My 2021 Pitch Wars Wishlist

WHAT IS PITCH WARS?

Pitch Wars is a mentoring program where published/agented authors, editors, or industry interns choose one writer each to spend three months with revising their manuscript. It ends in February with an Agent Showcase, where agents can read a pitch/first page and can request to read more. Details about the program and information about how to submit can be found at https://pitchwars.org/

THIS YEAR I’M A YA MENTOR. YES!

WHAT I’M ACCEPTING

I’ll accept the following genres in the YA age category:

Mysteries

Thrillers

Fantasy 

Contemporary 

Retellings

STEM

Horror

  

GENRES ARE GREAT, BUT WHAT WOULD PUT A BOOK HIGH ON MY LIST?

If it’s Young Adult . . .

Give me a murder during a formal dance, a protagonist I can’t trust, an anti-hero with a soft heart, or a conspiracy at the Junior Science Championship. If it happens during high school and it’s bad, I’m interested.

If your book is dark and twisted, and not everyone makes it out alive, I might be in love with your book already.

If you’ve got a YA GONE GIRL or GIRL ON THE TRAIN, send it to me. I love psychological thrillers and want more of them for YA.

How about a light hearted and current love story? I’m not all about murders and thrillers. Sometimes, you’ve got to get the FEELS. Please punch me in the gut with great emotion.

Diverse  stories. I’m excited to discover stories from diverse narratives and am especially drawn to characters and experiences written by voices with direct experiences within these communities. Note: I won’t ask if you share your characters’ diverse narratives and will not expect you to tell me.

Have problems with faeries sabotaging the Homecoming game or demons using the school cafeteria as a portal? I’d be interested in that.

Since I was awkward and forgotten growing up, send me your story about a character left behind who makes the best of things in a comedic way. We can relate.

Supernatural characters or abilities. Check.

Complex relationships. Always.

Romantic plots (and subplots) involving any and all representation. Of course.

Retellings done in a unique and different way. YES!

Give me all the tropes. I’m not picky. When written well, I love them all!

Twists. If you set up a twist right, and I mean perfectly (a little foreshadowing, the right mix of confusion, and a satisfying shock that makes me drop my iPad because I should have seen it coming), I’ll be your fan forever.

STEM Girls. They’re going to save the world, did you know? Well, they are, and their stories are fantastic. If you’ve got a book about one, send it to me. (PS-my Pitch Wars book was about a chemistry genius who might—or might not—have used those skills to poison her best friend.)

  

PLEASE DON’T SEND ME

Discrimination or bigotry exhibited by the POV character, or any that goes unchecked.

Sexual assault or rape on the page.

Abuse or deliberate death of domestic animals.

  

SEVERAL BOOKS I’VE ENJOYED

While this isn’t a complete list, perhaps these books relate well with your project? Maybe they could serve as possible comp titles. If you’ve read and enjoyed books like these, we’ve got similar tastes.

A Good Girls Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

Alex Approximately by Jenn Bennett

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Bad Girls with Perfect Faces by Lynn Weingarten

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Heartwood Box by Ann Aguirre

Little Monsters by Kara Thomas

Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed

Sadie by Courtney Summers

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

The Cousins by Karen McManus

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe

The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The River Has Teeth by Erica Waters

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

Under the Dome by Stephen King

 

QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT I’D LOVE OR WON’T LOVE?

 Feel free to ask me about my preferences. I’m on twitter and Instagram. @JamieMcHenry

Here are a few questions and my answers: 

• Will I accept Horror? YES. YA Horror is definitely welcome. 
• Will I accept Sci-Fi? It depends. Anything taking place in space is a no for me. 
• Will I accept High Fantasy? Yes. High Fantasy is welcome. 
• What are my thoughts about prologues? I enjoy them if they're short and introduce the story well. If the prologue in a book is longer than 3 pages, I'll skip it and start on chapter 1. 
• Will I accept multiple POV's? Yes. Multiple POV's are great. Make sure the voice for each POV is distinct. 

  

WHAT AM I LOOKING FOR IN A MENTEE?

