Heads Up! Countdown to the Three Two One Pitch Contest

So you think you can pitch? It's time again for us to give aspiring writers everywhere a chance to pitch to a literary agent. The next Three-Two-One pitch contest takes place July 25th and 26th. This gives you all about three weeks to get your manuscripts and pitches ready. Just a reminder to those who haven't participated before, a Three-Two-One pitch contest goes like this:

THREE - Pitch your story in only three sentences.

TWO - Two days to enter: July 25th and 26th.

ONE - One agent will judge and pick a winner.

Doesn't that sound great? Well then, get those pitches ready!

Do not enter your pitch on this post. We will make an official contest entry post on July 25th and entrants will post their three-sentence pitches (no run on sentences!) in the comments section of that post. At midnight on July 26th, We will turn off comments and no other entries will be accepted. The winner will get a full manuscript request!

We will announce our spectacular judging agent sometime prior to the contest, so keep an eye out!

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

• Middle Grade
• Young Adult

To be eligible, you must:

1) Follow this blog - go ahead and click "Join this Site" on the right if you haven't already
2) Follow Dorothy on Twitter
3) Follow Elizabeth on Twitter
4) Spread the word! Tweet, Blog, or mention on Facebook about the contest and link back to this post or the official entry post.

So, don't forget: three sentences, two days to enter, one agent will judge. Good luck, everyone. We can't wait to read all of your pitches. See you back here on the 25th of July! :)

Heads up for the Next Three Two One Pitch Contest

So you think you can pitch? Once again we'll be giving aspiring writers everywhere a chance to pitch to a literary agent. The next Three-Two-One pitch contest takes place February 8th and 9th. This gives you all about one month to get your manuscripts and pitches ready. Just a reminder to those who haven't participated before, a Three-Two-One pitch contest goes like this:

THREE - Pitch your story in only three sentences.

TWO - Two days to enter: February 8th and 9th.

ONE - One agent will judge and pick a winner.

Doesn't that sound great? Well then get those pitches ready!

Do not enter your pitch on this post. I will make an official contest entry post on February 8th, and entrants will post their three-sentence pitches (no run on sentences!) in the comments section of that post. At midnight on February 9th, I will turn off comments and no other entries will be accepted. The winner will get a full manuscript request!

I will announce our spectacular judging agent sometime prior to the contest, so keep an eye out!

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

• Offbeat, literary, and graphic YA
• New Adult
• Upmarket Women's Fiction with a twist
• Commercial Fiction

NO middle grade, science fiction, or category romance.

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

So, don't forget: Three sentences, two days to enter, one agent will judge. Good luck, everyone. Can't wait to read all your pitches. See you back here on the 8th of February! :)

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!

Official Entry Post for the Three Two One Pitch Contest

This contest is now closed. Thank you for all your entries. I will announce the winner as soon as literary agent Marie Lamba makes her decision. Stay tuned!

So you think you can pitch? It's time for aspiring writers everywhere to pitch to awesome literary agent Marie Lamba of the Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency. The contest starts today, November 15th, and closes at midnight on the 16th. Just a reminder to those who haven't participated before, a Three-Two-One pitch contest goes like this:

THREE - Pitch your story in only three sentences. No run-ons!

TWO - Two days to enter: November 15th and 16th.

ONE - One agent, Marie Lamba, will judge and pick a winner.

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

• YA
• MG
• Contemporary Fiction
• Women's Fiction
• Some memoir

Books that are moving and/or hilarious are especially welcome. NO picture books, science fiction, or high fantasy (though paranormal elements are acceptable), category romance (though romantic elements are welcome), non-fiction, or books that feature graphic violence.

Each contestant is allowed two entries.

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

Entries should be formulated in the following manner, right here in the comments section:

• Your name
• Your email
• Title of your manuscript
• Genre
• Word count
• Three-sentence pitch

So, don't forget: Three sentences, two days to enter, one agent will judge. Good luck, everyone. Can't wait to read all your pitches. On your mark, get set, GO!

Introducing the Judging Agent for November's Three Two One Pitch Contest

Our Three-Two-One Pitch contest will be taking place next week, and I bet you're all dying to know who the judging agent is. Well, I'm pleased to announce that I've lined up an awesome one for you, one I'm sure you'll be excited about.

Our judging agent is:
Marie Lamba of the Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency!

