Miss Snark's Contest Follow-Up, THE LUCKY FEW, & Other News

Oy, I'm so late in posting this, I know!

So a follow-up to Miss Snark's March secret agent contest. Overall, it was a great contest last month - and I'm happy to say my results were much better than my sad attempt with the pitch fest over at WriteOnCon, prior to that!

I was oh so excited to see I was one of five winners (out of 50 entries) selected by Ms. Hannah Bowman of Liza Dawson Associates!

Hannah left a great comment, right off the bat - and it had been just what I needed. And while I'll take all the comments from the other participants / readers with a grain of salt (sometimes I wonder what people are thinking when they comment???), I'm just glad to be back out there, at least trying. You can read about all of the winners, here. And of course, if anything comes of my submit to Hannah, you all will be the first to know. 

In other news? Well, I did another pass-through on my manuscript, THE LUCKY FEW. When I left it with Mr. Agent Man, my word count had skyrocketed - something he had reassured me, would not be a problem - because getting the story right was important. But then, well, we parted ways, and here I was with a MS that had bloomed in size. Yikes.

So before I started querying, I dug my heels in and started slowly hacking away. And before I knew it, I had cut several thousand words. 

Which still didn't feel good enough and so I went back at it again last week. And this time, I was able to cut almost 5k more. And I think it's definitely a lot tighter. And I'm happy with where it is. But will I leave it alone? Who knows. There will always be room for improvement.

Aside from all the contests and revisions I've been doing, I also got myself back into running. It's been awhile - for various reasons - but I've missed it so.

Don't let me mislead you - for the most part, I've always said I was allergic to working out...I'm a Taurus for cryin' out loud and definitely not like some of my uber runner friends that chug out more miles than I put on my car each week. But something about running has always made it one of my favorite forms of *cough* exercise. 

So, I set a personal goal that I would start running one "marathon" a week - and to do that, that means 5.5 miles every day, Monday - Friday (yes, that's technically a tad more than 26.2 miles, but it's a nice round number to target). And today wraps up my third week - which makes 3 marathons I've run - and I couldn't be happier!  

And just like with writing and the importance of having fabulous CP's, I have an amazing workout partner that encourages me to show up every day and get at it. And without her motivation, I'm not sure if this would happen. But now I have someone I can't let down, cheering me on - so it does make it that much easier. And I'll take it.

And even though 2013 didn't start off great - believe me, when they say bad things happen in 3's, well, I've had enough in just the last 4 months to cover the next 3 years - it's definitely turning around. My writing is going well, the contests I've entered have been fun, and I'm back out pounding the pavement - both figuratively and literally. And that's all good news, in my book. 

Anyone else have news to share - be it in contests, writing, or personal goals?

I've Gone And Thrown Myself To The Wolves...Again

Yes, because one contest this year just wouldn't be enough - I've gone and entered myself into Miss Snark's March Secret Agent contest. Some may call me a glutton for punishment - but as I've said before, bring it on. All of it.

There's so much to be learned from entering these contests - and of course, they can help ready a writer for everything that comes with wanting to be a published author. 

First, there's actual feedback from an agent - which as you all have seen before through my blog, can be either good or bad. But there's also a chance said agent may request your work, so that's a plus!

Then there are all the great commentors - writers who leave truly helpful critiques to help the authors learn and grow...which is the entire premise behind these contests. Yes, it's only the first 250 words of your manuscript, but feedback can be invaluable. 

But of course there's also the cynical commentors, which these contests attract like none other. You can always tell the ones that are just being negative, because, well, they can - and anyone who frequents Miss Snark's contests, know who these people are...because they always tend to have the same theme. 

Regardless, I'm submit #47 THE LUCKY FEW - stop on by, read my first 250 submit, and of course, check out all the other great entries in the contest. Along with all the great comments, too.

And wish me luck - if it's anything like the last one, I'm gonna need it! 

How about any of you? Entered your writing in anything lately? 

WriteOnCon: Pitch-Fest - RESULTS

Ouch. Well that pretty much sums it all up.

Suffice to say, the agent assigned to my pitch / query - Peter Knapp - critiqued my submit earlier this evening...and in a nutshell, did not like the voice of my pitch. At. All.

And I mean, at all.

To see Pete's feedback for yourself, you can read it here. 

In the end, all I can say is I'm glad I have some thick skin - which I know is a prerequisite in the business of writing. As well, there are still a few more days to go in the contest and perhaps another agent or author will feel differently - and maybe even be inclined to leave a comment. Perhaps not.

Regardless, I'm always grateful for feedback from those in the biz - even if it's not in my favor. Because that means someone in the biz actually took the time to give me feedback. And how else will I learn and grow? And if I think a harsh comment on my pitch is tough - that's nothing compared to what readers can do to a book, once it's out in the marketplace! 

