Query Kombat Submission Guidelines

Edit: Query Kombat submission is closed.

I’m so excited because submissions for Query Kombat will start on Monday, May 13^th and that’s just a few days away! (Excuse me while I squeal like a crazy person!) Below is a refresher of the submissions guidelines. Take care. Entries sent before the submission window opens will be deleted unopened. Entries that don’t follow the guidelines will also be deleted. Knowing how writers worry, confirmation emails will be sent to ensure we got your submission and it didn’t end up in Siberia.

You should also know that Mike, SC, and I have very different tastes so that should insure a large variety in what makes the contest cut.

Party Time!

But all that is so boringly technical. How about some fun first? If you are chosen for Query Kombat there will be up to eleven judges going through your matchups. The very same cool judges we boasted about last week (here).

Kontestants get to invent amazing nicknames, naturally the judges want one, too! It’s not fair for Kontestants to hog all the fun. So our judges will be commenting and voting as their dual-personality self. To recognize our wonderful judges and know the vote is legit here is a list of the names they’ve chosen:

Ultraviolet

SavageBlue
Goldilocks

Pepper

Storm
Hedgehog

Flame

Sacredlbis

X-Man(uscript)

Dragonfire

Interrobang
LittleMynx

Who is who? That would be telling, but perhaps you can figure them out. Now, onward to the fine and gory details:

The tournament is open only to unagented writers seeking representation. Your manuscript must be complete, polished, and ready to submit. Submissions for MG, YA, NA, and Adult works will be accepted. No picture books or non-fiction.

The submission window will open at 11AM EST on Monday, May 13th and close at 11AM Friday, May 17th OR WHEN WE RECEIVE 225 ENTRIES. You may submit entries for two manuscripts (in the same email) but we will only consider the second entry if less than 64 entries are received. Kontestants will be revealed May 24th and the tournament will kick off on May 28^th on Michelle’s blog.

In order to enter the contest you MUST follow formatting guidelines, and submit during the contest window. All entries that follow those guidelines will be considered. In the event that we receive more than the available spots, hosts will be assigned a group of queries and pick the best of their group. We will also select a few alternates. Sixty-four queries will enter into the tournament.

Send entries to: QueryKombat (at) yahoo (dot) com

Formatting guidelines:

Times New Roman, 12pt font, single-spaced with spaces between each paragraph. No indents or tabs.

Subject line of the Email: A short, unique nickname for your entry [colon] your genre (audience included). Do not skip this step or your entry will be deleted. Example:

Happy Hamsters: MG Fantasy

For the nickname, make it as unique as possible so that there are no duplicates. These will be the names used in the tournament brackets and post headings so keep it PG-13 and try to have it relate to your story in some way. Nicknames are limited to 25 characters!

***The four Free Pass winners should include “Free Pass” before their nickname in the subject line to ensure their spot.

In the body of the email (bold where bold):

Name: Michelle Hauck
Email address: MichelleHauck@xxx.com

Entry Nickname: Happy Hamsters
Title: Pygmy Hazards
Word count: 34,000
Genre: MG Fantasy

Query:

Tom, the classroom hamster, wants to escape from the h-e double hockey sticks known as school. There he’s sentenced to never-ending show ‘n tell, math facts rap, and story time. But he’s learned a lot behind the bars of his cage. The giant in the dress thinks she is running the show, when the chatterbox pygmies are really in control. Playing house during activity time is no job for a tough guy. Somehow Tom has to get away before the pygmies dress him as Strawberry Shortcake again.

When a “subspatoot” fills in for the giant, Tom sees his chance to put Operation Escape the Pygmies into action. He makes a run for the border, hamster style. Bad news. The principal says Tom is a distraction to learning and better off flushed. The way out is turned into a battlefield of snapping mousetraps, sticky snares, and poisoned pellets. Tom seems doomed until a friendless pygmy named Squeezer lends an over-excited hand. Now, the greatest obstacle to his freedom may be Tom’s soft spot for this lonely pygmy.

(Only include the meat of your query. No bio. Queries may be up to 350 words, but 250 is strongly preferred. Names and emails address of Kontestants will not be posted.)

First 250 words:

(Don't include the chapter title and please, don't stop in the middle of a sentence. You may go over the 250 limit to finish a sentence.)

Simple, huh?

All queries submitted are FINAL. We will not edit them in any way, shape, or form. Please read, reread, and rereread your submission before you hit send. Unless you make it into the third round, you will not have another opportunity to edit your query or first 250 words. You have several days to polish your work. Take advantage of it. Competition will be fierce.