Marie Lamba joined JDLA as an Associate Agent in 2011. She is the author of the young adult novel WHAT I MEANT . . . (Random House), and her work appears in the short story anthology LIAR LIAR (Mendacity Press) and the anthology CALL ME OKAASAN: ADVENTURES IN MULTICULTURAL MOTHERING (Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing). Marie's articles appear in more than 100 publications, including national magazines such as Writer's Digest, Garden Design, and RWR. She has worked as an editor, an award-winning public relations writer, and a book publicist, has taught classes on novel writing and author promotion, and is a member of Romance Writers of America and The Liars Club.

Here's what Marie says she's open to for the contest:

Young adult and middle-grade fiction, along with general and women's fiction and some memoir.  Books that are moving and/or hilarious are especially welcome.  I am NOT interested in picture books, science fiction, or high fantasy (though I am open to paranormal elements), category romance (though romantic elements are welcome), non-fiction, or in books that feature graphic violence.


The contest will take place November 15th and 16th. I will make an official entry post, and contestants will leave their three-sentence pitch in the comments section of that post. For more details, click here.

I'm very happy to have Marie judge this round. Be sure to follow the blog, and get those pitches ready, folks!

Details for November's Three Two One Pitch Contest

So you think you can pitch? Once again we'll be giving aspiring writers everywhere a chance to pitch to a literary agent. The next Three-Two-One pitch contest takes place November 15th and 16th. This gives you all about one month to get your manuscripts and pitches ready. Just a reminder to those who haven't participated before, a Three-Two-One pitch contest goes like this:

THREE - Pitch your story in only three sentences.

TWO - Two days to enter: November 15th and 16th.

ONE - One agent will judge and pick a winner.

Doesn't that sound great? Well then get those pitches ready!

Do not enter your pitch on this post. I will make an official contest entry post on November 15th, and entrants will post their three-sentence pitches (no run on sentences!) in the comments section of that post. At midnight on November 16th, I will turn off comments and no other entries will be accepted. The winner will get a full manuscript request!

I will announce our spectacular judging agent sometime prior to the contest, so keep an eye out!

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

• YA
• MG
• Contemporary Fiction
• Women's Fiction
• Some memoir

Books that are moving and/or hilarious are especially welcome. NO picture books, science fiction, or high fantasy (though paranormal elements are acceptable), category romance (though romantic elements are welcome), non-fiction, or books that feature graphic violence.

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

So, don't forget: Three sentences, two days to enter, one agent will judge. Good luck, everyone. Can't wait to read all your pitches. See you back here on the 15th of November! :)

The Three Two One Pitch Contest Official Entry Post

This contest is now closed. I will announce the winner as soon as our judging agent makes her decision. Thank you all for your participation!

Are you ready, writers? I hope your manuscripts are polished up and pitches ready to wow our judge. Because pitching day is here! On your mark, get set ... WAIT!

Before you start haphazardly pitching, let's take one last look at the rules:

THREE - Pitch your story in only three sentences. NO RUN ONS!

TWO - You have two days to enter: September 21st and 22nd.

ONE - The fabulous Rebecca Podos of the Rees Literary Agency will judge and pick a winner. The winner will get a full manuscript request!

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

• YA
• Fantasy
• Science Fiction

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

NOW! Please leave your pitch as a comment in the following format:

• Your 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)

Limit: Two pitches per person. Good luck, everyone! I can't wait to read all your awesome pitches. Ready, set, GO!

Introducing the Judging Agent for September's Three Two One Pitch Contest

Are your pitches about ready for our contest next week? Let's hope so, because we've got an awesome judging agent who will be reading all your entries. I'm happy to introduce Rebecca Podos of the Rees Literary Agency!

Rebecca Podos is thrilled to read the work of promising new authors, and to represent talented clients like Rin Chupeco, Rory Douglas, and Ryan Craig Bradford. Her interests include character-driven literary fiction, young adult, narrative nonfiction, some fantasy and science fiction, and in general, writing with a touch of strangeness.

We're thrilled to have Rebecca judge this month's contest.


Once again, the Three-Two-One Pitch contest goes like this:

It all takes place September 21st and 22nd. 

THREE - Pitch your story in only three sentences. 

TWO - Two days to enter: September 21st and 22nd.

ONE - The fabulous Rebecca Podos will judge and pick a winner.

