Pitch Wars 2018 Wishlist

Greetings from Lindsey Duga and Melissa Erin Jackson!

Another Pitch Wars season is upon us and we are so thrilled to be YA mentors this year! We see this as a tremendous honor and are thankful that we’re able to partake in this amazing experience.

This little ole blog post is to introduce you to both of us, what we love (books and TV shows as well as general preferences), what we’re looking for, and what we’re not looking for this year. We hope that what you find here makes you want to choose us as your mentors. We’re excited to read all your pretty words 😊

Who We Are

Melissa: I have been writing “seriously” since my freshman year in college. Since then, I’ve completed seven full-length novels and have roughly four billion half-started ones. I was agented for a while with one of my YA fantasy novels, but we parted ways. Publishing is weird, yo! I have been freelance editing officially since 2014 (though I edited countless manuscripts for friends and critique partners before that). I have experience working with writers of all writing levels—from newbie writers who are still finding their voice, to traditionally published writers who need another set of eyes on their manuscripts before they send them off to their agents. I’ve worked on middle grade, YA, and adult, and in all genres, from memoirs to lighthearted middle grade fantasies.

Lindsey: Even though I’ve been writing for fun since I was a kid, I never considered publishing as an option until I wrote my first full-length novel in college. Man, once you find that one story to get you started, you really don’t want to stop. So while my first and second manuscripts were shelved after an exhausting stream of rejections, I kept writing and eventually sold my third novel to Entangled Teen. KISS OF THE ROYAL is my debut YA fantasy and it just came out a little over a month ago! I’ve got one manuscript out on submission, one with CPs, and another in draft mode. Altogether, I’ve written three MGs and three YAs—all in either fantasy, sci-fi, or paranormal. My strengths are worldbuilding, slow-burn romances, and high-action fight scenes.

What We’re Looking For in a Mentee

Someone who is receptive to feedback and will take our suggestions into consideration. Do you have to agree with everything we say? Nope! But if we hit a disagreement, we hope we can work with each other to find a solution that helps your manuscript but also stays true to your vision.

Often writers worry that an editor will edit their book so much that they’ll lose their voice. We’re here to help take your book and take it to the next level. No matter what we suggest or what we change, it’s still your book—and your voice. Our prospective mentee will be someone who’s willing to work hard, who’s open to feedback and constructive criticism, and who’s excited about the editing process. Ultimately, they should want to come out of this experience with a better version of the story they set out to tell—and to become a better writer, too.

What You Can Expect/Editing Style

You will go through at least three editing rounds with us. Round one will focus mostly on big picture—overall story structure, characterization, plot, etc. Round two will be to smooth out any straggling plot or character sticking points. Round three will be for line edits. This general plan might change depending on what you need and what our suggestions are, but you can expect this at a minimum.

Melissa: I love love love to ask questions while I’m editing. I warn you now that it might drive you bananas, as I’m a stickler for detail. If something strikes me as even a little shaky in terms of worldbuilding, characterization, or plot-logic, I will ask you about it. This will be balanced with “haha”s and “I love this!”s and smiley faces, because we all need those too. I’m known for being a bit blunt, but I promise you it’s only because I love your book and want to give it the best chance possible. I want you to not feel intimidated by the edit letter, but inspired to go into revisions with your sword held above your head while screaming a battle cry. (You very well might hate me during the process. I’m okay with this.)

Lindsey: Where Melissa is strong in developmental editing (really all editing…she’s a bloody genius), I’m good at pitching. All of my pitches at conferences have a 100% success rate (they always ask for more pages) and my queries and #pitmad tweets (in fact, this is what got me my book deal) have always received a positive response. With a background in marketing, I am able to get to the hook of a concept and sell it. In terms of editing…along with Melissa’s notes, I will provide loving, supportive feedback as well as a deep critique on the chemistry/relationships between characters and worldbuilding throughout each round of revisions.

