PitMad is invigorating. It’s a great time to connect with the writing community, and there’s a chance you’ll hit the lottery. All of us are hoping for an industry like, but is there a way to have a great time at a pitch event without one? We think so. Here’s how:
In case you're new to #PitMad and still learning the ropes, we also have a first installment to teach you about how you can find an editor using pitch events.
Connect with Authors
Because authors are encouraged to use genre and subgenre hashtags, it’s easy to find people to connect with who are working in your same field. Give them a follow. The high-energy atmosphere of the event means you’re likely to get a follow back quickly, and you can get to know an author experiencing the same ups and downs of querying you are.
Having a connection with more authors can reward you greatly. First off, it’s vitally important to build a robust support network both as you write and through editing, publishing and sales. You may find more customers once you’re published, but you’ll definitely find help with querying, people to bounce ideas off of, people eager to trade beta reads, and more. PitMad is one of the quickest ways to increase your following and find fun and useful connections.
Set an Interaction Goal
Most of us think about the likes we’ll have incoming when we are preparing for online pitch events. What we might not consider is the actions we can take to help make other authors’ pitches more visible. Some authors make retweet or comment lists before each PitMad to make sure they’re helping all of their online friends, but, as we said before, PitMad is a great time to connect with new people. And often if you take the time to lift up fellow writers, they’ll do the same in return.
So, how many comments and retweets would you like on your pitches to boost your chances of an industry like? You should make a goal to support others’ pitches at least that many times as well. What goes around comes around, as they say, and it feels good to know you’re making other authors’ days.
Refine Your Pitch
Most querying is done in the dark corners of the internet. You’ll see authors tweet about rejections, waiting, and successes, but you’ll never get a good view of who they are querying or what their query letter looks like. But one of the biggest advantages to participating in PitMad is the way you see query responses publicly in real time. Even better, you can narrow them down by genre and diversity.
To see the top-performing tweets, click on the pitch event hashtag and add to the search bar any applicable hashtags sanctioned by the hosting organization. Under the “Top” feed, you can see a curated list of tweets that have received the most interaction. What do these tweets have that yours don’t? Do they use comps, line breaks, emojis? How much of their content do they give away, and how much remains a mystery? This is the number one place to improve your pitch on the fly or help prepare for future queries today.
Critique Your Friends’ Pitches
Do you have any friends online or irl that are planning to participate in PitMad? Certainly you can only hope for the best in their endeavor. If you have the time, you could trade or offer to review their pitches before the event begins. This will give you insight on your own pitches in advance and doubles your chances of being part of a winning team. It’s likely you know more about their book than most people, and you can help give particular advice based on their story. It’s so rewarding to help friends get an agent like, and their success is likely to help you as they learn more about the submission process along the way.
Have Fun Reading
As an editor, one of my favorite things is reading through pitches as they come in on the latest tab before popularity influences the algorithm. It’s fun to see what everyone’s unique ideas are, and it really gets the creative juices flowing. Stealing ideas from a pitch event is a waste of time because there’s already someone querying a finished manuscript, but you can crowd source how people get their ideas and just enjoy the entertainment value of it. I always put a few on my list that I’d love to read for fun and check in with the author periodically in hopes they get published.
Connect with Non-Industry Likes
According to an analysis done by PitMad participant @Frozley earlier this year, only 3% of users who like PitMad tweets are literary agents or editors with a publishing house. So even if you receive a like, it’s more likely than not that it will not be your dream like. But just because you receive a less than perfect like doesn’t mean the person participating is unable to help you publish your novel. Even errant likes by authors who didn’t understand the rules or otherwise accidentally clicked the wrong button can be future comrades to boost your tweets if you follow each other now.
Many non-industry likers are editors and vanity presses that get a bad rep for participating. But I myself participate to help fill the gap that publishing has created. These days, they require a streamlined submission process to stay profitable where your manuscript must be near perfect to receive representation, thereby eliminating the work of development not all authors can do on their own. By hearing what they have to say, you could glean some knowledge you didn’t have before that can help you even if you choose not to work with them.
Participating in PitMad can be about much more than receiving an industry like. You can build your network of authors, improve your pitch, or connect with people like independent editors who can help you make changes to your manuscript and attract an agent. What you put into the experience is the best indicator of what you’ll get out of it, and you deserve the best!
Good luck out there this week, pitchers! We’ll be there alongside you.
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