#PitchWars -- By the Numbers

Every year after the #PitchWars picks are announced, a lot of people wonder how many subs there were, what was the dominating category and genre, why one MS / author got picked over another... While we're not tech savvy enough to make a bunch of cool graphs and charts, or mathematically inclined enough to give you impressive stats and figures and percentages, we can break down our inbox for you.

First, let's take a look at the numbers....

Total number of submissions received: 38*

*This is a low number compared to what other mentors received. But we are not complaining! We will take quality over quantity any day. Not to mention, our wish list was very specific, so naturally our submissions would be lower.

~ Submissions by Category ~

Total number of Adult: 27
Total number of New Adult : 11

~ Submissions by Genre ~

Contemporary Romance: 16
Erotic Romance: 1
Women's Fiction: 10
Mystery: 2
Thriller: 2
Romantic Suspense: 3
Fantasy: 1
Sci-Fi: 2
Memoir: 1

~ Requests ~

We made a total of 11 official requests, and 1 unofficial request. The unofficial request was done behind-the-scenes. One of the benefits of the submission form is that we can see which other mentors an author subbed to, so we could reach out to those other mentors, discuss the sub and share requested pages. Yes, we know. Sneaky! But that's just part of the fun of #PitchWars.

Fulls: 6
Synopses: 5 

~ Common Reasons We Passed ~

There was a TON of talent in our inbox this year, and we could've made the argument to work with any single one of them. But, alas, we can't. Some really tough decisions needed to be made, and here are our top reasons for ultimately passing on a submission.

1. Info Dumping / Backstory / Too Much Narrative -- An opening chapter that has too much narrative packed full of back story and info dumps didn't grab our attention. Yes, this is something that can be easily fixed by cutting all or most of it and /or starting the story in a new place. However, with a limited amount of time to read, we needed to be sucked in from page one. If we weren't, we passed. In some instances, we were intrigued enough by the premise / query that we requested the synopsis to see where the story was going.

2. Nothing Happens -- This goes hand-in-hand with number one above. We wanted to have something exciting happening in that first chapter, something that piques our interest. It didn't necessarily have to be some big plot revelation, but there needed to be something to keep us reading. A majority of the submissions we passed on for this reason is simply a matter of not starting the story in the right place. The good news is that this is an easy fix.

3. Unlikable Characters -- If we didn't connect with the characters, found their actions / reactions unbelievable, or didn't get enough information about them to care, we passed. Especially with romance and WF, the characters are so super important that we need to love them.

4. Wrong Genre -- We were very specific with our wish list. We clearly stated what we did and did not want. Any submissions we received that didn't match our list were often marked DNR (Did Not Read). This is why research is so very important. Whether you're submitting to a contest mentor, agent, or editor, you absolutely have to pay attention to what they want and don't want. Don't waste your time or theirs by sending them something they probably won't read. It leads to hurt feelings all around. (Trust me, it wasn't easy for us to DNR a submission.)

5. POV & Tense -- This seemed to be a big one this year. With the genres we requested, there are some rather clear "rules" about what is and isn't acceptable in regards to POV. We saw a whole range of weird things: an omniscient romance; a contemporary with multiple POVS (more than 3) that shifted from first to third, etc. POV is easy to teach, but hard to implement, especially if several POVs need to be cut and/or rewritten. With only a two month mentoring period, we had to weight the amount of revisions against what we could reasonably do.

6. No Unique Hook -- Like it or not, publishing is a crowded place. In order to get noticed, you need to have that something special, a unique hook that separates your book from all the others vying for attention. What makes your book different? Why should we read your book instead of someone else's?

7. Subjectivity -- Yes, the dreaded, "We just didn't connect with it." We all hate hearing that, but sadly, it's a reality. There were some fantastic submissions that didn't have any real issues, but we weren't drawn into it. This is purely simple preference and personal tastes.

8. Poor / Inaccurate Representation -- We were very vocal about our desire for diversity and #ownvoices; and you guys delivered! (Thank you for that!!) This can be a very delicate subject, and we really took our time and treated it as such. If a marginalized voice was represented in a manner we felt was offensive or inaccurate, we passed. If we were presented with something that wasn't #ownvoices and we knew very little about the topic, we passed. We're big advocates of ensuring that not only are these stories told, but that they're told accurately.

