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| The two of us hamming it up at Cindy's Portland book launch! |
Welcome to
the wish list for #TeamMascaraTracks!
(That’s Amanda Rawson Hill and Cindy
Baldwin.) Sit down and draw up a chair. We've got chocolate, lots of episodes
of The Good Place, and—of course—a
bookshelf chock full of crying books.
First off,
a little about us:
Amanda Rawson Hill: I grew up in Southwest Wyoming with a library right out my back gate. I was one of those “gifted” kids. Smart, overachiever, played a couple instruments, speech and debate. You know the type. I never dreamed of being a writer until after I had kids! I got my degree in Chemistry and now live in Central California with my husband and three kids. My debut middle grade novel, The Three Rules of Everyday Magic, will be published at the end of September by Boyds Mills Press. WHICH IS SO CLOSE!!!
Amanda Rawson Hill: I grew up in Southwest Wyoming with a library right out my back gate. I was one of those “gifted” kids. Smart, overachiever, played a couple instruments, speech and debate. You know the type. I never dreamed of being a writer until after I had kids! I got my degree in Chemistry and now live in Central California with my husband and three kids. My debut middle grade novel, The Three Rules of Everyday Magic, will be published at the end of September by Boyds Mills Press. WHICH IS SO CLOSE!!!
Cindy Baldwin: As a kid, my favorite things to do were either explore the woods behind my North Carolina home, dreaming of fairies and hidden castles, or curl up with a book to read stories that filled my imagination with wonder and magic. In middle school, I kept a book under my bathroom sink to read over and over while fixing my hair or brushing my teeth, and I dream of writing the kind of books readers can’t bear to be without! These days, I live in Portland, Oregon with my husband and daughter, surrounded by tall trees and wild blackberries. My debut middle grade novel, Where The Watermelons Grow, was published by HarperCollins in July. In addition to receiving starred reviews from SLJ, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Shelf Awareness, it was also an Indies Introduce and Indie Next title for 2018.
After reading and loving each other’s work, and then signing with
the same agent, we decided to make the writing twin thing official and become
Pitch Wars co-mentors. Destiny sealed the deal when we both got book deals with
planned publication dates in the same year. These days, we're child-raising,
book-writing, fast-talking, emotion-loving BFFs. Amanda even flew to Portland
to MC Cindy's book launch, and Cindy is excited to get to return the favor
soon! We don’t shy away from total sincerity and talking about feelings. We
love big and we love hard. Cindy is Anne Shirley. (She once really did end up stranded in a river, clinging to bridge pilings, and had to be rescued. It's a long story.)
Amanda is Leslie Knope.
Together,
we head up Team Mascara Tracks. This is our third year as Pitch Wars mentors. 80%
of our past mentees are now agented, and two have books coming out soon! Here
are some of our success stories:
In
2016, we mentored Kit Rosewater and Cory Leonardo. Kit's entry had the most
request of any middle grade manuscript in the contest. Both had agent offers
right off the bat, and both are doing awesome things! You can check out Cory's
Pitch Wars novel, The Simple Art of
Flying, in just a few months—it releases in February from S&S/Aladdin
in the US and Scholastic in the UK.
In
2017, we went really overboard and
mentored THREE writers: author/illustrator Remy
Lai, Karen S. Chow, and Kirk Kraft.
Remy's fantastic graphic-prose hybrid novel, Pie in the Sky, sold immediately in a pre-empt to Macmillan/Henry
Holt, and will be out in the spring. Karen's heartbreakingly beautiful story
about moving on after loss found a passionate agent advocate as well. And Kirk
worked incredibly hard to revise his humor-and-heart-filled manuscript while
also being one of the most positive and encouraging people on the PW feed.
While
we can't promise requests, agents, or book deals, we can promise care, attention, and endless cheerleading. Over the
past two years, we've walked mentees through not only revisions and the Pitch
Wars agent round, but also deciding between multiple agent offers, navigating an agent breakup, dealing with a querying journey that went beyond the contest, handling
nerves on submission, and many other ups and downs that come with a
professional writing career. As mentors, we believe strongly in sticking around
long after the agent round is over. We've forged good friendships with all our
past mentees, and still keep in touch with each of them regularly.
