Showing posts with label agents. Show all posts
Showing posts with label agents. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Just Awful...
This story happened last week, but I just learned about it from Writer Beware. Days after a self-published author posted her novel on Amazon, she received a series of e-mails purporting to be from an agent at Writers House. The "agent" not only offered representation, but then claimed to have sold her book for a six-digit figure to a major publishing house and urged the author to announce it on her blog. You can see the e-mails on Writer Beware. The author learned the next day it was a hoax, most likely personally directed at her by someone she'd encountered on Twitter. The author publicly admitted she'd been scammed and even offered some tips on how to recognize a scammer. But who can blame her for getting caught up in the excitement? It's the kind of deal every author dreams of. But sometimes you have to ignore the excitement and listen to your head. My sympathies go out to the author. Hopefully no one else gets tricked like this.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Twitter Pitch Contest
I'm skipping Ten-Word Tuesday to bring you a Tale of Two Contests.
The QueryTracker Blog is hosting a Twitter Pitch Contest. Agent Suzie Townsend is looking for Twitter-length pitches (140 characters or less) for completed manuscripts in five different adult genres (science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, romance, and thriller). Entries will not be capped, and they'll start accepting them at noon on Tuesday, July 6. For further details, check out this link.
I plan to enter this contest, but since there's some time before it begins, I'd like to get some feedback on my pitches first. That's where the second contest comes in. Below are five pitches I've written for Across Two Universes:
1. An actor cloned from a rock star impersonates him in 1980 to save the star’s life and in 2156 to expose his own mother’s murderer. (131 characters)
2. A 22nd century actor finds himself living Hamlet when he suspects his great-uncle murdered his mother. Who will get caught in the Mousetrap? (140 characters)
3. A 22nd century actor must choose between saving the 20th century Lennon-like musician he was cloned from or exposing his mother’s killer. (138 characters)
4.Meeting the rock star you were cloned from isn’t fun when you’re trying to solve one murder, stop another, and avoid other time travelers. (138 characters)
5. Paul was cloned from a 20th century rock star, but the actor will only impersonate him to trick his great-uncle into a murder confession. (137 characters)
Which one hooks you best and why? Do you have constructive advice on how to make them clearer or more intriguing? Leave a comment below (note: for Facebook friends, you can also comment there when this blog uploads) by 5:00 p.m. CDT on Friday, July 2nd. As a thank-you for your help, each person who comments will be entered into a random drawing for a $10 gift card to Barnes and Noble. Let me know if you have any questions, and I'm looking forward to your feedback!
The QueryTracker Blog is hosting a Twitter Pitch Contest. Agent Suzie Townsend is looking for Twitter-length pitches (140 characters or less) for completed manuscripts in five different adult genres (science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, romance, and thriller). Entries will not be capped, and they'll start accepting them at noon on Tuesday, July 6. For further details, check out this link.
I plan to enter this contest, but since there's some time before it begins, I'd like to get some feedback on my pitches first. That's where the second contest comes in. Below are five pitches I've written for Across Two Universes:
1. An actor cloned from a rock star impersonates him in 1980 to save the star’s life and in 2156 to expose his own mother’s murderer. (131 characters)
2. A 22nd century actor finds himself living Hamlet when he suspects his great-uncle murdered his mother. Who will get caught in the Mousetrap? (140 characters)
3. A 22nd century actor must choose between saving the 20th century Lennon-like musician he was cloned from or exposing his mother’s killer. (138 characters)
4.Meeting the rock star you were cloned from isn’t fun when you’re trying to solve one murder, stop another, and avoid other time travelers. (138 characters)
5. Paul was cloned from a 20th century rock star, but the actor will only impersonate him to trick his great-uncle into a murder confession. (137 characters)
Which one hooks you best and why? Do you have constructive advice on how to make them clearer or more intriguing? Leave a comment below (note: for Facebook friends, you can also comment there when this blog uploads) by 5:00 p.m. CDT on Friday, July 2nd. As a thank-you for your help, each person who comments will be entered into a random drawing for a $10 gift card to Barnes and Noble. Let me know if you have any questions, and I'm looking forward to your feedback!
Monday, July 21, 2008
New Links
I recently decided to change my template for this blog, which required me to update Blogger. This new version has some new features, such as allowing you to maintain a blog list with active links. So, taking my cue from Heather, I decided to add some links to some agent blogs. I've been following some of them (such as Nathan's) longer than others, but they offer helpful advice. Some agents also hold contests to help writers improve their skils. Go ahead, check them out!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Writing News
Lots of writing stuff to post today.
First, I'd like to spread the news about a dialogue contest being run on Nathan Bransford's blog. Nathan is a literary agent at Curtis Brown Ltd. He's challenging people to post up to 250 words of dialogue and supporting description. The contest ends tomorrow at 5:00 Pacific Time (he's out of California). I posted a snippet from Thine Own Self. There are nearly 400 entries already, so we'll see Thursday morning if I made it to the finalist round.
Second, one of the writers I know, Maria Zannini, is celebrating the release of her debut novel, Touch of Fire, a fantasy romance. It's available here as an e-book and will be in print late next year.
Finally, and most exciting personally, I found out from Dragon Moon Press that copies of Firestorm of Dragons are on their way to me. I should receive them Thursday in time to bring them to WisCon. I'm planning to be part of Broad Universe's Rapid-Fire Reading there (reading from my short story) and will be selling copies of the anthology at their table in the Dealer's Room. I can't wait to see the book!
First, I'd like to spread the news about a dialogue contest being run on Nathan Bransford's blog. Nathan is a literary agent at Curtis Brown Ltd. He's challenging people to post up to 250 words of dialogue and supporting description. The contest ends tomorrow at 5:00 Pacific Time (he's out of California). I posted a snippet from Thine Own Self. There are nearly 400 entries already, so we'll see Thursday morning if I made it to the finalist round.
Second, one of the writers I know, Maria Zannini, is celebrating the release of her debut novel, Touch of Fire, a fantasy romance. It's available here as an e-book and will be in print late next year.
Finally, and most exciting personally, I found out from Dragon Moon Press that copies of Firestorm of Dragons are on their way to me. I should receive them Thursday in time to bring them to WisCon. I'm planning to be part of Broad Universe's Rapid-Fire Reading there (reading from my short story) and will be selling copies of the anthology at their table in the Dealer's Room. I can't wait to see the book!
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