Put on your thick skin and get those submissions—Ready! Set! Go on May 13!

Getting the Call: Vicki Weavil

If you've ever wondered what a pitch contest can do for you, this story will explain everything.

I'm so excited to be able to bring another dose of inspiration to the blog. It's been quite awhile since I've had a success story to share with you. This success story strikes a double score because my guest found both an agent and a publisher! She's a lady of class and style and also a Query Kombat mentor. It couldn't have happened to a nicer person. Love ya, Vicki!

Long ago, in a town so small that you could stand in the middle of Main Street for ten minutes without worrying that you would be run over…

…a young girl developed an obsession.

As soon as she realized that certain marks on paper indicated words, reading consumed her life. She’d lose herself in books to the point where – as her mother put it – bombs could go off under her chair and she’d never hear them. A trip to the library meant coming home with a stack of at least ten books, because her parents had to drive her to another town to visit the library and they could only do that every two weeks. Teachers didn’t believe that she could read that many books in so few days, and often quizzed her on the plots. (She always proved to them that she’d read the books, of course). She read every genre, every style, great books and some not so wonderful. Fairytales, myths, legends, science fiction, fantasy, classics, mysteries, adventure stories – it really didn’t matter. What mattered was reading, and books.

Fast forward many years, and that girl – after dabbling in music, theatre, design, and other artistic pursuits – eventually found her way into a career that was truly perfect – librarianship. But in all that time she hadn’t done the one thing that she’d always vowed to accomplish. She’d never actually written a book.

She’d written lots of stories and poems and bits and pieces of longer works. She’d even outlined and created background information for several novels. But she had never, ever, completed a novel.

After a while, she decided she probably never would.

But then, something happened. Something that I (and yes, as you have undoubtedly guessed, I was that girl) can’t exactly explain. It all started when I was fifty-five – yes, you read that right – and on a whim I wrote a piece of fan fiction about Doctor Who. I just wanted to write out an idea I had from watching the current series. When it was complete, I posted it on a fan fiction site, just for fun. Well, the strange thing was, I found that writing that piece gave me a sense of accomplishment, a satisfaction, a JOY that I hadn’t felt in quite some time. Then I started getting responses from other readers. Comments that said that they’d been deeply moved, even cried, that they loved the piece and wanted to read more.

So I decided that I was going to write a novel. This time, I was going to do it. I was going to finish a book.

I wrote my first novel, THE LIGHT FROM OTHER SUNS, in less than three months.  It was an adult science fiction novel that was far too long and messy, but… I finished it. I then spent some time editing – with the help of some great beta readers and a critique partner – before I decided to query.

I read lots of books on publishing and began querying around February 2012. In March 2012 I found Agent Query Connect (AQC  http://agentqueryconnect.com/ ) – a great website for writers – and discovered that I didn’t know what I was doing. At all. So it was back to the drawing board. With a much better query and a growing accumulation of knowledge about the business of publishing, I began querying LIGHT in earnest around May of 2012.  While I waited for the agents to demand that I send them my fantastic first novel (hahhah) I wrote a sequel, THE DARK OF OTHER SKIES.

I sent a lot of queries. Over many months. I got nary a nibble of interest. So, despite the fact that I still thought my scifi books were viable, I decided to “shelve” them for a while and try to write something else. Something rather different.

That something was my Young Adult Fantasy, CROWN OF ICE. Based on “The Snow Queen” by Hans Christian Andersen, my retelling focused on the “villain” of his story – the Snow Queen. Only, in my book, she’s seventeen-year-old Thyra Winther, who’s been transformed into the Snow Queen by a ruthless wizard. Brilliant but emotionally damaged, Thyra has only until her eighteenth birthday to reconstruct the wizard’s shattered enchanted mirror or she’ll spend eternity as a mindless, bodiless wraith.

After finishing CROWN OF ICE in the fall of 2012, with edits running into early winter, I entered a few pitch contests and started querying in January 2013.

Here was my Twitter pitch for CROWN OF ICE:

“As the Snow Queen she’s immortal. As a 17yo human Thyra Winther has less than a year to live.”

Based on this pitch, agent Jennifer Mishler from The Literary Counsel --http://www.literarycounsel.com/  -- requested that I send her my query, synopsis, and the first three chapters of the novel. I was delighted to do so.

I was even happier when the partial request turned into a request for the full manuscript.

