From YA author Margie Gelbwasser: a critique of your query and first 20 pages (MG/YA).
In Margie's own words: "I always wanted to be a writer, and when I was seven I got my shot. My second grade teacher held a writing contest. I wrote this ten page story about a girl who was kidnapped, taken to an island, and tied to a coconut tree. She found a way to use the coconuts as weapons and escaped, against all odds! I didn’t win. The girl who won wrote about a talking strawberry, and her story was only 3 pages long. Talk about being robbed!
I recovered, continued to write, edited my high school and college literary magazines, wrote an adult multi-generational novel about a Russian-Jewish family, scrapped the novel but realized the part about the teens really came alive. So I started writing a YA book about a Russian-Jewish girl with an alcoholic mom that is now called INCONVENIENT. I then found an agent, and in a little less than two years landed a two-book deal with Flux. During all this, I got married and had an amazing son who I consider my good luck charm.
These days, I’m home with my son and between our music, library, Mommy and Me classes, and truck and lawn mower spottings, I’m working on my second novel. Like with the first book, there’s some Russian stuff and some Jersey stuff (Jersey makes for great settings—take that all of you who think Jersey is a smelly state and nothing more) but it’s really dark, edgy, and the culture is more background/setting than center stage."
International
Bidding is open until April 6th, 8PM EDT
Day 11 - Item 12
Day 11 - Item 7
From YA author Kristi Cook: a critique of your first 3 chapters (YA).
As a child, Kristi Cook took her nose out of a book only long enough to take a ballet class (or five) each week. Not much has changed since then, except she’s added motherhood to the mix and enjoys penning her own novels as much as reading everybody else’s. A transplanted southern gal, Kristi lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters.
International
Bidding is open until April 6th, 3PM EDT
Day 11 - Item 5
From authors Natalie Zaman and Charlotte Bennardo: a critique of your synopsis and first three chapters (YA fantasy or paranormal) send within 6 months, 12 pt font, double spaced.
To go with that an awesome collection of SIRENZ swag: a set of Sirenz buttons, a music CD from the band that is doing the music for our book trailer, and phone charms (a tie-in to the book) with Japanese symbols of love, luck and protection!
Sirenz (Flux, June 2011): Bickering frenemies Meg and Shar are doing some serious damage at a midnight sample sale when they find themselves arguing over a pair of shoes—with fatal consequences. One innocent bystander later, the girls are suddenly at the mercy of Hades—the god of the underworld—himself. To make them atone for what they’ve done, Hades forces the teens to become special-assignment Sirens, luring to the Underworld any individual whose unholy contract is up.
But just because they have an otherworldly part-time job now doesn’t mean Meg and Shar can ignore life’s drudgeries (work) or pleasures (fashion!). Finding that delicate balance between their old and new responsibilities turns out to be harder than they expected, especially when an entire pantheon of Greek deities decides to get involved. Then there’s the matter of the fine print in their contracts...
International
Bidding is open until April 6th, 1PM EDT
Day 11 - Item 2
From author J.A. Sounders: a 50-page critique of anything YA, or adult romance (any genre minus erotica).
We've had some exciting additions from Jessica! She says: if bidding gets to $100, I'll add a query crit. If it gets to $150, I'll crit 75 pages. For $200, I'll do 100 pages. And if we reach $300 I'll do a full crit!
J.A. Souders was born in the heartland with an overactive imagination and an over abundance of curiosity that was always getting her into trouble. She first began writing at the age of 13, when she moved to Florida and not only befriended the monsters under the bed, but created worlds for them to play together.
Because she never grew up, she decided she’d put her imaginary friends to work and started writing. She still lives in the land of sunshine and palm trees with her husband and their two children and is an active member of the RWA, CFRW, and the SCBWI. She is represented by Natalie Fischer.
International
Bidding is open until April 6th, 10AM EDT
Day 10 - Item 9
From author Alma Alexander: a tiered critique. $30 and under for the winning bid, she'll do a 5 page crit; $99 and under, one chapter (3000 words); $200 and under, three chapter critique (9,000 words).