#PitchWars Mentor Bio and Wishlist

Welcome to PitchWars 2016!!!

I cannot tell you how excited I am to be a mentor again. There are so many fun, NEW things happening this year, too, so pull up a chair, sit down, and prepare to be thrilled :)

Let's start with the most important announcement of all, shall we?

I HAVE A CO-MENTOR!! 

That's right. I have teamed up with the super lovely, highly talented, and uber-fun Meredith Ireland! We are seriously so damn happy we can't stand it. We're all like....


via GIPHY

This means y'all get a two-for-one! A tag team of awesomeness! A duo of delightful fun! 

So, who the hell are we and what do we know? We're glad you asked. Allow us to introduce ourselves and tell you why we're qualified to be your mentors...

KARA LEIGH MILLER:

Hello! I'm Kara. I'm a multi-published romance author represented by Dawn Dowdle of Blue Ridge Literary Agency. I currently live in Michigan, but was born and raised in a very small Central New York town. As Kara, I've written and published a variety of things ranging from erotic romance to young adult to Christian romantic suspense -- most of which have since gone out of publication.  My alter-ego, Lexi Lawton, recently signed a three-book deal with Entangled Embrace for a series of contemporary NA romances. 

• I've worked as a professional acquisitions editor for a little over three years now. Until just recently, I was the Editorial Director for Anaiah Press, LLC. I had to temporarily step down due to some massive writing deadlines, but I'm still on-staff as a Senior Editor where I work with a small list of authors. Additionally, I'm a freelance editor and part-time ghostwriter. 

• I have two college degrees: one in Criminal Justice and another in Paralegal Studies.
• I did a very short stint as an Agent Apprentice with Corvisiero Literary Agency last year. Sadly, family issues prevented me from continuing on with them, but that doesn't mean I won't return to the agenting side of things in the future. Never say never!
• I'm a huge Pit bull lover and advocate! Really, who wouldn't love these sad, pathetic, squishy faces??

• I'm NOT a coffee drinker, but I can't go a day without a Pepsi. I also have a killer sweet tooth, and I have a constant supply of Hershey's and tootsie rolls on hand. 

MEREDITH IRELAND:

Hi there! I’m Meredith, the second half of this power duo. I recently signed with Lauren Abramo of Dystel & Goderich for my Women’s Fiction/Contemporary Romance novel SCATTERED thanks to #DVPit. You can read about my agent journey HERE. I also have an erotic romance short story called Ink & Ocean coming out in 2017 in the kINKED anthology. 

• As a 2016 Writing in the Margins mentee, I have a good feel for what you’re currently and about to go through.
• I have a law degree I use some of the time.
• I went to law school at U Miami (Go CANES!), and college at Rollins in Orlando, but I grew up in NYC.
• I’m adopted. I was born in Seoul, Korea, but raised in an Italian American family.
• Unlike Kara, I’m allergic to cats, but I have a goldfish named Emo that has lived for a freakishly long time.

• Like any good writer, I love coffee and bourbon (just kidding… sort of)
• I love to travel but I have two tiny people who rather like me here

And now, here are a few of our favorite things....

BOOKS / AUTHORS
Big Magic (Elizabeth Gilbert)	Renegade (Lora Leigh)
Six of Crows (Leigh Bardugo)	Wait for You (J. Lynn / Jennifer Armentrout)
The Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern)	Taming Darkness (Kat Daemon)
Bared to You (Sylvia Day)	The Saint (Tiffany Reisz)
MOVIES
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind	Napolean Dynamite
The Grand Budapest Hotel	The Minion Movie
The Godfather	Anything w/ Mark Wahlberg
Gone with the Wind (a problematic favorite)	Spy (w/ Melissa McCarthy)
TV SHOWS
Mad Men (I know, it’s not on anymore, but it still counts)	The Big Bang Theory
Modern Family	The Last Ship
FOOD
Korean BBQ	Chicken Alfredo w/ broccoli
Soft pretzels with lots of salt	Chopped salads from Subway!
Peruvian chicken w/ every available side	A thick, tender, medium-cooked steak
HOBBIES
Before children: rock climbing, cross-stitching, traveling, lifting After children: missing my hobbies!	Scrapbooking, reading, going to the gym

Now that you know a bit more about us, we'll (finally) tell you what you really want to know...

