Hello all, I mentioned on my last post that I was looking at changing the name of this blog and after what seems dozens of various options and at least as many variations of each option, I have settled on TheNovelAbode. … Continue reading
Hi all,
And it’s that time – Unmask The Agent results for #Nestpitch2015!
Well, I guess I made the clues a little TOO cryptic this year because no one that entered got the entire 12-agents matched correctly.
All together there were 16 people who entered this year’s Unmask the Agent round, and, as there was no clear winner, per the rules, I generated a random selection (OK, I gave each entry a number and draw them out of a hat – yeah technical ha!) anyway… the winner of the $20 Amazon Gift Voucher was an Aussie! Congrats to DB Munro because you’re the winner of the Amazon Voucher.
I have already sent the winner an email & I’m sure the voucher will come in handy as winter sets in here in Australia – nothing better than curling up with a good book – right!
#Nestpitch2015
Over the next week or so I will be working out the stats (‘cos I love stats and I know many of you do also), showing, by category & genre, what was submitted, what was selected by the Mentors, and what was requested by the Agents.
As I tweeted recently, the #Nestpitch blog has rolled over the 25,000 hits mark. For me it was a big milestone, especially given the blog was started in late Jan-2014. As a thank-you, on May 31st I will be randomly selecting one person from those who submitted to #Nestpitch2015, and giving away ANOTHER $20 Amazon Voucher. And again the winner will be notified via email and announced on this blog.
I hope to see you ‘all popping in frequently of the coming weeks and months as we close off Nestpitch for 2015. We will keep you ‘all updated on the progress of those authors who had requests and of course, we will also run our semi-regular segment Five Minutes With…
Additionally, I am planning of running a workshop for PG & MG authors in early December – more details to come closer to the date.
For now, thank you for being part of Nestpitch, for supporting this blog and comp and a big thank you to all the Mentors, Slushies and Agents involved, because let’s face it, without their support, there would be no comps like #Nestpitch.
And speaking of comps, don’t forget that Query Kombat is about to start. The fun starts on May 21st. Our very own Mentor SC is one of the hosts! For more info, go to: http://michelle4laughs.blogspot.com.au/
Best of luck with that one if you’re planning on entering, and even if you’re not, go over to Michelle’s blog and check it out. There are dozens and dozens of interviews with agents and some many helpful tips that it’s a blog you should be following.
Yes it’s that time again… when anyone can play along for the annual #Nestpitch Unmask The Agent Comp!
So how does it work? Simple. Below is the list of agents participating in this year’s Nestpitch and next to them is a list of the Masks they will be wearing. Your job is to match the agent to the mask – that’s it!
All you need to do is go through the Agent post here: https://nestpitch.wordpress.com/2015/03/27/abracadabra-shim-shalala-sham-agent-reveal-now/ and the Bunny Mask post here: https://nestpitch.wordpress.com/2015/04/11/agent-mask-time-would-you-like-a-20-amazon-voucher/ (it also helps if you quickly go to the agent’s bio and/or blog for more clues) and match the agent.
The first person to correctly match all twelve agents to their masks wins! That’s it! (email timeline will be used to confirm who sent the correct entry in first)
And if there are no correct winners then those participating will go into a lucky draw and a winner will be selected at random.
When:
The window will only be open for TWO HOURS – that’s it, so timing is everything.
The Window will open on Wednesday May 13th at 10.30pm Australian EST. That’s 7.30am New York US time and 12.30pm UK time. I chose these times to ensure everyone, no matter where you live, can play along.
You don’t need to have participating in #Nestpitch2015 or to even follow this blog, all you need to do is get to know our agents – and I have no doubt you ‘all know these agents anyway.
Please make sure you send your selection ONLY during the open window because there are no second chances, I will not be sending any ‘too soon’ or ‘too late’ emails – it’s up to you to play along during the window only.
How to submit:
Please send your picks to nestpitch@outlook.com
In the subject line you MUST put UNMASK THE AGENT MY PICKS
If you fail to send your selection during the window or fail to put the above in the subject line, your email will be voided.
**Please note, there will be NO auto reply.
Please pass this on, re-blog if you’d like and tweet / re-tweet to pass the word along.
And now for the agents & masks (note they have all been alpha sorted & the below in no way suggests the correct match)
| Camilla Wray | Bend it like Beckham Bunny | |
| Cate Hart | Disco Bunny | |
| Christa Heschke | Energizer Bunny | |
| Dawn Michelle Frederick | Hippy Chic Bunny | |
| Jessica Schmeidler | Ms. Soccer Bunny | |
| Jordy Albert | Pancake Bunny | |
| Maria Vicente | Professor Bunny | |
| Mollie Glick | Rock Star Bunny | |
| Patricia Nelson | Ski Bunny | |
| Saba Sulaiman | Snow Bunny | |
| Uwe Stender | Warrior Bunny | |
| Valerie Noble | Wonder Woman Bunny |
The winner will be announced on Tuesday May 19th 2015.
Hi All, While the #Nestpitch Teams work with their authors and prepare for the Agent Round I took some time out to interview a very special YA author and invited him to take a seat on my virtual coach for our … Continue reading
For those who don’t know what Nestpitch is, here’s a quick run-through.