However, while Jennifer was reading my manuscript, other agents began requesting partials and fulls of CROWN. And – even more surprising – two excellent independent publishers who specialize in YA also requested my manuscript based on my pitch contest entries.

Now, I did not set out to submit to independent publishers while I was querying agents, but I wasn’t about to turn down requests from great small presses.

For a few months I kept querying – and wondering when I’d hear back on the partials and fulls. When one partial and then one full were rejected, I was downcast. But then I received a Revise and Resubmit request from one of the presses and threw myself into editing, based on the editor’s notes. This editor was so helpful and encouraging, I really felt that I had a shot if I undertook the R&R.

But – before I completed the revision I received an email from the other independent press. Their founder and managing editor wanted to talk to me. As in – on the phone.  I realized, then, that this was THE CALL.

We talked and that press – Month9Books – offered publication on CROWN OF ICE. After dancing around my house for a while, I contacted the other press (the one with the R&R). They set up a Skype call (THE CALL, part two) and during our discussion  they made an offer of publication as well.

Okay. So now I had to inform all the agents who had my partials and fulls. One of these was, of course, Jennifer Mishler at The Literary Counsel.  She responded quickly and set up a time for us to talk. (THE CALL, part three).

When Jennifer and I spoke on the phone, I knew that we were on the same wavelength concerning CROWN OF ICE and my writing career. After communicating with the other agents who were reading full or partial manuscripts of CROWN, I was very happy to be able to respond to Jennifer’s offer of representation with a resounding “Yes”.

So I had an agent! Also – two offers of publication. At this point, of course, Jennifer took over the negotiations with the presses. (She also investigated some other options, but felt that these presses were both excellent fits for a debut YA novel. Both are highly regarded and both provide excellent marketing and promotion, beautiful covers, great editing, and lots of support for their authors).

After Jennifer’s negotiations, we decided to accept the offer from Month9Books.

Because Month9Books is interested in looking at a companion novel to CROWN, that will be my next Work-in-Progress, although I also plan to complete the third book in my science fiction trilogy.  (Jennifer is willing to read my scifi books to see if she can find a home for them as well).

The big news is that CROWN OF ICE will be published by Month9Books in the fall of 2014 – three years after I began my writing journey.

I couldn’t have done it without my family, friends, beta readers, CP’s, and the wonderful writers at AQC, so – thank you, one and all! 

My blog & website: http://www.vickilempweavil.com/
Follow me on Twitter: @VickiLWeavil
Tumblr: http://vickilweavil.tumblr.com/
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/vickilweavil/

My Death Notice

In response to a game inviting people to postmortem their writing friends, I received this from Sean Jenan:

Michelle Hauck just emailed me to inform me of her untimely death (Ironic isn't it? Turns out aol accounts are the only ones they use in the afterlife! Use gmail? You're SOL!)

Many of you know how many times Michelle's query letters have driven agents from their jobs, and even proven fatal. Crafted from the very pages of the Necronomicon, spun with the ancient lore of Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth, they are letters that drive mortals to madness and death. It seems Michelle was tinkering with her query letter for Pygmy Hazards, and in order to check the formatting, decided to send it to herself. It was not an inbox item she would survive.

Clicking on the letter, not realizing the danger, Michelle unleashed its dark magic. An enormous cardboard sword fell from the shelf above her desk straight toward her neck. It was a full-scale mockup of her Kindar artwork, sent to her by Divertir just last week to celebrate the upcoming release of Kindar's Cure. But those were happier times. According to Sheriff P. T. Rickley, the papercut was the worst one he's seen in twenty-three years on the force.

Michelle is survived by a husband, two children, a talking hamster, and an empty rabbit hutch. Her class full of pygmies have agreed to read chapters for her many critique partners.

Yes, I still use AOL for my email. And yes, I seem to be cursed to drive agents from their jobs (I cannot deny there was a death involved) after requesting a partial. But I deny being fixated by swords. Nor do I talk to hamsters. Anymore. 

Writers Voice Pitch

Contests! Contests! There can never be too many contests! Since I can't enter my hamsters into Query Kombat (hosting!), I was double lucky to get into the first round of The Writers Voice!

Query:

Dear Writers Voice Magnificent Coaches:

Tom, the classroom hamster, wants to escape from the h-e double hockey sticks otherwise known as school. There he’s sentenced to never-ending show ‘n tell, math facts rap, and story time. But he’s learned a lot behind the bars of his cage. The giant in the dress thinks she is running this army, when the chatterbox pygmies are really in control. Playing house during activity time isn’t like Tom’s old military pet shop days. Somehow he has to get away before the pygmies dress him as Strawberry Shortcake again.

