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MY 2016 PITCH WARS WISHLIST - YES, I AM SHOUTING!

20/7/2016

12 Comments

 
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​WHY SUB TO ME?


I am part angel, perfection in every sense, and I will guard your words with the pure light of love.

​And, this takes me nicely to an announcement... this year's team name is... wait for it... have you guessed it yet?... Yep, that's right... TEAM ANGEL! Quite fitting, don't you think?
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​On top of this, I'm a professional developmental editor, the editorial director at Lakewater Press, and an award-winning MG author. I've been mentoring authors, both debut and published, for a number of years now, and I like to think quite successfully!

Amongst my successful clients is my now friend J.S. Roberts. This gorgeous young specimen was my Pitch Wars mentee in 2015, and her book, the wicked MG mystery Delayed, was snapped up earlier this year by fabulous agentSara Crowe! Oh, and look! She's popped by to say a few words about me!

'If you have a middle grade manuscript, you owe it to your career to choose my amazing mentor, Kate Foster! (Yes, I still call her mine. She still gives me great advice!) Here’s what Kate did for me during Pitch Wars: She taught me what revision really is. Hint: it’s not changing a few words around and adding occasional small scenes. She showed me how to bring my characters to life. She read and re-read my manuscript until it gleamed! And she helped me create an amazing pitch.

'Here's what Kate did for me after Pitch Wars was over: She stayed with me. She helped me with my query and synopsis. She checked in with me regularly and encouraged me not to lose hope. She offered to help me with more revisions. She gave great advice when my agent SARA CROWE scheduled THE CALL. She cheered and announced on Twitter when I signed my contract. And only a month ago, when my agent suggested super major revisions, Kate helped me get my head in the right place to actually make it work. Then she read the whole manuscript again. I’m so thankful Kate liked my manuscript enough to give it a chance!'

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​Thank you, BFF!

​So also, I am a mother of three boys, a wife and a dog-lover. I'm English, but live in Australia, and I don't do much else other than play with words; sometimes my own, but mainly other people's. I love the sunshine, my bed, and eating – particularly cake.
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​MY PITCH WARS WISHLIST!
 


Everything. All the awesomeness. Just go ahead and fill up my inbox with scrumptious literary cookies!
How's that? Does that help?

Mmmm, I guess not. OK, so I probably need to be more specific. But, in truth, I am definitely one of those readers who devours books in most genres, most settings, and for most age groups. Quite honestly, I never know what book I'm going to fall for until I'm... erm... falling for it.

So, forcing my heart's soppy and painful need to love all the stories at once out of the equation, there are two elements that run through most of the books that make my worship, take-to-bed, smoochy, lets-go-for-dinner list.

Detailed, well-defined, flawed characters
A dark undercurrent


To run into a little more detail of both so maybe you can see if you fit my wishlist...

Characters drive a story for me. Of course plot is important, but if your characters are weak, or you haven't put any time into getting to know them, I'll notice and get frustrated. I know, I'm that shallow. I will work on characterisation with my mentee, of course, it's my speciality, but I need to get swept up in the characters' personal stories from the first page or I'm out. My opinion is, that if you put the effort into building and knowing your characters better than your closest friend or partner, then it will strengthen both your voice and the engaging quality of your writing.
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Yeah, I love dark, creepy, eerie, what's-in-the-shadows, we're-all-gonna-die, that-person-is-following-me, is-there-someone-in-my-house stories. I do. Not necessarily in-your-face horror with axe-wielding maniacs leaping out of mirrors chopping people's limbs off and drilling into brains – although I like a bit of that too! – but more a dark, haunting, sinister undertone that makes me shiver and unable to sleep, makes me over-think, makes me wonder what I would do if this happened to me. That 'Could this happen in real life?' question. Scare and thrill me at the same time, and do your best to keep me up at night. I will love you for it!
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  • ​Send me mysteries, thrillers, fantasy, sci-fi, horror, paranormal, action, adventure. 
  • Send me stories that are unique, dark, horrifying, haunting, thrilling, coming-of-age, mystifying, striking, surprising, unforgettable, disturbing.
  • ​Send me characters you've nurtured, loved, hated, argued with, wanted to punch, virtually hugged, dreamt about, sent on terrifying journeys.
  • ​Send me worlds I can feel, hear, smell, touch, step into, and never want to leave.
  • ​Send me a book that I will be heartbroken to end.
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Some other pointers:
  • I am not the right mentor for historical.

