Awesome August for Savvy Authors!

Here is the list of August pitch events from Savvy Authors! It's free and all you have to do is log onto Savvy authors website the day of the event and leave a comment with their required information.

Today is:

Jul 27

Pitch your book to Nicole Resciniti of The Seymour Agency On Friday July 27th, agent Nicole Resciniti of The Seymour Agency will be taking FIRST PAGE pitches from 9 a.m. to midnight EST. Nicole would like to see the first page of your (completed) manuscript. For submissions, she is open to romance, inspirational fiction, mysteries/thrillers, women’s fiction, YA, MG, picture books, sci-fi/fantasy, UF and horror. No poetry, screenplays or erotica. Very select on nonfiction, and only with authors who have an established platform. For more information... {more info} Duration: 1 day. FREE/FREE (Query/Pitch, Editor/Agent)

And here is the list of August Pitch Contest on Savvy Authors too! Get your queries ready, August is going to be a busy month!

August 2012 Pitch Events
Aug 21	Pitch your book to Char Chaffin, Editor at Soul Mate Publishing **New** Editor, Char Chaffin of Soul Mate Publishing will be taking three line pitches on the savvy blog on Tuesday, August 21st, from 9 a.m to midnight EST. ... {more info} Duration: 1 day. FREE (Query/Pitch, Editor/Agent)		(Pitch Your Book)
Aug 21	Pitch your book to Cynthia Brannam, Editor at Soul Mate Publishing **New** Editor, Cynthia Brannam of Soul Mate Publishing will be taking three line pitches on the savvy blog on Tuesday, August 21st, from 9 a.m to midnight EST. ... {more info} Duration: 1 day. FREE (Query/Pitch, Editor/Agent)		(Pitch Your Book)
Aug 21	Pitch your book to Mary Sue Seymour, Agent at The Seymour Agency **New** Literary Agent and Founder Mary Sue Seymour of The Seymour Agency will be taking three line pitches on the savvy blog on Tuesday, August 21st, from 9 a.m to midnight EST. Mary Sue is seeking inspirational romance, secular romance, and inspirational nonfiction.... {more info} Duration: 1 day. FREE (Query/Pitch, Editor/Agent)		(Pitch Your Book)
Aug 22	Pitch your book to April Chapman, Editor at Ellora's Cave **New** Editor, April Chapman of Ellora's Cave will be taking three line pitches on the savvy blog on Wednesday August 22nd from 9 a.m to midnight EST. April wants to see Romance, all sub-genres are welcome.... {more info} Duration: 1 day. FREE (Query/Pitch, Editor/Agent)		(Pitch Your Book)
Aug 22	Pitch your book to Andrea Somberg, Agent at Harvey Klinger Agency **New** Agent Andrea Somberg of Harvey Klinger Agency will be taking three line pitches on the savvy blog on Wednesday, August 22nd, from 9 a.m to midnight EST. Andrea seeks: Fiction- literary, commercial, womens fiction, romance, thrillers, mystery, paranormal, fantasy, science fiction, young adult, middle grade. Nonfiction- memoir, narrative, popular science, pop-culture, humor, how-to, parenting, self-help, lifestyle, travel, interior design, crafts, cookbooks, business, s... {more info} Duration: 1 day. FREE (Query/Pitch, Editor/Agent)		(Pitch Your Book)
Aug 23	Pitch your book to Alicia Condon, Editor at Kensington **New** Editor, Alicia Condon of Kensington Publishing will be taking three line pitches on the savvy blog on Thursday, August 23rd, from 9 a.m to midnight EST. Alicia is looking for smart, fun single title contemporaries, small town romance, and interesting, unusual historical romance. ... {more info} Duration: 1 day. FREE (Query/Pitch, Editor/Agent)		(Pitch Your Book)
Aug 25	Pitch your book to Jeff Seymour, Editor at Carina Press **New** A pitch event like no other! Five Carina Press Editors will be taking three line pitches on the savvy blog on Saturday, August 25th, from 9 a.m to midnight EST. ... {more info} Duration: 1 day. FREE (Query/Pitch, Editor/Agent)		(Pitch Your Book)
Aug 25	Pitch your book to Rhonda Helms, Editor at Carina Press **New** A pitch event like no other! Five Carina Press Editors will be taking three line pitches on the savvy blog on Saturday, August 25th, from 9 a.m to midnight EST. ... {more info} Duration: 1 day. FREE (Query/Pitch, Editor/Agent)		(Pitch Your Book)
Aug 25	Pitch your book to Alison Dasho, Editor at Carina Press **New** A pitch event like no other! Five Carina Press Editors will be taking three line pitches on the savvy blog on Saturday, August 25th, from 9 a.m to midnight EST. ... {more info} Duration: 1 day. FREE (Query/Pitch, Editor/Agent)		(Pitch Your Book)
Aug 25	Pitch your book to Mallory Braus, Editor at Carina Press **New** A pitch event like no other! Five Carina Press Editors will be taking three line pitches on the savvy blog on Saturday, August 25th, from 9 a.m to midnight EST. ... {more info} Duration: 1 day. FREE (Query/Pitch, Editor/Agent)		(Pitch Your Book)
Aug 25	Pitch your book to Deb Nemeth, Editor at Carina Press **New** A pitch event like no other! Five Carina Press Editors will be taking three line pitches on the savvy blog on Saturday, August 25th, from 9 a.m to midnight EST. ... {more info} Duration: 1 day. FREE (Query/Pitch, Editor/Agent)		(Pitch Your Book)