When a “subspatoot” fills in for the giant, Tom sees his chance to put Operation Escape the Pygmies into action. He makes a run for the border, hamster style. Bad news. The principal says Tom is a distraction to learning and better off flushed. The way out is turned into a battlefield of snapping mousetraps, sticky snares, and poisoned pellets. Tom seems doomed until a friendless pygmy named Squeezer lends an over-excited hand. Now, the greatest obstacle to his freedom may be Tom’s soft spot for this lonely pygmy.

PYGMY HAZARDS is a MG fantasy complete at 34,000 words.

First 250:

Tom stared between the bars of his two-foot rectangular prison in the corner of the classroom. Close by, fellow prisoner Jerry the Third hunkered near their water bottle, chewing on a Kleenex box. There had been no brochure telling Tom what to expect when he was snapped up from the animal menagerie store two months ago. And if there was, he wouldn’t have believed it. Tom shook his head with a sigh, and then refocused on his guard duty.   

Across the room, the pygmies sat in a circle on the floor, their two legs bent crisscross applesauce, as they passed around a stuffed rabbit. The giant in the ugly brown and purple striped dress at their center had a look of patience plastered on her face.

One of the pygmies, Squeezer, held the rabbit. She gave it a shake so that its long ears flung in every direction. Tom winced and fingered his own neck. “Now that I’m seven, my mommy says I’m a big girl,” Squeezer said. “And when I’m eight, I’m going to marry Joey.”

The pygmy with red hair and freckles, sat up taller. “Not happening.”

“It’s my birthday. I’ve decided,” Squeezer hissed.

The giant cleared her throat. “Please pass Mr. Flopsey, Maggie. You’ve told us all about your birthday. Now your turn is over.”

Squeezer scowled, then threw the rabbit over.

Tom turned to whisper to Jerry. “When the big hand is on the twelve and the little hand is on the three, we make a break for it, recruit.”

Query Kombat Judges and Mentors, Plus Winner of the Free Pass

We have a HUGE lineup of awesome judges and mentors for the Query Kombat tournament. Our goal was to bring you the most diverse group of opinions, talents, and specialties. Needless to say, I think we succeeded.


But before I get to the judges and mentors, there's my Free Pass winner to announce! ***The winner must put "Free Pass" in the subject line of their submission email (submission starts May 13) along with their nickname and genre.*** 


It was a difficult decision for me. There were many nicknames that I absolutely loved. (Everyone else please assume you came in second place, because they were all great.) 


But... I couldn't pass up a Jane Austin remix, especially when that remix involves Captain Wentworth. After all, I named my last dogs Emma and Lydia (Pride and Prejudice) and my daughter is named Anna, after Anna Weston, the governess in Emma. I read Sanditon, the partial story that was finished by another lady, everytime I go on vacation. And Sway is on one of my playlists. So my winner is:

   

SWAY ME BUBLE

Be sure and check out my fellow hosts (SC Write, Writer's Outworld) to see their winners and the winner of the #QueryKombat tweet.

Our Judges:

UPDATE:

Terri Bruce is not able to join us for the tournament as anticipated. But we've brought two more judges into our fabulous ensemble. Please welcome Darci Cole and Jennifer Malone. (Cue applause)

Brenda Drake
Brenda writes young adult and middle grade novels. She runs contests and holds workshops on her blog .Look for her debut young adult novel, LIBRARY JUMPERS, coming February 2014 and its sequels February 2015 and February 2016 from Month9Books.
Check out her site
Find her on Facebook

Rhiann Wynn-Nolett
Rhiann writes YA/NA fiction and is thrilled to be represented by Stefanie Lieberman of Janklow & Nesbit.
Check out her blog
Follow her on Twitter
Find her on Facebook

Angie Sandro
For Angie Sandro, writing is as necessary as breathing. She is represented by Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyon Literary, LLC.
Check out her blog
Follow her on Twitter
Find her on Facebook

Mindy McGinnis
Also participating as a mentor
Mindy McGinnis is the author of NOT A DROP TO DRINK, coming 9/24/13 from Katherine Tegen / Harper Collins. She is also a YA librarian and overactive blogger at Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire.
Here's her site
Find her on Facebook

Lizzy Charles
Lizzy Charles, represented by Jamie Bodnar Drowley, is a YA contemp romance author who loves characters brave enough to face themselves, adventure stories, and anything with a thread of romance. Look for her debut novel, PRIMER, Fall 2013 from Swoon Romance of Month9Books.
Check out her blog
Follow her on Twitter

