3 S.R. Johannes: Agent Pitch Contest - Diana Fox (Fox Literary)

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Agent Pitch Contest - Diana Fox (Fox Literary)

NOTE - My Pay it Forward winner will be announced Friday!

It's time for another agent twitter pitch contest!

Today, the pitch is being judged by Diana Fox from Fox Literary. You can follow her blog or catch her on Twitter.


Here are some other interviews to help you get to know her taste and style:
Literary Rambles
The Blog Realm

Winner:
Gets to submit manuscript!

When: Begins today, (Wed at 10AM EST) and ends tomorrow (Thursday) 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 can be for adults or children.
  • This is for unagented/unpublished book writers only.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!

79 comments:

MarcyKate said...

Awesome contest! Thanks to you and Ms. Fox for running it!

TITLE: THE GHOST WRITER
GENRE: YA Ghost Story
EMAIL: marcykate@gmail.com
PITCH: Tessa denies the 1st letter. She rationalizes the 2nd. When the accidents begin, there's no ignoring the ghosts in the theatre next door.

Caitlin Vincent said...

Title: The Severed Thread
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Pitch: When a young Viking warrior is captured by Baltic pirates and sold as a slave, his journey from foolhardy boy to valiant man begins.

Rita Monette, Writer said...

Title: The Legend of Ghost Dog Island
Genre: MG Historical Fiction
Email: frmonette@yahoo.com
Pitch: After hearing a strange legend surrounding an eerie swamp near her bayou home, a young girl seeks to uncover the truth about Ghost Dog Island.

A. Lockwood said...

Title: Olympus Gate
Genre: YA Historical Fantasy
Email: lockwood.audrey@gmail.com
Pitch: A girl from a broken future travels back to ancient Rome to stop her sister's murder, confront the gods, and prevent the coming apocalypse.

Unknown said...

Title: BLACKBIRD
Genre: YA Fantasy Technothriller
Email: kyle(at)skyledavis(dot)com

Spy chick bypasses a top-of-the line security system to steal an object before the sorcerers do in this "Mission:Impossible w/ magic" tale.

Kathryn Packer Roberts said...

Title: I AM THE SECRET
GENRE: YA Fantasy
Email: kathrynroberts at hotmail dot com
PITCH:

Shannon has no last name, no past, and her guardian never lets her leave home. So she runs away to find out what the world is like, to find love, but someone wants to kill her. Will she risk her new found love to fight off this evil and help save a people that need her help?

Chelsey said...

Title: Background Vocals
Genre: YA Contemporary
Email: chelseyblair (at) gmail (dot) com

Pitch: 17-yr-old guitarist Meridian longs to return to Paris but she promises to stay in the town where she's an outcast until Natalie walks again

Jeanmarie Anaya said...

So excited about this contest!!!!

Title: Magnetic
Genre: paranormal YA
Email: janaya75@hotmail.com

Pitch: Seventeen year-old Carly Reynolds won’t get a gold star for being a hero. Particularly when the person she needs to save is already dead.

Meradeth Houston said...

Title: Colors Like Memories
Genre: YA UF
Email: mrs.which(@) gmail.com

Pitch: Julia killed the guy she loved, on accident—sorta. To save her friend’s life she’ll face her past, but some memories are better left buried.

Margo Berendsen said...

Title: A Handful of Scars
Genre: YA paranormal
Email: berendsen70 at yahoo.com

Pitch: A genie in a lamp is one thing, but Sidain finds 2 genies who are mortal enemies, and instead of 3 wishes, she gets a whole lot of trouble.

Ann Braden said...

Title - 1790: On the Edge
Genre - MG Historical Mystery
E-mail - annbbraden (at) gmail.com

In 1790 Vermont, a public hanging should mean one less criminal in the new democracy, but a young Abenaki knows what he saw. It was murder.

Unknown said...

Awesomesauce contest!

Title: The Sky Throne
Genre: YA Historical Fantasy
Email: cs_ledbetter@yahoo.com

Pitch: When a boy's mother is attacked, he discovers she was never his mother. And now deities are hunting him and the siblings he's never known.

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

Title: Phantom Fires
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Email: bethfred08@gmail.com
Pitch: A phantom fire wants to steal the love of her life. To fight the flames, Bridget O'Malley must find the truth.

