Pitch Wars 2017
- Thread starter BreeC
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It's hard to know the "right" mentors to pick (amongst those that we think are a match).
If a good query is supposed to get interest from 1 of 10 agents (something I've read a few places), then it has to often happen that even a good query/pages in Pitch Wars won't get attention from any of the 4 or 6 mentors.
Yay, congrats on the requests CJ and Maggie (and anyone else I missed)!
I closed out at 210 subs in the end - I have to serious reading to do
Thank you, Pete!
And wow, that is a lot of subs! Lots of reading, but at least you know you're a top choice for many.
So I decided at the very last minute to do this. (Very last minute, I submitted about 9:30pm). I had a full request last night though. So we'll see how it all goes.
And wow, that is a lot of subs! Lots of reading, but at least you know you're a top choice for many.
It's flattering really - I'm not exactly famous, after all!
Congratulations, and good luck!
Thanks. Good luck yourself whittling down the 210 applicants. I do not envy you that task.
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Now I'm so much more anxious (and excited) - I'm being "interviewed." She says she keeps coming back to mine (she's read about half the MS), but nothing's guaranteed (she has other fulls and more to request) and she has some questions (like what I'd be willing to change, what other future works I have in mind...). I'm so scared I'm gonna screw this up, and I really want to work with her not just because it's Pitch Wars, but based on her novels and writing style. Okay, I need to calm down enough to respond to her...
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Congrats, helios!
Thank you, Darien, the encouragement is appreciated! I've just sent off my response, so...
Anxiously awaiting August 24!
Congrats on the new requests!
And yes, what Harlequin said - once we've called in a full we're allowed to ask follow-up questions but NOT allowed to tell you if we're taking you on as our mentee or not. That all comes out on 24th, or you'll hear on 23rd if two mentors are fighting over you!
And yes, what Harlequin said - once we've called in a full we're allowed to ask follow-up questions but NOT allowed to tell you if we're taking you on as our mentee or not. That all comes out on 24th, or you'll hear on 23rd if two mentors are fighting over you!
Wow, that's a lot of subs to go through! Good luck, Pete.Yay, congrats on the requests CJ and Maggie (and anyone else I missed)!
I closed out at 210 subs in the end - I have some serious reading to do
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Congrats, DMB and helios! (And if I've missed anyone, I'm sorry!)
I've been really busy this week, which thankfully means less stalking of the #pitchwars and #pwteaser hashtags. Right now I'm fitting AW in between work and chorus rehearsal.
I've been really busy this week, which thankfully means less stalking of the #pitchwars and #pwteaser hashtags. Right now I'm fitting AW in between work and chorus rehearsal.
PitchWars Hopefuls:
We all know that this competition is insanely competitive, and that sometimes a manuscript might not get selected because it’s just one of several that really wowed a mentor. Sometimes a manuscript doesn’t get selected even though it’s totally deserving of getting selected. See this Tweet in which a mentor discusses (before the submission window is closed) how they already have three MSs that they’d love to mentor.
We got our manuscripts ready, we polished them to (subjective) perfection, we wrote our queries and synopses, and we entered PitchWars. Good for us. We go, Glen Coco!
Now, we might not find a mentor. So, what the heck are we supposed to do if we’re not on that shiny winning Pitch Mentee list? I suggest we persevere together. Let’s set a deadline and encourage each other to stick to it.
I’m going to be getting my current MS whipped into shape to start querying in 2018. I’m going to work with critique partners and betas (if you’re interested, PM me!) to get this thing into the best shape it can be in, and then I’m setting it free.
If you want to join me, please do. Let’s keep each other on track.
We can be each other’s mentors.
We all know that this competition is insanely competitive, and that sometimes a manuscript might not get selected because it’s just one of several that really wowed a mentor. Sometimes a manuscript doesn’t get selected even though it’s totally deserving of getting selected. See this Tweet in which a mentor discusses (before the submission window is closed) how they already have three MSs that they’d love to mentor.
We got our manuscripts ready, we polished them to (subjective) perfection, we wrote our queries and synopses, and we entered PitchWars. Good for us. We go, Glen Coco!
Now, we might not find a mentor. So, what the heck are we supposed to do if we’re not on that shiny winning Pitch Mentee list? I suggest we persevere together. Let’s set a deadline and encourage each other to stick to it.
I’m going to be getting my current MS whipped into shape to start querying in 2018. I’m going to work with critique partners and betas (if you’re interested, PM me!) to get this thing into the best shape it can be in, and then I’m setting it free.
If you want to join me, please do. Let’s keep each other on track.
We can be each other’s mentors.
