Get Published Weekly Roundup: March 5th, 2018

Book Barcode By Thepwnco [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Change made: from color to black and white.

A fire truck just pulled up in front of our house. Hopefully it isn’t because this post is straight FIRE. Or maybe SMOKIN’ HOT. I don’t know. Which works better? I like the former for its contemporary feel, but the latter doesn’t repeat fire. Either way, nothing seems to be burning, so that’s good. This week we highlight a bucketful of new agents (well, two, but we point to more), some great places to which you might submit, a desire for some Miyazaki-like fiction, and ebooks and Indiana at the end.

We’d love to hear your feedback. Please let us know what you think in the comments and if there are certain types of information you would like to see in the Roundup. Also feel free to tweet at us (@freelancingrads) with any ideas or questions. Have a great writing week!

Today, we're spotlighting two of Aevitas's many new agents!

Nick Chiles has joined Aevitas Creative Management as an agent.

Seeking:

Fiction: 

Nonfiction: 

“Based in Atlanta, Chiles is deeply interested in nonfiction and fiction stories of individuals taking on entrenched institutions, writing that fearlessly pushes us to look at each other in fresh ways, voices that shine a light on the darkest corners of our society. He is on the lookout for original takes on American heroes—or crowning new ones—in areas like sports, music and the arts.” 

Nick is accepting submissions via online form on the agency’s website. Click here to view his profile, then click “Contact Nick” at the bottom to open his submission form.

Erica Bauman has joined Aevitas Creative Management as an associate agent.

Seeking:

Fiction: Picture Books; Middle Grades; Young Adult; Women’s; Sci-Fi/Fantasy; Action and Adventure; Mystery; Horror; Comics/Graphic Novels

Nonfiction: Select Narrative Nonfiction

“She is most interested in novels that straddle the line between literary and commercial, imaginative tales with a speculative twist, fearless storytellers that tackle big ideas and contemporary issues, and working with and supporting marginalized authors and stories that represent the wide range of humanity.”

Erica is accepting submissions via online form on the agency’s website. Click here to view her profile, then click “Contact Erica” at the bottom to open her submission form.

Aevitas appears to have hired a whole slew of new agents recently, so visit their agents page at http://aevitascreative.com/agents/ for more. 

An opportunity for YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy writers to dust off their query letters, and a fellowship for US Immigrant or Indigenous Montana writers

Operation Awesome Pass or Pages YA SFF Contest—Submission window: March 12th-14th, 2018 (query contest, agent evaluation)

What: Query letter and first 250 words of an original YA Science-Fiction or Fantasy novel. Five randomly selected entries will be evaluated by an agent, with feedback given about why they’re passing, or why they’re requesting pages.

Cost: Free

To Submit: Contest rules and guidelines may be found here and here. Once the submission window is open, a form for entries can be found here.

2018 Eliza So Finish-Your-Novel Fellowship —Submissions due by March 25th, 2018 (Immigrant or Indigenous Montana writer’s contest, room and board + stipends for travel and food)

Who: US immigrants (documented or undocumented) OR Indigenous writers with significant ties to Montana (from Montana, live in Montana currently, or have another significant affiliation with Montana).

What: A novel, collection of stories, memoir, or other prose work (fiction, nonfiction or hybrid) in progress (100 pages minimum) or poetry collection in progress (30 pages minimum). One awarded fellowship in each category will include a month of room and board between September and December at The Writer’s Block in Las Vegas, along with a $500 food stipend and $400 toward travel.

Cost: Free

To Submit: Contest details and an online submission form may be found here.

#MSWL Highlights: Diversity in witch stories and queer women writing about queer women

Quressa Robinson, Bi-lingual Agent at Nelson Literary Agency (English, Parseltongue)
Quressa is on the hunt for a “MG witch story ala Kiki’s Delivery Service, black girl main with intergenerational elements.”  Source Tweet

Seeking:

Fiction: YA; Adult

               Nonfiction: Select nonfiction

” I have very eclectic tastes and represent a wide range of genres. I am most drawn to literary voices in commercial packages, wonderfully realized characters, untold stories from underrepresented communities, immersive world building, and complex narrative approaches/plots. Also, I am most drawn to character-driven stories and love strong voice as well. I am a huge romantic and don’t mind romance subplots outside of the romance genre.” 

