C-O-N-G-R-A-T-U-L-A-T-I-O-N-S!!

There was something inspirational--magical if Katy were telling the story--behind the creation of Novel Matters and the union of the six of us who co-author the blog. It was the brainchild of Books & Such agents Janet Grant and Wendy Lawton, though the specifics of who, what and when would come later. When I received the phone call from Wendy, who wanted to run the idea of such a blog by me, I was immediately interested. And when Wendy mentioned the names of two authors I knew well as possible blog mates, I was sold.
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Initially, seven of us were introduced to each other via phone conference hosted by Wendy and Janet. The rapport was instant and dynamic. Three months later, after another phone conference or two between the seven of us, Novel Matters was launched. Almost immediately one author opted out, and it's been the six of us ever since. We have developed a strong friendship and support system in the year and a half since we first came together. For me, these women have become my closest friends.
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One of our top goals has been to provide a support system, a teaching venue, and a network of assistance to aspiring authors. So last spring we decided to host a contest for un-agented fiction writers, the grand prize of which would be a reading of the winning entry by Wendy Lawton. Thus, our Audience-with-an-Agent Contest was born. We spent 3+ months promoting the contest and accepting entries, and another few weeks carefully judging each one. Then we sent six finalists to Wendy. She ultimately selected Lori Benton's Kindred as the winning entry. That was exciting in itself, but this past week Wendy offered Lori a contract for representation with Books & Such Literary Agency! We here at Novel Matters feel like we've given birth! We're all thrilled for Lori, and deeply appreciate Wendy's participation in the contest.

Congratulations to Lori for being signed by one of the best agents in the CBA (I'm not biased!). It's exciting to play a small part in your success. It didn't surprise me one bit to hear how you have been working on your craft for years now, and how dedicated you are to continuing to learn as you go. All signs of a excellent writer - ones who understands this is a journey.

I can't think of a more valuable kind of contest anywhere for unagented fiction writers. The publishing industry is in constant flux, and a great agent is critical in order to transverse the sudden peaks and valleys.

Sharon mentioned how our agents put us together on this blog. That is what all writers need - a home team ro

oting for you, coaching you, cheering you on, calling your bluff, and offering you a tissue and a shoulder to cry on when things don't turn out the way we expected. That's part of what an agent will do for you. Thinking you're ready to make the leap to publication? Enter the Audience with an Agent Contest!

Oh boy. This is what it takes to make me happy.

Lori, CONGRATULATIONS! And welcome to the Books & Such clan. (We call each other Bookies, btw.) I want you to know, you are signing with an amazing literary agent.

Wendy will take excellent care of you, and I'm going to love watching you blossom.

Now, all you other writers: let me remind you that we have another contest going now just like the one that brought us to this happy event. We want to read your manuscripts! So hop over to our promotions page, and get to work.

That's good advice, Katy! If you're unagented and you have a polished manuscript looking for a home, stop reading this and head on over to the promotions page. Publishing houses aren't taking unsolicited manuscripts these days, so you must make an impression at a writers conference or query agents to represent you. It's a long and arduous journey. Our Audience-with-an-Agent contest may be your shortcut.

Lori, congratulations on writing a beautifully crafted story. I'm not one bit surprised Wendy signed y

ou. What Wendy can do for you that you can't do for yourself is this: She knows who's looking for a manuscript like Kindred. She also knows who will provide strong editorial support, and who will market Kindred in a manner worthy of its potential. In short, she knows which publishers are most likely to say yes to Kindred, and those are the houses she'll present to, raising your chances of getting a contract.

We'll be on the sidelines, cheering you on!



We are so happy to have been part of the chain of events that brought Lori in contact with an agent. The truth is that it's hard to send a manuscript out into the world - sometimes even for published authors. There is always the chance of rejection. We write what is on our hearts and we strive for excellence and we take risks for our dreams. Our stories will languish untold and their spiritual truths will lay fallow unless we take action. We applaud the courageous writers who have and will submit entries to our contest, and we wish you all the best

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Congratulations, Lori!

I believe in contests! My first earnings for writing (a whopping $5) came from an essay contest in grade school. My first publications in magazines were from winning contests. And my scholarship to college was from a writing contest.

So now I know that Lori is a true believer in contests -- and you can be too! Congratulations to Lori for an excellent story, and for being an excellent storyteller. May God bless you, Lori, with a long and successful time of ministry of words, a service to the Lord!

And the Finalists are . . .

We are delighted to announce the 6 finalists in our exclusive Audience-with-an-Agent contest. We were pleased with the participation of both American and Canadian authors, representing a variety of genres, and loved poring through the chapters and synopses -- to play the role of agent and editor for a brief time. It was difficult to choose the 6 finalists, and we took our responsibility very seriously. We thank you all for your entries and wish you the best in your writing endeavors.

