May 29, 2018

QK 2018 Round One Match Ups

Our 64 kombatants have been revealed. Now, it's time to find out who you'll be going against in Round 1. Use the #QueryKombat hashtag to find your opponent on Twitter. Trash-talk is okay, just keep it friendly!


Quick reminder: The first round one kicks off at 8am on June 1st. It'll be hosted across all three blogs! Visit this post for commenting guidelines





Capes and Clorox vs Pollyanna Saves the World
 Planet Panic vs Robot Hacker Girl
Feminist Rumpelstiltskin Reimagining vs You Octopi My Heart
A Boy Named Pez vs Not Missing. On the Moon
Carrion My Wayward Son vs The Kids Aren't Alright
Eradicated vs Canary Girl
Cowboys vs Zombie Pirates vs Dream a Little Bigger, Darling
#SexEd vs Fate Doesn't Care About Your Plans
Fire, Magma, & Metal vs God's Dead, Now What?
Punk Rock Waitress Rules vs Absalom, Absalom!



Raspberry Moon vs The Principal is One of Them
Sister Witches Who Kick Butt vs Hell in a Handbasket
GG: Found Family vs Cake N' Books
Don't Mess with an Assassin Mom vs Found Wanting
Tequila Mockingbird vs O Sister, Where Art Thou?
I Wish I Was White vs Bite Me, PTSD
Short Girls Pack More Sass vs I Found a Magic Stone in Paris
I Can Keep a Secret vs Shiver Me Timbers
Dr. Wannabe Ballerina vs Got Me a Daddy Map
Swimming with the Amoebas vs I Kidnapped the Prom Queen
Why Are You So Obsessed w/ Me? vs Cherry and Ben Camp and Kiss
Lady CEOs Are Sexy Too vs Mississippi Amnesia


Unnaturally Dyed Boutonniere vs How Not to Be a Nazi
Peace Pays What War Wins vs War and Redemption
My Babysitter is a Skeleton vs A Deep Choice
#HackTheVoid vs The Jo and Empty Show
Fake Invisibility T-Shirt vs Einstein Stinks
This Wasn't in the Job Contract vs Never-Beings
Trapped in My Worst Day Ever vs Love in the Time of Prosciutto
Hungry Ocean Gods vs Farmer Jack is Trapped in a Carrot
Neurotic Aliens in Manhattan vs I'll Stand Bayou
No Heroes Here vs Twisted Red Riding Hood






BEST OF LUCK KOMBATANTS!

   

May 25, 2018

Kombatants of Query Kombat 2018!

So many genres. So many possibilities. So much excellence.

The choice was hard. Each of the hosts agonized, weighing this query against that 250. There were so many great entries. Of course, making it into a contest is no indication of the quality of your query. Many people who don't make it into contests find agents the tried-and-true way, by querying. Thanks to everyone who entered and everyone who made the Twitter party so much fun! To those who didn't make it into the tournament, you donned your armor and dared to dreamed of victory. You boldly walked into an arena filled with 400+ gladiators, and you didn't so much as flinch or break a sweat. There are none braver than those who try, fail, and try again. I'm begging you to be brave, because all you need is talent and drive. Luck and success will follow. Don't give up. Don't doubt yourself. You will succeed. All you have to do is believe in yourself.

To those who made it--CONGRATULATIONS! Out of 400+ entries, you made it into the top 64. You bit, you clawed, you bled, and you MADE IT! Celebrate! And do it loud. And in the midst of your celebration, I want you to help me lift the spirits of those who didn't make it. We're more than a community; we're a family. So spread the love. The matchups of who you will face will be coming shortly. Watch the blogs. Now for my picks for the contest. To see Mike's and Kara's picks, check out their blogs.

Kombatants don't miss the rules on judging and commenting included at the bottom of this post. If you're on this list you must comment on six matchups in round one.

