Monday, August 8, 2011

The Hook for Your Book Contest


My BFF, Lisa L. Regan, was approached last week by former journalist and fellow blogger, Melodie Wright over at Forever Rewrighting to give an interview for her How I Snagged My Agent feature. She was quite flattered and readily agreed because she thinks her feature is a great idea. You should check out the last interview with YA author, Becky Wallace. Her blog has a lot of great stuff on it so check it out!

Together with the interview, they are going to be having a Hook for Your Book contest which will be judged by Lisa’s agent, Jeanie Pantelakis of Sullivan Maxx Literary Agency.

So here are the particulars:

To Enter:

You must be a follower of
 Lisa’s blog and provide a link to either a tweet or a blog post spreading the word about this contest.

You must have a completed novel. Your novel MUST be finished to enter this contest.

Write a 50 word paragraph that is the hook for your book. Basically pitch your book in fifty words.

Post your 50 word pitch in the comments section of
Lisa’s blog with a TITLE and your contact info before August 22nd.

If I were going to enter (alas, for obvious reasons, I cannot), mine would look like this:

The Mistaken

Vengeance tastes sweet when Skylar Karras pledges his wife's killer to sex-traffickers in the Russian Mafia.  In exchange for the woman, they’ll let his brother leave the business for good.  But when Sky mistakenly targets the wrong woman, he’s forced to protect them all from the very enemy he's unleashed.

Nancy S. Thompson
Email:  acadia1997@msn.com

Jeanie will choose three finalists. They will be announced on both
Lisa’s and Melodies’s blogs on August 29, 2011.

The finalists will send her a synopsis of their book as well as their full manuscript. From those three finalists, Jeanie will choose one manuscript and that manuscript will get a full read and a possible contract with Sullivan Maxx.

Please spread the word. This is a great opportunity for writers looking for an agent. You’ve got till August 22nd. If you have any questions please post them in Lisa’s comments or email her directly at duchessmalfi@hotmail.com.

Oh and Lisa’s interview will be up on Melodie’s blog on August 12, 2011.




And one last thing:  If you need cheering up in light of the downgrading of the US government’s AAA credit rating and subsequent slide of the stock market, please venture over to Penwasser Place.  He’ll get you rolling on the floor with laughter.  


21 comments:

Lisa Regan said...

Nancy: Thanks for spreading the word!

Nancy Thompson said...

I've always got your back!

Laila Knight said...

Argh...I'm terrible at hooks. This sounds like an amazing opportunity for any writer. Lisa, how terrific for you to be approached. Nancy, why aren't you doing it?..not quite so obvious to me. :)

Unknown said...

I love your pitch. :) I agree with Laila--why can't you play?

Nancy Thompson said...

Ah, well, I likely will post my pitch with the disclaimer that I can't participate in the grand prize.

But to answer your question, I burned that bridge a looooooong time ago, waaaaay before my manuscript was truly ready.

Of course, being the wonderful BBF that she is, Lisa asked Jeanie if I could pitch to her and she said yes, and she even requested my full manuscript. But as i said, it wasn't near ready.

I only wish I could do it all over again. I am a cautionary tale of newbie mistakes, my friends. Boy, I could write a book! Hmmm...

Nancy Thompson said...

Oh, and Robin, thanks again for your help!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I'm already 'hooked' but I'm sure there are a lot of writers who will participate.

M Pax said...

Sounds like a great contest. Tweeted it. :)

Jennifer Hillier said...

This is a great idea for a contest! I'm going to tweet about it now...

Unknown said...

Wow Nancy, how sweet are you for sharing the love of this contest!! I'm definitely hoping over to check out... if they cover my genre count me in!!!

Luanne G. Smith said...

I wish I could participate, but I don't write mystery or thriller. Great opportunity for someone.

Jeff King said...

Yes, what an amazing opportunity, unfortunately my manuscript need some work so I must pass.
But what a wonderful chance for someone out there… I wish you all the best of luck!

Alleged Author said...

Sounds like a great contest. Your fifty words are phenomenal!

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

I should enter. And I would if I weren't so lazy. No, that's not true. I promised myself I wouldn't do anything but read most 2 weeks and my 2 weeks isn't up until the 16th. I'm actually thinking I should extend it for another week. The first week went by too fast. I did do 2 book reviews though, so that's good.

I really shouldn't enter. Okay, maybe I'll take a peek tomorrow. But... I shouldn't.

Carrie Butler said...

Not my genre, but I wish everyone else the best of luck!

How nice of you to share this, Nancy! :)

Al Penwasser said...

I'll be getting right on this. You may be surprised (or maybe not), but I've written a book entitled "Shag Carpet Toilet" (I know. Book titles aren't supposed to have quotes). Sounds like a fun contest.
By the way, thanks for the shout-out. When faced with our own credit problems, the Penwasser family voted to raise our debt ceiling. Voila! Problem solved. Now, who wants to go out for steak?

Al Penwasser said...

I just read that the contest is for mysteries and thrillers. While those are my favorites genres (surprisingly, humor is not), my book is definitely something like you'd see at Penwasser Place. So, alas, I shall continue to churn out hideous little bon mots on Blogger.
But, just think of the cool people I meet.

Nicole Pyles said...

Hello hello! I just awarded you the versatile blogger award! Go to my blog to figure out how to accept it!

Nancy Thompson said...

Alex - Thanks for stopping even though you are already a big name, super-popular, famous, published author!

MPax & Jenny - Thanks for tweeting and spreading the love!

Jen - Well? Are you in?

LG - Bummer, but I'm glad you stopped by. Thanks for commenting!

Jeff - Darn, I wish you could have participated.

AA - Thanks for the sweet compliment!

Joylene - Stop reading and ENTER!!!

Carrie - Sorry it's not your genre. Seems like everything out there is geared for YA, so it's nice to have an adult thriller / suspense content this time around. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

Al - Your welcome! If only we could all raise our debt ceiling like that! NOT! If your book is anything close to your website, then it must be a million laughs!

Nicole - Hey, thanks! Aw, that is so sweet!! I left a comment on your blog and I will get to that award at the end of the week. I love awards!

Kimberly Krey said...

Thanks for spreading the word; sounds like a great opportunity! BTW, loved your hook. :)

Melodie said...

Oh Nancy - thanks for this! Would've commented sooner but I'm sticking to Blogging Fridays (my day to troll/post/comment) or I'd never do anything else!
Loved your post today, also...good luck with your request *reading between the lines there* And I know all about how hard it is sometimes to move to a new place and fit in. It's taken me over six years here...