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We also thank agent extraordinaire Wendy Lawton of Books & Such Agency, who will read the finalists' submissions. This is an incredible opportunity for unpublished authors, and we thank Wendy and Janet Grant for their participation in this contest. Janet will read the finalists' entries in our next Audience-with-an-Agent contest set for the spring of 2010. So get your manuscripts ready and watch our NovelMatters blog for contest information.

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And now, the finalists are (in alphabetical order) ...

Broken Arches, Jean Knight Pace

Disenchanted, Janet Ursel

Kindred, Lori Benton

The Remarkable Love of Tony Campello, Connie Brzowski

The Watchman, V.B. Tenery

When Valleys Bloom Again, P.J. Davis

We offer our heartiest congratulations to each of our finalists!

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And now a word from Wendy ~

I have the distinct honor to be guest blogger on Novel Matters today in celebration of the closing of the Novel Matters Audience-with-an-Agent competition. Soon I will be receiving the final entries.

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Let me say a few words about contests first. There are many who refuse to compete -- whether it is in a baseball game, a beauty pageant or a writing competition. They'd argue that competition is fundamentally damaging. Yeah, well ... good luck with that. We live in a world with competition for almost any valuable spot. If you want to become an actor, an athlete, a musician or even an astronaut you're going to be up against stiff competition. The same with that job you're hoping to land. If life were simpler maybe competition wouldn't be necessary, but the reality is that if you are seeking to be published, the competition is intense.

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By sending your work to a writing contest you're saying, "I'm ready for the competition. Put my work up against my fellow writers' work and let's see how it fares." Bravo! That's the kind of attitude it takes to compete in this industry. And guess what? It's exactly what happens when your published book comes out. It goes to the bookstore shelf with all other books that made the cut and begins to compete for those few book dollars in the reader's wallet.

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It goes without saying that judging a writer's work is subjective. It's not like grading an algebra test. One story may take a grand prize from one judge and not even make the cut with another. The same thing happens with reviewers after you are published. That's why, when you are starting out, you want to get your work in front of as many eyes as possible.

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For those of you who entered and did not final: You are still winners. The bloggers of Novel Matters are some of the finest writers in our industry. They are influential and well connected. They've read your work and they'll be watching you. It's part of getting your name and your work out there. When you are published you'll find that they will be amazing cheerleaders for you. The competition was tough, but you offered your work for critical review. Huzzah!

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For those of you who made the final cut: Congratulations. I look forward to reading your work. I'm going to treat myself to a venti Starbucks and set an afternoon aside to read your entries. I hope I'll be able to give you some valuable (albeit subjective) comments.

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And if among the entries I see something I just can't put down -- something that seems commercially viable, told with a compelling voice -- I'm going to ask for more. Representation is based on far more than just a winning entry, of course. For me it's about a combination of the book and the writer. We represent writers for a whole career so it's akin to falling in love for a lifetime. I love what Henry Blackaby recommended in Experiencing God -- you look for where God's already at work and you come alongside. That's my philosophy for signing a new client. If I see God already at work in your writing and in your life, I want to be on your team.

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So congratulations to everyone who entered. I'm honored to be part of the process. May God continue to bless the work of your hands.

Audience-With-An-Agent Contest

Our first Audience with an Agent Contest is a rousing success!

Yesterday was the deadline, and the contest is now closed to entries.

The last entry arrived with only four hours to spare! Many of the entries made the most of the time afforded to polish and perfect those manuscripts - a wise choice, we think.

Now, we at Novel Matters will cuddle into our couches and start reading - and looking for treasures.

Here is how the contest will be judged:

While it would be fun to just go on warm fuzzy feelings (fun for us, anyway), we've devised a ruling grid that takes into account and grades the major points of novel writing (plot, story, characters, dialogue, grammar, storytelling, conflict, etc).

Each entry will be blind read six times (each Novel Matters' author will read each entry once, grading it without the name of the author at the top - so we won't know whose manuscript we are reading until all the grades are in and matched with the author). Grades will be assigned by each of us. We will pool our results, and the top six entries will be declared winners of the first round of the contest. Those lucky six (Luck? Hardly!) will have their synopsis and first chapter sent to Wendy Lawton of Books & Such Literary Agency. We will contact each of the six authors, and their names will be posted on the blog. The first round winners will be announced September 30th.

Wendy does not guarantee she will sign any of the authors. But she will read all six. She will finish with the manuscripts and announce any signings November 2, 2009.

