The furor of FicFest has died down for many of you - not for me tho, I've got ssssoooo many pages to read - and hopefully you're already looking forward to one of the other many upcoming pitch opportunities.
#PitDark - May 12
Query Kombat - May 21
#PitMad - June 9
#WCNV - June 12
I considered pitching RIVEN during #PitDark, but I'm still hung over from #DVPit almost a month ago. :-) The concept is very cool: dark literature need only apply. Check out the link for more details and good luck to everyone who takes part. I'll be cheering you on.
The Appeal of Twitter Pitching
Your heart pounds. Your brain buzzes. You find yourself constantly refreshing the feed and your profile. You sneak off to bathroom so you can troll the contest feed in *relative* peace. You want to heart other writer's pitches - but nope. Can't. Against the rules. So you start to comment to some of your favorites. Before you know it, you've been sitting on that toilet for an hour. :D
This is the excitement that drew me into twitter contests in the first place. The community of other writers, the sharing of our novel-babies, the proof that there were others with the same hope as you, the same fears of rejection as you.
Here, our ideas are heard.
Here, our ideas are validated.
However, I've mentioned it before: "favorites" are not golden tickets to publication or representation. Those don't exist. If you've done the pitch thing right, you've generated interest in your piece. Hopefully, you've also generated interest in your brand.
BUT before you jump into any contest with guns blazing, make sure that it's the right contest for you. Beyond the theme (diverse pitch, picture book pitch, etc) check the participating agents and publishers lists. Are there any interested in your genre? Have you already queried them?
Think you'd like to query them?
Cold Querying
Those words evoke shivers. I know. It's exciting to get to the place where we're ready to query and just as difficult to send our words out in the world. There's no guarantee that we'll receive a response to them. But it's part of the process, writer friends, and at some point, we've got to let go of our fears.
The wait, the uncertainty, it's a part of the process. A rite of passage.
For those who didn't make it into FicFest. I'm sorry. BUT I'm know you entered because you have a complete manuscript.
Those were the rules anyway ;)
While you wait for the next contest to roll around make a list of agents, polish your query, and get ready to SEND. In fact, don't wait until your pitch does or does not get hearted - SEND!
If you need some ideas, check out my post on #FicFest #Querytips
Wherein I Possibly Bite off more than I can chew
So...because I'm home this week, I've convinced myself I'll have some extra time on my hands. Probably not true, but hey, I'm going to give this a whirl.
If you're ready to take a chance and want to join me in the cold query trenches, but are not feeling 100% about your query, let me help you.
Tweet about this post, or retweet MY tweet announcing this post, by 11.59pm EST Wednesday, May 11 and I'll critique your query. Put in the message "Critique my query, @HetalWrites! http://goo.gl/TA6b4F " so I know you're interested in this feedback. I'll DM everyone with the how-to after the window closes.
**Disclaimer: I am not paid for editing services. I am not yet published. I am a writer wanting to help other writers. That is all. I am just like you: in the query trenches hoping someone likes my work enough to ask for more. My query has done pretty well for me so I think I can do the same for you. :)