Delightful commitment to their story and the process. That sounds simple and since everyone who enters Pitch Wars has written a book, it seems obvious that they’re committed to it. But here’s the thing: Pitch Wars is hard work—there are physical demands and there are emotional demands. The process of getting a book ready for the showcase takes time, effort, and (maybe) a few tears. I’m looking for a mentee who is excited and determined to make their story better. A positive attitude will be crucial.

  

MY MENTORING STYLE

Since I’ve been a Pitch Wars Mentee before, I’ve got a pretty good understanding about what future mentees are about to experience. For me, Pitch Wars was a roller coaster ride of emotions. I anticipate this year’s mentees to go through something similar. My role as a mentor is to help my mentee navigate and enjoy every part of Pitch Wars.

I’ll be honest but never brutal. If you’re chosen as my mentee, understand that I’m going to do what I can to help you make your book the best it can be while also having fun. I know, I know—I didn’t put cool gifs on this post or fun, exciting memes. I seem kind of boring and dry on the page. Fear not, future mentee, I’m everything but boring and dry. When we’re working, I’ll share what I feel needs to be fixed, based on my experience, and give details about why. And I’ll always be kind about my feedback. My personal belief is that writing is a journey and this is one exciting part of that. Enjoy the moment. I don’t have all the answers, but I can find them. If I choose your book, I know I can help it.

This is your project and I respect that. If there’s something I’ve recommended that you don’t want to change, so be it. You won’t have to explain why to me, either. I’ve worked on revisions with editors and agents and have held my ground before so I know what that’s like.

Depending on how much work will be necessary, getting your book ready for the showcase can feel daunting. I’ll be here to inspire you and keep you moving forward. If you’ve never done revisions with a deadline before, we’ll work together and establish some benchmarks to fit your schedule. Know, however, that it will be hard work. Sometimes you’ll need to put in the hours and sometimes you’ll want to step away to refocus—with both, I’ll help you hit your goals.

Whatever type of communication you’re comfortable using, we’ll make it happen. Because of my job, I’m usually connected at most times of the day/night. Whether Zoom calls, DM’s, email, chat, or whatever, you’ll be able to reach me. Got a question about a midnight epiphany, I can respond quickly.

  

A BIT ABOUT ME

Hi, I’m Jamie. Always have been. In 2017, I was a Pitch Wars mentee and my book, I KILLED BRENDA MORRIS, helped me connect with my agent during that year’s agent showcase. I wrote that book for fun after taking a class about unreliable narrators and discovered my writing voice through the project. While that book is still looking for a home, which is fine, I keep busy by writing new things, learning new skills, and helping other authors.

YA mysteries and thrillers are my current love, though I’ve been known to pen some speculative words now and then. I also wrote some light fantasy, once upon a time. My most recent revision project is a mystery involving a high school bus trip in the desert, a violent thunderstorm, and a dead body. My current WIP has witches and warlocks.

I’m a character driven writer and enjoy writing deep POV. Long ago, I learned that pouring my emotions onto the page makes me feel better. So that’s what I do. When my characters make you laugh, that's me on the page. When they make you cry, know that I was crying first.

  

WHAT ABOUT NON-WRITING STUFF?

Animals have my heart. Give me a choice between a room full of people and a room full of pets and I’ll choose the pets every time. And I might not ever leave the room.

Simplicity is my jam. I enjoy spending time with my kids and my dogs, listening to vinyl records, exploring the outdoors, stargazing, watching movies, reading, testing new recipes, and writing. I work hard at balancing my time because I believe that it’s possible to burn out on all things.

I speak French so I guess that’s interesting. I lived in France for a couple years and got pretty good at the language. Okay, I was fluent at the time. Un peu. Sadly, though, my skill has dropped off due to lack of practice.

During the day, I work as a Retail IT Manager for a fashion and jewelry catalog. This company is great and everyone there has supported my writing since I started there. Several years ago, they let me start a library in their call center so that the employees have books to read when they’re not busy. A couple of my old, self-published books are there (of course!) and it’s fun to wander over and see folks reading my stuff. A couple of my books were actually 100% written while at work.

Lastly, I’m just a nice guy trying to enjoy this writing journey. I’m not loud about much and will shy away from confrontation most of the time. (Although, if I love your Pitch Wars entry, I will fight for it. Know that.) I try to do the right thing as often as I can, but I’m also mischievous so I’ll sometimes play a prank or two.

