Brawl ‘n Haul Contest: Interview with Sarah LaPolla of Curtis Brown
Apr 01, 2011 
Today, Vicki and I divide and conquer. The fabulous Vicki is hosting a Blackjack game where you can win more entries into the Grand Prize drawing of your choice. Some lucky players will also win a prize! If you haven’t done this with her, it’s super fun! I was giggling all through her first ever Blackjack contest.
Here, I am hosting an interview with Agent Awesome, Sarah LaPolla of Curtis Brown. Vicki and I were thrilled at this opportunity! If you write YA or Adult, you definitely need to read on to see if your work is right for her. She has been wonderful to work with and would make a great agent for anyone lucky enough to get her!
So, first her blurb from the Curtis Brown website, then on to the interview.
Sarah LaPolla began at Curtis Brown in 2008, working with Dave Barbor and Peter Ginsberg. Sarah is interested in literary fiction, narrative nonfiction, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, science fiction, literary horror, and young adult fiction. She loves complex characters, coming-of-age stories, and strong narrators. Sarah graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Writing and English, and went on to receive her MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. She is always on the lookout for debut authors and welcomes email submissions at sl@cbltd.com.
Please note: Sarah prefers e-mail queries!
Me: How did you decide you wanted to be an agent?
I wish I could have one of those stories where I wanted to be an agent from the time I could read a book and moved to New York in a dramatic fashion to follow my dream. Truthfully, I didn’t know what an agent was until I was about 19 or 20 and even then it wasn’t explained to me very well. So when I moved to New York for my MFA program, I started interning at agencies (the “working in publishing” dream was real!).
Once I started learning what an agent actually did and how excited it could be to help build an unpublished writer’s career, I gave up on any previous romanticized notions I might have had about publishing. (The three martini lunch in the offices of Random House was very appealing until I learned it didn’t exist.) So, I kept applying to agencies and got used to being asked “so, what do you do again?” by my family.
Me: Do your clients have any upcoming releases you want to share?
My fabulous client, K.M. Walton’s debut YA, CRACKED (Simon Pulse) is being released in Spring 2012.
Me: I love that you showcase new writers on your blog, Glass Cases. How did you come up
with that idea?
I started the blog before I became an agent. If anything, it was an effort to hold on to my writerly roots and support the unpublished who either have no interest in traditional publishing or are ready to query. Stories are posted once a week and the rest of the time I like giving writing or query advice or just waxing philosophic on various literary or pop culture-related things.
Once I became an agent, I very much wanted to keep the blog going with my original intent. There is a very strict “no crossover” rule, meaning anyone who sends me a query via the blog gets deleted immediately. Contributors to the blog are welcome to query me as an agent, as long as they do so through the appropriate channels. So far, it’s been a success and the writers have been very understanding about that, so I am grateful.
Vicki: What types of submissions do you wish you saw more of? Less of?
I really want to see more horror, dark mystery, and fairytales (fractured or otherwise) for YA. Dark mysteries for adult would be great too. Also, adult dystopian, as long as it’s original in execution.
On the “less of” side, I am still getting vampire queries, so that makes me cringe. Anything with “creatures of the night” I stay away from. I also steer clear of anything labeled “women’s fiction,” which for some reason I get a lot of. Anything written with the intention of excluding half your audience not only makes little sense, but usually ends up being rife with gender stereotypes.
Vicki: What’s the craziest book idea you’ve come across in the slush pile?
I can’t share anything specific, but a general idea of what I consider “crazy” is when people combine genres for the sake of combining genres. I guess to cover all bases, but it always fails.
For instance:
Timmy is caught in a well…in 1942…and Nazis might kill his parents…and it’s up to a werewolf and an angel to stop them and rescue Timmy…who turns out to be a ghost. For the record, I completely made that example up, but you get the idea.
That said, I do like when people play with genre and incorporate different elements into one novel, but what you decide to use should go together in some way.
Vicki: What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve seen/heard an author do trying to get noticed?