What categories are we mentoring? 

ADULT and NEW ADULT

What are we looking for? 

ROMANCE!!

via GIPHY


More specifically, we want...

• Contemporaries with romance at the center of the plot
• Romantic suspense a la Lora Leigh, Julie Ann Walker, etc.
• New Adult stories that have the potential to be aged-up to the adult market. (College-set contemporary NA stories are a very, very hard sell right now, so while we are open to NA, if your book has the potential to be aged-up, your chances with us just got a lot better!) 
• Contemporary-ish romances set in the 70s, 80s, or 90s.
• Erotic romance. (If 50 Shades of Grey is one of your comp titles, please move along. We are not the mentors for you.) We would love to see something new and fresh. A female domme, perhaps. And please be sure there's an actual romance in your story and not just pages and pages of sex.
• We love us some alpha males! Tough as nails on the outside with a sensitive heart. 
• Characters over the age of 25-30 a la Something's Gotta Give.
• Love triangles! Give us some heartbreaking angst with an impossible choice.
• Taboo stories -- We love the dichotomy of, "We want each other, but we can't /shouldn't." Absolutely NO incest (step-sibling romances are okay) bestiality, pedophilia, or rape. 
• Women's fiction with STRONG romantic elements.
• Thriller & mysteries with STRONG romantic elements.
• Very, very light sci-fic a la Station Eleven with STRONG romantic elements
• Friends to lovers.
• Exotic locales. Make us fall in love with places we've never been before!
• DIVERSITY! We openly welcome and are excited for your diverse stories, so give us your LGBT, persons of color, and all your diverse characters. Remember... 

via GIPHY

...And as long as you make us fall in love with your characters, we'll be happy!

• At the end of the day, we want a strong, compelling voice that makes us want to follow along with a hero/heroine who has tension we fall in love with. 

Things that are firmly on our NO list...

• Horror
• Paranormal -- this means everything from vampires to ghosts to shifters to witches, fairies, dragons, etc. We're not looking for anything supernatural. 
• Hard core sci-fi / fantasy or anything with a strong magic system. (There are better mentors out there for this type of stuff.)
• Weak, whiney heroines
• Virgins -- No. Just no. We want heroes and heroines who know what they're doing in the bedroom!
• Rape. We absolutely do NOT want a story that deals with rape, has rape as a major or minor plot point, or has a character that dealt with a rape in their backstory that is then used as a character flaw. 
• Historical anything. 
• Cozy mysteries
• Literary fiction
• Dystopian and/or post-apocalyptic
• Small towns in romance. We'll gladly take a look at WF, thrillers, etc. that take place in a small town. No "city girl moves to small town and falls in love with small town boy." No "character whose life falls apart and so returns home to small town and falls in love with past boyfriend/high school sweetheart." 
• WF that centers around a Bed & Breakfast remodeling. 

N is for NO!
It's also the scavenger hunt letter you need ;)

Don't forget -- PitchWars Needs Your Help!!

via GIPHY

Please, please don't forget to support PitchWars! Doing so not only ensures the continuation of a fantastic writing contest, it will also earn you a few extra entries. READ ABOUT IT HERE!

So, what's next? Check out the other mentors' bios and wishlists, and then hop on over to Brenda Drake's Blog for a complete list of participating agents and details on how to enter. 

GOOD LUCK! 

WE CAN'T WAIT TO READ YOUR SUBMISSION!

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How I chose my #PitchWars Mentee and Alternate

With the looming reveal of the mentors' #PitchWars picks, I thought I'd take a moment to explain how and why I chose my mentee and alternate. Although I can't tell you who they are yet, I can explain what my decision process was. 

I'm sure every single author who didn't get chosen will wonder, why? Why did so-and-so's manuscript get picked and mine didn't? It's a fair question, and one I asked myself last year when I wasn't chosen. And even though it's HARD to tell so many talented writers "no," it can be easy to tell them why they weren't picked. As much as we hate to say it and face it, it's easy to point out what isn't working, but have you ever tried to concisely explain why something does work really well? It can be HARD! 

