First Page Impressions: Feedback With Asst Editor Nicole Fiorica

In order to get busy editors and agents to look beyond those all-important opening paragraphs in a manuscript, writers need to get a lot of things right.

Assistant Editor Nicole Fiorica of S&S's imprint McElderry Books will be doing a First Pages Session with a twist. To help provide context, we are changing the rules to a traditional first page session by allowing room on the page to write a basic pitch of your book. This will give Nicole a better idea of whether the elements of your beginning match your overall concept.

Faculty Bio:

Nicole Fiorica is an assistant editor at McElderry Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, and works on everything from picture books through teen. She has the pleasure of working with a number of talented authors, including Cassandra Clare, Margaret Rogerson, Kit Frick, Hilary McKay, Susan Cooper, and Amber Smith. Prior to joining S&S, she graduated from Fordham University with a degree in Communications and Media Studies, and has had internships with St. Martin’s Press, W.W. Norton, and the Crown Publishing Group.

Participant ticket holders will bring the opening of one picture book, middle grade, or YA work (according to our specs) -- which will be anonymously read aloud. Nicole will give her first impressions based on the material read.

Observer ticket holders will not be given feedback, but can benefit getting an inside peek into an editor's thoughts as she reviews participant pages. (For observers who hope to participate if the workshop is sold out, we will allow you to comp in the full-price should space become available).

First Page Participant specs:

Please follow these specs - otherwise we will not be able to use your work during the session:

-Bring along four copies of a single page that is:

• minimum 12pt font (Times New Roman), double-spaced, with one-inch margins
• Contains one paragraph (2-5 sentences) with the book's basic pitch (Title, genre, word count, and a succinct elevator pitch describing the book)
• Fill the rest of the document with your double-spaced beginning, and do not go over one page (for picture books, however many double-spaced lines that fill the first page)
• Do not include your name on the page