10Sep

PitchWars 2021 Adult/New Adult Wishlist

PitchWars banner with Poe camping and “I am a 2021 Adult Mentor” overhead.

A graphics-free, black on white version of my wishlist can be found HERE.

This is my third year as a PitchWars mentor. I’m incredibly excited to jump back in the trenches again. In 2018 I mentored the amazing Alexis Ames and helped find her heart-wrenching space opera a home at The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency. In 2019 I fell in love with Vaishnavi Patel‘s gorgeous feminist retelling of the Ramayana; Vaishnavi signed with Lucienne Diver at The Knight Agency. KAIKEYI hits the shelves this spring. ✨✨

In 2020 I had to take time off for health reasons, and I’m SO ready to hop back into the PitchWars saddle.

I have a four book epic fantasy series with HarperVoyager, an urban fantasy out from NineStar Press, and short stories out in several anthologies. I self-publish LGBTQ+ fantasy and romance. My latest WIP is a queer Christmas romance, the second in a series.

My degree is in English Lit and Creative Writing, with a minor in James Joyce. I was a book buyer for Rizzoli Bookstore when they were still around as a chain. In college I interned first as a slush-pile screenplay reader, and later as an intern for a SoCal agent. Most recently I spent a year as Communications Officer at the Organization for Transformative Works, the parent of Hugo Award winner Ao3.

My pronouns are they/them.

As I’ve said in past years’ wishlists, my super secret power is words.

My 2021 Wishlist has not changed substantially, although this year I am not interested in plague-centric novels, for obvious reasons.

Fantasy. All the fantasy, all the subgenres. Epic, urban, paranormal, steampunk, gaslamp, etc. Send them my way. Extra points for non-European settings, anti-heroes, likable villains, grit and heartbreak.
Sci-Fi. I prefer character driven, ‘soft’ scifi. Think space operas, thrillers, or heists with sociological, anthropological or physiological elements. EX: The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell.Extra points for a super diverse cast.
LGBTQ+. If you have a QUILTBAG MC, and your MS is not specifically a coming out story, it should definitely end up in my mailbox. If it’s Adult/NA fiction and it’s LGBTQ+, I need it.

A word about NA:

I love the idea of New Adult but, although the genre has gained traction in the self-publishing world, it really hasn’t caught on in the traditional industry outside of, possibly, Romance. That being said, if your MS is NA, go ahead and submit, with the caveat that chances are I’ll suggest you rework it toward Adult.

I’m not looking for:

ANY instances of animal abuse, dubcon, rape, or child abuse.
Stories about suicide or cancer.
Sex is fine but I’m not looking for erotica.
Dark is great, but make sure you’re not throwing gratuitous violence or gore my way.
In general, I prefer manuscript word count that sticks close to industry standard over those that run long. This is a pretty good guideline, if you’re not sure about your industry standard.

Questions or concerns before submitting? Find me here on the PitchWars forums and ask me anything!

Why me?

I’ve been reading, writing, and selling in the industry for years. I’ve had my share of successes and made my share of mistakes. I’m familiar with life in the trenches. I also have a network of author friends, and while I’d never give up my sources, we do share with each other the ups and downs we’ve experienced in the industry during our disparate publishing journeys. I’ll do my best to steer you in the right direction, professionally.
I do words. Did I say that already? I can’t finish an algebraic equation to save my life, but I know how to put together a good sentence, a great page, a fantastic chapter, and a solid book.
World building. When it comes to your fictional universe, I can teach you how to show, not tell. No mentee of mine will suffer from the dreaded info-dump-itis.
Voice. It’s my other super power. I’ll spot your voice in a jiffy and help you polish it until it shines through.

My mentoring style:

I’m an extremely busy person – I tend to overbook – and am often on the road, so Skyping or phoning it in are not usually practical for me.
I’m attached to my phone by umbilical cord, and am possibly the world’s fastest thumb-typist, so you can expect quick responses via email, text, DM, etc. I have no qualms about giving out my phone number. You can text me all day if you like and I’ll answer quickly…
…except for when I’m asleep, which happens to be 9PM-5AM PST. Or when I’m on horseback, which is generally a few hours a day.
I’m quite frank. In both of my edit letters and my line edits I’ll tell you exactly what I think, good and bad.
If you disagree with a suggested change, I’ll explain why I think the change is necessary, but after that it’s your decision. Think of me as a guide rather than the end-all-be-all of writing advice. Because when it comes down to it, the story you’re telling isn’t mine.
I’m full of squee, but I’m not an effusive, full-time cheerleader. If I pick your manuscript, you can be certain I believe in it. But if you need someone around to shore up your writerly insecurities 24 hours a day – I’m not that. And neither are most industry editors.
I’m easy going. My feathers don’t get ruffled. We won’t have a falling out over semi-colon placement.
I’m whimsical. I believe in ghosts, dessert for breakfast, mismatched socks, and crystal therapy. But I take writing – and by association PitchWars, very seriously. Deadlines are more important than sleep. I’m competitive. Most people who jump horses over fences in pursuit of blue ribbons are. If I take you on, I’ll be not so secretly hoping your MS gets THE MOST agent requests, and I’ll do what I can to help you toward that end.

What I’m looking for in a mentee:

Work hard and be kind. It’s a rule I try to stick to in life – both professionally and personally – and it’s what I expect of my mentee. If you feel you can put kindness first and hard work second in your life for at least the next five months, by all means submit to me!

Authors I love:

Happy dachshund checking email on a computer in front of a rainbow background.

Robin Hobb
Tamsyn Muir
Maggie Stiefvater
Patrick Rothfuss
Karen Marie Moning
Beth Cato
S.A. Chakraborty
Mackenzi Lee
Lynn Flewelling
K.D. Edwards

Gif of a happy dachshund checking email on a rainbow background.

Pitch Wars is a mentoring program where published/agented authors, editors, or industry interns choose one writer each to spend three months with revising their manuscript. It ends in February with an Agent Showcase, where agents can read a pitch/first page and can request to read more.

Pitch Wars 2021 Adult Mentors’ Wish Lists

Click here to view all Pitch Wars 2021 Mentors’ Wish Lists. To view the wish lists by genre, visit this link.

PitchWars 2021 Adult/New Adult Wishlist

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