Guide to Literary Agents

Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.

Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Contests | Guest Columns

Tuesday, July 06, 2010 11:32:28 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

Comments [6]

Friday, June 11, 2010

Successful Queries: Agent Rebecca Strauss and ''Stay'' by Allie Larkin
Posted by Chuck

This new series is called "Successful Queries" and I'm posting actual query letters that succeeded in getting writers signed with agents. In addition to posting the actual query letter, we will also get to hear thoughts from the agent as to why the letter worked.

The 37th installment in this series is with agent Rebecca Strauss (McIntosh & Otis) and her author, Allie Larkin, for the women's fiction novel, Stay (which was just published this week by Dutton!).

Dear Ms. Strauss,

What happens when you find love and he finds your best friend instead?

If you're Savannah Leone, you tear off your orange satin maid-of-honor gown, get drunk on Kool-Aid and vodka, and buy a German Shepherd from Slovakia off of the Internet.

In Stay, Savannah, "Van," struggles with the marriage of her best friend to the man she's secretly in love with, the loss of her mother to cancer, and all the confusion that goes along with the "now what" stage of twenty-something life. She's lost her sense of which end is up, so she's acting on impulses that lead her to love, strength, and a ninety-five pound dog named Joe.

Her inexperience with dogs leads her to consult Dr. Alex Brandt, a vet with floppy blond hair and a winning smile. But just as things are starting to heat up with Alex, the newlyweds come home from their honeymoon, forcing Van to decide between past relationships and the promise of new ones.

Stay is women's fiction and is approximately 80,000 words. I've also written an outline for a sequel.

I live in upstate New York with my 95-pound German Shepherd, (who is from the Catskills, not Slovakia), and write AlliesAnswers.com, a daily eco-friendly blog. My short story, "Bathtub Mary," will appear in the March 2008 issue of The Summerset Review.

I've enclosed the first two chapters and a synopsis. Thank you for taking the time to review my materials.

Best regard,

Allie Larkin

Commentary from Rebecca

So, what grabbed my attention? Well, in addition to doing everything right in terms of process (she spelled my name correctly and wrote in a professional manner), Allie looked at my submission guidelines—and followed them. Huge points! She did her research; she saw which genres I represented and what materials I requested. This set Allie's letter apart from many others. I know, I know. This all sounds so simple and you've heard it before, but it makes a difference.

Next, Allie's done a great job of giving me what we call "an elevator pitch" for her novel. She was able to sum up the major plot of the book succinctly and with charm. Agents have to pitch to editors, just like authors pitch to agents; and, we need to encapsulate a project simply and quickly. What's the hook? What's the major conflict? Who are the central characters? Why would readers care?

Allie also successfully painted vivid characters and illustrated the main tension in just a few paragraphs. By using only a handful of details, she created a fully realized snapshot of the work. How can you not hiccup with laughter after reading: "If you're Savannah Leone, you tear off your orange satin maid-of-honor gown, get drunk on Kool-Aid and vodka, and buy a German Shepherd from Slovakia off of the Internet"? And, with a few brush strokes, "floppy blond hair and a winning smile," I definitely wanted to know more about this Alex. Sounds cute! And, I quickly learned about the conflict: Van is in love with her best friend's husband. So, Allie swiftly told me that this wasn't a generic project: Van is struggling with serious issues re: love, loss, and friendship. I asked the question I always ask myself when reading a query: Could I imagine an audience for this? My answer? A resounding yes. Not only is the character dealing with major conflict in an intriguing love triangle, but there's a dog involved?! I'm in.

Allie wrapped it all up with the vital stats of genre and word count. She didn't say that she'd written the next 17 books in the series, but that she had an outline for a sequel. Smart. If the first book needed major work, why invest so much in a sequel that's going to need overhauling? Finally, Allie showed that she's devoted to writing. She pursued publication in literary magazines. This is not a necessity, but it does demonstrate tenacity, persistence and professionalism. And, if you're here, reading these posts and working hard on your projects, you have these characteristics and you're already setting yourself apart!

And Now for the Contest!

In honor of Stay's publication week, I'm offering to critique a query letter and the first two pages of a manuscript for one writer.

To enter, leave a comment on this post. For three more chances to win, leave a comment on the below links. One comment per person per post, please. You don't have to have a finished manuscript to enter, although if you do, all the better.

1. http://allielarkin.blogspot.com/
2. http://www.corinnebowen.com/2010/06/stay-by-allie-larkin-query-contest/
3. http://wendypinkstoncebula.blogspot.com/2010/06/stay-debut-and-query-contest.html

If your commenting profile doesn't link to an e-mail address where we can reach you if you win, make sure to either leave your e-mail address in comments, or e-mail (info[at]allielarkinwrites[dot]com) after you leave a comment on Allie's blog, with Query Contest in the subject line and your comment name in the body of the e-mail.

Want more on this subject?

Successful Queries: (Romance) "Proof by Seduction"

Successful Queries: (Mainstream/Literary Fiction) "The Art of Racing in the Rain"

Successful Queries: (Upmarket/Women's Fiction) "Simply from Scratch"

Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.

20 tips on query letters, from agent Janet Reid

Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Contests | Successful Queries | Women's Fiction

Friday, June 11, 2010 4:55:37 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

Comments [97]

Friday, June 04, 2010

Winners Announced: Fifth "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest
Posted by Chuck

The fifth "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest wrapped up last week and agent judge Rosie Wells has chosen her winners (listed below). Congrats to all three finalists!

THE WINNERS (IN NO ORDER)

Beyond The Dreams by Stephanie Sauvinet

Vicesteed by Abra Staffin-Wiebe

Azrael's Curse by Adam Heine

PRIZES!

Top 3 winners all get: 1) A critique of the first 10 pages of your work, by your agent judge. 2) A free one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com.

MEET THE (AWESOME) JUDGE!

Roseanne Wells is a literary agent
at the Marianne Strong Literary Agency.

Clients of the Marianne Strong Literary Agency include:

David Wallace, author of national bestseller Lost Hollywood, as well as Dream Palaces of Hollywood's Golden Age

Ian Williams, author of Rum: A Social and Sociable History

Roger Moenks, author of Inheriting Beauty

Lou Sahadi, author of 20 sports books, with his upcoming book, Affirmed, a biography of the last horse to win the Triple Crown.

Want more on this subject?

Should you mention your age in a book query?

Check out the Writer's Digest Guide to Query Letters

What should you write in the bio of your query?

Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.

Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Contests

Friday, June 04, 2010 2:56:39 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

Comments [0]

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Agent Jon Sternfeld On: 4 Ways to Make Your Query as Professional as Possible
Posted by Chuck

Jon Sternfeld is an agent with the Irene Goodman Literary Agency representing literary fiction and narrative nonfiction.

Jon’s co-agent, Irene Goodman, offers manuscript critiques on eBay every month, starting on the first day of each month, with all proceeds going to charity. Click on the link for more details on these critiques and charity auctions.

How do writers distinguish their query
among the thousands of others?

There are lots of dos and don’ts list out there (and I’ve added to that pile), but overall, it’s an approach that agents and agents’ assistants look for:

1. A professional style and format that says, "I am a writer, I take this seriously, I understand that how I write, structure, and format a query letter (shocker!) affects how people view my writing as a whole."

2. Stay formal, specific and direct. Definitely mention why you’re querying this agent/agency (e.g., an interview you read with them, titles they represent) so it shows you’ve done your research and aren’t just sending this into the stratosphere hoping for a reply.

