2018 Pitch Wars Wishlist

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First thing you need to know about me: I love Pitch Wars. This is my third year mentoring and I got my agent, the amazing Sarah Younger, with the manuscript I entered in the contest in 2014. Being part of the mentee class also got me an amazing group of support (shoutout, 2014 PW TOT!). Becoming a mentor in 2015 got me my critique partners and best friends – all mentors that year. My 2015 mentee got an agent within two weeks of the agent showcase. My 2016 mentee won an RWA Golden Heart with her PW manuscript and is set to publish another soon with the Big 5. Both my parents were English teachers, my father was a copy editor for a major newspaper in the summertime, and I live for Correct English Grammar. (Please know that I will spend at least two weeks in terror that there is a typo or error in this post.)
 
I owe every step I’ve made along my publishing journey to Pitch Wars. I write both adult and YA. My debut, LYING BENEATH THE OAKS, is a Southern romantic suspense for adults and it comes out in January 2019 from Bella Rosa Books (preorder links are up on my Goodreads page and this website). It never would have happened without Pitch Wars. My road was long, longer than most, and I’d be happy to share that story with anyone who is interested, whether or not you submit to me. For what it’s worth, not only have I worked with my editor on my soon-to-be-published novel, but I’ve also done two full R&Rs for Big 5 editors, so I do have some idea of what they’re looking for.

I work full-time as a lawyer and I have two boys who play all the sports in the world. Even so, I’ve written nine manuscripts in the last five years. I’ve written many of them in parking lots behind the wheel of my Ford Explorer, waiting for soccer practice or cross country or swimming to be over. I’m a champion multi-tasker. Let’s do this!

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I am looking for your ADULT manuscript! Across all genres, I'm drawn to romantic plots and subplots and smart characters. I love flirting through intelligence. Here’s a breakdown of what I’m most likely to choose.

• Women’s fiction. If your book is about a woman’s journey of self-discovery AND has kissing in it, I want it. I love books set in the South or the Midwest. HEA not required, but if not, I need to be blown away by emotion. My favorite authors in this genre are Liane Moriarty, Anne Rivers Siddons, early Dorothea Benton Frank, early Emily Giffin, Rainbow Rowell, Mary Kay Andrews, and Jane Green.
• Romance, Historical or Contemporary: If your book has a hot duke or a misunderstood viscount, I want it. If your book has a witty and intelligent hero who wins his love with banter before even showing off the goods, I really want it. I’m not the best mentor for the brooding, silent, barely-reformed hulking sort of hero: SEDUCE ME WITH WORDS, NOT MUSCLES. In these categories, I need BOTH a HEA and some reasonably steamy sex. Having said that, I’ve read erotica, but I don’t know that market. Favorite authors: Lisa Kleypas (if you have a hero like the one in Devil in Winter, I WANT), Julia Quinn, Sarah MacLean, Tessa Dare, Helen Hoang (yes, I know she’s mentoring, send it to me TOOO!), Jennifer Crusie, Sally Thorne.
• Commercial fiction: Yep, not fair that books about women’s self-discovery get slapped with the cover of a woman looking pensively out to sea, and all the rest get this label, but here we are. I want the ones about men too. About families, about secrets, and dilemmas, and issues. Make me cry. A lot of bestsellers come from this group. Time travel is good. Recent-ish ones I’ve enjoyed are The Circle, The Royal We, Seating Arrangements, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, anything at all by Pat Conroy (I worship him). Outlander is not recent, but my love for everything about this series cannot be overstated. Just ask my husband. You’ll get the free Jamie-induced eye roll.
• Historical Fiction: I was a history major. Most would agree I’m kind of a geek. My favorite periods: U.S. nineteenth century, Revolutionary War, Edwardian/WWI period, latter half of 1700s Europe, the Gilded Age anywhere, Pre-1500 Middle East, Greece, or Rome, anything Asia or Africa. Favorite books in this genre: Amanda/Miranda by Richard Peck, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, Abundance by Sena Jeter Naslund, The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd.
• Suspense (Romantic or otherwise)/Thrillers: I do love these, particularly romantic suspense: my own debut novel is a romantic suspense. I’m picky, though. I’m a lawyer, so don’t send me courtroom thrillers if you haven’t researched. I’m not a fan of the military or political thriller as much as I am the “ripped from the headlines” kind. I like everything by Gillian Flynn. I like the early John Grisham. One of my all-time favorite books is The Pact by Jodi Picoult. Bring on your legal thrillers – just know I’ll find your mistakes. I was once a criminal defense attorney. And I'll be honest: I'm going to be more drawn in if there is a romantic subplot.
• Retellings of Classics: I love Jane Austen. Like, really, really love Jane Austen. Send any retelling of a Jane Austen book to me. I also love retellings of Greek/Roman/Norse/any other kind of myths and other fairytales. Surprise me.​
• ANYTHING WITH KISSING!

