October Mystery Agent Reveal!!!

Time to reveal our awesome Mystery Agent. Everyone please give a very warm Operation Awesome welcome to TAYLOR HAGGERTY from the Waxman Leavell Agency!!!

A little about her (from the agency's website):

Taylor is drawn to novels with a compelling voice and grounded, relatable characters that pull her into their world from the start. Her favorite books have strong emotional elements that stay with her long after she finishes reading.

Her current interests include young adult fiction, historical fiction, and historical romance. She's actively seeking middle grade and young adult novels of all genres, historical fiction, women's fiction, and romance—contemporary, historical, and new adult. She does not represent screenplays. She is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and received a master’s degree from Emerson College’s Publishing and Writing program. Prior to joining Waxman Leavell in 2013, she worked at the Gersh Agency.

And without further ado, Taylor has chosen four winners who each get to send her their FULL manuscripts.

Congrats to:

J. Redman - Sea Hawk & the Lone Isle

J.C. Davis - Cheesus Was Here

Peggy Rothschild - Punishment Summer

T.L. Sumner - Culloden Immortals

Please email us at operationawesome6 (at) gmail (dot) com with the subject October MA Winner for further instructions.

Taylor was kind enough to answer a few questions for us so we can get to know her a little better.

OA: Any tips for writers struggling with their pitches?

TH: Run it by someone who isn't familiar with your book. Agents don't know anything about your story prior to reading the pitch, so that getting feedback from a similarly fresh set of eyes can be invaluable. Beyond that, I'd just say to focus on what makes makes your book unique, and be as specific as possible about the conflict/stakes.

OA: When considering a romance manuscript, do you have any favorite tropes? Any you aren’t crazy about?

TH: Friends to lovers and forced proximity are probably two of my favorites, but all tropes are welcome.

OA: Have you read any books lately you’ve fallen in love with?

TH: I'LL GIVE YOU THE SUN by Jandy Nelson was beautiful. Highly recommend it!

OA: You are looking for historicals and historical romances – do you have a favorite time period? Least favorite?

TH: I am indeed, and I enjoy reading novels set in all different time periods—for me, the fun of historical fiction is that sense of discovery, of being swept away to an entirely new time and place. Surprise me!

OA: Any exciting news you can share?

TH: I recently signed several wonderful new clients that I'm thrilled to be working with, and I'm actively searching for more talented writers to add to my list, so I'm looking forward to an exciting fall!

OA: And a few just for fun:

Coffee or Tea? Lots and lots of coffee.
Sea or mountains? Sea!
Chocolate or bacon? Chocolate! Preferably in oatmeal chocolate chip cookie form.
Ebook or print book? Both.
Favorite tv show? Oh this changes all the time, but I finally started watching OUTLANDER, so I'm pretty excited about that one at the moment. (Can we get a moment for fangirl squeels please - squeee!!)

Thank you so much to Taylor for being our Mystery Agent this month!! And congrats to all the winners!!

Stay tuned for info on our next Mystery Agent contest!

October MA Critique Forum

Welcome back to the Mystery Agent critique portion of our contest. The 16 entries (some didn't turn in their pitches and some opted out of the critique) will be open for your amazing feedback all week!

Our rules are simple:

Be helpful. 
Be relevant. 
Be kind. 

Thank you to all of you, and to all our amazing entrants! Happy critting!

Visit the entries in the tab under the OA blog banner: MA Critiques.

Just a little more info about the forum:

You DO NOT have to register to comment.
To comment on a pitch, just click Reply on the main post in the thread. It will bring up a comment box where you can enter your name and comment.
To return to the full list,click October 2014 Mystery Agent in the top left corner of the forum.

And once again, we'd love to know what you think about the new format. Let us know here in the comments. Any feedback would be awesome! Thanks!

  

October MA Lottery Winners!!

Here are the names of all the qualifying lotto winners, listed in no particular order. Please Note: If you submitted a "Writing As" name, that is the name listed here.

Terry Hunt
Dionna
Tanya Sarlanis
Ty Linn
Sherri Ogden
Heather Raglin
Julie Artz
G.L. Cronin
Starsy
Carol Foote
Anne Marie Worthington
TL Sumner
Elizabeth Penney
Colleen Bennett
Carissa Taylor
Laurie Dennison
Patti Richards
Leandra Wallace
Katherine Manning
S.L. Bynum
Kathleen Allen
MVB
E.K. Muyskens
G.K. Bryne
J. Redman
Debra Daugherty
Denise Drespling
J.C. Davis
Megan Cooley Peterson
Meradeth Houston Snow
Molly Shaffer
Missy Shelton Belote
Dawn Allen
Natasha Hanova
Laurie E.B. Lucking
Peggy Rothschild
Laurie Hager Litwin
JEN Garrett


Please email your 140 character Twitter pitch and the first 250 words of your manuscript to us at operationawesome6 (at) gmail (dot) com. Use the subject heading October MA Entry.

Be sure to check back October 1st for the critique forum. All entries from winners who opted to participate will be posted for cheerleading and feedback.

Congrats to all our entrants!! And be sure to check back for info on our November MA contest. 

The October Mystery Agent contest is coming! Is your first 250 ready?

TGIF, Operation Awesome! In case you missed it, our October Mystery Agent lottery is open until next Thursday, September 25th. Our awesome MA is seeking MG, YA (any & all genres!), women's fiction, historical fiction, and romance (historical, contemporary, and new adult).

Our MA will be considering not only your Twitter-length pitches, but also the first 250 words of your manuscript, as well. When I was a querying writer, those contests were my favorite - a pitch could go either way, but when actual pages entered the equation, I knew that my entry would truly represent my manuscript, for better or worse.