3. Recognize your audience. An agency fields hundreds of these a day. Your premise should be at the top, your synopsis shouldn’t be exhaustive, you should respect the reader’s time and attention span. It’s so easy for an agent to move on to the next one. Give them a reason not to.

4. You want to stick out—not in a cute way, but in a "my talent and professionalism speak for itself" kind of way. Literally, the goal is to make an agent ask for more—so set about creating something that is built with that in mind.

And remember: If you're looking for a professional manuscript critique for a good cause, go to irenegoodman.com for more details.

Want more on this subject?

Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.

20 tips on query letters, from agent Janet Reid

Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Contests | Guest Columns | Queries and Synopses and Proposals

Tuesday, June 01, 2010 10:01:24 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

Comments [1]

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

''Dear Lucky Agent'' Contest: Fantasy and Sci-Fi
Posted by Chuck

Note from Chuck: This contest is now closed. Thank you
for submitting. Winners will be notified by email by
around June 2. Winners announced on the blog thereafter.

--------

Welcome to the fifth "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest on the GLA blog. This will be a recurring online contest with agent judges and super-cool prizes. Here's the deal: With every contest, the details are essentially the same, but the niche itself changes—meaning each contest is focused around a specific category or two. So if you're writing a book-length novel that's fantasy or sci-fi, this fifth contest is for you!

HOW TO SUBMIT

E-mail entries to fifthagentcontest@gmail.com. Please paste everything. No attachments.

WHAT TO SUBMIT

The first 150-200 words of your unpublished, book-length work of fantasy or science fiction (adult fiction and/or YA fiction; no MG please). You must include a contact e-mail address with your entry and use your real name. Also, submit the title of the work and a logline (one-sentence description of the work) with your entry.

Please note: To be eligible to submit, I ask that you do one of two things: 1) Mention and link to this contest twice through your social media—blogs, Twitter, Facebook; or 2) just mention this contest once and also add Guide to Literary Agents Blog (www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog) to your blogroll. Please provide link(s) so the judge and I can verify eligibility!

CONTEST DETAILS

      1. This contest will be live for approximately fourteen days—from May 12 through the end of Wednesday, May 26, EST. Winners notified by e-mail within 7 days of end of contest. Winners announced on the blog thereafter.
      2. To enter, submit the first 150-200 words of your book. Shorter or longer entries will not be considered. Keep it within word count range please.
      3. This contest is solely for completed book-length works of fantasy and science fiction (both YA and adult novels are accepted; no MG).
      4. You can submit as many times as you wish. You can submit even if you submitted to other contests in the past, but please note that past winners cannot win again.
      5. The contest is open to everyone of all ages, save those employees, officers and directors of GLA's publisher, F+W Media.
      6. By e-mailing your entry, you are submitting an entry for consideration in this contest and thereby agreeing to the terms written here as well as any terms possibly added by me in the "Comments" section of this blog post. (If you have questions or concerns, write me personally at literaryagent@fwmedia.com. The Gmail account above is for submissions, not questions.)

PRIZES!!!

Top 3 winners all get: 1) A critique of the first 10 pages of your work, by your agent judge. 2) A free one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com.

MEET YOUR (AWESOME) JUDGE!

Roseanne Wells is a literary agent
at the Marianne Strong Literary Agency.

Want more on this subject?

Should you mention your age in a book query?

Check out the Writer's Digest Guide to Query Letters

What should you write in the bio of your query?

Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.

Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Contests | Science Fiction and Fantasy

Wednesday, May 12, 2010 11:13:31 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

Comments [15]

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Winners Announced! Agent Regina Brooks Names Her Contest Winners
Posted by Chuck

Apologies for the delay in announcing winners, but agent judge Regina Brooks of Serendipity Literary recently wrapped up our fourth "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest on the GLA blog and has picked her three winners. The winners (listed below) receive a free year of WritersMarket.com access as well as a critique on their first 10 pages from Regina.

WINNERS (IN NO ORDER)

Katherine Higgs-Coulthard: "Chicken Soup for the Social Outcast"

Katharina Gerlach: "Thicker Than Water"

Buffy Andrews: "Dance"

MEET YOUR (AWESOME) JUDGE!

Regina Brooks is the founder of Serendipity
Literary in Brooklyn. She has edited,
written and agented books. She is the
author of Writing Great Books for Young Adults.

Want more information?

See examples of Successful Queries that agents liked.

Check out The Writer's Digest Guide to Query Letters.

Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.

Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Contests

Tuesday, May 11, 2010 6:04:42 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

Comments [3]

Monday, May 03, 2010

Agent Barbara Poelle On: Three Things Debut Authors Should Know When Signing With an Agent
Posted by Chuck

Barbara Poelle is an agent with the Irene Goodman Literary Agency. Barbara's co-agent, Irene Goodman, offers manuscript critiques on eBay every month, starting on the first day of each month, with all proceeds going to charity. Go to irenegoodman.com for more details on these critiques and charity auctions.

Three things debut authors should know
when signing with an agent:

1. Write down questions to ask the agent. Some debut authors are nervous about taking up an agent’s time so they will not communicate concerns or questions upon an offer on representation. After the initial rush and excitement of the offer, there will most definitely be questions, but oftentimes, the mind will go blank when you are actually on the phone. Make sure you take some time to mull over any questions you may have at this step in the process, so that you are prepared when the offer comes in!

2. Make sure the agent has all your info. Make sure, after signing, that the agent has all of your contact information, and also ask what promotional materials they might need for their website (a jpeg of an author photo, the link to your website, etc). And please communicate when you will be traveling, whether professionally or personally, and how to reach you, as you never know when that fabulous offer may come in!

3. Ask and ye shall be informed! Unfortunately, it’s not called the Publishing Are-Everyone’s-Feelings-Okay?, it's called the Publishing Industry. When one goes from a creative endeavor into the actual publishing process, it's a bit daunting and disorienting. Where once you were quietly tapping away on your laptop, now you have a lot of cooks in your kitchen needing you to play the most bizarre game of red-light/green-light in the world. With that in mind, make sure that you feel comfortable asking at each new stage of your career, “What comes next?” for we, as agents, are involved in the belly of the beast daily and will oftentimes forget that new experiences can be unsettling. There is never a worse feeling than when a client is under informed and becomes upset! As a debut author you don’t even know what you don’t know, so make sure you're comfortable asking.

And remember: If you're looking to bid on an awesome manuscript critique with proceeds going to charity, go to irenegoodman.com for more details.

Want more on this subject?

Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.

Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Contests | Guest Columns

Monday, May 03, 2010 9:28:42 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

Comments [3]

Monday, April 12, 2010

''Dear Lucky Agent'' Contest: Middle Grade and Young Adult (with agent Regina Brooks)
Posted by Chuck

Note from Chuck. It's April 28 and it's been
two weeks. Regina has asked for until Monday
to pick her top winners. Winners will be
announced as soon as we know. Thanks!

Note from Chuck: It's April 15, 2010, which means this contest
is now closed. Thank you for entering. Winners
should be announced within 14 days or so.
Meanwhile, keep an eye on the blog
for our next contest - coming shortly!

------------------------------

Welcome to the fourth "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest on the GLA blog. This will be a recurring online contest with agent judges and super-cool prizes. Here's the deal: With every contest, the details are essentially the same, but the niche itself changes—meaning each contest is focused around a specific category or two. So if you're writing a book-length kids novel, this second contest is for you!

HOW TO SUBMIT

E-mail entries to fourthagentcontest@gmail.com. Please paste everything. No attachments.

WHAT TO SUBMIT

The first 150-200 words of your unpublished, book-length work of middle grade or young adult fiction. You must include a contact e-mail address with your entry and use your real name. Also, submit the title of the work and a logline (one-sentence description of the work) with your entry.

