Okay, we’re thrilled to be bringing you our NINJA AGENT program again! That’s right. You know you want to see them all decked in black–or maybe polka dots.
This program will take place in the forums–so you must be registered and using the forums to participate. If you haven’t already done that, go HERE.
Here’s what you’ll do:
1. Post your absolute best, polished query letter or writing sample in the appropriate critique threads in the forums. (Please look carefully and ask questions if you’re unsure about where to post, and make sure you follow all our forum guidelines)
2. Don your thick dragon skin, cross your fingers, and keep checking your forum posts, because our Ninja Agents will be sneaking around, leaving feedback on whatever strikes their fancy–which could very well be YOUR QUERY.
3. Pray you’ve perfected your work enough to generate a request. Some agents may be requesting from the posts they read.
4. Remember your manners. Please don’t engage in hurtful behavior toward an industry professional because of feedback they might leave on your query. Remember, publishing is SO SUBJECTIVE.
That’s it. That’s all there is to it. All you have to do is use our forums the same way you should be using them anyway (because they’re AWESOME) and you could have a super-cool Ninja-Agent critique your work. And even if they don’t comment on your work (they promise they will try to comment/critique on as many as they can) you can learn SO much from the comments they leave for others. Because really, the best part about the forum is that you can go read the feedback whenever your schedule allows.
What the Ninjas will do:
1. Each Ninja Agent will be in the forum for at least one hour (some have multiple slots). You won’t know who, and you won’t know when…that’s the beauty of a ninja. They strike when you’re least expecting it.
2. Ninja Agents have been encouraged to leave feedback—as detailed or as vague as they want—on as many queries as they can. They can also request from the queries they read.
We are announcing who the Ninja Agents are, but not when they’ll be Ninja-ing or who’s who. So Ninja Agent Pink could be any of the following….
Our Ninjafied Nunchuckatorians are:
- Anita Mumm with Nelson Literary
- Roseanne Wells with Jennifer DeChiara Literary
- Pamela van Hylckama Vlieg with Larsen-Pomada
- Cheryl Pientka with Jill Grinberg Literary
- Suzie Townsend with New Leaf Literary
- Alycia Tornetta, editor with Entangled Publishing
- Lara Perkins with Andrea Brown Literary
- Stacy Abrams, editor with Entangled Publishing
- Rhoda Belleza, editor with Paper Lantern Literary
- Peter Knapp with Park Literary
- Danielle Barthel with New Leaf Literary
- Patricia Riley, editor with Spencer Hill Press
- Danielle Ellison, editor with Spencer Hill Press
- Jessica Sinsheimer with Sarah Jayne Freymann Literary Agency
- Terrie Wolf with AKA Literary
- Dawn Frederick with Red Sofa Literary
- Jennifer Laughran with Andrea Brown Literary
The Ninja-Agent Program is open for business starting on Monday, August 13, one day before the conference begins. That’s when we’ll open the main conference forums and let you start posting your work. This will give you time to get your writing in tip-top shape and in the forums before Tuesday, when our first Ninja will arrive.
We hope this program will benefit everyone, from those who post their query to those reading the comments/opinions from some of the top literary agents in the publishing world.
Questions? Ask them here!
Things you might have missed:
- How to Register for WriteOnCon – details here.
- How the Live Events Work – details here.
- How the Live Forum Events Work – details here.
Such a cool program! But I do have a question . . . I hoped to get feedback on your awesome forums, but I’ll readily admit my ms is not ready to send to an agent. Any special instructions concerning that? Or do I simply post and if I happened to get any requests (*positive thinking*), explain? Just want to get the most I can from your conference without stepping on toes.
Sounds so awesome. I’m shouting out about the conference on Facebook and my blog.
Hey Janet,
I would just post and if it comes to it, you can explain. Or you could label it as a WIP from the get go in your post. The forums are for critique and maybe you’re lucky and get a critique by one of the ninjas!
For the writing sample, how many words should those be? Thank you! I’m SO excited. I haven’t had anything ready for the past couple years, but this year, I’m stoked to get some feedback! Yay!
Well, in our forums we have a space for queries, first 250 pages and first 5 pages.
So that length, depending on what you choose.
If you mean forum live events, they always have special guidelines.
Will queries that are posted now be eligible for ninja-agenting or do those have to be posted on the 13th?
Chelle – They’re eligible. No need to repost. The ninjas will scour through those forums.
Also I redact my previous statement. PLEASE, if your work isn’t finished, label it as such at the top of your post, so that the ninjas know it’s a WIP.
Are we allowed to post more than one? As in, I have something completed — but I also have a WIP that I’d love to get some feedback on as well. So can both go up, or just pick one?
Hi. I noticed that a lot of people have uploaed their queries, first pages, etc. already. Are we supposed to do that now or wait until Monday?? Thank you!
Last year there was a cool quick way to search out Ninja comments, but I don’t remember how to do it. Can you remind us? It’s nice to be able to find them with one quick search to more quickly absorb the wisdom. Thanks.