  • Generally, I avoid contemporary or 'issue' books unless they are utterly unique. It's so easy to fall into the 'educating the reader' trap.

  • If your main character has dead parents, don't sub to me unless you resurrect them – or your main character killed them! – because again, this is becoming a cliché.

  • Research 'Show Don't Tell' if you're considering me as a mentor.

  • Be prepared for hard work and a lot of silliness.

  • Some of my favourite books (not necessarily MG): A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, There's a Boy In the Girl's Bathroom by Louis Sachar, The Uninvited by Liz Jensen, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon.

  • Currently on my Kindle: The Unwind series by Neil Shusterman

And that's it. I hope this helps. Fundamentally, I just want stories that I can drool over, so if you've written one, send it to me NOW!

If you have any specific questions, feel free to leave a comment below. I will answer!


​Good luck, everyone, I look forward to reading your work.
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Check out all the other MG mentors right here. Though all amazing, none are as amazing as me. Just sayin'.
1.

Joy McCullough

2.

Shari Schwarz

3.

Lisa Lewis Tyre

4.

Jessica Vitalis

5.

Brooks Benjamin and Caroline Thompson

6.

Melyssa Mercado

7.

Ashley Martin

8.

Juliana L. Brandt

9.

Ellie Terry

10.

Stefanie Wass

11.

Rebecca Petruck
12.

Kate Foster

13.

Julie C. Dao

14.

Kim Long

15.

Gabrielle K. Byrne

16.

Kevin Springer

17.

Patrice Caldwell

18.

K.C. Held

19.

Gail Nall and Abby Cooper

20.

Dee Romito and Jen Malone

21.

Laura Shovan and Tricia Clasen

22.

Alexandra Alessandri
23.

Kara Seal

24.

Amanda Hill and Cindy Baldwin

25.

Sarah Cannon

26.

Jenna Lehne

27.

J. C. Davis

28.

Timanda Wertz and Wade Albert White

29.

Elly Blake & Ron Walters

30.

Rebecca Wells

31.

J. C. Davis & Addie Thorley

32.

Allison Ziegler

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12 Comments
Bronwyn Deaver
20/7/2016 12:08:29 pm

Hi Kate,
I have a portal fantasy with historical elements (parts of the story take place in early 19th century England), but it isn't a true "historical". Okay or not okay for you?

Thanks,
Bronwyn

Reply
Kate link
20/7/2016 04:48:06 pm

Hi Bronwyn. This is absolutely fine. I am definitely comfortable with historical, I have worked with authors of this genre before, but I always recommend more specialised editors/mentors because it's a genre that often requires very specific knowledge. But characterisation and plot structure require as much focus.

Reply
Bronwyn Deaver
20/7/2016 06:58:03 pm

Thanks, Kate! I appreciate you answering my question.

J.S. Roberts link
20/7/2016 01:05:40 pm

In case I haven't made my feelings completely clear, I just wanted to drop by and mention that Kate is an AWESOME mentor!

Reply
Kate link
20/7/2016 04:42:57 pm

Well that's just lovely! I don’t think anyone minds if you just keep mentioning that! 😉

Reply
Sally Spratt link
21/7/2016 09:30:17 am

My middle grade I believe is what is considered speculative fiction with a slight twist of horror, has some dark elements too. I HEART your wishlist.

Reply
Kate Foster link
21/7/2016 06:48:51 pm

Awesome! I HEART that you HEART my wishlist!

Reply
Anitha Robinson link
21/7/2016 11:36:04 am

Hi Kate,

Would you be interested in adventure stories with endangered animals as the main characters?

Thanks so much,
Anitha

Reply
Brenda link
1/8/2016 08:46:12 am

Hi Kate, I have animal main characters along the lines of Warrior Cats but with real world issues instead of animal warfare. I am having no luck finding a mentor with a broad enough wish list for that genre. Is it a deal breaker for you? Thanks! Brenda

Reply
Kate Foster link
1/8/2016 05:44:11 pm

Hi Brenda, thanks for your message. No, definitely not a deal breaker. I am a sucker for animals so would be thrilled to read your submission. Thanks, Kate.

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Brenda link
1/8/2016 06:18:31 pm

Yay, what lovely people MG authors are. Heck, I like all authors in general. :-)

Matte Blk link
19/6/2019 02:26:09 pm

Cya...
Love ya...

Reply

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