August Pitch+250 Contest is Open for Submissions PLUS a Contest Success Story

by Jan Lewis

The Contest is now closed to submissions.

The August Pitch+250 Contest is open for NA, YA, and MG submissions and will stay open until we receive 50 submissions. Get all the info here: http://childrenspublishing.blogspot.com/2013/07/announcing-august-pitch250-contest_14.html

Our very first Pitch+250 success story is from Sarah Marsh. She was a finalist in the May contest and is now represented by one of the agent judges, Christa Heschke of McIntosh & Otis. Here’s a link to Sarah’s submission from the contest. Congrats Sarah and Christa! Thanks for sharing your success story with us!

Sarah Marsh’s Success Story

Since I discovered their blog in winter of last year, Martina and Jan’s Adventures in YA Publishing has been one of the most enjoyable parts of my writing journey. Each week, I read the articles they post about ways to improve your craft, and the guest posts by other authors—they’ve certainly pushed me to think about my stories in new ways.

I began querying my YA Southern Gothic, No Such Thing, about a month before I heard about the May Pitch + 250 contestover on Adventures in YA. I had already met with some success while querying and in other contests, but I was really excited to give the Pitch + 250 a try, especially when I saw that Christa was participating as one of the agent judges for the top 10. See, I knew from researching that she represents high fantasy, and in addition to No Such Thing, I had a completed, polished YA high fantasy manuscript dying to be read. This made Christa one of my top choice agents!

In the Pitch + 250 contest, I was surprised and thrilled to be included among the top 25 entries, and felt quite humbled when I learned I was one of the top 10—the other finalists’ pitches and openings were so strong, and I would have loved to read their books.While waiting for the final scores to be tallied, Jan emailed me with a request from Christa to see more of No Such Thing!

To my amazement, about a month and a half after the contest, I wound up with four offers of representation from some genuinely lovely people. I kept saying how lucky I was, but my husband pointed out how hard I had worked for this, too—putting my book out there despite being shy, entering many contests, carefully researching agents, and above all, polishing my work and continuing to grow as a writer.

And when it came time to choose my agent, I knew who I most wanted to work with: the person who loves fantasy, horror, and all my other crazy book ideas. Christa is the perfect blend of friendly and professional. Someone I feel comfortable talking to, someone who inspires confidence, and who clearly works hard for her clients.I’m so thankful to Jan and Martina for bringing us together through their contest!

Christa also had some things to say about why she requested No Such Thing, and why she signed me (she’s just that great!):

I was drawn to No Such Thing and Sarah as I am a big horror/creepy/ghost story fan. No Such Thing has a little bit of everything—romance, eeriness, a compelling ghost story. Not to mention, Sarah can write! I also connected with her pitch for Goblin’s Price, a YA fantasy. A writer who does fantasy and horror, two of my favorite things? Yes, please!

Once we began speaking after I requested the manuscript I could just tell we were on the same page. We talked about her other WIP’s and she’s just easy to talk to. Besides loving the work, it’s also important to connect on a more personal level too.

Thank you so much, Martina and Jan, for the work you put into organizing and running this contest. I would definitely encourage other writers to enter the August Pitch +250. It’s a wonderful opportunity to stand out from the slush—even though (if you’re like me), putting yourself out there can be a little intimidating. Trust me, it’s well worth the effort!

Additional Info: If you’d like to say “hi,” you can find me on Twitter @SG_Marsh. I also recently started a blog, where I talk more about signing with Christa and give information on my other books: www.sarahglennmarsh.blogspot.com

Jan Lewis

Jan Lewis writes YA fantasy of the contemporary and traditional varieties. She lives in Oklahoma with a husband, two kids, two cats, a dog, and a mother. Instead of unpublished, she prefers to call herself pre-published. While she enjoys drafting, her heart is truly in rewriting and editing. She loves ladybugs, fairies, blue roses, cats, musical theater, and pretty much all things geek.

Post © Jan Lewis and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.