Mike Anthony
Mike Anthony loves writing about the tough stuff.  Whether it's YA, NA, or adult,  he enjoys dragging his characters through hell to toughen 'em up a bit. He's interested in reading anything with quirky characters, or that teaches a hard lesson. And if you can make him laugh, you've won his heart.
Follow his blog

SC
He is a YA and adult writer currently working hard(er) on a YA Fantasy about a teenage girl living with all the pressure and currents of an underwater world. In terms of authors, he is a HUGE JK Rowling and Victor Hugo fan. And he's a guy. Look at his icon. It's so hard to make that clear when you go by "SC"
Check out his blog
Follow him on Twitter
See what he's reading on GoodReads

Phoenix Sullivan
In the corporate world, Phoenix was a professional writer and editor for 23 years. Before that, she was a registered veterinary technician, working with small animal clinics and wildlife rehab centers. Today, she lives on a small farm in North Texas where she writes thrillers and fantasies. She also serves as the general manager of Steel Magnolia Press, an author consortium anchored by New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors Jennifer Blake and Christina Skye.
Check out her blog
Steel Magnolia Press

Summer Heacock

Summer is a writer of Women's Fiction and whatever else pops into her head, but a reader of anything she can get her hands onto. She exists as a mommy, wife, writer, geekling, and is repped by the fabulous Sarah LaPolla of Curtis Brown, Ltd.
Check out her blog
Follow her on Twitter

Darci Cole
Darci Cole is a stay-at-home-mom of two perfect little boys and wife to the best husband in the world. Her home is *always* spotless and lovely, ready for visitors day or night. She loves Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Marvel movies, Mythbusters, and being Mormon. She is an Editorial Intern for Entangled Publishing, and spends her massive amounts of free time writing YA Fantasy, prowling Twitter, and reading for her incredible critique partners.

Follow her on Twitter

Find her on Facebook

Check out her blog

Michelle Hauck
Michelle Hauck lives in the bustling metropolis of northern Indiana with her hubby and two teenagers. Her epic fantasy, Kindar's Cure, is being published by Divertir Publishing in May 2013. Her short story, Frost and Fog, was chosen by The Elephant's Bookshelf Press for their summer 2013 anthology. Check out her blog
Follow her on Twitter
Find her on Facebook
See what she's reading on GoodReads

I'm a contemporary middle grade and YA writer with a love of juvenile pop culture (if it was an ABC Family Movie, I probably can quote it). I also teach in the Film program at Boston University, drawing on my experiences as former New England Head of Publicity and Promotions for 20th Century Fox and Miramax Films. She is represented by Holly Root.
Check out her blog.
Follow her on twitter.

The best query trainers in the land:

Rebecca Yarros
Rebecca is a YA/NA author represented by Jamie Bodnar Drowley of Inklings Literary. She loves strong female characters, worlds she can get lost in, and great romance... oh, and brownies too.
Check out her blog
Check out her website
Follow her on Twitter

Richard Pearson
Richard Pearson grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas. At Rhodes College, he took numerous courses in theatre and creative writing (though his major was Sociology) and has never stopped writing or performing since graduating in 2004. Aware that he had to pay the bills somehow, Richard worked as a paralegal for many years, but eventually decided (thanks to some loving coaxing by his husband) to attend law school in 2007. After graduating from Rutgers School of Law in 2010, Richard passed both the New York and New Jersey state bar exams. He currently practices part-time out of his home in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Check out his blog
Follow him on Twitter

Brianna Shrum
Hello all! There will be no third-person here. Because, well, my brain doesn't quite function that way. So, a little about me. I've been writing since I was a wee bairn on my grandpa’s knee. We wrote fantastically silly poetry together. I never even considered, however, that being an author was possible. Once I finally realized that it was, though, that was it.So, now, I’m a writer of books. I love all things dark, twisty, and strange…I have a love for fairy tales and villains and things that go bump in the night. But meet me in real life, and you would have zero idea. I’m rather sunny, and extremely nerdy, and would rather do karaoke in a room full of people than brood in a dark, shadowy corner.I live in Colorado with my husband (who is also my high school sweetheart. Cue the ‘Awww’) and my crazy toddler. We read him lots of stories. We’re story people.
Check out my blog
Follow me on Twitter