Adult:
Capes and Clorox
Hungry Ocean Gods
Farmer Jack is Trapped in a Carrot
I'll Stand Bayou
Pollyanna Saves the World
God's Dead, Now What
Twisted Red Riding Hood
Absalom, Absolom
How to Not Be a Nazi

Young Adult:
Fate Doesn't Care About Your Plans
Canary Girl
Love in the Time of Prosciutto
Carrion My Wayward Son
Never-Beings
War and Redemption
Cowboys vs Zombie Pirates
A Deep Choice
The Jo and Empty Show

Middle Grade:
Not Missing. On the Moon
You Octopi My Heart 
Fake Invisibility T-Shirt
Robot Hacker Girl
 




Important Information for Kombatants:

The first round will start on Friday, June 1st on all three blogs. We will try to post all the match-ups by 8:00 am EST, but please don’t rush to comment for reasons we will spell out under the judging section.

There will be 64 Kombatants (including one free pass winner) and these will be paired into 32 posts for the first round. Yes, we will try to match age categories and genres together. This will totally depend on numbers. As you can imagine, we received a much lesser number of MG entries and a much greater number of YA entries. We’ll do the best we can to make the match-ups fair, but we are not limiting our Kombatant picks by requiring so many numbers of each age group. We are picking what we think are the best entries.

In the event a Kombatant has to drop out of Query Kombat there will be two possibilities. If they drop out before the first round begins, they will be replaced with an alternate Kombatant contestant. (Alternate Kombatants will not be announced beforehand. We don’t want people hoping someone drops out. We may announce them after the contest ends.)If a Kombatant drops out after the contest has started, their opponent automatically advances to the next round. Any Kombatant who receives an offer of representation will please notify us so we may withdraw them. Receiving a full request or partial is not grounds for withdrawal.



Judging:

Our fantastic judges will give their votes under their assumed nicknames in order to be able to vote honestly and freely. Go here to see the nicknames they have chosen. The voting for the first round will take place from June 1st until June 4th at 8:00 pm EST. The winners of the first round will be announced on June 5th. Dates for all the rounds are below:


June 1st - 4th - QK Round 1

June 7th -11th - QK Agent Round

June 13th - 16th - QK Round 2

June 19th - 21st - QK Round 3

June 24rd - 25th - QK Round 4

June 27th - 28th - QK Round 5

June 30th - July 1st - QK Round 6

July 2nd - QK Wrap Up/Awards


Judges will vote as follows: VICTORY to Kombatant nickname. Then they may give more information as to why they voted that way. How much feedback they give is completely up to that judge. There are a lot of entries to read and a lot of rounds to go through. This is a long contest. But we’re sure the judges will do a fantastic job of sharing their thoughts.

To prevent favoritism, the judges have agreed not to vote on match-ups where they are close friends to a Kombatant or where they have beta read or critique partnered. Due to the length of this contest, judges have been assigned to rounds and may decide not to vote in all the rounds.

In the event of a matchup vote tie, we'll call for more judges, then the round host will cast the tie-breaker vote if necessary.

Now here comes the unique and important part! We would like the judges’ votes to be easily located. Therefore, we are asking the judges to place their votes as a reply to the first comment in each match-up post. As soon as all the match-up posts are live, the round host will go through and made a first comment. Something like: This comment is reserved for judges’ votes. Please do not reply to this comment unless you are a judge. Then the judges can do their thing and leave their votes as replies to that comment.

BUT in order for this to work, people cannot rush to comment. The hosts have to have time to get the first comment up on all 10 or 11 posts of the first round and subsequent rounds. No matter how excited you are to share your feedback, please give the host time to get the first comment done before you comment. Any other first comments but the hosts’ will be deleted.

We understand that everyone is human and votes may not end up in the proper spot. All judges’ votes will count no matter where they end up.


Commenting:

Due to the nature of the head-to-head competition, commenting is a delicate subject. We don’t want feelings hurt. We don’t want people to go away angry. 32 people will be knocked out in the first round. That is brutal. And like any contest of this nature, the results will be subjective. Wonderful entries will be eliminated. Because not everyone will be seen by an agent, we do want to allow commenting as that may be the only feedback a query and first 250 entry will get.

Therefore, especially in the first round, we want a ton of comments. And we want those comments to be super constructive and helpful. In other words, be specific. Don’t just rave about a Kombatant’s entry like a fangirl/guy. Tell us why you liked it. Mention things like the query set out the mc’s motivation and stakes clearly, the query had a super voice, the query was confusing because…, the pages really showed the mc’s personality because…, the page felt flat because…, the concept was unique because…

Please no cheerleading comments in the first round or second round. (Friendly cheerleading will be allowed in the final rounds.) In the early rounds, if you want to cheer on your friends and CPs, do it on twitter. Try and give equal time to both Kombatants in a match-up. Don’t let someone be left out. If you see a match-up that isn’t getting many comments, we ask that you jump in and do your stuff.