  

FINAL THOUGHTS AND OTHER RESOURCES

Still have questions? Find me @JamieMcHenry on Twitter or Instagram. Reach out any time.

Are you still reading this? Wow, good on you! Here’s some bonus material:

My Pitch Wars entry from 2017. You can tell a lot about a person from the way they write. I think this says a lot about me:

https://pitchwars.org/pw-348-young-adult-contemporary-mystery-i-killed-brenda-morris/

I wanted to make this list accessible for everyone, so that’s the reason it’s text only. If you’d like a visual idea of who I am and my tastes, you can find a handful of helpful boards on Pinterest. I've even created a visual wishlist there:

https://www.pinterest.com/jamiemchenry/_saved/

The other YA Mentors’ wish lists are below

Pitch Wars Advice Blog Hop

So you’ve entered Pitch Wars?

And now you’re waiting.

Hold on tight and get ready for the ride of your life.

I write this with a mischievous smirk because I know what the waiting is like. The anxiety, the pacing, the sweaty palms, the restless nights, the double portions of ice cream, the worry that you misspelled the last name of your main character. All these feelings are agonizing and real. And they’re okay, everything will work out okay.

So a bit of backstory here. I first entered Pitch Wars in 2016. I had a shiny manuscript, polished and ready to take on the world. This book had been through beta readers and even a couple of professional edits. I’d self-published a few books years prior so I knew what I was doing. I was good at this writing thing, I was confident. I, I, I. Me, me, me. Not chosen, not chosen, not chosen. That’s right. I didn’t get into Pitch Wars in 2016 and I felt every emotion the day of the announcement. I might have even cried, though you didn’t read that on this blog. This many years later, I can admit that I thought about giving up writing that day. But I didn’t. Which is why I’m here. Stay tuned and I’ll explain.

In 2017, the Pitch Wars chatter started up again on my Twitter feed. People I followed were excited to enter, they were polishing their manuscripts and preparing for the grand entry. Excited future applicants were posting their queries and pitches and first pages on the forum. There were a lot of fantastic posts and the eagerness was palpable. I wanted to be a part of that, I wanted to fit in. Writing can be lonely and this was my chance to be a part of something special, although I felt especially secluded that year because I didn’t have a finished manuscript and was spending all of my time writing and revising, rather than joining in on all of the fun. So I posted when I could and kept working hard.

Then I did it, submitted my entry and waited.

And waited.

Waiting is the hardest part.

Yeah, I agree.

Because this is a big deal, we want to think that having perfection on the page is the key to getting chosen by a mentor. Our careers depend on it, our lifestyles want it. No agent or editor will touch my book if I don’t get chosen. Pitch Wars is life!

Yeah, no. Sorry to disappoint, but life will go on if you’re not chosen for Pitch Wars. It will.

Remember how I wasn’t chosen in 2016? I didn’t give up like I wanted to. I told myself that the book was the problem, not me. I want you to remember that because it’s so true. I’ll repeat it. The book was the problem, not me. When I found out I wasn’t chosen as a mentee is 2016, I immediately started on another manuscript I called SARAH’S BREATH. It was like therapy to me. This book was everything my Pitch Wars entry wasn’t and it helped me escape the doldrums of what I considered failure at the time. I dabbled with it, plotted some chapters, wrote some more, and then got bored and let it sit on a shelf. This wasn’t the book I needed to write. But my Pitch Wars entry from 2016? What if I fixed it and revised it some more, changed the main characters favorite color, moved around some scenes, alternated POV’s, added less supernatural? That would fix it, right? No, none of those things. Remember what I mentioned about the book?

So, you’re wondering what to do, right?

You’ve submitted your entry and want to occupy your mind.

Good news! This is a rare opportunity to feed your creativity. Don’t touch that manuscript you submitted, don’t you dare. It’s fine where it is. Go do something else. Read, watch a movie, go outside and re-introduce yourself to your loved ones. Find that spark that keeps you writing because if you are chosen as a mentee, all that time is going to disappear. Know that. Expect that.