What We Love

Part 1: Favorite Books & Shows

Melissa

Top Five YA Books/Series of All Time

1. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
2. Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
3. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
4. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
5. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Top Five Fantasy YA Books

1. Blood Red Road by Moira Young
2. Poison Study by Maria Snyder
3. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
4. Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
5. Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

Current Favorite TV Shows

1. The Magicians
2. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
3. Superstore
4. The Handmaid’s Tale
5. Glow

Lindsey

Top Five YA Books/Series of All Time

1. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
2. Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz
3. Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
4. Unwind series by Neal Shusterman
5. Far Far Away by Tom McNeal

Top Five Fantasy YA Books

1. The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima
2. The Novice by Taran Matharu
3. Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios
4. The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski
5. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Current Favorite TV Shows

1. Lucifer
2. The Good Place
3. Miraculous Ladybug
4. Voltron
5. Teen Wolf

Part 2: Favorite Things in Fiction

Melissa

• Best Friends: Especially in YA, I love seeing stories that feature friendship. (This friendship can totally be of the sibling variety.) I love stories where girls have each other’s backs no matter what. But this goes for guys, too! Do you have a bromance at the heart of your book? Give. It. To. Me. 
• Mystery: Since I’m also a mystery writer, I’m a sucker for a twisty plot. Is there a murder? Even better. Lindsey and I are Murderinos, so if you’ve got a serial killer or a who-dun-it in your fantasy/sci fi manuscript? I needed this in my inbox yesterday. Fantasy world + murder mystery = my holy grail.

Lindsey:

• Happy Endings: Y’all. I like Disney, fairy tales, and stuff that makes my heart grow ten sizes too big like the Grinch. I don’t mind sappy, cheesy stuff at all, in fact, bring it on. I adore sweet friendships, strong families, and loves that will surpass lifetimes.
• Siblings Kicking Butt:. I really am all about siblings working together, and just being all around funny and amazing. Think Fred and George Weasley, (or, heck, even Huey, Duey, and Louie in Duck Tales) or Sokka and Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Both of Us:

• Stellar Worldbuilding: We read to escape more than anything. If you have unique worldbuilding that makes real life fall away, we’re hooked.  Give us a world that we want to believe in and you’ll have us from page one.
• Romance Tropes: We’re down with pretty much any romance trope you can think of (enemies-to-lovers, childhood friends, arranged marriages) except instalove and love triangles. We’re trash for slow-burn romance. Trash. We definitely want a larger plot to be the center of the book, but if you can work in a slow-burn romance on the side, we’ll be all over it. (As a side note: we know romance in YA is often pretty standard, but if you have a book that has little to no romance, we’d still want to see it. It’s always refreshing to stumble on a book that doesn’t focus on romance.) Generally, we like our romances to accentuate a larger plot/story, not bug us with who’s going to get with who.

What We Want This Year

• Fantasy—All except historical fantasy…mostly because we worry how helpful we’ll be. 
• Sci-fi—We’re more into light sci-fi and space operas. We both love Firefly and the fun, futuristic world of Marissa Meyer’s The Lunar Chronicles.
• Paranormal and supernatural—We’re likely not the best fit for vamps and weres, or plot that’s focused mostly on romance, but we’re open to more spirit-driven paranormal like ghosts, demons, phantoms, and the like.
• Contemporary—Only thrillers/suspense, please! (Think This Is Our Story by Ashley Elston, One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus, and Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard.)

What We Don’t Want This Year

• Romance-focused manuscripts
• Hard/military sci-fi
• Historical
• Most contemporary
• Horror
• Dystopian/post-apoc
• Religious-focused manuscripts
• Anything outside of YA (including but not limited to New Adult, memoirs, graphic novels)

If you have a manuscript that might fit, but you’re not sure, drop a comment below and we’ll figure it out  😊

And if you have questions about anything else, don’t hesitate to ask!

We can’t wait to get started!

Melissa & Lindsey

2018 Young Adult Mentors