3 S.R. Johannes: Agent Pitch Contest starts today! Extended Deadline!

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Agent Pitch Contest starts today! Extended Deadline!

EXTENDED DEADLINE: Sat 8AM EST.

It's time for our December agent twitter pitch contest!

Today, the pitch is being judged by Josh Adams from Adams Literary.


Here are some other interviews to help you get to know their taste and style:
Josh Adams Interview
Agent Spotlight on Josh Adams
Tracey Adams Interview

Winner:
Gets to submit the manuscript pitched for consideration! (Thanks Josh! :)

When: Begins today, (Thurs Dec 9th) at 10AM EST and ends tomorrow (Fri, Dec 10) at midnight EST (I will close comments when it officially ends so if you get a comment in, you are counted.)

Why Twitter pitch? Because if you can't get your book in a Twitter pitch, you need to work on narrowing down the story and hook. You can check your character count either on Word (file, Tools/Word Count/Characters with spaces), on Twitter, or here.

Eligibility/Rules:
  • Your pitch MUST only be 140 characters to be counted so please check it twice! This includes spaces and punctuation so you might have to be creative. If your pitch is over 140 characters when I test it, it will not be eligible.
  • Your pitch must be for children. No adult books. They do not represent them.
  • This is for unagented/unpublished book writers only. (if you've published articles or essays - you may enter!)
  • You can only enter ONCE so choose wisely!
  • You must be a follower of my blog (and I'd love to see you on Twitter too). It's only fair to those who are .
What To include: In the comments you MUST leave the following information to be considered:
  • title of book
  • genre
  • your Twitter (140 characters) pitch
  • your email
Example:
Title - Untraceable
Genre - YA Survival Suspense
Email - sjohannes@bilaninc.com

Pitch - When her forest-ranger father disappears,Grace uses her survival skills to search the NC mtns & finds a secret group plotting against nature

References: Here are a few articles on writing short, one sentence pitches:

Nathan Bransford (agent)
Rachel Gardner (agent)
Query Tracker
Scribe Chat
140 character pitch

Winner(s) will be announced next week!

Good luck!

84 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Curse of Elizabeth Brewster

YA- Paranormal Thriller

truekingsley@me.com

Pitch:

Cursed, Eli must unravel a dark Puritan secret, embrace an ancient society, and face a love that defies time to save herself from evil.

Jenilyn Collings said...

Title: SLIPPERAGE

Genre: YA Sci Fi Fairytale Retelling

Email: jenilyntolley@gmail.com

Pitch: Zuku (a boy-king who can talk to machines, but not to girls) has to save 12 princesses from an endless ball after they rip a hole in space.


Thanks so much for this contest!

Kelly Polark said...

ROCK 'N' ROLL PRINCESSES WEAR BLACK
Humorous Contemporary Realistic Fiction MG
kellyp123atcomcastdotnet

Stef’s overlooked at home and taunted at school.Will a concert, medical emergency, and hoedown change her or will her individuality persist?

Unknown said...

This worked in my twitter...


Title- BLACKBIRD
Genre- YA Fantasy Thriller
Email- kyle(at)skyledavis(dot)com
Pitch:

Elfin spy-school recruiters die saving her, so Taylor takes on their last mission: discover what sorcerers are stealing before they kill her

Meradeth Houston said...

Title: Colors Like Memories
Genre: YA Paranormal
Email: mrs.which (@) gmail.com
Pitch:
Julia’s secret: she killed the guy she loved. It was an accident—sorta. Now she must save her best friend, but her ghosts won’t make it easy

MarcyKate said...

Thanks for another fabulous contest!!

TITLE: THE GHOST WRITER
GENRE: YA Ghost story
EMAIL: marcykate(a)gmail.com

Tessa denies the 1st letter. She rationalizes the 2nd. When the accidents begin, there's no ignoring the ghosts in the theatre next door.

Dorothy Dreyer said...

