Meet Son of a Pitch Publisher Jolly Fish Press

From the Website:

We are Jolly Fish Press, a publishing house based in Provo, Utah, which publishes trade fiction and select non-fiction books in the national and international market. We excel in exceptional cover design, worldwide online and brick-and-mortar distribution, expansive publicity and marketing campaigns, subsidiary rights representation, and most of all, our drive and ability to find exceptional, yet undiscovered authors, jump starting their careers with maximum exposure, sales, mentoring, and higher than industry average royalty rates.

Jolly Fish Press is a publishing house with audacity: we seek the best authors, fashioning them into celebrities, and inserting innovations every step of the book-market way. Yup, we do, in fact, disrupt the industry. And we're proud of it.

An avid reader, writer, and editor, Kelsy Thompson graduated with her bachelor’s degree in creative writing from Weber State University. She’s had a love affair with the written word since she was a small child, and especially enjoys young adult literature, science fiction, fantasy, women’s fiction, and historical fiction.

Follow her on Twitter @KelsyThompson

Kelsy Thompson Wish List

- grown up fairy tale with a fresh twist

- women's fiction with romantic elements and a strong voice - YA/WF alternate history or historical fiction - quirky, edgy, off-the-beaten path YA

Reece Hanzon specializes in science fiction and fantasy. He is especially interested in sci-fi thrillers, space opera, cyberpunk, urban fantasy, sword and sorcery, and epic fantasy. He has a B.A. in communications, with a minor in editing, from Brigham Young University. Reece has been with Jolly Fish Press since 2012, and worked on various projects, including: The Moonlight Trilogy by Teri Harman; The Psionic Earth series, by Dan Levinson; The Samaritan's Pistol by Eric Bishop; and Dependent by Brenda Corey Dunne.

Reece’s latest acquisition includes the Tokens and Omens series (JFP, Spring 2016) by Jeri Lynn Baird.

Follow Reece on Twitter @Reece_Hanzon

Reece Hanzon Wish List

- adult science fiction (space opera especially)

- adult secondary world fantasy

**Note: Jolly Fish Press takes only U.S. Resident writers at this time.**

Son of a Pitch: Meet Bookfish Book

Another return from the February competition is Bookfish Books! 

BookFish Books is a publisher of quality young adult and new adult fiction. Our team works alongside our authors to create the best possible work, novels our authors and our house can stand behind proudly. 

Erin Rhew

Operations & Production Manager

Erin is interested in seeing young adult and new adult: mythology (all kinds), fantasy, sci-fi, unique dystopian, flawed utopian, romance, and historical fiction.

   

Jennifer Herrington

Content Editor

Jenn is looking for strong, dynamic characters thrown into unique and interesting plots with engaging writing. Make her laugh, cry or both and she'll be your biggest fan. She's seeking YA and NA romance in all genres with a particular interest in paranormal romance (yes, even vampires and shifters), coming of age stories, and sports romance.

Julia Byers

Line and Copy Editor

Julia is interested in unique voices in all genres at the YA/NA level.

Heather Young-Nichols

Acquisitions Intern

Heather is interested in sports romance - especially if the girl is the athlete, YA/NA thrillers - especially with romance, and main characters with special needs. 

Son of a Pitch: Meet Curiosity Quills Press

Curiosity Quills joined us earlier this year for Son of a Pitch and it's a pleasure to have them returning. As my publisher for the best selling Kiya Trilogy, and my latest release Princess of Tyrone, I can say from personal experience they are a quality press that's on the up and up. So, I am very pleased they're back!

Curiosity Quills Press (CQ) is a hybrid press founded in 2011 that specializes in fresh, unique fiction of the highest quality.

At CQ, we believe that everyone needs an escape, and we want to be yours. Come grab a book and nerd out with us for a while.

Over the past three years we have successfully tripled our business going from writer-advice blog to full-service publishing press. If you are an author interested in submitting, please visit our submission page: http://curiosityquills.com/submission-guidelines/

Editorial Wish Lists:

Managing Partner Lisa Gus is looking for historical, contemporary romance / women's fiction, unique retellings / steampunk, and alternate history.

VP of Operations, Andrew Buckley, is seeking Adult (all genres), NA (all genres), YA (all genres), and MG (all genres). Specifically he’d like to see some original Sci-Fi and Horror stories and he’s always open to any bizarro fiction with a unique twist. 

