Pop-Up Submissions

[AgentPete]

... are open now, dates and details here:

Pop-Up Submissions

 

[Rich.]

@AgentPete, is there any way of knowing in advance if a submission will appear in a particular session (I'm thinking about organizing kids and time and stuff)?
And if not, are the sessions live and gone, or recorded and made available?

Thanks!

 

[Amber]

Well.... is there a limit to how many I can submit? Is there a deadline? Did I fail to read this information on the page?

....and a weirdish question....

Can I submit for someone else -- with their permission of course?

I feel like I may not understand this process. So, if someone could let me know if this is accurate please.

We submit the first 20 pages. Redhammer chooses a certain number to "discuss" on facebook? On video? Are the people who are "chosen" notified ahead of time?

Thanks -- Amber

 

[Quillwitch]

I have a question @AgentPete --will showing our WIP on a public forum affect our work in terms of agents/editors/publishers holding it against us? I´ve heard that you can´t share more than a certain amount of pgs in public, or is that just if you were to print/publish it somewhere like a blog or wattpad?

 

[AgentPete]

@AgentPete, is there any way of knowing in advance if a submission will appear in a particular session (I'm thinking about organizing kids and time and stuff)?
And if not, are the sessions live and gone, or recorded and made available?

Thanks!

Get it in now, and it'll go in the first one. Mention that (this?) in the covering note, just to be sure.

What I've been doing in the past is holding the video on Facebook for 24 hours before deleting... sometimes people have connectivity problems, and not hearing what I'm saying can be very frustrating. So it seems to make sense to keep them up for a day... then they're gone.

 

[AgentPete]

Well.... is there a limit to how many I can submit? Is there a deadline? Did I fail to read this information on the page?

....and a weirdish question....

Can I submit for someone else -- with their permission of course?

I feel like I may not understand this process. So, if someone could let me know if this is accurate please.

We submit the first 20 pages. Redhammer chooses a certain number to "discuss" on facebook? On video? Are the people who are "chosen" notified ahead of time?

Thanks -- Amber

I'd prefer only one submission per writer per session.

There's no deadline, but I take subs in the order they're received. I don't really want to do more than ten or a dozen per session. However, experience shows that writers quite often don't show up for the live session, and if they don't I'll skip their submission and go on to the nest, so it's not always clear how many from the queue I'll end up doing.

I'd really prefer you not to submit on behalf of other people, it raises all sorts of complex issues.

Basically, I'll discuss EVERY submission, as long as the writer makes it known that they're watching. You will learn quite a bit from seeing other peoples' work reviewed, so don't just tune in for yours and then pop off! It's a bit like spending an hour or two inside an agency.

 

[AgentPete]

I have a question @AgentPete --will showing our WIP on a public forum affect our work in terms of agents/editors/publishers holding it against us? I´ve heard that you can´t share more than a certain amount of pgs in public, or is that just if you were to print/publish it somewhere like a blog or wattpad?

Since the videos are removed after 24 hours, I don't consider this to be a problem. What I think you're referring to is the warranty that's a standard part of most contracts that the work hasn't been published before. Sending a few pages for review isn't going to cause an issue here.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

I'd prefer only one submission per writer per session.

There's no deadline, but I take subs in the order they're received. I don't really want to do more than ten or a dozen per session. However, experience shows that writers quite often don't show up for the live session, and if they don't I'll skip their submission and go on to the nest, so it's not always clear how many from the queue I'll end up doing.

I'd really prefer you not to submit on behalf of other people, it raises all sorts of complex issues.

Basically, I'll discuss EVERY submission, as long as the writer makes it known that they're watching. You will learn quite a bit from seeing other peoples' work reviewed, so don't just tune in for yours and then pop off! It's a bit like spending an hour or two inside an agency.

It's instructive listening, even if you haven't submitted any samples.

 

[Boopadoo]

It's instructive, listening, even if you haven't submitted any samples.

Agreed, worth absolutely every second you spend listening.

 

[Quillwitch]

Since the videos are removed after 24 hours, I don't consider this to be a problem. What I think you're referring to is the warranty that's a standard part of most contracts that the work hasn't been published before. Sending a few pages for review isn't going to cause an issue here.

Great! Thank you.

 

[Chase Gamwell]

I'm definitely going to submit mine and make time to watch each one of these in November. Since I'm winding up to actually send my YA novel out to agents, this would be invaluable insight to have before starting the querying process.

@AgentPete Thanks again for taking the time to do this. It's very much appreciated!