Title: Bittersweet Melody
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Email: dorothyanndreyer@gmail.com
Pitch:

Being a teen can suck - as muse Melody discovers when she is forced to choose between the human boy she loves and her immortality.

Katrina L. Lantz said...

Thank you, Shelli!

PREPARE TO BE REPAIRED
MG Fantasy Adventure

Eighth grade is a villain's senior year, but Robert has no plans to graduate, what with his evil twin plotting revenge on the headmaster.

katrina (dot) lantz (at) gmail (dot) com

Writer Tessa said...

Title: GORGEOUS BOYFRIEND + KILLER GHOSTS = MY SUMMER VACATION

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy

E-mail: tessadevan at hotmail dot com

Pitch:
When ghost seer Kayley realizes she can't identify killer ghosts, she wonders if her boyfriend is a homicidal ghost out to murder her.

Michelle Sussman said...

Title: THE SLEEPERS
Genre: YA fantasy
Email: michelle@michellesussman.com

Elite fighter. Adoptee. Rage-filled teen with untamed magic. Will Lianne protect or destroy when lies & betrayal threaten the kingdom?

B.J. Anderson said...

Title: SEAN MCDONALD'S ELIXIR OF INFINITE WISDOM

Genre: Contemporary MG

To earn money for his dying sister's last wish, 12-year-old Sean McDonald enlists a crazy Irishman to help him make and sell wisdom elixir.

bonny.anderson@gmail(dot)com

Thanks Shelli and Josh!

Nazarea Andrews said...

Title: Edge of the Falls.
Genre: YA Dystopian
Email: nazareanandrews@gmail.com

Pitch:
It should be an easy choice--give up choice in favor of protection. But when love is an option, no matter how dangerous, nothing is easy.

Deb Salisbury, Magic Seeker and Mantua-Maker said...

Title: Anchoring the Rain
Genre: YA Fantasy Adventure

As if accidentally freeing an imprisoned necromancer weren't bad enough, Denton must rescue the girl the so-called God of Death has kidnapped.

Email: writer(at)DebSalisbury(dot)com

Joel said...

Title: Time Breaker
Genre: Contemporary YA Sci-fi/Fantasy
Email: davinashbury (at) gmail (dot) com

After teenage Aly discovers she's a time walker she must convince her allies she's not the Time Breaker, while stopping her brother, who is.

Brenda Drake said...

Title: Library Jumpers
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy

Pitch:Yanked into a gateway book that links the great libraries, Gia finds that she's a long lost knight and must now fight to stop an apocalypse.

Email: bdrake(at)comcast(dot)net

Michael Di Gesu said...

Title: A Willow's tale

Genre: M/G fantasy

Email: mculi@aol.com

Pitch: Eleven-year-old Amber discovers her power to control the wind is the key to stop an evil fae's plague on the human and faerie worlds.

Candyland said...

Title: 9:59 REWIND
Genre: Edgy YA with magical realism/paranormal elements
Email: candaceganger[at]yahoo[dot]com

Pitch: At 9:58 pm Thursday Night Scum singer, C.J. Greyson, catches a bullet to the chest. But at 9:59 pm, she presses rewind.

Laura Pauling said...

Thanks for the contest!

Title: HEIST
Genre: MG contemporary fantasy (time travel)
Email: laurapauling@yahoo.com

A thirteen-year-old boy's struggle for truth. His dad. The cute girl. Her kidnapping. An art heist. And an impossible decision.

Chantele Sedgwick said...

Title: Not Your Average Fairy Tale
Genre: YA Fantasy

Armed with wings and a blue wand, being a fairy godmother should be easy. Unless your name is, Ash. And you're a dude.

email: chantelesedgwick(at)yahoo(dot)com

Nicole Zoltack said...

Alexia's Pen
YA Fantasy
Nicole.Zoltack@gmail.com

When fifteen-year-old Alexia is given a magical pen, she discovers the Land of Imagining, a world overrun by demons that only she can save.

Shallee said...