Savvy Authors Pitch Event!

EVERYONE, PLEASE GO NOW AND PITCH YOUR BOOK...here is all of the information straight from the Savvy Authors website!

 

"Trying to catch the eye of an agent? Well, now's your chance! Peter Knapp of the Park Literary Group will be reading one line pitches today.

SUBMISSIONS REQUESTED: Peter will be reading pitches today on behalf of all the agents at Park Literary group. Park Literary Group is looking for upmarket commercial women's fiction, popular science nonfiction and young adult. On our wish list are: multigenerational women's story with epic sweep; a great crime novel in the vein of Tana French or Gillian Flynn; pretty much any great popular science; smart, fresh young adult fantasy and paranormal in the vein of Maggie Stiefvater and Laini Taylor; middle grade with magic realism in the vein of Rebecca Stead. We definitely have a taste for smart, commercial books!

Until midnight EST July 23rd, members will have an opportunity to post their one line pitch (one short sentence) as a comment to this post. Results will be posted within the next two weeks. Check back to see if you've scored a request!

Who can enter?
Contest is open to all registered members of Savvy Authors. Not a member? JOIN TODAY! Basic membership is FREE! All entries must be from registered members. Entries posted anonymously (by non-members) will be removed. If anyone has any questions, please contact our resident pitch wrangler, Jus. JusAccardo@savvyauthors.com

The rules are simple:
1. Post your one line pitch in the comments section of this article after logging into the website, include at the top the Title, Genre, & Word Count.
2. Make sure your manuscript falls within the genres Peter listed above!
3. Only post if your manuscript is ready now!
4. Check back to see who Peter picked. Results posted within the next two weeks. (Minimum of one, no maximum!)
5. Limit two pitches per member.
6. Be sure to include your name, title and word count of your manuscript, and genre.


Please note, all pitches that do not follow the directions chance being removed without notice. This includes posting more than two pitches and pitches that are longer than one short sentence.
Peter Knapp
Peter joined the Park Literary Group in July 2011, where he provides logistical and creative support to staff and clients. He enjoys reading a wide variety of works, with a strong interest in middle-grade and young adult fiction. Prior to joining Park Literary, he served as a story editor at Floren Shieh Productions, where he consulted on book-to-film adaptations for Los Angeles-based film entities. He graduated from New York University with a B. A. in art history.

The Park Literary Group
A full-service literary agency, The Park Literary Group represents fiction and nonfiction with a boutique approach: an emphasis on servicing a relatively small number of clients, with the highest professional standards and focused personal attention. With an in-house foreign rights department—headed by Abigail Koons, our Executive Director of Foreign Rights—the agency takes a global approach to every client’s career. Park Literary also has strong relationships with film and television co-agents in Los Angeles, and benefits from the expertise of Emily Sweet, our Executive Director of Business Affairs and Client Promotions, and Rachel Bressler, our Executive Director of Corporate and Publisher Relations. In whole, our extensive team brings to bear excellent resources and a wealth of experience in exploiting all rights associated with an author’s work and career. For more information about our agency and its authors, please visit www.parkliterary.com."