Please note: To be eligible to submit, I ask that you do one of two things: 1) Mention and link to this contest twice through your social media—blogs, Twitter, Facebook; or 2) just mention this contest once and also add Guide to Literary Agents Blog (www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog) to your blogroll. Please provide link(s) so I can verify eligibility!

CONTEST DETAILS

      1. This contest will be live for approximately fourteen days—from March 31 through the end of Wednesday, April 14, EST. Winners notified by e-mail within 14 days of end of contest. Winners announced on the blog thereafter.
      2. To enter, submit the first 150-200 words of your book. Shorter or longer entries will not be considered. Keep it within word count range please.
      3. This contest is solely for completed book-length works of middle grade and young adult fiction (kids novels).
      4. You can submit as many times as you wish. You can submit even if you submitted to other contests in the past, but please note that past winners cannot win again.
      5. The contest is open to everyone of all ages, save those employees, officers and directors of GLA's publisher, F+W Media.
      6. By e-mailing your entry, you are submitting an entry for consideration in this contest and thereby agreeing to the terms written here as well as any terms added by me in the "Comments" section of this blog post. (If you have questions or concerns, write me personally at literaryagent@fwmedia.com.)

PRIZES!!!

Top 3 winners all get: 1) A critique of 10 pages of your work, by your agent judge. 2) A free one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com.

MEET YOUR (AWESOME) JUDGE!

Regina Brooks is the founder of Serendipity
Literary in Brooklyn. She has edited,
written and agented books. She is the
author of Writing Great Books for Young Adults.

Want more information?

See examples of Successful Queries that agents liked.

Check out The Writer's Digest Guide to Query Letters.

Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.

Buy the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Children's Writing | Contests

Monday, April 12, 2010 10:36:42 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

Comments [15]

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

'Worst Storyline Contest' Winners Announced
Posted by Chuck

The (third) "Worst Storyline Ever" Contest is now closed and judged. Thank you to all who entered. Here are the winners!

"Worst Storyline Ever"

Contest

GRAND-PRIZE WINNER

"When a pack of dingos refuse to eat her baby, psychotic woman Helen Grinkel turns the tables by eating one of their pups, sparking a dingo-human war which in turn destroys the entire Australian EcoTourism market."

     - Pete Aldin

TWO RUNNERS-UP

"A group of elderly superheroes living in an old folks home decide to rekindle their crime-fighting careers by policing the hallways at night, but miscommunications due to slipping dentures, hearing aid malfunctions, and failing eyesight result in blunders that have them karate-chopping each other instead, allowing the villains to escape with the resident's pre-packaged cafeteria meals."

     - Linda Hofke

"After losing her title at the International Envelope Sealing Championships, Pearl Tuck is determined to train her way back to the top, no matter how many popsicles and stamps she has to lick along the way, until a tragic incident with a frozen lamp post threatens her taste for victory."

     - Steve Forti

Want more on this subject?

Writer's Digest has contests all year round. The annual contest, for example, takes the winner to NYC for agent meetings and also gives them $3,000.

Should you start with plot or character?

Ten tips for a successful agent-author relationship.

Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.

Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Contests

Wednesday, April 07, 2010 10:37:16 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

Comments [7]

Thursday, April 01, 2010

Agent Irene Goodman On: Common Submission Mistakes
Posted by Chuck

Irene Goodman has been a top agent for more than 30 years, with many NY Times bestsellers. She offers manuscript critiques on eBay every month, starting on the first day of each month, with all proceeds going to charity. Go to irenegoodman.com for more details on her charity auctions.

What are the most common mistakes
you see writers make in their submissions?

I've been doing a lot of partial manuscript critiques every month on eBay (all proceeds go to charity), and I'm noticing certain patterns that have emerged. A lot of good writers with the best of intentions make the same three crucial errors:

They try to throw too much into the story, thinking it will appeal to more people that way. The opposite is true. I ask them to identify where in the bookstore this book will be shelved. If they can't answer promptly, they've made a mistake. You can't write a mystery/romance/thriller/adventure/soap opera with a dash of science fiction. Simple is better.
They write a thriller that's not--well, thrilling. It may be interesting and well written, but if it's not scary, it doesn't have suspense, there is nothing big at stake, or there isn't much action, it's not much of a thriller.
They pick subjects that are just not commercial. Don't spend three years of your life writing a novel about King Olof Skötkonung of Sweden or a romance novel set in Germany in 1943. Learn what's commercial and what is not.

Want more on this subject?

Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.

Should you start with plot or character?

Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2010 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Contests | Guest Columns

Thursday, April 01, 2010 9:16:48 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [2]

Monday, March 29, 2010

Storyline Contest Closed
Posted by Chuck

The (third) "Worst Storyline Ever" Contest is now closed. Thank you to all who entered. I got a few e-mails saying that blog comment functionality was iffy. This caught me by surprise. Tell you what. I will accept entries via email to literaryagent@fwmedia.com through the end of today, Monday, March 29, 2010. If you had comment trouble, submit this way. Same rules apply, so read everything first.

"Worst Storyline Ever"

Contest

Winners will be announced in approximately one week. I will contact winners by email, then announce everything on the blog. Thanks!

Want more on this subject?

Writer's Digest has contests all year round. The annual contest, for example, takes the winner to NYC for agent meetings and also gives them $3,000.

Ten tips for a successful agent-author relationship.

Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.

Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Contests

Monday, March 29, 2010 9:28:50 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [0]

Monday, March 22, 2010

Contest Winners Announced: Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance
Posted by Chuck

Judging is complete and here are the winners for the third "Dear Lucky Agent" contest, which focused on paranormal romance and urban fantasy writing. Congratulations to all winners! We had about 300 entries, which was great.

The current contest happening as of this week (March 22, 2010) is a contest for the worst storyline you can come up with. The next agent-judged "Dear Lucky Agent" contest will start anywhere from a few days from now to two weeks. Stay tuned!

GRAND-PRIZE WINNER: Taming Raven, by Kitty Ducane.

FOUR RUNNERS-UP (the judge chose 4): I Heart Moonlake, by Brandi Baughman; In the Aether, by Amanda Sabourov; Colors Like Memories, by Meradeth Snow; and The Stranger Inside, by Melanie Marks.

YOUR AGENT JUDGE: Joanna Stampfel-Volpe is an agent with Nancy Coffey Literary. Books she's repped include:

Pieces of Sky, by Kaki Warner. This award-winning, Romantic Times Top Pick debut novel is the first book in Warner's Blood Rose trilogy (Berkley, January 2010)

Haunting Emma, Book One: Deception by Lee Nichols (Bloomsbury Children's, June 2010)

The Town that Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food by Ben Hewitt (Rodale, March 2010)

Want more information?

See examples of Successful Queries that agents liked.

Check out The Writer's Digest Guide to Query Letters.

Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.

Should you start with plot or character?

Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Contests

Monday, March 22, 2010 11:42:35 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [3]

Friday, March 19, 2010

Perseverance and Encouragement: The Benefits of Contests
Posted by Chuck

“And the winner is” are four words that inspire anticipation whenever they are uttered. The heart beats a little bit faster, nostrils flare slightly, the eyes widen and pupils dilate as we await the name that follows the fateful phrase. In theory, the winner is the pageant contestant with the most poise, intelligence, talent and beauty; the horse that peaks at the proper moment in the race; the actor whose performance transcends imitation and takes us to a place where we can do more than simply imagine—we can believe. Getting it done at the optimal time seems to be the key to success. But having all the right stuff in place at the proper time can be a delicate process. And “right” can be very subjective—especially in writing.