For me, it all started with a gut feeling. I know. That's cliche and totally subjective, but it's the truth. I narrowed down my inbox according to the submissions I just couldn't stop thinking about. There were 6 of them at the start. Then it went up to 8. Back down to 6 and eventually down to a Top Five. (I can be very indecisive at times. lol) 

This is what ensued next:

(1)    I looked a bit closer at their query and their pages to see if they had that hook, that thing that made their MS stand out above others in the genre.  

(2)    I became an author stalker. I watched them on Twitter. Hunted them down on Facebook (if I could find them), and spent some time on their websites / blogs. I got a feel for them as people because I needed to make sure whomever I chose would be compatible with me. 

(3)     I asked myself: What can I offer this author? And can we honestly accomplish the needed work within the time frame we have? 

(4)     I studied the participating agents list and what they want. (Even though I took this into account, it wasn't the ultimate deciding factor in my decision.) But at the end of the day, the agents are also volunteering their time to come check out the wonderful offering of new books, and it's only fair we give them a little something they want, too. 

(5)     I printed the query letter of each of my Top Five, pinned them to my wall, and threw darts at them. LOL. Okay, I'm totally kidding. I did NOT do this!!! 

In the end, I went with the two that really spoke to me, the ones I just couldn't get off my mind. They are the ones you look at and think: "Damn it! I wish I'd written that!" 

But to everyone who submitted to me: THANK YOU! It's such an honor and privilege to know you trusted me with your work and that you wanted to spend a few months working closely with me. I know it's not the same as being chosen, but I hope the emails I send to all of you explaining why I didn't choose your manuscript will be of some help. If nothing else, I want you all to get some helpful feedback from this experience. And remember: You've written a book!!! (And you showed it to a complete stranger.) That's a huge win already! :-)       

Don't ever give up. Keep writing. Keep querying. 

And keep believing in your dreams. 

A Post-splosion of exciting news!

Hey, all! I know I haven't written anything here in a while, but hold on, because I have a TON of exciting news to share :-)

1. This Friday, June 21st, I am participating in the Summer of Romance Author Meet on Facebook! It's a full day event that you can attend from the comfort of your own home! Various romance authors will each take over for an hour to play some games, giveaway cool prizes, and answer reader questions. My hour will start at 1:00 pm EST. Some of the other authors include:

• T.A. Brock
• Erika Lindsen
• S.T. Bende
• Gina Henning
• Lauren K. McKellar
• and more!

2. I am going to be a PitchWars Mentor this year!! There will be a lot more information about this coming later, but in the meantime, hop on over to the lovely Brenda Drake's Blog for details and dates.

3. I'm FINALLY getting caught up at Anaiah, and will re-open to direct queries on August 1st! Woo hoo! So, what will I be looking for? In our Romance Imprint, I'd like to see some sweet contemporaries including cowboys (!!), stories with strong family conflicts, love found during dire/extreme circumstances -- not necessarily romantic suspense, but more of a thriller or mystery with the romance being front and center. Overall, I just want stories that will suck me in and put me through a range of emotions.

In our Surge Imprint (YA/NA) I'd like to see some thrillers, mysteries, contemporaries with a heavy focus on romance and internal spiritual warfare. Please, absolutely NO fantasies at this time!

The Official Ass of #PitchWars

Remember that part in Shrek where Donkey jumps up and down screaming, "Pick me! Pick me!"? No? Well, here's a refresher for you:




I feel like poor Donkey. A single ass among thousands jumping up and down, waving my arms, screaming and shouting: PICK ME!

I'm going to guess that won't get me anywhere. *sigh*

When being obnoxious fails, (and it fails often, trust me) I fall back on my ability to reason logically. So, here are the top 5 reasons why YOU should PICK ME to be your mentee.

YOUR PERSONAL BITCH.

5.  I will be your bitch.

Yes, you read that correctly. I will be so damn grateful and excited to be picked that I will be your bitch. You want me to fetch you coffee and scones? Done. You want me to read a dissertation about the reproductive cycle of slugs and write a synopsis of it? Done. You want me to troll Twitter and spy on the other teams? Done. You want me to post embarrassing pictures of myself for your amusement? Done.

You name it. I'll do it.

(Disclaimer: This offer is reserved specifically for the mentor who chooses me.) 