I will never understand why writers include pictures of themselves with their kids or pets with their queries. Or send a large FedEx envelope with one sheet of paper in it. Once I open it and see it’s a query, it will go into the pile with everyone else. It doesn’t matter how you ship it.
Me: What is the best way to catch your eye in a query (in a good way)?
Be succinct and get to the point. Before I even read a query, if I see it is only two or three paragraphs, I am already relieved. And if the first paragraph is a three to five sentence plot overview, even better. All I do is search for that anyway, so you might as well put it up front.
Me: What are some of the biggest mistakes you see in queries?
Like I mentioned above, the biggest mistake I see in queries is when a writer fails to mention what their project is about. There can be long lists of publication credits and how their own lives have prepared them to write their story – and all of those things might be impressive – but without knowing what that story is, why would I request it?
Vicki: For books you read for fun, what influences your choice the most (title, cover art, back description, excerpt, word of mouth, reviews)?
If I’m browsing in a bookstore, a good title will grab my attention. I pay attention to reviews, but not closely. Word of mouth by people I trust (Twitter pals, literary friends, and publishing folk) is usually what influences me most. Also, if I know an author I admire likes a particular author I haven’t read yet, I will check them out.
Vicki: What book title (real or imagined) best reflects your life?
Ooh, good question. Even though it makes me sound like a complete literary snob, I will say Goodbye to All That by Joan Didion (essays count, yes?). Content-wise, it’s not really relevant to my life, but the title suggests consciously starting a new chapter in life while remaining slightly nostalgic, which I think I do a lot.
Me: On my blog, I have a bit of an obsession with personalized license plates. What would yours be? You have 8 spaces.
MsGeek2U
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Sarah, I love the license plate! Thank you for the wealth of information here.
As we’ve mentioned, in addition to the interview, Sarah has offered a ten-page critique for one of our lucky contest participants who write YA or Adult (sorry all those MG and PB writers!).
In your comment, be sure to mention that you want to win the critique (Prize #1), otherwise we’ll put you in for the alternate Grand Prize (Prize #2 – which is nothing to sneeze at, either). And if you haven’t already, let us know if you spread the word in any way shape or form (Twitter, Blog, Sidebar, Facebook, etc.) and we’ll give you an additional +5 entries in the drawing.
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And if you’re just joining us, here are the rules for our Brawl ‘n Haul contest. For a longer explanation and the posting schedule for the contest, click here.
Rules:
- You must be a follower of both blogs
- When you comment, let us know if you prefer Grand Prize #1 – 10-page critique by Sarah LaPolla (Note: your ten pages must be for a YA or Adult work) or Grand Prize #2 – A Prize-filled Gift Basket. If you don’t mention one or the other, we’ll put you in for #2.
- You can earn 5 bonus entries for the grand prize by spreading the word in any way shape or form (twitter, blogs, facebook, sidebar, etc.). Just let us know!
- This is open internationally! Woo hoo!
- Contest Closes Saturday 2 April at midnight EST. All winners will be announced Monday, 4 April 2011.
Brawl ‘n Haul Contest: This vs. That Thursday
For today’s contest, Vicki and I will each debate a side on a This vs. That vote. Read my arguments here, then go read Vicki’s on her blog, and don’t forget to vote on both blogs for whichever side is more convincing!
Debate:
I will be defending the archaic Pen and Paper. Now I know we all have to eventually use a computer to type in our pages. I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about when you need to sit and write. You need to simply get words down on paper. And I am going to convince you with the TOP TEN REASONS for choosing Pen and Paper, David Letterman style.
Reason #10: No internet to distract you.
Reason #9: No blogs to distract you.
Reason #8: No e-mail to distract you.
Reason #7: Saves electricity.
Reason #6: Pen and Paper is lightweight and travels easily.
Reason #5: You have a hard copy of your work if your computer dies. (!!!)
Reason #4: The smell of paper is a sentient reminder of the goal of being published.
Reason #3: Builds two talents at once: 1) writing and 2) penmanship.
Reason #2: Builds the calluses on your hand which builds your Street Cred as a writer.
And the #1 reason to use Pen and Paper?: When you don’t like your work, it’s SO much more satisfying to crumple up your paper than to simply hit delete.