Guest columnist Pamala Knight, a perennial
writing contest bridesmaid, is busy helping
Chicago North RWA plan Spring Fling 2010,
their upcoming writing conference. Attending
agents include Diana Fox, Laurie McLean,
Joanna Stampfel-Volpe and Paige Wheeler.
Dates are April 23-24.

A good gauge of whether or not your writing has reached the level where all those moving parts (POV, pace, characterizations, plot, etc.) are synchronized like two sixteen-year-olds wearing sequins and performing ballet in a pool, is to enter a writing contest.

CONTESTS = CRITIQUES

Think of the judges as a big group of anonymous critique partners and then consider the benefits of that arrangement—no one who’s married to, involved with or gave birth to you giving the straight scoop on how to get to where you want to be in your writing career. Critiques obtained through contests tell where your writing needs to be tweaked and tightened. All the good information needed before you can send your baby out into the business end of the publishing world.

One of the things I love best about contests (apart from winning, which I haven’t done yet) is that the comments are always so encouraging. No one will say “shred this manuscript at your earliest opportunity, donate that laptop and get back to your day job.” The comments are all about learning to make craft blend in perfectly with your creative abilities. "All inspiration all the time" is how I look at it.

TYPES OF CONTESTS

Contests ranging from RWA’s prestigious RITA’s and Golden Heart to the less-stringent-but-no-less-meaningful chapter contests offer excellent feedback and critique on where the foundation of a manuscript might need a few more yards of concrete before the house is ready to go up. If you’re looking to test the waters with your manuscript, contests are a good way to get advice. If you win, you get affirmation that you’re on the right path. There’s also name recognition, opportunities to have the professionals read your work and maybe even some chocolate. Personally, I check first to see if the winners get chocolate. But, if you don’t win, there’s the advice and encouragement. Bonus items all around, in my opinion.

CHICAGO NORTH RWA

My local RWA chapter, Chicago North, just published the finalists in our 12th annual Fire and Ice contest for unpublished writers. This year, we had a record number of entries. I judged a few entries and put myself into the shoes of each entrant as I formulated my comments. I wanted to give helpful feedback and praise where needed from both the perspective of a writer and as a reader. It’s my dearest wish that my words will supplement an existing desire to make their manuscripts as bright and shiny as possible. Since we’ll announce the winners at Spring Fling 2010, I’m especially excited to meet the writers who will be in attendance. I know I’ll be as breathless to meet them here at the start of their careers as I will be when they’ve been on the New York Times bestsellers list for years.

Want more on this subject?

Writer's Digest has contests all year round. The annual contest, for example, takes the winner to NYC for agent meetings and also gives them $3,000.

Ten tips for a successful agent-author relationship.

Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.

Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Contests | Guest Columns

Friday, March 19, 2010 12:50:57 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [5]

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

The (Third) ''Worst Storyline Ever'' Contest!
Posted by Chuck

Have you got a horrible idea for a story? Well I want to hear about it. Welcome to the (third) "Worst Storyline Ever" Contest - a competition that encourages terrible loglines. This contest happened before, so click on "Contests" at the bottom of this post and scroll down a bit to see previous incarnations. (If you have any problems or concerns, e-mail me at literaryagent@fwmedia.com.)

"Worst Storyline Ever"

Contest

A logline is a one-sentence line that explains what your story is about and shows the "hook" - the unique idea that makes people want to see more. You see loglines all the time in TV Guide and on the back of DVD boxes. Here are some examples:

"Three middle-aged men defeat their midlife crises by starting a college fraternity." (Old School)
"When a Roman general is betrayed and his family murdered by an evil prince, he comes to Rome as a gladiator to seek revenge." (Gladiator)
"In a future where criminals are arrested before the crime occurs, a cop struggles on the lam to prove his innocence for a murder he has not yet committed." (Minority Report)

But that's all the examples I'm going to give you, because I'm not looking for good examples of a logline; I'm looking for bad examples. Nay - terrible, stupid, "oh-my-God-that-idea-is-dumb-as-hell" examples.

Examples of Bad Loglines

1. "After an unidentified cow swallows an armed nuclear device in a botched Homeland Security raid, Agent Tom Anderson is thrust into an unlikely partnership with buxom organic farmer Daisy Jones to sift through three hundred cows and 10 barns full of manure as the clock runs down in a desperate quest to save Kansas City from a moo-clear disaster." (past contest winner from Livia Blackburne).

2. "A man's lifelong plan to dress up like Jabba the Hutt and star in a new line of workout tapes finally comes to fruition, but everything goes horribly awry when the man gets ink poisoning, lead poisoning and mercury poisoning all at once."

3. "After losing badly in The Kentucky Derby, a horse is sold to the glue factory where he is processed and bottled, and we follow the stories of everyone who uses the glue, from a nose-picking pre-schooler to a dyslexic kidnapper who glues cut-out letters on a ransom note, until the last drop is gone." (past contest winner from Chris Whigham).

Here are the rules:

1. Stick to the format, but have fun with the idea. You want your logline to be one sentence only and must be 60 words or fewer, and explain what the story/movie is about. It's what you put in that one sentence that will win you this competition. So the trick is to make your logline a terribly creative idea that's pitched in a professional manner.
2. The contest will go until the end of the day, 11:59 p.m., EST, Sunday, March 28. Submissions received after that will not be considered.
3. To participate, simply click on "Comments" at the end of this post and leave your submission as a comment with your full name and e-mail. You must include your real name and e-mail. If you are super paranoid about leaving your name (Google!), use "L. Martin Smith" instead of "Leonard Smith."
5. You can submit up to two (2) bad loglines. You can include both in the same comment post as you wish.
6. The contest is open to everyone of all ages, save those employees, officers and directors of GLA's publisher, F+W Media (formerly F+W Publications).
7. By posting a terrible logline for consideration in this contest, you are agreeing to the terms written here.

Please note: To be eligible to submit, I ask that you do one of two things: 1) Mention and link to this contest twice through your social media - blogs, Twitter, Facebook; or 2) just mention this contest once and also add the Guide to Literary Agents Blog (www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog) to your blogroll. Please provide link(s) so I can verify eligibility. You can e-mail the links if you wish (literaryagent@fwmedia.com).

The Prizes:

First prize (grand prize): 1) A query letter critique from me. 2) A follow-up phone call to discuss the query critique and a plan of action for seeing your work published (basically: you ask questions, I answer). 3) A one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com; 4) Praise on this blog from yours truly.

Two runner-up prizes: 1) A one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com (value $50).

The Judges:

          First Round Judge                           Final Round Judge:
        Chuck's dog, Graham                     Graham's owner, Chuck
           (pictured age 3)                               (pictured age 11)

* Please do not throw dog mentions into every entry. Graham is an independent judge who is looking for just plain funny.

Contests

Wednesday, March 17, 2010 9:12:40 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [66]

Friday, March 12, 2010

Reminder: Third ''Dear Lucky Agent'' Contest Ends Sunday!
Posted by Chuck

Note from Chuck: It's March 15, 2010, which means this contest
is now closed. Thank you for entering. Winners
should be announced within 7 days or so.
Meanwhile, our next contest should start
within a week or two, as well.

------------------------------

The latest "Dear Lucky Agent" contest, for writers of paranormal romance and urban fantasy, is about to end at the end of Sunday, March 14—so get your submission in now! You can see all the rules here.

See the full page for rules, but the gist is that agent Joanna Stampfel-Volpe is judging this contest, and writers of paranormal romance and urban fantasy are invited to submit the first 150-200 words of their completed books. Top three stories = winner winner. The three finalists will be notified via e-mail within one week of the contest's end. Winners announced on the blog thereafter.