The time waiting should not be spent second guessing every word you submitted because those specific words don’t matter.

What? Yes they do, every word matters. You might be worried that if you misspelled your main character’s last name on page six, you’ll never get chosen. Believe that if you want, but it isn’t true. Mentors will fall in love with your story first and then decide if they can help it. A wrong word here or there, a misspelling? Those are tiny details that won’t matter at this point of the process. What matters is that your story is well conceived, well written, and well received.

That’s right, well received. Take a moment now and think about your favorite song. What’s the title? Who wrote it? Who’s the artist? What album is it on? Can you sing it on demand? Will people throw books at you if you sing it on demand? Now answer this question: is that same song everyone’s favorite song? Why not?

Art is subjective and because of that, not everyone is going to love your creation as much as you do. It’s not your fault and it isn’t theirs. Think about that favorite song again and imagine that you were given a list of 150 songs to choose from, including that one, and were allowed to pick only one as your favorite again. Would you pick the same song? Would that make the other 149 songs bad? It’s not a rhetorical question. The answer is no.

Chances are, you chose a particular song as your favorite because of some sort of connection you’ve made with a part of the song, its tone, the lyric, the artist, and the album, whatever. That process of choice is going to be the same for the Pitch Wars mentors. Right now as you’re reading this, they are agonizing over many great manuscripts and trying to decide which one will become this year’s choice for them. They can only pick one.

It could be your book.

I believe that hope and a positive attitude are powerful. Despite not having any sort of control over the fate of your Pitch Wars entry, believe that you have 100% control over the fortune of your writing. The same creative habits that helped you finish a manuscript and edit it will be useful as you venture into the querying world. Chosen for the contest or not, you’re going to need a catchy pitch, a well-written query, a professional synopsis, and a polished manuscript. That’s what agents and editors will be looking for, and that’s what we’ll all need to prepare.

Get ready to work hard.

If you’re chosen as a mentee, please have your schedules clear for many writing/editing sessions in the coming months. Some of you might re-write your book, others might change the POV, and still others might cut/add significant portions of your manuscript. That takes time and willingness to adapt. The mentors aren’t going to do the work for you which means all this time you’ve been preparing to send work to them was good practice for the much harder work ahead. While I didn’t keep track of all my time spent, I remember spending at least 20 hours one weekend finalizing edits. Most of that was one scene. ONE SCENE! I sometimes shiver with dread thinking back on it. That was a lot of work.

There’s a community of support.

You’ve heard it plenty and I’m going to add to the chorus of voices that cry out “Pitch Wars is about the relationships you build.” Because it’s true. If you accept it, there’s a large family of writers ready to support and guide you along this publishing journey. They will cry with you, cheer you on, praise the pictures of your pets, beta read, offer feedback, brainstorm ideas with you, help with pitches, send you encouragement, and so much more. Those who embrace the community find that the value of the contest is gauged by their willingness to become a writing partner and friend. Everything else becomes secondary. Chosen for the contest or not, friends will still be there. Relationships will still exist.

Praise and Progression.

Admittedly, my expectations were low after rejection in 2016 which meant that finding my name on the mentee list in 2017 was a surprise. I was shocked at how much my mentor, Destiny, loved my book. Her vision for the story was exactly what I had planned to do but had been afraid to put on my submitted version. Her edit letter, which was 10 pages, made me giggle because I was excited to discover that someone fell in love with my project and was willing to help me improve it. That was a fantastic feeling. In fact, it still feels great.

That said, be ready to find out that your book isn’t perfect. You might get some tough love and it could hurt a bit. Be ready for that. Remember that your potential chosen mentor is going to be in love with your book and it’s their job to help you improve it. I learned long ago to wait a day before responding to an edit letter. Your emotions are tied into the book, it’s your baby. How dare someone claim it needs fixing. Let your emotions simmer for a bit after you get your edit letter, then think about the changes and how you can best implement them. Talk to your mentor and establish a relationship built on trust. If you fire back a hastily written response, you might come across as combative and difficult, which might not be your intention.

Enjoy the journey.