There’s a special Easter tradition throughout central and northern Croatia – making Easter Nests for the Easter Bunny. On the afternoon or eve of Easter Saturday children go out into the garden and collect leaves, grass, twigs, flowers and then make a “nest” for the Easter Bunny – that’s where he places hisEaster-Egg-Presents. The children go to bed that eve wondering if the Easter Bunny will like or love their nest, because the best nest gets the best and biggest eggs!
And that’s the basis of Nestpitch, but the ‘nests’ are the author’s pitches and the ‘Easter Bunnies’ are the agents
– get it? Great!
How does Nestpitch work?
This year we have changed things a bit, therefore even if you participated in Nestpitch 2014 you will still need to read the below.
This year we are NOT accepting Picture Books
. We are accepting MG, YA, NA and Adult FICTION ONLY. I had someone ask if we are accepting memoirs or similar- the short answer is NO. This is a FICTION ONLY pitch + 1st 300 for manuscript length fiction only. We are accepting all genres within these categories. If your novel is either Erotica or Christian, please state this. For example: Adult Romance (Erotica) or YA Historical Romance (Christian).
We support diversity and strongly encourage authors with GLBT, geographic, cultural and/or social diversity within their manuscripts to submit. Having said this, we DO NOT support sexual violence, violence against children, bigotry and racism, paedophilia and/or animal cruelty. While it is true that violence and cruelty features within some genres, horror for example, or racism in a historical fiction set in the time of slavery, we will not accept manuscripts that support or promote, directly or indirectly, racism, misogyny, rape, sexual, physical or emotional violence.
One submission per author only please.
Teams: This year there are nine Teams made up of one Mentor & two Slushies. The Teams are listed here:https://nestpitch.wordpress.com/2015/03/12/nestpitch-2015-teams-simply-smawesome/
Guidelines: 
The Pitch window will be open for 48 hours, thereby allowing everyone, regardless of where you live in the world, to prepare and submit a pitch.
The Pitch will be made up of three parts.
(i) a 35-word pitch
(ii) answer to a question (in your main character’s voice)*
(iii) the first 300-words of their manuscript
*QUESTION: If your MC was an Easter Egg, what flavour would s/he be? Keep your answer to NO MORE than 15-words.
How to submit your Pitch:
On April 1st the submission window will open. Please follow the guidelines as set out below. Last year some people put their first 300 words at the top or mixed up the order. Please do not do this. There is a reason for the order and failure to follow the below will likely mean your submission will not pass Round#1 (refer below).
Send the following in your email:
In the Subject line: Nestpitch2015 Sub and your name/author name
In the body of the email type these words:
By submitting this pitch + first 300 words I agree to allow the Nestpitch blog and/or any other affiliated blogs to post my submission on an open forum for the purposes of critique and feedback. I understand this can be for the life of the blog(s).
Manuscript Title:
Category/ Genre:
Word Count:
35-word Pitch:
QU (in your MC’s voice), if your MC was an Easter Egg, what flavour would s/he be?:
*First 300-words of your MS:
*1st 300 = if your MS has a prologue, then your 1st 300 starts from your prologue. Also, finish at the end of a sentence. This is 300-word MAX, so your last word is 300-words. If your sentence finishes on 292-words, submit that. If your sentences run into 30 or more words, then you might want to rethink the length of your sentence(s). Broken sentences do no one favours.
Example of a Submission:
Subject line: Nestpitch2015 Sub – Nikola Vukoja
By submitting this pitch + first 300 words I agree to allow the Nestpitch blog and/or any other affiliated blogs to post my submission on an open forum for the purposes of critique and feedback. I understand this can be for the life of the blog(s).
Manuscript Title: Easter Bunny goes to Vegas
Category/ Genre: MG/ Fantasy
Word Count: 26,000
35-word Pitch: After losing all his eggs in a card game to March Hare, the Easter Bunny heads for Las Vegas where he plans to win enough money to buy back the world’s Easter Eggs.
If your MC was an Easter Egg, what flavour would s/he be? I’d be every flavour, colour, shape and size imaginable; I’m the Easter Bunny… geez!
First 300-words of your MS:
Easer Bunny Blah Blah…
Send your submission to: Nestpitch@outlook.com (please note the submission window below, submissions sent prior or post those times/dates will not be accepted)
Formatting: Either Times Roman or Arial (we are aware that there may be issues with some email account regarding font, please do your best to use either Times Roman or Arial, or something as close as possible to these two)
No indentions. Single spacing. One space between each Paragraph.
Prologues: Your prologue is where your first 300 words begin.
Word Count: Rounded to nearest 1000. For example, 86,000 not 85,798
Selection Process: Last year we contacted all submissions that had made a mistake or left something out (listing only category or genre for example). This year we will not be so lenient. Aside from formatting issues, authors will be expected to follow the above. All submissions will be read by me (Nikola) first to ensure each submission has followed the above rules/guidelines.