Marquita Hockaday said...

Thanks so much for this contest!

Title: In Limbo
Genre: Historical YA
Twitter Pitch: 15 yo Syl Houston fights to hold onto his relationship with the only black girl in school while Spanish Influenza takes lives around him.

My e-mail address: marquita_hockaday@yahoo.com

Angelica R. Jackson said...

Thanks for another great opportunity!

Title: Spirits from the Vasty Deep
Genre: YA historical/paranormal
Email: strikingnotes (at) yahoo (dot) com

Pitch: Ghostly crew wants revenge for a fire Olivia caused, forcing a reckoning with her haunted past. Blossom Culp meets Pirates of the Caribbean.

Taryn said...

Title: Splashback
Genre: YA Thriller
Email: tarynal AT hotmail DOT com
Pitch: Lottie wants to quit the sport that sucked away her life. Too bad an Olympics-obsessed man says she has to swim to save her missing sister.

Anonymous said...

TITLE: THE REVENGE OF THE WOLF KING
GENRE: YA Medieval Fantasy
EMAIL: carmenferreiro@aol.com
PITCH: Princess Ines's love for her whipping boy is put to the test when the king accuses him of the queen's murder and sentences him to death.

Liz said...

Title: FLICKER
Genre: Sci-Fi YA
Email: lizwritesbooks@gmail.com

Pitch: A grl w/a bad ♥ learns shes being kept alive by an alien virus that gives her the pwr 2 bend reality &save the wrld from an insidious force

E. Arroyo said...

Title: SOME KIND OF TROUBLE
Genre: Contemporary YA
Email: elizabeth.arroyo5@gmail.com

Pitch:
After surviving a shooting with bad-boy Marcus, Arianna learns that love alone is not enough to save him from the streets.

Bkloss said...

Title: GAIA'S SECRET
Genre: YA Fantasy
Email: barbara.kloss@gmail.com

Pitch: When Daria’s dad disappears, she must travel to a magical world to find him. Even if it means relying on the boy she hates to get her there.

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

Title: BOYFRIENDS, SPIES, AND LIES
Genre: YA Contemporary
Email: jenduffey81@gmail.com

If Carissa's oppressive parents weren't paying her boyfriend to be her bodyguard, art school would have been her perfect escape.

Dorothy Dreyer said...

Title: BITTERSWEET MELODY
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Email: dorothyanndreyer@gmail.com

Pitch: Muses aren't supposed to screw up their missions. So when Melody falls 4 her human case subject, she has 2 decide between him & immortality.

Shallee said...

Another contest of awesome! Thanks.

Title - Devolutionaries
Genre - YA Dystopian
Email - shallee.mcarthur [at] gmail [dot] com
Pitch - Ash must sacrifice his ability to talk in order to hone the telepathic skills he needs to rescue his grandad from a Government experiment.

Christina Mercer said...

Title: Arrow of the Mist
Genre: YA Fantasy
Email: cdmercer [at] sbcglobal [dot] net

Pitch:

Lia must decipher an elixir and defeat the demon who poisoned her da via enchanted tree roots, before she surrenders her soul to the demon.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the contest, Shelli. (Eventually, I'll learn how to do this pitch thingy....) :)

Title: GEAS
Genre: YA UF w/ Alt Hist
Email: cardinal_law_76 (at) yahoo.com

Pitch:
Teen half-human pixie returns from kidnap… stranger than b4--must learn new powers, dodge HS dust addicts, & expose ancient pixie secrets.

Lori M. Lee said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mim said...

Thanks for another great contest!

Title: Dreaming Isis
Genre: Contemporary Fantasy
Email: miriam.caldwell (at) gmail.com

Pitch:
17-year-old Isis must choose between her mom’s acceptance or embracing who she truly is as she learns to control her newfound magical powers

Nazarea Andrews said...

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

Pitch:
In a post-apocalyptic world full of danger and mysteries, can genetic reject Sabah find love or will she let the Commission control her life?

Elizabeth Prats said...

TITLE: Crystal Milk
Genre: MG Fantasy
Email: eprats1@gmail.com


PITCH:

Crystal is sick of her witch parents and their overbearing ways. So what's a girl to do? Date their mortal enemy, of course.

