What Works Blogfest

LTUE's annual contest is taking it to the next level in 2014: it's going to publish the winners in the newly-created Sibyl's Scriptorium! To celebrate and to get everyone writing and drawing their submissions in time to have them polished up for the submission deadline, we're having a blogfest!


Because one of the three LTUE contests is for illustrators, I'm blogging about what draws me to a great SFF illustration.

Now, I'm not an illustrator, and my stick figures tend to look more like ants than people, but even I can appreciate the covers of Brandon Sanderson's newest epic fantasy series, The Stormlight Archives.

The Way of Kings came out in 2010 and I immediately loved the cover art.



The thing that's so great about this is that, in one picture, you get a sense of adventure, heroism, war, and that the landscape and the weather will be very important in the book. I'm sure someone with a better knowledge of illustration could tell you why it works so well, but, for me, I can't ever concentrate long enough on one spot to really take it in. My eyes want to keep wandering from the swirling clouds to the flag, soldier, spear, landscape, lightning, and back up to the clouds. The intriguing figure on the distant peak is shrouded in mystery, but not quite as fascinating as the rest.



The cover for the second book, Words of Radiance, was released at the end of July and it is just as awesome. Do yourself a favor and read the article by artist Michael Whalen, on Tor.com. This cover shows something interesting happening in the skies which will excite anyone waiting eagerly for the book to come out, but the most interesting elements are the characters. Kaladin, of course, is on the front cover, holding his spear and looking poised for action. Then, ominously, we have Szeth in the background on his pile o'bodies, looking very threateningly at Kaladin. If you've read Way of Kings, this scene can't help but excite the same feelings we experienced when we put the first book down: terror, pity, giddy glee at the thought of the coming battle, and a sense that something much, much bigger than either of these two is going to crash down on them both.

Do you judge books by their covers? Do you think that's fair or just to be expected?

Also see my blog post about what I like in a short story on the brand-spanking new Sibyl's Scriptorium blog.

Best Way to Kick-Start your blogging? A Blogfest!

Some of you may know that I've rather swiftly infiltrated the LTUE hierarchy and, in 3 short years, volunteered my way from She-who-had-never-heard-of-LTUE to Pitch Master. Then, during LTUE 2013, I agreed to be the Assistant Contest Coordinator. Coooool. :)

All of which leads up to this: we're having an LTUE Blogfest to advertise the contest for next year. Next year is gonna be huge because not only do we have amazing celebrity judges, but we also will be PUBLISHING THE WINNERS! Which is much cooler than me.

To gear up for the contest, which opens to submissions in a couple months, the Blogfest will explore What Works? What sci-fi or fantasy short story, poem, or illustration struck a chord with you, impressed you in some way, or made you recommend it, go back to it, ponder on it, etc?

Get all the deets at the LTUE blog, and make sure you sign up on the Linky list.

Pitch Wars!!!

I'm still struggling through NaNo, as you can see in my sidebar. I'm a little behind, but I'm catching up. I can do this!

Of course, it's made harder when awesome contests pop up toward the end of the month. The good news is that November 26 is just the start of the information-gathering stage. December 5 is when the real fun starts.

It's....

Go here for full deets

This is another awesome contest by the inestimable Brenda Drake. It's gonna be awesome. Well, I hope. There's also a chance I'll be outta-luck when none of the mentors pick me. I'm just not gonna think about that. Of COURSE the mentors will love me! They'll be fighting over me! (It could happen.)

So what are you doing for Thanksgiving?

My very own PitchLive video pitch

If you've ever been curious to see what I look like while I'm talking, despair no more! After much agonizing, kicking myself, and twitter peptalks, I have finally produced my very first vlog!

