Welcome, Pitch Warriors! You’ve found the wish list of the mighty YA co-mentoring duo, Rachel Lynn Solomon and Kit Frick. Which means, you’re in the right place if you want to work with the most kick-ass mentoring team on the planet. *Throw furtive glances at other awesome YA mentors.* *Get super soakers ready.*
WHO WE ARE
Rachel Lynn Solomon
Hi there! This is my third year as a Pitch Wars mentor, and I love this contest so, so much — I look forward to it all year! I’m also very excited to be co-mentoring with Kit, a majorly talented writer and editor. I’m the author of two upcoming contemporary YA novels from Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse. My debut, Fingers Crossed, will be out in spring of 2018. You can add it on Goodreads here! I’m represented by the brilliant Laura Bradford of Bradford Literary Agency.
My own road to publication has been rocky (you can read more about that here), and I find so much joy in working closely with other writers. I love passing on what I’ve learned so far, both about writing and the publishing world in general. This is a tough business, and I want to support my mentee through all the ups and downs. If you end up working with us, our relationship doesn’t end after the contest. We want to build lasting connections with other writers. That’s what this community is all about!
Speaking of community, that’s my favorite part of Pitch Wars. Many of my closest friends are mentors — though I’m ready to throw down if we want the same manuscript! And I’ve been so lucky that my past mentees have become more than mentees; we’re now critique partners and close friends. Both my 2014 mentees received multiple offers of rep just days after the contest ended, and one mentee’s Pitch Wars novel will be published by Penguin in early 2018!
Fun facts: I’m a tap dancer, a former NPR producer, and a Guinness World Record holder for the most natural redheads in one place! I’m a Seattle native, which basically makes me required to love rainy days (which I do). I’m slightly obsessed with my adorable 8-pound rescue dog, Wally. In high school, I fronted an all-girl punk rock band, but these days, I only sing karaoke. My go-to songs: “Surrender” by Cheap Trick and “Train in Vain” by The Clash. You can follow me on twitter @rlynn_solomon.
Kit Frick
Well, hello! This is my first year as a Pitch Wars mentor, and I am so thrilled to be co-mentoring with YA bad-ass Rachel Lynn Solomon! We met through this very contest last year: she was a mentor and I subbed to her as an entrant. I didn’t make it into the contest (*loud, pitying sobs*), but then I picked myself up and dove into revisions with my Pitch Wars manuscript. Even though I did not become a mentee, I did meet an awesome group of people through the 2015 contest–mentors, mentees, and fellow mentee hopefuls like myself. At first, I totally didn’t get what everyone was talking about on the hashtag last year about “the community.” I thought, “OK, maybe I’ll make a few new Twitter friends. It can’t be that big of a deal.” Wrong! When I finished revising my manuscript and was ready to query in December, I didn’t enter the trenches alone. Because of Pitch Wars, I had a whole group of new writer friends who were right there with me, and believe me it made the ups and downs of querying SO much easier!
In March, I signed with my agent, Erin Harris at Folio/Folio Jr, on the YA contemporary psychological suspense novel I’d entered into Pitch Wars. I’m currently writing my second YA psych thriller.
When I’m not writing, you can find me editing chapbooks for Black Lawrence Press and editing for private clients through Copper Lantern Studio. I hold an MFA in Creative Writing from Syracuse University and have studied with book editors, copyeditors, and literary agents through NYU’s Center for Publishing. I also write poetry (I have two chapbooks published through Slope Editions and Rye House Press), love to cook (the slow cooker and microplane are currently my two favorite kitchen tools), get really into Eurogames (Seven Wonders and Dominion are my two current obsessions), and spend a lot of time snuggling with my two adorable cats. You can follow me on twitter @kitfrick.
WHAT WE WANT
We are looking for YA in the following genres: contemporary realistic, contemporary magical realism, contemporary suspense/mystery/psychological thrillers, and contemporary with speculative elements. Here’s a sampling of things we love!
Obviously, your manuscript doesn’t need to contain every single element on the above list. That would probably be impossible! But this should give you a good sense of our YA interests–and what we’d love to find in our inbox!
FAVORITE BOOKS, MOVIES, AND TV SHOWS
Rachel
Kit
It’s probably not a shocker that my list has a lot of overlap with Rachel’s! So, I’m going to challenge myself to not repeat favorites TOO MUCH. But hint hint, I also love E. Lockhart, Courtney Summers, Prep, Before I Fall, Felicity, Before Sunrise–and about 15 other things on here. See, I already cheated!
NOT FOR US
There are a few things that we definitely know aren’t right for us. You have a limited number of mentors to sub to, so if you’d describe your book in one of the following ways, it’s best to know upfront that it’s not going to be right for Team Rachel + Kit. Fortunately, you have a long and awesome list of YA mentors to choose from! We are not looking for:
OUR MENTORING STYLE
If you work with us, here’s a sneak peek at what your next couple months will look like:
Kit and I will split up your edits, so definitely plan on two rounds of work! Round one will be big-picture notes and an edit letter, and round two will be line edits. As a mentor/editor, I’m tough but extremely encouraging! I never tell someone, “change this” or “I don’t like this.” Rather, I give suggestions, ask questions, and turn it into a discussion. You can expect novel-length emails, chats, Skype calls, telegrams, Morse code messages — whatever works best for you! We WILL push you because we know you can take your amazing book to the next level.
My agent likes to say — and I agree — that editing is a collaboration, not a dictatorship. That said, Rachel and I will absolutely push you to do the work necessary so that your manuscript is the best version of itself and ready for the agent round / querying. You’ll have a great team behind you, providing guided feedback and encouragement.
That’s it! If you submit to us, feel free to include a line about why you picked us. It can go at the end of the query. We’re SO excited to see all your awesome, gritty, risk-taking YA books in our inbox this year!
And don’t forget to check out the wish lists of the other amazing 2016 YA mentors. (I mean, don’t do that, they’re the competition!) But really do:
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