Here
are some of the things our past mentees had to say about working with us:
"I had never received such detailed notes on even a page of any manuscript I’d written, and here I’d received a comment on all of it. Comps. Concerns. Structure. Plot. Pacing. Characterization. Theme. Big picture. Small picture. Resources. Everything. I was astounded that they took the time and had thought about my book so deeply and thoroughly….Every. Single. Thing Amanda and Cindy said, every one, was right on. Over the next few months, I grew to trust their instincts more and more. They were always right, and every time I took a little while for their comments to sink in, I’d come to the same conclusion, make the necessary changes, and every time the book was better."
-Cory
Leonardo, Pitch Wars 2016 mentee, author of The Simple Art of Flying (Aladdin, February
2019)
"Amanda
and Cindy have the unique ability in plucking key emotions, interactions, and symbols
from a text, and carrying those gently forward while rearranging all the
trappings around them. Though nearly every word of my manuscript was switched
around and deleted and rewritten by the time the agent round arrived, it felt
more like my vision than ever. Cindy and Amanda knew what I was after in my
writing, and helped me to maintain the things I found most important, even
through completely fresh drafts. This is a vital skill to have in the process
of revising, and one I shall carry with me forever."
-Kit
Rosewater, 2016 Pitch Wars Mentee, MG Agent Round Winner
"Amanda
and Cindy are the best!"
-Remy
Lai, 2017 Pitch Wars mentee, author of Pie in the Sky (Henry Holt, Spring 2019)
-Karen S. Chow, 2017 Pitch Wars mentee
"My mentors put me through the wringer but the knowledge I gained and the depth of revision I was forced to complete made me a better writer."
-Kirk Kraft, 2017 Pitch Wars mentee
If that sounds like what you are looking for in a mentor, then let’s go on to what you really want to know!
Our Wish List
Our favorite genres are MG contemporary, Magical Realism (both true magical realism—which comes from traditionally marginalized communities and is aware of the Latinx traditions from which it draws—and literary contemporary with elements of magic), and 20th-century historical. Within those genres we are particularly looking for stories usually labeled, quiet, character driven, heartfelt, and literary. The comedic and quirky is not really in our wheelhouse. That’s not to say that we don’t want a book that has quirky or comedic elements (we love those!), but that shouldn’t feel like the main focus or strength of the story. We want FLORA AND ULYSSES, not DIARY OF A WIMPY KID. We are particularly looking for stories the revolve around big, hard, real-world problems. If somebody has ever said, “Wow, isn’t that a little heavy for MG?”—we want it. If somebody has ever said, “This is really sad!"—we want it. We want to feel something. We want to bawl our eyes out. We want to see beautiful, powerful prose or poetry. We want books that exemplify the quote “When a subject is too hard for adults, I write it for children.” We want books that tackle tough subjects in a hopeful and life-affirming way. We want big philosophical ideas handled with the grace, wisdom and innocence of this age group.
This year, we're not accepting sci fi or fantasy, and likely won't read excerpts that are sent to us in these genres. If you're confused about whether your manuscript would be considered "fantasy" or "magical realism/contemporary with magical elements," feel free to Tweet us! Our list of comp titles, below, might also help clarify what we're looking for.
We also have strong preferences when it comes to historical fiction: We’re not the right mentors for stories where the history or world-building plays a larger role than the character’s arc. We love historicals that focus on one small, character-driven story against the backdrop of larger events that really happened, without spending too much time or detail on those larger events. Basically, if you have the next THE WAR THAT SAVED MY LIFE, well—send it our way! If, on the other hand, you love writing historical because you get lost in the details of the period you're describing, and the period itself is as important as the character arc, we're probably not the right mentors for it. For us, emotions and character arcs are always going to be the biggest draw.
