September 2011 

 

Welcome to the September 2011 newsletter! I cannot believe it is already the first of September! Where did the time go? I know what I've been up to. Let me tell you about it.

 

For starters, we've launched a fantastic new group for our Tier 2 level members. I'm so excited! The group coordinator, Kelly Mooney, is doing a fine job of keeping things running smoothly and scheduling awesome programming like chats with editors and debut authors about the acquisitions process, live peer critique sessions, an agent pitch weekend and more! Our next event is a chat with HarperCollins Executive Editor and YALITCHAT.ORG member, Rosemary Brosnan and debut author of THE BEGINNING OF AFTER, Jennifer Castle on September 9th. Right after that, on September 15th we have a chat with Disney*Hyperion Editor and YALITCHAT.ORG member, Abby Ranger and debut author of THE NEAR WITCH, Victoria Schwab. The Near Witch Acquisitions chat is open to ALL members and takes place on YALITCHAT.ORG! Both chats begin at 9PM ET and details can be found here.

 

I've also been busy adding new members to the YALITCHAT.ORG Agent Mailbox panel! You already know about Ayesha Pande of Pande Literary, as we featured her in the previous newsletter. Starting this month, we've added Sourcebooks Fire's Senior Editor, Leah Hultenschmidt, Entangled Publishing's Publisher, Liz Pelletier and ADA Management's Lauren Hammond. HOW COOL IS THAT?

 

Whew! We've been busy booking awesome chats through the end of the year, revitalizing groups on YALITCHAT.ORG like Publishers Showcase where you can now go and read the latest news on Children's book publishers AND I've added a new group for Educators (teachers, administrators, librarians) to connect as well as a new grant that Educators can use toward classroom supplies, technology, author visits, etc. I told you I've been busy!

 

To spare you from more of my droning, here are a couple of links you might find of interest: 

 

Educators Group

Publishers Showcase Group

YALITCHAT.ORG membership levels info

Agent Mailbox Group

 

For now, I leave you but many of you I will see soon! Keep eyes and ears open for MORE awesome news in October. You won't even be able to stand the awesomeness.

 

Write well,

 

Georgia McBride

 

Founder of YALITCHAT.ORG

 Follow us on Twitter Find us on Facebook Visit our blog View our videos on YouTube 

In This Issue
Member News
Agent Mailbox
#YALITCHAT Schedule
eBooks We Love
Book Blog of the Month
New Tier 2 Member Group
Critiquing Character
Grants for Members
Member News! 

 

Author of Morris Award winner THE FREAK OBSERVER, Blythe Woolston's BLACK HELICOPTERS, about a girl raised to be a weapon who straps on a vest of explosives and sets out to kill and be killed until her plan goes wrong, to Elizabeth Bicknell at Candlewick, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, in a two book deal, for publication in Spring 2013, by Sarah Davies at the Greenhouse Literary Agency.

  

Jonathan Friesen's ALDO'S FANTASTICAL MOVIE PALACE, about a young girl whose scarred face drives her into the dark refuge of her mother's 1930s movie theater, where she discovers both a portal into another world and an enemy much more sinister than her mocking peers, to Jacque Alberta at Zondervan, in a two-book deal, by Deidre Knight of The Knight Agency 

 

Kate Karyus Quinn's debut ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE, about a girl who wakes up wandering the roads of Oklahoma knowing that she is occupying another girl's body -- and that she has killed the girl whose body she is in -- who then returns to the girl's parents in upstate New York to uncover who she really is, and who else she has killed, to Erica Sussman at Harper Teen, at auction, in a two-book deal, by Alexandra Machinist at Janklow & Nesbit.

 

Dawn Metcalf's INDELIBLE INK, featuring a heroine who is accidentally marked by a mysterious boy, which places her in the midst of a dangerous, otherworldly plot to end the Age of Man, to Natashya Wilson at Harlequin Teen, in a two-book deal, by Michael Bourret at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.  

 

WE HEAR THE DEAD author Dianne Salerni's THE CAGED GRAVES, in which a 17-year-old returns to her hometown, where "the dead don't stay where you put them", to marry a young man she's met only through letters, an unpromising engagement complicated by another suitor and by her family's entanglement with a legendary treasure, and rumors about why her mother was buried in a caged grave, to Dinah Stevenson at Clarion, by Sara Crowe at Harvey Klinger.  

