Hello! Welcome to our campfire. Pull up a log, unsheath your sword, and let’s chat. We are Keena & Molly, and we’re mentoring Adult SFFH for PitchWars this year! Woohoo! We are also open to New Adult manuscripts, but there’s a caveat to that—more below. 

The publishing industry is a really tough place. One of the first and perhaps harshest lessons we all have to learn is that following instructions is super important. We say that now, here at the top, so that we are all on the same page—us typing this up, and you reading it now: please take this wishlist seriously. If we say that we don’t want a particular trope, setting, or piece of content, we really do mean that.

A quick sidenote: you can find Keena’s website by clicking here and Molly’s website by clicking here. :)

Onward!

For those who don’t know, PitchWars is a mentorship program where published and/or agented authors, editors, or industry interns choose one writer each to spend three months revising their manuscript. It ends in February with an Agent Showcase, where agents can read a pitch/first page sample and request to read more.

We’d like to place an emphasis on this being a mentorship program because that is super important and, frankly, the reason why we’re here. We want to help your book become its best book self! We want to equip authors with new tools for their toolbelt and new weapons for their armory! And we want to impart some of the lessons we’ve learned along the way, because those lessons have been hard-earned with sometimes-metaphorical-but-often-very-real blood, sweat, and tears (oh, so many tears—except from Molly because she is a robot).

But… but… Pitch Wars is nothing if not an intensely condensed editorial experience with high demands on all involved. Take it from us—parts of the PitchWars experience may truly qualify as “gruelling,” but if you join #TeamSapphicSwordplay in November, you’ll have two champions in your corner.

Still with us? Interested in knowing more?

Then LET’S GO THEN!

Keena

I’ve been in the world of traditional pub since 2012 or so: my first novel was published in 2019 with Hachette (a non-fic) and since then I’ve done work as a sensitivity reader for a few of the big publishing houses and a developmental editor for Adult SFF books. I think at this point I’ve edited between 20 and 30 books as well as written two more of my own — one of which SHOULD BE going to Molly and her wife to beta read for me in October (yell at me if it is not ready by then). 

All of that sounds nice and neat but it hasn’t been, since traditional publishing is anything but nice and neat: my non-fic had to be completely re-written FOUR TIMES and my newest book is on its fourth round of intensive editing. I also shelved several SFF books at the 75k mark or so because I love them but they need more work. And I think that’s pretty important to know, when you think about whether you want to work with us or not: we know what it’s like to struggle through a project you’re in love with but just can’t quite get it where it needs to be. We also know what it’s like to stick with a project for YEARS just because we can’t let it go. 

I remember reading Molly’s entry in PitchWars back in 2019: I read more than 250 entries that year but Molly’s stuck with me and I was crying by the time I finished my first read-through of her book. It had so much emotional clout and the characters were so intense that I just couldn’t help myself. Molly can tell you more about her journey with that project below, but (as she knows) I’ll help her work on that project until the end of time because I believe in it so much. And that’s what I hope I’ll do for you too: bring a lot of editorial experience to your book, yes, but also passion and support that will hopefully help you feel excited about all the editing we’re going to do together.

Molly

I’ve been writing since I was kid who wanted to know what happened next in all my favorite book series, TV shows, and movies. I cut my teeth on fanfiction and met my wife because of the Glee fandom. How crazy, how fortuitous! And my wife, Bridget, is also a writer. We are each other's biggest fans, and my work wouldn’t be what it is without her.

In 2019, I finished a major overhaul of my first completed original novel and gave querying a shot. But in the middle of that process, I heard about this little competition called “pitch wars”. Decided to pause my querying journey and got selected by my then-mentor-turned-forever-friend Keena!

Pitch Wars was intense. My manuscript was in this weird new-adult-y place (happy to discuss my publishing industry feels about the term “new adult” anytime offline!) and needed another massive overhaul from what I’d been able to accomplish on my own. Over the course of PW19, I rewrote approximately ⅓ of the novel and added another 30k words or so to beef it up, effectively creating around 50k new words in a matter of weeks.

Whoa. 

My biggest boons from PW19 were the additions of Keena as a mentor who I’ve latched onto and refuse to ever let go of, my writing friends from my class, and the invaluable knowledge that I can write to deadline and write well while doing so. Did I have a whirlwind romance with a bunch of agents and publishing houses and auctions galore?! Well, no—I’m actually still unagented, and I’m not only “okay” with that fact… I kind of like it!

I self-publish speculative fiction under a pen name, and I’m always looking to advance Indigiqueer rep in the SFFH (Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror) space. I’m a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and a civil servant with the Indian Health Service. These parts of who I am are inexorably tied to the content I create and consume.

#INDIGIQUEER

If you clicked onto this wishlist, then you’re interested in something either me or Keena has to say. I promise you, if you’re on the precipice and aren’t sure about Pitch Wars or about what #TeamSapphicSwordplay can help you accomplish over the course of PW21: Keena is an exceptional mentor—calm, cool, collected, and with a damn sharp eye for developing both character stakes and world-building. She helped me take not only a single manuscript but my entire writing process to the next level—and together, we’d like to try and bottle that magic for our next mentee.