Alma A. Hromic (who now writes as Alma Alexander) was born in 1963 in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia, on the shores of the river Danube. Her father's employment with international aid agencies meant that the family spent twenty years living in various countries in Africa, including Zambia, Swaziland, and South Africa.
Her fantasy duology The Hidden Queen and Changer of Days (originally published as Changer of Days vol. 1 and 2 in New Zealand in 2001 and 2002), was released in the United States in 2005. The Secrets of Jin-shei was published in the U.S. in 2004 in hardcover and 2005 in paperback and is currently available in twelve languages worldwide (including Turkish, Lituanian, and Hebrew) and is a bestseller in Spain. The follow-up, Embers of Heaven, published in the UK in September 2006, is available in five languages. Alma's latest project is the Worldweavers young adult trilogy, which debuted with Gift of the Unmage in 2007 and was followed by Spellspam in 2008 and Cybermage in 2009. A Polish edition of the first book has already been published.
(For Alma's full biography, have a look on her website.)
International
Bidding is open until April 5th, 5PM EDT
Day 10 - Item 6
From YA author Pat Schmatz: a full YA fiction manuscript critique plus editorial letter (double-space, 12 pt font, inch margins, up to 250 pages)
International
Bidding is open until April 5th, 2PM EDT
Day 10 - Item 5
From A Writer Gone Mad: a query, synopsis, and first five pages critique.
In her own words: AWriterGoneMad is a seventeen year old adult thriller writer who hopes to have an agent by the end of this year. She maintains a blog as well as a Twitter, and is the assistant to Authoress on her new writing blog for teens, Write On! When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, karate, and shooting.
International
Bidding is open until April 5th, 1PM EDT.
Day 10 - Item 1
From Ishta Mercurio: a picture book and query critique.
In Ishta's own words: Ishta Mercurio-Wentworth spent her college years at Simon's Rock College studying Literature, Theatre, and Dance, and working in the Writing Centre helping other students whip their essays and creative writing assignments into shape. Since joining SCBWI, CANSCAIP, and the Canadian Children's Book Centre, she has continued to develop her own writing and critiquing skills through classes, her critique groups, and WriteOnCon. She writes - and critiques - picture books, poetry, MG, and YA.
International
Bidding is open until April 5th, 9AM EDT.
Day 9 - Item 6
From author Sheela Chari: a pre-order of Vanished and a critique of your first three chapters (MG/YA).
Eleven-year-old Neela dreams of being a famous musician, performing for admiring crowds on her traditional Indian stringed instrument. Her particular instrument used to be her grandmother’s—made of warm, rich wood, and intricately carved with a mysterious-looking dragon.
When this special family heirloom vanishes from a local church, Neela is devastated. As she searches for it, strange clues surface: a teakettle ornamented with a familiar-looking dragon, a threatening note, a connection to a famous dead musician, and even a legendary curse.
The clues point all the way to India, where it seems that Neela's instrument has a long history of vanishing and reappearing. If she is able to track it down, will she be able to stop it from disappearing again?
US
Bidding is open until April 3rd, 2PM EDT
Day 9 - Item 1
From author Debra Driza: a critique of your full manuscript + query. Afterwards - once you've had the time to revise, say - her agent Taylor Martindale will read the full and give her feedback!
Debra Driza lives and writes in Southern California, usually surrounded by Rhodesian Ridgebacks, kids, and her husband--all of them just as messy as she is. She's a member of the group blog GotYA and a die-hard Veronica Mars fan.
MILA 2.0, the first book in her YA sci-fi thriller series, debuts Fall 2012 from Katherine Tegen Books (an imprint of HarperCollins).
Her agent Taylor Martindale also lives and works in Southern California--in fact, Debra is thinking about sending the kids and Ridgebacks to her house for a while. Taylor is an agent with the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. Her main interest is young adult, but she's also interested in children's picture books, commercial fiction, women's fiction, and multi-cultural fiction.
International
Bidding is open until April 3rd, 9AM EDT
Day 8 - Item 8
From NYT bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater: a critique. Or perhaps more detailed:
"$50 and under for the winning bid, I'll do a 5 page crit.
$100 and under, one chapter (3000 words).