There will be three rounds before final selection.
a. Round #1: To get past #1 the authors must be able to follow guidelines.
b. Round #2: This year each Team will select an initial 5-8 submissions and then request more pages/material. Based on the additional pages/material, each Team will drill their selection down to between 4-5 to go to the next round. Note: authors may receive more than one request from more than one Team.
c. Round #3: On having picked their final 4-5, each Team will then critique the first 2,500-words and ‘get to know’ the author(s). This is a 3-fold process. Being selected does not necessarily mean being featured. Teams will want to know the author(s) are willing to accept feedback etc. The Teams will work with their authors for 3 weeks, offering feedback, sharpening pitches, & suggesting improvements. After this, the authors have a full week to re-read their MS in full & make any final changes; before the agent round.
From the Slush-pile Picks. My Team #Team2Beat, will be hunting through the slush-pile and the reserves, looking for gems that have been missed. We will have the option of selecting between 1-5 pitches (at our discretion) to feature. This is basically a bonus-pick so, you may just get an email after the date, but if you do, you’ll be expected to work twice as hard as the other author’s as you’ll have less time – so be ready!
Additional Rules:
a. Only manuscripts which HAVE NOT been featured in another online competition are eligible to enter. This DOES NOT include workshops, critique groups or similar. It also DOES NOT include twitter or any other tag-line style pitches either. Please feel free to ask if you’re in any doubt.
(i) If you have submitted the same manuscript to #Pitchslam, due to the time-line cross-over, we are accepting these submissions. However, if your submission goes to the final stage of either or both competitions, please advice us and the host of #Pitchslam.
b. Submissions MUST follow the submission format. We accept that sometimes emails de-format fonts and tabs, what we don’t want is people forgetting to put CATEGORY & GENRE (for example) or not answering the question; that sort of thing.
All pitches that have followed the rules (round#1) will then be forwarded to each Team. After the internal cat-fight, erh discussions will take place and each Team will select their top 4-5 author submissions (round#3). Expect to also see teasers and cryptic clues via Twitter & Facebook (*don’t forget to follow the Mentors and Slushies, lots of fun to be had!)
My Team #Team2Beat will be the Bandit Team. I bet all of you have a brother or sister who always stole your favourite Easter Eggs – well that’s what we’ll be doing – sort of. We will be looking for hidden or missed gems. They could be from the slush-pile or from #round2 & we’ll feature them. #Team2Beatmay have as few as one submission featured or as many as five – it all depends on how many diamonds in the rough we believe have been missed.
This year there will again be an Amazon Gift voucher Prize for the submission with the highest number of requests and another for matching the Agents with their Masks (more on that at agent reveal).
Dates:
Agent Reveal: 27th March
Submission Window Opens April Fools Day (Wednesday 1st April 2015)
10pm Aust. Eastern Standard Time
7am USA New York Time
12 noon London UK Time
Submission Window Closes Good Friday (Friday 3rd April 2015)
10pm Aust. Eastern Standard Time
7am USA New York Time
12 noon London UK Time
Secret Agent Bunny Mask Reveal: April 9th
Teams send out requests for 1st 2,500 words Sunday 12th April
Authors reply by Tuesday 14th April
Final Selection Sunday 10th May (Mother’s Day)
Agent Request open Monday 11th May to Tuesday 12th May 2015
Unmask the Agent: Wednesday 13th May 2015 (Amazon Voucher)
Agent Request(s) sent out to authors Wednesday 13th May 2015
Authors to send requested pages to Agents by Friday 15th May 2015
Winner of Most Requests: 20th or 21st May
Stats: 28th or 29st May
Nestpitch2015 Close: 31st May (follow up blog with success stories as they come)
One last thing. Please remember to be respectful and considerate when communicating with out Mentors, Slushies and Agents. Rude, vulgar or insulting comments, tweets or emails will not be tolerated, in other words, please nice folks!
Helpful Guides: Novel Word Count:
Although we are not going to eliminate anyone who does not match the below, we recommend you try to follow as closely as possible the suggested word-count. The to – from word-count is a guide only and takes into consideration genre variations (for example fantasy genre novels tend to be on the longer side)
ADULT: 70,000 – 115,000
NEW ADULT : 60, 000 – 90,000
YOUNG ADULT: 50,000 – 80,000
MIDDLE GRADE: 25,000 – 45,000
Useful Tools/ Things to Avoid:
Common Punctuation Errors: (selected examples taken from March 20, 2015)
Incorrect: To become fluent readers students must read outside school hours.
Correct: To become fluent readers, students must read outside school hours.
“To become fluent readers” is an introductory infinitive phrase and should be followed by a comma.
Incorrect: If you want to write well you must be prepared to practice the craft.
Correct: If you want to write well, you must be prepared to practice the craft.
“If you want to write well” is an introductory clause and should be followed by a comma.
Incorrect: The boys, who vandalized the public gardens, are in police custody.
Correct: The boys who vandalized the public gardens are in police custody.
“Who vandalized the public gardens” is essential information because it identifies which boys are meant. It should not be set off by commas.
Incorrect: Circumstances required the children to live in a homeless shelter, nevertheless they kept up with their studies.
Correct: Circumstances required the children to live in a homeless shelter; nevertheless, they kept up with their studies.
Also correct: Circumstances required the children to live in a homeless shelter. Nevertheless, they kept up with their studies.
A comma splice results when two independent clauses are joined by a comma. The main clauses here are “Circumstances required the children to live in a homeless shelter” and “nevertheless, they kept up with their studies.”
