Twitter: @BB_Swann
Website: https://www.bbswann.com/
Agent: Catherine Hedrick- The Purcell Agency
Published books: Katie Comma; Pelican Publishing Company-waiting for pub date.
Romancing Death (OUT ON SUBMISSION WITH PUBLISHERS). Breaking the Bro Code.
Genre: Young Adult
Bio: B.B. Swann is a mother of three young adults, a wife (of another big kid but don’t tell him she said that), and a 20+ year veteran teacher of little firsties. She has all the age groups covered and draws on their influence when writing her books. Picture book, young adult, new adult, and beyond, they all have one thing in common—life experiences, both the good and the challenging.
She graduated from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL with her Bachelor’s of Ed. in Early Childhood Education, then left the corn capital to receive her Masters of Ed. in Language and Literacy from National Louis University, in Chicago.
Originally from Winthrop Harbor, Illinois (go ahead, look it up, it’s a real place) she now resides in an Illinois suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Go Cards! is her new chant but Bear Down will always rule her heart. She loves to run, binge watch Netflix health documentaries, and talk to her three teens when they have a minute to spare.
Most nights you can find her reading or writing into the wee hours. She believes in the almighty power of caffeine and battling old age with purple hair and lots of sarcasm.
Experience: I have been formally writing now for about three years. I am a member of both RWA and SCBWI and attend critique groups for both. I have beta read, edited, and critiqued for many writers and really enjoy helping them to make their manuscripts stronger. I was a participant in Query Kombat in 2017 and was able to polish my query and first page which led to signing with my agent.
Mentoring style: For my mentee, I will do a full read of their manuscript and use track changes in word to edit/comment. Then I will write a letter outlining the things I suggest they need/should change. I will be available to communicate through email or by phone, whichever they prefer.
Mentee style: Anyone who chooses to work with me should be ready to work hard. I like to move quickly to get things done. They should also be prepared to take constructive critique in a professional manner. Any comments or edits I make are intended to improve the story, and not to belittle the author. When I send out my work to betas or my agent, I want them to nit-pick and find absolutely every plot hole or grammar mistake, so I can make my story the best it can be. I do the same for those I critique.
What kind of novel would you like to work on? I would like to see YA romance. I prefer the HEA endings, but a satisfying HFN is okay if it is a beginning of a series. I write contemporary, sci-fi, para, fantasy, so I am open to pretty much anything, as long as the romance is the central focus of the story.
Favourite novels: Harry Potter series, Fablehaven series, anything by Dean Koontz but especially his Odd Thomas series, the Dorothy Must Die series is one of my newest favs.
Some favorite books by my crit partners: Vice City by S.A. Stovall, Full Count by Lynn Stevens, and the Going Down in Flames series by Chris Cannon
Mentoring package offered: Full manuscript developmental edit report (1 read through and report only with the possibility of going until submission ready)
To read more about B.B. and about what she’s looking for, click here.
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