I can’t believe it’s almost time for the 2021 PBParty final agent and editor round. So exciting! I’m counting the seconds. 😊
People wondered why I was planning for PBParty toward the end of 2020, but Melissa Escobar was hard at work on the incredible illustrations. The judges and I had a bunch of things to figure out since this is the first time the contest has run without Michelle Hauck. And I had to teach myself how to format everything on my website.
I love the community PBParty has evolved into. Our daily discussions are so much fun. I didn’t want to wait an entire year to chat with all of you when they ended in 2020. Thanks to your encouragement, Celebration Sunday, Motivation Monday, and the New Draft Challenge & Critique Train were born. I’ve seen new critique partners and groups form, tons of support, cheers, cyber hugs and advice. Thank you all for bringing so much sunshine into my life and making PBParty an incredible, supportive community.
In my eyes, you are ALL winners! You’re writing, revising, sharing tips and tricks and getting your work out there. That’s fantastic! And I’m thrilled PBParty is part of your journey.
I’m happy dancing for the finalists and can’t wait to share the featured titles with you on Wednesday, March 17 at 6 pm EST. I’ll be cheering, dancing, and squealing for every request. And each Success Story.
Even though I consider you all winners, my heart breaks for those who won’t be featured. I know how it feels. When I first considered writing a career vs. a hobby, I applied to Rutgers One-on-One Plus, which is hard to get into. And I made it! Writing always has been a huge part of my life, and I felt like this was meant to be. I’d get an agent and publishing contract soon…
The next year, I worked hard on my craft and applied with a manuscript my critique partners raved about and thought was way stronger. I was so excited to go to Rutgers again! But I didn’t get in. Did my writing get worse? Would I ever be good enough? My inner critic amped up every insecurity. I was devastated. For about half a day. Then I searched online and found a great event to attend (The Highlights Foundation Week-Long Workshop) and fueled myself with new hope and opportunities.
It was a long road before I signed with my incredible agent…but the journey taught me so much. I was truly ready when Joyce Sweeney offered to rep me. I know how to rewrite and revise vs. tickle a manuscript and I’ve learned tons about the publishing industry. Contests have helped me and gave me much-needed boosts along the way, but I didn’t sign with Joyce through a contest.
We said yes to 50 finalists and 20 author/illustrators in the Illustration Showcase. Out of 1000+ entries! Your yes can be around the corner. Or a year from now. But if you keep writing, revising, learning, hoping, and putting yourself out there…it WILL happen! And I can’t wait to celebrate with each of you when it does.
Maybe your next yes will be the PBChat Mentorship! Justin Colón has a wonderful, private editor/agent showcase at the end of the free three month mentorship. I believe applications open mid April. Here’s the FAQ from last year.
Here’s another great contest to check out…Spring Fling run by Kaitlyn Sanchez and Ciara O’Neal. It has tons of awesome prizes!
I have an amazing surprise for you! I asked Joyce Sweeney if she’d do an Ask The Agent during the next PBParty New Draft Challenge & Critique Train on March 25…and she said YES! But she took it a step further than a Twitter chat and is hosting a Zoom from 1 pm – 2pm EST that day. Wahooooo! Thank you so much for your generosity, Joyce.
Zoom will let 100 people in, and I’ll share the replay link after. I’ll put up a graphic a little after midnight on the 25th where you can ask Joyce questions. If she doesn’t get to all the questions during the Zoom call, she’ll try to reply to them on Twitter. Thanks, Joyce!
I hope you’ll join the next PBParty New Draft Challenge & Critique Train on March 25 EST. It’s great motivation to write a new PB plus give and receive a critique. It usually takes me at least six months to feel like a PB is submission-ready, but my February New Draft Challenge draft felt magical from the start. After running it through just one critique group, my agent loves it, only had me switch the order of two lines, and wants it to be my next submission. Fingers crossed that the next PB you write will be magical for you, too!
The PBParty Judges and I have some things we’d love to share with you! Reading through the entries was like taking a master workshop. Several Success Stories and participants on Twitter mentioned how much they’ve learned about professional query letters and grabbing readers with the beginning of their PBs after seeing past finalists. I can’t wait to hear what all the tips and entries from this year have helped you with.
Here are some of the most frequent topics we received. Since we saw a lot of them, agents and editors probably do, too. We consider every manuscript…but competition amps up when there are a lot on the same subject. They need to fight to stand out brighter. And yes, some of these topics have at least one manuscript that made it into the finals. Yay!
Bees, mice, farm animals, sloths, giraffes, dinosaurs, dragons, birds, chickens, roosters (so many roosters!!!!), butterflies, sea creatures, monsters, food…and condiments, hair, fairy tale retellings, environment, and outer space.
Here’s what we have in the finals. Note that participants entered up to three genres, so there’s a lot of overlap. I’m only listing those with two or more.
We have seven author/illustrators in the final round…plus 20 more in the Illustration Showcase!
I’ll post again tomorrow with thoughts from the PBParty judges. The finalists will be announced on Wednesday at 6 pm EST. Wahoooo! Good luck everyone.
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