Last November I entered TOUCHED into the Gotham Writers’ Workshop YA Novel Discovery contest. They announced the winners today. I was not one of them.
However, they had about 1,700 submitted entries which is pretty impressive. I’m not bummed, I know that when the time is right TOUCHED will enter the scene with force. Which means, I need to get off my butt and work on revisions.
Congratulations to all the winners!
I have a few cool things to announce this month. On a whim, I submitted Touched to a Young Adult Novel Discovery Contest offered by the Gotham Writers’ Workshop. The contest asks for the first 250 words and the title of your novel; but the grand prize gives the winner the opportunity to submit their manuscript to a YA literary agent and a free writing course. It was mostly a spur of the moment thing, but I have just as much of a shot any one else. They’ll announce winners in February 2010.
I received news today that the Women’s Voices in Magic anthology is now in print! Order a copy of the book online through either amazon.com or the publisher. Please note that Immanion’s US fulfillment team won’t have copies in hand until the latter half of December, but they’ll keep track of pending orders.
Today’s been busy. Put in a few hours in on the manuals for CA, then started a draft for this week’s D*I*Y Planner article, and attended a free teleconference on “Knowing When to Let Go of Your Work”. That gave me a few good steps to knowing when my work is done and I should get it submitted to where it needs to go.
When I came back to Smudge, my friend Jenn sent me a link to Nathan Bransford’s 2nd Sort-of-Annual Stupendously Ultimate First Paragraph Challenge “contest”. Nathan’s a literary agent who’s doing a fun-yet-informal contest on novel first paragraphs. The winner gets their choice of: “a partial critique, query critique or 15 minute phone conversation in which we can discuss topics ranging from reality TV shows to, you know, publishing. Your choice. Runners up will receive query critiques and/or other agreed-upon prizes.”
So, not one to back down an informal contest, I submitted the following paragraph for Touched:
The chair is old but well padded. Its brown vinyl is smooth from years of wear and use by others. It squeaks as she shifts her position, drawing her legs up and under her body. She’s not uncomfortable, but she’s not comfortable either. It’s sunny outside. Cassie can tell that it’s cold even though she’s not outside to feel it. This is the magic of autumn. When leaves turn colors and the temperature stays cold even when the sun shines. The wind taps on the window, calling for her to come out and soak up the magic. Cassie shifts her weight in the chair, feeling left out.