Unknown said...

TITLE: Shadow Embraced
GENRE: YA Urban Fantasy
EMAIL: cheree@chereesmith.com
PITCH:

To control the creature threatening to take over her, 16-year-old Scar joins an underground fight club of witches, werewolves and vampires.

Lindsay Cummings author said...

title- CHANGED
genre- YA dystopian
email- lindsaycummings20@yahoo.com
pitch-

After an ecological disaster caused by environmentalists, a girl uses enhanced vision to find where the Disappeared go in a walled-in world

Tracey Neithercott said...

This is a fantastic contest. Thank you both so much!

Title: Alive
Genre: YA sci-fi
Pitch: When she discovers Eli's healing ability, Alex plans to bring her sister back to life. She never expects 2 uncover lies about her childhood.
Email: tracey(dot)neithercott(at)gmail.com

Alyssa said...

Title: Auntie June's Toe Jam Jamboree
Genre: Children's Fiction
Email:afoy76@gmail.com
Pitch:
With a smile that fits inside her wrinkles and berries ripe for the pickin’, a day with Auntie June is guaranteed to be foot stomping fun!

Unknown said...

This is amazing! How exciting! I have just gotten my query ready to go but this is even better!

Title - CELEBRITY STALKER
Genre - Adult Chick Lit
Email - jenniferdaiker@gmail.com
Pitch - Jules relationships aren't exactly built on trust, or reality. Seeking advice from celebrities leads to trouble. Let the stalking begin.

Scott said...

Title - Brackets
Genre - Contemporary YA
Email - thatscottshoe@gmail.com
Pitch - Four high school girls set up tournament style brackets to fight the bullies who’ve tormented them and find out who really rules the school.

Elizabeth Briggs said...

Title: Alternate
Genre: YA Sci-Fi
Email: ebriggs23@gmail.com

A teen hacker is drawn into a war between parallel universes when she meets an alternate version of herself from another dimension.

Brenda Drake said...

Title: Library Jumpers
Genre: YA UF
Email: bdrake@comcast.net

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.

Anonymous said...

Title: SKYBORNE
Genre: Literary YA Sci-Fi
Email: emma.hollingberry@gmail.com

Pitch: The emperor forces a hardcore racer onto his assassin team and then pits her against the people who deserted her as a child in an inter-galaxy war she'll refuse to fight.

Erinn said...

Title: No System At All
Genre: Contemporary YA
email: fussymonkey2@gmail.com

When 1 dream vanishes, Colin opts for a realistic goal: being a rock star, with former Rock Goddess for a teacher he could pull it off.

Kendal said...

Title: Trouble at Trinity
Genre: YA Contemporary Suspense
email: kendalashby@gmail.com

Pitch:
While undercover to find her brother's killer, Jaclyn soon discovers there's more to the curriculum at Trinity Prep than math and science.

Trisha said...

TITLE: Nausicaa
GENRE: Science Fiction
EMAIL: tay dot sedai at gmail dot com

TWITTER PITCH:

Nausicaa dreams of seeing her city’s genocidal govt destroyed. Her only weapons: a meagre empathic ability and a thirst for retribution.

Jenn said...

Thanks for having this contest!

Title: WISTFUL
Genre: YA Historical Romance
Email: phanhnguyn1 at yahoo.com

Twitter Pitch:

After marrying an old viscount, Julie runs away n lives with the Bennetts only to fall in love with their son. Too bad he thinks she's a boy

Steph said...

Title: THE MATTER OF SOULS
Genre: YA paranormal
Email: stephaggie99 (at) gmail (dot) com

Pitch: Riley's first mistake is not continuing on after dying. Now if she can't let go of her past, she'll find there are worse things than death.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the contest!
Title: HONOR
Genre: YA SF
Email: mekj at earthlink dot net

When his half brother is enslaved, Kiril, 16, decides to abandon family, homeworld, life and honor in order to rescue the little boy.

Alli Sinclair said...

Title -Vestige
Genre – Historical Romantic Adventure
Email - allisinclair@hotmail.com
Pitch - To stop the fatal powers of an Inca relic, Tess must learn if her ex or new love is a reincarnation of the soulmate she lost in a past life.