• Novels aimed at adults that fall into the science fiction and fantasy category. Though we’re big fans of YA, your novel should be geared towards adults and deal with adult-age topics. We’re open to NA as well, but with the expectation that you’d likely need to “age it up” in a meaningful way so as to query agents/houses as an adult manuscript.

• Rich, detailed worlds with well thought-out, complex characters. Some examples:

  • The Locked Tomb Series: talk about aesthetic/vibes! Rich, detailed world-building that expects the reader to get caught up and fast. Characters that jump off of the page, and plot and emotion that leaves you gasping long after you’ve finished the story. When agents say, “Hey, give me something like nothing I’ve ever read before,” this is what they mean.

  • This is How You Lose the Time War: stakes don’t have to be about the entire universe, but they can be that—and more. Lush prose and driving pace. Characters you care about and couldn’t possibly forget.

  • The Jasmine Throne: MORALLY GREY. KNIVES. Lush, totally immersive world building and complex, relatable characters. 

  • The Unbroken: strongly plot-driven and an excellent example of political machinations. 

  • Black Sun: world-building, world-building, world-building. Magic! Drama! Action! Love! This is a favorite for a lot of reasons. The diversity in this book is refreshing—sexual identities, gender identities, bodies that are not traditionally-abled, body types, and more.

  • She Who Became the Sun: rarely has a book had better pacing. A stunning novel that we won’t soon forget.

• A diverse cast! We’re both queer and would love to see queer works. Molly is Native and loves Indigiqueer and other Indigenous works. We look forward to reading works from authors who share a lived experience with the marginalization(s), if any, of their leading character(s).

• A unique concept. Nothing that sounds like Lord of the Rings, please. In fact anything that sounds like that kind of “dudes with big beards and swords and frail women who need saving” flavor of fantasy is going to be a pretty hard sell for us.

These are solid NOs for submitting to #TeamSapphicSwordplay.

• Any story that includes rape in any form or harm to a child. This would include any storyline about forced impregnation or forced breeding. Violence against women is also strongly frowned upon (unless it’s, like, in a battle).

• Any unnecessary brutality towards members of the LGBTQIA+ community. This is a BuryYourGays-free zone.

• A manuscript full of typos and grammatical mistakes. (Take your time—make sure your manuscript is submission-ready.)

• A manuscript that falls outside the category of Adult or New Adult SFFH.

• A manuscript you’re not willing to work hard on. Long books with complicated worlds and a big cast of characters often require a TON of work to revise. If you aren’t willing to at least consider that, then we’re probably not the best mentors for you.

Keena

• I’m an emotional person, and I invest deeply in characters I care about. Sometimes too deeply – my book hangovers last for weeks. Give me a character(s) I can feel so intensely for that I ache when they ache and can’t let go of when the story is over.

• Strong, flawed, passionate women. Make them generals and space captains, mothers, friends, partners, caretakers, risk-takers, and world saviors. Give me men who respect them, and who earn their respect in return. Some characters I have recently fallen for include: the wily Persephone Lee, Red and Blue, Clara Kalliam, Orna Sokol, Three Seagrass, Princess Malini, Gideon and Harrow and Ianthe. 

• F/F romances. Sabran and Eadaz. Tamras and Maara. Priya and Malini. Jaquin, Adrian, and Rox. F/F romances are my absolute favorite to read and I would ADORE some f/f in my inbox.

• Tropes! Enemies to lovers. The enemy of my enemy is… oddly hot? Oh no, there’s only one bed! Found families – I love all of these (again, especially if they’re f/f!)

• Campfires. Characters staring at each other across the dancing flames while tensions rise, someone’s got a knife, etc. 

• Interesting plants. Certainly not required, I just like them. For some reason my books are always very ecologically-developed.  

Molly

• Queer female and gender-non-conforming protagonists

• Found families

• Flawed heroes we dare to root for

• Complex villains we almost hate to root against

• An element of romance amongst the action and character-driven plot

It’s not you, it’s us.

(No, really.)

Here are some things that we aren’t particularly keen to review. If your story falls into this section, does that mean you shouldn’t apply to PitchWars? Of course not! It just means that we may be the wrong mentors for your current project. You are limited to a small number of submissions, and you should use them strategically.

The following are not good fits for us:

• Magical academies and/or training facilities where a character learns how to use their newfound power or abilities. We’re not saying we’d NEVER mentor a book with a magical academy, but our first question is going to be “how is this absolutely nothing like Harry Potter?” and that’s totally doable - Kate Elliott does a great job with the Fives training in her Court of Fives series (though there’s no magic) - but it’s not easy to pull off. 

• Unredeemable main characters. We are all for awful characters that are just awful, but there has to be some shred of humanity in them that makes us want to keep reading. If they’re just a**holes who remain a**holes throughout, then that’s a problem.

