UPDATE: My voice is sore from all the excited squeeing done today. How will I be able to manage a cookie now :) A huge thank you to everyone who entered, tweeted, blogged, commented and made Operation Awesomes launch, well, awesome. The contest is full for this month, but stick with us because we've got more to come...this won't be your last pitch chance. Again, from all of us here at OA, hugs!
UPDATE: Winners announced here: Mystery Agent Revealed!
Have you ever wanted to squee so loud you thought your head may explode? Okay, it’s just me. Anyway, welcome to the launch of Operation Awesome and our little corner of the blogosphere. We want you to feel at home, so relax, pull up a chair, grab a cup of tea and help yourself to a cookie. It’s okay, I made them. :)
To celebrate in style we have a fantastic September contest -- a one-sentence pitch contest, judged by an amazing mystery agent (M.A).
This agent IS fantastic. We're all jealous we can’t enter. Seriously!
Here are the details:
Genre is limited to MG and YA. Please include Title/Genre in the comments.
The first 50 one-line pitches posted will be considered.
Mystery Agent will choose one winner.
The winner will have Mystery Agent's full attention when they send their full MS. Yep, you heard the British one of the group right, YOUR FULL MS! So don’t forget, please have your manuscript ready to send before you pitch.
The rules: We won’t have any fancy ‘you must follow us’ rules. Sure, we’d love you all to follow us, but Operation Awesome is about giving back. But, in the spirit of sharing, please spread the word. Tweet, blog, shout it from the rooftop. You can even grab one of our buttons. :)
Want some help with your pitch? Here are some handy links:
Query Tracker - the one sentence pitch
QueryTracker Blog - the elevator pitch
Elana Johnson - one-sentence pitching.
The contest will close at the end of September, or when the fifty entries are filled, whichever comes first. So keep checking back to be sure you don't miss the chance.
Want to know who mystery agent is? Come back when the winners are announced when we’ll have an interview with the agent extraordinaire.
So ready, steady, go!
81 comments:
Quick question, can a person pitch more than one MS?
Man!!! What's wrong with adult fiction nowadays??? :o(
Book of Black, YA Fantasy
When four American teenagers are stuck in an alternate world, they have to fight alongside the Myrkvera race of shadowbeings against the emrpess's army, in order to get home.
PHOENIX'S ASHES, YA Fantasy
Devastated by the murder of her best friend, sixteen-year-old Kali is set on vengeance against the Order responsible, until she begins to fall for one of their recruits.
Looking forward to reading the entries!
You girls are truly awesome! Great contest!
When twelve-year-old Eliza finds out she can’t take a cake decorating class because her parents are worried she’ll just quit (like always), she negotiates a deal - but it means taking taekwondo for the summer.
Twelve year old Heather and her friends decide to form a band and compete at the yearly music competition, when things start going missing at school it is up to Heather to figure out who is doing it before the competition get canceled.
I think this is a wonderful contest--and a great opportunity for those looking for an agent. All the best & good luck to the entrants!
Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse
LOST IN A HEARTBEAT (YA romantic suspense).
When a terrifying secret puts her BFF’s life at risk, seventeen-year-old Calleigh has to live a lie to protect her.
Axel McDaniel and the End of the World - YA post-apocalyptic
Fifteen-year old Axel McDaniel has been told he's definitely not the chosen one, but that doesn't stop this time-traveling underdog from trying to save the Post-Dark world using a magic comic book.
Sing Phantom for Me/YA paranormal
Sixteen-year-old soprano Isabel loves The Phantom of the Opera -- until she ends up living the story with a real ghost.
BYRNE RISK (middle grade science fiction)
A young geneticist has to choose between standing up for clone freedom or allowing her clone caretaker to be arrested by the Peace Police for helping the Resistance.
Scatter-YA romantic suspense
Living under a false identity to stay hidden from her murderous father is lonely, terrifying, and normal for seventeen-year-old CJ, but when a boy offers her the life she's always wanted, she must choose between shedding her lies to love him and breaking his heart to protect him.
Tangynt, I think we ought to limit it to one pitch per person... Unless we get to the end and need more entrants. Then anything goes :)
Stray - YA Dystopian
Twelfth Night meets the Sopranos in a canal-ridden, Venetian-style New York City.