Anonymous said...

Title: NOT SO LONG AGO, NOT SO FAR AWAY
Genre: YA Contemporary Fiction
Email: Slayzak(at)aol(dot)com

Pitch:
In the summer of 1977, Erika struggles to escape the questions surrounding her best friend’s disappearance. These are her unmailed letters…

Wow! That was a great exercise I've never tried before. Thanks for the contest and all you do!
.....Trisha
http://trishaslay.wordpress.com/

Donea Lee said...

Title: The Glass Prince
Genre: YA Magical Realism
E-mail: donealw@aol.com

Pitch: When Snow White's cursed son starts stalking 17-year-old Clara, she knows her summer trip to New York will be more than she bargained for.

Christine L. Arnold said...

Title: Cloudburst
Genre: YA Fantasy
Email: christinelarnold@gmail.com

Jemma Stone learns to control the elements and the raging case of telepathy she shares with her crush to stop the cult that wants her dead.

Jordan McCollum said...

This reminds me of the "Twitch" contest BookEnds did: Twitter Pitch. Quite the challenge!

Title: Façade
Genre: Historical thriller
Email: jordan at jordanmccollum.com

Pitch: To preserve the tenuous peace, a Soviet diplomat must trust an American spy--and choose between being a good Soviet or a good daughter.

Jenna Wallace said...

Title: Somniloquy
Genre: YA
Email: dreamstate at att dot net

Every night, Abby dictates a story in her sleep. To save her sanity, she must find out what the story is and why she’s telling it.

Anonymous said...

Title: Coveted
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Email: Tangynt at ymail doc com

Pitch: A secret society called Libra has been hunting and killing Sources-human vessels of ancient power-for centuries, and Caleb Dunnelly is next.

Unknown said...

Title: Starcatcher
Genre: Futuristic Romance
Email: DebraJess at gmail dot com

Tamarja, a mind-wiped prisoner, discovers she holds the key to her lover’s revolution and remembers that she’s in love with another man.

Dave Bonselaar said...

Title – Walking with Sophie
Genre – Children's Picture Book (0-6)
Email – webblysosa@gmail.com
Pitch – Take a walk through the imagination of an enchanting little girl. Tiptoe into Sophie's world once. Keep her in your heart forever.

Anne R. Allen said...

Title: THE GATSBY GAME
Genre: Mystery
Email: annerallen.allen at gmail.com

A Fitzgerald-obsessed con man dies in a star’s bedroom, igniting a MadMen-era Hollywood scandal—and a murder accusation for Nicky. Gatsby meets Catch Me if You Can.

Karen said...

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

Tessa loses her ability to sing,goes to a world where music is magic,&discovers a secret that forces her to find her voice to save her life

Julie Musil said...

What a fun idea! Thanks for doing this.

Title: REDEMPTION
Genre: YA Paranormal
Email: julie@juliemusil.com

Manny, modern Scrooge & top of HS food chain, faces 3 ghosts as he outruns arson charges, falls for his fire victim, & battles 4 redemption

Janet Johnson said...

Thank you for so many opportunities!

Title: The Peanut Butter and Jelly Friendship
Genre: MG Contemporary
E-mail: janetsumnerjohnson (at) gmail (dot) com

When selling her appendix on e-bay doesn’t work, ten-year-old Annie seeks other ways to save her best friend’s house from foreclosure.

SM Johnston said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
SM Johnston said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Portia said...

Title of book: Anywhere

Genre: Suspense

Pitch: Faced with a sexual harassment suit, Nel doesn’t have space for Cal, a sexy vet, but she may need him when a murderer comes for her aunt.

Your email: portia.stewart@gmail.com

Huntress said...

Title: Of Oak and Dragons
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pitch: An unexpected inheritance, a snarky rapier with delusions of grandeur, and a tall stranger put Leah in the middle of an ancient war.
Email: beccoff(at)nwmo(dot)net

Unknown said...

Title: Beyond

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy

Pitch: The fallen angel of death has been called many things, but a super hero? I guess even the Reaper can change when the right girl comes along.

Email: Phreaky-Phoenix@insight.rr.com

Brittany Melson said...