#SonofaPitch Publishers for Round 3

So, for the third round, I've lined up an amazing collection of publishers who are ready to read the efforts of the finalists. Many have returned from our February line up, so I'm really excited! Check them out.

Blaze

Bloomsbury Spark

BookFish Book

Curiosity Quills

Soul Mate Publishing

#SonofaPitch Success Story!

As we approach Son of a Pitch time again, I'm excited to share with all of you a success story from February's competition! Since honing pitches and writing is what Son of a Pitch is about, it's an absolute delight to see success from the hard work of the participants. So, it's my pleasure to share with you Abby's success.

Hi Everyone!

It’s time for Son of a Pitch again! Whoo hoo!!  I wanted to share my Son of a Pitch success story from last season to give you some encouragement:

When Planets Fall isn’t my first book. I wrote another YA Sci-Fi before it. Between the two, I’ve clocked about 100 rejections, easily 100 writing-induced migraines, and way over 100 cups of caffeine-riddled tea. I had been working on When Planets Fall for a fat two years, gotten many full requests, omg-I-love-it-but-just-don’t connect with ___. After a full year of querying and contests, I was on the verge of shelving it to fully focus on yet another new project.

Then I entered Son of a Pitch.

I didn’t land slide the competition with all my awesome writing. In fact, I barely slipped in thanks to a tie for the last couple top 20 spots. I didn’t receive the highest amount of comments either. But I did get a full request from Soul Mate Publishing. I figured Soul Mate would just add another no to my massively growing rejection folder. I sent the full off, not thinking much of it.

About two weeks later, I received Soul Mate’s answer. I read the email right before I turned off the light, so I was 93% asleep. Honestly, my first thought was, aww. What a great dream. Soul Mate wants to publish my book. Then a couple minutes passed before I realized I hadn’t fallen asleep and This Was Real Life.
I panicked, scaring my husband with all my jumping and punching (I mean, I legit happy-punched him), and then woke my friend downstairs who was staying with us to shriek the news.
*Enter more screaming.* *flailing* *eating celebratory fro-yo* *screaming some more*
I can now tell you When Planets Fall is going to published in April 2017!

I can’t even express how excited I am. Whenever I think I’m going to be a published author I get all cheek-cramp smiley. I love this book and the characters so much. It’s been such a long journey, and I’m SO EXCITED to share Breaker’s story with you :)

If you’re on the fence about Son of a Pitch or about to give up. Don’t. Because maybe, maybe this chance will be the one.
Good luck to all you Son of a Pitch-ers!

Blurb:
Breaker's home is cleaved by blood. The three tribes on the planet Scarlatti, whose only difference is their blood color, each want to exploit Breaker's valley for themselves. The feudal tension has already claimed red-blood Breaker's leg and his older brother. Now all this 18-year old wants is to maintain the tenuous peace in order to keep his little 'stroid of a brother alive. Malani, a red-blood raised blue, is a kidnapped POW and only wants to return to her adoptive home with her dangerous blue secrets. Luka, a red-blood stewing for trouble, wants to right wrongs done to his family and bath his home in justice.

All three intersect when Breaker discovers a wrecked starship and is given seven days by the green-bloods to fix and hand it over as a weapon. Breaker must decide if aiding his enemies is worth the home he knows and his family's life. War is coming. And war respects no boundaries. And war leaves no survivors.

Bio:
Abby J. Reed writes young adult science fiction and fantasy novels that ask what if. She has a degree in English Writing and is drawn to characters with physical limitations due to her own neurological disorder called Chronic Migraine. Her debut novel, When Planets Fall, will be published in April 2017 by Soul Mate Publishing.Abby lives in Colorado with her husband and two fluffy pups. If her hands aren’t on the keyboard, they are stained purple and blue with paint. You can find her online at www.abbyjreed.com.

Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30801623-when-planets-fall?ac=1&from_search=true

#SonofaPitch! Meet the Hosts and Critiquing Authors

Today is the first day back at school here, but I like adding to my hectic schedule. So, today you get to meet the Hosts for the Author Critique Round and the Authors who will be critiquing and voting for round three. The hosting authors will also be critiquing and voting, so go crazy with the bribery! Heh heh heh... Hosts will decorate their blogs with stuff about their chosen hero/villain, and you can vie to be on a specific host's blog by tweeting team whatever the host is!

So, here we go!

Blog Hosts

Kathleen Palm

Kathleen aka Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty!

