Pitch Wars 2015 is coming! Are you ready?

Sadly, #Pitmad has come to an end.

Brenda Drake hosts the popular Tweetfest, #PitchMAS. During #PitchMAS, writers tweet their pitches along with their category. Agents following the feed then contact the writers who grab their attention.

Pitch Wars is a preliminary event in which writers apply for critiques from mentors. Published and/or agented authors, editors, or industry interns choose one writer each, read their entire manuscript, and offer suggestions to prepare it for agents.

The process is as follows: First, go to the wish lists of all mentors and make a list of those who represent your genre; on a second pass go back to the mentors on your list and select those who have an editing style that suits you; and on a third pass narrow that list to five. On August 17 send your application to those five. You only get one chance at finding a mentor (and all five may reject you), so read your prospective mentors' pages carefully.

Note: Brenda has opened the submission window early. It is now open, and will remain open until August 17 at 11:59 PM EDT. After you submit your information, the submission screen will re-appear. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen to see the notice that your submission has been received.

To submit, click HERE.

For all you YA fantasy writers out there, I have assembled a list of all the mentors seeking YA fantasy. (This will save you a little time.) You have to narrow your list down to five, so read these pages with an eagle eye for those you feel would be a good match for you. (For a full list of mentors go HERE.)

Mindy McGinnis (co-mentoring with Kate Karyus Quinn)

Jenni L. Walsh (co-mentoring with Trisha Leaver)

Sarah Glenn Marsh

Rosalyn Eves

Linsey Miller

Lisa Maxwell

Wendy Spinale

Sarah Cannon

L.L. McKinney

Elizabeth Briggs

Ron Walters (co-mentoring with Meredith McCardle)

S.M. Johnston (co-mentoring with Stacey Nash)

Laura Salters

Megan Grimit

Katie Bucklein

Brianna Shrum

Kim Graff

Stacey Trombley

Susan Gray Foster (co- mentoring with Monica Bustamante Wagner_

Sarah Nicolas

Renee Ahdieh (co-mentoring with Traci Chee)

Janet B. Taylor (co-mentoring with Kathryn Purdie & Shannon Parker

Jessie Humphries (co- mentoring with Mara Rae)

Erica M. Chapman

Summer Spence

This is an excellent opportunity to get a solid critique of your work. Good luck!
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Pitch Wars 2015 is coming! Are you ready?

Posted By Brenda Drake on Jul 19, 2015

We’re so excited for Pitch Wars 2015! For those unfamiliar with Pitch Wars, it’s a contest where published/agented authors, editors, or interns choose one writer each, read their entire manuscript, and offer critiques on how to make the manuscript shine. The mentor also critiques his/her writer’s pitch to get it ready for the agent round. Those entering Pitch Wars submit applications (query plus first chapter of manuscript) to our mentors. The mentors then read all their applications and choose the writer they want to mentor for two months to get them ready for the agent round. Writers can pick up to four mentors to submit to. How will you decide what mentors to submit to?

Come back August 3 for our Mentor Wishlist Blog Hop. The mentors’ bios and wishlists will be posted to their blogs and linked from a post on my blog, and you can hop around and find the right matches for you. And visit the Twitter hashtag #PitchWars to get to know the mentors personally (virtually). The hop will go on until 8/17, which is submission day!!

This year, we won’t have alternates. Instead, I’ve added more mentors and there will be 92 mentee spots up for grabs. Applications will be sent through an easy submission form. The form will go live just after midnight (EDT – New York time) August 17 and remain open for 24 hours. What will you need to enter in the form? Your top four (max – you don’t have to pick 4, but you are limited to 4) mentors, your email address, title of the manuscript, category and genre, your query letter (sorry no personalized queries this year), and the first chapter of your completed manuscript (Word .doc or .docx format).  The sample chapter should be manuscript formatted pages (12pt, double-spaced). All of this will be fill-in-the-blank on the form.

