Auction #8: Query Critique & Phone Chat with Agent Jennifer Laughran
Welcome to KidLit Cares, an online talent auction to benefit the Red Cross relief effort to help communities recover from Superstorm Sandy. Agents, editors, authors, and illustrators have donated various services to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, with donations being made directly to the Red Cross disaster relief fund. You can read more about KidLit Cares here. Now, on to the auction!
Jennifer Laughran of ABLA, who happens to be the most amazing agent ever (She is my agent. I am biased), put together an amazing ready-to-query package for an aspiring writer who’s just about ready to begin looking for an agent. She’ll offer a critique of your query letter, along with a 20-minute phone conversation in which you can ask all kinds of questions about your query letter, writing, publishing…you name it!
Note from Kate: Jennifer is actually my literary agent (and she is amazing!). As an added incentive for bidding, we’ve decided to turn this into an agent-author tag team deal. If you are the high bidder, we will BOTH offer critiques on your query letter AND the first 20 pages of your manuscript. We’ll also both have a 20-minute phone call with you to discuss whatever you’d like about writing or publishing, AND Jennifer will send you half a dozen of her favorite books that she thinks you’d love, too. She’s good that way. 🙂 So get bidding!
Opening Bid: $30
Auction Ends: Friday, November 9, 2012 at 10pm EST. (Any bids submitted in comments after that time will be void.)
If you’d like to bid on this auction, check the current high bid and place a higher bid by leaving your name and bid amount in the comments, along with some way to contact you (email, FB or Twitter…I’m not fussy.) Winners will be notified when the auction ends and should be prepared to make an online donation to the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund in the amount of the high bid at that time. After you’ve made your donation, you’ll forward your receipt to me, and I’ll put you in touch with the person who donated the service you won so that the two of you can work out the details about how and when. All services will be provided at the convenience of both the person making the donation and the auction winner, but this should happen within three months of the auction’s end unless something else is agreed upon by both parties.
Good luck, and thanks for bidding!
My opening bid is $50. 🙂
I’ll bid $75
I bid $100. Thank you for supporting this cause with your time and talent.
I’ll bid $120. Great idea by the way!
Thanks for a great offering Ms. Laughran, and for coordinating this Ms. Messner. My bid is $175
I will bid $200.
I’ll go $250
I bid an even $300. boo-yah! keep it comin’ folks. I REALLY want this 🙂 and I really love NY and all her tweeps and awesome MG/YA authors and agents! outbid me, I double dog dare you
I’ll bid $325.
I’ll bid 375.
I bid $390.
Okay, I’ll bid $400.
$410!!
Arrgh!! It’s for a good cause, right?? $425
I’ll go with $500.
$510
This auction is now closed. B.S.B. – you are the high bidder, so please use this link to make a donation in the amount of your high bid to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.
https://www.redcross.org/donate/index.jsp?donateStep=2&itemId=prod10002
After you have made your donation, please email me at the following address: k m e s s n e r at kate messner dot com (all lower case, no spaces) with your Red Cross receipt attached. On Monday, I’ll provide you with the information you’ll need to get in touch with the donor of your item and carry out the terms of the auction.
Thank you – again – for your support in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. Your generosity will be a huge help to the Red Cross as the serve the people hurting the most in the storm’s path.
~Kate