So I'll take his feedback, use it to toughen my skin, er, skills, and let it all marinate for a bit. Then I'll decide if I want to heed his advice and change a pitch that's actually been working really well for me in my querying as of late, or leave it be for a little while longer. 

Until then, er-e-er-e-er...yep, that's me polishing up my dinged-up armor. But man, I'd rather go into battle with dinged-up armor, than no armor at all.

How about any of you? Ever been given a tough critique? And how did you pick yourself back up? 

WriteOnCon: Pitch-Fest

Just a quick note to let you all know I'll be taking part in the fabulous WriteOnCon's Pitch-Fest, taking place 3.18 - 3.22.

Yep, that's right, it starts tomorrow!

With a little over 300 individuals selected to participate, each one of us has been pre-assigned to an agent...and I've been assigned to the amazing Peter Knapp (Park Literary) - you'll find my pitch for THE LUCKY FEW (pitch #8) under his board, in the WriteOnCon forums.

But Peter isn't the only fantabulous agent participating - check out the insane list the fine folks at WriteOnCon wrangled together:

• Alyssa Eisner-Henkin, Trident Literary

• Amy Tipton, Signature Literary

• Brianne Johnson, Writer’s House

• Dawn Frederick, Red Sofa Literary

• Eddie Schneider, JABberwocky Literary

• Jason Yarn, Paradigm Literary

• Jennifer Flannery, Flannery Literary

• Kathleen Rushall, Marsal Lyon Literary

• Logan Garrison, The Gennert Company

• Mollie Glick, Foundry Media

• Peter Knapp, Park Literary

• Sara Crowe, Harvey Klinger

Like I said, insane, huh?

So I hope you'll all stop by, read some of the awesomness, and perhaps peruse some of the comments (I believe only those that have been "invited" can actually leave one). Just click on the badge above and it will take you directly to the forums.

Hope to see you there!

My 3 Year Blog-o-versary: WINNERS!!!

And the winners are:

Sara Biren

- and - 

Kris F. Oliver

Congratulations, ladies! Head on over to TheBookDepository.com and pick out a book (let me know a couple of your preferred options, as they aren't always in stock)!

Also, Sara, please email me your mailing address - thanks!

Thanks to everyone for stopping by and helping celebrate my 3 years! 

My 3 Year Blog-o-versary!

I totally wanna hold up 3 fingers, when I see that image there to the left. 

Because today, I am 3 years old. 

Well, okay, my blog is three.

But I can't believe it. 3 years - which first started out on Blogger, then somewhere down the road, transitioned into this beautiful website via my great friend and CP partner, Bridgid Gallagher. But 3 years? Where has the time gone?

I remember my very first post like it was yesterday - it was simply just a link to "Guide to Literary Agents" with the caption of: "Great blog that I follow - always an interesting read!" Wow, now that there is Pulitzer prize winning content, for sure! Why, oh why, don't I have an agent? :)

And for someone that usually has no issue talking to anyone, at the time of my first post, I was at a loss for words...but more importantly, was worried no one would even read what I was writing.

But I tried it again and the very next day, I posted a link on how to write a great hook / logline - and I can't believe it actually still gets hits, 3 years later.

Many things changed over the years and as I grew into my writer's skin, I definitely learned to become more vocal - and my posts grew substantially in length. Having my own blog also gave me the opportunity to meet so, so, so, many wonderful writers and authors, allowed me to share my thoughts through book reviews, host giveaways, compete in contests (including one for my first ever flash-fiction piece you can read here, which I won 2nd place in!), pimp the amazing YA critique and support group I started - YAwesome Writers - and promote book blog tours (which may include a great video or two).

My blog has also been a place where I've shared my own personal struggles as a writer - and human being - and in turn, I've received overwhelming support from so many of you. I've been lucky to meet some of you in person - and others I've shared so many emails with, it has made it feel like I've known you my entire life.

And because of this, I'd like to thank all of you. Every single one of you that's taken the time to read my posts, leave a comment, share a link, reach out via email - all of you. Thank you for trudging through 3 great years as I've worked towards quitting my day job, to become a full-time writer. Maybe one day it will happen. And when it does, believe me, you'll be the first to know.

So to put a little something tangible behind my gratitude, I'd like to giveaway a book of the winners choice, to 2 of my fabulous blogging friends (retail value $20 USD maximum, each) via The Book Depository. This giveaway will be open internationally, so all my friends in the great country to the North of me - as well as all around the world - can enter! As long as The Book Depository ships to your address, you're eligible. All you need to do is fill out the rafflecopter form below - no tricks, no fancy requirements...but if you leave a comment or follow me on Twitter, it's worth more entries.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'll draw names one week from today, Wednesday, March 6, 2013 and announce the winners here on my blog - so make sure to check back. 

Thank you for all of your support over the past 3 years! And here's to many more!