 

Kami Garcia, coauthor of the bestselling YA series BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, the first two books in a new series, called the LEGION, to Julie Scheina at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Scheina bought North American rights to Unbreakable and Unbound from Jodi Reamer at Writers House; the series is set to launch in fall 2013. The first book, Unbreakable, is also already in development in Hollywood with producer Mark Morgan (who worked on the Twilight Saga and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief). 

  
Eric Devine's TAP OUT, in which a boy thinks nothing can save him from being poor, his mom's abusive boyfriends, and the meth gang that's decided he's their new delivery boy, except his new friends at his Mixed Martial Arts gym; but not in the way he thinks they will, to Lisa Cheng at Running Press Kids, at auction, by Kate McKean at the Howard Morhaim Literary Agency.            

          
Rachele Alpine's debut CANARY, about a girl who suddenly finds herself in the popular crowd at a new school when her father is hired as the basketball coach, to Ali DeGray at Medallion Press, for publication in Fall 2013, by John Rudolph at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

 

Lorettajo Kapinos has a book deal for her True story about the Springfield Tornado survivors. A portion of the proceeds will go to a disaster relief fund.  

 

Denna Holm's SOUL OF A WARRIOR has sold to Cresent Moon Press.

 

Rebecca Ryals Russell's ODESSA won the Books In Sync cover contest for July 2011!

 

Trisha Wolfe has signed with Lauren Hammond of ADA Management Group.

 

Trisha Wolfe's THE CRYSTAL PENDULUM has sold to Omnific Publishing for release in early 2012.

  

September releases:

book cover rae carsonKaren Healey's THE SHATTERING releases September 5th.

Scott Tracey's WITCH EYES releases September 8th.

Barbara Ehrentreu's IF I COULD BE LIKE JENNIFER TAYLOR releases September 16th.

Rebecca Ryals Russell's PROPHECY (The Seraphym Wars Series) releases September 16th.

Laura Burns & Melinda Metz's SACRIFICE releases September 20th.

Rae Carson's THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS releases September 20th.

Michelle Hodkin's THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER releases September 27th.

Trinity Faegen's THE MEPHISTO COVENANT: THE REDEMPTION OF AJAX releases September 27th.

Loretta Ellsworth's UNFORGETTABLE releases September 27th

 

Agent Mailbox Reopens to Submissions September 10!

 

It's almost time again! Your manuscript is polished and screaming perfection--or is it?  Heed the warning because change is afoot this Fall at Agent Mailbox! Beginning September 10, 2011, we will reopen to queries from our Tier 2 Members ONLY. Not yet a Tier 2 member? What are you waiting for? Click here to subscribe.
From now on, Georgia will accept a query letter and first 500 (five hundred) words! That means an even better chance to showcase your AWESOME. We've also added two more agents and two editors to the panel for more variety and greater opportunity for our members!
So, visit the Query Kick Around, Synopsis Repair Shop and First Pages groups to be sure when September 10th 2011 come, your submission will be ready to go!
YALITCHAT.ORG's Agent Mailbox will be open for submissions to these wonderful agents and editors:
  1. Laura Bradford-Bradford Literary
  2. Michelle Wolfson-Wolfson Literary
  3. Lauren MacLeod-Strothman Agency
  4. Deidre Knight-The Knight Agency
  5. Bernadette Baker-Baughman-Victoria Sanders & Associates
  6. Natalie Fisher-Bradford Literary
  7. Lindsay Ribar-Sanford J. Greenburger Associates
  8. Brianne Mulligan-Movable Type
  9. Carlie Webber-Jane Rotrosen Agency
  10. Sarah Davies-Greenhouse Literary Agency
  11. Jessica Sinsheimer-Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency
  12. Ayesha Pande--Pande Literary
  13. Lauren Hammond-- ADA Management
  14. Sourcebooks Fire's Senior Editor, Leah Hultenschmidt
  15. Entangled Publishing's Publisher, Liz Pelletier

About Leah Hultenschmidt

Leah Hultenschmidt acquires YA fiction for the Sourcebooks Fire imprint, original single title romance for Sourcebooks Casablanca and select romance reprints for Casablanca Classics. She's looking for projects with a fresh premise, a lively pace and a solid marketing hook. YA should appeal to the older teen market with crossover adult potential. The romance can be any subgenre: contemporary, paranormal, historical, romantic suspense, fantasy, time travel, or any combination thereof. Leah will accept full manuscripts from YALITCHAT.ORG members upon request.

