The second #PitMad of 2020 is this Thursday, June 4th, from 8am to 8pm EDT.
I wrote this blog post to help writers prepare for the first #PitMad of 2020, which happened on March 5th. I am leaving the advice I gave unchanged, but I wanted to signal boost this, and add two updates.
- Pitch Wars has announced a new hashtag in an effort to amplify Black voices: Black Voices Matter: #BVM Black creators, be sure to include this in your pitches for maximum visibility!
- I am participating this time, and I am still willing to help others out with pitches as I can! I am still learning, but if you want another pair of eyes, message me on your favorite social media platform, send me a note using my contact form, or email info@incitingeventblog.com.
What is PitMad?
It is a pitch party — you’ll hear some describe it as a pitch contest — on Twitter for writers with completed, polished, and unpublished manuscripts. The writers pitch their books in a 280-character tweet and agents and editors make requests of those manuscripts by liking/favoriting the tweeted pitch. PitMad is run by the organization Pitch Wars (who runs a yearly mentoring program of the same name).
If you want the rules and regulations straight from the horse’s mouth, check out the official #PitMad website. If you’re curious about what it’s like to participate in a PitMad, and want some tips to get you started, keep reading!
My Experience
I participated in the last PitMad of 2019 which was on December 5th.
I did not get any requests from literary agents as a result.
So…would I participate again? Yes! Without a doubt. I plan to; I’m just not ready this go-round.
Is it for you? PitMad might be if you have a polished, unpublished manuscript and:
- You want to engage with the #WritingCommunity on Twitter and meet new writers
- You want to practice summarizing your manuscript by writing short pitches
- You want requests from literary agents or small presses
- You want to gauge interest in your premise
All four of the above reasons applied to me, even if I wasn’t aware of it at first. I was primarily starry-eyed and dreaming about the potential for a literary agent request. I learned so much more than that from the process of writing my pitches and participating in the wider community, though. The thing nobody told me and I didn’t realize: a 280-character twitter pitch can essentially be the hook you use in your query letter. The second most obvious thing I didn’t realize:
Summarizing an entire book in a tweet is hard.
It felt impossible. But the practice of doing it boosted my ability to think about my manuscript and boil it down to its essence. This is a skill that is essential for querying; and PitMad essentially is trial-by-fire practice. When querying, it can take months to receive a response to a query, and if you even receive a response for a rejection, it’s doubtful they’ll point out what didn’t grab them about your submission. With PitMad, you can at least practice that initial hook and get instant feedback from a large community based on interactions with your tweet.
While I didn’t get any likes from agents or presses, writers and others following the PitMad hashtag the day of are allowed to retweet pitches to show their support. I’d never seen so much writer camaraderie in one place. It was invigorating; electrifying. Maybe it should have been daunting, seeing all the potential competition out there vying to be published, but it wasn’t. I was overwhelmed by the creativity and boldness of everyone who participated.
How many people participated, you ask?
Pitch Wars did not provide specific statistics, however, according to their Youtube livestream after party, there were over 175k tweets during PitMad on 5 December.
That’s at least 4 tweets a second for 12-hours straight. We are made of stories. We crave them. And a lot of people are creating them.
So I should probably share mine, right? FINE. You win. These were my pitches:
Pitch One:
Some princesses wait for happily ever after, Aly commits high treason. She discovers her gilded kingdom waist deep in shit & attracts an ancient evil as her family’s secrets unravel. A street thief she’s never met & a dragon w/unknown intentions decide her fate. #A #F #PitMad
Sent at 8:03am, this was my highest performing tweet. It got 19 retweets, generated 1206 impressions and 28 total engagements.
Pitch Two:
Aly was born w/power & privilege; chained to a rotten kingdom built on secrets. Brooke lacks both but has freedom Aly craves. Their lives collide when Aly attracts an ancient evil. How they use the hidden power in their blood will shape the future of nations. #A #F #PitMad
Sent at 12:07pm, this tweet generated 385 impressions and 13 engagements.
Pitch Three:
Aly – a treasonous princess
Lajila – an ambitious mage
Brooke – a carefree thief
All have secrets.
When Aly discovers her kingdom is rotten, Lajila brings an ancient evil to Aly’s doorstep. A continent away, will Brooke sacrifice for a girl she’s never met? #A #F #PitMad
Sent at 4:03pm, this tweet garnered 1,001 impressions and 16 engagements.
The #PitMad Essentials
DO:
- Actually have a polished and finished manuscript.
- Schedule your tweets ahead of time via TweetDeck or a similar platform.
- Get your pitches critiqued!
- Retweet pitches of friends and especially of strangers to show your support!
- Include the #PitMad hashtag and use the appropriate genre and age category hashtags to get your pitches seen!
- Pitch as many manuscripts as you have polished and unpublished. You get three tweets per project.
- Spread your pitches out. Pitch Wars recommends 4-hour intervals.
DO NOT:
- Pitch an unfinished or unpolished manuscript.
- Thread your tweets.
- Add links to your tweet.
- Add images to your tweet unless you are pitching a picture book.
- Like/favorite tweets unless you are a literary agent or represent a small press — likes are for requests only.
- Tweet more than three pitches per project.
A Few More Alibis
Get feedback on your pitches. Seriously. DO IT. There is no excuse. As we get closer to PitMad, many people will offer to exchange critiques of pitches out of the goodness of their hearts. These offers are not traps! The writing community has its crazy moments but is generally supportive. Even if you’re terrified of sharing your manuscript-length work with friends and family, sharing 280-characters with them is nothing. You will not be inconveniencing them, you will be giving them an easy way to get involved in your writing! So ask them for their thoughts. It will help!
RESEARCH if you get requests. The Pitch Wars organization does their best to manage the PitMad events, but they are not independently vetting all of the literary agents and presses participating. If you get requests, make sure you are comfortable submitting to that agent or press. There is no obligation for you to submit to them just because they liked your pitch. If you ultimately decide they wouldn’t be a good fit, or think they aren’t legitimate, trust your instinct.
Enjoy the experience. PitMad is a ride. I poured over every letter of the three 280-character tweets I wrote as if writing the wrong word would be akin to cutting the wrong wire while defusing a bomb. I agonized over the exact scheduling of the tweets. Should I tweet right at 8am? 8:04? I researched when literary agents take lunch, when they typically end their work day. I combed through every blog post I could find: I craved strategy. But when the tweets were scheduled and all I could do was read and engage with others, I cast off my anxiety and embraced the celebration of our shared creative community. Don’t skip the engagement!
Happy Pitching!
Though it wasn’t a complete success, my first PitMad was overwhelmingly positive. I’m excited to participate again and also support and read everyone’s amazing pitches on June 4th!
Good luck to everyone participating!
– M