Jean Oram
Jean Oram has worked as a freelance editor and was once agented for her nonfiction work. She is a moderator at the fabulous writer's websitewww.agentqueryconnect.com and has had several short stories published. She is currently celebrating her first indie publication, Champagne and Lemon Drops: A Blueberry Spring Chick Lit Contemporary Romance, and is working away on book two.
Check out her blog
Check out her site
Follow her on Twitter
Find her on Facebook

MarcyKate
She's an author of middle grade and young adult novels represented by Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary & Media. Her debut middle grade fantasy novel, MONSTROUS, will be out from HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2014
Check out her blog
Follow her on Twitter

Jennie Bozic
Jennie writes sci fi and fantasy for young adults by night, and blow things up on television during day. She changes her hair color frequently, and she's represented by Steven Axelrod.
Check out her blog
Follow her on Twitter

Vicki Weavil
Vicki Lemp Weavil is the author of the YA Fantasy, CROWN OF ICE, which is to be published by Month9Books, as well as two adult scifi novels. She is represented by Jennifer Mishler at The Literary Counsel.
Check out her blog
Follow her on Twitter

Cover Reveal and Speculative Fiction Marathon

First off I want to thank everyone who is hosting me and my cover art for Kindar's Cure on their blogs this week. My face is popping up all over the internet. Besides being very exciting, it's also kind of embarrassing. This shy girl is just not used to the compliments and attention. Thanks for opening your blogs to me! There's  nothing better than great friends who will help you out. You can find me here, and here, and everywhere: 

The Helpful Writer

Yesternight's Voyage

Hugs & Kisses of Poetry

Melissa Grey

Questions and Archetypes

SC Write

Writing from the Padded Room

Oh, The Things I've Learned

Soul and Sweet Tea
Lizzy Charles: Contemorary Young Adult Author

Second, I want to get in a plug for a fantastic critiquing event. Starting in June and running all summer is the Speculative Fiction Summer Critiquing Marathon at AQC. (You'll need to petition Clippership to give you the password.) I've mentioned AQC last week, but this week I want to shout about the critiquing marathon. It's a fantastic opportunity for writers of speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror both YA and adult) to get chapter-by-chapter feedback. Before you head into the query trenches, you'll want to polish those chapters to a glowing shine, and the marathon is the perfect way to get it done.

All you need is a AQC profile and a finished and cleaned-up (the best you can, no one is perfect) story. Each week you post one chapter in pdf format. There are usually between ten and twelve people participating each week, so that is a dozen different voices telling you what they think and making suggestions. With each critique comes a vote, up or down, for whether you can move ahead to share the next chapter in your story. If there are more no votes than yes, you have to rework the last chapter and try again. 

The Marathon has all ranges of talent, from beginning writers to very experienced, so don't be afraid if you are just starting. I promise the crew won't bite. Not at first anyway.

In return, you give the other participants your feedback on their work. And your vote on whether they can continue. It's an amazing way to meet new critique partners and learn what you didn't know you didn't know, if you get my drift. Plus, you'll develop the thick skin you need to query.

So if you write speculative fiction, drop by and ask Clippership to admit you. You won't regret it. I'll be there. Any questions? Leave them in the comments.

Query Kombat Agents and A Free Pass Opportunity

I know you are all salivating to hear what agents are participating in Query Kombat, but first up is the itinerary. This is an usually long contest and it moves like lightening once it starts. It is hard to keep track of all the activities without a calendar. So here you go, ink this in:

May 13th-17th: Call for submissions

Top 64 revealed: May 24th

Round 1: May 28th-June 3rd, Voting window closes at 8PM

32 Winners announced: June 4

Round 2: June 5th-9th, Voting window closes at 8PM

Sweet 16 Winners announced: June 10th

Email mentors assigned entries: June 10th

Revamped query emailed back: June 12th (by 10PM)

Round 3: June 14th-18th, Voting window closes at 8PM

Elite 8 Winners announced: June 19th

Round 4: June 20th-23rd, Voting window closes at 8PM

Final 4 Winners announced: June 24th

Agents browse and make requests: June 24th-June 25th

Round 5: June 26th-27th

2 Big Winners announced: June 28th

Final Round: June 29th

Grand Champion announced: June 29th

Wrap up: July 1st

One week after the close of the tournament, we will invite agents back to make requests on the top eight...okay, okay fine...the top sixteen queries. Now, since we're talking about agents, why don't we introduce them. I think you'll be happy with the variety of genres they represent. (And no, we didn't invite only agents that start with J. Funny how things turn out.)  