This is for Pitch Live, the incredibly gutsy and frightening new contest dreamed up by Brenda Drake, Erica Chapman, and Leigh Ann Kopan. I've mentioned before how this sort of thing unreasonably terrifies me, but here it is anyway, all ready for the first round of judging. Of the almost 50 brave entries, 30 will move on to the agent round, so I figure my odds are pretty good. :)

Title: DUSTED

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy

Word Count: 95,000

So what did you think? Did my voice sound like you thought it would? Did I look okay? Any tips to do it better next time? *runs and hides at the thought of next time*

Spooktacular Pitch Contest!

Details here

Good news: Despite the name, all completed Adult, NA, YA, and MG manuscripts are invited to enter. Even if you have no spooks in yours.

Bad news: Only 50 entries will go on to the agent round.

Good news: Of you're not in the agent round, you don't even have to submit your pitch! :)

Bad news: I'm not sure how much time you'll have to email your pitch after the finalists are announced, so you'd better just polish your 3-sentence pitch and first 250, just in case.

Enter with a rafflecopter widget between today and 12:01 am October 17th.

So who's entering with me?


Also, everyone have their vlog pitches done for Pitchlive on Monday? Who else still has to record AND edit theirs and is having a bad hair day? Please tell me I'm not the only one!

Live Pitch Contest... with VLOGS! O_O

Go here for details

So, you may already know that I majored in Theatre Arts. Where I took scads of acting classes. This after I was the Speech and Drama Stirling Scholar for my Utah high school. I'm currently employed as a trial lawyer. I talk for a living. I talk in front of people for a living. I love talking to large crowds of people. Or small crowds of people. Or just to people. I have never once in my life been accused of shyness. (Anyone who knows me is laughing right now at the very idea.)

So why am I so terrified of recording myself giving my pitch and then posting that pitch online?

Talking? No problem.

Being on camera? Nope--I was in a student film in college and had tons of fun.

Pitching? Mildly terrifying, but I've done it before and survived nicely.

Proving to the world at large that I'm rather a fool? Eh. I'm a blue personality, so I crave intimacy in any form. The more you know about me, the happier I am. You'll probably think my foolishness is endearing. Or something.

Is it creating the vlog? Maybe--I've never done that before. I might suck at it. I might also be able to use this as the perfect excuse to finally purchase a webcam. (I know, I know. Living in the Dark Ages, blah, blah, blah.) And technology toys have never frightened me. Nor computer programs. And I'm a wiz at googling "How to create a vlog." And following instructions.

But, you guys . . . normally public speaking includes someone to talk to. Someone I can adjust my voice and facial expressions for. Vlogs are filled with semi-planned semi-spontaneity recorded in a vacuum. I suck at semi-planned semi-spontaneity--especially in a vacuum. Ditto at planned quirkiness. How does one script for personality? But if I don't script for personality, won't it figure showing up is optional? Surely a personality-free pitch is worse than no pitch at all!

Also, where should I film the video? If you were looking out my monitor at this moment, you'd see the bathroom door behind me. And the hall where my kids sometimes hang up their backpacks. Might be distracting. But is the view of the dining room's dirty blinds any better? The TV? The front window, currently covered by sheet-curtains?

This is why two of the organizers of the upcoming Pitch Live! contest teamed up to talk me off the ledge on Twitter on Monday. The first one is me replying to Brenda's tweet announcing Leigh's sample-vlog.

They're so nice, right? I mean, who can say no to these girls?

So I should do it, right?
*runs screaming into the night*
*feels ashamed of self*
*gathers courage*
*seeks a sticking-place*
*realizes she has run out of screws*

Anyway, any advice would be appreciated. I'd like to learn how to edit out the boring parts, where to look, what to say... etc. Please feel free to answer the questions I don't know enough to ask. Are there any free video editing software programs that can help me spruce it up? Help!

Also, you all should totally join in the torture fun. Misery Party loves company, after all.

You gonna play?