Now that you’re all convinced, go check out Vicki’s side of things, but be sure to vote on both blogs! And don’t forget, you have until midnight on April 2 to vote on any of our brawls.
—
And if you’re just joining us, here are the rules for our Brawl ‘n Haul contest. For a longer explanation and the posting schedule for the contest, click here.
Rules:
- You must be a follower of both blogs
- When you comment, let us know if you prefer Grand Prize #1 – 10-page critique by Sarah LaPolla (Note: your ten pages must be for a YA or Adult work) or Grand Prize #2 – A Prize-filled Gift Basket
- You can earn 5 bonus entries for the grand prize by spreading the word in any way shape or form (twitter, blogs, facebook, sidebar, etc.). Just let us know!
- This is open internationally! Woo hoo!
- Contest Closes Saturday 2 April at midnight EST. All winners will be announced Monday, 4 April
Brawl ‘n Haul Contest: Wacky License Plate Wednesday
You knew we had to have something associated with license plates, right? So today, Vicki and I are each posting personalized plates for this car:
Vote on which plates you prefer in the comments. Here’s mine:
And just for fun, here’s another wacky car we liked. Give us your plates!
—
And if you’re just joining us, here are the rules for our Brawl ‘n Haul contest. For a longer explanation and the posting schedule for the contest, click here.
Rules:
- You must be a follower of both blogs
- When you comment, let us know if you prefer Grand Prize #1 – 10-page critique by Sarah LaPolla (Note: your ten pages must be for a YA or Adult work) or Grand Prize #2 – A Prize-filled Gift Basket
- You can earn 5 bonus entries for the grand prize by spreading the word in any way shape or form (twitter, blogs, facebook, sidebar, etc.)
- This is open internationally! Woo hoo!
- Contest Closes Saturday 2 April at midnight EST. All winners will be announced Monday, 4 April
Brawl ‘n Haul Contest: Testing Tuesday
For Testing Tuesday, we wanted to see how much our commenters know about us and who is better known between us. And of course, a commenter from the winning blog will be randomly chosen to win a prize.
A little nerve-wracking here because we have no control. It’s all up to you, people! So, click over to Vicki’s blog to show how much you know about me, and below is a quiz on Vicki. Have at it!
1. Which of the following celebrities have NOT been mentioned on Vicki’s blog?
a. Anna Nicole Smith
b. Mark Wahlburg
c. Zac Efron
d. Jennifer Jason Leigh
2. The artist who painted the picture Vicki uses as her icon is:
a. Wassily Kandinsky
b. Henri Matisse
c. Alfred Gockel
d. Pablo Picasso
3. Ever the fan of odd writing analogies, which of the following has Vicki NOT used?
a. Writing is like getting dressed
b. Writing is like the Antiques Roadshow
c. Writing is like popping a zit
d. Writing is like telemarketing
4. Which of the following was NOT a title of a post?
a. The truth about the chicken
b. Kissing the parrot snake
c. Tickling Turtles
d. Appeasing the Voyeur
5. What is the working title of Vicki’s WIP?
a. Murphy’s Law
b. Porcelain God
c. Creditable
d. Waiting for the Sky to Fall
Now don’t forget to head over to Vicki’s blog!
—
And if you’re just joining us, here are the rules for our Brawl ‘n Haul contest. For a longer explanation and the posting schedule for the contest, click here.
Rules:
- You must be a follower of both blogs
- When you comment, let us know if you prefer Grand Prize #1 – 10-page critique by Sarah LaPolla (Note: your ten pages must be for a YA or Adult work) or Grand Prize #2 – A Prize-filled Gift Basket
- You can earn 5 bonus entries for the grand prize by spreading the word in any way shape or form (twitter, blogs, facebook, sidebar, etc.). Just let us know!
- This is open internationally! Woo hoo!
- Contest Closes Saturday 2 April at midnight EST. All winners will be announced Monday, 4 April
Brawl ‘n Haul Contest: Mock Me Monday
Today is the day! The Brawl begins. If you haven’t heard, The FABULOUS Vicki at Rambles and Randomness and I are hosting the Brawl ‘n Haul contest this week. We brawl and you haul away the loot!