The word nevertheless is a conjunctive adverb. Its function is to provide a transition between two thoughts, but it is not a joining word like and or but. A comma splice can be avoided by placing a semicolon after the first clause or by ending the first clause with a period or other end stop and starting a new sentence with a capital letter.
Incorrect: The spelunkers found, that the caves were closed to protect the bats.
Correct: The spelunkers found that the caves were closed to protect the bats.
The noun clause is “the caves were closed to protect the bats.” The clause functions as the direct object of the verb in the main clause, found.
Clauses: Main clauses that are not part of a compound or complex sentence require an end stop. When a period or other end stop is omitted, the result is a “run-on sentence.”
Incorrect: The rushing waves capsized the boat indifferent gulls wheeled overhead.
Correct: The rushing waves capsized the boat. Indifferent gulls wheeled overhead.
The simplest way to correct a run-on sentence is to put a period at the end of the first clause and capitalize the first word of the next one.
Multiple Exclamation Points!!!
Incorrect: Before my astonished eyes, the house sank into the tarn!!!!
Correct: Before my astonished eyes, the house sank into the tarn!
On the rare occasions that an exclamation mark is needed, one is sufficient. Remember this rule, more than one Kitten… always. More than one exclamation mark… never.
Quotation Marks.
Incorrect: Our staff is required to take three “safety” courses every year.
Correct: Our staff is required to take three safety courses every year.
In most contexts, placing quotation marks around a word suggests that the word is being used with a meaning other than the obvious one. Writers who enclose words in quotation marks merely for emphasis risk annoying their readers. No one likes to waste time trying to discern a hidden meaning where there is none.
There are more examples on http://www.prdaily.eu/PRDailyEU/Articles/10_punctuation_essentials_for_every_writer_18319.aspx
Below is a list of words I have selected which are often incorrectly used:
Affect vs. effectAffect is usually a verb, and effect is usually a noun. When you affect something, it produces and effect. To affect something is to change or influence it. An effect is something that happens due to cause.
Affluent describes something or someone has having a lot of money. It can also mean something is fluid or flowing in a large quantity, either literally or figuratively. A person who is wealthy is an affluent. Effluent is the liquid sewage that is released as waste.
Father and Further both mean at a greater distance, and they are used interchangeably in this sense. In the US farther is more often used to refer to physical distances, and further more often refers to figurative and non-physical distances.
To imply is to express something indirectly. For example, you might imply that it’s time for a guest to leave by saying that you are getting tired. To infer is to surmise or deduce. For example, if you were to tell a guest that you’re getting tired, the guest might infer that it’s time to leave. More broadly, infer means to deduce. For example, when the sky grows dark in the middle of the day, you might infer that it’s probably going to storm. Infer has been used in place of imply so often and for so long that some dictionaries now list it as a synonym of imply in a secondary sense. In edited writing, however, the traditional distinction is usually kept intact.
Lightening vs. lightningLightening (from the verb – lighten), where to lighten is to make light or lighter. Lightning is the flash of light associated with thunder.
Literally means exactly, in a strict sense, or to the letter. For example, “I am literally foaming at the mouth,” this literally means real foam is coming out of his or her mouth.
Figuratively means in a metaphorical sense—so when someone says, “I am figuratively foaming at the mouth,” we can infer that he or she is using the idiom foaming at the mouth, which means very angry, and that no mouth foam is actually present.
Something that is misinformed is based on bad information. Something that is uninformed is based on no information or inadequate information.
To oppress is to keep someone down by unjust force or authority. To repress is (1) to hold back, or (2) to put down by force. Suppress, means (1) to put an end to, (2) to inhibit, and (3) to keep from being revealed, such as suppressing evidence.
Peek, peak & piqueA peek is a glance or a quick look. It can also mean to glance or to peer at. Peak is a topmost point, such as a mountain peak. Finally, pique is to upset or excite someone, such as, to pique interest, you are exciting their interest not taking a quick look at it.
Recreate means to amuse oneself with an activity, and is a word in its own right. The verb re-create, meaning to create again, benefits from the hyphen. But because recreate is an exceedingly rare verb, there’s actually little chance of the two being confused, so many publications omit the hyphen and use recreate to mean to create again.
Whiny is an adjective meaning habitually complaining or like a whine.
Whiney is the same as whiny.
Whinny is the sound horses make & is synonymous with neigh.
The difference between wreath and wreathe is similar to that between breath and breathe. Wreath is a noun and wreathe is its corresponding verb.
Variations in British English and US English
As a general rule, the use of the letter ‘u’ in certain words differentiates the two types of English, for example Favorite / Favourite. The first being US English. Another example would be Color / Colour. Also the replacement of the letter ‘S’ with the letter ‘Z’ is a common difference between the two versions. For example Realize / Realise, with the first being US English.
Then there are words where US English has only one ‘L’ when – ed is added, for example Traveled is US English and Travelled is British English.
I found a good source of reference here: http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/words/british_american_english.htm
This site also highlights changes in ‘re’ and ‘er’ for example Centre/Center and other variations.
Sometimes words have a very different spelling as is the case with Jewelry / Jewellery. The first being US English.