Are you excited yet? We are!

So, the hard work is done - um, except you are all still working on those manuscripts, we hope! and it's all over but the waiting, and praying.

Ah, the praying. It is our prayer that God will lead you in perfect peace and perfect His plan for your life and your work. In all things, may His will be done.

Audience-With-An-Agent Contest

We are so excited about our exclusive Audience-with-an Agent contest, found only here at Novel Matters. We are extremely grateful to our awesome agents, Janet Grant and Wendy Lawton of Books & Such Agency, for their willingness to review the winning manuscripts, and perhaps offer representation to the author. We hope you realize what an opportunity this is, and that you'll submit your entries on or before July 31.

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Books & Such Literary Agency is truly one of the premier agencies in the industry. The six of us are represented by either Janet or Wendy, and I know I can speak for all of us when I say how blessed we are to be a part of the B&S family. Representation is so important in this current, ever-changing world of publishing, but signing with an agent is almost as difficult as landing a publishing contract. Getting an agent to read your manuscript among the thousands of submissions they receive is a daunting task.

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That's why we're so thrilled to offer a leg up to the readers of this blog. We will carefully evaluate each submission, then pass on the winning entries to Wendy Lawton to review this fall. We will repeat this contest in the spring and pass on the winning entries to Janet Grant. This really is a remarkable opportunity. We hope you'll take advantage of it. Click on our Promotions tab, then carefully read and follow the contest guidelines. We look forward to reading your submissions.

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Literary agents are workhorses, and if you're going to plow your way into publishing, life is a lot easier with someone pulling the plow. That wasn't the most flattering metaphor for my lovely agent, Janet, but she is a wonder.

She took my first manuscript, Like a Watered Garden, to ICRS when I had no idea what an ICRS was. Out on the floor, it's a trade show for retail folks to purchase faith-based items for their stores. Behind the scenes, agents are meeting with editors on a t-i-g-h-t, tight schedule, promoting their clients' book projects.

Janet presented Like a Watered Garden to at least six publishing houses, ones she knew were looking for a project like mine. She didn't waste anyone's time knocking on doors that didn't want contemporary women's fiction. She didn't have to. She spends all year with her ear to the ground. She knows the biz a million times better than I ever will. And that's why you want to polish that manuscript up until it sparkles and send it into the contest. This kind of opportunity is rare indeed!

I wrote this novel, see, and then, when I was finished, I didn't have a clue what to do with it. I mean, don't these things just sprout legs and walk to their intended destination? Apparently not.

So, I sent out some feelers. A few months later there was some interest in the novel, then, there was more. Suddenly I had more interested publishers than I knew what to do with. A nice dilemma, but I didn't know what I was doing.

I e-mailed a friend and asked "What would you do if you were me?" Her response was, "Girl, you need an agent. Now!" She offered to send a letter of introduction to an agent she knew well and I picked one I had heard many good things about. Later that same day, the phone rang. It was the agent. She had read chapter one on my website (You can read chapter one of Talking to the Dead there under the "fiction" tab if you like), and asked for the full ms. I sent it.

She called me the next day and said she would be happy to represent this book.

And Wow, that's when things started to move fast (well, fast is a relative term in publishing). She jumped on and starting pitching the book right away. Zip Zap Kapow! I was amazed. She knew things

I didn't even know enough to know I didn't know. Within weeks she had a firm offer on the table.

Listen, I don't know much. I'm so new. I only know what happened to me (is happening). But from my story, I think you can see that I am pro agent. I've heard writer's ask "Should I get an agent?" My answer is, "I don't know. But I know that it has made all the difference for me. I'm a writer, not a business person. I don't have the ins agents have. I don't know the industry the way an agent does. If you do, then you might not need one, but think about this: Every huge, big name author you can think of - go ahead think of one. Yep. He has an agent. Yeah, her too. That huge name author, oh ya, she has an agent too. All of them do. Why is that? Because agents can do the job the writer can't do for herself. And with an agent you have an expert in your corner - a team member

working WITH you and FOR you.

You would think that someone who had published books with major Christian publishing companies wouldn't need an agent for, say, her fourteenth book, right? I mean, I had done all right, apparently, on my own.

But I changed genres. With one exception, all my books had been non-fiction. True, they had become increasingly more "literary" in terms of technique (more narration as opposed to previous straight exposition; more analogies, playing with words, etc.) But writing a novel is a whole 'nother country. It was like starting over. Maybe even worse than starting over because other writers agree with me that it's hard to switch from the structure and strictures of non-fiction to the net-less high wire of storytelling. And marketing a fiction book -- though I had some connections, I didn't want to take time away from the actual writing process (and my life) to do the research and legwork.