The Jester's Daughter/ MG Fiction
With their kingdom threatened, two unlikely citizens of Rendovia must save the monarchy: Sunna, the court jester’s daughter, and Mira, the king’s painfully introverted daughter.
Half-Blood YA Urban Fantasy romance
There’s nothing like crushing on the forbidden Aiden to take Alex’s mind off of having to kill her mother.
Great opportunity - thank you all so much! :)
Steamed Up - YA Steampunk
In a Victorian London where steam power rules and Bobbies don’t, two teens stumble onto a plot to defraud the Bank of England – and that’s the good news.
Title: I'm Here to Save Your Day– The Adventures of Bo Wolf
Genre: MG Adventure/Fantasy
A brazen boy faces a playground bully to reclaim the school jungle gym, only to discover the bully's mom– the lunch lady— is a far worse enemy, and covertly a witch, as he struggles to end her bitter vengeance when she poisons the entire school with her irresistible ginger snaps.
Pearl Edda - YA fantasy
Mia's prince is a Norse god, and the end of the world is ruining her happily ever after.
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Great contest! Thanks!
requiem- Contemporary YA
When Ben's seemingly perfect older brother decides to chase a handful of Tylenol with a bottle of vodka, Ben must decide what’s more important: stepping out from beneath his brother’s shadow or learning how to cast his own.
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Thanks for the awesome contest! Cheers!
Zombie Rabbit: MG Adventure
Watership Down meets Zombieland when a zombie rabbit leads a quest to liberate an animal testing lab, before he and his friends “fall apart” completely.
Wowsa, you guys!! These all are so great! Best of luck to all of you!!
And thanks for supporting the blog, of course :)
Benevolence is a YA paranormal, complete at 81,000 words.
A sixteen year old, devastated by her father's death and family's
descent into poverty, struggles to survive high school with the help
of a ghost who's loved her for 200 years.
Thanks for giving me the kick in the pants I needed to FINALLY do a logline! I'm looking forward to what else you all bring to the blog.
Those Lost at Sea and Drowned-YA historical/paranormal
A young woman who can hear spirits, but has renounced her powers after a childhood ordeal in a haunted room, discovers her talent is key to stopping a spectral ship and its crew hellbent on revenge and murder.
Thanks again, and good luck everyone! I'm blown away (and intimidated) by your posts!
YA Dystopian--TALENT'S BLOOD
Seventeen-year-old Justin Talent seeks revenge against a wannabe vampire who killed his sister--problem is, the fake immortal wants to drink his mutated blood to get high.
BTW, this is really cool! A great blog launch! :D
Thanks for this opportunity!
Larch: YA sci-fi dystopian
The House of the Scorpion meets The Island of Doctor Moreau in a final bid for freedom from a mad scientist.
hi miss lindsay! wow all of sudden theres so much followers. how cool is that! i went and read that stuff you said from nathan and learned lots on a one line pitch and other stuff. i didnt know a plot and a theme arent the same. after reading what he said here my 1 line pitch.
Shark Fins: A Fish Story/MG
Pete, the fisherman, who unfins sharks and sells their fins to make shark fin soup, catches Shak the shark and Shak’s eleven year old friend, Lenny, who snorkels the reef, along with his friends in the sea, set out to save him before he’s unfinned and tossed back in the sea to drown.
i hope i did a good job on it.
...smiles from lenny
Hope to see great things from the blog :)
ASPHODEL - YA Fantasy
Things Becca didn't expect on her sixteenth birthday: dying, being taken to the Underworld by a cute immortal and embarking on quest to save the afterlife itself...
Thanks for doing this you guys! Go Operation Awesome!
Genre: YA Historical Romance
WISTFUL, after her extravagant Ton wedding, 15 year old Julie Haynesworth runs away from her ancient husband to live with a poor commoner family only to fall in love with the eldest son; too bad he thinks she’s a boy.
YA Contemporary- Hidden in Plain View
Suicide feels inevitable in a star's world, but Sam wants her pop star twin Ellie to be remembered for the real truth of her unraveling and the mother whose fantasies overshadowed her daughter's own difficulties and dreams.
what a great idea! thanks.
Lauren
lauren51990 at aol dot com
Here's mine!
ARTISTIC LICENSE- YA general fiction
Seventeen-year-old Cameron Nile goes to an arts school where he can be himself, whatever that might mean, even if following through ends up being harder than the brochures for the school would like you to believe.
