Writing Update: I Finished Hunted!!! What's Next?

I am really, truly, ridiculously excited to be writing this post. After nine months of working on my Snow White retelling, Hunted, I finally finished on Saturday January 18, 2025! It is 63,195 words and it is my precious child. I am planning to pitch it to agents at the Washington Writers Conference in May, which should give me time to do a little editing (sigh).

Here is the first draft of my pitch!

Hunted is a YA fantasy mashup retelling inspired by Snow White and the Greek myth of the goddess Diana. In this retelling, Snow White (whose name is actually Diana) is the result of her mother's wish, granted by a fae creature called a wishgiver. Wishgivers may grant wishes spoken into a mirror, but they will never allow you to choose your price, and this wishgiver's price was Diana's mother's life. After her father remarries a woman who seems determined to destroy Diana's very sense of self, Diana flees to the forest to claim a wish from the most powerful wishgiver of all, who may or may not even be real–but instead, she accidentally kills the crown prince, who has been transformed into a stag by a mischievous nymph. And the only witness is the queen's personal wishgiver. Diana flees to a convent whose inhabitants are more than they seem, and finds herself caught in a deal with the queen's wishgiver. Can Diana break the enchantment he is under before he is forced to kill her?

My one comp title that I've managed to come up with is Ash, by Malinda Lo (thanks, Italia!).

Obviously, this pitch needs some work (and to be clear, I would never use this for a query letter; this is specifically meant to be an in-person pitch, and it's missing a couple details that I would include for that, like word count).

So, I'm sure you're wondering (and even if you're not, I'm going to tell you), what's next??

I'm taking a month to dabble in whatever writing projects excite me most. In March, I will probably print out Hunted and read it all the way through, making notes for myself on what needs editing. I may also give it to a few trusted beta readers (namely, my mom and sister) whom I know will give me great feedback on both big-picture things (my mom) and detail things (my sister). In April, I will work through their edits. By May, I will (hopefully!) be ready to pitch Hunted to some literary agents at the Washington Writers Conference! 

Here's one last snippet for you, from page 230:

🏹

"Where will you go?" asked the woman after a brief silence. "Now that you are free."

He shrugged. "To be perfectly honest, I don’t know who I am without you. Or even what I am. I suspect you have destroyed me."

She nodded, not regretful, just understanding. "Perhaps our paths will cross again, wishgiver."

He smiled sadly. "I sincerely hope not."