Category Archives: Writing

Teen Tuesday: Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Donna Maloy, Author

Regional winners are being announced now. From these, a designated number of best-in-region selections will be judged nationally for American Voices/American Visions Medals. Continue reading →

Posted in Awards, Books, Contest, Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Teen Authors, Teen writers, Tips for Teen Writers, Writing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Monday Advice from Editors and Agents: Know Mako Mori and Bechdel?

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Donna Maloy, Author

Do you know Mako Mori and Bechdel? No, they’re not hot new publishing houses, or editors, or authors. They are standards/tests meant to rate the gender inclusiveness of a book or film–and some agents are starting to mention them in wish … Continue reading →

Posted in #mswl, Agents, Character, Character arcs, Character-driven action, Characters, Craft of Writing, Differentiating Characters, Differentiating Characters, POV - Point of View, Story Elements, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Teen Tuesday: 15-year-old author’s success story

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Donna Maloy, Author

Emily Trunko, a high school sophomore who studies from home, has been the subject of articles in newspapers across the world and is now under contract to write two books. My name’s Emily, and I’m 15.  —Emily She started her … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Social Media, Submission, Teen Authors, Teen writers, Tips for Teen Writers, Writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

2016 Pitch Contest Calendar

Posted on January 21, 2016 by Donna Maloy, Author

Originally posted on Am I Doing This Right?:
Okay, kids – get your Twitter pitches, 35-word pitches, queries, and first 250 words shined up and ready.  Here’s a breakdown of the pitch contests coming up in 2016. If you’re new…

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Monday Advice from Agents and Editors: A Bitter Dose of Query Stats

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Donna Maloy, Author

Sarah LaPolla is an agent with the Bradford Literary Agency.  She represents Adult, Middle Grade, and Young Adult manuscripts. Each year she tallies all the unsolicited (slush pile) queries she received and writes a post with the statistics. Many other … Continue reading →

Posted in Advice, Agents, Finding agents, Queries, Queries and Pitches, QueryTracker, Rejection, Rejections, Sarah LaPolla, Submission, Writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment