Manuscript Status: Finished
Mentor Names: Jessica Vitalis/Julie Artz
Mentee Name: Reese Eschmann
Title: ETTA, INVISIBLE
Category: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy #ownvoices
Word Count: 50,000 words
Pitch:
EL DEAFO meets WEST SIDE STORY when twelve-year-old Etta, a quiet girl with fluctuating hearing loss, crosses neighborhood lines to help a boy stop a magic train from spreading fear around Chicago. Now she must become as brave as the hero in the comic she writes––or else watch fear twist through her city, her new friendship, and her heart.
Excerpt:
From my perch on the roof, all the buildings in Chicago fit together like Tetris pieces. No one sees me up here, not the early-morning walkers or the construction workers down the street.
Their world is so loud they forget to look up.
My world whispers with sounds that are hushed and hiding, soft as the sun tip-toeing behind the clouds.
“Good morning, sky,” I sign.
The sky answers.
A black rocket flies above my neighborhood and explodes into tiny pieces that scuttle across the sky like so many beetles.
The pieces burst, leaving behind a cloud of black licorice-scented smoke that stings my nose and blocks my whole view of the city. My heart beats fast. Not a thump-thump like a normal heart––a one-two punch straight to a comic-book villain’s jaw. THWACK-THWACK.
I’ve never seen a firework this big, not even that time Mom took me to Navy Pier on the Fourth of July. They don’t sell that sort of thing in Indiana, where people in my neighborhood go to buy cheap sparklers and bottle rockets.
Unless there’s a secret magic warehouse in Indiana. Come to think of it, no one’s ever told me there isn’t a secret magic warehouse in Indiana. It’s the sort of thing that happens in books. I know some people might tell me, c’mon Etta, you’re twelve, surely you don’t believe everything that happens in books. But I do. I’m determined to.
38 Comments
Brent Taylor · November 1, 2017 at 9:25 pm
I’d love to read this! Please send as a Microsoft Word document to brent(@)triadaus(.)com. So excited!
Saba Sulaiman · November 1, 2017 at 10:01 pm
Hi Reese,
This opening is just lovely! Please send a query, synopsis, and the full manuscript (Word documents will suffice) to ssulaiman@talcottnotch.net — and don’t forget to mention #PitchWars in your subject line. Thanks—can’t wait to read on!
Good luck,
–Saba
Justin Wells · November 1, 2017 at 10:20 pm
This sounds incredible! I love the comps! I would love to take a look at your full manuscript, if you can submit it (along w/ other required info) to my Query Manager here: https://querymanager.com/query/Justin_Wells/Pitch_Wars
Hilary Harwell · November 1, 2017 at 10:27 pm
This sounds amazing! Please kindly send the full manuscript to hilary@ktliterary.com with “PitchWars” in the subject so I may continue reading!!
Cheers!
Hilary
Uwe Stender · November 1, 2017 at 10:27 pm
Please, send the full to uwe@triadaus.com as an MS Word attachment. THIS sounds awesome.
Lauren Spieller · November 1, 2017 at 11:12 pm
This sounds wonderful. I’d love to see your query in the body of an email, along with the first 50 pages of your manuscript and a synopsis (both attached). Please also include a link to this entry. You can send your materials to lauren@triadaus.com. I look forward to reading!
Patricia Nelson · November 1, 2017 at 11:31 pm
What a beautiful opening! I’d love to read more. Please send a query (in the body of the email) along with the full manuscript as a Word doc attachment, subject line “Pitch Wars: [Your Title]” to patricia@marsallyonliteraryagency.com.
Thanks, and looking forward to reading!
Patricia
Erica Bauman · November 2, 2017 at 5:09 am
This sounds fantastic–I’d love to see more! Please send a query and the full manuscript to ebauman@aevitascreative.com, and put “Pitch Wars” in the subject line.
Thanks!
-Erica
Maria Vicente · November 2, 2017 at 8:07 am
Reese, I would love to take a look at the full manuscript! Please email a query letter to maria@psliterary.com with the subject line “Pitch Wars Request: Etta, Invisible” and include the manuscript (+ a synopsis) as an attachment.
Marie Lamba · November 2, 2017 at 8:58 am
I definitely intrigued! 🙂 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
Jim McCarthy · November 2, 2017 at 9:03 am
I would love to see this! Please send the full manuscript to me at jmccarthy@dystel.com. A Word attachment is most preferable if possible. Best, Jim
Elana Roth Parker · November 2, 2017 at 9:10 am
Hi! I’d love to read more! Please email me at eparker [at] ldlainc [dot] com:
* Subject line: PitchWars Submission: YOUR BOOK TITLE
* Your query letter in the body of the email
* The full manuscript attached as a Word document
Thanks!
Elana (Laura Dail Literary Agency)
Danielle Burby · November 2, 2017 at 9:43 am
I’d love to take a look at this! Please email me at querydanielle@nelsonagency.com and include the first twenty pages of your manuscript in the body of the email along with a one-page query letter. 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. I look forward to reading!
Caitie Flum · November 2, 2017 at 10:17 am
This looks great! I’d love to take a look.
Please send the query in the body of the email + full manuscript as a Word attachment to querycaitie@lizadawson.com with “Pitch Wars request” in the subject.
Jenny Bent · November 2, 2017 at 10:20 am
Please send query and ms to info@thebentagency.com. Pitch Wars in subject line. Thanks!
Carrie Hannigan · November 2, 2017 at 11:21 am
Hi Reese,
I would love to read more! Please query me at channigan@hsgagency.com and attach the first 100 pages as a word document. Also please include “Pitch Wars” in your subject line.
Thanks so much!