Past Due Book Review

I recently had the opportunity to read a book that was published by one of my blog followers, Elizabeth Seckman called Past Due.

Jenna Austin has a secret that she’s been keeping for fifteen years and the only person who knows is buried six feet under North Carolina soil and isn’t telling a soul.

But, when Tres Coulter bumps into Jenna at a gas station all of the emotions and feelings that Jenna felt fifteen years earlier are still intact. She loved Tres Coulter when she was sixteen and she loved him now. She tries to avoid Tres as much as possible but when fate (in the form of the towns people) force the two together, neither one of them can resist the physical connection.

Jenna is confused, why had Tres returned after all this time? Did he come back to take away her son Tanner? Or was it just coincidental that he showed up out of nowhere? Jenna, against her better judgment meets with Tres where they make sweet passionate love and he confesses that he has loved her every second of his life and Jenna begins to think that he will understand why she had to do what she did.

When she lets out the secret that had been haunting her for over fifteen years, Tres learns that he has a fifteen-year-old biological son that was raised by another man. But, he wants answers and Jenna can give him none that can satisfy his hunger. When the truth unwinds she realizes that everyone including her father, her dead sister, her deceased husband, and Tres’ mother had a part in keeping the two from their happily-ever-after.

Now, Tres wants to be a part of Tanner and Jenna’s lives even after all the secrets and lies. But, can Jenna give up her stubborn I-don’t-need-a man-attitude long enough to win Tres back? You will have to read and find out.

Past Due is an adult romance novel that I really enjoyed reading. At first it was a little slow for my taste but after the third or so chapter I dived into the tragedy of young Jenna’s life and flew right through the content.

It’s a beautifully written story and I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptions. Some agents think less is more and in this case I completely disagree. I loved all of them from the sandy dunes to Jenna’s wretched house. I loved it.

The plot wasn’t as strong as it could be but I really enjoyed the relationship between the characters. It felt so right, so natural and wasn’t repeats of books I’ve read before.

I’m not a huge face on 3^rd Person POV; but Mrs. Seckman pulled it off. Head hopping is a difficult task to master but it seems that she conquered it. It was a great story and from her acknowledgments page I understand that Past Due is her sister’s story. Color me romantic. She did a very good job with Past Due and I am glad to have had the opportunity to read it.

Bared to You

I recently read Bared to You by Sylvia Day. It is an erotic romance novel; think Fifty Shades of Grey meets a porno movie. As if Fifty Shades of Grey was PG13, ha!

It takes place in New York City where twenty four-year-old marketing assistant Eva and Billionaire lover boy Gideon, meet and instead of having any tact at all he comes straight out and ask Eva if he can f**k her. Maybe not quite like that but he wants to know if she is being banged. Like I said, no prelude to love just a wam-bam-thank you mam type of relationship.

But, Eva has a secret that could be unleashed into newspapers at any moment and she is forced to tell Gideon the truth about her life which includes the horrible incident of sexual molestation from her step brother when she was ten years old. Gideon takes the news better than expected but he has a past of his own that he refuses to tell Eva about and when Eva wakes up to him on top of her and straddling her, she knows, that his emotional scars run deeper than hers.

I liked this book because it’s more fantasy than anything, it’s just not realistic to screw in a limo all the time…I mean, wouldn’t you get carpet or leather burn? And as emotionally screwed up as they both are I hate the way Eva always submits to Gideon. She doesn’t argue with him and they pretty much solve every issue in their relationship with sex. Their personal insecurities are annoying and the sex is the only thing that moves the plot forward…I only say this because I kept reading just to see where the next place would be where they would do it. Sad but true.

I liked Fifty Shades of Grey because it had a story line other than sex but it was written poorly. But, this novel was written tastefully well but lacked the emotional connection of the characters. I will be reading the next one in the series that is being released in October called Reflected in You, only to find out what Gideon has hidden in his closet. Other than that, I would give it a 3.5 out of five stars.

Great Expectations!!