 

[Chase Gamwell]

Got mine in (finally). Thanks again for the opportunity @AgentPete !

 

[Barbara]

Hi AgentPete, I'm new to all this. How exactly does the pop up submission work? From what I gather it's happening on Facebook. I'm not exactly a FB expert. Do I just go to the Litopia homepage? I submitted mine on the Litopia submissions page.

 

[AgentPete]

Yes, just go to the Litopia homepage on Facebook, at 6pm UK, and you'll see it happen live. The recording will be available for 24 hours only, then deleted. This was today's event:

 

[Barbara]

Yes, just go to the Litopia homepage on Facebook, at 6pm UK, and you'll see it happen live. The recording will be available for 24 hours only, then deleted. This was today's event:

Thanks, Pete, I managed to watch it. Very interesting. Although, I didn't realise that we were supposed to submit a sensible letter with our sample. (I assumed a 'few words about me' meant just that.) ... In any event, it was interesting to hear your comments. I shall brace myself for next week. I might just do what Chase did: hide under my desk, although I write at the bar in my kitchen, hence I will hide under the bar ;-) Thanks for an informative evening.

 

[Chase Gamwell]

@Barbara Honestly, when all was said and done, there really wasn't any reason for me to hide. Agent Pete's feedback was fantastic and has given me a clear direction on where I should go with the beginning of the novel. If I can do that, I'll likely have a solid contender on my hands (that's the hope, anyway).

And thanks again to @AgentPete for taking the time to do all this!

 

[Barbara]

@Barbara Honestly, when all was said and done, there really wasn't any reason for me to hide. Agent Pete's feedback was fantastic and has given me a clear direction on where I should go with the beginning of the novel. If I can do that, I'll likely have a solid contender on my hands (that's the hope, anyway).

And thanks again to @AgentPete for taking the time to do all this!

Hi Chase, I really liked your 'hiding' comment. It summed up how I feel. It's always a bit nerve racking to put work out there for everyone to see. At least for me it is. Yours sounded really good.

 

[MaryA]

Heard some of the earlier comments, very helpful (yes to reading drafts aloud!) and then it went dead on me.

 

[Carol Rose]

So glad I had the chance to listen to this for a while. Very informative and helpful.

 

[AgentPete]

@AgentPete, sorry for the mixup. I was posting on Litopia hoping someone would let you know I was listening, but don't have a facebook page anymore. I appreciate your effort on my behalf: I am sorry to have wasted your time due to the issue at hand. Thanks for working so hard on behalf of Litopia.

You haven't wasted my time at all. I'm very happy to do whatever I can to help everyone along, lord knows it's hard enough for writers. Discouragement is always looking over our shoulders, waiting to pounce. But we have to keep it at bay, otherwise it will rob us of our craft and our passion, which is the real crime.

More to say about writing for commercial success next week.

 

[AgentPete]

Heard some of the earlier comments, very helpful (yes to reading drafts aloud!) and then it went dead on me.

That does seem to happen sometimes, I think Facebook Live isn't always to be relied upon. The recording is still available, until 6pm today.

 

[MaryA]

Found it again and this was so helpful, @AgentPete. My own chapters aren't quite ready yet for a submission, but listening to this feedback made me want to just lock myself in a room and think about pace, excitement, readability, dialogue, all sorts of good things. 'Compelling' is my new mantra!

 

[Chase Gamwell]

The best part about Sunday was the invaluable insight into what an agent thinks about a work in progress. So often, we'll submit and get a rejection with absolutely no idea what the agent was thinking about the work. And while we may feel like something may need to be fixed, there's no indication of what that may be.

With regards to my work, I was given some very specific feedback on what could help the beginning of the MS. To a degree, I already KNOW that I'm the worst at dragging on. Exposition is my weak point. But when Agent Pete told me to write it like Star Wars, a shock of electricity went through me and I knew exactly what I needed to do. I've already spent a significant amount of time working on the first five chapters of the novel, and I feel like I've sped it up significantly. I'm not sure if I'm quite where I need to be yet, but I'd have never gotten there without the feedback.

Definitely plan on watching every one of these if I can spare the time. Every little bit helps!

 

[AgentPete]

Last week's video now deleted, but next week's event (this Sunday) is scheduled, so do join us:

Link

 

[Quillwitch]

Just thinking about the possibility of doing pop-ups has forced me to rethink my first chapters. I´ve FINALLY realized that I DON´T need introductions or prologues and that the best way to begin the story is simply with the MC in action. Now I'm frantically re-writing my first chapters trying to make it in time to the next pop-up.