Title: Bloodstone
Genre: Paranormal YA
Email: brittanymelson@gmail.com
Pitch: With power up for grabs and hearts at stake, two very unlikely dragon sisters will struggle stay alive as they fight fire with fire on the urban front line.

laura J said...

Great contest - thanks for this, it will help me for "elevator pitching" at two upcoming conferences

Title: Ryan Says
Genre: Romantic suspense
Email: laura_hickman_213@yahoo.com
A novel written about college friends exposed truths & when the author dies the friends investigate if he was murdered while romance blooms.

Lynn Holman said...

Might as well throw my hat in the ring.

Title: Blood Runs
Genre: Literary horror
Email: Lynnholman@ymail.com
Pitch: One night, the James’ three-year-old son vanished. Then, a year later, at their door is little Ollie, unaged and very hungry.

Carmen M. said...

Title: Kingdom of Dreams
Genre: YA Fantasy
E-mail: angeldies at gmail dot com
Twitter Pitch: A powerful spell’s stripping the land of its magic waking Mira after a long slumber. Scared & lost she must stop it b4 it kills everything.

Suzanne Payne said...

Title: Never Alone
Genre: Paranormal Women's Fiction
email: dobeau@hotmail.com

Pitch: When Jaston, a deceased Aussie chooses southerner Ellie to help him talk to his biological son, Jack, their paths become twined forever.

Stefanie Gaither said...

Thanks so much for this contest! 90,000 words down to 140 characters...that was a nice challenge :) Here's mine:

Title: Infinitely
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Email: stefanie.gaither@gmail.com

The good news: Norah's personal reaper, Eli, is in love with her. So he saves her soul instead of taking it. Bad news? His boss isn't happy.

Anonymous said...

Title-Firsts
Genre-Contemporary YA
Email-jsheaffer@hollins.edu
Pitch-Coping w/ teen vicissitudes, Jerrica finds solace in her new, older stepbro & confuses lust for love, leading to a controlling relationship.

Eliza Tilton said...

great contest, thanks!

Title: WINDS OF CHANGE
Genre: YA Fantasy
email: elizafaith13@gmail.com

pitch: Seventeen-year-old Avikar thought he was rescuing his sister from bandits, not a reptilian lord planning his race's annihilation

Anonymous said...

Title: The Treacherous Trek
Genre: Middle Grad/ Futuristic Adventure
Email: truekingsley@me.com


Shane Tool is determined to win The Treacherous Trek. Damien Dobbs can't stop him in his quest for Planet Five, but family loyalty might.

Anonymous said...

Title: SPARK
Genre: MG Fantasy
email: campjb1@me.com

Toby Will, AKA Toby Won't, is the only hope for a secret world behind paintings where famous characters from art live and breathe.

Ashley G. said...

Title: Second Eden
Genre: YA Fantasy/Dystopia/Utopia
Email: abgafford@crimson.ua.edu

Kat has always believed Elysia to be a prison rather than a paradise but after meeting Anthony she must decide if freedom is worth the cost.

Elizabeth Michels said...

Title: Abigail's Secret
Genre: Historical Romance
Email:e.michels.historicals@gmail.com

Time'll tell if heaven or hell is where n which you'll find me If I knew then what I know now the love I found would bind me Abigails Secret

Kelly Hedine said...

Title: Missing Starr
Genre: YA contemporary
Email:kellyhedine@yahoo.com

Pitch: Evee Starr is the alias of a missing singer wanted for murder. Amnesic of the past 48 hours she must find the killer before she’s offed too.

Kristin Lynn Thetford said...

Title: Silhouette
Genre: Paranormal Suspense
Email: kristinthetford@msn.com
Pitch: 17 yr old Alana must unravel how an ancient dagger, chemical weapons, and 2 deadly men are connected before the world pays the price.

A.J. Locke said...

Title: Ravenous Dusk
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Email: aje237@yahoo.com
Pitch: Necromancer Blake Killan’s job of de-possessing people for a living is turned upside down when she’s forced to become a vessel for ghosts for an infuriatingly gorgeous Reaper, and becomes tangled up in the politics of demons and the Underworld. And if her plate wasn’t full enough, she also has to helm a murder investigation that uncovers disturbing and deadly truths about those closest to her.