I intended to write every day this week but I have been going full blast since Monday. It has been non-stop chaos. Tomorrow is Friday and I only have 1,400 words to show for the week. It’s sad but true. And I have come to a horrible realization that some of us, though our intentions are good, we will never commit the time and effort it takes to become a writer. I can only influence and motivate myself; I can’t influence and motivate the world.

But, I have been doing lots of research about the setting and prior crime wars in the area from the 1900’s and some profiling of the mob members and identifying some key characters in the novel. I’m hell bent on getting some words down and luckily for me I have one more week to do it. And for those of you who don’t know me…the first novel Jennifer and I wrote was finished in less than fourteen days. If I keep pounding away, I will be there in no time.

Okay, I’m off to listen to some Enya music and pound away on the keyboard. Hakuna Matata and I hope everyone is staying cool in this hot weather.

Learning from Rejection...

Rejection just sounds negative. Most of the time it is, rejection hurts!  I was rejected by the editor from Random house. When I saw a response from her in my inbox, I was holding my breath. After re-reading her rejection of my work, my eyes fill up with tears. One or two may have slipped out. But, then I thought about it. I am the heroine in my own life’s story. I like to read and write about strong women, so I better be one.  Sometimes it sucks to be strong. I want to crawl under the sheets and cry. I didn’t do that.  I never have in the past and I am not going to start that now!

I am using her rejection as fuel to my fire. She gave some great feedback about my work. It is hard hearing that your chapters have no zing to it. It is comforting to know that she really liked my storyline and my synopsis. I already knew I hooked her when I pitched my book idea to her in the first place. Now, I have to work on adding some pizzazz to my writing style.

I sat down and took a hard look at my first chapter. I know what I need to do. I need to make some big editing changes. I believe in my work and I agree with the editor that I have a great story line, I can do this!

Happy Friday everyone!

Importance of a Social Platform

This time last year I learned about the importance of a social platform from literary agent Sara Megibow of Nelson literary agency. The question was asked if having an online platform influences her to take a client. She said yes. Mostly because authors are firstly writers and then marketers and without an online presence it makes it difficult for first time authors to get good sales.

Most authors have several different types of online social media links including:

1)      Facebook

2)      Twitter

3)      LinkedIn

4)      Blog

5)      Website

I’d say having three of the five is good, four of five is better, and five out of five is great. But, readers like consistency. If you have to set a schedule, say you post online on Monday’s and Wednesday’s on Facebook and twitter (which you can link your twitter to your Facebook account so you really only have to post it once on twitter and it will feed to Facebook) and it doesn’t have to be anything significant and then you blog on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s. That is still four days of contact with your readers. It’s important.

And if you are anything like me and you aren’t computer savvy enough to make your own website, then go online to premade sites that are free. Yes, I said FREE. I have my account setup with Weebly.com which is an online free website and if you wish to purchase the domain name then you can. But, I prefer free therefore my account is http://staceyhaysbooks.Weebly.com .

When you all become professional authors you will thank me.

Just a reminder that I will be neglecting the blog next week, I WILL NOT BE POSTING ON TUESDAY OR THURSDAY, or any other day. I will be out of town on vacation and will not have computer access, unfortunately the beach calls. But, do not forget to follow me on twitter on Monday, July 2^nd at #BIC. Where you can follow my progress of my new criminal mystery novel and the stages of preplanning. If I am not mistaken, Tina will be joining me. Until then, adios amigos.

Query Letter Examples!!!

Found these awesome links on the Query Agent Connect Website...if you are anything like me then you need to see an ACTUAL query letter before you'll know how to write one.

• Check out "Examples of Successful Queries" group in our social networking community, AQ Connect. It's updated with new, successful queries almost on a daily basis!
  
• Chuck Sambuchino's "Guide to Literary Agents" blog offers successful query examples from agents and their clients.
  
• Query Shark blog, in which literary agent, Janet Reid, gives snarky advice on how to write a query letter to brave newbie participants willing to swim with The Shark.
  
  In addition, here are a few AQ success stories of newbie writers — just like you — who used our AQ query letter advice to draft their query and snag their agents, who snagged them book deals with major publishers!
  
• New York Times Best-selling author and AQ success story, Allison Winn Scotch's query letter for her debut novel, DEPARTMENT OF LOST AND FOUND.
  