Contests

Friday, March 12, 2010 11:13:41 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [0]

Monday, March 01, 2010

Kids Contest Winners Announced!
Posted by Chuck

Judging is complete and here are the winners for the second "Dear Lucky Agent" contest, which focused on kids writing. Congratulations to all winners. We had about 400 entries, which was amazing. The current contest (goes till March 14) is for writers of YA and adult paranormal romance and urban fantasy.

GRAND-PRIZE WINNER: The Not-So-Ordinary Summer of Emily Bartels, by Jeni Bell: Twelve-year-old Emily Bartels joins the swim team in an effort to get closer to her sportswriter father, but gets more than she bargained for when she ends up on the Pee Wee team, swimming with the kindergartners and first-graders.

TWO RUNNERS-UP: Life and Beth, by Lisa Amowitz: When 17-year-old guitarist Beth Collins is scouted by a mysterious arts academy, she soon finds it's not her killer chops they're after, but her other killer talent—the one for controlling death.
The Suspicions of Cairo Jones, by Mary Danielson: In 1920s New York, Cairo Jones, teen reporter, is on the hunt for that big story that will launch her into a real newspaper job, but when a front-page crime hits too close to home, it will take all of her investigative skills to save both Cairo's dreams and her family.

YOUR AGENT JUDGE: Jennifer Laughran is an agent with the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Books she's repped include:

The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z., by Kate Messner
Flash Burnout, by LK Madigan
I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It, by Adam Selzer

Want more information?

See examples of Successful Queries that agents liked.

Check out The Writer's Digest Guide to Query Letters.

Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.

Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2010 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Contests

Monday, March 01, 2010 10:13:03 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [3]

Sunday, February 28, 2010

''Dear Lucky Agent'' Contest: Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance (For Both Teens and Adults)
Posted by Chuck

------------------------------

"Dear Lucky Agent" Contest:

Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Romance

Welcome to the third "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest on the GLA blog. This will be a recurring online contest with agent judges and super-cool prizes. Here's the deal: With every contest, the details are essentially the same, but the niche itself changes—meaning each contest is focused around a specific category or two. So if you're writing a novel-length work of urban fantasy or paranormal romance, this third contest is for you!

HOW TO SUBMIT

E-mail entries to thirdagentcontest@gmail.com. Please paste everything. No attachments. (Also note that I do not check this account. Only the agent does. Looking back over old e-mails, some people have wrote to say hi to me, or perhaps ask a question. Contact me at literaryagent@fwmedia.com.)

WHAT TO SUBMIT

The first 150-200 words of your unpublished, book-length work of urban fantasy or paranormal romance (adult or YA - both accepted).

Joanna says: "Please keep it to these two subgenres specifically. While you can incorporate a variety of fantasy elements, they still have to fall under these two categories. For those of you who are unsure, keep in mind that both urban fantasy and paranormal romance have a strong base in a real world setting (like Jim Butcher's Dresden Files or J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood or Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy). So no stories that take place solely on another planet or world!"

You must include a contact e-mail address with your entry and use your real name. Also, submit the title of the work and a logline (one-sentence description of the work) with your entry.

Please note: To be eligible to submit, I ask that you do one of two things: 1) Mention and link to this contest twice through your social media - blogs, Twitter, Facebook; or 2) just mention this contest once and also add Guide to Literary Agents Blog (www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog) to your blogroll. Please provide link(s) so I can verify eligibility.

CONTEST DETAILS

      1. This contest will be live for approximately fifteen days - from Feb. 27, 2010 through the end of Sunday, March. 14, 2010 EST. Winners notified by e-mail within seven days of end of contest. Winners announced on the blog thereafter.
      2. To enter, submit the first 150-200 words of your book. Shorter or longer entries will not be considered. Keep it within word count range please.
      3. This contest is solely for completed book-length works of urban fantasy and paranormal romance (either adult or YA). To know more about what falls into these genres, look at the bold text above.
      4. You can submit as many times as you wish.
      5. The contest is open to everyone of all ages, save those employees, officers and directors of GLA's publisher, F+W Media.
      6. There are more rules (most of them dealing with legal stuff) that you can find in the comments section of this post.
      7. By e-mailing your entry, you are submitting an entry for consideration in this contest and thereby agreeing to the terms written here as well as the terms added by me at the beginning of the "Comments" section of this blog post.

PRIZES!!!

First place: 1) A critique of 20 pages of your work, by your agent judge. 2) A one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com.

Runner-ups - second and third place: 1) A critique of 10 pages of your work, by your agent judge. 2) A one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com.

MEET YOUR (AWESOME) JUDGE!

Joanna Stampfel-Volpe is an agent with Nancy Coffey Literary. Books she's repped include:

Pieces of Sky, by Kaki Warner. This award-winning, Romantic Times Top Pick debut novel is the first book in Warner's Blood Rose trilogy (Berkley, January 2010)

Haunting Emma, Book One: Deception by Lee Nichols (Bloomsbury Children's, June 2010)

The Town that Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food by Ben Hewitt (Rodale, March 2010)

Want more information?

See examples of Successful Queries that agents liked.

Check out The Writer's Digest Guide to Query Letters.

Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.

Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Contests

Sunday, February 28, 2010 5:13:47 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [66]

Sunday, February 21, 2010

''Dear Lucky Agent'' Contest: Middle Grade and Young Adult
Posted by Chuck

Note from Chuck: It's Feb. 22, 2010, which means this contest
is now closed. Thank you for entering. Winners
should be announced on the blog within 7 days or so.
Winners will be contacted personally by me beforehand.
Meanwhile, our next contest should start
within a week or two, as well. I believe the next
contest will be for writers of urban fantasy
and paranormal romance.

------------------------------

"Dear Lucky Agent" Contest:

Kids Novels (Middle Grade and Young Adult)

Welcome to the second "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest on the GLA blog. This will be a recurring online contest with agent judges and super-cool prizes. Here's the deal: With every contest, the details are essentially the same, but the niche itself changes—meaning each contest is focused around a specific category or two. So if you're writing a book-length kids novel, this second contest is for you!

HOW TO SUBMIT

E-mail entries to februaryagentcontest@gmail.com. Please paste everything. No attachments.

WHAT TO SUBMIT

Please note: To be eligible to submit, I ask that you do one of two things: 1) Mention and link to this contest twice through your social media - blogs, Twitter, Facebook; or 2) just mention this contest once and also add Guide to Literary Agents Blog (www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog) to your blogroll. Please provide link(s) so I can verify eligibility.

CONTEST DETAILS

      1. This contest will be live for approximately fourteen days - from Feb. 7 through the end of Sunday, Feb. 21, EST. Winners notified by e-mail within seven days of end of contest. Winners announced on the blog thereafter.
      2. To enter, submit the first 150-200 words of your book. Shorter or longer entries will not be considered. Keep it within word count range please.
      3. This contest is solely for completed book-length works of middle grade and young adult fiction (kids novels).
      4. You can submit as many times as you wish.
      5. The contest is open to everyone of all ages, save those employees, officers and directors of GLA's publisher, F+W Media.
      6. There are more rules (most of them dealing with legal stuff) that you can find in the comments section of this post.
      7. By e-mailing your entry, you are submitting an entry for consideration in this contest and thereby agreeing to the terms written here as well as the terms added by me at the beginning of the "Comments" section of this blog post.

PRIZES!!!

First place: 1) A critique of 25 pages of your work, by your agent judge. 2) A query critique from your agent judge. 3) Two free books from Writer's Digest Books (I will give you several choices and you pick the books your want).