 

About Liz Pelletier

In addition to running the successful online writing community Savvy Authors, Liz is a paranormal and young adult author, a workshop instructor, and a freelance editor. She has also held board positions for other writing associations, and served twenty years as the editor for a broadly-circulated, weekly industry newspaper. Liz is seeking Paranormal, Fantasy, Comedy and is especially interested in YA and upper YA/New Adult.

 

Open to Tier II members only. Not Tier II member but want to become one so you can enjoy groups like Agent Mailbox and more Click HERE. Learn more about Tier 2 membership by clicking here.

 
Visit: entangled imagefire logo

 

Upcoming #YALITCHAT on Twitter--Wednesdays @ 9PM ET 

 

All chats are hosted by Georgia McBride unless noted otherwise. Follow @Georgia_McBride

 

September 7 - What makes a novel "unputdownable?" The elements of a best-selling novel and what you need to know right now in order to write one. A complete checklist to writing a bestseller!

 

September 14 - Novel about to be released? Don't panic! We've got you covered. What works and what doesn't? Find out what's best for you and YOUR book.

 

September 15 -- MEMBERS-ONLY Chat on YALITCHAT.ORG NOT TWITTER

Acquisitions Alley with Disney*Hyperion Editor, Abby Ranger and debut author of THE NEAR WITCH, Victoria Schwab! Giving away several copies of THE NEAR WITCH! Chat on YALITCHAT.ORG NOT TWITTER.

 

September 21- International Chat 3-4:30 p.m. ET. No 9PM chat.

 

September 28 - Secrets of "savvy" authors: query and submission secrets, lies, myths and little-known facts.

 

October 5 - Book Bloggers: What they do, why they do it, who they are, and why you should read their blogs and get to know them.

 

October 12 - AGENTPALOOZA Guide to literary agents. How to find them, query, etc. Agents tell what they're actively seeking, give query and publishing tips! 

 

ARE YOU HOST MATERIAL? We are seeking hosts and co-hosts for Wednesday night chats! Please email [email protected] if you are interested in volunteering! A great opportunity to meet others in the community, increase your knowledge of all things YA book related and have a great time! Also a great opp for published writers to promote their upcoming releases! You may also send your ideas and suggestions for chat topics to [email protected] with Chat Idea in the subject line.

 

For a full list of chats or archive info, click here! 

 

Follow us on Twitter

eBooks We Love!

 

  

Title: The Marked Son (Keepers of Life, #1)
Author: Shea Berkley
Genre: Young Adult
Length: Novel - 334 pages
Release Date: August 2011
ePub ISBN: 978-1-937044-00-8
Print ISBN: 978-1-937044-01-5
Publisher: Entangled Publishing 
 

 

THE  MARKED SON

Seventeen-year-old Dylan Kennedy always knew something was different about him, but until his mother abandoned him in the middle of Oregon with grandparents he's never met, he had no idea what.

 

When Dylan sees a girl in white in the woods behind his grandparents' farm, he knows he's seen her before...in his dreams. He's felt her fear. Heard her insistence that only he can save her world from an evil lord who uses magic and fear to feed his greed for power.

 

Unable to shake the unearthly pull to Kera, Dylan takes her hand. Either he's completely insane or he's about to have the adventure of his life, because where they're going is full of creatures he's only read about in horror stories. Worse, the human blood in his veins has Dylan marked for death...

 

Read an exerpt! 

Book Blog of the Month 

 book butterfly image

Introducing the Tier 2 Members-Only Group
 
This is an invitation-only group for members with an annual Tier 2 level paid membership. Members will enjoy twelve or more monthly events designed to enhance their member experience, including but not limited to events focused on Craft, Finance, Editorial Process, Acquisitions, Publishing Business, Agent Pitch Session, Live Critique Sessions, Agent Relationships, Self-Publishing, eBook Marketing and more!
  
To date, events we have planned for our Tier 2 members are as follows:
    

August 26 - Nancy Holder* & Debbie Viguie* discuss successful writing partnerships!

 

September 9 - Rosemary Brosnan*, Exectutive Editor at HarperCollins & Jennifer Castle*, author of THE BEGINNING OF AFTER discuss the acquisitions process from both sides

 

October 28 - Author Megan Crewe*: Voice in MG &YA

 

November - Linda Joy Singleton- Maximizing your relationship with Small Press

 

November 4 - Chat with HarperTeen editor, Erica Sussman* and debut author of COLD KISS, Amy Garvey.