Kathleen Palm loves the weird, the scary, and the fantastical, believing that magic makes the world a fabulously strange place. She started writing about twelve years ago with no idea of what she was doing or where the road lined with words would take her. She wrote several manuscripts and faced the next step with tears in her eyes. Publishing. She wanted her words to be a real book! Deciding against querying agents (or possibly doubting her ability to catch one), she made a list of small presses and queried her YA fantasy FAERIE WIND and, well, failed. The following year, she polished her YA fantasy DOORS and sent it out into the world with a bit of hope flying behind it like a kite tail. Two years ago, she had two offers to publish DOORS and chose REUTS Publishing. The making of the books is a slow endeavor, and she waits for her turn to be a debut author. She writes to pass the time…writing new manuscripts and revising old ones…and has found a love of creating short stories. Her stories DARK WOLF and TOGETHER can be found in the anthology FAIRLY TWISTED TALES FOR A HORRIBLY EVER AFTER. Her horror short WHAT LURKS IN THE DARKNESS can be found in the anthology HALLOWEEN NIGHT: TRICK OR TREAT.

HALLOWEENNIGHT: TRICK OR TREAT Anthology…

FAIRLYTWISTED TALES FOR A HORRIBLY EVER AFTER Anthology…

DOORS (Goodreads)

Tegan Wren

Tegan aka Belle from Beauty and the Beast!

How I got my deal: I'd had strong interest from agents through various pitch contests but I kept getting encouraging passes and a couple of R&Rs. One R&R in particular from an agent was incredibly helpful. Even though she ultimately passed on representing me and my novel, the revisions I did using her suggestions helped me get my novel in great shape for the next contest I entered: Pitchmas. Lisa Gus from Curiosity Quills Press requested the first few pages. A week or so later, I had a request for the full from acquisitions editor (and talented writer) Vicki Keire. A few more weeks after that, I had an offer on the table from CQ. I signed with them and have loved being a part of the CQ family!

My novel is INCONCEIVABLE! and is available here: j.mp/readinconceivable

Elsie Elmore:

Elsie aka Hades from Hercules!

Elsie Elmore lives in North Carolina with her husband and two kids.
She loves the color red, has an appreciation for chocolate and coffee that borders on obsession, writes stories that challenge the laws of nature, and wishes fall temperatures would linger year round. 
Elsie is a member of  SCBWI, and WSW. The Undead : Playing for Keeps is her debut novel. Find her on the web: on twitter at @ElsieWriter, her blog at www.elsieelmore.com, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/elsieelmorewriter.

Pub story:

I finalized The Undead mid-summer and had queried a few agents before participating in the September's #pitmad. I had two requests.

About a week after I had sent my partial, the full manuscript was requested and I couldn’t push SEND fast enough.

I checked out Curiosity Quills books, covers and their online presence. I was excited and hopeful. In November, I was offered a contract. I withdrew my queries / partials from other agencies and signed on the dotted line. And of course, went out to dinner to celebrate.

Find her book on Amazon and Barnes and Nobles (Paperback only)

Samantha Bryant

Samantha aka Meg from Hercules!

Short tale of publishing path:

I spent a year and a half shopping around a women's fiction novel at the big publishers and being frustrated by the long wait just to get to a nonspecific and unhelpful, "No." So, when I finished another novel, I decided to try the small publisher route. Even though I still collected a few rejections, the process was faster and more personal. I felt like I was dealing with people instead of machines. 

I queried Curiosity Quills because I had an online friendship with a writer who was published with them. My research on the company showed me that they were transparent from the get-go about their contract terms, that the covers looked good, and that they had several books in their stable with a strong sales record. There were no red flags on Preditors and Editors or Writer Beware. I also saw that they had already published several books with themes similar to mine: superhero, women-centric, gender-bending, feminist. It seemed like a good fit. 

The acquisitions editor agreed. The process was very quick. In the space of a week, I had a request for a full, followed by a contract offer. The book came out the following spring. I have since published the sequel and a novella in the same world with them, and plan to publish the third book with them next summer. The moral of my story: research your options and choose one that seems like it will be a good fit in philosophy and style. Don't waste your time on others.

Links:

International link to Amazon author page: viewAuthor.at/SamanthaBryant

Bio: 

Samantha Bryant is a middle school Spanish teacher by day and a mom and novelist by night. That makes her a superhero all the time. Her secret superpower is finding lost things. When she's not writing or teaching, Samantha enjoys time with her family, watching old movies, baking, reading, and going places. Her favorite gift is tickets (to just about anything).

