Jason Peterson - Writer

I write books and music & write about books and music. If you can't find me, look under a pile of paperbacks or guitar picks. slimchancepress[at]gmail.com

Home Archive for 2022
Hey - Thanks for checking out my site. If you're here, you're either interested in something I wrote or played, or maybe you're looking for a different Jason Peterson, and you now realize you've made a terrible(!) mistake.

Either way, here's a little about me. I've been writing down stories and poems and random thoughts since I was a kid. Here's proof:



I still get a thrill out of writing down stories and poems and random thoughts, and I feel incredibly fortunate I get to do so. 
  • For publishing-related inquiries, contact Stephen Fraser at the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency
  • For anything else, my email is slimchancepress[at]gmail.com









 

My review of Steven Hyden's Long Road: Pearl Jam and the Soundtrack of a Generation is in this month's Performer Magazine.

I really enjoyed this book - I was 10 when Pearl Jam's Ten came out in 1991, and it was one of the first CDs I bought, so I am pretty much the target reader of this book. But I think even if you weren't all-in on PJ, there's a lot to like about it. 

Steven Hyden is one of the best music critics working today, and it's a blast to read whatever he writes - I highly recommend this one. 

Long Road

The last time I was home visiting my folks, I came across a few of the many books I wrote when I was a kid. According to the copyright pages (yes, I always made one for each book 🙄), I was between 9 and 11 when I wrote these, and I still pretty much remember the stories even though it's been 30-odd years since I last saw them. 

I remember being particularly proud of my Encyclopedia Brown ripoff Dick Tionary, which was almost called Theo Sarus before I thought that sounded too much like a word-obsessed prehistoric creature than a mystery solver - not sure the title I ended up with was actually better though.


I think what stands out to me the most as a memory are the blank white books themselves. My mom would have bought them for me, and I would have stared at them for a long time before finally diving in to write and draw - no rough drafts here; just straight to print.


After I wrote them, I'd picture what they'd look like on a bookstore shelf or at the library, and I'd imagine people buying them or checking them out - to being a real author like the ones I idolized - Donald J. Sobol or Franklin W. Dixon (who knew what a pen name was back then?). Maybe I'd even meet Mr. W. Dixon and we'd nerd out over Hardy Boys deep cuts. 

I wrote before about getting published in Sports Illustrated for Kids, which was also around this time, and so being a writer didn't feel like too crazy of a dream - if I just kept at it long enough, it might just work out.  


And you know what - I occasionally still write about myself in the third person, and I still really enjoy reading books and writing poems and stories. 

Who knows - maybe someday one of my books will be on a shelf, and I'll finally get to high-five ol' Franklin...well, maybe not that last part, but here's hoping at least for the bookshelf.






I'm excited to write these words after quite a few years and more than a few books I've queried: 

I've have a literary agent(!)

Stephen Fraser with JDLA is now representing me, and I couldn't be happier. I'm a huge fan of so many of his clients, including Margi Preus, Carol Lynch Williams, Claudia Mills, and recent debut author S.A. Rodiguez (among others), and his enthusiasm for my middle grade mystery and other projects was really encouraging to hear. 

When I was researching which agents I wanted to submit to for this book, I came across a talk Stephen did a few years ago at BYU, where he spoke about joy in publishing and had an insightful Q&A with students. I felt a kinship with his views on books and writing and saw his passion for his clients and agenting come through, and I really hoped things would line up to work with him - I'm so glad it did. 

I don't know what this next phase of the publishing journey will bring, but it's a great feeling to know I have Steve in my corner for it.

How I got an agent: 

I'll be honest - whenever I'd read articles or listen to authors on this topic, I was secretly hoping for some kind of shortcut or hack to getting an agent. And maybe there is one, but I didn't find it.

This is how it happened for me - and first, I will definitely say that luck is a huge factor in all of this. Having the right project cross the right agent's inbox at the right time is such a big part of this. Also - I am not an expert - this is just how it worked out for me --

In short, I wrote multiple books over the past 10+ years and saw agents' reactions to them improve as I improved as a writer (more partial and full requests; more detailed feedback in passes), until there was an offer. 

A few other things I did that I think helped:

After writing mostly in a bubble for many years, I joined SCBWI and started attending conferences, workshops, and my local critique group (s/o to Acadiana Writers & Illustrators!). Writing is a pretty solitary experience, and these events not only helped improve my craft but introduced me to writers striving for the same goal. Pretty cool.

I also greatly increased reading new releases in the genres I was writing (this seems so obvious in hindsight, but...well, that's hindsight for you). If I loved something, I'd go back and break down what made it work for me - if I didn't love it, I did the same. I wasn't super hardcore about this or anything, but just thinking about it helped identify what made certain stories and characters stand out and how I could apply that to my own writing. Plus, there are so many stellar middle grade and picture books out there, and they're a blast to read.