So what makes a strong opening? Well... unfortunately, that is as subjective as the rest of this process. One reader may find your opening slow or confusing, and another may be hooked from the word 'go.'

But no matter what kind of opening I'm reading, there's one thing I can't go without: grounding. Sometimes, in an effort to avoid the dreaded infodump, the writer will catapult the readers into a dynamic, dramatic scene, hoping to grab their attention that way. And some writers can pull off an in media res opening beautifully! But without grounding - an idea of who these people are, and the rules of the world they live in - the stakes just aren't there for me.

If I don't know the main character yet, I'm just not going to be invested in their success. But that doesn't mean I have to understand absolutely everything within that first page! It really only takes a few well-placed, specific details to get readers interested in what you have to offer. A hook doesn't have to be an explosion. It can be an intriguing setting, a relationship dynamic, or just a character I instantly like. That's what will keep me begging for the next page.

What do you look for in an opening?

October Mystery Agent Lottery!

We have another Mystery Agent contest coming up in just a few weeks and 

our lottery form is now LIVE!

When can you enter?

Right now! The lottery will be open until Sept 25th.

What should you include in your rafflecopter entry? 

Title
Genre
Word Count
Critique Forum Preference - Please indicate if you'd like your entry to be included in the critique forum. If you do not respond to this option, we will assume you want to be included in forum.
Contact Info - leave your email or Twitter @name so we can contact you if necessary.
Writing as - We have had entrants prefer to be listed under pen names. If you'd rather we use a pen name when posting winner's names, info, entries, etc, please indicate this.

Please note: Your pitches will not be entered on the rafflecopter. If you are selected, you will then email us your pitches.

Our MA has requested twitter pitches (140 characters) and the first 250 words of your completed manuscript, so get them ready!

What is our October Mystery Agent seeking?

Our MA is currently looking for: MG, YA (any & all genres!), women's fiction, historical fiction, and romance (historical, contemporary, and new adult).

If you have a completed manuscript in one of these categories/genres, please enter all required info into the Rafflecopter below.

Please enter only once and only if your manuscript is finished and query-ready.

The lottery will close Thursday, September 25th at 11:59 pm EDT. Lottery winners will be posted here on the blog on Friday, September 26th. 50 lucky entrants will be selected. Those opting in for the critique forum will have their entries posted for cheerleading and constructive feedback.

And last but certainly not least, the reveal, along with the to-be-announced prizes, will be posted here sometime in the month of October.

If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Mystery Agent Winners and Reveal!!!

Please welcome our Mystery Agent.............

Carrie Pestritto of The Prospect Agency

Carrie has chosen 2 first place winners and 2 runners up!! So, without further ado, the 2 first place winners, who each get a full manuscript request are:

Kate L. Mary with her NA Romantic Mystery COLLISION

and

Kara Reynolds with her NA Contemporary Romance LOVE AND THE BARD

Carrie would like to see the first 100 pages from:

Ashley Walker with her Upper Middle Grade Adventure ONCE UPON A TIGER

and

Kim Van Sickler

Congrats ladies!! Please email us at operationawesome6 (at) gmail (dot) com and we'll give you the deets on submitting your material.

Carrie was kind enough to answer a few questions for us as well :)

OA: If you could pick any book that every writer should read, what would it be and why? 

CP: That is such an impossible question!! I have never universally recommended one book: what I prescribe depends on your genre and your story. I have recommended books like Kiera Cass's THE SELECTION, Margaret Mitchell's GONE WITH THE WIND, Alexandra David's Neels THE SECRET LIVES OF ALTAR BOYS as "homework" for some of my authors. I do think that is very important for you to read within your genre, especially any books that are similar to yours. You can see what that author does successfully, what they do that you like or don't like, and so on to create an awareness of your own writing style and what you need to do to improve/hone it. But if I were just to recommend a book just because I love it, one of my all-time favorites is Dodie Smith's I CAPTURE THE CASTLE. My mom gave it to me when I was in middle school and I have re-read it dozens of times over the years.

OA: Do you have any tips for writers struggling with their pitches?

CP: Think of writing your pitch as though you were writing the jacket flap for your book. You don't have to summarize the entire story - just give me enough to whet my appetite and get me eager to read your sample chapters! Also, if you have a platform, have won any writing awards/contests, or have relevant background of any kind make sure to let me know! Those are all big bonus points (but it also doesn't count against you if you don't have any of those yet).

OA: Is there anything specific you are just dying to get your hands on? 

CP: You can look at my profile on Google+, where I list projects I'd love to see with the hashtag #BooksImLookingFor.

OA: Do you have any exciting client/agency news you can share? 

CP: Yes! I will soon have my first book published! And by "I," I mean my author Dan Newman. Keep your eye out for his thriller, THE CLEARING, which pubs November 7th.

OA: And a few just for fun: 

Coffee or Tea? Coffee when I need the energy; tea when I want to be fancy.
Sea or mountains? Definitely the mountains. I love being around trees (which makes my move to New York kind of funny) and I love to hike.
Chocolate or bacon? Ummm both! I'm actually pretty sure that there is such a thing as chocolate covered bacon.
Ebook or print book? PRINT BOOK. I love being able to hold books as I read them and the main decorative feature of my room is stacks of books piled everywhere.
Favorite tv show? My boyfriend teases me endlessly about this, but my favorite TV show is True Blood.

Oh, we are huge fans of Le Skarsgard around here so she doesn't have to tell us about True Blood ;)

Thanks so much Carrie, and for everyone who participated this month!!

For more information on Carrie and what she'd like to see, you can visit her Google+ profile, her blog, or her agency's website.