Brenda Drake . . . under the influence of coffee: Super Intern Contest ... winners and wrap-up

Monday, June 18, 2012

Super Intern Contest ... winners and wrap-up

The magnificent Super Intern, Erica M. Chapman, who's an agent intern for Louise Fury with L. Perkins Agency, went beyond what we expected from her. We asked that she tell thirty lucky writers when she had stopped reading their pitches or which ones she would snatch out of the slush pile. Instead, she critiqued each query letter and first page of the participants. Her comments are beyond awesome, so go check them out.

Also, if you aren't following Erica on her blog (link above) and on twitter (@ericamchapman) you totally should. She tweets as she reads Louise Fury's slush pile sometimes and is a wonderful friend to follow.

Erica thoughts...

This was such a tough decision, there were many great premises. I wished I could have picked you all, but I could only pick three. The queries that didn't pull me in tended to be too clunky. Queries should be concise and enticing to grab an agent's attention. Your only job is to make the agents read more. Don't throw everything and the kitchen sink into your queries. Focus on the plot. If you have an over-saturated genre, make sure you highlight what's unique about your story.

I enjoyed reading each of the thirty entries. Thank you for putting yourselves out there and letting me read your work. I know how scary it can be and applaud each one of you for taking the risk.

Erica picked her top three entries to receive critiques from Shelley Watters, Monica B.W. and me. Each critique is for the first ten pages of the winners' manuscript. She also has a few entries she wants to run by Louise Fury and will announce those soon.

So I guess you want to know the winners, right? Well, here they are...

Brenda's critique: RACE TO BUTCH CASSIDY'S GOLD, MG Mystery

Monica's critique: DEAD SISTER DAYS, Contemporary YA

Shelley's critique: UNDER THE TREES, YA Historical Fantasy Romance

Winners, please send the first 10 pages of your manuscript attached as a Word .doc to brendadrakecontests@gmail.com.

Come back tomorrow for the announcement about the voice workshop with my über talented agent, Lauren Hammond of ADA Management.

That's it, until next.

9 comments:

John Lucas HargisJune 18, 2012 at 3:28 PM
Great picks, Erica!

Congrats to the winners. 10-page critique by these lovely ladies = win. Don't let 'em get away until you've wrenched every ounce of feedback from 'em. ;)
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erica m. chapmanJune 18, 2012 at 3:36 PM
Thank you, Brenda, Monica and Shelley! It was a pleasure being part of all this!! <3<3
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Ink in the BookJune 18, 2012 at 4:05 PM
I enjoyed the contest. I also loved reading everyone's entries and the feedback for them. Thank you, Erica, for taking so much time to help the winners with your critique. You must have a ton of patience!

Also, Brenda, thank you for the upcoming workshop. I don't know how long you have had this workshop planned, but I do know I mentioned to you how much I would enjoy a "Voice Workshop" so I can't wait for tomorrow!

Thank you for hosting the 3, 2, 1 Pitch Contest.
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Amanda HartleyJune 18, 2012 at 5:42 PM
Thank you all for a wonderful opportunity. I've learned alot reading Erica's feedback.
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Ashley MakerJune 18, 2012 at 8:31 PM
Thanks to all of you for hosting (another) amazing contest! I'm so excited Under the Trees was one of the winners! Just sent my pages in :-)
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KellyJune 18, 2012 at 8:36 PM
It's always nice reading (and learning) from other queries. Thanks for a great contest. Hope some (or more) of those books get published. I'd love to read them :)
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TYHatchJune 19, 2012 at 8:19 AM
Fantastic picks! Thank you for everything, Erica. I still want to comment on each entry - but life has been nuts and I haven't had the chance yet.

Thanks Brenda for another opportunity to share our work and get input! <3
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Brenda DrakeJune 19, 2012 at 9:27 AM
You're welcome - I'm so glad you all enjoyed it! <3
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EmilyJune 19, 2012 at 5:13 PM
Thank you so much, Brenda, Monika, and Shelley for hosting this contest. And a special thanks to Erica for her great feedback on all the entries. I learned a lot from reading what she wrote. I'll send my pages soon. :)
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