Our favorite genres are MG contemporary, Magical Realism (both true magical realism—which comes from traditionally marginalized communities and is aware of the Latinx traditions from which it draws—and literary contemporary with elements of magic), and 20th-century historical. Within those genres we are particularly looking for stories usually labeled, quiet, character driven, heartfelt, and literary. The comedic and quirky is not really in our wheelhouse. That’s not to say that we don’t want a book that has quirky or comedic elements (we love those!), but that shouldn’t feel like the main focus or strength of the story. We want FLORA AND ULYSSES, not DIARY OF A WIMPY KID. We are particularly looking for stories the revolve around big, hard, real-world problems. If somebody has ever said, “Wow, isn’t that a little heavy for MG?”—we want it. If somebody has ever said, “This is really sad!"—we want it. We want to feel something. We want to bawl our eyes out. We want to see beautiful, powerful prose or poetry. We want books that exemplify the quote “When a subject is too hard for adults, I write it for children.” We want books that tackle tough subjects in a hopeful and life-affirming way. We want big philosophical ideas handled with the grace, wisdom and innocence of this age group.
This year, we're not accepting sci fi or fantasy, and likely won't read excerpts that are sent to us in these genres. If you're confused about whether your manuscript would be considered "fantasy" or "magical realism/contemporary with magical elements," feel free to Tweet us! Our list of comp titles, below, might also help clarify what we're looking for.
We also have strong preferences when it comes to historical fiction: We’re not the right mentors for stories where the history or world-building plays a larger role than the character’s arc. We love historicals that focus on one small, character-driven story against the backdrop of larger events that really happened, without spending too much time or detail on those larger events. Basically, if you have the next THE WAR THAT SAVED MY LIFE, well—send it our way! If, on the other hand, you love writing historical because you get lost in the details of the period you're describing, and the period itself is as important as the character arc, we're probably not the right mentors for it. For us, emotions and character arcs are always going to be the biggest draw.
Other things we especially love to see:
- Diversity (#ownvoices in particular—if you're submitting a story with a marginalized protagonist whose marginalization you don't share, please make sure to do your research and employ sensitivity readers!)
- Characters influenced by faith but not in a faith-based story
- Homeschooling!
- Unique structures and formats (some examples include letters; journal entries; verse—we've both written verse novels and LOVE the genre!; and graphic novels—neither of us have a background in art, but it's definitely in our wheelhouse to work with the text, story structure, character arc, and scene blocking. Two of our previous mentees have had manuscripts in unusual hybrid formats, and they're some of our favorite-ever books! So, if you’re doing something experimental with format, we definitely want to see it!)
- Chronic illness and/or disability, especially nuanced, disability-positive portrayals that don't end with magical cures
- Verse! (We realize we said that above, but please. We're nuts for verse! Send us your verse!)
- Bittersweet endings
- Anything involving the ocean
- Strong, vibrant settings
- Science incorporated in a beautiful, meaningful way! (THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. or THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH.)
- An own voices refugee story (Please!)
- An own voices story with a Muslim main character, whether or not the plot is about being Muslim (Triple Please!)
- Books set in countries that don't get as much MG screentime (please, send us the next AMAL UNBOUND!)
- A story about someone trying to immigrate to America across the Southern border (legally or illegally) or who has just recently done so. Think a modern-day ESPERANZA RISING meets FRONT DESK.
If any of these could be a comp title…grabby hands!