Title: Devolutionaries
Genre: YA dystopian
email: shalleemcarthur [at] gmail [dot] com

Ash must sacrifice his ability to talk in order to hone the telepathic skills he needs to rescue his grandpa from a Government experiment.

Unknown said...

Title: Wayward Angels
Genre: MG Fantasy
email: Xia@Gooberella.com



Seriously? A Therapy dog? What can an abandoned mutt teach a 15-year old tough girl who isn’t afraid of anything—except of dogs.

Editor Cassandra said...

Title - Saltwater

Genre - Contemporary YA

Email - camarshallwrites@gmail.com

Pitch - After the death of Tavi's little brother, her family wins the lottery and falls apart. Tavi's gotta keep it together & fend off a stalker.

The Writer said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Thanks for this contest!! :D

Title: Out of My Body
Genre: YA paranormal (55,000 words)
Email: moni.bw at gmail dot com

Tanya needs to do everything to save her mom’s kidnapped soul—even if it means risking her life & becoming a US Government out-of-body spy.

Jennifer said...

Title: Ben Holloway: Time Guardian
Genre: MG Action-Adventure Mystery

email: jenswan1222@yahoo.com


Kidnappings. Angry Ghosts. War. Time Travel can really ruin your day.

Ann Braden said...

Title- 1790: On The Edge
Genre- Middle Grades Historical Fiction
E-mail- annbbraden @ gmail dot com

In 1790, a stranger’s death prompts 5 teens to overcome barriers of race and class in search of the truth. Independence itself is at stake.

Thanks very much!

Speech Delay Mamma said...

Title - Seventy-Seven

Genre - Urban Fantasy YA

Email - chanelle(@)chanellegray(.)com

Pitch - As Death's daughter, it's Winter's job to kill those who appear on her list. Until she falls in love with her next case and he won't die.

Shannon O'Donnell said...

Title - Scott and the Naughty Boy Factory

Genre - Chapter Book

Email - mrso_d at yahoo dot com

Pitch - The Naughty Boy Factory transforms boys into Scott’s worst nightmare—perfect gentlemen—and Scott is not about to let that happen to him.

Unknown said...

PERFECTION

YA Dystopian

ebysswriter@yahoo.com

Created to rid the world of imperfections, a genetically-engineered girl learns there is more to her than what she was bred to be.

The Writer said...

Title: Angel of the Waters
Genre: YA urban fantasy

Monster slayer, Feng Huang, finds there’s something out there more intimidating than horned freaks: the parents she never knew she had.

hollyloiseau @ hotmail dot com

Sarah Nicolas said...

Title - THE DEMONS YOU KNOW
Genre - YA Urban Fantay
Email - sarah.nicolas.ya(at)gmail(dot)com

Pitch -
1. Rescue her mother from demons.
2. Deny the dark power of the Books.
3. Find love with a young Holy Knight.
-- Miranda can only pick two

ikmar said...

Title - The Enamel Gnome
Genre - MG Fantasy
Email - dlwright@outer-net.com
Pitch - A nasty gnome, an ogre, a ninja fairy, a monstrous nerd, a Titan and 300 samurai rats. What else would you expect after losing a tooth?

Julie Geistfeld said...

Title: INVISIBLE
Genre: Paranormal YA
Email: geistfeldj@yahoo.com
Pitch: When Angeline goes from ‘INVISIBLE’ to disappearing, she discovers that being noticed is a little more interesting than she anticipated.

Shevi said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shevi said...

Title of book:
Why My Love Life Sucks: The Legend of Gilbert the Fixer

Genre:
YA Humorous Science Fantasy (like Doctor Who or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

Pitch:
Gilbert had big plans. He was going to fix the world, and it was going to be perfect. But a funny thing happened on the way to the future...

Email:
shevi.arnold@hotmail.com

Karen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shari said...

Free Bread Girl
YA Contemporary

When repeated scholarship rejections bombard Mattie, she must reach out for her one last hope to find a cure for Gran’s fatal disease.

sixbird(at)msn(dot)com

Karen said...