The 10 Query Kombat Agents:

Jenny Bent of The Bent Agency
Jennifer Goloboy of Red Sofa Literary
Jessica Sinsheimer of Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency
Jennifer Mishler of Literary Counsel
Jordy Albert of The Booker Albert Literary Agency
Rebecca Scherer of Jane Rotrosen Agency
Juliet Mushens of The Agency Group
Jamie Bodnar Drowley of Inkling Literary Agency
Claire Anderson-Wheeler of Anderson Literary Management
Julia Bannon of L. Perkins

Want to win a FREE PASS into Query Kombat?

The Free Pass Contest is closed!

Okay! Here's whatcha gotta do:

1. Follow my blog.  

2. Comment your Query Kombat entry nickname below. (One nickname only. No bombarding the comments with numerous versions. But you may explain why you choose it.) I'll pick my favorite and announce my winner next Friday, May 3rd, when we show off the mentors and judges.

Some nickname examples from my own queries (They're up above in the tab sections.) might be: The Fighting Hamsters, Extra-Crispy Rabbit Gal, Coughing Princess with Attitude, Have Wizard Will Travel. Yeah, okay, those were really off the top of my head. 

Anyway, that's all ya gotta do. 

Now, you'll have three chances to win if you subscribe and comment on each blog (SCWrite, Writer's Outworld). You even have a fourth chance to win if you use the QueryKombat hashtag to shout about your nickname. 'Cause if you think about it, 60 is nicely divisible by three...61 is not.

Before I go, I want to thank SC for inviting me to help host this contest. And I want to really give Mike all the credit for coming up with the idea and doing most of the busy work. He got all these great agents! And a super big thanks to the agents for participating!

So good luck! And show me those cute, humorous, scary, fun nicknames!

Free Pass Teaser

On Friday we are releasing the details about the wonderful agents who will be viewing your Query Kombat submissions! There is a real variety in the 'wants lists' in this group of ten. (Yipee! Ten!) We'll be able to accept adult, YA, MG, and NA entries. I'll hint that they might like to see adult commercial, adult and YA science fiction and fantasy, romance, woman's fiction, and many more genres. Lots of these agents aren't the usual contest participants so prepare to be surprised. And the amazing Mike (the genius behind the contest) is working on coaxing a few more agents into the fold.

To celebrate, we'll also be giving away three Free Passes starting Friday. A Free Pass will allow the winner to skip the screening process, pass Go, and head directly to a spot among the 64 Query Kombat entries. The Free Pass involves sharing a clever or amusing nickname. Just like in the NCAA basketball tournament, all our entries will have "school" nicknames by which they will be identified in the brackets.

(And tweeting those nicknames using the #QueryKombat tag might earn you another surprise.)

So stay tuned for Friday and work on those nicknames.

Goldmine of Information: AQC

With so many new friends stopping by the blog to check out the Query Kombat contest, I want to give a plug to a wonderful writer’s site, AQC. I was surprised the other day when someone questioned me on twitter about AQC. I thought every writer knew of about this vast mine of writing information. Apparently I was wrong.

Agent Query Connect is a huge forum with all kinds of threads. You can find discussions there ranging from the newest agents, to genre questions, to blogging. There is always someone ready to read your fledgling query letter and give you feedback. If you get a request and aren’t sure what to do: post your questions. Even the dreaded bore of the writing world, the synopsis, has a forum. There is a whole section devoted to self-publishing help. An area close to my heart that lists the upcoming contests and conferences. (Hmm, you might see something there about Query Kombat.) And for those who have a success story, there’s the Good News “Boast” Bar. That is just a small part of what is available. It would take weeks to discover it all.

But best of all, if you look down toward the bottom, there is the Member Moderated Groups by Genre. Here is the place to relax with other writers that have the same interests as you. It’s a place where you fit in, and if you spend enough time there, they’ll become your writing family. Nobody understands the ups and downs of this crazy industry like your writing family. They commiserate when your full is rejected. They cheer you when you get an offer. I'd be lost without the Speculative Fiction group for fantasy and science fiction geeks like me.

I honestly admit that I would still be the stupid newbie if not for AQC. So if you drop by, don’t be afraid to create a profile and launch a post in the Guppie Pond. I’ve never met kinder or friendlier writers. I promise they won’t bite. Be sure to give me a shout and invite me to be your first friend. 

Announcing the Query Kombat Contest and Tournament!

Bloggers SC Write, Writer's Outworld and I are teaming up to bring you the first ever Query Kombat Tournament.  (If you are here for Terri Bruce's cover contest go here.) Now with 10 agents. 