How to submit: Quressa is accepting submissions via email at queryquressa@nelsonagency.com. Click here for more info.

You can follow her on Twitter @qnrisawesome.

Caitlin McDonald, Agent at Donald Maass Literary Agency
Caitlin tweets: “I hope this was clear in my earlier thread but hey I REALLY want to see more stories about queer women by queer women!” Source Tweet

Seeking:

Fiction: Adult, YA, and MG Science Fiction/Fantasy

Nonfiction:  All types, with specific interest in women’s issues, fandom culture, food, fashion, travel, and “absolutely anything geeky.”

“I represent adult and YA fiction, particularly fantasy, science-fiction, horror, and related subgenres, both commercial and literary…I especially love diverse fantasy worlds, tropes and genre-bending, LGBTQ characters, heists, and complex, well-written female leads.  I also like contemporary realistic fiction about geeky characters.” 

“For nonfiction, I am interested in women’s and LGBTQ issues, anthropology and psychology, popular science, food and cooking, travel, fashion, art, and of course fandom, geek, and pop culture.  I will look at all types of nonfiction: narrative, prescriptive, gift book, memoir, etc.” 

How to submit: To query Caitlin, email her at query.cmcdonald@maassagency.com. Click here for more information on what she’s looking for and her submission guidelines. NOTE: Caitlin will be closed to unsolicited queries between April 1st and July 1st, 2018.

Follow Caitlin on Twitter @literallycait.

Ejusdem Generis

A headline in the Guardian this week quoted Arnaud Nourry, the head of Hachette Livre, as saying “The ebook is a stupid product” in an interview with an Indian news site. A minor firestorm of social media and internet frothing followed, with people both agreeing and disagreeing with his sentiment wholeheartedly. Many commenters missed or ignored the fact that he largely blamed his own industry for this, and that he what he meant was that the product is not living up to what he sees as its potential, remaining instead simply a book that isn’t paper. Some claimed that it in fact performs important tasks that paper books can’t, while yet others made clear that they aren’t interested in any extra bells and whistles (the latter likely a reaction to Nourry’s statement that HL has purchased three video game companies to help the publisher realize the potential of digital media, including ebooks). Whatever your perspective, ebooks are here to stay (at least until the zombie apocalypse), and it is up to us as readers to determine the direction they go in—what we buy is what they’ll produce more of (and as authors, what we offer is what they can work with). Personally, I crave the sensory experience reading a traditional book brings, the feel of the paper, the smell, blah, blah, blah. Others have written about it better than I (and many more just as cliché-ridden, but seemingly unaware of it). At the same time, an ebook that allows the types of annotation (and sharing) one can imagine are possible when a book is tethered to the internet is something that I would be very interested in, indeed. Check out the Guardian here, an academic discussing the issue in light of her own research here, and the original interview here.

Finally, if you’re in northern Indiana next week, give a shout-out to our own Kayla Kauffman by visiting her alma mater for a free lecture by science fiction writer and founder of Rosarium Publishing Bill Campbell, entitled “Social Justice and Publishing.” Campbell started Rosarium four years ago to help increase diversity in publishing, focusing particularly on speculative fiction and comics. Swing by Goshen College around 7:30 p.m. on the 13th, if you’re interested (it’s free). Get the details here, and check out the publisher’s site here.


Grad Student Freelancers (GSF) is dedicated to helping authors take care of the details of the publication process. Part of the process includes sifting through huge amounts of information to find important news, events, and tips that can give you an edge in the publication process. Every week GSF will provide three lists of curated information focused on helping writers get published. Our goal is to gather what’s important from the web in the past week, so you can focus more on your writing.  

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