Thursday, September 01, 2005

And the Winners Are...

I know many of you are anxiously awaiting the outcome of the latest TKA critique contest.

The random number generator has spoken. The winners are...(big drum roll!)

1 Natalie Damschroder
3. Shalana Collins
31. Moonhart

CONGRATS!!! WOO HOO!

Winners, please email me your three chapters and synopsis for critique, and send to:

submissions@knightagency.net

Congrats!!!! Thanks to everyone who participated. What a fun month it has been.
Deidre

34 Comments:

Blogger Gina Black said...

Woohoo! Congrats Natalie, Shalana, and Moonhart!!

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 1:37:00 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congratulations, ladies!!

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 1:56:00 AM EDT  
Blogger "ME" Liz Strauss said...

Yea! Congratulations to all three!

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 3:38:00 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

(O! M! G!) I'm so excited! But halfway ashamed to have won, after all these other writers had such fantastic pitches. So much good stuff, and great help found here!

*NOW* the dilemma: should I send something that I think I really do need advice on (because I wonder if it needs changing to be marketable), or should I send my best work in hopes of being picked up by the agency (oh yes you KNEW I had an agenda, yes you did too)? I've already sent what I feel is probably my best work to Nephele . . . however, it's in the mail and will be in the stack of to-do stuff. On the other tentacle, I always think everything is my best work.

Oh, the dilemma. This is a GOOD dilemma. But if anyone has any advice, I need it *now*. My brain is fried from a two-day marathon of staring at the media coverage of the disaster in NOLA and along the Gulf coast. (If I just had a boat or an airplane so I could go get the ones who are still stranded on roofs and on third/fourth floors, with no water and waiting, waiting. They need CARE packages from the sky.) I need advice because I cannot think properly (and it is arguable whether I ever think inside the box.)

Or is there a rule that I need to send in the one I made the pitch for? Because then I have to send the one I secretly love, but have been told is not marketable. . . .

Thanks for any advice!!

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 3:54:00 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I posted on the pitch loop but wanted to congratulate the winners again!

I feel like we all won something. We basically workshopped all the pitches and it was great!

Shalanna, if I were you, I'd send in the one you secretly love. Whoever told you it wasn't marketable might be wrong. (I experienced that and a year later, read about my "wrong" in other books.)

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 7:42:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Ellen said...

Yay! Congrats to the winners!

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 7:42:00 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

And yes, it's wonderful that Natalie who is so generous with her time and input won. (Natalie, I still use the formula that you shared on Harlequin's boards about printing exactly 25 lines per page.)

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 7:45:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Natalie J. Damschroder said...

I'll second Shalanna's reaction and say:

O. M. G.

Deidre, thank you so much for offering this opportunity. I have a book that has been extensively shopped around and is pretty much dead, but it's also the book *I* love and I am thrilled to get a chance to find out what's really wrong with it, from the other side of the fence, so to speak.

Thanks for everyone's nice comments about me. I had a BLAST with this project. I learned a lot, met some great people, and made mental notes about many books I really would love to read!

My whole week has just been made!

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 8:10:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Natalie J. Damschroder said...

I'm so embarrassed. I meant to congratulate Shalanna and terri!

Sometimes I need to remind myself it's not all about me. Not all the time, anyway. :)

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 8:28:00 AM EDT  
Blogger merlinsmuse said...

Congratulations to the lucky winners, and thanks to Deidre for the opportunity to have some fun.

Cathy

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 8:47:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Tori Scott said...

I posted on the pitch thread last night, but just wanted to say congratulations again to the winners!

Pam
www.wetnoodleposse.com

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 8:47:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Jana Armstrong said...

Congrats to everyone! What a great contest, Deidre! I cannot wait to learn what contest TKA thinks up next!!

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 9:44:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Val said...

YAY to y'all three. You'll have to let us know how your experience goes.

:-)

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 10:01:00 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congrats to the winners! And I loved reading all those great pitches.

Nikki

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 11:30:00 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congratulations, everyone!

Shalanna, your excitement just leaps through the computer screen. If I were you, I'd send the one you've been told is unmarketable. This is a critique, after all, and what better person to get a critique from than Deidre Knight? And, by the way, don't you dare be halfway embarrassed that you won. We all had an equal chance.

Natalie, I'm excited to see your name, because I "know" you. I think you're bang on about which project to submit. As Deidre said on another thread, this is a critique, not a "consideration," so take full advantage of the critique.

And congratulations to Moonhart!

Cindy

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 11:36:00 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Natalie, *sizzle*-cheeks on both of us. I took it for granted that it was implied that I'm congratulating you and Moonheart!! (think they'll buy it? Looks like some of them, maybe!)