$250 and under, three chapter critique (9,000 words).
Anything over $500, 15,000 word critique.
$1,000 and over, 20,000 word critique, a signed copy of Shiver, Linger, Lament, and Ballad, and a Linger tank-top."
From Maggie's website: "All of my life decisions have been based around my inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you're a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical editor (all of which I've tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists, musicians, and artists (I've made my living as one of these since I was 22).
I now live an eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia, with my charmingly straight-laced husband, two small kids, two neurotic dogs, one criminally insane cat, and a 1973 Camaro named Loki. 
I'm an avid reader, an award-winning colored pencil artist, and play several musical instruments, including the Celtic harp, the piano, and the bagpipes. I also make great cocktail party conversation."
International
Bidding is open until April 2nd, 4PM EDT
Day 8 - Item 7
Seventeen-year-old Shavonne has been in and out of juvenile detention since the eighth grade. Angry and confused, she turns to Mr. Delpopolo, an overweight, sad-eyed man who is struggling to accept the reality of his own shattered life. With compassion and honesty, he helps Shavonne understand the connection between her self-destructive behavior and the shame about her past that burns through her so with so much intensity. For the first time, she tells the truth about her crack-addicted mother, the baby she delivered straight into the foster care system, and the pain she feels about her role in her brother’s accident. But even as Shavonne comes to understand the past, her present – life in the Center – threatens to explode in even more violence and confusion. Her fellow inmates, who have suffered their own unspeakable tragedies, can’t seem to escape the abusive guards and careless counselors who corrupt the system and make it impossible for even the most well-meaning employees to make a difference. But as her eighteenth birthday draws nearer, Shavonne is touched by a series of unexpected kindnesses that shift her vision of the world. She begins to believe that maybe she, like the goslings recently hatched on the Center’s property, could have a future beyond the barbed-wire walls of the system.
This gritty and unflinchingly honest look at life in juvenile detention, winner of the 2009 Delacorte Contest, will break your heart, change the way you think about “troubled” teens, and ultimately, leave you feeling something like hope.
International
Bidding is open until April 2nd, 3PM EDT
Day 8 - Item 4
From literary agent Weronika Janczuk of D4EO Literary Agency: 3 chapters critique (up to 75 pages)
Weronika Janczuk is a writer, a student, and as of August 2010, an agent with D4EO Literary.
Her name is pronounced ‘Veronica,’ the spelling different because of its Polish roots; Weronika is one hundred percent Polish and a first-generation American resident. She was born in Ontario, Canada, a few months after her parents immigrated, and since then has lived in Ontario, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. She has now made her home in New York. She speaks/reads/writes both English and Polish fluently and hopes to add French to the list before long.
Weronika writes YA, literary, and historical fiction, and blogs about it here.
Both Weronika’s love for writing and her love of reading contributed to her professional interest in publishing. Her career began in 2009, where she interned with Brian Farrey at Flux. She also worked in different capacities with Jenny Bent at The Bent Agency, Kathleen Anderson at Anderson Literary Management, Mary Kole at Andrea Brown Literary Agency, and Bob Diforio at D4EO Literary Agency before her promotion there to agent.
Weronika finds time for all of these interests by reading quickly, watching very little television, and living with less sleep on the weekends. She does, however, love to spend a bit of time now and then with ‘80s music, witty (published) novels, funky art, and nice, good, smart people.
International
Bidding is open until April 2nd, 12 PM EDT
Day 8 - Item 3
From YA author Janice Hardy: a signed copy of The Shifter and a first chapter critique (all genres)
US only
Bidding is open until April 2nd, 11 AM EDT
Day 8 - Item 1
From YA author Medeia Sharif: First 50 pages critique as well as a $25 Amazon gift card
In Medeia's own words: I’m a Kurdish-American author who was born in New York City, and I presently call Miami Beach my home. I received my master’s degree in psychology from Florida Atlantic University. Prior to my publishing career I was (and still am) a school teacher—but that’s a whole nother story. I became a voracious reader in high school and a relentless writer in college. My persistence paid off in 2008 when I attained agent representation and in 2009 when I got my first book deal. BESTEST. RAMADAN. EVER. is my first novel and it will be published by Flux in 2011. I am a member of Mensa and SCBWI.
