Red Light/Green Light Opens TODAY!

by Adventures in YA Publishing

Red Light/Green Light officially opens TODAY as of Noon EST/9am Pacific Time. A maximum of 25 entries received during this window and accepted on a first come first served basis will be admitted into
the contest. Our second submission window begins at 3pm EST/Noon Pacific Time,
during which we will also accept up to the first 25 entries received, for a maximum of 50 first round competitors.

Don’t forget, our prize is a PARTIAL REQUEST from our judging agent, Marisa Corvisiero of Corvisiero Literary Agency, which makes Red Light/Green Light a great way to stand out from the slush!

Entries
time stamped before the first window’s opening time will not qualify.
Regrettably, neither will those sent after the contest spaces fill
up. You ARE permitted to enter during both submission windows, but
please only submit once per window. Entries submitted twice within a
submission window will be disqualified.

If you have previously entered a manuscript in Red Light/Green Light, but did not place first in the contest, you are more than welcome to enter again.

Red Light/Green Light is open to completed YA, NA, and MG manuscripts.

For a full contest schedule/guidelines, please proceed here.

During the entry windows, submissions should be emailed to ayaplit(at)gmail(dot)com. Please format as follows.

ENTRY FORMATTING

Please type AYAP CONTEST ENTRY in the email subject line for your entry.

Name: Use your real name, and add a pen name in brackets if applicable.

Genre: Please include age category as well as genre. Example: YA Contemporary, NA Romance, MG Suspense.

Title: Your title.

Query Letter/3 Paragraph Pitch:
Please include your query letter/3 paragraph pitch, minus any
personalization. You do not need to include any biographical
information–just the bones of your story, please.

First Page/First 250 Words:
Please include your first page (up to 250 words–if a sentence cuts off
at the 250 word mark, you may go a few words over to finish it).

Good luck! Can’t wait to see your openings, and Happy Writing!

Adventures in YA Publishing

This is the user name for posts from Adventures in YA Publishing that did not have a specific author.

Post © Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.

Posted: Oct 20, 2016

Category: Imported from AYAP

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Welcome to Transmedia Mutts

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Thank you to the women who started Adventures in YA Publishing and ran it for years. AYAP and TMM have merged to form Adventures in PUPlishing, and the legacy AYAP posts are now part of TMM. Click here to learn more about the earlier AYAP team.

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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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