Team AbbyGail

Hi there!

We're Team AbbyGail (aka Abby Cooper and Gail Nall), and we're excited to do this Pitch Wars thing!

See how excited we are?

Hiiiiiii! It's us! We like you lots and lots!
Also, these are our about-to-eat-ice-cream faces. So just imagine how happy we'll be when we read your fabulous manuscript. (Spoiler: we will be EVEN HAPPIER THAN THIS, and that's saying a lot because we really love ice cream.)

Oh, but wait! You probably want to hear from someone else, too. Okay . . .

Well, hello, John Cusack.
John Cusack says, "Please pick Gail and Abby as your mentors. I'll come serenade you a la Lloyd Dobler and bring you cupcakes. Even if you're a happily married dad."
[um, we might've made that up. But please pick us anyway!]

A little about us . . .

Gratuitous cat picture.
This is Saffron and Pumpkin.
Pumpkin once tried to eat Abby's face
but she still loves him anyway.

Gail Nall -- I live in Louisville, Kentucky and love chocolate, cats, figure skating, maps, John Cusack, the national parks, history, marmots, and pretending to garden. I have a masters in US History and a law degree (and yup, I was one those "Car accident? Call me!" lawyers). My current day job is grant writing for a homeless shelter, which I absolutely love! I write fun middle grade, like Breaking the Ice, the You're Invited series (co-authored with another amazing PW mentor, Jen Malone), and the upcoming Out of Tune. I also write YA (Exit Stage Left). You can find me on Twitter, on Facebook, and on my website.

Louis loves to read.
The next book he reads COULD BE YOURS!

Abby Cooper -- I live in Minnesota with my BPFF
(best poodle friend forever), Louis. I love cupcakes, reality TV, also John Cusack, cheese, and trying to cook without setting anything on fire. I write middle grade magical realism, and my first book, Sticks & Stones, came out July 12. You can find me on Twitter, Facebook, and my website.

Way, way back in 2013, Abby entered Pitch Wars with her amazing Sticks & Stones manuscript. That was Gail's first year mentoring. Gail read Abby's manuscript and fell in love with it, picked Abby to be her mentee, and that was the beginning of Team AbbyGail! You can read Abby's Pitch Wars success story here.

We're both members of MG Beta Readers, a group of published and unpublished MG authors who (as you probably guessed) beta read each other's work. You can see some of our members listed on our group blog, Kidliterati.

What we want:

Middle grade only!

SEND US:

mmm...cupcakes.
Which have nothing to do with anything.
But they look good, right?

contemporary
magical realism
mystery
(**magical realism=books set in the real world where just one or two things are made up/magical/not entirely scientifically possible. For instance Corey Ann Haydu's Rules for Stealing Stars or Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me)

NOT THE BEST FOR: fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal, historical, novels-in-verse

ALSO -- if either one of us knows you in real life, or if we've been critique partners at some point in the past, please choose other mentors to send your work to. We love you, but we don't want to create any bias!

More about what we love!

Make us laugh! Or cry. Or both!

Stories where characters make mistakes and bad decisions, just like real people do
Stories with hope, heart, and humor
Humor. Did we mention humor?
Manuscripts that have a mystery that is part of the bigger story.
Multiple POVs
Stories that make you think and teach you something without being preachy ('cause kids can spot preachy from six miles away!)
Stories with unique/creative formats - blog posts, tweets, text messages, e-mails, diary entries, etc.
VOICE. So much with the voice. We swoon over voicey books. John Cusack does too, probably.
First or third person POV is a-okay by us, but with the latter, we much prefer a close third person. The most common reason Gail passed on previous PitchWars applicants: too much distance from the main character. For good examples of close third person, see Tricia Springstubb's MG novels or the Harry Potter books.
Commercial or literary or stories that are both! The key is having a big, compelling, and/or unique hook.

Some of Gail's favorite recent MG books:
STICKS & STONES by Abby Cooper (of course!)
everything in the Aladdin M!X line
anything by Meg Cabot (which strays into younger YA, but the voice is always soooo perfect!)
BLACKBIRD FLY by Erin Entrada Kelly
MY SEVENTH GRADE LIFE IN TIGHTS by Brooks Benjamin
BOOK SCAVENGER by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
UNUSUAL CHICKENS FOR THE EXCEPTIONAL POULTRY FARMER by Kelly Jones
THE HONEST TRUTH by Dan Gemeinhart

Some of Abby's favorite recent MG books:
Anything by Gail Nall (obviously!)
ABSOLUTELY ALMOST by Lisa Graff
FISH IN A TREE by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
MAYDAY by Karen Harrington

Don't ask. We just thought it was cute.
ALL THE ANSWERS by Kate Messner
THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH by Ali Benjamin
THE TRUTH ABOUT TWINKIE PIE by Kat Yeh

What can we do for you?

As your mentors, we'll each give your manuscript a read. Then we'll discuss possible revisions with you. Gail will address big picture edits (such as character arcs, plotting, pacing, etc.), while Abby will concentrate on line edits and in-text comments. Of course, this is your manuscript, so we'll talk about all the changes and help you come up with possible solutions. Ultimately, it's up to you what you decide to change in your book. After you've done revisions, we'll both read one more time to make sure everything flows well and to catch any remaining errors or confusing spots. We'll also help you come up with a pitch for your manuscript, and we'll critique your query letter. And -- of course! -- we'll be your biggest cheerleaders throughout the Pitch Wars process, and for long after the contest ends.

Questions?

Leave 'em in the comments, or find us on Twitter! (We're @gailecn and @_ACoops_ )