I hope some of these will help you with your grammar and word selection and of course, if you have any questions about #Nestpitch please feel free to leave a comment or contact me on Twitter using either @nestpitch or @Nik_Vukoja
Come back in a few days to see our truly smawesome list of Agents!
Firstly Post-It-Forward.
The submission window open March 8th and is only open for 12 hours so don’t miss out! Go here: https://nestpitch.wordpress.com/2015/02/12/post-it-forward-2015/ for more info.
So what’s #Nestpitch ?
It’s a writers comp based on a special Easter tradition throughout central and northern Croatia – making Easter Nests. On the afternoon or eve of Easter Saturday children go out into the garden and collect leaves, grass, twigs, flowers and then make a “nest” for the Easter Bunny – that’s where he places his Easter-Egg-Presents. The children go to bed that eve wondering if the Easter Bunny will like or love their nest, because the best nest gets the best and biggest eggs!
With that in mind, we’ve structured #Nestpitch where the ‘NEST’ is your pitch + 300. You ‘pitch’ your nest to the Secret Bunny Agents. If they like your ‘nest’ they’ll leave you a request ‘treat’ – in other words the best nests get the most and biggest pitch-treats 🙂
How does it work?
You will send your pitch + 300 (refer below for full instructions) and the Mentor + their team of Slushies will selected their favourites to go to Round Two*
*Yes we’ve changed the rules a little – this year there will be two rounds and the Mentoring TEAMS will work closely with their final selections to help their authors strengthen each authors manuscript.
The first is the Mentor/Team System.
In 2014 we had some AWESOME submissions however, there were a few agents who, on requesting pages and query letters, felt the quality/voice and even lack of grammatical errors (etc.) did not translate beyond page one, two or three.
So this got me thinking.
The concept of Easter Nests & Secret Bunny Agents will remain, however the selection process will be MUCH TOUGHER.
This year there will be TEAMS. One Mentor + two Slushies.
Each Team will read all the submissions* and from those will select their top 5-8 submissions.
Each Team will then request the first 2,500-words of each manuscript from their chosen 5-8 pitches; and, after much discussion, and perhaps requests for more information/pages, each Team will pick 4-5 submissions to go into the final round (the agent round).
Prior to being open to agents, each Team will work closely with their 4-5 author’s, helping them polish their first 2,500-words, giving feedback and critique.
The author’s will then take what they have learned and revise the rest of their manuscript – before the agent round.
*Please follow the submission guidelines. Entries who fail to do so may have their submission voided. Although this may seem tough, it’s a fact of a writer’s life, submission guidelines are there for a reason, whether they are competition, agent or publisher guidelines.
You will find a comprehensive rules & conditions guideline post one week before submission date (April 1st), however, below is a brief overview to give you all a head start.
A list of the Teams & the participating agents will be posted right after #Post-it-Forward – look out for it!
How do you play?
First and foremost FOLLOW THE RULES – as mentioned, they will be updated a week before submission date – however below is an overall run down:
#NestPitch
This year we will be open to all categories EXCEPT Picture Books (MG, YA, NA & Adult)
The Pitch window will be open for 48 hours, thereby allowing everyone, regardless of where you live in the world, to prepare and submit a pitch.
The Pitch will be made up of three parts.
(i) a 35-word pitch
(ii) answer to a question (in your main characters voice)
(iii) the first 300-words of your manuscript
There will an email address dedicated #nestpitch – this will form part of the RULES.
Selection Process:
(i) All submissions will be read by me first to ensure each submission has followed the rules/guidelines.
Two main rules
a. Only manuscripts which HAVE NOT been featured in another online competition are eligible to enter. This DOES NOT include workshops, critique groups or similar. It also DOES NOT include twitter or any other tag-line style pitches either. Please feel free to ask if you’re in any doubt
b. Submission MUST follow the submission format. The format will form part of the rules & guidelines update a week before submission date. We accept that sometime email de-format fonts and tabs, this is fine. What we don’t want is people forgetting to put CATEGORY & GENRE (for example) or not answering the question; that sort of thing
(ii) All pitches who have followed the rules (#round1) will then be forwarded to each Team. Each Team will create a Team Name -For example#TeamWinnerWinnerChickenDinner that’s how you’ll be able to find them on Twitter or Facebook.
(iii) Each Team will select their top 5-8 submissions. Note: some teams may select the same pitch(es) so it is possible your pitch will be requested by more than one Team. Teams will contact the author’s that have made Round #2 and request the first 2,500-words
(iv) Internal cat-fight, erh discussions will take place and each Team will select their top 4-5 author submissions (#round3). Expect to also see teasers and cryptic clues via Twitter & Facebook (*don’t forget to follow the Mentors and Slushies, lots of fun to be had!)
(v) My Team #Team2Beat will be the Bandit Team. I bet all of you have a brother or sister who always stole your favourite Easter Eggs – well that’s what we’ll be doing – sort of. We will be looking for hidden or missed gems. They could be from the slush-pile or from #round2 & we’ll feature them. #Team2Beatmay have as few as one submission featured or as many as five – it all depends on how many diamonds in the rough we believe have been missed.