Submission Guidelines:

• Only Middle Grade, Young Adult, New Adult, or Adult manuscripts will be accepted.
• This is open to completed, full-length, fiction manuscripts only.
• You may only enter one manuscript.
• Only the genres requested by each mentor will be considered for the contest.
• Writers may only apply to 5 mentors max.
• Mentors will only consider the categories they’ve signed up for. (The mentors’ categories – MG, YA, NA, or Adult – are set.)
• Writers cannot apply for a mentor that is not in their category or the application will be deleted.
• No nonfiction, picture books, chapter books, or previously published works. (If you’re an unagented author and have self-published before, you may enter the contest with a never-before-published manuscript.)

WARNING: Just like an agent, mentors may request more pages or a synopsis of your manuscript to help them make their final decision, so get them ready! Mentors may also pass your application on to another mentor they feel would be a better match. If a mentor you didn’t apply to picks you invites you to be his/her mentee, you have the right to pass on said invite.

Please note: Being kind to one another is mandatory in this contest. Should I find someone isn’t being kind and respecting others, I will remove you from the contest. Also, if you are difficult with your mentor or if you aren’t working well as a team or if you don’t take any of your mentor’s advice, your mentor will have the option to opt out of being your mentor. Remember your mentor has other obligations like deadlines, book promotions, and family life, please be mindful of their time. They are only required to read your manuscript once and give an edit letter. They aren’t required to do line edits. Our mentors are very generous with their time, so please be patient. We’ve had close to forty successes from last year’s Pitch Wars and it’s because of our mentors and the care they take with their mentees that it’s been such a great success.

If you were a mentee in Pitch Wars 2014 you may not enter Pitch Wars 2015. If you were a mentee in 2012-2013, you may enter with a new manuscript. If you were an alternate in any of the previous Pitch Wars, you may enter the same or a new manuscript for Pitch Wars 2015.

!!!! If you make it into Pitch Wars, you may not enter any contests or query during the mentoring period and until after the agent round, which is November 3-5. If you are currently in a contest (such as Pitch to Publish running at the same time as Pitch Wars), you may not enter Pitch Wars. When in doubt, ask.

For those who do not make it into Pitch Wars (and those who want to join in), we’ll hold a Twitter Pitch Party on #PitMad September 10 from 8AM to 8PM EST. If you make it into Pitch Wars, you may not pitch in #PitMad.

There will be an “Ask the Mentors” event on the Twitter hashtag, #AskMentor and on #PitchWars, on August 10 from 12:01AM to 11:59PM EDT. Stop by and ask mentors questions as you see them join the hashtag.

Some our Pitch Wars mentors will be chatting live with the Whiskey, Wine, & Writing gang at 8PM EDT. Make sure to watch and get to know the mentors. Here’s the schedule:

• August 4 and 11: Middle Grade mentors - Read about them HERE.
• August 5 and 12: Young Adult mentors - Read about them HERE.
• August 6: New Adult mentors (Mentors who are mentoring either YA/NA or NA/A)
• August 7: Adult mentors

For a full list of mentors go HERE.

Meet the agents HERE.

For the contest schedule go here.

For the submission form go here.

We look forward to seeing you August 3!

How to Write a Synopsis

Whether you are submitting your book to an agent or directly to a publisher, a synopsis is an essential part of your submission packet.

Nobody likes writing synopses, in part because there is a natural desire on the part of writers to resist stripping their works of art down to the bare bones of plot points.

Writing a synopsis is also not particularly fun. If your strong suit is snappy dialogue or lyrical descriptions, you will be forced to leave all your little darlings behind.

The truth is you don't have to sacrifice creativity to write a synopsis. You can include descriptive adjectives and power verbs (avoid all forms of the verb "to be" and "to have" whenever possible). You can also include short dialogue if it is relevant to the plot.

How long is a synopsis?

Back in the day, synopses used to be quite long, roughly one page per every 25 pages of manuscript. (A 200-page book would have a synopsis of  8 pages.) But agents and editors are increasingly pressed for time, which means synopses have shrunk. The length now depends entirely on what the agent/editor requires.

It is a good idea to have several synopses on hand: a 3-5 paragraph synopsis (one page, or roughly 300 words), a 2-page synopsis, and a one-paragraph synopsis. Chances are the agent or house you are querying will ask for one of these.

Remember: A synopsis is a summary. It is designed to give an agent or editor a clear, concise idea of your story, not show your dexterity as a wordsmith.

