Melissa Shaw-Smith
  • Female
  • Warwick, NY
  • United States
Share Twitter

Melissa Shaw-Smith's Friends

  • Ashley Walker
  • Soumi Roy
  • Kim Trotter
  • Sarah Negovetich
  • Tif Johnson
  • Michelle Levy
  • Holly VanDyne
  • Laura Chesterson
  • Michelle Hodkin
  • Mayra Calvani
  • Heather Hansen
  • Dawn Cassandra Heather Fuller
  • Jordan Mierek
  • lizczukas
  • Jessie Harrell

Gifts Received

Gift

Melissa Shaw-Smith has not received any gifts yet

Give a Gift

 

Melissa Shaw-Smith's Page

Latest Activity

Melissa Shaw-Smith commented on Georgia McBride's group Blogger Nation
"My latest blog post, Old Writers, New Media, might tickle your funny bone. Do check it out. http://melissashawsmith.wordpress.com Looking forward to hearing your input. Thanks."
May 3
Melissa Shaw-Smith joined Georgia McBride's group
Thumbnail

Blogger Nation

Bloggers, promote your contests, reviews and giveways! Generate more comments, discussions and followers/Google friends for your blog! Group Coordinator is: Michelle (@galleysmith).
May 3
Melissa Shaw-Smith replied to Melissa Shaw-Smith's discussion GIRL IN A BUBBLE, Revised in the group Query Kick-Around
"Bonnie, Thanks for taking a look and pointing out the weak spots. Cheers, Melissa"
Mar 18
Bonnie Ferrante replied to Melissa Shaw-Smith's discussion GIRL IN A BUBBLE, Revised in the group Query Kick-Around
"GIRL IN A BUBBLE is a contemporary YA novel complete at 88,000 words.***After reading through the plot below, this seems like a very high word count. You might want to think about editing it back. Sixteen-year-old Saraswati Silverman's severe…"
Mar 18
Melissa Shaw-Smith replied to Ashley Walker's discussion TIGER DAUGHTER by Ashley Walker in the group First Pages (Crit Group)
"Ashley: I really enjoyed reading your opening pages. Your descriptions are vivid, the setting unusual, and Mei's voice captured my attention right away. My big question is, are you starting your novel in the right place? The first chapter, from…"
Mar 15
Melissa Shaw-Smith replied to Melissa Shaw-Smith's discussion GIRL IN A BUBBLE, Revised in the group Query Kick-Around
"Michelle:Many thanks for helping guide me in the right direction. Wow, what would we do without the generous help of members of  YALITChat! "
Mar 5
Melissa Shaw-Smith replied to Melissa Shaw-Smith's discussion GIRL IN A BUBBLE, Revised in the group Query Kick-Around
"Ashley, Thanks so much for taking a look. Lots of great advice--the bit about bringing in the parents again has, I hope, helped me to add a much needed sentence. At school, Sara’s soon drawn to Oliver Ziem, the music teacher and former lead…"
Mar 5
Michelle Levy replied to Melissa Shaw-Smith's discussion GIRL IN A BUBBLE, Revised in the group Query Kick-Around
"Sixteen-year-old Saraswati Silverman's severe allergies have kept her trapped in a super-sanitized environment for most of her childhood. All she wants to do is play her guitar, find a boyfriend, and get a life. She’s especially sick…"
Mar 4
Ashley Walker replied to Melissa Shaw-Smith's discussion GIRL IN A BUBBLE, Revised in the group Query Kick-Around
"Hi Melissa, I enjoyed reading this. Kim gave you some great feedback. I hope that my comments and questions will be helpful as well. Sixteen-year-old Saraswati Silverman's severe allergies have kept her trapped in a super-sanitized…"
Mar 4
Melissa Shaw-Smith posted a status
"Getting a kick out of blogging at my new wordpress site: melissashawsmith.com"
Mar 1
Melissa Shaw-Smith replied to Ashley Walker's discussion TIGER DAUGHTER by Ashley Walker in the group Query Kick-Around
"Hi Ashley: Love the premise of this book and would have picked up any attached ms to read with query as is. That said, I agree with all the excellent comments from Sarah, Kim and Alisha, particularly with reference to the "Fantasy" tag. I…"
Mar 1
Melissa Shaw-Smith replied to Melissa Shaw-Smith's discussion GIRL IN A BUBBLE, Revised in the group Query Kick-Around
"Kim, I really appreciate you taking the time to work with me on this. Hope I can return the favor some day. Happy writing, Melissa"
Mar 1
Kim Trotter replied to Melissa Shaw-Smith's discussion GIRL IN A BUBBLE, Revised in the group Query Kick-Around
"At school, Sara’s soon drawn to Oliver Ziem, the music teacher and former lead singer of one of her favorite bands, and his unofficial student fan club. While impressing her new friends with her guitar skills, she suffers a life-threatening…"
Feb 28
Melissa Shaw-Smith replied to Melissa Shaw-Smith's discussion GIRL IN A BUBBLE, Revised in the group Query Kick-Around
"Kim, Thanks so much. You've been a great help. I've nixed the 2nd and 3rd paras, rewritten a single one, & taken your advice about a strong final either/or line: At school, Sara’s soon drawn to Oliver Ziem, the music teacher and…"
Feb 28
Kim Trotter replied to Melissa Shaw-Smith's discussion GIRL IN A BUBBLE, Revised in the group Query Kick-Around
"GIRL IN A BUBBLE is a contemporary YA novel complete at 88,000 words. Literary Agent Janet Ried (who runs Query Shark) recommends putting this at the bottom with your bio. Unless you are a particular reasoning for querying an agent (you met…"
Feb 27
Melissa Shaw-Smith replied to Melissa Shaw-Smith's discussion Query: GIRL IN A BUBBLE, for real. in the group Query Kick-Around
"Kim, Great points!  I'm off to post a revised version. Many thanks. -Melissa"
Feb 27