Posted: Jul 31, 2013

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: #contests | Success Story

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The first slide is an animation of a science/magic room in a castle. A cartoon character of a mad-scientist looking man in in the foreground says: “Hello! Dr. Frankenstein here to say, Well Done on kid lit zombie week! I’m an expert at reviving the dead, and let me assure you, with a little spark, you can bring dead projects to life. Especially if you dig up parts from other dead things. I’ll even let you have a sneak peek at my laboratory’s store room to consider potential parts for your dead project. If you see something with a yellow glow, that means you should click it. Have fun!”

He points to the right side of the screen and a new scene slides in of a castle science/magic storage room. There are various cartoon Frankenstein body parts scattered around. Some of them have a yellow glow. If you click on them, the images below appear (I’ve added alt text to them, so I hope it works).

The Heart of your story is the main character. The protagonist is the beating core that truly brings your story to life. If your MC doesn't make kids (and their grown-ups) care within the first few pages, your story will flatline. </p>
<p>Your main character needs to be:<br />
• Relatable enough for kids to see themselves<br />
• Unique enough to stand out in the slush pile<br />
• Active enough to drive the story<br />
• Memorable enough to survive multiple readings at bedtime</p>
<p>Where do you find this amazing donor heart? It might be the very thing you loved so much about the manuscript you want to revive. It might be the younger sister from your shelved YA novel. Or maybe it’s the hilarious kid you blogged about meeting at a school visit. Find a character beating with potential and place it in the center of your story.<br />

The Brain of your story is the theme or central message. The theme is the big idea that controls everything else. Picture books are more than stories - they're tiny life lessons disguised with humor and heart.</p>
<p>But your theme needs to be:<br />
• Subtle enough not to trigger the dreaded "didactic" rejection<br />
• Clear enough for a four-year-old to grasp<br />
• Universal enough to speak to both kids and adults<br />
• Fresh enough to prevent agents and editors from responding with "Not another sharing/bedtime/first-day story!"</p>
<p>Check your other dead manuscripts to see if there is a recurring theme, something that really seems to be speaking to you. Find the bit of poetry you scribbled on the back of a receipt to see what theme inspired it. Reread the pep talk you texted your critique partner at 1am. Pick the theme that will drive your story, giving it purpose, direction, and deeper meaning.<br />

The Legs of your story is the plot. Not to be confused with a grave plot.🤪 The plot is what keeps everything upright and moving, as well as providing support for all the other elements. You have very few words to use in a picture book, so you need to do a lot with each plot point.</p>
<p>In general, your plot should:<br />
• Hook readers fast<br />
• Build tension that a child can follow<br />
• Create page turns that feel natural<br />
• Wrap up in a way that satisfies</p>
<p>You can borrow a plot twist (a leg) from one manuscript and the opening (the other leg) from a different manuscript. Consider if the subplot of the middle grade novel you trunked would work better as a picture book. Or maybe your Facebook post about a disastrous camping trip could become a story for kids. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until you have your storyline.

The Arms of your story are the side characters.

The Torso of your story is the setting. Setting helps a story breathe and connects all the elements of the story. It isn't just where your story lives, it's what makes your story ALIVE. It's the difference between "this happened in a park" and "this happened in that park, the one with the twisty slide that burns your legs and the creaky swing that sounds like a baby crying.”</p>
<p>Your setting should:<br />
• Make your character's world feel real<br />
• Contain your story in a way that makes sense to young readers<br />
• Connect different scenes and moments organically<br />
• Give your illustrator enough room to add visual subplots</p>
<p>Half-finished manuscripts are a great place to dig up settings, since you worked out the place details before the plot petered out. Or maybe you had to cut a second fantastic location from your chapter book. You can also revisit the detailed caption from your Instagram carousel documenting your tour of that delish candy shop. Disinter a robust setting that can house all of your story's vital organs.

After you press the Click When Done circle button, the lights flash with the sound of electricity buzzing. Then the screen goes black and lightning zaps across the screen with the sound of thunder.

The screen then lights up to show the storage room, and all the Frankenstein pieces have been assembled into the whole monster. An upbeat song plays in the background. Then a speech bubble pops up with the words, “I’m alive! I’M ALIVE!” Then the screen goes to black.

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