Manuscript Status: 2 weeks delivery
Mentor Name: Melissa West
Mentee Name: Kerry Reardon
Title: PRETTY CITY
Category: Adult
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Word Count: 84,000 words
Pitch:
When a feminist doctor inherits the town pageant that stole her confidence in fourth grade, she must face an army of pageant diehards and a lifetime of self-doubt in a journey to redefine “pretty” for the town…and herself.
Excerpt:
Summer of 1996
The summer I auditioned for the pageant, I was nine years old and spent my days making overcooked brownies in an Easy-Bake Oven and stuffing my training bra with tube socks. I might have lived a lifetime of summers like that, summers free of nightmares about cotton-candy-colored ball gowns and the girls who wore them, if it wasn’t for stupid Orphan Annie.
It started when my sister June and I were tossing a Frisbee in our yard and got it stuck in the neighbor’s sycamore tree.
“We should call the fire department for help,” June said. “That’s a great way to meet men.”
I wasn’t so certain, but June was fourteen, which meant she didn’t have to stuff her bra and had real-world romantic experience. That experience consisted of kissing the paperboy on the mouth for three seconds, but it was way more impressive than my frenzied make-out sessions with the back of my hand.
“Okay,” I agreed. “Let’s call.”
But before we made it to our house, Mom barged out carrying boxes full of clothes and books and a vast collection of Precious Moments figurines. Dad tripped over the doorstep as he chased after her, murmuring her name in a pleading tone.
June and I forgot about the fire station hunks.
Our neighbor, Mrs. Mapleton, who should have been furious about the Frisbee situation, called us over to eat cookies on her front porch. She smiled too widely and tried to distract us with Scrabble, but the only word June formed with her tiles was F-U-C-K.
13 Comments
Marie Lamba · November 1, 2017 at 1:49 pm
Nice start! Please submit your query to me at marie.jdlit@gmail.com with your query letter and the first 20 pages pasted into the email. Please put PITCH WARS REQUEST and your title in the message line. Also, attach the complete manuscript as a word file. Thanks!
Marie
Kimberly Brower · November 1, 2017 at 1:56 pm
I’d like to read this! Can you please send me the full manuscript and a summary (spoilers ok!) in Word format to kimberly@browerliterary.com. For subject line, PITCH WARS: Title Name. Thanks.
Penelope Burns · November 1, 2017 at 2:28 pm
Hi Kerry,
I’m obsessed with this concept and voice. Can you send the full to penelope@gelfmanschneider.com with your query in the body of the email and #PitchWars and title in the subject line? Thanks so much, looking forward to reading!
Penelope
Jim McCarthy · November 1, 2017 at 2:46 pm
I’d love to have a look. Please send the manuscript along for my prompt review. I’m at jmccarthy@dystel.com. A Word attachment is most preferable if possible. Thanks! Jim
Quressa Robinson · November 1, 2017 at 3:24 pm
Would love to see more!
Please query me at queryquressa@nelsonagency.com. In the subject line, write REQUESTED QUERY (PitchWars) and the title of your project. This will help ensure that your query isn’t accidentally deleted or caught in our spam filter. In the body of your email, include a one-page query letter and the first twenty pages of your manuscript.
Hillary Jacobson · November 1, 2017 at 3:25 pm
I am so intrigued and need to read more! Please send the full manuscript as a word document to hjacobson@icmpartners.com. Thank you!
Peter Knapp · November 1, 2017 at 4:13 pm
This sounds so great — I would love to read! Please send the full manuscript to queries@parkliterary.com attached as a Word document with the query in the first page of the document. Put “PITCH WARS REQUEST – PETE KNAPP” in the subject. Please also include a one page synopsis if available. Thank you!
Whitley Abell · November 1, 2017 at 11:36 pm
I’d love to see more! Please submit your query, synopsis, and first 50 pages to https://querymanager.com/query/inklings_whitley/PitchWars. I can’t wait to dive in!
Suzie Townsend · November 1, 2017 at 11:47 pm
This sounds so amazing! I love the voice — I would love to read the full ms! Please send the full manuscript to suzie@newleafliterary.com attached as a Word document with the query in the first page of the document. Put “PITCH WARS” in the subject. Please also include a dreaded synopsis if you have one. Thank you! Can’t wit to read!
Stefanie Lieberman · November 2, 2017 at 11:40 am
Can’t wait to read more! Please send the full manuscript as a Word document to submissions@janklow.com and include your query in the body of the email. Make sure to include “Pitch Wars – Stefanie Lieberman” in the subject line. Thanks!
Tamar Rydzinski · November 3, 2017 at 2:42 pm
I would love to read your manuscript. Please send it, along with your query letter, to queries@ldlainc.com and include Pitch Wars in your subject line. Thanks!
Jaida Temperly · November 3, 2017 at 6:29 pm
This sounds fantastic — I would love to read! Please send the full manuscript as a Word document with the query pasted on the first page to jtemperly@newleafliterary.com. Please also include a one page synopsis if available. Looking forward to reading!
Victoria Cappello · November 9, 2017 at 12:38 pm
I’d love to read more! Please send the full MS, along with the query letter to cappelloqueries@thebentagency.com. Please put “Pitch Wars” in the subject line.
Comments are closed.