Here are the basics for writing a synopsis

1) A synopsis must include all of your plot, including the ending. You can't end a synopsis with a cliffhanger or a question. "John dies" may seem like a spoiler, but that is exactly what an editor wants to know.

2) Be explicit. Details are important in a synopsis. A character should not experience "something unexpected." Say what that something is. For example,"The unexpected arrival of her father leaves Clarissa confused and angry." (It's important to include how your character feels. That provides a basis for motivation.)

3) Make sure your synopsis is structured. It must have a clear beginning, middle, and end, corresponding to the beginning, middle, and end of your book. The beginning introduces your characters, identifies the main conflict, and describes the setting. The middle outlines the main plot points. And the end resolves the conflict and tells us what happens to the characters.

4) Don't include too many twists and turns. It is not essential to include absolutely everything. If there are too many extraneous characters and subplots, it will be impossible to follow the story. Simplify wherever you can.

5) Make your synopsis stand out. If there is something unique about your story, make sure to give it the attention it deserves.

6) Write in present tense.

Before you start ...

It's a good idea to write a couple of synopses for books you did not write before you tackle your own. Like every other aspect of writing, synopsis writing is a skill, and all skills benefit from practice.

For a great list of synopsis examples, check out Writers Digest: Synopsis Writing

PitchMAS is coming up fast! Writers, pitch your books directly to agents

PitchMAS is a biannual pitch fest for writers held in December and July. It is co-hosted by Jessa Russo, a native Californian who describes herself as "the most extroverted introvert you know."

Most pitch fests are for screenplays, so this is a rare opportunity for those who write books to present their pitches directly to agents. (For a list of agents participating in December's pitch fest click HERE.)

Does PitchMAS actually work? 

The answer is yes. Vicki Leigh found an agent, and subsequent publisher, through participating in PitchMAS. (Read her story HERE.)

From the PitchMAS website:

FRIDAY 12/5/14

*PITCH-HONING WORKSHOP*

(A blog post will go LIVE on 12/5, right here on the PitchMAS blog, where you will post your pitches in the COMMENT SECTION. Your peers will then hop around and critique/advise you on what works/doesn't work. Tamara and Jessa WILL NOT be participating in the workshop; this is for peer critique/help only.)

SUNDAY 12/7/14 - MONDAY 12/8/14
*SUBMISSION WINDOW*
For this event, we will be accepting your 35-word pitch submissions VIA EMAIL ONLY--email address will be posted when submission window OPENS. Submission window will be open from Sunday 12/7/14 at 9:00amPST until Monday 12/8/14 at 6:00pmPST. 

We will delete any submissions received before or after that submission window, and it isup to you to figure out your own time zone differences.

THURSDAY 12/11/14

BLOG PITCH PARTY
{35 Words or Less}

The TOP 50 pitches will go live on the PitchMAS blog at MIDNIGHT on Thursday, 12/11/14. Agents and editors will have the entire day (as well as all day Friday!) to comment and make requests. 

Please do NOT comment if you are not an agent or editor. THE ONLY EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE is if an agent/editor has asked a SPECIFIC question. Any other non-agent/editor responses or comments will be deleted. 

FRIDAY 12/12/14
TWITTER PITCH PARTY
{140 Characters or Less}

All day long on Friday, 12/12/14, we will have our PitchMAS Twitter Party! Agents and editors will follow the hashtag #PitchMAS, reading your awesome pitches. ANYONE can participate, even if you didn't make it into the 50 selected blog pitches. However, your manuscript MUST BE COMPLETED and POLISHED. 

Twitter pitches MUST BE 140 Characters or Less and HAVE TO include the hashtag. Don't make the agents and editors work by breaking your pitch into more than one tweet. That will just annoy them and your fellow pitchers. We also advise against making them click a link to get to your pitch. Guess what? They won't.  

Please keep your Twitter pitching to no more than TWO PITCHES PER HOUR. Do not fill up the feed with your pitch over and over again. This will annoy the agents and editors involved, as well as ruining it for everyone else and people WILL remember you for it. 

Follow along with the hashtag: #PitchMAS

Click HERE for more information.