MELISMA
YA Light Fantasy
karenmkrueger(at)gmail(dot)com

After a breakdown Tessa gives up singing,but when she enters a world where music is magic she must find her voice if she ever wants to leave

Chemin said...

TITLE: THE FOREST AVENGERS

GENRE: Middle Grade Adventure
with magical realism

EMAIL: cskrutowski@gmail.com

Jason must save the Blue Karner butterflies from a poacher who is stealing them for their power to grant a wish to whoever catches it first.

Bonnie said...

LOVE this! Thanks Josh for the opportunity!

Title - Counting with Bella and Finny - A Poodle See Poodle Doo Book
Genre - Picture Book
Email - Bonnie@bellaandfinny.com

Pitch - Poodles driving cars, washing dishes and flipping pancakes oh my! Children can laugh and learn counting hilarious photos of real dogs!

Christina said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Yahong Chi said...

Title: Faking The Aurora Borealis
Genre: contemporary middle-grade
E-mail: yahongchi@gmail.com
Pitch:
Victoria's the only one not convinced the bizarre imprint is a crop circle. For someone, she's one too many.

Rambling Wraith said...

Title - Black Amethyst
Genre - YA Magical Realism
Email - sgairden@gmail.com

Pitch - Alissa is alone and hunted. So when a celestial fox-boy offers to help her save her mom, she can't fumble the chance. Lucky stars much?

Kevin said...

Thanks for this contest!

Title - JOSHUA FALLEN AND THE MATTER OF DARKNESS
Genre - MG Science Fiction
Email - mvkevin (at) gmail (dot) com

Pitch - 13-year-old Joshua Fallen awoke with the ability to wield dark matter, and then found out only he could save the universe from destruction.

allifoster said...

Title: The Spiritualists

Genre: Contemporary Middle Grade Mystery

Email: fosteralli@bellsouth.net

Pitch: The mountain. The secret. A mission from Gran: find the natural bridge, find the truth. Don’t be scared, Oliver. You are not alone.

E. Arroyo said...

Title: Some Kind of Trouble

Genre: YA Contemporary

Pitch: After a drive-by shooting leaves Arianna with an unexpected boyfriend, she finds that love alone won’t save him from life on the streets.

elizabeth.arroyo5@gmail.com

Unknown said...

Title: SPITFIRE

Genre: YA Fantasy

Email: shayda.bakhshi (at) gmail (dot) com

When Mattie's gift of fire is discovered, she must escape to a world where magic rules--and where having her gift is punishable by death.

Susan X Bradley said...

Thanks for the contest.

Title: Unraveled
Genre: YA Mystery
Email: bradley_susan(at)yahoo(dot)com

Pitch: Sixteen year old Autumn dreams of being an FBI profiler so when her sister is murdered she investigates on her own and sets a dangerous trap to catch the killer.

Unknown said...

Thank you!

Title: Kinesthesia
Genre: YA alternate history
Email: nora.e.coon[at]gmail[dot]com

Meriwether Davis leaves home to escape a future as a fisherman’s wife – the chance to fight Nazis is just a bonus.

Jessie Oliveros said...

Title: Pieces of Moon
Genre: YA magic realism
Email: jessicaloliveros(at)gmail(dot)com

Belize is a perfect summer escape for Tess. The 15th century, a cursed Mayan city, & a Spanish soldier that hates her? Not so perfect.

Buffy Andrews said...

Title – The Lion Awakens

Genre – YA

E-mail – Buffy@ydr.com

Pitch – Modern David vs. Goliath. 2 teens find gifts that lead to parallel universe and an enemy hell-bent on taking over their world. Trilogy.

Unknown said...

Title: Caenus And The Quiver Of Artemis

Genre: YA Historical Fantasy

Email: cs_ledbetter@yahoo.com

Pitch: When a Greek prince loses the Isthmian games, he is banished from his kingdom. A wise centaur trains him and helps him to return home.