If someone had told me about a contest such as NovelMatters offers, I'd be mentally camped out on its doorstep, polishing my proposal till it shone and submitting it early enough so it didn't get lost in the last-minute shuffle.


The moment I sold my first Novel, I turned around and started looking for an agent.

Why did I want one? Because I am a writer, not... well, not an agent. I'm not in close contact with all of the editors of all of the houses, I don't know all the changes that have taken place this week that affect my career. I certainly don't know how to read and negotiate a contract. And you know? I don't want to spend my time learning this stuff. I'm a writer, remember? It makes so much more sense to find a professional like Janet Grant to do this stuff for me.

That's why I'm so proud that we're offering this audience with our big shot agents to you. We're really offering a hand up in your career.


We're waiting for your manuscript! We won't bite and we won't tell you your 'baby' is ugly. As writers, we all start at 'Go' and work our way around the industry board, but we move along faster with the help of a good agent.

Agents know things. They know which house is looking for your type of manuscript and whether it's a good match. Often they know about changes at publishing houses before talk has even begun around the water cooler. They keep us from making big mistakes, sometimes potentially career-ending ones. They are the professionals that make us look good.

Your book may be calling you from the drawer or file cabinet where you've stashed it. So polish it up, and if it fits into the guidelines of our contest, send it in! If it doesn't, I encourage you to find out which agents represent other authors who write in your genre. Visit the agency websites, check them out in Sally Stuart's Christian Writer's Market Guide, follow their submission guidelines, and follow through today.

Audience with an Agent Contest

It's the moment you've all be waiting for! THE announcement you've been hankering for. Yep, today is the day we announce the first MAJOR contest from Novel Matters.

Audience with an Agent Contest 2009!

Let's all take a deep breath, and steady ourselves. It doesn't get more exciting than this!

You could win an Audience with an Agent!

Who can enter? Novelists in North America.

How does it work? We will post full contest rules in the "Promotions" section of the blog so you can refer back to them whenever you need to - or print them out.

Who is the agent? None other than the amazing uber agent: Wendy Lawton of Books & Such Literary Agency.


There are two stages to the Audience with an Agent Contest:

Stage one: Submit as an attachment a sample chapter of your completed novel along with a one page synopsis to us at novelmatters@gmail.com by July 31, 2009. (This means you will have until that time to finish your novel if it isn't yet complete, but it is important that your book be finished when you submit your chapter and synopsis. Details of what is expected in a sample chapter and synopsis is posted in the "Promotions" section of the blog).

Stage two: If your manuscript is chosen, it will land on the desk of Wendy Lawton in October, 2009. Wendy will read the sample chapter and synopsis. There will be a total of six manuscripts that will make it to this stage. At that point, it is possible that Wendy will contact one or more of six authors and ask to see a full manuscript. It is completely up to Wendy Lawton's discretion to seek out more information from a writer.

What? Only ONE Chapter?
Yes. Just one.
Latayne shared this story with us one evening: "Once I interviewed several prominent editors from Christian publishing houses for an article I was writing for Christian Retailing magazine, for an article entitled, "What Makes a Bestseller?" One very prominent editor told me of the importance of the first few lines of a manuscript. She said that if the writing didn't "grab" her on the first page -- or conversely, turned her off in those first few lines -- she didn't read further.
All the editors I talked to said that they read manuscripts, proposals, query letters etc. trying to find a reason to reject them. Now, they may not have said it so baldly, but that's what they meant. That's because everyone is inundated with writing. They simply don't have the time to keep reading through boring/illiterate/inappropriately-pitched materials to find something good later on.
When I conducted the interview with this editor, she told of hiring kids from her church youth group to come to her corporate office on Saturdays once a month. She would pay them and buy them pizza just to stuff manuscripts and proposals back into SASEs with form-letter rejection slips. She pictured mountains of materials that deserved a response -- but did not deserve to be published.
Now, that was a decade ago when major publishing houses were all still accepting manuscripts directly from authors; and in the early days of electronic submissions. But I would imagine the story is even more overt today: The ease of electronic submission has made it even easier for increasing numbers of people to send off their projects. Now, if a synopsis or first chapter doesn't compel an agent or editor to read further than the first computer monitor screenful, why would they?"

Some writers ask, "How can an agent or editor really know if they want my book based only on the first chapter and a synopsis?"

The answer is that while you probably won't be offered a contract from a first reading, there is more than enough information in the first chapter and synopsis to let an agent or editor know she wants more. It shows you've got the chops for writing. And it leads to the next step.

Get your submissions ready to send in. We look forward to hearing from you.