Front Desk, Kelly Yang
Love Sugar Magic: A Dash of
Trouble, Anna
Meriano
The Penderwicks
series, Jeanne Birdsall
Some Kind of Happiness, Claire Legrand
Amal Unbound, Aisha Saeed
The Night Diary, Veera Hiranandani
Paper Chains, Elaine Vickers
Anything
by Kate Dicamillo, Sharon Draper, Lynda Mulally Hunt, or Sharon Creech
The Thing About Jellyfish, Ali Benjamin
Paper Wishes, Lois Sepahban
The Key to Extraordinary or A Snicker of Magic, Natalie Lloyd
Counting By 7s, Holly Goldberg Sloan
Love, Aubrey, Suzanne LaFleur
The War That Saved My Life and The War I Finally Won, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Hour of the Bees, Lindsay Eager
Amina's Voice, Hena Kahn
Summerlost, Ally Condie
Forget Me Not, Ellie Terry
Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles, Shari Green
Echo, Pam Muñoz Ryan
The Thing About Jellyfish, Ali Benjamin
Paper Wishes, Lois Sepahban
The Key to Extraordinary or A Snicker of Magic, Natalie Lloyd
Counting By 7s, Holly Goldberg Sloan
Love, Aubrey, Suzanne LaFleur
The War That Saved My Life and The War I Finally Won, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Hour of the Bees, Lindsay Eager
Amina's Voice, Hena Kahn
Summerlost, Ally Condie
Forget Me Not, Ellie Terry
Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles, Shari Green
Echo, Pam Muñoz Ryan
And, of
course, reading Cindy's book, Where the
Watermelons Grow, could give you a good idea of our tastes as well! You can also check out a
few pages of Amanda’s book, The Three Rules of Everyday Magic, on Amazon.
Between the two, you’ll get a pretty good idea about what we love in a voice.
A Note On Animal Stories
Our first year, we took on an “animal story"—Cory Leonardo’s The Simple Art of Flying, about a curmudgeonly parrot. And while we love, love, love her book, we’re going to continue to say the same thing we have said for the last two years. Animal stories are a hard sell for us. They have to be done very well, with a great voice, something unique (Cory’s had gorgeous poetry), and lots and lots of heart. Basically, you need to be able to compare it to FLORA AND ULYSSES and THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN. Cory did, and the comparison held up. We’re definitely NOT the mentors for animal stories that are more humor or adventure than heart.
Other Hard Sells
- Sports stories (There are other mentors LOOKING for this. We just don’t love it. Sorry.)
- Historical fiction from earlier than the 1900s.
- Anything more plot-driven than character-driven.
- Anything that could be described with the word "adventure," especially combined with "fantasy." Unless your character's adventure is lived out largely in their own head (a la Bridge to Terabithia or Some Kind of Happiness—SEND US THOSE!), we are just not the best mentors for that! Really, if your query contains words like epic, journey, battle, quest…you should probably not send it to us.
What
Will Really Draw Us In?
Voice and beautiful writing are probably the number one thing that draws us to a manuscript—though a great hook doesn't hurt (last year, the fact that Remy Lai's story of two brothers secretly baking cakes together was utterly charming was the thing that made us look twice at her query). We can help you change everything else. But the voice reigns supreme.
Voice and beautiful writing are probably the number one thing that draws us to a manuscript—though a great hook doesn't hurt (last year, the fact that Remy Lai's story of two brothers secretly baking cakes together was utterly charming was the thing that made us look twice at her query). We can help you change everything else. But the voice reigns supreme.
We can’t wait to read your work! Putting
it out there is such an act of courage and vulnerability. We promise to treat
your entry with the respect and love that creativity deserves. We feel so
honored by every person who decides to share their story with us. We are
excited to meet all of you and your characters.
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Think about it. Not only will we be forming new, better writing habits, but at the end of the twenty eight days, with having written just that half a page a day, we will have written fourteen pages. Compared to barely writing anything at all, isn't that a step in the right direction? BUT, the majority of us are not going to stop writing at the half a page mark. Most of us, once we begin to write will find that there is no stopping us. The hardest part of writing is the first word. Not much different to looking at a pile of ironing and struggling to begin it. Once you start you more often than not continue until it has all been done and put away. So, more than likely, at the end of the twenty eight days you will have written a substantial number of words/pages and be well on your way to having formed a new writing discipline and a new idea of who you really are and what you are capable of. You will feel good about yourself and your writing will take on a different slant, it will flow with ease. Without the pressure to write a certain number of words or for so many hours a day you will be free to enjoy the time that you spend writing and because you will be writing a little every day in a relaxed, stress free way, you will find that you will start to think outside the box, that your characters and plot will come to life, as if changing from black, white and grey to multi coloured, multi faceted individuals. You will be free from the constraints of time, of 'should' and 'ought to.' Authors Unite
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