I’m so excited about the 2024 PBParty contest! Check out the details here.
I’ll shout out the participating agents & editors soon–probably tomorrow. We have 67 so far. Wahooooooo!

The last few years, past PBParty finalists and generous agented or published picture book creatives offered lots of critiques & Zooms to help those of you getting ready for PBParty make your strongest manuscript dazzle even brighter. I started collecting donations last night and we already have 23 amazing prizes! I can’t wait to share the Rafflecopter giveaway with you soon. If you’re a past PBParty finalist or an agented or traditionally published writer or author/illustrator and would like to donate a prize, here’s a Google form you can use. I’ll give extra entries on Rafflecopter for following each generous donor on social media. 🙂 And yes…you can donate a prize if you’re published (or under contract) but not agented…and plan to enter the 2024 PBParty contest.

Finalists have said the critique giveaways were a huge help! I wish I could give one to everyone…but there is one other thing that worked fantastic and I can offer ALL of you…ranking parties!!!! I always see participants wonder which manuscript they should submit. This can help you choose…and polish your strongest PB, too! Plus, the PB Ranking Party could also help you figure out which manuscript to send if you win a critique.

Huge thanks to PBParty finalist Callie Dean for running the Ranking Parties for us this year. Sign up on this Google form by Sunday, January 28, at 11:59 pm EST. Callie will e-mail each group soon after. The form questions will help her find the best possible matches for the types of manuscripts, number of manuscripts exchanged, and the size of each group.

Each group is welcome to tweak the rules, but here are some suggested guidelines…

• Try to return the rankings within a week or two. Please let people know if you need longer than that.
• It helps to send the entire picture book…but mark where the 70 word PBParty entry will end. Some manuscripts seem strong, but don’t have a beginning that grabs attention as much as others. But…there may be a way to streamline and give the opening extra oomph (which is why it’s better to examine the full manuscript vs. the sample)
• Rank each manuscript from 1 (this is AWESOME) to 5 (this isn’t ready for the contest…yet). Sharing some brief notes on each would be wonderful. It’s up to each group if they’d like to include more than that.
• If possible, it would be wonderful to give a full critique on the manuscript you believe is the strongest from each person you swap with. A person might receive critiques on several different manuscripts if group members don’t all select the same one. Here’s a PB Critique Group Checklist that can help strengthen your critique.
• It would be good to send the query blurb as well (or the entire query). It’s up to each group to decide. But it’s just as important to get your query critiqued as it is to get feedback on a manuscript. All queries in the final round will be professional and ready to dazzle agents, editors…and the PBParty judges, too!
• One of my favorite additions to the entry form last year was: What inspired you to write this story…and what do you have in common with the story or main character? (We share this in the final entries agents and editors browse–some people forget to show an emotional connection to a manuscript in a query and we want to make sure your connection shines). This can be up to 100 words. It would be great to include this as well during the ranking party.
• When ranking, it’s good to keep in mind not only the strength of a manuscript, but how marketable it is. Which ones will truly stand out in the crowded PB market? If you want, you can give two ranks–one according to the strength of the story itself, and another for marketability. (We have to pass over so many wonderful entries each year because they don’t stand out enough from the others.)

Ranking parties will also be helpful if you make it into the final round and receive requests for additional manuscripts from agents and editors. Fingers and toes crossed for you!

If anyone who participated in the ranking parties would like to share tips…we’d love to see them in the comments and in the Facebook group! I love that some of you continue to swap feedback…and hope that magic happens again this year, too.

Have you joined the PBParty Participant Facebook group yet? It’s a great place to get to know other picture book creatives, ask questions, and cheer each other on. I’ve seen generous members offer feedback on things like queries and pitches, too! Plus, I share important PBParty info there. *Please answer the questions when you ask to join, so I can admit you ASAP.

I hope the upcoming giveaways and PB Ranking Party will help your manuscripts and entries dazzle! We can’t wait to read them.