Runner-ups - second and third place: 1) A critique of 10 pages of your work, by your agent judge. 2) One free book from Writer's Digest Books (I will give you several choices and you pick the book your want).

MEET YOUR (AWESOME) JUDGE!

Jennifer Laughran is an agent with the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Books she's repped include:

The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z., by Kate Messner

Flash Burnout, by LK Madigan

I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It, by Adam Selzer

Adventures of a Cat-Whiskered Girl, by Daniel Pinkwater

Want more information?

See examples of Successful Queries that agents liked.

Check out The Writer's Digest Guide to Query Letters.

Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.

What Agents Hate: Chapter 1 Pet Peeves.

Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Contests

Sunday, February 21, 2010 5:11:47 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [50]

Sunday, February 07, 2010

Winners Announced: "Dear Lucky Agent" - Memoir and Narrative Nonfiction
Posted by Chuck

A huge thank you to all 150 or so people who entered in my first "Dear Lucky Agent" contest. Agent Katharine Sands of the Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency looked through all submissions this past week and chose her top winner and two runners-up, each of which will receive a critique and free writing books.

The Winners

Grand-prize winner:

Bocas Time, by Forrest Walker

Runners-up:

Zen Under Fire: Learning to Sit Still in Afghanistan, by Marianne Elliott

Kitten Heels in Kathmandu: The Adventures of a Solo Female Vagabond, by Mary Bartnikowski

A LITTLE ABOUT THE CONTEST JUDGE:

Katharine Sands is an agent with the Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency. She is the agent provocateur for Making the Perfect Pitch: How to Catch a Literary Agent's Eye. Books she's repped include:

SAT Word Slam, by Jodi Fodor

Hands Off My Belly: The Pregnant Woman's Survival Guide to Myths, Mothers and Moods, by Shawn Tassone and Kathryn Landherr

Taxpertise: The Complete Book of Dirty Little Secrets and Tax Deductions for Small Businesses the IRS Doesn't Want You to Know, by Bonnie Lee

Contests | Memoir

Sunday, February 07, 2010 4:32:46 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [2]

Monday, February 01, 2010

Agent Advice: Irene Goodman of the Irene Goodman Literary Agency (and News About More of Her Auctioned Critiques!)
Posted by Chuck

Agent Advice is a series of quick interviews with literary and script agents who talk with Guide to Literary Agents about their thoughts on writing, publishing, and just about anything else.

This installment features Irene Goodman of the Irene Goodman Literary Agency. Irene's clients are regulars on the New York Times, USA Today, Walden, Publishers Weekly, and Bookscan bestseller lists. Together with her dynamic staff, her agency represents over 80 authors. Originally from the Midwest, Irene has a B.A. and a master's degree from the University of Michigan. She divides her time between New York and the Berkshires. Her personal passions include opera, Doonesbury, Mark Twain, theatre, and children. She also auctions off manuscript critiques for charity (see more below).

She is seeking: memoir, narrative history, music, social issues and commentary, animals, parenting, food, Judaica, Anglophilia, Francophilia, crafts, and lifestyle. Her fiction list includes historical fiction, women's fiction, thrillers, literary fiction, and mysteries.

GLA: How did you become an agent?

IG: I've always enjoyed breaking through red tape and doing my own thing. When I first came to New York to work for a book publisher, I got a chance to see up close what agents do. And I said to myself, "I would be good at that." So my next job was working for an agent. What motivates me is that it's endlessly exciting. In our office, we all look forward to Mondays. We have comradeship, and we have joy. Sometimes we go on "class trips" to the theatre or the beach, but we never stop talking shop.

GLA: Before we get into the interview, about a month ago, I blogged about you doing a critique auction for charity. How did that go?

IG: It was amazing! I auctioned off critiques of 25 partial manuscripts on eBay, and the response was fantastic. The top bid came in at $1025.00. We raised over $15,000 altogether, all of which will go directly to the Foundation Fighting Blindness and the Deafness Research Foundation.
       I intend to keep doing these auctions for as long as I can. There will be two auctions a month (one per foundation), every month, with another big marathon each year in December. The next eBay auction starts today (Feb. 1, 2010) at 3 p.m. Pacific time, and there are 4 auctions for various causes. Auctions will continue every month. Anyone who wants to participate or get more information should go to my web site www.irenegoodman.com, where they will find a link to the auction pages.

GLA: What are some things you've sold recently that you're excited about?

IG: I sold a trilogy of novels about the life of Marie Antoinette by Juliet Grey that went to Ballantine, at auction. The first book is called Becoming Marie Antoinette, and it covers the high stakes makeover that the pre-teen underwent before she went to France. The second book will be about the queen years, and the third book will cover her untimely end. (Or as the author likes the sum up the three books--teen, queen, guillotine.)
        Another one that looks very promising is Shakespeare Undead by NY Times bestseller Lori Handleland, that sold to St. Martin's. Did you know that the Bard was a necromancer in his spare time, chasing down zombie armies? Or, as Anne Hathaway put it, "No wonder he was never home."

GLA: What's something that was recently released that you are excited about?

IG: Susan Donovan's Ain't Too Proud to Beg, a contemporary romance novel that pushes the boundaries and delivers the author's trademark intelligence and wit. It made #21 on the NY Times Extended list. Since it's the first of a trilogy, the next books are sure to go over the top.
       Another one that's coming up is And God Said by the foremost translator of ancient Hebrew, Joel Hoffman. If you think you know what the most famous verses in the bible mean, you are probably wrong. Centuries of mistranslation have turned incorrect concepts and words into icons that aren't what you think they are.

GLA: Historical fiction can cover a lot of ground. Do you find yourself drawn to anything in particular? For example, would you consider an epic book set in Rome?

IG: Rome is a tough sell, but anything is possible. However, I focus more on European stories with a strong hook. Female subjects work best. The court of Henry VIII has been very well mined, but there are plenty of other delicious people in history whose stories are begging to be told.

GLA: Let's say you're reading a partial for a mystery or thriller. Tell me about some bad openings you see time and time again - what are some Chapter 1 cliches?

IG: The most common opening is a grisly murder scene told from the killer's point of view. While this usually holds the reader's attention, the narrative drive often doesn't last once we get into the meat of the story. A catchy opening scene is great, but all too often it falls apart after the initial pages. I often refer people to the opening of Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin, which is about nothing more than a young couple getting an apartment. It is masterfully written and yet it doesn't appear to be about anything sinister at all. And it keeps you reading.

GLA: Barbara Poelle at your agency once told me that you had a great habit of finding nonfiction projects that were off the beaten path. What did she mean by this?

IG: Well, not too long ago, an odd little self-published book came in the mail called Their Last Suppers by Andrew Caldwell. It's about famous people in history, their colorful ends, and their last meals, including recipes. The author was traveling all over the country promoting it at wine stores and restaurants, including theme dinners (i.e. the last supper on the Titanic). I loved this quirky idea, and went wide with the manuscript. Three publishers offered on it, and it went to Andrews McMeel.

GLA: You rep a lot of nonfiction projects. What are you looking for and not getting?

IG: Nonfiction is less about what people send me than it is about what I go after. I'll get an idea for a nonfiction project, find the right author with the right platform or attach a big name to it, and get a writer if necessary. That works a lot better than sitting around waiting to see what comes in. Most unsolicited nonfiction submissions lack the necessary platform that would make them worthwhile.

GLA: According to your website, you have an interest in books about Britain and France. Why this interest? Do you also look for fiction books perhaps set in these countries?

