In less than a week, many hundreds (thousands?!) of us will be frantically fretting over the hidden typos our eyes refuse to see. We’ll be pouring over first pages and synopsis and query letters. There will be crying and gnashing of teeth. Probably some wailing.
Oh, wait a second. I’m sorry, I got ahead of myself. I’m talking, of course, about Pitch Wars.
What is Pitch Wars?
It is a highly selective manuscript mentorship program for unpublished authors.
It gives those of us who haven’t broken into publishing through other avenues a chance to network with a range of professionals in the publishing industry, like published authors, literary agents, and editors. It’s almost like entering an academic fellowship or work study. If selected, the mentee can expect hard work and tight deadlines as they work on their manuscript with their mentor to get it ready for the literary agent showcase in February 2021.
But… that’s not the whole story.
Pitch Wars is the #WritingCommunity.
It brings writers together from across the world in the pursuit of one dream: publishing.
Pitch Wars is a contest; some people are selected as mentees, the majority are not. But I don’t like to think of it as a contest, because that implies there are winners and losers.
There aren’t, and I’m not just saying that because I didn’t get picked last year for Pitch Wars.
My Pitch Wars 2019 Applicant Experience
Notice my wording above. Not “rejected” from Pitch Wars. I applied, I was not selected. Pitch Wars, like the publishing industry itself, is fickle and subjective. If you, like me, are chasing an elusive publishing dream, you need to broaden your definition of success.
If you count yourself as a Pitch Wars 2020 Hopeful, try not to think of success in Pitch Wars as binary.
Let me say that a different way: not being selected in Pitch Wars is not failure.
I’m not sure you were listening.
Not being selected in Pitch Wars is NOT failure.
“Well, it’s not success, is it?” you grumble, crossing your arms and scrunching your brows.
Pitch Wars is about learning, not success. If you are selected, wonderful! Amazing! Fantastic! But it is not a golden ticket. You’ll have to work hard on your manuscript (which you already thought was as polished as you could make it) and the agent showcase isn’t a guarantee of representation. And representation isn’t a guarantee of publication.
Pitch Wars is a first step; treat it that way.
For me, it was a huge leap. Maybe you’re worried you’re not ready, like I was last year. Maybe you’re worried you don’t know enough industry terms, or don’t have enough writing experience, to even try. So, here’s a list of things I’d never done when I submitted to Pitch Wars in 2019 as an applicant:
- Formatted my manuscript into standard manuscript format
- Written a query letter
- Participated in a National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)
- Written a synopsis
- Fretted over word counts
- Understood what “comp titles” are
- Learned who the “Big 5” publishing houses are
- Asked for beta readers
- Made friends with lots of random strangers on Twitter
- Written 63,000 words in a month
- Had a critique partner
Polished a manuscript
Let’s ignore that last one, okay? I was, perhaps, overly exuberant my first go-round with Pitch Wars. But I have no regrets. Don’t self reject.
So…Should You Submit to Pitch Wars?
Do you:
- Have a completed (hopefully polished) fiction manuscript?
- Want to be traditionally published?
Is your:
- manuscript unpublished? (this includes self-publishing)
- book in one of the following age categories / demographics: middle grade, young adult, new adult, or adult?
The full rules are here; but, if you answered yes to all of those questions, then absolutely, you should try. Don’t be worried if you feel like a novice. There are tons of resources for you to use, even this close to submission. A few suggestions:
- Pitch Wars’s collected writing resources for help with query letters, synopses, first pages, and more.
- On Twitter, the #PitchWars hashtag is full of people asking questions and offering advice. Use your best judgement, but the community can be a great resource.
- Also on Twitter, Pitch Wars hosts #AskMentor chats, where Pitch Wars 2020 mentors will be answering questions.
- Many writing associations, like Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), have writing resources to help authors at any stage, writing any genre.
An Alibi
Do not go in with rose-colored glasses. Pitch Wars isn’t a perfect program, there is no such thing as a perfect program. I don’t think I have to say much more than that, but, do your research. Remember that Pitch Wars is one tool. One road of many. But in the end, if you’ve read this far and you’re still on the fence… Apply! What do you have to lose?
My Pitch Wars Takeaway
Even though I was not selected in Pitch Wars 2019, I gained a community of writers to lean on. I had a platform to practice writing query letters and synopses. Pitch Wars helped me shake the scariness of first submission jitters away. More than that: Pitch Wars reinvigorated my writing dreams.
The day the Pitch Wars 2020 submission window opens this year, 27 September, is the same day I finished my manuscript for the first time in over five years, last year in 2019.
When I decided in August 2019 I was going to apply for Pitch Wars, it was a crazy goal. I’d tried to give up on my manuscript. I had given up on it. Then I decided to participate, mostly on a whim. Mostly because I didn’t think I’d reach my lofty goal. Well. I finished my manuscript in a month. I applied to Pitch Wars. And now?
Now, a year later, after many beta reads and editing rounds my manuscript is polished. And I am again a Pitch Wars Hopeful, excited once again to learn something new and meet some cool people along the way.
Before I go, a final reminder:
I hope to see you in the submission trenches!
-M