trophybookRemember when I promised PiBoIdMo’ers that if you ended the month with 30 ideas, there would be a special prize? But I just hadn’t figured it out yet?

Well, it’s been figured.

Everyone who takes the December 1st PiBoIdMo pledge (“I do solemly swear that I have 30 ideas stashed in a Word doc, doodled in a notebook, or scrawled on the back of grocery receipts”) will be placed in a random drawing for a grand prize:

A literary agent will review your best five ideas and suggest the picture book concepts worth pursuing.

(What did you think? That I would let your ideas sit around the house in their jammies all day? Well, maybe YOU can but your ideas shouldn’t. This prize will dress them up and get them out into the world. In other words, it will help you decide which ideas should become manuscripts.)

The agent will tell you if an idea has been done before or if it’s unique and well-suited to today’s market. Then the writing is up to you. This isn’t a critique, but simply an agent’s best professional opinion regarding which ideas are worth your time. And time is gold in this industry.

And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, there’s THREE grand prizes!

One winner will be assigned to Jill Corcoran of Herman Agency Inc.,one will be shipped off to Lauren E. MacLeod of Strothman Agency, and the third gets Elana Roth of Caren Johnson Literary Agency. Thanks to the agents for their time (remember, time=gold) and expertise!

So, as you’re formulating your ideas this month, make an effort to flesh them out. The agents will want at least a sentence about each concept. You can only send five ideas if you win a grand prize, so polish them like you would a trophy! A grand prize trophy!

To recap:
December 1st: Take the PiBoIdMo “30 ideas in 30 days” pledge
December 4th: Grand prize winners chosen at random from pool of pledgers, receive agent assignment
December 7th: Grand prize winners must contact agent by today
December 14th: Grand prize winners receive feedback by today (this date subject to change)