SFFH is a huge, diverse world. There’s a lot we are open to considering, as long as it’s clear you have a solid understanding of what your genre is and is not and the basic building blocks that make it up (approximate word count, etc). That said, there are some subgenres that we are not too keen on seeing:

• Within Science Fiction: steampunk, biopunk, zombies and/or cannibals. 

  • It’s not that we dislike these subgenres, they’re just not the best pick for us. 

  • Also anything that’s written more for shock value and gross-out factor rather than to the benefit of the story. Not into it.

• Within Fantasy: 

  • No hesitation. Give it to us!

• Within Horror: 

  • Less interested in slasher-type horror and more the types of horror where the monster is inside of the protagonist or the antagonist. Haunted houses (like The Little Stranger or The Haunting of Hill House), vengeance (The Only Good Indians), or horrific worlds within worlds (Wilder Girls).

What YOU Can Expect from US

Editorially: Imagine us standing on the Pitch Wars battlefield like Captain Marvel and Scarlet Witch, hands aflame. Keena has your back with her powers of “Description” and “Plotting”, and Molly sweeps in with those “Emotional Stakes” and “Attention to Detail”.

Keena

I’m great at descriptions (and Kirkus agreed!): I can put that sword in your hand and make you feel the tendons slide against bone as you tighten your fist around the hilt. My agent picked me out of his slush pile because of my descriptive writing, and I’ve only gotten better since then. Need to make your world building come to life? Need to add colors, smells, taste, and atmosphere to your world? I’m there. 

In terms of “Plotting”, did you happen to notice what I said earlier about four full rewrites of my book? When it comes to plotting, I’m highly organized and always develop a complete and thorough outline before I actually start writing. If you need help with pacing and figuring out which beats need to go where to advance your story, then that is something I can ABSOLUTELY help you with.

[Molly interruption]: for someone who loves spreadsheets, I weirdly had never used a spreadsheet in relation to writing! Keena helped me dissect my PW novel to truly understand the beats that I had been hitting — and find the ones that I wasn’t!

Molly

I haven’t succeeded with a project until I’ve made you scream, cry, or punch a wall (I don’t know, perhaps all three). I like to outline, but I don’t live and die by one. Often my story beats focus around the emotions a character is feeling at a certain point in time more than anything else. Certain scenes with massive emotional impact will often play on repeat for months and months in my head, and when I finally get to write them, you better believe that I expect my reader to quake when they get to experience them in turn. I want to help you bring that out in your own writing, or sharpen it even further if you’re already there.

[Keena interruption]: this is 10000% true. Molly is one of the best FEELINGS writers I’ve ever read, published or not. It’s a rare talent to be able to infuse such emotional intensity into your writing and Molly has that talent in spades. 

#TeamSapphicSwordplay

If you work with us, we’ll plot out your whole book—beats, characters, setting, and timing—like generals surveying a battlefield. We’ll make sure everyone and everything is where it needs to be in every chapter to advance the plot. 

And then we’ll release the monsters.

Personally: We are very kind, and we will never lie to you. Writing is tough, and having a couple buddies in your corner can make even the darkest days feel a little brighter. Also, we’re hilarious. 

What WE Will Expect from YOU

This isn’t going to be easy, and you have to be willing to work HARD. There will be SPREADSHEETS and probably a book or two of recommended reading. We don’t expect you to follow every suggestion or edit we make blindly, but we do expect you to consider why we are making the suggestion in the first place. Be open to making changes, even big ones. We may not always agree, but we will always explain WHY we are suggesting a change. Keep an open mind!

If we’re going to do this,
then let’s do it right.

One Last Thing

Saying it again because it deserves reiteration: PitchWars is hard, but it is rewarding. However, mindset comes first. You are not here to get fast-tracked to “The Call” with an agent. You are here to climb steep revision mountains, cross choppy editing seas, and come out the other side better for it.

Keena

• Texting is fun! I’m not available 24/7 since I have a dayjob, family responsibilities, etc, but I will get back to you just as soon as I can. 

• I’m also very happy with Slack/Discord so if that kind of system works for us, then great!

Molly

• My style: I’m ultra-organized and run my life by checklists. But I’m also this strange left/right-brain combination where I manage to pretty well separate “work” from “life” and vice versa. When I’m working, I’m on, and I expect the same from people I work with. When it’s time to play, work gets fully put aside.

• Communication: texting for sure, for sure. I’m not super active on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook—if I had to choose one, I’d direct folks to Twitter, but I may see notifications several days after the fact. I live in Slack pretty much 24/7, and I’d be open to having a slack going for #TeamSapphicSwordplay if that was an effective way to communicate as a team. If not, texting is perfect!

If you want to stay in touch, Twitter is the best way to reach us: DMs are always open.

Thanks for reading this far! Best of luck with your publishing journey—we can’t wait to see all the amazing things you’ll do!