(vi) This year there will again be a Amazon Gift Voucher Prize for the submission with the highest number of requests and another for Matching the Agents with their Masks (more on that at agent reveal).
Below is an overview Schedule
Post-It-Forward 35-word Workshop opens 8th March
(for more info go to: https://nestpitch.wordpress.com/2015/02/12/post-it-forward-2015/ )
NESTPITCH:
Submission Window Opens April Fools Day (April 1st 2015)
10pm Aust. Eastern Standard Time
7am USA New York Time
12 noon London UK Time
Submission Window Closes Good Friday (April 3rd 2015)
10pm Aust. Eastern Standard Time
7am USA New York Time
12 noon London UK Time
Teams send out requests for 1st 2,500 words Sunday 12th April
Authors reply by Tuesday 14th April
Final Selection Sunday 10th May (Mother’s Day)
Agent request open Monday 11th May to Tuesday 12th May 2015
Agent request(s) sent out to authors Wednesday 13th May 2015
Authors to send requested pages to Agents by Friday 15th May 2015
Don’t forget to come back March 8th for your change to sharpen your 35-word pitch, it could be the difference between getting selected or not!
Today I have the very great pleasure of being part of the Cover Reveal of Stacey Trombley’s new novel NAKED. For those of you who don’t know Stacey, she is not only an awesome author, a great friend to aspiring … Continue reading
Hi all,
Given we are past the 1/2way mark of the first month of 2015, I thought it an ideal time to update everyone on upcoming competitions & workshops.
Please note: this is NOT a complete list, but rather a few competitions I know work and are run by extraordinary women with exceptional writing credibility & gianormous hearts.
(i) Sun vs Snow
Description: Writing comp with agents requesting pages/material
Hosted By: Michelle Hauck & Amy Trueblood
Submission open: 26th Jan 2015
Where to find info:
http://michelle4laughs.blogspot.com.au/
https://chasingthecrazies.wordpress.com/
(ii) Operation Awesome
Description: A pitch + first 250 Workshop (lottery-style)
Hosted By: Abby Annis assisted by Angelica R. Jackson
Submission open: Right now! Lottery closes Friday, Jan 23rd at 11:59 pm EST.
Where to find info:
http://operationawesome6.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/february-mystery-editor-lottery-now-open.html
(iii) Pitch Madness 
Description: Writing comp with agents requesting pages/material
Hosted By: Brenda Drake
Submission open: 20th Feb 2015
Where to find info:
http://www.brenda-drake.com/pitch-madness/
(iv) Post-it-Forward
Description: 35-word pitch Workshop
Hosted By: Nikola Vukoja & Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
Submission open: Date to be confirmed, will be between mid-Feb to early March, please follow this site & Rhiann’s blog for updates
Where to find info: Please look over 2014 info sheet, (https://nestpitch.wordpress.com/2014/03/22/35-word-pitch-clinic-is-now-open-for-business/)
2015 Post-It-Forward info will be posted soon.
(v) Nestpitch 2015
Description: Writing comp with agents requesting pages/material
Hosted By: Nikola Vukoja
Submission Window Opens April Fools Day (April 1st 2015)
10pm Aust. Eastern Standard Time
7am USA New York Time
12 noon London UK Time
Submission Window Closes Good Friday (April 3rd 2015)
10pm Aust. Eastern Standard Time
7am USA New York Time
12 noon London UK Time
Info to follow closer to the date. Please note, there will be some changes. Please refer to this post update: https://nestpitch.wordpress.com/2014/10/20/nestpitch-2015-st-nicholas-day/ for a general overview
And also please note that Nestpitch 2015 WILL NOT be accepting Picture Books. We are planning something for Picture Books (& possibly MG) in December 2015.
Hi All – Happy New Year!
Before Christmas I mentioned on my Facebook Page that I was reading an international best seller which had been awarded two prestigious awards & how I could not comprehend either the awards or the best seller status. I also promised that, when done, aside from getting around to posting my review on both Amazon & Goodreads, I wanted to fully explain my intended rating (1-star) here. Since then, I’ve also received 1x 1-star review for a piece of (short) non-fiction I wrote.
Given I was about to do the same to another author, I thought I’d not only explain my 1-star rating, but also discuss how I felt about my own 1-star review.
So here we go!
I should say from the get-go I’m expecting some negative backlash for my 1-star rating on Geraldine Brooks’ “People of the Book” novel. I’m expecting it because:
(i) people who are likely better qualified than me have raved about this book
(ii) this novel has won two awards
(iii) this novel is a best seller
(iv) it was written by a female author (not enough of us truly) with the main character being an Australian (again not nearly enough novels see the light of day with Aussie characters) and being a woman.
(v) I’m sure I am about to break some unwritten law about not supporting female Australian authors who write about Australia and have Australian main characters
If that is the case, so be it. My review & opinion stands.
Firstly, let me say, this is the FIRST time I have ever given ANY novel a 1-star review & I did not take this decision lightly, however, if I am to be honest in my reviews then I cannot be swayed by popular opinion.
Without giving the entire novel away, in order to demonstrate my issues, I will give a brief synopsis of the novel.