IG: Britain? There will always be an England. France? Are you kidding? Go to France, have one meal there, and then come back and tell me if you still have that question. The French know how to love life and love themselves. They know how to take pleasure seriously. I sold a book called French Women Don't Sleep Alone by Jamie Callan, about how to get a guy the French girl way. (Hint: Dating is so American.)

GLA: You've agented for decades and seen the publishing landscape change. Do you have any advice for authors on how they can be prepared for whatever lies ahead?

IG: Look for the loopholes in the system that weren't there before. Consider the case of Boyd Morrison, who posted his unpublished thriller, The Ark, on Amazon, available only as an e-book. The readers found it on their own and it quickly became a Kindle #1 bestseller. Using that base, I was able to sell it to Simon & Schuster, where it now headlines the Touchstone list. Our brilliant foreign rights agent, Danny Baror, has made major sales in over 15 countries (and counting).

GLA: Something personal about yourself people might be surprised to know?

IG: My favorite movie of all time is The Godfather (both I & II). I have seen them both countless times, and manage to find something new each time. I will go toe to toe with anyone on Godfather trivia. It is also one of the best business books ever written. Seriously. One of the most quoted lines is "It's just business, not personal." But what people often forget is what Michael says later on, which is that everything is personal.

GLA: Best piece(s) of advice we haven't discussed?

IG: There's an old proverb: "If you are like him, who will be like you?" Be bold. Be yourself. Write the book that only you could write. Technology changes, but the fundamentals don't. Human beings have had a driving need to tell stories since they lived in caves. The earliest storytellers enthralled listeners around campfires. Chaucer entertained the court by telling them the Canterbury Tales. In the 19th century, people lined up for blocks to get the next installment of the new Dickens story. Today, teenagers in Tokyo are downloading the latest vampire saga onto their phones. So no matter what format becomes the norm, a great story is still what it's all about. Hone your craft, learn the techniques of telling a great story, and the rest will come.

Want more on this subject?

Read an interview with agent Meredith Kaffel (Charlotte Sheedy Lit)

Read an interview with agent Lucienne Diver (The Knight Agency)

What Agents Hate: Even More Chapter 1 Pet Peeves.

Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.
Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Agent Advice (Agent Interviews) | Contests

Monday, February 01, 2010 2:58:50 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [0]

Thursday, January 28, 2010

''Dear Lucky Agent'' Contest: Memoir and Narrative Nonfiction
Posted by Chuck

Note from Chuck: It's Feb. 1, 2010, which means this contest
is now closed. Thank you for entering. Winners
should be announced within 7 days or so.
Meanwhile, our next contest should start
within a week or two, as well. It's for writers
of kids books!

------------------------------

"Dear Lucky Agent" Contest:

Memoir and Narrative Nonfiction

Welcome to the first "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest on the GLA blog. This will be a recurring online contest with agent judges and super-cool prizes. Here's the deal: With every contest, the details are essentially the same, but the niche itself changes - meaning each contest is focused around a specific category or two. So if you're writing book-length memoir or narrative nonfiction, this first contest is for you!

HOW TO SUBMIT

You can leave your entry in the Comments section of this post, or just e-mail it. Send e-mailed entries to januaryagentcontest@gmail.com. (If using e-mail, paste everything. No attachments.)

WHAT TO SUBMIT

The first 200 words of your unpublished, book-length work of memoir, femoir or narrative nonfiction (also called creative nonfiction). You must include a contact e-mail address with your entry and use your real name. Though not mandatory, feel free to submit the title of the work and a logline (one-sentence description of the work) with your entry.

Please note: To be eligible to submit, I ask that you do one of two things: 1) Mention and link to this contest twice through any social media - blogs, Twitter, Facebook, forums, message boards, comments on other blog sites; or 2) just mention this contest once and also add Guide to Literary Agents Blog (www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog) to your blogroll. Please provide link(s) so I can verify eligibility.

CONTEST DETAILS

      1. This contest will be live for approximately twelve days - from Jan. 19 through the end of Sunday, Jan. 31, EST. Winners notified by e-mail within seven days of end of contest. Winners announced on the blog thereafter.
      2. To enter, submit the first 150-200 words of your book. Shorter or longer entries will not be considered. Keep it within word count range please.
      3. This contest is solely for completed book-length works of memoir (life stories), femoir, narrative nonfiction or creative nonfiction. Stories, naturally, must be true - not simply fiction based on truth.
      4. You can submit as many times as you wish.
      5. The contest is open to everyone of all ages, save those employees, officers and directors of GLA's publisher, F+W Media.
      6. There are more rules (most of them dealing with legal stuff) that you can find in the comments section of this post.
      7. By commenting on this post or e-mailing your story, you are submitting an entry for consideration in this contest and thereby agreeing to the terms written here as well as the terms added by me at the beginning of the "Comments" section of this blog post.

PRIZES!!!

First place: 1) A critique of 25 pages of your work, by your agent judge. 2) Two free books from Writer's Digest Books (I will give you several choices and you pick the books your want).

MEET YOUR (AWESOME) JUDGE!

Katharine Sands is an agent with the Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency. She is the agent provocateur for Making the Perfect Pitch: How to Catch a Literary Agent's Eye. Books she's repped include:

SAT Word Slam, by Jodi Fodor

Hands Off My Belly: The Pregnant Woman's Survival Guide to Myths, Mothers and Moods, by Shawn Tassone and Kathryn Landherr

The Complete Book of International Adoption: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Your Child, by Dawn Davenport

Taxpertise: The Complete Book of Dirty Little Secrets and Tax Deductions for Small Businesses the IRS Doesn't Want You to Know, by Bonnie Lee

Contests | Memoir

Thursday, January 28, 2010 10:40:15 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [27]

Thursday, January 07, 2010

Two Contests for Kids Writers
Posted by Chuck

If anyone prides themselves on having a beat on ongoing writing contests hosted by editors, agents and other professionals, they should contact me. I would love to have a recurring contests update on here. Recently, I got wind of two different contests happening now/soon. Check them out:

1. Kids agent Mary Kole, who I recently interviewed, is hosting a contest on her KidLit blog, inviting writers to submit the first 500 words of their finished young adult or middle grade novel. Deadline: Jan. 31, 2010. See all details here.

2. Sourcebooks is launching a new young adult imprint called Sourcebooks Fire and is hosting a contest for YA writers. You're invited to submit your pitch, a bio and the title. Contest runs from Feb. 1 to Feb. 28, 2010. See all details here.

Want more on this subject?

Buy the 2010 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market.

See a great example of a young adult query that snagged an agent.

New agent seeking kids books: Gwendolyn Heasley of Artists & Artisans.

Confused about formatting? Check out Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript.

Want more on this subject?

Want the most complete database of agents and what genres they're looking for? Buy the 2010 Guide to Literary Agents today!

Children's Writing | Contests

Thursday, January 07, 2010 9:39:09 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [0]

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Agent Irene Goodman Auctions Off Critiques
Posted by Chuck

Literary agent Irene Goodman of the Irene Goodman Agency in New York is auctioning off 25 critiques this December, with all proceeds going toward Foundation Fighting Blindness and the Deafness Research Foundation. If you've ever wanted to get a thorough critique from someone who knows their stuff and has helped launch some amazing writers' careers, read on.

Irene Goodman and her son, Rob,
who was diagnosed with Usher Syndrome,
which affects sight and hearing.

All the details are on Irene's page about this. Here's the gist: You can submit a synopsis and up to 50 pages (a "partial") and she sends back her notes on how the work can be more salable. There are certain categories she likes in both fiction and nonfiction. The auctions on EBay start on Dec. 1 and end on Dec. 15, 2009. The actual EBay links do not exist yet (as of Nov. 17) but will be live as of Dec. 1.