Jenn said...

Man getting the pitch down to 140 characters is hard. Thanks for having this contest though!

Title: THE PLASTIC SLIPPER

Genre: Upper MG Fairy tale

Email: phanhnguyen1 @ yahoo.com

Pitch: Getting a happily ever after is hard. But when Rosy’s evil cousin makes her get amnesia & forget she’s a princess, its damn near impossible.

Natalie Aguirre said...

Thanks so much for the awesome contest.

Title: THE THIRD TOWER
Genre: Upper middle grade fantasy
E-mail: rmarma2@yahoo.com
Pitch: Jasmine convinces her BFF to follow a talking doorknob. Now she must learn how her adoptive mom’s love unlocks her magic or watch him die.

Jess of All Trades said...

Thank you, Ms. Shelli, this is fantastic!

Title: The Song of the Summer King

Genre: MG Fantasy

Email: jessowen.writer@gmail.com

Pitch: Shard is a gryfon in danger of exile. After learning the secret of his past, he must decide whether to fight with his king - or against him.

Tabitha Bird said...

Title: MAX IS DEAD
Genre: YA
E-mail: tab[at]zaeya[dot]com
Pitch: Max is young. Obnoxious. And dead. And he's going to stay that way unless he can figure out how to get one person on earth to wish him back.

Artemis Grey said...

Title: EVERNOW

Genre: Dystopian YA

Email: Greyvaledesigns@gmail.com

Pitch: Fey folk may have displaced humans, but Evernow is determined to find peace between those who caused a cataclysm and those who survived it.

Bidisha said...

Title: WHAT WAS MINE
Genre: YA Contemporary
Email: speak_to_bidisha@yahoo.co.in
Pitch: When you're living on pretense, you need more than booze and weed to save you. Ronni's learning it the hard way.

Jared Larson said...

Title - I'm Here to Save Your Day
Genre - MG Adventure/Fantasy
Email - iwillwhisperno(@)gmail.com
Pitch - A brazen boy faces a playground bully to reclaim the jungle gym, only to discover the bully's mom– the lunch lady— is a far worse enemy.

Liesl Shurtliff said...

Title: RUMP

Genre: MG Fantasy

email: sendliesl@gmail.com

If a name determines your destiny, then Rump’s destiny really stinks, and spinning gold only makes things worse.

Jennifer said...

Title: In the Shadows
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Pitch:
When the hottie from Emily's recurring dream shows up at school, she discovers her prophetic powers. But dream guys and family secrets can have a serious dark side.
jenross(at)yahoo(dot)com

Shelli (srjohannes) said...

gah! These are so good!

and I love all the new people I'm meeting :)

Good luck to all.

Heather Zundel said...

Title: Moriarty's Ink
Genre: MG Fantasy Adventure
email: heatherzundel[AT]gmail(dot)com

Abigail's family can enter books but when a strange teen uses their machine they must stop him before both book & real worlds are destroyed.

Lindsey Roth Culli said...

Title: requiem
Genre: YA Contemporary
email: apinchofpanache@gmail.com


When his “perfect” older brother commits suicide, Ben must unravel the enigma that was his brother's life in order to move on with his own.

Deren Hansen said...

Title: THE ALYSCRAI
Genre: YA Steampunk Adventure
email: deren(dot)hansen(at)gmail(dot)com

Alysseren evades war machines to stop a rebellion when she learns the tochtin, lemur-like familiars, will use their human hosts as weapons.

Bree said...

Title - LOCK 19

Genre - YA Science Fiction

Email - sabrina.wolford(at)gmail(dot)com

Pitch - When Tabby's brother is killed, his rebel friends need her help to stop a clone war. The problem is, her dad's the one creating the army.

Anonymous said...

Title: Kwizera Means Hope
Genre: YA
Email: vtremp@yahoo.com

Pitch: Rwandan teen struggles to care for her family and save enough money to pay for school despite the survivor guilt that threatens her efforts.