Query Kombat will host 64 kombatants in a single-elimination, tournament style query-off. There will be a total of six rounds in Query Kombat. First opponents will be grouped by target audience (ie. YA, NA, Adult, and MG). After that, a bracket-style grid will dictate future opponents. If you secure a spot in the tournaments, your query and the first 250 words (to the end of a complete sentence) will be pitted against another query and first 250 words. Judges will read each match-up and vote 'Victory' on the best entry (Remember, this is subjective). The entry with the most ‘victories’ will advance to the next round until only one champion remains. A growing list of agents (which will be revealed at a later date) will browse the semifinal round to make requests on at least one of the final four queries. Details below.

Sound fun? That's 'cause it is. But that's not all we have up our sleeve...

If you make it into the third round, you will be paired with an agented writer who will act as a trainer to shine up your query and first 250 words. Edits are due back three days after teams are announced.

Before the start of the semifinals (round 5), agents will be invited to the blog to make requests and choose one query they think will become tournament champion. Agent(s) who guess correctly will receive a full or partial (their choice) of the selected manuscript one week before the other agents who requested material. To clarify, agents can make as MANY requests as they want, but can only bet on one query to win. One week after the contest closes, we will be posting the final eight queries and invite agents back to make more requests.


Here are the tournament brackets

The tournament is open only to unagented writers seeking representation. Your manuscript must be complete, polished, and ready to submit. Submissions for MG, YA, NA, and Adult works will be accepted. No picture books or non-fiction.

The submission window will open at 11AM EST on Monday, May 13th and close at 11AM Friday, May 17th OR WHEN WE RECEIVE 225 ENTRIES. You may submit entries for two manuscripts (in the same email) but we will only consider the second entry on the last day of the submission window. Kontestants will be revealed May 24th and the tournament will kick off on May 28th.

In order to enter the contest you MUST follow formatting guidelines, and submit during the contest window. All entries that follow those guidelines will be considered. In the event that we receive more than the available spots, hosts will be assigned a group of queries and pick the best of their group. We will also select a few alternates. Sixty-four queries will enter into the tournament.

Entries will be sent to: QueryKombat (at) yahoo (dot) com

Formatting guidelines:

Font: Times New Roman, 12pt font, single-spaced with spaces between each paragraph.

Subject line of the Email: A short, unique nickname for your entry [colon] your genre (audience included). Do not skip this step or your entry will be deleted. (ex. Magigeddon: YA Fantasy)

For the nickname, make it as unique as possible so that there are no duplicates. These will be the names used in the tournament brackets (or an abbreviated version if it's too long) so keep it PG-13 and try to have it relate to your story in some way.

In the body of the email (with examples):
Entry Nickname: Magigeddon
Name: Mike Anthony
Email address: QueryKombat (at) yahoo (dot) com


Title: DOT REAPER
Word count: 81K
Genre: YA Fantasy

Query:

Fifteen-year-old Maxine Protega became a god and a demon overnight. Prophesied to abolish magic by one faction of her people and protect it by another, she’s cast into the middle of a campaign that’s ripping her world and her family apart. 

As it turns out, the prophecy is of the self-fulfilling persuasion, and Max finds herself on the fringes of a worldchanging choice: eradicate her race by destroying magic, or risk the slaughter of her family by protecting it.

(Only include the meat of your query. No bio. It doesn't have to be as short as mine, I just wanted to give you a quick example. Queries may be up to 350 words, but 250 is preferred.)

First 250 words:

First 250 words. Don't include the chapter title and please, don't stop in the middle of a sentence.

Also, no indentations.

Simple, huh?

All queries submitted are FINAL. We will not edit them in any way, shape, or form. Please read, reread, and rereread your submission before you hit send. Unless you make it into the third round, you will not have another opportunity to edit your query or first 250 words. You have several weeks to polish your work. Take advantage of it. Competition will be fierce.

Because the immense amount of work ahead of us, the tournament will be hosted on three separate blogs (following each of us would be a great way of saying thank you...just saying): Michelle4Laughs will host round 1 and 4. SCWrite will host round 2 and 5. Writer's Outworld will host round 3 and 6. Each blog will have links to all rounds so fear not. You will not get lost.

Agents, judges, and trainers will be revealed soon. (As of now we have 8 agents!)

Questions can be left in the comments and I'll answer them as quickly as possible. (Afraid I'm at work so it won't be right away.) So, yeah. That's it! I think this calls for celebration, don't you?

Hit it Pikachu!