 

January 2012 - Agent Pitch Week with the Tolcott Notch Agency's* Rachael Dugas

 

*YALITCHAT.ORG members 

  

Yes! I want to become a Tier 2 Member NOW!

 

Subscribe

IT'S NOT YA BUT WE <3 IT!!!

  

Author Tawna Fenske is a third-generation Oregonian who can peel and eat a banana with her toes (pretty impressive). Tawna Fenske has traveled a winding career path from journalist to English teacher in Venezuela to marketing geek. She's the author of the popular daily blog "Don't Pet Me, I'm Writing" and a member of Romance Writers of America. Her debut novel, Making Waves, hit shelves August 2011 as the first in a trio of quirky romantic comedies from Sourcebooks, Inc. Tawna is represented by YALITHAT.ORG agent, Michelle Wolfson of Wolfson Literary. Click here to visit Wolfson Literary online.

 

 

MAKING WAVES

Juli's lost count of the number of jobs she's held, but she definitely never applied to be a pirate. Or a stowaway on a pirate ship. But when fate lands her on boat captained by Alex-a man whose unscrupulous boss kicked him to the curb after 20 faithful years-Juli finds herself in the middle of a revenge-fueled Caribbean diamond heist with a crew more suited to the boardroom than the poop deck. Alex didn't plan to be a pirate, either. He just wants to recover his dignity, pension, and something resembling a normal life. But normal flies out the window when Juli enters the picture-a twist Alex wishes he didn't find so exhilarating. The two soon discover that while normal is nice, weird can be wonderful.

 

 

Critiquing Character, by Amber Forbes

 

As an avid reader and constant seeker of new material, I have perhaps a morbid fascination with reviews (particularly one-star reviews) on Amazon and Goodreads. Some of these reviews, while I may not agree with them, are well-written and well-argued. Most, however, seem to have been hurriedly written with little regard to who is going to read them. Perhaps the morbid part of my fascination lies in finding out which reviews actually offer anything useful. Now I don't expect reviews on these websites to be as well-written as the ones in The New York Times, but I still expect them to be informative--and most quite simply, are not.

 

I'm going to assume I'm preaching to the choir when I say I ideally would like to read reviews that can help readers make an informative decision when buying a book. It is true a review is an opinion and can offer whatever opinion the writer pleases; yet, especially as a writer, I feel writers (published or aspiring) are even more obligated to write informative reviews based on the virtue that we write what we critique. Now I'm not going to spend this entire post explaining how to write a good book review and what makes a bad one, as Michelle Kerns already does a good job of doing that. But what I am going to talk about is critiquing character in YA literature--protagonist mostly--since characters seem to be the sole reason why many reviewers rate a book poorly.

 

First, I want to establish there is nothing wrong with a reader disliking a protagonist. Admittedly, I have rarely read a book where I dislike the protagonist, but when I do, I often find at least one endearing trait about that character but do not let my overall dislike affect my judgment of the book. However, there are many reviewers who will allow this dislike of the character to consume them so much, they insult the book with a blitzkrieg approach (calling author's morals into question, cruelly insulting writing ability, etc.) that does not dissuade me from reading the book but dissuades me from ever trusting them as reviewers again. What is even worse is a lot of them are writers themselves.

 

What conceivably bothers me the most though is when people choose to tear both book and author apart for the choices their characters make. Granted authors write the choices for their characters, but I am not arguing about whether or not protagonists should be good role models in YA literature because that is an entirely different debate. What I am arguing though is that when reviewers do critique characters, better character analysis needs to be employed that does not have to be a the level of a university research paper, but should demonstrate the reviewer realizes the character is a separate entity from him/herself and the author. 

 

Read the rest of Amber's article and please offer your opinion. We'd love to hear from you! You can also "friend" Amber on YALITCHAT.ORG.

 

 

 

Publish your short fiction, poetry and blog posts in the next YALITCHAT.ORG newsletter!

If you'd like your work to be featured in an issue of the YALITCHAT.ORG newsletter, please submit articles, poems, short fiction (less than 1500 words) or blog posts for consideration to [email protected].  In your submission email, please send entire poem, article and blog piece and ONLY the first five hundred (500) words of your short fiction piece. For blogs, please link to the post online. PLEASE SUBMIT ALL MATERIALS REQUESTED BY THE  20th of the month in order to be considered for the next month's newsletter. I.E. If you'd like a piece featured in October's newsletter we need your submission by September 20th. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee every submission will be published in our newsletter, but we will email you if your piece has been selected. Thank you for allowing YALITCHAT.ORG the opportunity to read and consider your work for publication in our newsletter!            

