Pitch Contest Success Story

I love when paying it forward pays big. So when I got a message from Caitlin Whitaker telling me she got her agent through one of my contests, I had to let out a major squee.

Here's her story:

Ladies and gentlemen, I am now represented by the fantabulous Ms. Bree Ogden of D4EO Literary Agency.

First, some numbers. I sent out a grand total of 37 queries, never heard back on 14 of them, was rejected 12 times, and had 15 submission requests. I know the numbers don't add up. Some of my submission requests were from contests so there wasn't an official query involved.

Bree was one of my non-query submissions.

I started querying at the end of July and the very first one I sent was answered with a request for my full manuscript. Over the next few weeks, I sent out two and three queries at a time and entered contests to distract myself from obsessing over my submissions.

The first contest I entered was Dorothy Dreyer's 3-2-1 Pitch Contest; three sentences, two days to enter, one agent judging the entries. The agent judging the August 3-2-1 Pitch Contest was Bree Ogden, who is ridiculously awesome on so many levels. I was pretty darn sure I wouldn't win but I loved the idea of whittling my pitch down to three little sentences so I went for it. I labeled it New Adult because the option was there. It's a tricky issue for me because my MC is a little older but the MS feels very YA. I've had mixed messages from agents on this one so I thought it was safer calling it NA than risking the old "Maggie's too old for YA" response. I spent maybe fifteen minutes condensing my query down to this;

"Maggie inherited a lot from her grandma-- her brown eyes, her sense of humor, and her cause of death. Unaware she's starting the countdown to a reenactment of her grandma's death by fire, Maggie spends the summer with her hot-as-hell boyfriend and accidentally sets off an unstable stalker.

It's only a matter of time before Maggie Parrish is going to burn."

And then I waited. Six days later, I wasn't the winner. I assumed Bree wasn't interested. (WRONG)

A bizarre email showed up in my inbox early the week after. Someone claiming to be Bree's executive assistant requested my first fifty pages and synopsis, saying Bree had instructed her to do so following the 3-2-1 Pitch Contest. Instead of her email address ending in @D4EO.com, it was (redacted).D4EO@gmail.com. Her first name was EXACTLY THE SAME as mine. Think hard-- how many Caitlins do you know? Not Katelyns or Caitlynns, but Caitlins. No one knew how to pronounce my name when I was little. Every substitute teacher called me Cat Lynn. I hated it. But I digress.

Because I'm such a confident, secure person, I assumed the almighty Bree-Freaking-Ogden was way out of my league and the email was a scam. This psycho "Caitlin" chick swiped my email address off the contest entry and wanted to steal my baby. Bree, with her red lipstick fetish and love of things dark and wonderful, would never be interested in some loser stay-at-home mom with a minivan and a Diet Cherry Coke addiction.

I did what any sane person would do. I called Bree's executive assistant a manuscript-napping fraud and said she needed to get smacked around. Then I got this email;

"Ha ha! Yes, she is my assistant. And yes, I told her to request fifty pages. Thanks for checking!"

So I apologized to Caitlin for calling her a scam artist and accusing her of trying to hijack my story. I made such a splendid first impression, I figured I'd slaughtered any chance I had of landing Bree.

A bunch of other stuff happened. (I just saved you half an hour. You're welcome.)

All of a sudden, I had offers. It was an overnight thing and I'm still in shock. I wrote a bunch of "thank you for considering my MS, blah blah blah" emails and sent them to the agents who hadn't answered my query yet. To the agents who'd made submission requests, I gave them a heads up about my offers and got emails back, asking for a week to finish reviewing my MS. Bree was one of them.

Bree's offer was preceded by a middle of the night email, confessing she was (and I quote) "falling madly in love" with my manuscript. She sent an email the next day, asking if we could chat on the phone because she had an offer for me. I locked myself in my room and The Gunny hung out with the kids so I could have a semblance of privacy. We talked on the phone and she was every bit as jaw-droppingly cool as she seemed online. (Her hair changes color! Pink! Blue! Green!)

I have to add here how awesome my other offers were. This wasn't an easy decision. I didn't query every agent known to man-- just agents I really wanted to work with. Getting an agent is more than signing a contract. It's agreeing to a sort of partnership. It's finding someone who genuinely loves you and your work and will rave about you to publishers and fight for your manuscript's life. It's not something I took lightly when I sent queries. I think having this attitude made rejections easier for me. When I got a rejection that praised my writing but said they just didn't love it the way they needed to in order to represent me, I was cool with that. I was looking for love and I found it.

Congratulations, Caitlin! I'm so happy for you! I look forward to news of a book deal!

Winner of the Three-Two-One Pitch Contest!

Yes, it's time to announce the winner of this month's Three-Two-One Pitch contest.