Valuable Tips for Nonfiction (and Fiction) Submissions

Updated 8/10/24

Chuck Sambuchino's blog, Writers in the Storm, is filled with great information on what literary agents do (and do not) like. Here, literary agents talk about what they want to see in a good nonfiction proposal.

Going through their comments, I found these tips were just as appropriate for fiction writers. Fiction writers also have to develop a marketing plan, do a comparative title analysis, and establish a platform. Read these tips before you send your next query.

_____________________

Chuck Sambuchino, Writers in the Storm

Nonfiction Submission Tips — Agents Speak

Getting a nonfiction book published is a completely different beast than querying for a novel. It involves things like a marketing plan, comparative title analysis, book proposals, professional credentials, and more.

To help with this complicated submission process, I’ve compiled great advice for nonfiction writers from established literary agents who are on the front lines evaluating and selling these books every day.

Here is a roundup of what these smart agents had to say about nonfiction queries, book proposals, the importance of marketing & platform, trends, and much more.

• from Kristina Holmes of The Holmes Agency:

“When I receive a nonfiction query, I’m hoping to discover that you: 1) have a deep mastery and understanding of your topic, 2) have a long-burning passion for what you are sharing, 3) have clearly and concisely expressed your book concept, and 4) have developed an authentic and original writing style. I also hope to see that, whatever you’re doing in your career—whether you’re a writer by profession, or you work in another profession, of which this book is an extension and an expression—you’re doing it out of a deep-rooted vision and inspiration. Practically speaking, I appreciate queries that are no longer than 3 to 4 paragraphs and highlight your professional training and platform.”

• from Kimberley Cameron of Kimberley Cameron & Associates:

“It’s more and more important for authors to have a public platform. All authors should seriously consider building a great website and inviting social media to know who they are through Twitter, Facebook, etc. The publishers are all looking for this.”

The three most common problems Laurie Abkemeier of DeFiore and Company sees in a nonfiction book proposal:

“First, not having a good grasp of the competition. An author needs to know the category inside and out and be able to explain how his book fits in. I always get a sinking feeling in my stomach when I find similar books that the author didn’t know about.

Second, dull chapter summaries. Often the sample material is great, but the summaries are boring or vague. It’s so important that chapter summaries be compelling and convey the energy and depth of unique information that will be in the book. They have to make an editor want to read more.

Third, a marketing section that simply says the book ‘will appeal to everyone!’ That’s never true, and it doesn’t help publishers figure out how to position and sell your book. An author needs to understand who her audience is and how to reach them.”

• Russell Galen of Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency:

“Here are two turnoffs I encounter in book proposals:

1. Lack of a story arc. Many failed nonfiction proposals are mere surveys of a subject. The books that sell have strong characters who are engaged in some project that eventually is resolved. Don’t do a book about slime mold. Do a book about the Slime Mold Guy who solved the mystery of slime mold.

2. Extrapolation. Many proposals say, in effect, ‘I don’t know all that much about this subject but give me a six-figure contract and I will go and find out everything there is to know.’ I understand the problem writers face: How are they supposed to master a subject until after they’ve done the travels, interviews, and research? Nevertheless, unless you are already an established writer, you can’t simply promise to master your subject. Book contracts go to those who have already mastered a subject. If you haven’t mastered your subject but you really think you deserve a book contract, try to get a magazine assignment so that you can do at least some of the necessary research, funded by the magazine.”

•  Michael Strong of Regal Literary:

“For non-fiction, here are the flaws that I see that can really kill a proposal:

1) the writer is not thinking about the audience. They have something they want to say—great! But a book is a product that needs to work with an audience; in many cases that audience is well defined, and in that case, if the writer has not defined their audience, they are really hobbling their chances.

2) The writer is not thinking about the competition. They may well have a great idea for a book … so great, in fact, that it has pretty much already been written, and in some cases folks are in denial about the fact that it makes it hard to sell their book product (because they’ve invested a lot already in this idea), because there is already a book product very much like it out there on shelves.

