Monday, January 30, 2012

A Call for Crit Material

So, while I’m waiting for the idea of the century to strike-me-famous, and for some feedback from a couple betas before I finish revisions for ‘the agent’, I’ve got some creative energy to kill.

So I thought I’d make a call for crit material.  If anybody has a manuscript they’re sprucing up before submitting to agencies or publishing houses, I’d be happy to take a look.  My preferred genres are: Historical, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Supernatural, Chick lit, some Dystopian and anything that combines any or all of the above!

Feel free to post your pitches here if you’re interested in an extra pair of eyes for your MS.  I’ll be honest- the manuscripts I pick will probably have more to do with my mood than the quality of your pitches, so no worries- I am not an agent! You’re not being judged! Just give me straight-up what your current wip is about and take as many words as you want!

I’ll only be able to take on two or three for right now but I’ll be sure to come back to this post whenever I’m looking for material to critique in the weeks to come!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

*CQG*

30 comments:

Miranda Hardy said...

Wow, Katie, what a great offer. My current MS isn't quite ready now though.

Dianne K. Salerni said...

Good for you!
I don't have anything for you right now, but I know much doing a little beta reading can be good for perspective and reflection when you're in between projects.

(I think I like reading beta projects better than published novels ...)

Anne Gallagher said...

How do you feel about Regencies? I've got a couple of chapters on a short story you could read if you felt like it.

Tonja said...

Wow, that's incredibly generous of you.

S.A. Larsenッ said...

Fabulous idea, sweetie! I'd be game with my YA PR, but I can email you with what I'm looking for. Willing to reciprocate. :) Chat soon.

Natalie Aguirre said...

So generous of you Katie. Mines already on a beta read so I'll let someone else take advantage of your kind offer.

Natalie Aguirre said...

So generous of you Katie. Mines already on a beta read so I'll let someone else take advantage of your kind offer.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Just started my next book, so nothing to critique right now.

Old Kitty said...

You are so wonderful to offer to do this!! Yay!!!

I wish I had some creative energy!! LOL!! Or just some energy! time for chocolate! Take
care
x

Matthew MacNish said...

You're welcome to read mine, Katie, but it's still rather long, and I've already got a few others reading it.

vic caswell said...

argh! and i have nothing to the stage of being ready!
ooph!

Nicole Zoltack said...

What a great offer!

I have a paranormal YA novel called Crystal's Magic.

God answers nearly all of fifteen-year-old Crystal’s prayers, but her relation with Him is tested when she finds a note for her dead mother and learns her birth wasn’t natural. Her mother had sought out the help of witches to conceive a child. Crystal tracks down the witches who tell her that she is the human incarnation of magic and that she had been the one to answer her prayers, not God.

As Crystal struggles to learn who she is and what she can become, she is thrust into the middle of a centuries old war between witches and shaman. If Crystal can’t learn to control herself, and her magic, she just might start the Apocalypse and doom the entire world.

Carolyn Abiad said...

Thanks for offering! I need some time to finish up what I'm working on. Yeah...this MS is definitely half-baked right now. ;)

Shannon O'Donnell said...

That is such a sweet offer, Katie! I'm thrilled for whoever ends up getting your feedback. :-)

Anonymous said...

I still haven't been able to find a crit partner or beta reader, in spite of a few false starts. Perhaps because historical fiction isn't one of the most popular genres at the moment, and because my non-YA historicals are deliberately saga length instead of all of 300 pages.

The first of my Russian novels is going through hopefully the final bits of editing, revising, and rewriting. (It was finished in 2001, but I didn't have access to it for many years since it was on obsolete file formats on hard disks. Once all the files were converted and reformatted, I realized the original sections of the earliest chapters needed a lot of work, and that bits and pieces here and there also needed some editing.) Thank God, the completed sequel won't need nearly so much intense editing and revising!

This is the longest version of my pitch:

Lyuba Zhukova, Ivan Konev, and Boris Malenkov have been best friends since childhood, and both men are in love with her. Lyuba has always pretended she prefers Boris, though her heart belongs to Ivan. None of them can imagine their friendship will be put to the test after the Bolshevik takeover of their homeland, when they’re thrust into a precarious existence and a whole new side of Boris’s personality comes out. Lyuba realizes Ivan is the one who really loved her for the right reasons all along, but it’s going to be a long, uphill battle before they can live happily ever after as husband and wife. First they’re going to have to survive obstacles including the tumult of the Civil War, Lyuba’s relationship with Boris that results in an illegitimate child, Lyuba’s work in a brothel, their race to get to America one step ahead of the authorities hunting for Ivan after he becomes a wanted criminal, the harsh realities of immigrant life in Manhattan, and most of all Lyuba’s fear of being with a nice guy.