Comment Wall (11 comments)

You need to be a member of YALITCHAT.ORG to add comments!

Join YALITCHAT.ORG

At 12:19am on July 19, 2012,
Staff
Laura Chesterson
said…

Hi Melissa!

From Laura and YALitChat!

At 11:17am on July 19, 2011,
Staff
Sheri Larsen
said…
Happy Birthday!!
At 1:11am on July 19, 2011,
Staff
Laura Chesterson
said…

Hiya Melissa!

From Laura and YALitChat!!

At 4:06pm on February 23, 2010,
Staff
Sheri Larsen
said…
Melissa,
Thanks for the response. I wrote years ago--HS & journaling--just for fun, but birthing four kids, taking care of a house, husband, and the dog took precedence. Two years ago, when I was sure my brains had completely seeped out my ears, my husband encouraged me to join a writer's group. And here I am.

My first attempt at writing YA was way over word count-180,000, but I've learned a lot since then. I've put that one away to revisit later, make into two books. I have a completed YA fantasy romance that definitely crosses over to adult; it's 100,000 but cutting anymore takes away from the complexity of the story. I've considered breaking it in two, but it flows so nicely now. Much more concise than my first one. Anyway, I've been working on that sequel and I think I'm going to pick my MG series I'd started about 8 months ago.

I'd love to swap material, see if we're compatible. I'm also interested in picking your brain about picture books. I'm not so much interested in those, but in illustrated books for maybe K & 1st graders. I don't have a clue how to write one let alone submit one, but I have a great idea that I've written a synopsis for and a short query. My younger kids can't wait for me to write it, but I want to know how to format it first.

We can chat more before swapping material, or I can email you, maybe my first five pages? Let me know.

Chow!
At 3:13pm on February 20, 2010,
Staff
Sheri Larsen
said…
Melissa,
obviously you don't know me from a hole in the ground, but I was reading a few comments and noticed you'd offered to swap your ms with someone. I'm totally new to blogging--two weeks to be exact--but I've been exchanging material with another writer for over six months now, and we're looking to expand. If it would be something you or anyone you know might be interested in, check out my blog. There's a link to a private critique group we've set up down the right side: http://writersally.blogspot.com

Seriously, this is so far out of my comfort zone. I must have had something to drink first, seeing how I'm all out of Hotheads. :)
At 5:39pm on February 6, 2010, lizczukas said…
Thanks for the message. I can't wait to see what happens with FINDING SPECIAL, I'm truly a fan.
At 6:59pm on February 3, 2010, Heather Hansen said…
Hi, Melissa. I didn't get an email from you. I'm just checking because sometimes my email is persnickety and I didn't want it to get lost.
At 4:11pm on February 3, 2010, J.L. Spelbring said…
I would love to read your draft. Just let me know.
At 1:03pm on February 3, 2010, J.L. Spelbring said…
My Writing World--by Ebyss

LOL!!

I have two finished mss. One on shelf, I plan on taking it down and fixing it. It needs alot of fixing. :)

My second--a full is out to an agent. My fingers are cross.

My current wip has almost 40,000 words. I plan on it being complete at 80,000 to 85,000 words.

How about your writing world. :)
At 6:42am on February 3, 2010, Heather Hansen said…
Melissa-
Drop me an email at heather(at)heatherlhansen(dot)com and we'll chat about the beta thing. :)

Heather
 
 
 

Premium Membership

An annual (automatically renewed) fee is REQUIRED for Premium Member access to groups like: Submissions Mailbox, Query Kick-Around, Synopsis Repair Shop, Agent Insider II, Promotion Junction and Teen and Tween Research Info.

Membership is FREE for students.

Prefer to pay by check? YALITCHAT.ORG Member App

Member Book Spotlight

Badge

Loading…

© 2013   Created by Georgia McBride.

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service