amazing pitches. Our wonderful readers have narrowed the slush, and your game hosts have chosen sixty pitches for the game. For those of you not familiar with Pitch Madness, it’s a contest where agents compete in a game against their peers for pitches. This time the game is

. To meet the slush readers, agent insiders, and the blog teams go here. And you find out more about the amazing agents playing the game on this post here.

Welcome to the Study!

You are cordially invited to a private gathering at the Pitch Madness manor, where your presence would be most welcome in the solution of a murder most foul. Villainous deeds abound as the culprits are killing to get their hands on the most valuable pitches. At the bottom of each pitch's post, there will be a clue to solving the dastardly deed for that pitch. The agent who out sleuths the other agents will win the request. The agents guess what weapon was used in the crime to make a request. All requests are partials, but if more than three agents try to solve the crime, the request becomes a full. To find out more about how the game will be played go to this post here.

Scroll down to view all 15 picks for my blog.

Comments are set to moderation so the agents won’t see their competitors’ bids. Please no comments other than those from the agents. After the game we’ll release the moderation and let you all comment on the entries. We'll reveal the agent requests on March 20 at 12:00PM (that's noon) EDT.

Please note: We will email submission details for all requests by the agents. After the contest, agents will make requests to us for the pitches they loved and did not win.

Congratulations to those who’ve made it into the game! For those who haven’t made it (and whoever else wants to join us), we are hosting a Twitter Pitch Party on March 25 from 8AM to 8PM EDST on the hashtag #PitMad.

How do you twitter pitch? You can find all the details here. Go to the other hosts’ blogs to read all the winning pitches …

Brenda Drake

Sharon Johnston

Summer Heacock