It's a good cause, so think about getting in on this and making a bid. If you don't have anything that needs a critique, purchase one of these for a friend or writer you know as a Christmas gift! (On a side note, I am advocating to everyone I know to buy books, magazines and more books this Christmas to support the publishing industry. First on my list: Pixarpedia.)

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Contests

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 1:13:20 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Thursday, November 12, 2009

New Genre: 'New Adult' ... and a Contest!
Posted by Chuck

The Agency Gatekeeper Blog and Georgia McBride's site let me know about this new contest by St. Martin's Press. Previously, we've talked about the emerging genres of cyberbilly, elegant erotica, and quagmire fiction. Now it's "New Adult." (By the way, I love subgenre categories - I find that stuff fascinating.)

Here's the gist: "St. Martin’s Press is actively looking for great, new, cutting edge YA with protagonists who are slightly older and can appeal to an adult audience. Since twenty-somethings are happily reading YA, St. Martin’s Press is seeking YA that can be published and marketed as adult; kind of an 'older YA' or 'new adult.' " Writer Jodi Meadows has a good look at the new genre and why it's cool.

Here is everything you need to know about the rules. The contest ends quickly! - Nov 20, 2009.

Want more on this subject?

Writer's Digest has year-round contests, including an annual competition where the winner flies to NYC to meet agents and editors!

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Contests

Thursday, November 12, 2009 9:31:57 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Winners Announced: The 'Worst Storyline Ever' Contest
Posted by Chuck

Thanks to all who entered the second-ever "Worst Storyline Contest" here on the GLA blog. We got tons of entries! The judging is over and the winning lines are below (as well as some commentary from me). Special thanks to several WD and WD Books staffers who weighed in on the judging, and congrats to all the winners.

"Worst Storyline Ever"

Contest Winners

GRAND-PRIZE WINNER:

"After an unidentified cow swallows an armed nuclear device in a botched Homeland Security raid, Agent Tom Anderson is thrust into an unlikely partnership with buxom organic farmer Daisy Jones to sift through three hundred cows and 10 barns full of manure as the clock runs down in a desperate quest to save Kansas City from a moo-clear disaster."
- Livia Blackburne

Chuck says: Out of all the finalists, this one was the one that got the most praise from judges weighing in. I think everyone just fell in love with the last little joke. Livia wins a query critique from me and some free WD books. Way to go, Livia! (Check out Livia's blog where she combines her love of creative writing and neuroscience.)

TWO RUNNERS UP (in no particular order):

"When a cannibalistic bonsai tree runs rampant at the local Walmart garden center, it's up to pimple-faced stock boy to step in on a quest to save all cheap garden enthusiasts everywhere using way too much Miracle Grow and the magic pruning shears, and maybe score a date with that cute cashier on lane eight."
- Kathryn Martin

"A young woman discovers she is half unicorn after farting a rainbow at her bat mitzvah, and must go on a hijinx-filled voyage of self discovery to find her real father and fit as 'one of the herd.' "
- Rebecca Knight

OTHER FINALISTS (in no particular order)

(No prizes for these, but I had
to include them because they're hilarious)

- "A self-aware taco salad travels through the harsh urban jungles of his hometown, across the oceans of discontent, to the mountains of Tibet on a quest for enlightenment, love, meaning, and a reasonably good-tasting low-fat sour cream substitute."
       - Marie Hix

- "When Sparky the Squirrel wakes up without his nuts, he leaves the safety of his tree and makes the journey back to the scene of the crime, the veterinarian's office, to recover them."
       - Tracy Hamilton

- "True love intrudes on Rodney Staff's assault against the Guinness Book record for vasectomy reversals."
       - Dave Diotalevi

- "Can Joey, who becomes wheelchair bound in a freak car accident involving cotton candy, find lyrics for a country and western song by traveling in his power chair the 486 miles from one side of the state to the other even though he has to stop and recharge his battery every six miles?"
       - L. Ell

- "Leonard the narcoleptic snail sets out on his lifelong dream of running the Boston Marathon while humming 'Macarena,' and invites you to join the excitement in real time."
       - Steve Forti

Congrats again to all the winners!!!

Contests

Wednesday, October 14, 2009 12:13:04 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

Comments [10]

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

The (Second) 'Worst Storyline Ever' Contest!
Posted by Chuck

This contest is now CLOSED (as of Oct. 6).
Thank you to everyone who
submitted. Judging will take place in the next 7 days or so
and winners will be notified by e-mail just before I make
the results public. Thanks!

--------------------

Have you got a horrible idea for a story? Well I want to hear about it. Welcome to the "Worst Storyline Ever" Contest - a competition that encourages terrible loglines. This contest happened once before, so feel free to check out that go-round. (If you have any problems or concerns, email me at literaryagent@fwmedia.com.)

"Worst Storyline Ever"

Contest

"Three middle-aged men defeat their midlife crises by starting a college fraternity." (Old School)
"When a Roman general is betrayed and his family murdered by an evil prince, he comes to Rome as a gladiator to seek revenge." (Gladiator)
"In a future where criminals are arrested before the crime occurs, a cop struggles on the lam to prove his innocence for a murder he has not yet committed." (Minority Report)

Examples of Bad Loglines

1. "After the death of his goldfish, a priest renounces his faith and gets a job at the local White Castle, where he becomes addicted to special sauce and tries to dance his way to getting respect on the streets."

2. "A man's lifelong plan to dress up like Jabba the Hutt and star in a new line of workout tapes finally comes to fruition, but everything goes horribly awry when the man gets ink poisoning, lead poisoning and mercury poisoning all at once."

3. "When a woman dies and is reincarnated as a power saw, she uses a telepathic link with feral cats to help trick and trap and kill her former-lover-turned-murderer-turned-taxidermist."

Here are the rules:

1. Stick to the format, but have fun with the idea. You want your logline to be one sentence only and must be 60 words or fewer, and explain what the movie is about. It's what you put in that one sentence that will win you this competition. So the trick is to make your logline a terribly creative idea that's pitched in a professional manner.
2. The contest will go until the end of the day, 11:59 p.m., PST, Monday, Oct. 5. Submissions received after that will not be considered.
3. I will judge the contest, with some possible input from other WD and WD Books staffers.
4. To participate, simply click on "Comments" at the end of this post and leave your submission as a comment with your full name and e-mail. You must include your full name and e-mail. If you are super paranoid about leaving your name (Google!), use "L. Martin Smith" instead of "Leonard Smith."
5. You can submit up to two (2) bad loglines. You can include both in the same comment post as you wish.
6. The contest is open to everyone of all ages, save those employees, officers and directors of GLA's publisher, F+W Media (formerly F+W Publications).
7. There are a lot more rules (most of them dealing with legal stuff) that you can find in the comments section of this post.
8. By posting a terrible logline for consideration in this contest, you are agreeing to the terms written here as well as the terms added by me at the beginning of the "Comments" section of this blog post.

The Prizes:

First prize (grand prize): 1) A query letter critique from me. 2) A follow-up phone call to discuss the query critique and a plan of action for seeing your work published (basically: you ask questions, I answer). 3) A copy of the 2010 Guide to Literary Agents; 4) a one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com; 5) Praise on this blog from yours truly.

Two runner-up prizes: 1) A free copy of any one (1) of the following books: the 2010 Guide to Literary Agents, the 2010 Writer's Market; the 2010 Novel & Short Story Writer's Market; or the 2010 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market; 2) a one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com.

Good luck!!!

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