GUTGAA Reminder, Another Contest, and My Non-Writer Conference Life

Tomorrow is the day to submit to the Gearing Up to Get An Agent Pitch Contest! Go here for updated details. There are very narrow windows (I predict the windows will be less than a minute long), so you'll need to be fast with the send button--but not so fast that it gets sent before the window opens! Good luck! (And wish me luck!) Starting next Monday, 40 of the entries will be posted on this-here blog, so please come back and help critique the lucky ones! :)

Then, these folks from Writer Therapy:

...are having a First Page contest that you simply must get in on. Everybody's doing it. Go! Go!

Finally, for the second week in a row, I'm at a conference that is NOT a writer's conference. Last weekend was a woman's retreat-type conference with my MIL and SIL's and this time it's for work. Same city. Wanna know the main difference between writer's conferences and other kinds of conferences? At a writer's conference (if you're me or with me or near me), you are totally excited to meet everyone near you. You exchange cards and stalk each other on twitter. You become BFF's and scrutinize each other's work. At other conferences, you pretty much talk to people you know and maybe casually chit-chat with the nice people you bump into.

Yes, I know I should network more with non-writers, too.

Do you ever go to non-writer conferences? Are you better at coming up with stuff to talk about to non-writers than I am?

Win a 50 Page Critique

My friend, Ru, is giving away a free 50 page critique to a lucky winner on her blog, And then she was like blah blah blah, in order to celebrate her upcoming writing retreat. (Though I think she's really trying to sabotage her writing time by critiquing someone else's stuff instead, but who am I to judge?)

One of the coolest things about Ru is that she's a lawyer and a novelist. Lawyer + Novelist = Totally Awesomesauce. Ahem. Just saying.

Also, lawyers make good critiquers:

• We like to find the parts of writing that don't fit with the whole so we can yank on them and make the whole thing unravel. We do this for FUN.
• We know all the various ways you can hide the actual point behind high-falutin' mumbo jumbo--so we can spot it when you do it and can help you unearth it.
• Just to get through law school, we wrote tens of thousands of words which were then scrutinized by professors who have to publish regularly just to keep their jobs. Tough crowd, let me tell you.
• Especially in the law, the devil is in the details. Every word has meaning and scrutinizing each and every one of them is second-nature to us. We just can't help ourselves.

So go enter Ru's contest. You'll thank me later.

Also, I'm curious. If I offered a critique as a prize for something, how many of you would bite? I mean, I'm no Ru, but my name starts with R. :)

Contest Alert: PitchMadness

Sorry for the late warning on this one, guys, but I wanted to tell you anyway. Polish up your 35 word pitch (exact word count) and the first 150 words (end at the end of the sentence) of your completed manuscript and go here for more details.

Submission windows: 

Saturday, September 1:

1ST SUBMISSION TIME: 12:00 pm EDT (EST-NY time) first 100.
2ND SUBMISSION TIME: 6:00 pm EDT (EST-NY time) first 100.

Tuesday, September 4:

3RD (Extra!) SUBMISSION TIME: 10:00 am EDT (EST-NY time) first 100.
Visit Brenda Drake's blog for more details on proper formatting and for the email address to send to.

Yay Olympics! (And contests for you!)

Okay, so I'm supposed to have a regular blog post today, but I'm busy watching the XXX Olympics (which has a refreshing lack of nudity--London is too cold for skin). So instead, I'll tell you about four awesome contests.

Three are connected and run by the Teen Eyes editorial crew (I've already mentioned Taryn Albright--she has friends). ALL THREE OF THESE CONTESTS ARE GOING ON TODAY, AND END... UM IN 1 HOUR (AT 12 NOON EASTERN TIME) AT MIDNIGHT TONIGHT (12 PM has so many meanings):

I totally stole this pic from the Teen Eyes site.
Hope they don't mind.

Taryn will be judging a query contest over on one of my favorite contest sites, Miss Snark's First Victim. Go post your query in the comments and you could win $100 to use toward the purchase of one (or more) of Taryn's awesome editorial services. Which, I can tell you, you want.

I wonder if it would be cheating to enter the contest with the query Taryn helped me polish last week....

Brent Taylor will be judging 35-word pitches over at Brenda Drake's blog. You could win a 20,000 word in-depth manuscript critique.