Carrie
Hillary Jacobson · November 2, 2017 at 12:23 pm
This looks incredible and I must read more!! Please send the full manuscript as a word document to hjacobson@icmpartners.com. Thank you!!
Suzie Townsend · November 2, 2017 at 12:40 pm
This sounds so amazing! I absolutely have to read more — 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 wait to read!
Alex Slater · November 2, 2017 at 12:47 pm
Hi Reece,
I’d be thrilled to recive the full manuscript for ETTA, INVISIBLE. It sounds superlative. May you please send it to ASlater@tridentmediagroup.com?
Many thanks,
Alex
Alexander Slater
Trident Media Group
Jennifer Kim · November 2, 2017 at 1:06 pm
Reece,
Wow, I’d love to see what happens. Please send the entire manuscript as a word document, along with a query letter pasted into the body of the e-mail, to jennifer@dijkstraagency.com. Also be sure to put “PITCH WARS” in the subject line.
I can’t wait to read this!
Thanks,
Jennifer (SDLA)
Sarah Landis · November 2, 2017 at 1:08 pm
Hi, I’d love to read more! Please send the full manuscript to me at slandis@sll.com. Thanks!
Kathleen Rushall · November 2, 2017 at 1:22 pm
I would love to read this! Your voice is terrific. Please send me the full manuscript to Kathleen@AndreaBrownLit.com. Thank you!
Peter Knapp · November 2, 2017 at 3:40 pm
Reese, this sounds so great! A book about stopping a magical train from spreading fear? I’m in! Please send the full manuscript as a Word doc with the query pasted into the first page of the document to queries@parkliterary.com with “PETER KNAPP – PITCH WARS REQUEST” in the subject. Thank you, and I look forward to reading!
Whitley Abell · November 2, 2017 at 3:47 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!
Josh Adams · November 2, 2017 at 4:26 pm
I’d love to read this! Please send the full manuscript to josh@adamsliterary.com, along with your query, under the subject line Pitch Wars: Etta, Invisible. Can’t wait!
Ammi-Joan Paquette · November 2, 2017 at 4:29 pm
This is so great – I’m excited to read further! Please send your query and first 3 chapters my way at joan at emliterary.com 🙂
Stephen Barbara · November 2, 2017 at 5:04 pm
Dear Reese: I’d be very happy to continue reading ETTA, INVISIBLE. Could you send the full manuscript to stephen@inkwellmanagement.com? Thanks and best, Stephen
beth phelan · November 2, 2017 at 7:38 pm
Oh. Hi. Can you please email your query, plus the full manuscript as a Word doc attachment, to phelanqueries@thebentagency.com, with “Pitch Wars request” in the subject line? I’m closed to queries except requested submissions, so don’t mind the automated response.
Beth Phelan
The Bent Agency
Blair Wilson · November 2, 2017 at 11:16 pm
This sounds incredible–I’d love to read! Please send the full manuscript as a Word doc with the query pasted into the first page of the document to queries@parkliterary.com with “BLAIR WILSON – PITCH WARS REQUEST” in the subject. Thanks so much–looking forward to reading!
Andrea Cascardi · November 3, 2017 at 12:07 pm
I absolutely love what you’ve posted here and can’t wait to read the full. Please can you send it to me as a Word or PDF attachment with the query and put Pitch Wars Request in the subject line?
Thank you,
Andrea
Brianne Johnson · November 3, 2017 at 3:20 pm
Hi Reese,
I would love to take a deeper dive into Etta’s story! Please could you send the first 50 pages attached in a word document? I would really appreciate it if you would label your query REQUESTED: Pitch Wars and label the document with your last name and the title.
Thank you so much! Can’t wait to dig in!
Warmly,
Bri
Roseanne Wells · November 3, 2017 at 7:14 pm
Great opening, and I’d love to read more! Please use the guidelines on jdlit.com to send 100pp (instead of the normal 20), and include #Pitchwars in the subject line. I can’t wait to dive in!
Roseanne Wells
The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency
Sarah Davies · November 4, 2017 at 2:37 pm
Hello! I’d really like to read more of this. Please send me the query with full manuscript (Word doc) at submissions@greenhouseliterary.com, with PitchWars/Sarah Davies in the email title line. Thanks!
Sarah
Kristy Hunter · November 5, 2017 at 10:07 am
This sounds AMAZING! I’d love to read more. Please send the full manuscript as a Word doc to kristy.hunter@knightagency.net with your query in the body of the email and “Pitch Wars: TITLE” in the subject line. Thanks!
Katie Grimm · November 6, 2017 at 12:02 pm
Hi Reese – I keep thinking of the voice and imagery in this opening days later, so I know I need to throw my hat in the ring! Please email your query with full ms attached as a Word doc to dca@doncongdon.com with PitchWars Request + ETTA, INVISIBLE in the subject line. Thanks!- Katie Grimm, Don Congdon Associates
Rena Rossner · November 6, 2017 at 4:10 pm
This sounds amazing and right up my alley! I’d love to take a closer look! Please send the full manuscript attached as a word document to: rena@thedeborahharrisagency.com
Thanks!
– Rena
Christa Heschke · November 6, 2017 at 11:41 pm
This sounds awesome! I’d be interested to see more! Please send a query, first 50 pages and synopsis to chquery@mcintoshandotis.com. Look forward to reading!
-Christa Heschke, McIntosh & Otis
Jennifer Rofé · November 7, 2017 at 1:43 am
Hi Reese,
One of my favorite books + my favorite musical? Yes! Please send a query and your full manuscript to jennifer@andreabrownlit.com. In the subject line, write QUERY: ETTA INVISIBLE Pitch Wars.
Best,
Jennifer.
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