You can find her Menopausal Superhero series from Curiosity Quills on Amazon, or request it at your favorite independent (or big box) bookstore. You can find her online on her blog, on Twitter, on Facebook, on Goodreads, on the Curiosity Quills page, or on Google+, and now on Tumblr.

Elizabeth Roderick

Elizabeth aka Ursula from The little Mermaid!

Hello, everyone! It’s that time again! I had so much fun being a critiquer/judge in the Son of a Pitch contest last time, and I can’t wait to participate again!

A little about myself: my name is Elizabeth Roderick. I’m the author of Love or Money, a standalone LGBT romantic suspense novel (published through Limitless Publishing), and The Other Place Series, a new adult magical realism series (also through Limitless; the first two installments (The Hustle and The Other Place) are already out, and the last two will come out next year). I have several other books in various stages of editing, and am working on a few more. I write YA, NA, and Adult, and my genres range from contemporary to fantasy and all points beyond and in between. My books usually feature characters of the sort society tends to shun (addicts, convicts, the homeless, and the neurodiverse). I think if you get to know my characters, as well as people like them in real life, you might find they’re a lot more wonderful and interesting than you originally thought.

Part of the reason I write “unlikeable” characters that is because I myself am a neurodiverse person, along with all the baggage that can come with that (I’m a recovering addict, for instance). I’ve recently “come out” about the fact that I have bipolar disorder with episodes of psychosis. This profession is one of the few where this might actually be an asset: my experiences I think lend a lot of insight into my writing and my characters. A lot of things people only know about from television, I’ve lived through, for better or worse. Believe it or not, it’s not all dark!

I use my stories as a way to explore the different ways in which people’s minds work, and the many ways in which they learn to live and love in this crazy world. It’s my strange and convoluted way of trying to find out how I fit into this society. I think a lot of writers write for the same or similar reasons.

Enough about me. I’m really excited to be part of Son of a Pitch again. I love reading everyone’s entries. The only problem is I’m always left wanting to read the entire manuscript.

Critique contests like these are so important. I would never have gotten published if it weren’t for the advice I got from other writers, authors, and industry professionals along the way. Writing is a subjective business, and we all know that sometimes the advice we get from critiquers can be contradictory. But it is always a learning experience. It’s sometimes difficult to see how our stories will be perceived by others. Readers won’t always walk away with the same perceptions, but knowing what those perceptions are gives us incredible insight into our own work, and helps us to make it stronger, even if we end up not taking the exact advice our critiquers gave us.

The support of other writers and professionals in the community is also incredibly important. My hope is to see each and every entrant published. My first job in that regard is to make sure that no one gives up. The only thing that separates writers from authors is the refusal to throw in the towel, even when it gets hard. There will always be days when you think you can’t go on, when you’re angry, when you’re sure you “suck”. Ask anyone who is published, even people who are mega-famous bestsellers. They’ve felt the same way. I want you all to love writing, and to believe in your own voice, enough that you’ll never give up.

As for what kind of stories will be my favorites, I’m constantly surprised by what I like best. Any of you who know me know that I am a huge fan of diverse stories, especially #ownvoices. That isn’t limited to stories about and by neurodiverse people—I’m massively excited to see stories from authentic points of view that I’ve never read about before. In fact, I would be so honored if you would comment on this blog post, or in a private message if you prefer, and tell me the inspiration for your diverse and/or #ownvoices story. I love hearing people’s personal stories as much as I like reading their fiction.

That said, I’m a huge fan of any sort of story that’s well-told, even if it can’t possibly be #ownvoices because it’s about a being that is a near-sentient wisp of memory contained in the scent of jasmine in a young woman’s garden. Or whatever. I love crazy stories, and more traditional stories; quiet stories and high-action stories; stories about love and hate and everything in between. I want to read them all, and I can’t wait to!

Critiquers and Voters:

Em Shotwell

Hi guys! My name is Em Shotwell and you can visit me right here-à www.EmShotwell.com.  I am the author of Blackbird Summer (City Owl Press). Blackbird Summer is about a family of magical misfits who try to quietly live their lives in a backwards, hick town that would rather they not exist.

