Terrific news: WORSE THAN WICKED, my YA fantasy, is now Hot at Kindle Scout! This category fluctuates, so there’s no telling how long it will stay there, but I’m encouraged by this surge of interest.
If you’re unfamiliar with Kindle Scout, it’s an Amazon program that invites readers to nominate books for possible publication.
Check it out here: http://amzn.to/2FsdoY8
My OWW writer friend, Phillip Spencer, who pens the blog “Nightspore”, recently linked to a post by British author Freda Warrington (ELFLAND), in which she discusses the desire to create strong female characters when writing fantasy.
An excerpt:
I wanted to read about mutual pleasure and joy, I wanted the women to have as much fun as the men, I did not want the men to be selfish pigs, I wanted equality and respect and shared adventure. But too often, in fiction, I was not finding it. Not even from female authors.
It’s a long post, but well worth reading if you write or read fantasy.
Image by David Castillo Dominici, FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
Though I initially planned to self-publish JURATA’S DAUGHTER, my editor convinced me to give querying a try first. She loves the book and thinks others will, too.
Here’s a list of six agent sites I’m using. If you know of others, please share. Thanks.
#MSWL – This is a Twitter feed where agents and editors post their “Manuscript Wish List”. I recently saw one agent who specifically mentioned Slavic mythology–she’s high on my list. You can fine tune this according to genre, such as #MSWL Fantasy, or #MSWL Young Adult, etc. Just remember, you don’t pitch on Twitter unless they’re having a special pitch day, like #PitMad. Send a normal query instead.
QUERY TRACKER – Search for agents/agencies that rep your genre, keep track of those you’ve contacted and their responses, store your query letter. A paid membership ($25) allows you to see what any agent has actually requested from queries, a big help if their site says, for example, they accept YA but all they’ve looked at is MG.
ABSOLUTE WRITE WATER COOLER – Search by agent, or check out these special sections: Bewares, Recommendations & Background Check; Ask the Agent; Ask the Editor. There’s even a board for sharing your work, but you’ll need to set up an account [free!] first. Post your query here and be ready for honest feedback.
AGENTQUERY CONNECT – Find an agent or editor, get your query critiqued, and much, much more.
LITERARY RAMBLES – Check out the “Agent Spotlight” here for current and past interviews.
ALEXA DONNE, YA AUTHOR – Alexa has some recent interviews with agents that are definitely worth a look.
Of course, any research will include going to the agent’s site and looking up sales on Publishers’ Marketplace. I hope this list helps.
Cheers!