We don’t want this contest to only be about fun and agents. We want all the entries to get helpful advice to make their queries and page stronger. Please remember this and be kind and thoughtful. Writers are amazing people. They go out of their way to help. We are sure we can count on you.

Enough preaching. Here are some more commenting rules:

We would like each Kombatant to give feedback on at least 6 match-ups.You’re on your honor system here, we won’t be monitoring this. We’ve got enough to do. We’d also like each person who entered Query Kombat to leave at least one comment on a match-up, but feel free to do many more! And please we ask that Kombatants who are eliminated, come back and leave comments on the next round. We still want to hear what you think. We need you to make this contest a success!

Kombatants, please don’t comment on your own entry, whether that is to thank people or to explain/rationalize your entry. There will be so many comments that we ask you to wait until the last day of voting to offer thanks or congratulate someone, or leave any other type of comment on your own entry. If you want to thank people before the last day of voting, twitter is the place.

We are counting on there being no hard feeling comments. If there are, they will be deleted. We warned you’ll need a thick skin and it’s true. But we believe this can be done in a friendly manner.

Getting knocked out of the contest or not getting picked is no indication of a story’s quality. After all, we only have snapshots to go upon. All the hosts are very excited for Query Kombat to start, and we hope you are too. Feel free to leave us questions in the comments or just shout out your excitement. Follow us on twitter for more updates.

May 16, 2018

Query Kombat 2018 Submission Window Opens!

The submission window is NOW OPEN until May 18 at noon EDT. There is no cap on entries.



If you don't receive email confirmation within an hour of submitting your entry, contact us via Twitter and let us know. Kontestants will be revealed on May 25th, and the tournament will kick off on June 1st.

IMPORTANT: The Query Kombat team reserves the right to disqualify any entrant, at any time, for any reason. If an entrant is disqualified/drops out before the agent round, an alternate from the same host will take its place. If an entrant is disqualified/drops out after the agent round, the opposing entry will automatically advance to the next round. If an entrant is disqualified/drops out after the agent round but before new match-ups are assigned, match-ups will be assigned by random number generator with one random entry moving forward without a match. The only time we will ever disqualify an applicant is if you say or do something to blemish the spirit of query contests. Query Kombat is supposed to be fun…

So no fighting!

In order to enter the contest you MUST follow formatting guidelines, and submit during the contest window. All entries that follow said guidelines will be considered. 

In the event that we receive more than the available 64 spots (this is highly expected), Michelle, Laura, and I will savagely attack the slush pile in attempts to build the best team. We will pick (and announce) three alternates in case a submission is disqualified.

Entries should be sent to:  QueryKombat (at) gmail (dot) com.

We're asking for a $5 - $10 donation with each entry so we don't have to start charging a fee for the contest. Donations may be sent via the Query Kombat icon in the sidebar.

Formatting Guidelines:

Font: Times New Roman (or an equivalent), 12pt font, single-spaced with spaces between each paragraph. No (I repeat: NO!) indentations.
Subject line of the Email: A short, unique nickname for your entry [colon] your genre (audience included). Do not skip this step or your entry will be deleted. (ex. I Fell in Love with a Ken Doll: Adult Erotica)

For the nickname, make it as unique as possible so that there are no duplicates. These will be the names used in the tournament (or an abbreviated version if it's too long) so keep it PG-13 and try to have it relate to your story in some way.

In the body of the email (with examples):

Name: Michael Anthony
Email address: myboyfriendwasbittenbyashark (at) gmail (dot) com.
Twitter Handle: @BarbforSenate36

Title: Eunuchs and Politics
Entry Nickname: I Fell in Love with a Ken Doll
Word count: 72K
Genre: Adult Erotica (If Ownvoices, please list here)

Query: 

Barbara B. Doll seemed like a woman who had it all, from the perfect body to her own dream house, McDonald's and a variety of vehicles. She even managed to become a U.S. Senator and go to the moon! However, something seemed missing. She didn't have any idea what it was until she met Ken.