Anonymous said...

Title: Kwizera Means Hope
Genre: YA
Email: vtremp@yahoo.com

Pitch: Rwandan teen struggles to care for her family and save enough money to pay for school despite the survivor guilt that threatens her efforts.

Unknown said...

Title - The Secret of Elijah

Genre - YA Historical Fiction

Email - shavriluk@bellsouth.net

Pitch - Leah searches for her brother Elijah, kidnapped by a hoodoo conjurer, and falls for both a man-ghost and a Civil War soldier who aid her.

Rachel said...

I apologize if this double-posts; I'm having technology trouble.

Title: Countdown to Mourning
Genre: YA fantasy
Email: regiddings [at] gmail [dot] com

Liria knows a sorcerer wants to overthrow Voltara & its laws against magic. Can she convince them to trust her when she uses magic herself?

Christina said...

Title- The Siren Song
Genre- YA paranormal romance
Email- christinaferko(at)gmail.com

Pitch-
One song can destroy two lives. When Coral meets Jackson, her siren song crashes over him, pulling them both down into its unknown depths.

Unknown said...

Title: FATE CREST

Genre: YA Fantasy

Email: kanonei (at) gmail (dot) com

Pitch: Angelyn Bowmoore, the first female knight in known history, must do everything in her power to claim her birthright at the Knights Academy.

Kelley Vitollo said...

Title: What a Boy Wants
Genre: YA contemporary romance
email: kdvitollo (AT) yahoo (DOT) com

Pitch:
Sebastian is his school’s best secret,The Hook-up Artist. Too bad his undercover matchmaking skill didn’t prepare him for falling in love.

Rachel Searles said...

Title: Fulcrum
Genre: YA sci-fi
email: rachel.searles(at)gmail.com

An amnesiac boy seeking his identity must navigate his way through a dangerous galaxy after the planet where he first awoke is destroyed.

alexander brashear said...

Title: Gates of Hell

Genre: YA Historical Fiction

Email: abbrashear@yahoo.com

Pitch:
15 Y/O Gerhard cant stand by & let his adoptive father Heinrich Himmler & the Nazis do to his pal Ari, what has been done to a # of Jews

amy said...

Title: Out There

Genre: YA Historical Fiction

Pitch: When Carly’s dad defends Perry Smith in court she must come to grips with the attacks @ her family for defending the man that killed her BFF

Email: acbrashear@yahoo.com

Lisa said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jordyn said...

Title: Sing Me Away
Genre: YA Contemporary
Email: tencentnotes@gmail.com

Anya forgot how to live. Since her bandmates died she's felt numb; now, in a summer without music, she has to learn how to be herself again.

H. Pinski said...

Title: The Cipher of Anu-k'ai
Genre: MG Adventure/Mystery
Email: hpinski@gmail.com

The search for a lost treasure leads Abigail and Quin deep into a clandestine world—and even deeper into a mountain forged by A.I.

Sam Witt said...

TITLE: The Bleeding Cure
GENRE: YA Paranormal
EMAIL: sam.witt@gmail.com

Chase and her two best friend capture a vampire in an Ill-fated attempt to cure Chase's leukemia.

Abby Annis said...

Title: Embrol
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Email: abbyannisblog(at)earthlink(dot)net

To stop the renegade alien sent to Earth to control her, Olivia Ryan must join forces with the boy responsible for her mother’s death.

Penelope Wright said...

Title: Destiny's Minions

Genre: Middle Grade Fiction

Twitter Pitch: Owen hates destiny. Too bad, because Destiny’s the new headmistress at Owen’s school, and she doesn’t like him much either.

Email: penny [at] penelopewright [dot] com

Chersti Nieveen said...

Title: The Last Onset
Genre: YA dystopia
email: chersti.nieveen (at) gmail (dot) com

This time Armageddon was planned - a form of Eugenics, where only the government's elected survive.