Slamdunk said...

Nice of you CQG. Ha, I hope you don't regret doing this and get swamped with work. Someone will sure benefit though...

Colene Murphy said...

OH NO! I would totally jump all over this if it was ready! You're so sweet for doing that, though!

Hope Roberson said...

Wow, you're awesome!

This is my one line pitch:

When Eri develops an internal link to the man-eating beasts plaguing the planet, she must learn how to control the Calling and gain the necessary skills to fight, or she’ll end up dead.

It's ya post apocalyptic (I'm struggling a bit to figure the exact thing to label it).

Tamara Narayan said...

I'm working on a historical fiction piece, but it's not done yet. I do need to find some betas though.

Tasha Seegmiller said...

You are very kind. Mine isn't at critique phase yet though - but well on it's way. Hope you have some fun reading in your future!

Angela Brown said...

Your offer is so wonderful. I wish mine were ready but I have to get to the end of the first draft again then start taking the steps toward getting that baby ready for more.

LTM said...

You rule. I love having friends read my books and tell me what they think. But I don't think I need a critique as much as some of these guys. :o)

Still, if you want to read a YA historical set in NOLA... *wink*wink* LOL! <3

Alleged Author said...

How lovely of you to do this! :)

Dawn Ius said...

Awesome way to kill off some time! Looks like you've got lots of people who'd love you to crit for them. If you're still looking, I've got a paranormal I'd like some feedback on. dawnmius@gmail.com xo

Ryan said...

She is the personification of evil. So evil that she will wipe out entire species off the planet for financial gain. The only problem is she hired my boss to be her bodyguard. That leaves me, a pimply little assistant, as one of two people between her and a hoard of people determined to kill her. The life expectancy of her bodyguards just crashed and burned.

Her plan to wipe out entire species of non-humans is discovered making it time to take this job and shove it. How do you tell the most evil woman on the planet you quit and live?

Life goes from protecting the Mistress of Evil to doing everything in a little assistant’s power to stop her. That involves watching the death of every single demon and vampire of the earth. Fighting all sorts of mythological creatures and teaming up with a Yeti and a Fairy to stop this evil from taking over the world.

Bodyguarding Evil is a 55,000-word young adult novel trying to bring the enjoyment of supernatural creatures and adventure. – Ryan Burt

Ryan said...

She is the personification of evil. So evil that she will wipe out entire species off the planet for financial gain. The only problem is she hired my boss to be her bodyguard. That leaves me, a pimply little assistant, as one of two people between her and a hoard of people determined to kill her. The life expectancy of her bodyguards just crashed and burned.

Her plan to wipe out entire species of non-humans is discovered making it time to take this job and shove it. How do you tell the most evil woman on the planet you quit and live?

Life goes from protecting the Mistress of Evil to doing everything in a little assistant’s power to stop her. That involves watching the death of every single demon and vampire of the earth. Fighting all sorts of mythological creatures and teaming up with a Yeti and a Fairy to stop this evil from taking over the world.

Bodyguarding Evil is a 55,000-word young adult novel trying to bring the enjoyment of supernatural creatures and adventure. – Ryan Burt

Jade Hart said...

Wow, I would love to send you my MS but I'm still a few chapters away from being done. Perhaps in a few weeks :)
BTW, I've left an award for you on my blog: dreamwritepublish.blogspot. Just to say thanks and hi! :)
Come and claim it :)

Kelly Polark said...

That's so kind of you!
I'm currently working (slowly) on a picture book. I've been writing middle grade for a few years and can't seem to switch gears. I started writing pbs! ARgh!

Yay to those that get your help!!

Nancy Thompson said...

How very generous of you! Someone's going to be very lucky. I only wish my genre, adult psychological thriller, made your list. Happy reading!!

Sophia Chang said...

What a crazy offer - you rock! I too am still finishing my rewrite, but if you're still bored in a week or two (cha!) please let us know!

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