Ken Dahl is funny, good-looking, and may have ties to the Illuminati. Barbara is immediately drawn to his shiny, perfect hair and teeth. When he offers to teach her surfing, they hit it off instantly. Everything seems to be going perfectly until Barbara discovers Ken has no genitalia. She must search within herself to determine whether love can overcome plastic, non-removable underwear.

EUNUCHS AND POLITICS is adult romance, complete at 75,000 words.

***THIS is NOT a PITCH but your FULL query. You may include greeting and closing. Do not include a bio or comp title.

First 250:

Words, words, and more words.

___

Do not include the chapter title.
Do not include a bio or comp title.

If the 250th word puts you in the middle of a sentence, you may go up to 258 to finish that sentence. Do not abuse and send 258 words or more. Both Pages and Google Docs will return incorrect word counts if you have hyphens, em-dashes, and ellipses. Microsoft Word counts correctly.

Please use this site to give you an accurate word count if you are concerned about your standard word counter: https://wordcounter.net/. If you must, count by hand. A properly hyphenated word is one word. Words separated by an em-dash or ellipse are two words.

All queries submitted are FINAL. We will not edit them in any way, shape, or form. Please read, reread, and rereread your submission before you hit send. You have several weeks to polish your work. Take advantage of it. Competition will be fierce.



Best of luck in the tournament!



TWITTER PARTY!

Contests need to be fun. To help keep you from worrying as the hosts read through the emails, we're having a party! These are the daily topics, but feel free to start your own as well.


May 15th    Before the big day arrives tweet your category and genre. Ask questions about genre if you’re unsure where your manuscript fits.

May 16th  After 8:30AM tweet when you’ve submitted your entry to our QK email. Nerves and jitters can be calmed by sharing with others. All day long tweet out what your entry Nickname is and why you chose it.

May 17th   Day 2 of submissions! Judges get fun secret names. Entrants get to create nicknames. Your poor hosts are left out. Create nicknames for Laura, Michael and Michelle!  (Keep it clean. We blush easily.) And tweet your favorite comp title.

May 18th    Last day to submit. We close at noon. Tweet your main character’s name and a special tidbit about them. See what sorts of names are popular and if anyone else shares MC’s names with you.

May 19th    Tweet what you find the hardest about writing. Is it keeping out telling? Writing action scenes? What’s hard for you? Anyone have tips for making them easier?

May 20st   Say hi to an entrant you’ve never talked to. Wish them luck in the slush round. If you need to let out some nerves, see if your new friend will lend an ear.

May 21nd     Tweet something about how you write. Do you use music or prefer silence? Morning or late at night? We celebrate our differences.

May 22rd     Tweet us your villain’s name and something evil about them.

May 23th      If you’re looking for some beta readers or CP, now is the time to tweet about it.

May 24th     Tweet us your favorite line from your novel. If you read any you like, favorite it. Have any favorite lines from a novel that’s not yours? Tweet those too!

May 25th     Tweet your thanks to the agents, editors, and judges of Query Kombat 2016. They’re dedicating a lot of time to help out. The least we can do is take a day to celebrate them! The big reveal is today! (We'll be running around like crazy gerbils getting everything ready.)

May 11, 2018

Query Kombat Judge's Nicknames


Since the kontestants get to invent amazing nicknames, naturally the judges want one, too! Plus it lets them vote with more freedom. To recognize our wonderful judges and know the vote is legit, here is a list of the nicknames they have chosen:

Good Janet
Ebony Maw 
Bowser 
Discount Wonder Woman 
Theofani 
Red Ink Slinger 
Mrs. Will Herondale 
Vanellope 
Wordthulhu 
BookJava 
Love & Squalor 
Literary Lady 
Jennyanydots 
Wonder Woman 
Hobbes 
Mabel Pines 
Frozen Veal 
Rainbow Brite 
Ginger 
No One of Consequence 
Altered Carbon 
Picky Peruser 
Thaddeus Spinster 
Earthbound Misfit 
Bella 
Piano Ninja 
The Queen of Thorns 
To the Sword 159 
SylpheWings 
Mrs. Winchester 
Jumping Jellybean 
The Red Cardigan 
Gallowspider 
Princess Falafel 
Lady Acacia 
Barn Owl 
Arachnophile 
Sonya Blade 
QueryPoppins

It's fantastically fun to be silly sometimes and our judges had a blast choosing these names. We hope you'll have fun choosing an inventive nickname for your story!

