Today on the MS Editors blog, I ask if good writing, like good typography, is invisible. Read the post and let me know if you agree!
I also talk about the 7 Writing Maxims, what makes a strong voice, cliches, formal writing, critique partners, and how to not annoy your reader đ
Be forewarned: I included a TON of links to resources you might find useful.
It’s only Wednesday, and already I’ve seen several great resources for debut writers linked on Twitter.
10 Common Querying Mistakes from agent Maria Vicente
5 Secrets to Publishing Your Debut Novel from agent Carly Watters
Here’s a link to finding sensitivity readers if you’re writing apart from your own experience.
Also in publishing news, Dan Brown is abridging The Da Vinci Code for young adult readers. YA authors and readers are rightly peeved. Newsflash: YA novels are not dumbed-down or shortened versions of adult stories. What makes YA a YA? You’ll find out in lesson 2 if you take the Cadet Course!
Agent Carly Watters’s #1 secret in her 5 Secrets (above) is to network with other writers, and I’ve got two opportunities in the next few weeks to do just that:
These are last year’s stats:
Entry dates are July 1 for MG manuscripts, July 2 for YA, and July 3 for Adult (18+).
Check out the StoryCadet blog for more details about each of the lessons and how you and your friends can save $50 off the price of enrollment.
Here’s my open call for pg70pit slushies!
#pg70pit is a unique contest in that entries are selected by voice alone. While other contests are better suited for commercial fiction which hooks by the first page, #pg70pit is a contest intending to highlight strong, diverse, or “quiet” voices.
If you think you’ve got the writing and revision chops to be a slushie, read on!
Remember: the contest itself is open to any writer with a complete and polished novel-length work, for age categories MGâAdult.
Constest slushies, however, must have either:
*Acceptable publishers:
Why these rules? We need slushies who can recognize a strong literary voice, and I don’t have time to vet everyone personally. There are so many excellent pitching contests for commercial fiction;Â I wanted to offer a pitching contest for quieter stories. #pg70pit is the result.
Reading the slush is a volunteer position. Entries come in July 1 for MG, July 2 for YA, and July 3 for Adult. All entries must be read and judged by July 5th at 7pm EDT. I estimate that each slushie will be assigned fewer than 60 entries (60 pages).
By hitting “submit,” you recognize that this is a blind contestâyou pledge to not enter this contest yourself in 2016, and you pledge to pass any entries you recognize onto another slushie.
There are a few days left to enter my giveaway for Marvel’s Pride & Prejudice graphic novel. To enter, click here.
In other news, the StoryWorldCon courses now have their own website: StoryCadet.com.
The Cadet Course (for pitching and submitting your stories) will start June 8 and go for eight weeks. Find out the different pricing options and the schedule here. If you purchase the complete workshop before June 1, you get an extra $10 off!
Curious about what it takes to become a freelance editor? Soon I’ll be doing another #AskEditor series and sharing my chat with my 2015 intern about how I got into editing and my advice for freelancers-to-be.
Lara Willard 