Your manuscript is finished, now what?

It’s edited and polished… don’t let it gather dust. 

This is for writers who want to get their manuscript in the hands of agents or publishers.

No one wants their beloved manuscript to sit in a literary agent or publisher’s Inbox, gathering cobwebs.  Twitter pitch events are an excellent way to have agents see your work in a timely manner.

I will cover:

• What a Twitter Pitch party is
• How any author can take part
• What an author should do after receiving their first like from an agent or publisher

So you’ve finally done it. Great job, writer! You have finished your novel despite all the obstacles and distractions of everyday life. Now take a deep breath and take the plunge into the querying world.

Before you jump in, be sure to edit and polish your manuscript! 

While working on my first novel, I  found some tweets about hashtags like #PitMad,  and #SFFpit. I ignored the tweets at first, not knowing what they were and thinking they must target experienced writers or some sect of elite authors I was obviously not a part of yet.

One day I went down the rabbit hole of #PitMad and came up with a huge carrot! This is a free and relevant event helpful to writers who are looking for agent representation or looking to work directly with a publisher.

For Writers: How do these Twitter Pitch Events work?

1. Authors create a short pitch that fits into the 280 character max. covering main character, conflict and stakes.
2. Include #PitMad or whatever hashtag needed for your contest.
3. Include a category.   Click here for more info on categories and genres. Brenda Drake, the creator of PitMad, has useful resources and information on her website.
4.  If you will be at work or unable to tweet the day of the event, use Hootsuite or Tweetdeck and schedule your tweets. Check each Twitter Pitch Party site to learn their rules!

More information…

1. When you receive a like from an agent or publisher, click on their Twitter account. Scroll through until you see their tweet which says something like the image below.
2.  Do your research! If you want to work with this agent or publisher, send the requested submission to them. If you don’t like them, do not submit to them.
3.  Hopefully, your pitch attracts several likes.  Create a list of who is interested and what they would like from you. Some agents want 5 pages, while others want 50 pages. Do your homework and submit.

#PitMad

 #PitMad happens quarterly. Rules are important and keep agents from getting overwhelmed. For more information and rules, click here. Read about success stories from PitMad here.

#SFFpit

I also discovered #SFFpit. This Twitter Pitch Party focuses on writers with unpublished, edited and polished manuscripts which are Science Fiction or Fantasy for any age group.  Click here to find out the specifics of this Twitter Pitch Party.

#DVpit

#DVpit is aimed at helping marginalized voices.  For more information, visit http://www.bethphelan.com/dvpit

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Interested in finding out about even more Twitter Pitch Parties?
Literary Agent Carly Watters shares important information about Twitter Pitch Parties and how to write a pitch. Click here

Want more information? Click Sub It Club here.

Some people may prefer bypassing Twitter Pitch Parties, but it may be a great way to jump in and see what agents and publishers are looking for. If it’s not your thing, then you may prefer querying directly to agents or publishers.

Isabelle Hardesty