I am so excited to help out with your queries! My very first query letter was treacherous. That is really the only word that does that sad letter justice. It was long and clunky, and the hook was lost in its wordiness. After studying at the query altar—also known as the Query Shark blog (yes- I read every. single. post.)—and work-shopping it with a wonderful CP, I was able to trim the fat, up the stakes, and turn my dud-of-a-letter into one that worked. As a result, when I decided to accept the offer from City Owl, I had four fulls out, and a second offer on the table.

In my experience, the most important elements of a query are voice, cadence, stakes, and of course, the hook. The voice and cadence give us the feel of your book, and the stakes and hook leave us needing to know more. Send in your letter and I will do my best to help you mold it into one that stands out and leaves publishers dying to read your words.

Come say hi! Facebook  /  twitter /   Instagram  /  pinterest  /  amazon  /  goodreads

Want to read my short story (Blackbird Summer tie-in), THE CHANS, for free? Click here!

PLUS...

Ayden K. Morgen

Andrea Berthot

Son of a Pitch! is BACK!

That's right! We're back for another round of our feedback orientated pitching competition, Son of a Pitch!

Follow along with the silliness and discussion under #sonofapitch on Twitter. This time, we're doing a theme as well, just to make things extra fun. Our hosts will be decorating their blogs with Disney heroes and villains! That's right, we're going for a Disney battle. So pick your favorite Disney hero or villain and join in the banter.

It's a month until the first round, so although it's short notice, I hope you jump in. Below is all the details, my little padawans. (Yes, it totally works because Disney owns Star Wars now!)

This comp is for Young Adult, New Adult, and Adult manuscripts of all genres.

Week 1 starts September 5, 2016:A chance to refine your query and first 250 words. Post this on your blog then leave a direct link in the comments of a post I will put up on my blog the week of Sept 5. Please leave feedback on the author's bog, and for a minimum of three other queries and first 250. All feedback left in the comments of the post for links will be deleted.

***You don't have to participate in Round 1 to join Round 2. It is highly recommended to get that extra polish before the voting round.***

Week 2 starts September 12, 2016:
This week, published authors will give you feedback. The Son of a Pitch team, who are all published, will post your emailed in queries and 250 words on their blogs. Please use the formatting below and email to:

sonofapitchcomp@yahoo.com.au

Subject line: Son of a Pitch! (Category and Genre of your manuscript)

Formatting:

Title: (Name of Manuscript)
Category and Genre: (YA/NA/Adult then Genre)
Word Count: (to the nearest thousand)
Query:Insert query here. No bio or comparisons please.
First 250 Words:I don't care if this is from a prologue or chapter one. That's up to you.

Incorrectly formatted emails will be returned.

The team will vote for their favorites from the fifty who make it through to go onto the final round. They will cast five votes each, anywhere they want, and the top 20 will go onto the next round. Feel free to coax judges your direction however you want! But please, only you and the judges can comment on your entry, or the comments can get confusing for tallying votes at the end. Votes will close on Thursday 11:59 p.m. MST. To stalk the hosts/voting authors, click .

The first fifty entries will go into this round. So get your clickers ready to email at precisely 10 a.m. Pacific Time on Friday September 9th.

But don't be discouraged! You will get good feedback to help you even if you don't make the top twenty. So please go and query elsewhere afterward, and let us know your success story so it can be shared on the blog.

Week 3 starts September 19, 2016:We have a fantastic line up of editors and publishers. They'll swing by the final contestants to try to bribe you into subbing to them. The final Twenty will post right here on this blog, where editors will come and make requests for you. If you make the top twenty, you will be emailed on Friday 9th, and all updated entries sent to the email address by Saturday 10th 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. If you don't make the deadline, the next highest voted entry will be emailed, and will have 24 hrs to get the entry into the inbox.
Feel free to email any requests made whenever you feel like it, but note that the editors are allowed to give feedback on your entry. Also, make sure to include that your query to them is from the comp by putting Son of a Pitch Request in the title.

Twitter Pitch: Sept 26, 2016:

And finally, we'll have a free-for-all twitter pitching opp under the hashtag #sonofapitch
Rules: Makes sure to include #sonofapitch and your genre/age category with the tweet. You can tweet any number of manuscripts, but only once every hour each.
It will open all day, but since I'm in Arizona, I won't be monitoring the earlier stages since that's like 5 in the morning here.

So there you have it! Come back on Monday to meet the hosts and published authors who will be leaving feedback.