Kate Coursey is judging a 250-word contest on Mother. Write. (Repeat.). You'll also need a 1-sentence pitch. Kate is also giving away a 20,000 word manuscript critique.

You wanna enter, don't you? Go! Go! Go!

If you missed those contests (sorry), you can still enter to win a copy of Dan Well's latest head-trip: THE HOLLOW CITY. This is over on my favorite book-blogger's site, Bloggin' 'Bout Books. Susan's contest is open through August 15.

Important Things (including a contest)

Contest Alert! 

Taryn Albright, who is quickly becoming my favorite teenager (only she's 19, so soon she'll be all old and stuff) is an agency intern and an editor for Teen Eyes, an awesome editorial service where you can get experienced, intelligent teenagers from your target audience to critique your YA manuscript. They also do FREE query critiques (though if too many of us reveal our desperation for review, they might be forced to change that policy) AND Taryn is having a contest this week (ending tomorrow, Wednesday, July 25th). If you enter the contest you are guaranteed a free query crit. If she likes your query the best, you'll win a 10-page critique.

Did I mention she's an agency intern? So she, like, knows a good query when she sees one? Unlike some people who like to blog about queries but only know how NOT to write them?

She's also going to break down the good query on her blog. How's THAT for awesome?

Also, while she critiques queries, she's started doing #querycrits on Twitter, which is all 10 kinds of awesome. You definitely want to follow her.

Poll Results

Okay, so this isn't all that important, but just for the heck of it, I'll tell you that I got 3 votes to continue my How NOT to Write a Query series, 2 votes from people who want to volunteer their own queries, 3 who said they would help, only 1 who won't be reading them (we'll miss you), and absolutely no one was honest enough to tell me I'm up in the night to be dispensing query advice.

My current plan is to critique a query once a month (even those who like the series didn't think I should do TOO much of it). For more information, please see my newly added tab at the top of the page for all your How NOT to Write a Query resource needs.

The Kiss of  Stranger

This week only, Sarah M. Eden's awesome Regency romance The Kiss of a Stranger, is on sale for $2.99 on Amazon. I've only read one of her books so far, but I'm determined to read them all because 1) she's such an awesome researcher, I interviewed her about research for Authors' Advisory--so we know she has her details right; 2) she's absolutely hilarious in real life; 3) the one book I read was soooo good (which, let's face it, is the only really important consideration).



You gonna join the contest? Submit your query for future editions of HNTWAQ? Buy Sarah's book? Good for you.

Reminders: Query and Pitch Contests Today

Today from 6:00 am EST through 3:00 pm EST is the Christmas in July contest hosted by  Michelle Krys and Ruth Lauren Steven. If you want to play, send your query and first 500 words to lottiehumphries14 (at) yahoo (dot) co (dot) uk--but go to one of their blogs to get proper formatting instructions first. The best 20 entries will get feedback from Michelle and Ruth before being shown to 10 participating agents.

Also today from 9:00 am EST through midnight tomorrow is a Pitch Contest at Writerly Rejects. If you want to play, send an email to writerlyrejects (at) gmail (dot) com with your title, name, genre, and 3-5 sentence pitch. The best 20 entries will be forwarded to Claire Anderson-Wheeler, a new agent with Anderson Literary Management. Winner will get a full manuscript critique from Claire.

Contest Alert: Christmas in July (and a chance for a query crit by yours truly)

Yanno, someday, someone will read my blog, find out about a cool contest, compete against me, win, get an agent, sign a publishing contract, and probably won't even put me in their book acknowledgements. And that's okay, because this way I can just assume that everyone who places above me in contests I announce learned about them here. And I can claim bragging rights. Go me.

So here's your next chance to show me up:

This is being hosted by the awesome Michelle Krys and her partner in coolness, Ruth Lauren Steven.