Our judging agent, Bree Ogden, seemed really impressed with the entries. In fact, she said, "Wow, those were some amazing pitches! So hard to choose one." So without further ado, here's our winning entry:

•Megan Orsini 



•Fall of a Sparrow



•YA contemporary



•60,000



•Set within the confines of a traveling freak show, in this modern retelling of Shakespeare's classic tragedy Hamlet, Ben McPherson, son of the proprietor of McPherson's Traveling Carnival of Wonders, must avenge his father's untimely death. Narrated by Ben's best friend Liam, Fall of a Sparrow explores the monsters and madness that hide in the shadows and the secrets that can eventually become our downfalls.

Congrats, Megan! Bree would like to see your full manuscript and, as a bonus, would like to critique your query! How cool is that! (Please send your full in an attachment, the query in the body of the email, use the subject line "Requested Material: FALL OF SPARROW" and mention this contest as a reminder of where she found you, to bree@d4eo.com - and good luck!)

Thanks to everyone who participated, especially our awesome agent judge. You rock, Bree!

Keep writing and polishing, everyone. Our next pitch contest takes place September 21st and 22nd! Details to come.

Three-Two-One Pitch Contest Official Entry Post

This contest is now closed to entries. Our judging agent will review all pitches, and I'll announce the winner once a decision is made. Stay tuned!

Yes! It's here! Are you all ready to enter the Three-Two-One Pitch Contest? That's awesome! But first, before you post, look over the rules once more.

To remind you all what the contest entails, it goes something like this:

THREE - Pitch your story in only three sentences. 

TWO - Two days to enter: August  20th and 21st.

ONE - Literary agent Bree Ogden  of D4EO Lit will judge and pick a winner.

You have today,  August 20th, and tomorrow, August 21st, to post your three-sentence pitches (no run-on sentences!) in the comments section of this post. At midnight on August 21st, I will turn off comments and no other entries will be accepted. You are allowed two entries per person. Bree Ogden, our judging agent, will then read all the entries and pick a winner, who will get a full manuscript request!

This contest is open to unagented, completed and polished manuscripts in the genres of:

• MG
• YA (no paranormal, urban fantasy, romance [ unless there is a superb dark, psychotic element ], or magical realism)
• New Adult
• Graphic Novels
• select adult genres: transgressive fiction, genre horror, genre noir, and nonfiction

To be eligible, you must:

• Follow this blog - go ahead and click "Join this Site" on the right if you haven't already
• Follow me on Twitter
• Spread the word! Tweet, Blog, or mention on Facebook about the contest linking back to this post

Not necessary, but in the spirit of paying it forward:

• Friend me on Goodreads
• Like my Facebook Author Page
• Check out my upcoming debut (and maybe mark it as to-read) on Goodreads

HOW TO POST YOUR ENTRIES

Please format your entries in the following manner:

• Name and email
• Title of your manuscript
• Genre of your manuscript
• Word count
• Three-sentence pitch (No more than three sentences or you'll be disqualified.)

Good luck, everyone. Can't wait to read all your pitches. On your mark, get set, GO!

Introducing Our Judging Agent

I know you've been anxious to find out who will be judging our Three-Two-One pitch contest next week. Well, the wait is finally over.

The amazing literary agent judging our contest is Bree Ogden of the D4EO Literary Agency!

Bree Ogden joined D4EO in November 2011, after having been an associate literary agent at Martin Literary Management for nearly 2 years representing children’s, YA, and graphic novels.

Seeking: Middle grade, Young Adult, New Adult fiction (readership: ages 18-30), Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, and Art books. *Now accepting queries for select ADULT GENRES: transgressive fiction, genre horror, genre noir, and nonfiction*

Bree’s wish list:

• Dark (not angst-ridden)
• Realistic
• Psychological horror (with no paranormal elements)
• Hard sci fi. Meaning no fantasy, or magical realism at all
• A Dexter-ish type YA black comedy
• A Roaring Twenties historical for YA
• A manuscript written in the era of Mad Men with panache and style
• A unique and theme-driven art book
• Any book dealing with Anne Boleyn
• Historical fiction (crime-driven)

Manuscripts Bree will not look at:

• Paranormal or fantasy (that includes urban fantasy)
• Romance (unless there is a superb dark, psychotic element)
• Magical realism
• World building

We're very excited to have Bree judge our contest. So come back on Monday and/or Tuesday to take part. Good luck to everyone entering. I can't wait to see the hidden gems out there!

Contest details can be found here.

Winners!

That's right, winners! D4EO literary agent Mandy Hubbard has made her decision, and here's what she has to say:

*****

Hi All!

Thanks so much for entering. So many great concepts and pitches! I’m choosing just one winner for a full manuscript, and highlighting several that I particularly gravitated toward—I’d like to see queries + 10 pages for those. And for everyone, please do feel free to query! 140 character pitches can be hard to nail, particularly if your work is more about voice and character than plot. So don’t think this is a “rejection” in any way. You can still query!

And as an aside, the last time I did a contest like this, I signed one of the “honorable mentions”. So you don’t even have to win to be a potential winner. J

So without further ado, the winning pitch, by Merliniana:

Charlie’s alone on a spaceship, pursued by villains who want its cargo, and haunted by the memory of a small child he abandoned back on Earth

Please send your full as an attached doc, with your full-sized query pitch in the first page of the doc! Put "Pitch Contest Winner" in the subject line.

