Please read my article over at Women Writers, Women's Books. 

Please read my blog over at YAtopia! 

Yes, that’s right – Round#3 for Nestpitch2015 is here! Huge congratulations to all who entered, the quality of the writing was seriously high. 


Over the coming days and weeks all teams will be working with their authors to help them polish their submissions, preparing to pitch their work to agents on the 11th of May! 


So, without further ado... 


Here is TeamSugarRush! 


Louise Gornall - mentor!
Sarah J. Carlson - slushie!
Me - slushie!

And the authors are:

Michelle Barry
Moongarden
MG Sci-Fi Retelling

Samantha Cook
The Clearing 
YA Paranormal

Aften Brook Szymanski
Killer Potential
YA Literary Thriller

Jennifer Pickrell
The Stained Glass Sun and Moon
YA Contemporary

You can find the first clues to the other pitches here:

Sharon Johnston aka TeamEvilBunny

Sharon Bayliss aka TeamUnbreakable

Amanda Foody aka TeamPlotBunnies

Brooke Powell aka TeamBasketCase

Stacey Nash aka TeamEggsellent

S.C. Author aka TeamOneBasket

Lauren McKellar aka TeamHotCrossBooks

Nikola Vukoja aka Team2Beat

And you can also go to the Nestpitch Blog where you find a link to all the blogs as well as a complete Title, Category/Genre & Author list.

Good luck to everyone! 

Come back before May 11th because Nik is running Unmask the Agent again this year & there’s a $20 Amazon Voucher up for grabs. You don’t need to have submitted to Nestpitch, just a bit of a detective spirit and to know our agents!


And remember the name of the winning team:


TEAM SUGAR RUSH!

I’m writing about subjectivity today. Yeah, that old chestnut. What one person sees, the next doesn't. They see something entirely different. 

I recently wrote a picture book; an idea I’ve been playing with for a long time. It hit the page pretty naturally without many hiccups, and I was pleased with it. So, I sent it off to a handful of trusted beta readers, listened to their feedback and made some edits. I then sent it back to some different betas, and repeated the process. I took the plunge and entered the manuscript into a competition. I didn’t win, but I didn’t expect to. My main reason for entering was for the manuscript assessment provided to all entrants. And it was this feedback that made me stop and analyse all that I’d received so far. I put all the comments into one document so I could look for any patterns, and you know what? There weren’t any. Apart from the suggestion to change a couple of word choices, as far as the plot and characters, writing style, voice and execution were concerned, every single reader had something different to say. 

Something a little like this:

• One said the storm happening as the characters conversed was something that could be shown in the illustrations. Another said the storm was beautiful and should be enhanced. 
• One said that one character was a little dull and to jazz him up a bit. Another said he was adorable and almost made her cry.
• One said a character’s actions were too detailed and could be shown in the illustrations. Another said to make more of said character’s actions as they are the key to the story’s conclusion. 
• One said there was too much dialogue, others said there was just enough. 
  

You might not think this unusual or maybe it’s something you’ve experienced, but for my writing career so far, it is a new one. I’m no stranger to subjectivity, and actually a huge fan of it. Differing tastes is what makes the book industry such a fabulous one to be involved in. Who knows what the next bestseller will be? No one. But it has made me think with regards to edits I make to my work. As I said, I always look for patterns in feedback as this indicates an area that needs improvement. But otherwise I go with my gut. So, I’ve taken another plunge and subbed it out to a couple of agents. The likelihood is it’ll be rejected; and I’m not being pessimistic. Well, maybe I am a bit! And after that, I don’t know what I’ll do. I mean, I just don’t know what areas to improve upon.

If you can offer me any guidance here, anything at all, please go ahead. Or if this has happened to you, please do let me know how you dealt with it. I love this picture book, and I want it to be perfect. I want it to be published. 

The day has finally arrived! The winners of the C1Blitz contest have been announced. Click on the link below to find out who industry pros, teens and peers voted as their favourite chapter ones! 

C1Blitz Winners


HUGE CONGRATULATIONS! 
 
Although the winners have been announced and receive a bunch of incredible prizes, more importantly, every author who took part in this groundbreaking contest has received feedback; feedback, if read, considered and taken on board, can only improve their writing. So really, everyone wins. 

It's been a pleasure to be a part of this contest, and I for one will be keeping a close eye on all the authors who were brave enough to take part. I will be watching for agent signings and book deals, and hoping that in the next Freshly Squeezed contest I will have the chance to read the new polished drafts. 

Good luck to everyone, only good can come of your experiences. 

Please read my blog over at YAtopia!

Please read my article over at Women Writers, Women's Books!