During a 9-hour window (6 a.m. EST - 3 p.m. EST) on July 9th (that's 2 weeks from yesterday), would-be participants will email their queries and first 500 words to lottiehumphries14 (at) yahoo (dot) co (dot) uk. (And isn't it cool that they're in the UK?) Michelle and Ruth will then read and pre-judge all entrants.

On July 13, they'll announce 30 finalists (15 per blog), who will have a chance to polish their queries with feedback from the hosts before 10 (yes, 10) agents have a look-see.

The contest is open to ALL genres except for erotica.

See here/here and here/here for more details, then spread the word using the hashtag #XmasinJuly on Twitter.

Now, since my own query just went through some major revisions, does anyone want to volunteer to have their own query torn apart right here on my blog over the next week? If so, email me at robinweekswriter [at] gee mail [dot] com. I'll accept two, at most, first come, first served. You can be anonymous, if you prefer, though your friends will probably recognize your query, should they stop by. As I've mentioned before, I'm not the best at doing it right, but I am starting to figure out when things are done wrong.

Writer's Voice Contest

I'm traveling to LDStorymakers today, but I wanted to give you a head's up on a great new contest hosted by Brenda Drake (and friends).

This is what Brenda has to say about it:

“The Writer’s Voice” is a multi-blog, multi-agent contest hosted by Cupid of Cupid’s Literary Connection, Monica B.W. of Love YA, Krista Van Dolzer of Mother. Write. (Repeat.), and ME. We’re basing it on NBC’s singing reality show The Voice, so the four of us will serve as coaches and select projects for our teams based on their queries and first pages.

Cool, huh? If you have a complete, polished manuscript and query blurb, go check it out. Just don't bump me off the linky list or I'll . . . well, do something to retaliate.

Oh, Yeah, and a Cool Pitch Contest

My sons think it is cool to shorten words. So this is a "pitch":

Don't you feel cool? I should totally ask them how to shorten my actual pitches, too.

I totally meant to tell you about Brenda Drake's contest, too, but didn't remember it until this morning. There is only one very small window left, starting at 10 PM EST TODAY. They're accepting a very limited number of entries, and then they're having an agent auction. Nothing can be cooler.

Go here RIGHT NOW for complete details. You'll need a 35-word pitch and the first 150 words. Go! Go!

YOU Have a Full Request. Totally not kidding.

Yup, that's what it feels like to get a full request.

Janet Reid (also known as Query Shark) is doing a pay-it-forward "contest" that really sounds more like a general call for fulls. They're looking for the next Elizabeth Norris, whose debut novel UNRAVELING is coming out on April 24, 2012.

Any genre.

Contest opened March 1st (the same day Janet closed to normal queries) and stops accepting submissions on March 15th. The winner will be announced on April 24, 2012, which is UNRAVELING's publication date.

Go here for complete contest details and here to get your questions answered .

Best part? The prize. Trust me on this and go see. (But only if you're a debut author without an agent.)

So who's gonna play? *Gives stink-eye to the competition*

Contest Alert: Logline and 100 Words

It's contest time again! How about we help each other out on this one?

The contest is over at QueryTracker, and it starts Monday at 9:00 am EST. You'll need a free QueryTracker registration (which you want anyway) to access the submission form that will be available bright and early Monday morning (depending on your time zone).

Once the form is live, you'll need to use to submit your one-sentence logline and first 100 words.

The contest will be judged by Natalie Fischer Lakosil, Assistant Agent at the Bradford Literary Agency. Be sure to follow her on Twitter and on her blog.

According to the QueryTracker announcement, this contest is open to the following genres:

Commercial fiction, with an emphasis in children’s literature (from picture book to teen), romance (contemporary, paranormal and historical), and upmarket women’s fiction. Specific likes within those genres include historical, multi-cultural, paranormal, sci-fi/fantasy, gritty, thrilling and darker contemporary novels, and middle grade with heart.

Head over to the official announcement for full details.

Feeling nervous? Me, too.  I haven't tried to write a logline in a looong time, and all my old efforts sound quite sub-par.

