Remember the feeling--the deep sigh of relief when you finished the last final exam of the semester in college, or finally got that major paper printed and in the professor's box? That relief marching hand in hand with a slight sense of loss? What now?
This morning I am that girl again having just submitted my young adult story CROSS OVER to a contest called Pitch Wars. This competition was a learning experience all the way. Sponsored by author Brenda Drake {TOUCHING FATE, Oct. 2015 and THIEF OF LIES, Jan. 2016} #PitchWars is a Twitter driven roller coaster ride where hopefuls read bios and submit to up to five mentors one of whom (if the mentee is chosen) will guide the author in both the query process and in preparing the manuscript to attract agent attention in round two. So now I wait. Sept. 2 the match-ups will be announced. Then for two months the mentee and mentor, who is usually a published and agented author, work together to get ready for the agent round.
I've been at this writing business for a while. I know how to wait. After straightening up my writing desk, I'll jump back into my current work in progress and let CROSS OVER fly on its own. It's a great story and I've worked hard. CROSS OVER has already been acknowledged as a winner in a previous competition--FWA's Royal Palm Literary Awards. But even if we're not chosen for Pitch Wars this time, I've learned a great deal about my tribe--those other YA authors who cheer us on, publish valuable advice on their blogs, and most importantly, write fantastic books to inspire.
