Thursday, June 21, 2012

Literary Circles: Blogger Interview with Mónica B.W.

This week I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Mónica Bustamante Wagner of Love YA. Mónica is a YA fiction writer repped by Lauren MacLeod of The Strotham Agency. I first encountered Mónica’s site when I started getting into contests. She hosts fabulous contests, which you can read more about here. But what I enjoy most about following Mónica’s blog and Twitter is her endless enthusiasm and encouragement. She is as lovely as it gets. In addition to hosting frequent contests, Mónica often shares writing tips. Two of my favorites are her posts on Writing Bloopers – because we’ve all had them – and The Call, where she offers incredibly practical (and amusing) advice. Mónica, a bilingual world traveler, lives in Chile with her husband, three boys, and eleven hens.

First of all, thanks so much, Kimberly, for having me on your blog today! I’m excited to be here. (You know I love to meet awesome peeps like you online!)

Thanks Mónica! I'm excited to have the chance to chat with you!

Mónica, how did you come up with your blog concept and what inspired you to start blogging?
When I didn’t have an agent, I was always participating in contests and they sort of gave me this thrill I loved. I mean, contests are SO EXCITING, right? But then I found out that being agented, I couldn’t participate anymore. So I came up with the idea of organizing the contests myself, and I found out that I LOVE to help out writers accomplish their dreams. So that’s when I began focusing my blog for unagented writers and I started to give away critiques and contacting agents for interviews and contests. Sometimes I also like to post my thoughts and make friends in the process. It’s been really fun!
  
My love for this community also inspired me to start blogging because I wanted to be fully immersed in it. ;)

What networking strategies did you use to build the lit community surrounding your blog?
I'm not sure if I’d call them "networking strategies" because what I’ve done is mainly make friends. And I guess that, lucky for me, what I like to do (organize contests) is something people also like. So I think that’s why I have a few followers, too.

But when I wanted to reach out and make sure that the community noticed my blog, I promoted my contests and interviews on Twitter, Query Tracker, Absolute Write, etc.

What is your favorite part and the most challenging part of hosting contests?
Oh, my, I have many favorite parts! I love it when writers get requests thanks to my contests, and I love the “behind the scenes” parts, like when agents email me to request entries, even though they weren’t participating in the contest. And I like that thrill that I mentioned, when you’re expectant of what’s going to happen.

For me, the most challenging part is balancing my non-writerly life with the writerly one. Because a contest like The Writer’s Voice demands a lot of time and attention, and I had to be very careful not to let my hubby and kids pout because mommy was so busy. ;)

How many success stories have you had as a result of these contests?
few indirect success stories (like this one) and one direct success story.

As for the indirect stories, I’ve had some writers who have emailed me to let me know that one of my contests led to great feedback from agents, which they used later and snatched another agent after revisions. These writers make me VERY happy!

What is one of your favorite blogs? What makes it one of your favorites?
Oh, I have so many. I love to read the blogs of my critique partners and friends because I always want to know what they are up to. I would list them now, but as I said, they are so many. But I think that if you don’t count my friends, my favorite blog would be Nathan Bransford’s because his posts are very current and I love his insight on the literary world.

What’s a current project you are either working on or promoting?
I've just started this baby WIP, and I’m very excited about it. It’s a pre-hispanic YA set in South America (where I live). It’s a story about arrogance and acceptance. And I’m having so much fun researching and writing it!


As you can tell, Mónica is not only friendly and kind, she's incredibly supportive of all writers. Mónica just wrapped up yet another contest, The Super Intern Contest. Stop by her site to check her out! You can also find her on Twitter!

Thank you so much for the interview, Mónica!

22 comments:

  1. What a great interview, I'm inspired to enter some contests!

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    1. You should! They're always fun, but I often learn quite a bit from them too! Monica always holds really great ones! ;)

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  2. Thank you for the insightful interview, ladies! I haven't been a 'contest enter-er' because, well, I don't have a good reason other than not always knowing about them. I'm hopping over to your, blog, Monica!

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    1. I try to post about new contests every Monday. There are some fun ones coming up. Stop back any time Barbara! (Loved your post today too, BTW!)

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  3. Thanks for such a great interview, Kimberly! I haven't been much of a contest enter-er but I hope to be soon :-)

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    1. Let me know when you do, Rachel, and which one you decide to enter!

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  4. Monica's great! The contests she's involved in are one of the best ways of paying it forward.

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    1. I agree - she puts a lot of hard work into them too. She's genuinely invested in helping other writers - reminds me of someone else I know.... *coughs* *points covertly at Matt MacNish*

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    2. Hah! LOL. Thanks, Kimberly. I would argue that Monica's contests make more concrete difference in writer's careers than my critiques, but I do what I can.

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  5. Great interview - I love that she started the contests after she landed an agent as a way to remain involved in the process!

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  6. I just read all the comments and you guys made my day! You're all awesome!! :D

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    1. So glad you stopped by Monica to check these out!

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  7. Wonderful interview! I enjoyed seeing how Monica feels about contests. I feel the same. <3

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    1. I love how involved and dedicated the two of you are with the contests you host. I know it must be time consuming and we definitely appreciate it! (I also love the creativity you both have in coming up with such fun ones!)

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  8. And us writers thank Monica for these terrific contests and critique opportunities. You guys are busy too, but you give up your time to help us. That means a lot.

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  9. Monica is SUPER awesome! Great interview! Can not wait to get my hands on ALL her books one day! :D

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  10. Great interview! And yes, thank you Monica for everything you do for aspiring authors!

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  11. LOVE Monica, stalk, um . . . I mean, visit her site often;) I didn't even realize she lives in South America though!

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  12. Aww, thank you guys!!! <33333
    Loved the comments. Esp. since my three-year-old is sick now (bronchitis) and I needed some extra love this week! :D

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    1. Poor thing! I hope he's feeling better Monica! (You too - it's no fun watching your little one hurt). So glad the newly agented crew - Dahlia, Jamie, and Valerie - stopped by! I think all of them, Suzi too, participated in some of Monica's contests...I think??

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  13. Hi Kimberly! Just stopped by to say hi and thanks for the follow. :-) Monica sounds like a wonderful person, so I'm heading over to check out her blog too.

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