Vicki and I will duke it out Monday through Thursday in some wacky contests, and you guys decide who wins. That’s right, you!
Each day, one lucky commenter on the winning blog will win a prize, and at the end of the week, we have not one, but TWO Grand Prizes to award. And every comment this week (on both blogs) is worth one entry, so comment away!
Grand Prize # 1:
A ten-page critique from the fabulous Sarah LaPolla of Curtis Brown! (Note: Your ten pages must be for a YA or Adult work)
Grand Prize #2:
An exciting themed gift basket including a $40 gift certificate to Amazon!
Every good contest needs some rules, so here are ours:
Rules:
- You must be a follower of both blogs
- When you comment, let us know if you prefer Grand Prize #1 – 10-page critique by Sarah LaPolla (Note: your ten pages must be for a YA or Adult work) or Grand Prize #2 – A Prize-filled Gift Basket
- You can earn 5 bonus entries for the grand prize by spreading the word in any way shape or form (twitter, blogs, facebook, sidebar, etc.)
- This is open internationally! Woo hoo!
- Contest Closes Saturday 2 April at midnight EST. All winners will be announced Monday, 4 April
Okay, as Jillian Michaels would say, “Enough talking! Let’s do this thing!”
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So Vicki totally has the advantage on Mock Me Monday, since she’s been doing this weekly for a year now. To make sure my moment was mock-worthy enough, I tested a few on my husband, and this one finally got a belly laugh. I’m feeling confident!
(Note: No husbands were harmed in the testing of these mock-me moments.)
When I was 12ish, my family had just gotten back from Church and we were all foraging in the kitchen. I had grabbed a glass of milk (yeah, you see where this is going) to go with my toast.
Just as I took a long drink, my brother made some absurd comment. I knew I was in trouble.
The smart thing to do would have been to spit the milk back into my glass. But ewww! That would ruin the rest of the milk, and how wasteful is that?
And I didn’t want to just spit because I knew my mom would be M-A-D.
So what did I do?
Wait for it . . .
I looked up.
Yep. Krakatoa II.
Milk exploded upward and came pouring down. All. Over. Me.
On the bright side, I didn’t get in trouble because the whole family was too busy rolling on the ground, laughing. And yeah, that would be AT me, not with.
Now, be sure and go read Vicki’s Mock-me moment, vote there, then come back and vote here, because a winner will be chosen from the comments on only the winning blog!
This vs. That: Paris vs. Rome Results
Oh my goodness, the voting on this was close! Paris was ahead by a landslide and then Rome crawled it’s way back for a respectable finish. And amazingly enough, while many of you professed indecision, everyone was able to pick a side. Kudos to all of you for getting past the indecision! Here are the results:
Total votes: 18
Paris: 10 votes; 56%
Rome: 8 votes; 44%
Both: 0 votes; 0%
So, hard vote. I was leaning toward Paris because I know and LOVE Paris. Ah, my mouth waters just thinking about the crepes there . . . or the paninis. Yummmm . . . . But then I read Beth’s post yesterday on Of Muses and Meringues. She has the touch people. Her pictures alone got me, but then she started talking about the legends. Gah! I never can resist a good legend. My vote went to Rome.
Though I may be on the losing side in the vote, I’m totally on the winning side because I leave for Paris in less than two weeks. TWO WEEKS!!! It won’t be Rome. But that’s okay, because it’s PARIS!
So on to the next vote. And THIS is an important one:
***And don’t forget! The Brawl ‘n Haul Contest starts this Monday (March 28). Vicki and I will duke it out with daily blogging competitions and you vote for the winners. Be sure to stop back in because you don’t want to miss it. Daily prizes! Easy entry! Plus the chance to win a 10-page critique from Sarah LaPolla, Agent Fabulous.***
UPDATE: Vicki has the details and schedule up on her blog. Click here to check it out!
Win a Ten-Page Critique with Sarah LaPolla of Curtis Brown!