During the agent round in 2017, I was a bundle of nerves wound so tight that the slightest of things set me off. That year, we were able to see comments on everyone’s posts and the initial reaction to mine was nothing but silence. Take the feelings while waiting to see if you’re chosen as a mentee and multiply that by 100 and that’s what the agent round could be like if you don’t take a step back and enjoy the fact that you succeeded. Regardless of how agents react to your book, you’ve accomplished something great and there’s a future for you. Because of market trends and editor requests, demand might be high for certain books over others. It’s not about the authors or the mentors, but rather the market that’s building an expectation for certain subjects and genres. Don’t let that stress you out. It’s out of your control.

Who are you again?

It’s been two years since my Pitch Wars experience and you might be wondering where my book is, or who I am. I'm Jamie, a writer. My Pitch Wars book is alive and well, looking for a home. All these feelings, all the emotions of waiting to see if someone likes your work is still happening, only there’s some finality with every response. I’m happy to have an agent who manages the business part of things because that means I get to keep my mind on writing, which is what I’m good at. Recently, my agent and I had a long conversation about my current projects (there are 6 of them). We ranked them in order of potential value. Third on the list is SARAH’S BREATH, that book that I started way back on the day after not getting selected for Pitch Wars 2016. Sometimes it feels good to receive validation and hearing my agent tell me that she loved the concept of that story made me realize that I had made the correct choice back then, that writing is my journey.

Rejection can be hard, but the way we push on determines our future success.

I believe that. I live it. Oh, if I had more time to share stories—I could go on forever. Anyway, here’s My 2017 Pitch Wars Entry from the Agent Showcase. It always makes me smile.

Happy Reading.

~ Jamie

To The Future (a.k.a. How I Got My Agent)

So…I have an agent. (Insert insanely over-the-top cheering and celebration here.) How’s that for a beginning?

I know, right? Crazy. The past few months have been such a whirlwind that everything seems like some sort of fantastic dream. I honestly cannot believe this has happened. But it has. And here’s the story:

It started with Pitch Wars. Once I was accepted into the contest, my mentor (the fabulous Destiny Cole) and I went to work on my entry. There was a lot of back and forth and a ton of revision, more than I had anticipated. I knew the book needed help, but was surprised at how much character motivation and specific details it was lacking. Destiny pointed out the needs, made some suggestions, and gave me plenty to get the book polished and done. I wrote a lot then, some weekends spending almost 20 hours on my laptop to get it ready. The work was hard, but the final result was amazing.

Then came the agent round. If you are considering entering Pitch Wars, prepare your emotions for the fact that, if you get chosen, you will be on an intense roller coaster ride of feelings. I’m not kidding here. I stopped sleeping once my pitch went live and it has taken me about a month since to calm down. All the fears that I’d experienced prior to entering Pitch Wars were amplified 100 times while I waited to see what agents would think of my project. I knew the book was polished and in great shape, but getting only 300 words to ‘pitch’ that to an agent was agonizing. It was torture. I kept checking the site to see if anyone would post a reply to my submission and ask to see the manuscript.

And I waited.

Other entries started receiving interest. And more interest. And more. I kept staring at my page wondering what I had done wrong and if this had been some sort of massive mistake. Was the title a problem? The pitch? The page? I had no idea why agents where passing on my work—and that hurt the most. Then the first request came in and I breathed an enormous sigh of relief. More requests came in, and more. The roller coaster ride was taking another turn and it was incredibly exhilarating, a thrill I never imagined. Such a rush of love for my little book.

The rules of the contest directed everyone to wait a week before sending materials to agents. This allowed for everyone to read the entries and give them a chance at so many great manuscripts. And that’s another thing about Pitch Wars that I didn’t realize before entering. Everyone in the contest is super supportive and wonderful. You get to know all the mentees and realize how everybody is traveling on this journey together. You want others to do well. You love their books and you get this overwhelming sensation of imposter syndrome because people are fantastically gifted. I felt that way and as excited as I was to send off my work to agents, I wondered how they would possibly accept my book over another. It’s like choosing a flavor of ice-cream when everything presented is your favorite. I was one of many.