The main character, Hanna, is an Australian who was born and raised in an elite area of Sydney, attending the best schools (etc). Her mother is a world renowned neurosurgeon who lectures around the world (mostly US) in between doing the most complex surgery and saving lives. Hanna has double honours degrees in chemistry & ancient Near Eastern languages, a Masters in chemistry & a PhD in fine art conservation. She too is among the top in her field (she restores old manuscripts and saves pieces of historical and archaeological significance) and travels all over the world to do her work, write papers, give lectures etc. She is an only child and (almost until the end) she has no idea who her father is. Additionally, the relationship between mother and daughter is strained to say the least.
Hanna is given an assignment in Bosnia, just after the War of Independence, to save a magnificent Jewish document. She intends to not only restore this treasure but to try and work out where it has been (it’s over five hundred years old) and how it has survived so long in such war-torn and religiously and politically unstable climates.
Basically this book had everything I love in a book. It had a female main character. It had links to Australia. It was written by a female author. It had lots and lots of history, much of which touched on my own Croatian history. And it wasn’t the standard “girl-meets-boy” yadda yadda (they don’t appeal to me & therefore I neither read nor review them). In other words I was super excited to read this.
That excitement dwindled from Chapter #1 – onward.
Chapter #1 was so long-winded, with so much exposition (unnecessary exposition) that I ended up skipping ½ of it. Funny thing was (or perhaps not so funny), when I started Chapter #2, I found I’d missed NOTHING.
I should add that the novel is over 400 pages. That in itself was not an issue, I have read books in the 700+ pages and devoured them, but this dragged on, and on, and on, and on. There are three chapters that are (each) over 50 pages – no break. I found myself skipping page after page and getting more and more disillusioned. What’s worse is, when the author stopped waxing on and on with mind-numbing details that added nothing to the pace, there were some truly brilliant parts. Some of the pages brought me to tears – literally. This is what made it difficult to simply stop. Because there was brilliance beyond words, I kept going, hungry for more pages and passages like this. Sadly there was not enough greatness to out way the mundane & unnecessary.
Let me start listing my biggest hang-ups.
(i) Make up your mind, Australian or American?
As I mentioned, the MC was from a well-to-do part of Sydney, yet, on occasion, she’d use terms which, as someone who has lived her entire life in the CBD (or near) parts of Melbourne, I’ve only heard used by Steve – The Crocodile Hunter – Irwin or the fictional character Mick “Crocodile” Dundee (is it a crocodile thing?). Now, don’t get me wrong, some people, especially in the country and even more so in the outback, do say G’day, but not city people (and that’s far from the worst of it – Bonza and other utterly cliché words were used throughout), and certainly not by someone with a doctorate, with a mother who sent her to the finest private schools (etc). But even this I was willing to overlook, some marketing ploy perhaps, except then the author goes ahead and uses American English. Words like TRAVELLED became TRAVELED (one L) and everything had a “Z” in place of an “S” – even her mentioning her honours degrees, the word honours has no “U” – any degree she got in Australia would 100% have the U. This sort of inconsistency DRIVES ME CRAZY. I found myself saying out loud things like “oh please!” referring to some of her language and rolling my eyes at USA English. Again, I have no issue with USA English, but this is AN AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR writing about AN AUSTRALIAN MAIN CHARACTER, one who has finished a hell of a lot of schooling IN AUSTRALIA. Franking it was annoying.
(ii) Historical Inaccuracy.
This is a biggie for me. If you’re going to write a historical novel, then please oh please check your facts. There are so many minor historical inaccuracies I could list, but I don’t want this to be a 10-page blog-post, so I’m going to identify two of them.
a) The author refers to the Habsburg Empire. That’s fine. Except she calls them HAPSBURG – with a “P” not the correct B. Now, I should say that the surname is often written as a P, incorrectly, and the Habsburgs accepted both spelling forms (this came about because of a miss-spelling centuries ago & has remained), however the correct spelling is with a B. Given the MC is supposed to be this big-shot PhD, a specialist in her field, someone who details with history and antiquities and parchments and documents, (the MC even did her residency in Vienna FFS!), one would think she’d KNOW how to spell the name correctly, after all I and 1000s of other people do.
b) Still in reference to the Habsburgs, the MC gives us a history lesson on the final stages of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, explaining that it included parts of Croatia, Bosnia & Serbia. Correct. But then she goes on to say that this ended in 1908. INCORRECT. How do I know this? Simple. Once upon a time Croatia was 3-4 times the size it is now, covering what is now Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and parts of Serbia. (If you don’t believe me google the First King of Croatia King Tomislav & you’ll find he was crowned in Bosnia – part of Croatia – & you’ll also see reference to The Battle of the Bosnian Highlands in the 10th century) In the middle ages, most of Croatia, Bosnia & Serbia were ruled by the Habsburgs (from Vienna), up until (almost) the end of 1911. How can I be so sure? Easy. My grandmother on my mother’s side was born in 1911 in Croatia and my grandfather on my father’s side was born in Bosnia, also in 1911. Their birth certificates stated: Nationality: Croat Citizenship: Austrian. 1911 Ms. Brooks – why did your people not check their facts? Frankly it’s insulting.