Member Grants*

  

EDUCATION GRANT

Available for Teachers and Librarians who are also Tier 2 members of YALITCHAT.ORG. Educators join YALITCHAT.ORG's Tier 2 membership for $25/annually. Apply for a grant for use on classroom supplies, technology purchase, author visit, etc. Grants available for $50.00 per member. Five available per membership year. NB: Educators (regardless of membership level) qualify for FREE classroom supplies at beginning of each semester. Join our EDUCATORS group for more info.

 

HARDSHIP GRANT

 

Want to expand your horizons and connect with others in the industry but just don't have the funds? YALITCHAT offers TWO types of Hardship Grants and is available to individuals who desire to join YALITCHAT, SCBWI, RWA, RWAYA and other related organizations but need help doing so.  

 

 

 

YALITCHAT Membership Grant: covers the cost of a full year's membership in YALITCHAT.ORG or $30.00 per grantee. There are 5 grants available for the 2011-2011 Membership year (July-July). BALANCE AVAILABLE FOR 2011-2012 MEMBERSHIP YEAR: $150 (5 GRANTS).

 

YALITCHAT.ORG OTO Hardship Grant: covers the cost to JOIN any Other Trade Organization in disbursements of $25 per grantee. There are 4 available for the 2011-2012 membership year (July-July). You MUST be a Tier II member of YALITCHAT.ORG in order to qualify for this grant. BALANCE AVAILABLE FOR 2011-2012 MEMBERSHIP YEAR: $100 (4 GRANTS.

 

MARKETING SUPPORT GRANT

Are you a newly published author in need of marketing support materials for a new release? How about an author about to head on tour in need of giveaways and promo items? Do you need to purchase more ARCs from your publisher to get exposure for your book? Need money to get that new website off the ground? We can help. $500 USD per year available. Five grants available or $100 per person/grantee. Grants are available to Tier II members only. Membership year is from July to July. BALANCE AVAILABLE FOR 2011-2012 MEMBERSHIP YEAR: $400 (4 GRANTS).  

 

QUICK LEARNING GRANT

Up to $50 toward any learning initiative such as a webinar, online course, conference, etc. You must be already registered for said initiative and have already paid in full. Must be writing or publishing industry related. $250.00 USD year available total and $50 per grantee. BALANCE AVAILABLE FOR 2011-2012 MEMBERSHIP YEAR: $200 (4 GRANTS).

 

 

Want to learn more about grants or need an application? Please send an email to grants at yalitchat (dot) org.

 

*Available to Tier 2 Members ONLY! 

 

   

 Follow us on Twitter 

 

 

YALITCHAT.ORG is an all-volunteer organization run by sixteen writers who love what they do! In their spare time, away from family, day jobs and writing time--they work tirelessly to keep the community up and running twenty four hours a day, seven days each week. The membership dues that come in to the organization are invested directly back into the organization and spent on office supplies, member grants, donations, student memberships (student membership is FREE), member development and general maintenance or what we like to call "rent and utilities." If you share a passion for supporting fellow writers and others in children's literature, please consider volunteering. Please subscribe to YALITCHAT.ORG for only $30.00. More on membership options can be found here.

 

Questions, comments or corrections may be directed to inquiries at yalitchat.org. Send news to membership at yalitchat.org. Contact Membership Ambassador, Nicole Olea with any issues relating to membership, site usage, community, forum, etc. Published authors may contact Elle Stone, Published Member Ambassador for promotional opportunities, marketing grants, etc.

 

YALITCHAT.ORG

PO Box 1892

Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526

http://yalitchat.org

http://yalitchat.com (public site for chat schedule, transcripts, etc)

 

Amber Forbes, Newsletter Producer/Communications and Editorial Intern

Adrienne Gelbart, Content and News Coordinator

Elle Stone, Published Member Ambassador

Nicole Olea, Membership Ambassador

Jennifer Million, Senior Newsletter Producer, Associate Editor, and Secretary

C. Lee McKenzie, Grants Program Administrator

Georgia McBride, President, Executive Editor

Books and ARCs donated by: Disney*Hyperion, HarperTeen, Simon and Schuster, Simon Pulse, Balzar and Bray, Greenwillow, HarperCollins, Penguin, RandomHouse Kids and Little Brown Books for Young Readers

 

YALITCHAT Inc. 2010 -2011 all rights reserved