Hey friends! As I’m writing this, the next #PitMad event is this week. (You can find upcoming dates here at the Pitch Wars website.)

What is PitMad? It’s one of the Twitter pitch contests where you can pitch your novel in one tweet. If an editor or agent likes your tweet, it means they’d like to see the novel. These Twitter pitch parties are meant for people with a completed, polished, unpublished draft (don’t pitch your already self-published novel.)

I’ve taken part in these Twitter pitch contests as an acquiring editor, and even though I have some Pitmad tips, I have to say that it’s a bit of a gamble. Agents and editors aren’t on Twitter all day, so they don’t even see every tweet, and some novels are simply easier to pitch in one tweet than others. Still, it can be a chance to get your book in front of more decision-makers, so it’s worth a shot and you’ve got nothing to lose.

I’ll give you a little PitMad advice, for what it’s worth! If you’re not ready to pitch now, you might want to pin or bookmark this for future reference.

 

 

1. Use the proper hashtags!

To save time, many agents and editors will search only by the hashtags that pertain to them. So besides the #PitMad hashtag, you’ll want to use ones that convey your genre. If you scroll down to the bottom of this page (this is the same link as above), you can find them all.

2. Use a good comparison title or two.

You don’t have to do this, of course, but it’s something to consider. A comparison title, or “comp,” can get people’s interest and help them understand your project quickly. For instance:

“Did you like SOLD ON A MONDAY? You’ll like…”

“…in the vein of CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE.”

If your book mashes up themes of two books, movies, or TV shows, you can format that without using too many characters like this:

“RED, WHITE, AND ROYAL BLUE x GAME OF THRONES”

You can also use comp authors instead of comp titles.

“…sim. to Debbie Macomber.”

3. Try 3 different approaches!

You’re allowed to try three different pitches for the same novel, so if you’re not sure which one is best, try a few.

4. Make the conflict or the character’s problem clear and specific.

Conflict is going to get people’s attention, and specifics are stronger than generalizations in Twitter pitch contests, just as they are in query letters.

Not as strong: “Addie uncovers a grim family secret.”
Better: “Addie learns her parents murdered a woman long ago.”

5. If the story rests a lot on the personality of the characters, describe the characters.

Not as strong: “A boss falls in love with his new secretary.”
Better: “A shy boss falls in love with his free-spirited new secretary.”

6. Tweet a few times during the day.

Since you don’t know when agents and editors will be checking in, you want to tweet your pitch more than once.

If you’re not doing #PitMad but you see other pitches you like, you can support them by rewteeting them or commenting on them. Don’t like them unless you’re an agent or editor (although, non-agents and non-editors always wind up liking some tweets, because they don’t know what PitMad is or how it works.)

If an agent or editor does like your pitch, you can follow up with a direct message to ask for an email so you can send your story.

What do you do if you get no requests? Don’t sweat it! Again, it’s a roll of the dice. Many more book deals come from traditional queries than from Twitter pitch parties, and you can query many agents at any time.

 

 

If you have any questions about PitMad, any extra words of advice, or any comments about Twitter or querying in general, please share those below! And if you’re not already subscribed to the blog, sign up below so you’ll get new posts about writing and positivity.

Thanks for reading, and happy writing!

Related Posts