Honorable mentions (and requests for a full query + 10 page sample)

Jenn: 16-year-old con artist, Megan Benson scores a place in the Keller mansion before realizing too late this is the one family she can't fool.



Rachel: Told in non-linear chronology, a little bit Hate List, a little bit Heathers, 17-year-old Jenna tries to figure out how she ended up with a dead boyfriend, the murder of her history teacher on her hands and her parents divorced

Susan: 16-yr old Mary O’Conner is a good girl. 19-yr old Robert Marchioni is a good boy. But now that she’s pregnant, no one in their town sees them that way, so it’s time to split.

Danielle Dreger : Falling in love is easy but falling out of love may destroy you-Eleanor learns this after Jake breaks up w/her &she spirals out of control.

Kathryn Holmes:  15-year-old Cordelia just learned that NYC's subway trains are alive. Now, the creatures are in danger—and it's up to her to save them.

Thanks, All!


*****


Mandy's email address for queries is Mandy.Hubbard.Queries@Gmail.com


I would like to thank all the participants of this contest for entering, and of course Mandy for so generously offering her time. Good luck to the winners and everyone querying!

Official Entry Post for the Perfect Pitch Contest

Here it is: The post you've all been waiting for! I hope your pitches are polished and perfected, because it's time to show literary agent Mandy Hubbard what you've got.


Let's go over the rules, shall we?
In order to be eligible for the contest, you must:

• Be an un-agented writer of YA or MG
• Pitch a completed manuscript
• Follow my blog
• Tweet, blog, or post a Facebook update about the contest with a link

It also wouldn't hurt to follow Mandy's blog. Or my Twitter.


And now for the entry details. Please post the following as a comment:

• Title
• Genre
• Word Count
• 140-character pitch
• Email address

The comments section will be open now until Friday, August 19th, at midnight. (Although you might get lucky and I'll forget to shut comments off until the next day, August 20th, which is my birthday. *wink*) D4EO agent Mandy Hubbard will then begin her search for the winning pitch.


That said, let the pitching begin. Good luck, everyone! 

Perfect Pitch Contest

Hello, fellow writers! Have you been perfecting your pitches? I hope so, because the pitching is set to commence next Thursday, August 18th, right here on the blog.

Who is this contest for? You must:

• Be an un-agented writer of YA or MG
• Have a completed manuscript
• Be a follower of this blog (It's not too late to hit that "Follow" button)
• Tweet about the contest, linking to the blog

How does the contest work?

On August 18th, I will post an "Official Entry Post" post. In the comments section of that post, entrants will leave their 140-character pitch and their email address. Comments will remain open until midnight, August 19th. The judging literary agent will then peruse the entries and pick a winner, whose full ms will be requested.

And the big question: Who is the judging literary agent?

It's Mandy Hubbard of D4EO Literary!

Along with being a literary agent, Mandy Hubbard, also-known-as Amanda Grace, is the author of Prada & Prejudice, You Wish, But I Love Him, and three other to-be-published novels for teens. At D4EO Literary, she represents authors of middle grade and teen fiction. And she's awesome!


I had the honor of being able to ask Mandy a few questions to get to know her a little better. Take a look!

What is your favorite thing about being an agent vs your favorite thing about being a writer?

Hmm. I think as a writer, it's conneceting with readers. There's something very surreal about writing something by myself on my laptop and then reading a review online for it from someone who lives in a state (or country!) I've never even been to. Everyone draws their own conclusions and opinions about my books and it's amazing seeing different reactions. As far as being an agent, its definitely making a writer's dream come true. Having gone through many rejections as writer, there's something very satisfying and exciting about calling a client with good news!

What are your top three tips for aspiring writers?

1. Give yourself permission to write crap. Crap can be fixed (as in, don't let yourself be paralyzed by fear-- crappy words are better than no words.)
2. Write because you love it, not because you want fame or fortune or just to be published. You have to be in it for the right reasons.
3. Never give up. I wrote several novels before Prada & Prejudice, and Prada went through 9 drafts and 26 rejections. You have to be willing to stick with it when the going gets tough!

Great advice! Okay, Imagine that Agent You and Writer You are a superhero duo. Who are the evil nemeses of each of you?

I think self-doubt can be hard to deal with, no matter what side of the table you're on. As a writer its natural but I never realized how much agents second-guess themselves until I was in the business for awhile and met a lot of them. We constantly compare notes. I think it's harder to maintain confidence as an agent than as an author!

Interesting! So, what type of manuscript are you currently eager to get your hands on?

Really dying for some great, grounded, character-driven fantasy or sci-fi. And I'm always a sucker for realistic/contemporary stories. Haven't yet found that Luxe-style historical, either. So bring it on!

You heard her. Get those pitches ready, writers! Then come back here on the 18th for your chance to win. And if you want to know more about what Mandy represents, check out her website here.

And good luck!