There was a lot of back and forth between me and Destiny the day I sent my requested material. One point of concern was my query letter. I’d spent so much time on the manuscript that the query needed help. Destiny was a champ and gave me the advice I needed to improve the letter. That night, I fired off a dozen emails and (again) didn’t sleep a wink. (I told you it was a wild ride!)

I thought life was grand as auto replies and small notes from agents reached my inbox. Some loved the title and had requested based on that. Others loved the comps. A few enjoyed the voice. I was living the dream and I was unprepared for the next step. Arriving home from my day job less than 24 hours after sending off my material, I received an email from an agent asking if they could call. OM Freakin’ G. I ran into the house and fired off an email. Sure, I said. I’m available. I was so excited that I forgot to send her my phone number. I had to reply again when she asked.

I knew a little bit about agent calls and mentees in the Pitch Wars group had shared a list of questions to ask, but I’d never studied them. I didn’t actually think I’d get to that point. I wanted to, I hoped to, but I was also realistic. I didn’t want to anticipate something happening and have it never transpire. And I certainly didn’t expect to hear from an agent so soon.

We spoke for over an hour, talking about the book, asking questions, and getting to know each other. Stacey was wonderfully kind and professional. I took notes during the call which is something I recommend since everything was such a blur that night. There’s protocol with an agent offer and having manuscripts out to other agents, something I won’t get into here, but let me say that the two-week wait was agonizing and frantic. (Roller coaster—remember?) I was so relieved when I could finally sign the agreement and call Stacey Donaghy my agent. That’s right, I’m now represented by Stacey Donagy of DonaghyLiterary Group. And she’s awesome!

So now the real work begins and it’s exciting. I’ve started writing another YA Mystery—of course—and we’ll see what the future brings. Until then,

Happy Reading!

~ Jamie

Pitch Wars

While working full-steam ahead on my fantastic new project about a guy haunted by his ex-girlfriend, I had another book idea pop into my head. I shouldn't use the word pop. It exploded! The idea hit me with so much force that I had to begin right away. And I did. That day, I outlined the book and wrote the first chapter and the last chapter. The date was May 31, 2017.

And the book was enjoyable to write. I loved the characters and the story—and the twists. This was the type of book I’d been looking to read, so the words flowed and the story got better and better.

Then I remembered a contest I had entered last year. Pitch Wars. In the contest, you submit a query letter and the first chapter of your manuscript to four mentors who then pick a lucky winner from all their submissions and help get that manuscript shiny and magnificent. I didn’t get in to the contest last year. (Between you and me, not getting in motivated me like crazy. I started writing a new story the day the winners were announced and then rewrote the manuscript I entered in the months following the contest. The re-write is awesome and I’m certain it’ll draw interest once I start querying it.)

Now I’m rambling. So I remembered this contest and I didn’t want to enter the same novel as last year. I thought, perhaps, that I might get this book done in time to enter. And that’s what I did. I wrote non-stop to get the first draft done and managed to get some edits complete before the submission date arrived for the contest. Yay. At least I had an entry.

After failing last year, I learned how subjective contests can be, so I didn’t have high expectations for this book. While I loved the story, I wasn’t sure how other people would react. The book was dark at times, and twisted, and also contemporary. I had never written a Contemporary YA before. Would I pull of an authentic voice? Would people think I needed therapy? Would people scream at my title and ban me from the contest? These were real questions stirring in my mind as I researched authors participating in the contest as mentors.

I eventually made my choices and submitted my book, I KILLED BRENDA MORRIS, to Pitch Wars.

Fast forward to today.

I made it into the contest and I couldn't be happier. Destiny Cole took a chance on me and accepted me as her mentee. To say that I was shocked to get chosen is a huge understatement. I get emotional thinking about it. This contest was what I needed and it’s making me better every day. Destiny is a fantastic mentor and I’m lucky to have her cheering me on and helping mold this book into something that will surprise and delight a lot of readers. 

Pitch Wars is wonderful. If you entered and didn’t make it in to the contest, keep writing. Keep imagining. Keep entering. If you are a mentor, thank you for giving up your time to help people like me get better. If you are a mentee, hello again. I love our community of support.

Writing is an art, a skill that can be developed. We’re all improving and learning, and putting our dreams onto pages together. And that’s what I love about it.

Jamie