4.  I'm an editing freak.

I mentioned this on my Mentee Bio, but it bears repeating.

I LOVE EDITS!

I love getting them, reading them, doing them. I love having someone else read my work, point out its weaknesses, and then work with me to rebuild it. Sure, edits can be tough sometimes, but I 100%, wholeheartedly believe in the editing process.

If you pick me, I will work my ass off until my manuscript is as great as it can be.

3.  Good Cop. Bad Cop.

Confession time: I suck at talking smack.

Sorry, but I do. However, I'm VERY good at being nice to people. It just comes naturally to me. So, during #PitchWars, I can go about being nice to everyone and then my mentor can sneak up and smack talk the crap out of our competition! They'll never see us coming. It'll be like playing Good Cop, Bad Cop.

(Side note: I'm not implying that my future mentor isn't nice. I know better than that. I'm simply acknowledging that my mentor will have certain skills that I do not possess. Any good partnerships works off of each other's strengths right?)

2.  I'm a ton of fun!

Seriously. I have a fantastic sense of humor. I wouldn't have survived my childhood otherwise.

Example: When I was a teen and I went on my first date -- which was actually just a bunch of us getting together to go to a movie, but a boy I really liked was picking me up at my house therefore it was a real date to me -- my father stood at the front door and watched, like any good father would, as I walked to the van with said boy. Just as we got the side door open, my father yelled: "Bring her back a virgin!"

True story.

It takes a lot to offend me. (Translation: You have carte blanche to say anything to me in jest and I will laugh. Guaranteed!)

1. I'm an ass.
There. I said it.

Yesterday when I was obsessing over perfecting my non-creepy, non-stalkerish personalized mentor queries, I completely forgot to include my email address or any social media links.

So any mentors who get a letter without that information, it was me.

Yup.  #EpicFail

Sure, it's embarrassing, and sure I'm worried that this might affect my chances at getting picked, but, I think this says something important about me: I'm not afraid to admit when I've made a mistake. I can own it. Fix it. Learn from it.

And isn't that what every mentor wants? A mentee who will learn from this process?

Pimp My Bio

So, I have decided to participate in #PitchWars this year. If you don't know what that is, hop on over to the wonderful Brenda Drake's Blog to find out.

I must confess, I'm a PitchWars virgin. I hope I'm good enough to get  a call back ;-)

Now, in the spirit of keeping up -- actually, I'm just copying what everyone else is doing because I have no idea what I'm doing -- here is my bio for any potential mentors. Or anyone else who wants to know more about me.

1. I'm a stay-at-home mom to five kids (4 girls and 1 boy) who are all in school so I spend my days writing and talking to these guys.

2.  I'm Kaptain Kara of #Darksideresearch on Twitter. What does this mean? I'm da bomb at posting pics of sexy, half naked men. Does this make me a perv? Probably. Do I care? Nope!

These are the kinds of things I like to post:

3.  I have never been on a plane because I'm terrified of flying. But, I am going to RT2014, so I will have to conquer that fear come May. (I can't convince my travel buddy to drive from NY to NOLA. I've tried.)

4.  I LOVE getting edits on my books. Seriously. I know a lot of author agonize over this, but I LOVE it. There is nothing like getting a fresh perspective on your book and your characters, and then being able to dive back into the world and make it better. Edits are good. While I'm at it, I need to give a shout out to two of the best editors in the entire world: Eden Plantz and Emily Ward!

5.  I have writer's ADD. At this exact moment, I have 7 projects in the works. It's frustrating at times, but it's also nice because when I wake up in the morning I can work on whatever interests me that day.

6.  I hate to exercise and play sports, but I'm super competitive. I like to win! And I never stop fighting until the very, bitter end.

7. I firmly believe in helping my fellow authors and will go out of my way to do so.  All you ever have to do is ask :-) It's because of this desire to help others that I became a Senior Editor at Entranced Publishing. I adore my group of authors and they always make me smile.

8. I have two college degrees -- both in law. Weird, I know. I though I wanted to be a lawyer. Being a writer is SO much more fun.

9. I'm obsessed with The Vampire Diaries simply because of this man:

10. I'm super excited to be participating in #PitchWars. Even if I don't make it past sending my queries, it has been a fun experience and I've made some new friends along the way.