• New York Times Best-selling author and AQ success story, Heather Brewer's query letter for her vampire series, THE CHRONICLES OF VLADIMIR TOD.
  
• Published Author and AQ user, Catherine Delores's query letter for historical epic, THE MISTRESS OF THE REVOLUTION.

Goal Achieved!!

I finished the re-write of my Young Adult paranormal, mystery, romance, DREAMER. I am now working on tweaking the synopsis and query letter.

This book has a special place in my heart. I started writing it when I was living in Kentucky and I was homesick. It takes place in my hometown of Troy, Michigan. A lot of my characters are based on my family and friends.  As I was writing it, I could see in my mind the characters so clearly.  The main character Rory is very much like me as well as a few of the girls I wrote as her friends.

I am looking forward to re-reading it again and editing.  I hope that others will enjoy reading what I have written as well!

Query Letter: DREAMER

I am pleased to submit for your consideration my completed young adult mystery romance, DREAMER. In this 70,000 word tale of secrets, unique abilities, and young love, never been kissed Rory Adair is torn between twin brothers while trying to solve the disappearance of four missing women, by following the clues of her nighttime dreams that always come true.

The only time that Rory ever told anyone that her dreams come true, she was six years old. Finding out that her Grandfather had died was not something she wanted to relive twice. After ten years of her dreams coming true night after night, she finally begins to dream of something exciting and new.  Rory begins to dream about a handsome stranger. This stranger turns out to be identical twin brothers who have just moved to Troy, Michigan from Virginia. The Wyatt twins take an instant liking to Rory.

After Rory’s best friend Stacey becomes the fourth missing woman, Rory hopes to put her dreams to good use. She teams up with Bryce Wyatt who has a secret ability of his own. Together they use their abilities, intellect, and gut feeling to find the missing women.  Rory must sort through her feeling for the Wyatt brothers and find her friend before she loses them all.

DREAMER is not just another love triangle story. The characters unique abilities and mystery bring a magical twist to teenage love. DREAMER will appeal to readers who enjoy the thrilling mystery and intrigue of NANCY DREW along with the romance of VAMPIRE DIARIES.

If you would like to further consider DREAMER, a full manuscript will be sent upon request.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

COMMENTS?? THOUGHTS??

BUTT IN CHAIR!!!! THE #BIC TWITTERTHON MOVEMENT!

On the 23^rd, I leave for Daytona Beach and I will be back by the 29^th. Yay for me! I finally get a vacation! On another note, the two following weeks after my vacation I am off work for our summer shutdown…that consists of two uninterrupted weeks of reading and writing. I plan on getting up every morning at seven to write on my newest SNN.

I have come to a realization about something…I know several writers including some of my favorite authors who realize that they can’t write a novel unless they use the BIC method, BUTT IN CHAIR!

They are getting sidetracked by social media and their own personal agendas instead of sitting their butts in a chair and writing. You can’t push someone to write…all you can do is allow them to have a “self-realization moment” when they realize that they are failing themselves and are standing in the way of their own success. They are procrastinating for no reason. If I didn’t have a job, or kids, or other important priorities I would be sitting my butt in a chair and getting this novel completed this week. But as is, not everyone has this advantage. I have responsibilities. I have tons of crap that I have to do so I can pay bills and live life which is why early in the mornings I have been dedicating to writing a few hundred to a few thousand words in my novel…except for the weekends. (I refuse to make myself work, write, or diet) Every day it takes me one step closer to being finished. And that’s exactly what I want.

I want the right to say I finished my OWN novel…yes, reapers is complete but edits and the lack of enthusiasm for a book that I have to keep shredding gets a bit discouraging. Now I have my new SNN and I am on the right course to achieving my goal. I’m over 12,000 words into WITH A VENGEANCE and have created character bios and a plot layout for the entire book. I know what the bun, meat, and cheese are in this book.

I’m ready. Are you? Are you ready to commit to your own writing success? Are you willing to put your BUTT IN A CHAIR and get your novel complete? Join me the week of JULY 2^nd…where I will begin my five day twitterthon for the #BIC movement. Use the #BIC hash tag under twitter and keep up with my hourly updates of progress and post your own progress. As one person it’s hard to stay motivated but as a community of writer’s it will be easy! Dedicate today and join me on twitter July2nd for the #BIC Movement.