This. I'm not doing PitchWars this summer, but the feedback I received the last couple of times helped refine the mms and the query. Plus, meeting so many cool people!
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It's important to not think of Pitch Wars as the be all, end all for either your literary career, or this particular novel you've written. There could be any number of reasons why a novel you've submitted does not ultimately get picked by a mentor, even if it is publishable. A mentor may simply feel that another novel is closer in line with what they're familiar with, or they may even think that they can't help your novel in the way it deserves to be helped. Or maybe even that you don't need that much help because you're more ready than you think.
The novel I submitted for Pitch Wars last year ultimately got rejected by mentors, even though they'd requested it. It stung a little, but I did't give up on it and think "Maybe it, or me, just sucks." This year I'm not entering Pitch Wars because that same novel got me offered representation by a literary agent, just a few weeks ago. So don't lose hope, and don't write off your work because it didn't get selected. It might not have been right for the people you submitted to for Pitch Wars, but it might still be right for a literary agent.
The novel I submitted for Pitch Wars last year ultimately got rejected by mentors, even though they'd requested it. It stung a little, but I did't give up on it and think "Maybe it, or me, just sucks." This year I'm not entering Pitch Wars because that same novel got me offered representation by a literary agent, just a few weeks ago. So don't lose hope, and don't write off your work because it didn't get selected. It might not have been right for the people you submitted to for Pitch Wars, but it might still be right for a literary agent.
Or you might decide, after much consideration and experience, that the hunt for an agent is no longer worth the continued effort, which might be better spent writing and/or prepping for self-publishing.
I'm still a champion for the 'aim high' approach. Having competent agent representation can unlock doors closed to all but a few slushpile discoveries. But realistically, if you've polished the mms as much as you can, and already queried several hundred agents over multiple manuscripts, and still only 'come close' or not at all...it might be time to rethink publishing goals.
At least one Hugo nominee stopped looking for an agent and went her own way. https://amidtheimaginary.wordpress.com/2015/03/23/author-interview-becky-chambers/
The PitchWars mentors are usually an amazingly talented and giving bunch, and they do what they can for the mms and authors they pick. But that isn't the only way forward. Or even the best way, if your mms isn't one of those suited to pitch treatment.
I'm still a champion for the 'aim high' approach. Having competent agent representation can unlock doors closed to all but a few slushpile discoveries. But realistically, if you've polished the mms as much as you can, and already queried several hundred agents over multiple manuscripts, and still only 'come close' or not at all...it might be time to rethink publishing goals.
At least one Hugo nominee stopped looking for an agent and went her own way. https://amidtheimaginary.wordpress.com/2015/03/23/author-interview-becky-chambers/
The PitchWars mentors are usually an amazingly talented and giving bunch, and they do what they can for the mms and authors they pick. But that isn't the only way forward. Or even the best way, if your mms isn't one of those suited to pitch treatment.
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Good ideas, BreeC! Thanks for the encouragement all!
Shoeless, congrats on getting an agent; that's big!
To chime in with encouragement: I've seen at least three mentors saying they won't choose a sub if it's ready to be submitted to agents as it is, leaving them nothing to fix. And they won't always tell you this. One of the reasons I'm still in the running with the mentor who requested my full (along with several others) is that, halfway through, she sees some things she could help me with (Yay for flaws!). If you have a nearly flawless MS, you won't be selected.
Shoeless, congrats on getting an agent; that's big!
To chime in with encouragement: I've seen at least three mentors saying they won't choose a sub if it's ready to be submitted to agents as it is, leaving them nothing to fix. And they won't always tell you this. One of the reasons I'm still in the running with the mentor who requested my full (along with several others) is that, halfway through, she sees some things she could help me with (Yay for flaws!
). If you have a nearly flawless MS, you won't be selected.
Not be a total downer: even if a mentor judges a pitch or mms query-ready, that doesn't mean the actual agents will bite. It just means your mms is better than the ones the mentors think they can help. *If* you can get a respected mentor to say as much, openly, it might be a quick sales point in your query.
That is true, but there's something to be said about not wasting two months making changes on a novel that are not going to make a difference in your agent search and the mentor not giving their time to a novel that they won't make a significant difference to versus one that they can make a significant difference.
I'm saying this as someone who wasted two months in Pitch To Publication over changes made to a couple of later scenes in a novel that wasn't marketable to agents (although the freelance editors liked it) in the first place.
I'm saying this as someone who wasted two months in Pitch To Publication over changes made to a couple of later scenes in a novel that wasn't marketable to agents (although the freelance editors liked it) in the first place.
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