Bidding is open until April 2nd, 9 AM EDT
Day 7 - Item 4
From freelance editor Allison Dickson: a full line edit up to 85K words (normally valued at around $1000!).
Aside from running Allison Edits, Allison M. Dickson spends her leisure time writing dark speculative fiction stories, publishing blogs, and burying her head in books. Her work has appeared in e-zines The Absent Willow Review and Reflection's Edge, as well as in the horror anthology The Black Garden. She has also published film reviews and is a die-hard, foodie, gamer, politico, and overall pop culture fanatic.
Allison lives in Dayton, Ohio with her husband Ken, her two children, Natalie and Elias, and a sweet little bobcat named Angus.
You can learn more about her past, current, and future work, her thoughts on the craft of writing and everything else at her author site.
Line Editing involves a far more substantial evaluation of your story and it is the most popular of the Allison Edits services offered. Line Editing evaluates the message and the flow of your writing and ensures the proper tone for your audience. A line edit not only checks for what you say, but how you say it and to whom. It also includes all of the proofreading and formatting services. (Have a look on the website for details.)
- Tightens your prose by eliminating unnecessary modifiers, redundancies, cliches, and awkward sentence structure and dialogue
- Eliminates stylistic issues like passive voice
- Helps match your document's intent to its audience (i.e. reading and maturity level, proper, persuasive, or evocative vocabulary, etc.)
- Looks for clarity among your metaphors and similes
- Makes suggestions for the rearranging of sentences to maintain a consistent flow of thought
- Makes smooth transitions between ideas
- Uses knowledge of literary devices and other elements of storytelling to ensure the authenticity, believability, and consistency of plot, story, and character
- Alerts you to a need for fact-checking or additional research
International
Bidding is open until April 1st, 12PM EDT
Day 7 - Item 3
From authors Corey Rosen Schwartz and Tiffany Strelitz Haber: A double rhyming picture book critique.
In their own words:
"We'd like to offer a "double" rhyming picture book critique
Corey Rosen Schwartz (www.coreyschwartz.blogspot.com)
HOP PLOP (Walker, 2006)
THREE NINJA PIGS (Putnam, 2012)
GOLDI ROCKS AND THE THREE BEARS (Putnam, TBD)
Tiffany Strelitz Haber (http://www.itsrhymetime.com/)
THE MONSTER WHO LOST HIS MEAN (Holt, 2012)
OLLIE AND CLAIRE (Philomel, 2013)
Tiffany and Corey will both critique a rhyming PB manuscript of under 1000 words. It can be the same manuscript or two different ones!"
International
Bidding is open until April 1st, 11AM EDT
Day 7 - Item 1
From author Tommy Greenwald: a signed ARC of Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide To Not Reading, plus swag, and a 15-page critique.
Charlie Joe Jackson is proud to say that he's never read an entire book from cover to cover. Sure, he's glanced at the first chapter and last chapters and maybe even read the flap copy, but when it comes to actually reading what's in the middle, Charlie counts on his friend Timmy McGibney to do the reading for him in exchange for an ice cream sandwich. But when Timmy decides that his price has gone up to three ice cream sandwiches, Charlie Joe Jackson is faced with two very unappealing options: let himself be blackmailed or read an entire book. What's an enterprising non-reader to do?
International
Bidding is open until April 1st, 9AM EDT.
Day 6 - Item 8
From freelance editor Cassandra Marshall: a submission package (query and first ten pages critique).
Cassandra is a freelance editor, lit agent intern, YA writer, and loves to play with her dog Mollie. She dreams of one day owning a small house near the water, preferably in England, with a shelf full of books she has written and has helped others to write. She can be found in Emmett, MI and at camarshall.com
International
Bidding is open until March 31st, 4PM EDT.
Day 6 - Item 6
In Molly's own words: Having a strong query and strong early pages are so important. I have a teaching and editing background along with the writing, so I can give a solid critique.
International (will post the book by shipping, so may take a few weeks to arrive)
Bidding is open until March 31st, 2PM EDT.