Do not enter your pitch on this post. I will make an official contest entry post on September 21st, and entrants will post their three-sentence pitches (no run on sentences!) in the comments section of that post. At midnight on September 22nd, I will turn off comments and no other entries will be accepted. The winner will get a full manuscript request!

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

• YA
• Fantasy
• Science Fiction

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

So, don't forget: Three sentences, two days to enter, one agent will judge. Good luck, everyone. Can't wait to read all your pitches. See you back here on the 21st!

September Three-Two-One Pitch Contest Details

Attention writers! Once again we'll be giving aspiring writers everywhere a chance at pitching to a literary agent. The next Three-Two-One pitch contest takes place September 21st and 22nd. Just a reminder to those who haven't participated before, a Three-Two-One pitch contest goes like this:

THREE - Pitch your story in only three sentences.

TWO - Two days to enter: September 21st and 22nd.

ONE - One agent will judge and pick a winner.

Doesn't that sound great? Well then get those pitches ready!

Do not enter your pitch on this post. I will make an official contest entry post on September 21st, and entrants will post their three-sentence pitches (no run on sentences!) in the comments section of that post. At midnight on September 22nd, I will turn off comments and no other entries will be accepted. The winner will get a full manuscript request!

I will announce our spectacular judging agent sometime prior to the contest, so keep an eye out!

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

• YA
• Fantasy
• Science Fiction

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

So, don't forget: Three sentences, two days to enter, one agent will judge. Good luck, everyone. Can't wait to read all your pitches. See you back here on the 21st of September!

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.

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.

Pitch Contest Reminder

You didn't forget, did you? I hope not, because the Three-Two-One Pitch contest is afoot. It all takes place August 20th (my birthday) and 21st. 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 - One agent will judge and pick a winner.

Doesn't that sound great? Well then get those pitches ready!


Do not enter your pitch on this post. I will make an official contest entry post on August 20th, and entrants will post their three-sentence pitches (no run-on sentences!) in the comments section of that post. At midnight on August 21st, I will turn off comments and no other entries will be accepted. Do your best, because the winner will get a full manuscript request from our judging agent!

I will announce our spectacular judging agent sometime this week, so keep an eye out!

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

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

So, don't forget: Three sentences, two days to enter, one agent will judge. Good luck, everyone. Can't wait to read all your pitches. See you back here soon!

Three Two One Pitch Contest Details!

Attention writers! If you missed out on the pitch contest I held in June with literary agent Natalie Lakosil, you're in luck, because I'm holding another pitch contest soon! It all takes place August 20th (which happens to be my birthday) and 21st. What exactly does this contest entail? Well, a Three-Two-One pitch contest goes like this:

THREE - Pitch your story in only three sentences. 


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


ONE - One agent will judge and pick a winner.

Doesn't that sound great? Well then get those pitches ready!


Do not enter your pitch on this post. I will make an official contest entry post on August 20th, and entrants will post their three-sentence pitches (no run on sentences!) in the comments section of that post. At midnight on August 21st, I will turn off comments and no other entries will be accepted. The winner will get a full manuscript request!

I will announce our spectacular judging agent sometime prior to the contest, so keep an eye out!

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

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

So, don't forget: Three sentences, two days to enter, one agent will judge. Good luck, everyone. Can't wait to read all your pitches. See you back here on the 20th of August!

Perfect Pitch Contest Mini Announcement

Guess who's got a birthday coming up. Okay, it's not until next month, but I thought I'd give you guys a heads-up, because I'm going to be holding a contest. A Perfect Pitch contest. This is a shout out to all unpublished YA and/or MG writers with completed manuscripts. The contest will be in Twitter Pitch style, meaning it can only consist of 140 characters in the comments of the official entry post (not this one), and will be judged by a spectacular literary agent, who will request the full manuscript from the winner. Who is the agent, you're asking? I'll keep that a secret a little bit longer and make the announcement closer to the contest date. But believe me—spectacular!

The contest's official entry post will go up August 18th (two days before my birthday), so get those Twitter pitches perfected and those manuscripts polished. You must be a follower of this blog and tweet or blog the contest, which you can do anytime between now and contest date.

(Just a suggestion: Practice your pitches on your blog or Facebook or wherever, then ask for critiques through Twitter with the hashtag #perfectpitch. Not necessary, but why not get help making your pitches as perfect as they can be?)

You've got three weeks. Go!