There are also a ton of incredible groups specific to the genre you're writing (like the Middle Grade Writer's Community on Twitter) - the kidlit community is super generous and kind. Once I started getting involved with them (Twitter pitch-fests, mentor contests, book chats, Haiku Saturdays), I saw how neat it is to connect with writing peers (similar to my SCBWI experience) - and also, it's just plain fun to make new writing friends and be a cheerleader for their journeys.

A few other tools that helped:
  • QueryTracker (the premium $25/year membership version) - QT was so helpful for me keeping track of my queries, agent timelines and whether they're open or closed to queries, and comments. And submitting through QT to agents using QueryManager keeps everything super organized. You can use the free version too, but I think the premium version is well worth the small fee. 
  • The Sisters Always Write podcast - this just came out recently, and I think it will help a lot of writers. Two sisters (one a debut author, and the other an editor) walk through the publishing process from idea-generation to drafting and revising and up through acquisitions (and beyond). It answered a lot of questions I'd been wondering about for a while, especially on the editor side.
    • (I would also recommend the Middle Grade Ninja pod if you're writing MG!)
  • Eric Smith's Perfect Pitch query examples - Eric Smith is an author and an agent, and his website has real query examples from his (now) clients and what he loved about them. This was super helpful for me. 
    • I also follow Eric on Twitter, and when announced he was doing a fundraiser critique for a query letter and first 50-pages, I jumped on it. His notes and kind words rocket-boosted my confidence when I started querying this project. Quite a few agents do this from time to time, and I recommend following them for those fundraising critique moments or other (sometimes free!) opportunities, as well as insight on submissions and publishing. 
  • Nathan Bransford's blog/newsletter - Nathan is an author and former agent who currently does freelance editing. His blog has been around for a while, and on it (and in his newsletter), he critiques user-submitted queries and opening pages - again, totally free. I've learned a lot from them. I also recommend his books on publishing. 
  • If you're writing picture books, the #PBChat community is awesome - the webinars from Justin Colón are also great, and I think he's starting a new venture focusing more on this. Check it out!
I hope that helps if you're in the querying trenches or thinking about diving in. Just like writing, it can be frustrating and confounding - but also exhilarating and a lot of fun when things start to click.

Just keep going. 
 


 I have two reviews in this month's Performer Magazine for books that I felt really fortunate to write about: Marissa R. Moss's Her Country, which dives deep into the experiences of women in country music, and Eric Smith's Jagged Little Pill, a YA adaptation of the Broadway musical (based on Alanis Morissette's album). 

You can read them in print or online here:

  • Jagged Little Pill review
  • Her Country review








I had a lot of fun writing this #SpringFlingKidLit contest entry, which challenges writers to create a 150-word (or less) spring-themed work inspired by a gif. 

Thank you to Ciara O'Neal and Kaitlyn Leann Sanchez for creating this contest - a perfect way to welcome in spring :)  


(gif by Claudia Cameron)

"Song of Spring" (149 words)

“Grandma, what’s your favorite song?”


“My favorite song, precious one, is the Song of Spring.”


“The Song of Spring?”


“Why yes, my love. It’s the song of the breeze rustling newly grown leaves.


It’s the song of fish jumping in a bubbling stream.


It’s the song of rain sprinkling flowers in the garden.


It’s the song of birds singing on treetops at dawn.


It’s the song of fireflies buzzing at dusk.


It’s the song of you, my dear child.”


“Of me?”


“Why yes, of course.


It’s the song of you blowing seeds off a dandelion.


It’s the song of you rolling down soft-grass hills.


It’s the song of you squeezing fresh lemons for lemonade.


It’s the song of you giggling while we read side by side.


It’s the song of our perfect spring day together.”


“Grandma?”


“Yes, my darling?”


“That’s my favorite song too. Can we play it again?”



Entry for the Spring Fling Writing Contest


by Jason Peterson

I wrote about Lauren Gibaldi and Eric Smith's outstanding short story anthology for Performer Magazine -- it's a really special book I wish had been published when I was a teen starting to play in bands, and I think it will inspire more than a few folks to join one.

Check out the review here: BOOK REVIEW: Battle of the Bands (Candlewick Press)



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I write books, songs, and this bio! Likely to be crushed by my TBR pile.

Agent: Stephen Fraser at The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency

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Blog Archive

  • ▼  2022 (7)
    • ▼  November (1)
      • Welcome!
    • ►  October (1)
      • Book Review: Long Road - Pearl Jam and the Soundtr...
    • ►  September (1)
      • Chapter Books
    • ►  August (1)
      • Some news...
    • ►  May (1)
      • Book Reviews: Her Country and Jagged Little Pill
    • ►  April (1)
      • Spring Fling Writing Contest - "Song of Spring"
    • ►  January (1)
      • Battle of the Bands (book review)
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