Thursday, December 5, 2013

Pam van Hylckama Vlieg and "No Pitch Left Behind"

Some--probably many--of you have already picked up on the fact that every single entry in this year's Baker's Dozen received at least one bid.  This was not an accident.

Later in the day on Tuesday, I received the following email from Pam van Hylckama Vlieg, one of our Baker's Dozen all-stars:

Everything has at least a 10 page request and I plan to critique them.

Being a bit fuzz-headed from the auction, I wasn't quite sure what she meant.  So she clarified:

I usually critique as I read through! So I bid 10 pages on the ones that had no bids and I'll leave notes when I email them about it :).

At this point, I realized I was actually talking to an AUCTION FAIRY, and not a real agent at all.  I thanked her profusely and told her how much I hate it when entries don't get any bids.  Here is her response:

I hate it, too! It shouldn't be that way. The book I sold for the biggest money was a pitch contest and no one bid on it. I knew it was either going to suck or be amazing. You have to check the writing!

So there you have it.  Pam van Hylckama Vlieg is going to read and critique each of those 10-page requests.  With an eye to the you-never-know-where-a-hidden-gem-lies.

And she has dubbed it the "No Pitch Left Behind Act".  (Hee.)

Pam -- here is your VERY PUBLIC THANK YOU!  Thank you for the gift of your time.  Thank you for joining me in supporting serious aspiring authors on their journeys.  Thank you for allowing me to post a winner list that included all 60 of our brave entrants.

Let the celebrating commence!

25 comments:

  1. This does not surprise me. Pam is an awesome human being.

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  2. I have new respect

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  3. What an incredibly kind thing to do. Thank you so much, Pam!

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  4. This just made me smile :)

    Awesome.

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  5. Amazing, and almost made me cry. What a kind-hearted and generous thing to do. Especially this time of year.

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  6. Pam is amazing. I am stunned.

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  7. My next book will be titled PAM, THE AGENT FAIRY.

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  8. Comments from an agent on a submission are solid gold to a writer. What a great thing to do!

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  9. This is really awesome. Kudos, Pam!

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  10. I didn't enter this year. I just want to hop on and add my thanks.

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  11. It only takes one day of following Pam on Twitter to see what a big-hearted, caring woman she is. And yet I'm still a little awed by this (and so grateful). Thank you, Pam!

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  12. Wow! Says so much about her as an agent and a human being. Sure hope she strikes gold!

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  13. As one of those who received a 10-page bid from Pam, thank you thank you thank you! I am now going to start calling her Agent Awesome. "Hey, guess who was kind enough to give me feedback on my pages? AGENT AWESOME."

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  14. And I get the pleasure of working with her every single day. Bookalicious, you continue to inspire and astound me!
    AgentSavant

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  15. I didn't enter, but I love this story. I'm adding Pam to my query list.

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  16. How wonderful to find this post in my in-box this evening! Thank you, Pam, for being so gracious. I didn't enter, but I love that every writer is getting a bid and a critique.

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  17. Pamalicious is my agent and this is one of the many reasons I just love her!! <3

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