Our Third Annual Baker's Dozen Agent Auction: Schedule and Facts!

It's here!  Well, almost.  Welcome, everyone, to the season of the third annual BAKER'S DOZEN AGENT AUCTION!

For the newcomers:  The Baker's Dozen Agent Auction is MSFV's biggest event of the year.  60 250-word entries, hand-picked by Jodi Meadows and Authoress, will be placed on the auction block for agents to bid on (with requests for pages, up to a full manuscript request).  It bears the name "Baker's Dozen" because the original auction in 2010 included 13 agents--a baker's dozen.  The actual auction is in December, but the fun starts NOW!

LOGLINE CRITIQUE ROUNDS

Each Baker's Dozen entry is required to have a logline.

What is a logline?  A logline is a 1- to 2-sentence pitch that encapsulates your story and makes us want to read it.  See HERE and HERE for advice on writing an effective logline.

We will have 3 critique rounds for those of you who would like feedback on your loglines prior to submitting. These rounds will be run as lotteries. Times TBA.

ROUND 1: Tuesday, September 25 (submissions on Monday, September 24)
ROUND 2: Tuesday, October 9 (submissions on Monday, October 8)
ROUND 3: Tuesday, October 16 (submissions on Monday, October 15)

SUBMISSION DATES FOR THE AUCTION

ADULT ROUND 1: Tuesday, October 30 (100 entries)
ADULT ROUND 2: Thursday, November 1 (100 entries)
YA/MG ROUND 1: Tuesday, November 6 (150 entries)
YA/MG ROUND 2: Thursday, November 8 (150 entries)

WINNER NOTIFICATION

25 adult category winners notified via email: Monday, November 12
35 YA/MG category winners notified via email: Monday, November 19

60 WINNING ENTRIES POSTED: Friday, November 30

AUCTION GOES LIVE FOR AGENTS: Tuesday, December 4 (for 24 hours)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• There will be a $10 entry fee for this contest. Yes, that is $2 more than last year.  Blame it on Paypal fees.  (And no, I won't be raising the fee every year just for the fun of it.  I feel like $10 is a fair entrance fee.)  To avoid confusion:  Yes, every entry must pay the fee.  This is the ONLY EVENT I charge for, simply because of the amount of work it takes to pull it off.  
• A maximum of 500 entries (200 adult, 300 YA/MG) will be accepted. Of these, 60 winners will be chosen (25 adult, 35 YA/MG).
• If the maximum number of adult entries isn't reached, the remainder will be added to the YA/MG entry maximum (because you know as well as I do that I'm going to be inundated with kidlit).
• The 60 winning entries will receive critique from editors, authors, and blog readers, in addition to being on the auction block for our participating agents.
• The (up to) 440 non-winning entries will be given the option to receive critique on the blog via lottery at a later date. (Because, yanno, I can't exactly post hundreds of entries for critique simultaneously.)

Names of participating agents (and critiquing editors and authors) will be posted as soon as they are finalized.  I've already got a great response!

Just a reminder that there will be no Secret Agent contest in November. October's SA will run as planned. And, yes. You may enter the October SA and still submit to the Baker's Dozen auction. Unless you win the SA contest, of course.

Questions?  Ask below!  But please don't ask specific questions about submissions: I will be posting detailed instructions as we get closer to the submission dates.  I promise that everything you need to know will be included in that post.

Spread the word. Invite your friends. And start working on your loglines!

An Updated Baker's Dozen Success!

This email from Beth Hautala is short-n-sweet, but big on exciting.  During the 2010 Baker's Dozen, Jodi Meadows and I were delighted (and bemused) that there were two unicorn stories in the mix.  When one of the authors landed an agent, we were thrilled.  How wonderful to see this author's unicorn story make it all the way to publication!

Here's the story (and a link), straight from Beth:

I just wanted to send you a little note of thanks—once again—for all you do and all you've done to help aspiring authors . . . like me.

Back in 2010 I found my lovely agent (Danielle Chiotti/Upstart Crow) through your Baker's Dozen Agent Auction. Or maybe I should say she found me??? Anyway, as of last week, the submission that garnered me an agent in that auction, found a home at Dutton Children's Books/Penguin Group. And I can delightedly point a finger back to you and applaud your influence, support, and ingenuity in making this dream of mine a reality.

Here's a link to the shakedown.

And Winners!

And here are this month's winners:

THE RUNNER-UPS: 

 #7, Fireproof 
#19, Suspended State
#27, Mountain Escape
#30, Staying Dead

The prize:

Mr. Dunton would like to see the first 100 pages of your manuscript.

THE WINNER:

#43, The Recruited

The prize:

Mr. Dunton would like to see your full manuscript.

Congratulations, all!  Winners, please email me at facelesswords(at)gmail.com for specific submission instructions.

ALSO!!

Mr. Dunton is hoping to get a query from anyone who got an "I'd read more" or "I'd probably read more" comment.  Please send these queries through his normal querying process, and be sure to mention your SA entry in the body of your query letter.

Hooray!

Secret Agent Unveiled: David Dunton

A round of applause for the delightful and instantly likable David Dunton of Harvey Klinger, our Secret Agent for this month!

David's Bio:

I've been a literary agent at Harvey Klinger since 1996. Before that, I was a keyboard player in a rock band, something I still do for fun. And before that, I was an editor at Simon & Schuster, in the trade paperback division. I majored in American Studies, graduating from Wesleyan in 1988, am from various parts of New England, have been to 46 of the 50 United States, and live in Jersey City, New Jersey.

What David's looking for:

Great contemporary, sci-fi, and fantasy young adult and middle grade fiction. Moving and funny are a winning combination. On the adult side, I'm looking for narrative nonfiction, music-related nonfiction, memoir, and literary fiction. Some of my all-time favorite books include Mark Helprin's WINTER'S TALE, Neil Gaiman's AMERICAN GODS (and THE GRAVEYARD BOOK), David Mitchell's CLOUD ATLAS, and Susan Cooper's THE DARK IS RISING sequence. I also really liked the first three books of Jacqueline Carey's KUSHIEL'S LEGACY series (thanks to my wife for that one).

Many thanks to Mr. Dunton!  Winners forthcoming.

Friday Fricassee

It's bizarre how, when life is different for a while, the work/writing-related things feel like they're compartmentalized in a barely accessible part of my brain.

Does this happen to you?

I've got mega-family in town right now (some of them are leaving this morning), and I feel as though I'm looking at this blog through tinted glass.  I'm also feeling the slowly building pressure as we head toward Baker's Dozen season.  Because--GUESS WHAT!  The fun is starting sooner than you think.

As in, the first logline practice round will be later this month.  (I hate loglines.  Just so you know.)

(Okay, I only hate my loglines.  They are on the low end of my skill set.)

Anyway, consider this your first heads-up for the Baker's Dozen Agent Auction.  I'll post all about it next week, so those of you who are new to our party will understand what it's all about.  All I'll say right now is--YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS.

In the meantime, tell me about your non-writing coping mechanisms.  As in, when you're in the midst of a family visit or an unexpected event or anything that tears you away from your writing (and, indeed, the writing world in general--I've barely tweeted this week, so you know I'm out of my element!), how do you manage?  Do you find that you can switch easily back and forth between The Mode and Real Life?  Or do you twitch and gnash the entire time?

I am admittedly discombobulated!  And something tells me I'm not alone.

Happy weekend and hugs to all!  (Except those of you who were hiding behind chairs in our fantasy writers' lounge.)

(Oh, wait.  That was most of you...)

XOXO