So I propose, over the next day and a half, an exchange of logline crits for those of you who would like to. Mine is below, and I'd appreciate any and all comments on it. If you want me to critique yours, leave a link and post it on your blog (or even in the comments here) and I'll stop by sometime tonight or tomorrow. Feel free to post your first 100 words, too, though I'm going to be focusing on my logline.

Ready? Here's my one-sentence logline:

When human-pixie hybrid Brina starts making more pixie dust than a half-breed should, her status slips from strange to bizarre . . . and a group of ruthless rebels see the perfect chance for a coup.

Rip, tear, shred, and let me know if you need similar assistance. :) Good luck!

Query Contest Hosted by Jamie Ayres

Nicole Resciniti

Just popping in to direct your attention to an awesome query contest going on over at Jamie Ayres' blog. She's accepting the first 20 queries emailed to her and, on the 18th, will post them on her blog for comments by blog followers and by agent Nicole Resciniti with The Seymour Agency. I just sent mine--you should, too!

And... more contests

Okay, so I'll admit it. I don't have the energy to come up with anything interesting to say, so I'm VERY excited when I find a contest I can blog about instead. I have some posts in the works (by "works" I mean "an idea came to me two days ago, which I have subsequently forgotten"), but for now, other people's contests are good enough for me. :)

These TWO contests aren't even for writing--you don't have to have a WIP, a polished first page, or any sort of query. You just have to like free books.

First up is a contest by Kasie West, who is hilarious and sold her debut novel this year--it will be published in January 2013. If you're not following her blog yet, pop on over just for that.

Her contest involves a multiple-choice prize: you can win a free book (of your choice), a 50-page crit, or a query crit. I honestly can't decide which one I want. I keep going back and forth. Free books are awesome. Always. But, really, how often do I get a contracted-to-be-published author to critique any part of my book? And 50 pages? Wow. But, dang it, I need sooo much help on my query! Which one should I pick? (Assuming, of course, that I'm going to win. Because I'm gonna!)

To win Kasie's contest, you just have to comment, with extra points for tweeting and/or blogging. Her contest ends Friday, December 30th.

Next up is a contest by Shannon Messenger, who has a brand-new look to her awesome blog and a debut Middle Grade novel coming out in 2012. Shannon does regular contests to give away middle-grade books, but this one is a recap of her favorites from this year, so you get to choose between the five she lists. They're awesome, so I definitely want to win... though, again, I can't choose which book I want.  I'll probably pick BEYONDERS... though PETER NIMBLE sounds awesome... as does THE UNWANTEDS... and I'm definitely going to have to look up book 1 of NERDS... and, though I'm not a huge cupcake fan (it's a self-taught survival thing), SPRINKLES AND SECRETS sounds very sweet. *sigh*

So you might want to rush over and do your best to save me from having to choose. :) Shannon's contest ends when the ball drops in New York City, and all you have to do is leave her a comment.

So how is everyone doing on their last-minute 2011 goals? Do you have any chance of meeting them? I know at least one of mine that I'm deferring to 2012, but I'll blog about that... um... how about on Saturday? Yeah, I'll do a year recap on the last day of the year, which is perfect since none of you will be online to read it. :D

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Another Contest

This one is a contest I'd love to enter, but since I already won a 30 page crit from Gabriela Lessa and she's currently editing it, I figure winning another would be a tad superfluous. :)

Gabriela is teaming up with independent editor / literary agent intern C.A. "Cassandra" Marshall to host:

Sounds cool, huh?

Here's the basic deets:

• Review their wishlists and pick one of them to judge your entry
• Use the form here or here to submit your query and up to 1500 words of your book
• Gabriela's winner will get a free 40 page edit and 30% off any additional services you want to hire (yes, that's a better prize than the one I won, dang it!) :)
• Cassandra's winner(s) will get $35 gift cards toward any services you wish to hire

Go to Gabriela's blog or Cassandra's blog for complete details and to enter.

Contest runs from yesterday through January 6th.