And speaking of fun!

The chance to chat with our judges is Monday, May 14th and Saturday, May 19th!


Join us on the hashtag #QKChat at 3:00 pm EST and 8:00 pm EST on May 14 and 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm EST on May 19th to ask questions about the contest and writing in general. You can ask writers who are further along on their journey what submission is like or how they promo or what they said during their call. Just don't ask them to reveal their secret nickname. :-) 
Remember submission for Query Kombat is just a few days away on Wednesday, May 16th.

We've added a few special judges who are going to help with just the first round. Their nicknames are included up above. Here they are:


Sarah Remy

Sarah Remy writes fantasy for HarperImpulse and NineStar Press. Sarah lives on the dry side of Washington State with three dogs, four chickens, and two horses. Every morning Sarah takes time over coffee to think about the next generation, the challenges they face, and how best to protect them against oppression and adversity. Sarah can be found at sarahremy.com or on Twitter @sarahremywrites.



Ed Ashton

Edward Ashton lives with his adorably mopey dog, his inordinately patient wife, and a steadily diminishing number of daughters in Rochester, New York, where he studies new cancer therapies by day, and writes about the awful things his research may lead to by night. He is the author of the novels Three Days in April and The End of Ordinary, as well as several dozen short stories which have appeared in venues ranging from Fireside Magazine and Escape Pod to the newsletter of an Italian sausage company. Please be nice to him. Odds are, he's had a very long day.







Erin Foster Hartley

Erin Foster Hartley is a YA author whose work explores themes of family and identity in unexpected ways. She was a mentor for Pitch Wars '17 and Teen Pit '18, and she has led teen writing workshops for the Iowa Youth Writing Project. Erin is represented by Melissa Nasson of Rubin Pfeffer Content.

May 7, 2018

Agents of Query Kombat 2018 (partial list)

We have 29 agents and counting joining us this year. Some are new. Some are established. All are looking to make requests! To everyone entering this year, best of luck! It's gearing up to be an amazing tournament.

If you need a refresher on the submission guidelines (they've changed a bit this year), click here.

Kara and Michelle each have a 1/3 of the list posted on their blogs. Check em out.

Please support the agents below by thanking them for participating and following them on Twitter. Don't forget the #QueryKombat hashtag. They provide they largest reward this tournament offers. Be sure to let them know they're appreciated.

Don't forget. Submission window opens May 16th at 9am EST and closes May 18th at noon.



Agents of Query Kombat 2018



Lindsay Mealing of Emerald City Literary


Lindsay has been writing stories since she could first hold a pencil. It wasn’t until she sat down to edit a manuscript for the first time she realized her true love was not on the writing side of the publishing industry, but the business side. She began interning for Mandy in early 2015 and quickly realized agenting was what she wanted to do forever more.


Lindsay is a self-proclaimed  nerd, loving everything science fiction and fantasy – from epic tomes to gaming. She fell head over heels with the SFF genre when she read KUSHIEL’S DART by Jacqueline Carey (she even has Phedre’s marque tattooed on her back).

May 4, 2018

QK 2018: Guess That Agent!

Want some chances to win a query critique from a QK host? Of course you do! And we've got some opportunities for you!

Below is 1/3 of the agents participating in the Agent Round of Query Kombat. Their names and the agencies they work for have been redacted. Correctly guess the name and agency of all ten agents and send them to querykombat (at) gmail (dot) com as quickly as possible. Be the first to guess all ten correctly and you'll win a query critique from yours truly.

Visit Michelle and Kara for more chances to win!



??? of ???


??? has been writing stories since she could first hold a pencil. It wasn’t until she sat down to edit a manuscript for the first time she realized her true love was not on the writing side of the publishing industry, but the business side. She began interning for Mandy in early 2015 and quickly realized agenting was what she wanted to do forever more.

??? is a self-proclaimed  nerd, loving everything science fiction and fantasy – from epic tomes to gaming. She fell head over heels with the SFF genre when she read KUSHIEL’S DART by Jacqueline Carey (she even has Phedre’s marque tattooed on her back).