New to Pitch Wars or have questions about how it works? Check out the Pitch Wars website. Here’s the official description:

Pitch Wars is a mentoring program where published/agented authors, editors, or industry interns choose one writer each, read their entire manuscript, and offer suggestions on how to make the manuscript shine for an agent showcase. The mentor also helps edit their mentee’s pitch for the contest and their query letter for submitting to agents.

I was a Pitch Wars mentee in 2014 (shout out to my awesome mentors Monica B. Wagner & Lindsey Sprague) and it was such an amazing learning experience for me. They helped me get my query and MS into shape and offered invaluable insight and feedback at every step along the way. I’ve since signed with my dream agent (Kim Lionetti from BookEnds Literary Agency) and sold four books to Harlequin Teen/Inkyard Press (HarperCollins) including the book I submitted to Pitch Wars, If I Fix You. My fifth book, Girl on the Run, will be published on October 6th from Delacorte/Underlined (Penguin Random House). My other books include The First to Know, Even If I Fall (a 2019 Junior Library Guild selection), and Every Other Weekend.

2020 marks my third year as a Pitch Wars mentor. Both my previous mentees signed agents with their Pitch Wars manuscripts. Sammi Spizziri is represented by Jacqui Lipton at Raven Literary, and my first mentee, Rebecca Rode, recently sold her PW book (keep an eye out for TIDES OF MUTINY in Fall 2021 from JIMMY Patterson/Little, Brown)! I cannot wait to team up with another author this year.

YA! I write YA (Contemporary and Thriller) but I’m open to most YA genres. Here are a few things I’d love to see in any combination:

Romance! I’m always looking for a love story in just about every genre I read. It doesn’t have to be the central focus of the book but a little romance is never a bad thing as far as I’m concerned. I’m a sucker for a good rom-com with smart funny characters, flirty banter, and plenty of swoons (think Kasie West, Becky Wallace, Debbie Rigaud).

I also love Contemporary stories where, if there’s romance, it’s part of a bigger story! Give me books with complicated family relationships, real-life problems, and resilient protagonists (think Renée Watson, Jeff Zentner, Jason Reynolds, Rainbow Rowell, and, well, me!).

I’m craving a good Thriller! I’m a huge fan of action-adventure or survival stories, something with plenty of suspense and intrigue. Pacing is key in stories like this, so bring on those cliffhanger chapter endings and maybe a dash–or more–of romance (think my upcoming book GIRL ON THE RUN)!

And even though I write contemporary stories, I read a TON of Sci-fi and Fantasy (I chose an alternate history pirate fantasy my first year as a mentor) including Magical Realism, Speculative Fiction, and Retellings (think Marissa Meyer, Andy Weir, Leigh Bardugo, Tricia Levenseller)!

As a wheelchair user, I’m very open to characters with visible Disabilities in stories that are about something other than disability (see the What I’m NOT Looking For section below for more on this). I will tell you that I tend to be pretty picky about these kinds of stories since accurate portrayals require a lot of research especially if you are writing outside of your own experience (something I’m personally okay with as long as you do your research etc.)

Last year I said I wasn’t looking for Paranormal/Urban Fantasy in the vein of Twilight/Buffy, but leave it to L.L. McKinney’s  Nightmare-Verse series and the newly released Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer to put me back in the mood for vampires and things that go bump in the night. I want fresh takes on these ideas though!

Some of my favorite (mostly) YA authors (in no particular order) include:

I’m generally not the ideal reader for stories that involve reincarnation, amnesia, politics, self-harm, suicide, rape, or horror/torture elements.

I mentioned that I’d like to see stories featuring characters with visible disabilities but I’m not interested in stories that are only about disability. I’m also not the reader for stories where disabled characters are inspirational footnotes in the lives of able-bodied characters or where disabled characters kill themselves. Again, I’m not opposed to stories featuring disabled characters that are written by able-bodied authors so long as you do your research.

I tend to prefer stories with a single or dual point of view.

I’m also not accepting New Adult.

I love this process, I just do. I still can’t believe I get to be a mentor and help writers the way others helped me. So what can you expect from me as a mentor? I’m prompt and thorough. I will be your cheerleader and I’ll help you however I can, but I’ll also tell you honestly if something isn’t working for me and I’ll make suggestions that you can take or not because this is YOUR book.  I’ll help you brainstorm solutions if you want or be a sounding board if you need it.  I will never impose my opinion on you but I will explain why I think something needs work/further attention. I’ll help you polish/fix/rewrite your query letter and help you with your synopsis (I LOVE writing synopses). I’ll be providing a ‘Big Picture’ letter based on my first read of your MS, then further edits, including line edits, as we go. I’ll plan on reading your MS several times and working with you until it’s as shiny as possible.

I like to set up a video chat, if possible, for our first “meeting” so we can talk over your manuscript and my edit letter (which you’ll already have). After that, I’ll probably communicate primarily via email (unless we decide on something else). I most likely won’t bombard you with emails once we have a good revision plan in place beyond quick check-ins to make sure everything is going okay, but I will always be quick to reply any time you reach out for any reason. Of course, we can figure out a communication style/schedule that works best for us, this is just typically what has worked with previous mentees.

I’m looking for someone who is prompt and reliable, someone with drive and dedication who can take constructive criticism and meet a deadline. I plan on giving 100% to my mentee and I want the same in return.

Questions? Tweet me @Abigailswriting

Head back to the Pitch Wars post to see the complete list of mentor wishlists or click through the links below.

Pitch Wars 2020 Young Adult Mentors’ Wish Lists

Click here to view all Pitch Wars 2020 Mentors’ Wish Lists