Newsflash!
For all of you writers of YA and Adult fiction, Vicki and I will be giving away a 10-page critique by the fabulous Sarah LaPolla of Curtis Brown as part of our upcoming Brawl ‘n Haul Contest from March 28 to April 1. And there are plenty of other great prizes for those who aren’t into writing. Trust me, you don’t want to miss it!
If you aren’t yet, be sure you’re following both my blog and Vicki’s. And though she’s on a blogging break until April 6, go check out Sarah’s blog where she publishes novel excerpts, short stories, flash fiction, memoirs, and personal essays.
(And if you want to enter but don’t have a way to follow, contact me via my handy-dandy “Contact Me” tab. Vicki and I are low stress.)
T-minus 5 days and counting until the fun begins!
Show Me the Voice Blogfest
The Show Me the Voice Blogfest is hosted by Brenda Drake over at Brenda Drake Writes . . . under the influence of coffee.
The idea is to polish up our first 250 words before entering them in her contest. The prizes include critiques from Natalie Fischer of the Bradford Literary Agency. Totally awesome! You don’t have to participate in the blogfest to enter, so go check out Brenda’s blog for the details! And be sure to check out the other entries. You can find the list here.
So here are the first 250 words of The Peanut Butter and Jelly Friendship, a middle grade contemporary novel. I’d love to hear your comments!
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After listening at the door for several seconds, she slipped out of the closet and replaced the phone. In seconds, she extracted the pre-packed bag from under her bed then ran down the stairs.
Pitch Contest at YAtopia!
I wanted to pass on the info! Here’s what they posted at YAtopia:
Super agent Ammi-Joan Paquette has so kindly offered to host a pitch contest on YAtopia. And seeing as she’s currently closed to submissions, this is an opportunity you simply CANNOT miss out on.
It’s really quite simple what you have to do. Ready?
1) Be a follower of the blog. Nice and easy.
2) Blog about this contest and include a link with your entry. If you don’t have a blog, you may tweet or make a facebook status.
3) Create a TWO SENTENCE pitch. And not a massively long run-on sentence either. Two concise sentences that will hook Joan to your book and have her desperate to read more.
4) Include the opening line of your manuscript.
5) Manuscripts that you submit should be completed. I leave it up to you whether you decide to submit a half finished manuscript. You’ll have to deal with it SHOULD Joan request you send her the full.
6) This contest will be capped at either 150 entries OR will end midnight on the 24th March.
7) Winners to be announced (along with prizes) on 31st March.
8) Only childrens and young adult categories will be accepted.
Again, if you’re at that point, click here to head on over to their site and check it out! Best of luck!
Jillian Michaels’ Writing Boot Camp
Trying to reach those health resolutions I set back in January, I’ve been exercising a lot. My friend recommended Jillian Michael’s 30-day Shred workout video, and let me tell you, it is killer.
Still, it seems to be working, so I’ve started imagining Ms. Michael’s as my personal trainer to help me reach my writing goals. Here’s what I’m hearing:
- “Come on people! If you want to write for only 20 minutes a day, then you’ve got to WORK! It can replace hours at the computer, but you can’t stop. You have to TYPE! You can’t stop typing!”
- “I know it’s hard. It’s hard for me. But when you’re done and you see the results . . . it’s worth it people!”
- “Okay, this is our last speed-writing circuit. When it’s through, I want to see your hand CRAMPING!”
- “When it hurts the most, that’s when you’re accomplishing the most! Keep writing! Come on, just give me five more words . . .”
- “You’re probably thinking I’m a crazy person, it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been called that, but I get results! And when you see what you can write, and you see what you can accomplish, it will influence every other part of your life!”
I’m inspired, people! I hope you are too. 🙂
*Note: These are not real quotes but rather parodies stemming from a half-crazed mind in the throes of one of her killer workouts.
**And a heads up for a week of fun and silliness starting March. 28th. Vicki over at Rambles and Randomness and I are planning daily prizes, easy entries and lots of fun to celebrate our 1 year mark together. And we just added an AWESOME prize. Details coming soon!