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You’ll note I didn’t specify #ownvoices or LGBT, even though I want those. I didn’t specify it because in this day and age diversity should go without saying. If your book isn’t an accurate reflection of the society it purports to show us, that’s a problem, and it will likely impact your selection not just by me but by any mentor and ultimately by publishing. I won’t pick a manuscript that is problematic. I’ve recommended sensitivity reads in the past and I’ll do it again. Be aware of the market and your place in it.

As to New Adult, I will consider any manuscript that falls within the above categories where the protagonist is at least 21 years old and is dealing with adult issues, not coming of age questions. If chosen, I’d treat the manuscript as adult and would help you make that clear in revisions.

I’ve said this before: If your story doesn’t fit into any of the categories above, that doesn’t mean it’s not worthy; it’s just not for me. There are better mentors for it. Send it to them.

I will pass on the following BECAUSE I DON’T KNOW THESE MARKETS:

• Science fiction (makes my brain hurt)
• Fantasy of any kind (yes, I love Game of Thrones, but it’s too far out of my wheelhouse)
• Horror (I am afraid)
• Military/Spy/Conspiracy/Political (no Nazis, please; I’ve had enough Nazis.)
• Erotica
• Paranormal (other than a touch of magical realism or time travel)
• Mystery other than as elements in the above categories
• Anything YA or MG. I can’t accept that and you’d waste a mentor slot if you send it to me.

Other than that, I’m open to most things. Surprise me. I don’t have tropes or topics that are off-limits before I see them (other than romances with Nazis). There are no dealbreakers; only things that might not be what I choose.

Here’s how it will work if I get to work with you! My plan is to help you with the following:

• Patch any plot holes/inconsistencies.
• Pace your novel to keep the pages turning.
• Help you add tension to each scene and each chapter and cut anything that doesn’t serve the goal of plot and character.
• Make your dialogue sound real.
• Make sure your characters, even the minor ones, live and breathe. This is my strongest skill.
• Fix your mechanics/grammar issues when we’re done. (I’ll be honest: if you have major issues in this area, I’ll likely pass. Review for this before entering Pitch Wars.)

I’ll write you a long edit letter at the get-go that explains what larger changes I see (structure, plot changes, character deletion/addition, pacing, beginning in the right place). Once you do that, you’ll send it back to me and I will do in-line edits on more of a sentence/paragraph level (adding tension and punch to your language, work on dialogue, dialogue tags, character consistency and development). If we have time, I’ll read it a third time and help you copy edit. I will never try to correct your voice. I’ll be available as much as I can to help you as you revise and am easily reached by email. While we wait for the showcase, I’ll be happy to help you come up with a query strategy for your new revised query.

One caveat, and it’s huge. If you believe that your novel is perfect, and you’re entering Pitch Wars with an idea of bypassing the mentoring and going straight to the agent round without changing a word, this isn’t going to work. If your novel is that amazing, query now. This contest is for writers who want to be mentored, and that means subjecting your writing and your story to criticism that might be hard to hear. If you’re ready for an honest and improving critique, SEND IT TO ME! I will be gentle, I promise.

I can’t wait to get started! Please don’t hesitate to @ me on Twitter if you have questions.

Here is a link back to the PitchWars blog:
https://pitchwars.org/pitch-wars-2018-mentor-blog-hop

At the bottom of this post is a link to all the other Adult mentors’ wish lists. Happy hunting!

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1. Alexa & Suzanne (Accepts NA) 2. Alice 3. Angel (Accepts NA) 4. Carolyne 5. Carrie 6. Dan & Michael 7. Diana (Accepts NA) 8. Farah (Accepts NA) 9. Gigi 10. Heather & Lana (Accepts NA) 11. Helen (Accepts NA) 12. Ian & Laura (Accepts NA) 13. Jason (Accepts NA)

14. K.A. Doore 15. Katrina 16. Kristen L. 17. Kristin R. (Accepts NA) 18. Kristin W. (Accepts NA) 19. L. D. Lewis 20. Laura & Tif (Accepts NA) 21. Layne 22. Marty & Léonie (Accepts NA) 23. Mary Ann (Accepts NA) 24. Mia & Kellye (Accepts NA) 25. Michelle (Accepts NA) 26. Michelle & Katie (Accepts NA)

27. Natasha 28. Nikki (Accepts NA) 29. Paris 30. Rebecca (Accepts NA) 31. Rheea 32. Sarah (Accepts NA) 33. Shari & Clarissa 34. Susan (Accepts NA) 35. T. Frohock 36. Victoria & RF (Accepts NA) 37. Wendy (Accepts NA)

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