(iii) Inconsistency through out.
a) The author makes an effort to use words (places, people, things) in foreign languages, primarily German, Croatian & Bosnian. Trouble is, she is not consistent. I have no issue with words being Anglo-fied, to allow the reader better ease to read them, but this author picks and chooses which words she will Anglo-fy. Some German words have “umlauts” others, which should have them, don’t. (an Umlaut is when there are dots over a vowel, eg: ä, ö, ü). Some German streets have the symbol “ß” while others, that should therefore also have them, don’t. It’s even worse with Croat, Serb & Bosnian words. For example I defy anyone from an Anglo-only background (who has not studied Slavic Languages) to correctly pronounce DŽEZVA or FILDŽAN (on page 68), the Ž is not pronounced as a Z, or any of the following letters: Š, Č, Ć, Đ – for example Đ makes a “kind” of J sound like in JACK but not exactly. Again, I don’t have an issue with this, EXCEPT that the Author chooses where she’ll use the spelling correctly and where she’ll put a C instead of a Č (which makes a CH sound) or she adds letters, like SH for the letter Š. On page 41 (for example) she spells the word RAKIJA (a very strong plum brandy) but then on other pages she spells it RAKIJAH – adding an H for no apparent reason. This inconsistency is not only frustrating for the reader (regardless of if you can’t pronounce the words or if you look at them and say “that’s wrong”) it’s unacceptable in an award winning, international best seller.
b) At one point the author refers to Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and his death at Mayerling with his mistress, 17-year-old Baroness Marie Alexandrine von Vetsera, who the author refers to as MARY VETSERA and doesn’t even give Marie the title of BARONESS. Again, choose already? Either both have their correct names or neither, surely?
c) Throughout the novel, almost to the end, the MC whines at not knowing who her father is. Yet, she has all these degrees. She has access to files and documents that allow her to discover that a white hair came for a specific type of cat. She can tell a document is a forgery by simply looking at it, with her bare eyes, because of the size of the pores. She even has access to Scotland Yard DNA experts at one stage, but she cannot figure out who her father is? WTF?
(iv) The MC spends a lot of time disparaging her mother. 
Yes, it’s clear her mother is an indifferent “mother figure” and is disappointed her daughter did not follow her into medicine, but Oh My Frigging God! Get over yourself! The MC is well educated, well travelled, (double LL as I’m in Australia), a leader in her field. Not every mother is “motherly” some are simply not drawn that way. I am so over 1st world country characters whining “Woo is me” when they actually have nothing to whine about. Was she homeless? Living in a car? Was she fostered out as a child? Abandoned? Molested? No, no, no, no… this sort of “I blame mummy” character I expect in someone who is perhaps 15-20 years old, who doesn’t know what they want in life, who is still growing up and who DIDN’T get a wonderful start to life and an extraordinary education. It’s insulting to people who have really had to struggle to survive.
OK, so I’ve had my say; well almost. There are some exceptional parts in this novel. The mix of countries and cultures, the mix of Jewish, Muslim, Christian Orthodox and Catholic, the historical elements are all wonderful. The trouble is, a lot of it is swathed in dull, over-written, exposition ridden, historically inaccurate, culturally insulting blah, blah. If I was BETA reading this, I would have suggested cutting about 150 pages, correcting the inconsistencies, fixing the historical inaccurate parts and cutting the massive chapters into more bite-size pieces. I am sure I will be hanged, drawn & quartered for expressing these views, however, this is how I see it, take from it what you will & remember, this is but one persons view.
Right at the beginning, I mentioned I recently got a 1-star review for my own writing. The piece in question is a short non-fiction I wrote. I wrote & Self Published it because I wanted to start a conversation on my hypothesis. I did it all in a few days, wrote the words, did my research, designed my cover & published it. I added in the prefix that this was not intended to be anything more than an opening to a larger discussion.
My first review was a 1-star review. One of the issues was “a few spelling mistakes” which I am sure are true, (evidently I wrote SEE in place of SEA). The reviewer also seemed to have missed that I wrote this to start a discussion (another issue was it was just under 30-pages and apparently this was not long enough). Some of the comments were justified and some hit me hard.
My first reaction was: “Oh God, I’m so super stupid & shyte at this”
My second reaction was: “I need to get in touch with this reviewer and explain that they didn’t really ‘get’ what I was trying to achieve here and maybe if I explained…”
My third and final reaction was: “Oh what the hell, he/she didn’t like it, so what? Is there still food in the fridge? Is the power still on? Is the earth still rotating around the sun? YES, Great! Someone I don’t know read my words & isn’t that the ultimate objective of all writers? YES, 1000 times YES”
My point is, 1-star reviews are harsh, no matter what the reasoning, but they happen. Don’t NOT read something that interests you simply based on one or two bad reviews. I will never, for the life of me, understand how People of the Book became a best seller when I know so many authors who I consider to have written masterpieces in comparison; will never see the same level of success. Some may never even get published.
Life sucks sometimes, that’s just the way it is, but if your field is the arts, whatever the area, you have to be open to 1-star reviews. Accept and move on.
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
When life gives you 1-star reviews, make a smiley face and write & read something else.
Hi all, First a confession – this should have loaded on the 12th but (clearly) I’m a fail at pre-setting blog updates! So, without further ado, I’m over the moon to be sharing with you the cover reveal of Cassandra … Continue reading
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