3) The writer is writing for the wrong reasons. Sometimes people have an axe to grind and they’ll have all kinds of energy for pursuing a topic—but that energy comes from a place of … well, it could be anger or disappointment or frustration … and they want to ventilate that emotion. That kind of work typically does not serve a commercial audience of readers; it serves to drain that emotion from the writer. Of course that is great for the writer’s emotional life, but it does not make for a commercially viable work.”

• Andrea Somberg of Harvey Klinger Inc.:

“There are two things every nonfiction author needs to address: why there is a demand for their book, and why they are the best person to write it. These two questions should be answered very early on in the proposal, and stressed throughout.”

• Melissa Flashman of Trident Media Group, LLC:

“If you have a [great idea that would make a great book], your book proposal should not be the first time the world hears about it. You should already be recognized as an authority on the subject you wish to write about. To put it another way, no one wants to hear my manifesto on college athletics or the European debt crisis.”

• Bridget Smith of Dunham Literary, Inc.:

[In terms of what defines a person as capable of writing on a certain subject:] “I’m a bit of a snob here, thanks to a few years spent contemplating a career in academia. Advanced degrees or practical experience in the field are always a good sign, though not the only criterion I use. There are some brilliant, fascinating, funny academics who write terribly dry books. Skilled journalists with a background in research and writing can often start from a place of curiosity and emerge with an expert text. Mary Roach, for example, has no background in most of the subjects she writes about, but by talking extensively with people who do, she’s able to write accessibly, intelligently, and expertly.”

• Adam Schear of DeFiore & Company:

[On writing a book to capitalize on a “trending” or “hot” nonfiction topic:]

“When it comes to nonfiction, you always need to address this question: Why are you the perfect person to write a book about this topic? That makes it tough to write to the whims of the market.

If there’s a topic that everyone wants to read about, chances are strong that many writers are simultaneously jumping into it. The ones that have the best chance of succeeding are the ones that have already been immersed in the topic for some time before the craze began. They can demonstrate that they have a deeper understanding of the subject matter than the rest. My best advice is to follow your interests.”

• Elizabeth Evans of Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency:

“A common mistake I encounter when someone sends in a nonfiction book proposal is that they don’t spend enough time on the promotion section. This section is one of the most important in the proposal and should offer specific details about how an author will use his or her connections to help sell the book. In many of the proposals I see, authors are too vague. They need to have a detailed plan in place.”

• Lauren MacLeod of The Strothman Agency:

“For nonfiction, a writer’s platform is almost as important (and in some cases maybe more) than the topic. When we are evaluating platforms, we look for articles the author has written for academic or trade audiences; we also look at college courses he or she may have taught, or special connections to the material (like a relationship with the subject, or a discovery of new documents) that another writer might not have.

An impressive platform for a narrative book is very different from an impressive platform for a popular science book, but, in all cases, we are looking to make sure that this particular author is best suited for this particular book.”

• Melissa Sarver of Folio Literary:

“If we’re talking about nonfiction, it’s all about platform, platform, platform. There is no way around a writer’s platform; it’s a huge component for publishers. If you don’t have an established audience (a big one), they are not interested.

So if you are writing nonfiction, work very hard in building your platform: Twitter, blogging, Facebook, radio, TV, national magazines, and newspapers. If you’re a consultant or a speaker, be ready to prove some big numbers as to how many people you speak to each year.”

• Faye Bender of the Faye Bender Literary Agency:

“I think a pitfall that hopeful nonfiction writers can fall into all too easily is including in a query everything they hope might happen with their book. I see too many queries that claim that the book is ‘a perfect fit for publicity on Television Show X.’ What I want to see in a query for nonfiction is a clear and feasible plan for how the author can help utilize connections and an already established platform to aid the publisher’s efforts.”

• Eddie Schneider ofJABberwocky Literary Agency:

“The biggest thing for me with nonfiction authors is that the expert also be an engaging writer. With narrative nonfiction, humor, and web comics, the thing that matters to me is simple: voice.”

• Shira Hoffman of McIntosh & Otis, Inc.:

“When an agent is considering a narrative nonfiction project, it always helps to have an element of tension or suspense in the narrative to keep me turning pages. Basically, I look for many of the same elements I’m searching for in a fiction story: unforgettable characters, a story that pulls me in, and a commercial writing style that doesn’t get bogged down in minutia.”