Twitter Writing Contests: #PitchWars2015

This summer my blog partner, Lisa Abellera, wrote about Twitter contests from the agent perspective. With Brenda Drake’s PitchWars approaching the finale, I've tackled this Twitter contest with a Q & A from THREE different perspectives. 

What exactly is PitchWars, you ask? 

A contest <check> 

Publishing industry crash course <check>

Twitter hangout for writers to procrastinate <uh..>

Super fun <check>

Yes, it is a contest. But it's also so much more. Published/agented authors, editors, or industry interns choose one writer each, read their entire manuscript, and work with said writer in a “Mentor” capacity for two months in preparation for the agent round.

The competition for Pitch Wars is fierce with more than 1500 applicants for 101 mentors. The agent round begins Nov 3 and FOUR dozen agents will be perusing the offerings and making requests. 

Now, with PitchWars 2015  coming to a close, I have interviewed three participants:
Mentee, Anne Lipton (@AnneLipton) Mentor, Nikki Roberti Miller, and Agent Uwe Stender.

I asked all three participants the same five questions, noted below:

1) How many times have you participated in PitchWars? If more than one, please state the capacity. 

Anne: I also submitted a manuscript in 2014

Nikki: This is my second year in Pitch Wars. My first year, I was a mentee who was mentored by the talented Rachel Lynn Solomon. Within two weeks of Pitch Wars, I landed my own agent. This year, I’m paying forward by being a mentor myself.

Uwe: This is my third time, always as an agent.

2) What were [are] you looking for in PitchWars?

Anne: A mentor who can help me revise my manuscript to its full potential

Nikki: Last year, I was looking for that extra level of revising that I hadn’t explored before. I learned so much from Rachel as a mentee, and it really revolutionized my writing. Not only that, but it prepared me for the intensity of agent revisions. I try to apply everything I learned to each manuscript I CP for, and this year for Pitch Wars, my main goal is to help another author just like I was helped. Learning to revise is the best skill anyone can have, but it takes a lot to get there.

Uwe: I am looking for GREAT projects. I am actively looking for brilliant clients.

3) What words of wisdom do you have for the Mentees the morning of Nov 3?

Anne: Eat a good breakfast. We have a really supportive Facebook mentee group and I will probably go hang out there for moral support.

Nikki: First piece of advice: DO NOT STRESS. DO NOT OBSESS. 

Seriously…walk away from the computer refreshing. It’ll be okay. And know that even if you get no requests from the agent round, you can still query (including the agents who participated). I had five requests on my entry but ended up with seven offers of representation between the agent round and querying---and most of them came from querying, including Pitch Wars agents who didn’t request during the agent round.

The main reward of Pitch Wars is your shiny MS and new skills. Embrace it. Trust it. Be proud of what you’ve done. And keep querying. You’ve got this!

Uwe: Enjoy the process. Don't take it personally. If you don't get any requests, it does not mean that your book is not publishable. If you get many requests, it does not guarantee an agent offer and/or publication in the future.  Have fun with it, no matter what happens! And if several agents request it and I am one of them, send it to me first! 

4) The PitchWars selection process is comparable to the query process in the publishing industry. What advice do you have for querying writers? 

Anne: Submit. Revise. Repeat. Read blogs on how to write a good query. Write yours a million times. Read other writers’ queries. Have other writers read your query. Contests can help, too. Read submission guidelines. Personalize the query. Keep the query under 300 words and your bio not more than one to two sentences.

Nikki: Make sure your queries and manuscripts are as polished as they can be. Polished does not mean proof read your rough draft. It means sharing it with others, tearing it apart, and putting it back together. Put in the work first to avoid querying too early. 

Uwe: Be persistent, be polite!

5) What is the single best thing about PitchWars for you?

Anne: Receiving invaluable feedback from my mentor to improve my manuscript. Than you Max!

Nikki: The online writing community. I have loved every moment of getting to know my fellow writers, and they have truly kept me sane during the ups and downs of this industry. Meeting them has been the most rewarding. 

Uwe: That I will see many projects that normally may not have come my way in the regular query process.

And there you have it.

Is it Better to Have Loved and Lost Than to Have Never Loved at All?

by Charlotte Levine-Gruber

photo by William Creswell

I've titled this post with a quote (modified) from Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem, In Memorium. For me, it's apropos. Last month, I lost my first love. Someone who was the most important person in my life for decades. My heart still aches. While I've gone back to work and tried to put some semblance of "normal" back into my schedule--the loss still feels fresh and painful.

Tennyson lost a beloved friend to a sudden and unexpected death. While I didn't lose a friend, my loss was unexpected. I was completely unprepared--as if you could prepare.

I pose this question:

Would you avoid the pain of loss, if it meant you never had a chance to love __________________(fill in a name).

Our blog is all about writing. So let's substitute your person above with a "life dream."

Like any great love, writing has many ups and downs. Sometimes great joy, and sometimes heartache. Let's be honest--writers have a lot of heartaches. 

The words may not flow. Writing anything to hit your daily goal only makes what I call "forced words." These awkward words are readily apparent to anyone reading. You may as well just write THESE WORDS WERE FORCED.

Even then, writing is like no other job. As Marissa just posted last week--only other writers truly understand a "writers high." You can decide what to write, who to write, where they live, do you build a new world, or do they live in your neighborhood? You can even decide who to kill and who kills.

If you think about your favorite author and how much you love a book, answer these questions: Do you talk about characters with friends and neighbors?  Get mad when characters do stupid things? How about when your favorite series ends? Do you re-read favorites?

The first time someone read my manuscript and talked about my characters floored me--they knew...MY PEOPLE?

Jonathan Mayberry once said of his writing gig; "I get to live in my imaginary world, with my imaginary friends."

But to get to Jonathan Mayberry's level, you're guaranteed a lot of heartache and rejection. 

In my PitchWars group, most writers have queried more than one hundred agents before being offered representation. One hundred rejections. And that's all before submitting to publishers.

So, back to my question:

Would you rather have loved and lost, or never loved at all?

My dear, sweet, prickly, sometimes irritable, and always stubborn mother had a heart attack last month. I've never gone through anything that hurts this much. 

Would I trade to eliminate the pain? 

Not a chance. 

The gift of loving such a wonderful woman makes up for every bit of pain. And I had the ultimate privilege of calling my favorite person "Mom."

At the funeral, even through my thick fog of grief, I realized how many lives my mother touched. 

So, writers, if you love what you do, keep working, keep trying, and don't give up. Remember, it takes a writer to become an author.