Flora - YA Urban Fantasy Romance
Fantasy becomes reality when sixteen year old Dahlia Kennedy falls in love with the mysterious man in her dreams and their two worlds collide.
Call of the Jinn - YA Paranormal
A brother and sister, separated as toddlers after their triplet's murder, fight to reunite their family by traveling to Cappadocia, Turkey, to confront their mother's kin, the passionate, artistic Jinn, who decried the triplets as a mix-breed monster and ordered them, all, exterminated.
Thanks so much for offering this opportunity. Great new blog!
Thanks for the opportunity!
The Other Prince/YA Fantasy:
Prince Charming's little brother must overcome a mutiny, a traitor, and his own ineptitude to prevent the downfall of his kingdom.
This is so cool! I woke up to 32 comments (West-coaster)! I love our online writing community! You guys rock! These pitches sound great. Keep 'em coming! And don't forget your title and genre.
GODSPEED UNDERGROUND - YA paranormal mystery
Finding and killing a murderous werewolf who sent a (very outspoken and mildly temperamental) girl a monster heart won't be easy for Cal--but a $15,000 paycheck might make the job less of a burden.
Okay, here goes... YA Fantasy
Her da and numerous others will perish from the poisons of enchanted, barbed roots unless Lia—a 15-year-old tree mage—deciphers a thirteen-part elixir and defeats the demon shade who controls the roots deep in the forbidden fog of Brume.
YA fantasy with a techie twist-
Addicted to a virtual reality program, sixteen-year-old Tana discovers there is more to the game than simple pleasure when, in the real world, her body weakens and an entity prepares to download itself into it, killing her and taking over her life.
Awesome contest!
Title: Wants
Genre: Contemporary (realistic) YA
When two girls discover that their boyfriends are lovers, high school cliques become blurred as this "love square' unravels.
Oops I'm so sorry, forgot to include the title of the project...
Title-Jacked
Genre-YA fantasy with a techie twist
Pitch-Addicted to a virtual reality program, sixteen-year-old Tana discovers there is more to the game than simple pleasure when, in the real world, her body weakens and an entity prepares to download itself into it, killing her and taking over her life.
Having a Bad Spell - MG Fantasy
Fourteen-year-old witch Katya is cursed by a Siberian Shaman and must face a dangerous journey across the arctic seas to stop the him before the curse destroys her village’s magic.
This is the awesomest contest :)
Title: In Limbo
Genre: Historical YA
A fifteen year old struggles to hold onto the girl of his dreams and cope with his brother fighting in World War One just as the Spanish Influenza runs rampant in 1918 Philadelphia, PA.
Sorry Katrian mine is a MG MS and the title is Double Y Star - The Beginning of it all
Swayed: Young adult urban fantasy
17-year-old Caleb has this hot girl with cool powers and big guns all over him, but only because of the secret society that wants him dead.
Thanks, littlewritter! Got it!
YA Urban Fantasy-BOUND
When wings of a murdered faerie fetch big bucks on eBay, a teenage girl realizes her kind aren't only being oppressed--they're being hunted.
Opps! Forgot to include my title and genre up above. Let's try this again...
Fights Like a Girl (contemporary MG)
When twelve-year-old Eliza finds out she can’t take a cake decorating class because her parents are worried she’ll just quit (like always), she negotiates a deal - but it means taking taekwondo for the summer.
A couple of false tries, but this is the one!
Letters to Mary: A Donner Party Story
When 13-year-old Virginia Reed's powerful and arrogant father makes poor decisions that leave the Donner Party trapped in winter snows, she must find the courage to defy him in order to save the rest of her family.
Now I know why the Blog's name is Operation Awesome!! Cause ya'll are awesomeness!!
Title: Where The Stones Speak
Genre: YA Historical Fantasy
When a female warrior on The Isle of Virgins discovers she has the gift of prophecy, she undertakes a perilous journey to find her sacred circle of stones and proclaim her prophetic truths to the multitudes before a corrupt Roman king and a vengeful demon can silence her, the ancient world’s last free sibyl.
SLIPPERS OF PEARL: YA fantasy
When a pair of shoes and some poisoned apples threaten the kingdom, Faryn must figure out how shoe magic really works--fast.
Falling to Normal, YA Contemporary
Fifteen-year-old Cheyenne Butler gets a chance of living the normal life she's always wanted when she gets released from juvenile hall to live with her uncle and cousin.