I'm leaning toward sending the book that's going to be tough to market. After all, it deserves to wear the bridal gown now and then instead of having to wear all those tacky, ruffled "dewdrop-opal" dresses that make its butt look huge! (Meaning it should be the bride instead of the bridesmaid!)
Swbelcdf,
Shalanna
(That's my verification word--isn't it kind of cool and mystifying? Sort of a telephone vibe followed by the alphabet's neglected consonant contingent)

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 11:37:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Bernita said...

Congratulations Ms. Damschroder,Ms. Collins and Ms. Moonhart.

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 12:43:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Amie Stuart said...

Congrats ladies!!!! That's fabulous!!!

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 12:57:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Natalie J. Damschroder said...

Oh, shoot, now it looks like I was reprimanding! LOL Sorry, Shalanna, didn't mean to give you *sizzle* cheeks. :)

I think you're right and you should send the "unmarketable" story. 'Course, since that's what I'm doing, too, kind of, I'm biased. :)

Wonder where terri is?

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 1:44:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Kelly Maher said...

Congrats ladies!!

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 1:58:00 PM EDT  
Blogger moonhart said...

Holy crap!!! Do you know that I just gave my kids a royal scare to see my name listed as a winner????

I am...shocked. Yeah, shocked is a good word. And...scared. Yeah another good word. And thrilled. And did I mention shocked?

Do I have to send it this minute? I mean I can send it like next weekend? I mean I truly have the worst synopsis in the world because my story has changed so much and I haven't rewritten it yet.

Did I mention that I am scared?

I mean...where's the Jack Daniels when you need it?

Oh MAN! I gotta rewrite!!!

CONGRATS to Natalie and Shalala!!!

THANK YOU Dee!!!!

Terri (off to hyperventilate or throw up...or not, either way there's a bathroom involved.)

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 3:16:00 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Moonhart/Terri: Send me your synopsis if you want to for comments . . . c'mon over to my livejournal (click on my blue name up top and it'll take you there to leave a comment) and I'll tell you my Secret Squirrel email address to send it to . . . maybe I can make some suggestions. But hey, synopses always stink. They are just about impossible for writers to do on their own work, because it's a completely different part of the brain from the part that writes fiction. I firmly believe that.

I think they're mostly to indicate where the story is going, rather than for prose style, anyway.

Whee! We're off to see the Wizard. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 3:46:00 PM EDT  
Blogger moonhart said...

Thanks Shalana!

I will give 1 rewrite before sending it off to you.

Oh, and I get to be the cowardly lion, btw.

If I were King of Fooooooorest!


LOL!

Terri (scrambling as she gulps pepto bismol)

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 3:54:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Patrick McNamara said...

Congradulations to the winners.

Admittedly, I'm a little disapointed at not winning, but the exercise did help me. I used a revised pitch on a query letter for another story and now I have a publisher interested in seeing the manuscript. (Though they could still reject the story.)

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 5:05:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Lis said...

Congratulations to the three of you!

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 5:15:00 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yay! Congrats to all three ladies, and good luck with the critique! Hope you get excellent feedback.

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 5:30:00 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congrats, you guys! Way to go, Shal! I hope you all get contracts. It's really great you're doing this, Deidre (hope I spelled that right).

Thanks

Thursday, September 1, 2005 at 7:14:00 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

too cool- I'm totally green with envy- make it count ladies. I'm so happy for you.
congrats

Friday, September 2, 2005 at 7:38:00 AM EDT  
Blogger moonhart said...

Okay, I am rewriting my heart out before sending these chapters to you, Deidre. And I am pretty pleased with the results. Except for the synopsis which I haven't started since it will need the most work and I am hoping that my writing will overcome all my deficiencies in the synopsis department.

Still, things are well on their way.

Thank you again for this opportunity.

Terri

Saturday, September 3, 2005 at 10:31:00 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congrats to the winners!

Sunday, September 4, 2005 at 2:40:00 PM EDT  
Blogger moonhart said...

Okay, I have successfully finished the rewrites to my first 3 chapters. I am now attempting to revise my synopsis. Hope to have this finished by today so I can send in to the DK tomorrow.

A synopsis. Ugh!

terri

Tuesday, September 6, 2005 at 11:53:00 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congrats to the winners! I've had a blast reading the one-liners and the crits. Great job, everybody!

Thursday, September 8, 2005 at 9:53:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Monique G. said...

Congratulations to all the winners! What an exciting contest! :)

Friday, September 9, 2005 at 8:30:00 PM EDT  
Blogger vanessa jaye said...

Congratulations, ladies!

Sunday, September 11, 2005 at 9:26:00 AM EDT  

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