Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi oi oi!
We come from the Land Down Under – and we want to be your mentors. That’s right mentors; we’re a two for one team deal and when we find a pitch worth fighting for we’ll cling to it.
What can we offer you? (other than cute gifs)
(don’t worry we get U.S. English too, just love koala gifs)
Sharon
- Author (YA, NA, Adult: Speculative Fiction, Science Fiction, Contemporary)
- Editor at Lakewater Press and Elderflower Press
- Public Relations Specialist
- Pitch Madness Team Leader
- Nickname: The Query Whisperer
Stacey
- Author (YA Speculative Fiction, published by HarperCollins Australia.
- Author (NA Contemporary, indie published)
- Blog Owner and founder, Aussie Owned and Read
- Former publicist
- History major, English word nerd.
- Critique partner extraordinaire
But what can you expect from us if we wind up as your mentors.
Sharon: I am brutally honest, but not mean about it. I will point out why I love, but I will also point out any character and plot issues to make sure that your MS will be the best that it can be. I will also help you with your pitch. I will also be there for you after the contest is done.
Stacey: I have an eye for the little things like grammar and story inconsistencies. I’m honest, but kind … pointing out all the great parts of your story as well as the things I think aren’t working. I also have a tendency to talk to your characters.
With Sharon’s keen sense for sniffing out plot holes and Stacey’s eye for detail, we make the perfect team to help you create the shiniest manuscript possible.
What are we looking for?
Categories: YA and/or NA only.
Genres:
Science Fiction / Speculative Fiction
(edit: We will take HORROR)
Contemporary
Humour
Adventure
Fantasy
If your manuscript fits our list, we want to see your pitch!
You can see tweets about more specific wish lists on Sharon’s twitter feed and Pinterest Board, and Stacey’s twitter feed.
But wait….
Some things we don’t love:
- Ridiculously high word counts.
- Stories that can’t pick a genre.
- Confusing pitches.
- Weak openings.
Play Time Is Over! Let the PITCH WARS BEGIN!
See your pitches….
smjohnstondotcom.wordpress.com 
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Oh, come now. I have yet to meet an Aussie fantasy novel I didn’t fall in love with. CLEARLY I must submit to you ladies 😉
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Do you consider 160K words ridiculously high (what if I understand that I need to drop that and probably cut out a few unnecessary scenes?)
How do you feel about sci-fi vs fantasy?
For YA that is too high for me in general. YA Fantasy could be 120K, maybe.
I like both fantasy and SciFi. I like them mashed up, or separate.
This would be NA. And I expect to pare it down. Most of my books are closer to 120K, but this one was the first and was dropped and picked back up many times as I wrote the other books in the series.
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