Hello! Nice contest!! Thank you : )
Parallel Earth- MG Fantasy-/Sci-Fi
A brother and sister are transported to a parallel dimension and are hunted by aliens who need human bone cells to survive.
If there's still room:
Jacob Underwater - Upper MG speculative
In a post-flood world, a 12-year-old boy must protect the brother he resents from the many groups that want to kidnap him because he can breathe underwater.
There's still room, SJG! You make entry number 43 today!
Seven more.
You guys are seriously awesome! I'm loving the pitches.
Hehe "The contest will close at the end of September, or when the fifty entries are filled, whichever comes first."
I think this shows how awesome it is that it's about to fill up and the first day's not even over! :)
i thought all the entries were filled already...but if katrina says there's 7 more, then I'm going for it!
CINDERSKELLA - MG humor/fantasy
When 12 year-old Cindy wakes up with a skeleton curse the day her mother dies, glass slippers and step-sisters are the least of her worries; she'll need a whole bunch of modeling clay in order to attend the spring fling dance.
I wonder how many pitches you'd get if you actually waited the month...you'd be snowed under!
Soul, I guess that's what it would be like to be an actual agent. Poor dears.
VALLEY OF GREEN AND GOLD, YA historical fiction
The gold rush puts a crimp in Nora's carefree life when her jughead father runs off to get rich, leaving her family, an outcast Pomo Indian girl, and her brother's charming friend to keep the farm afloat.
You guys rock! I can't believe the talent there is in here :)
Four more pitch spots left!
Wow, your blog looks interesting! This is for an MG novel:
When Molly learns her 6-year-old cousin doesn't talk, she convinces her best friend to join in a project to help, but soon finds that fixing his problems won't fix her own.
Sorry, I forgot to include the title: The Ethan project, MG, contemporary
DEAD RINGER, YA thriller
While sixteen-year-old Kae Ringer trains to take on the espionage duties of her long-lost (and newly-dead) twin, her sister’s murderer is waiting for the chance to kill his target a second time.
And the awesome just keeps rolling in! Three spots left, by my count!
Note to The Alliterative Allomorph (LOVE THE NAME, btw)and others who write adult fic:
We're hoping to bring you an adult MA for October's contest. Stay tuned, awesome buddies.
DEMON AT MY DOOR--YA/UF
Sixteen-year-old gothic outcast Natalie Sugarman bartered her soul for her dying mother’s life eleven years ago to a boy who could stop time, and when the lifeline on her palm slowly starts vanishing, she knows it’s just a matter of time before boy demon returns to collect.
THE WIZARD OF THE MIDDLE REALM - YA fantasy
Lost in a parallel realm, fifteen-year-old Katie battles soldiers, dangerous beasts and a labyrinth to find a way home.
Trinity (YA Romance)
Seventeen-year-old Aubrey Anderson is caught up in a love triangle with two wizards who have extraordinary magical powers and want nothing more than a sip of her blood; however,in THIS world there's nothing paranormal about her romance.
YEAH!!!
"AWESOME" job everyone! Thanks for making our launch a big success! Good luck to you all!
Congratulations, thegracefuldoe! You're number 50! You made it in the nick of time! So I think you should win a prize. And the prize is... *spins the Amazon roulette* "From Pitch to Publication" by Carole Blake.
To claim your prize, email Lindsay at OperationAwesome6 (at) gmail (dot) com with your shipping address.
And good luck to everyone!
Andrea Coleman, we had a last-minute drop out who already has an agent (lucky lady!) so you're in as number 50! *spins the Amazon roulette again* (okay, maybe it's not that random) e-book "From the Query to the Call" by Elana Johnson!
To claim your prize, email Lindsay at OperationAwesome6 (at) gmail (dot) com with your shipping address.
Thank-you! I thought it was a good enough prize getting in in the nick of time, but yay!
Oh, does that mean I don't get the prize after all *am confused* Oh well, either way, I'm just happy I got my pitch in.
thegracefuldoe, you and Andrea Coleman BOTH get prizes. Just for being awesome. :-)
Thanks for playing...dun.dun.dun... AMAZON ROULETTE!
Man, I'm a cheeseball. So yes, email your shipping address. Oh, except Andrea. Yours is an ebook. We'll get yours to you the new-fashioned way.
Thank-you Katrina! Have e-mailed my address :)
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