Note: Hope’s Hacks will be taking a brief hiatus. The column will come in a monthly form starting in November. However, if you are every struggling with writer’s block, don’t hesitate to reach out to Hope. She can be reached here.
This month’s cure: Trick or Tweet
What the cure is: Participating in Twitter Pitch parties to jumpstart the process of finishing that edit or last chapter.
Why the cure will help: Nothing can spur a writer to complete that sixth draft of edits or add the last word to that final chapter than interest from an agent or publisher. Twitter pitch parties allow for authors to hurdle over the slush pile and, let’s be honest, create enough encouragement for us to finish the final touches.
Let’s define a Twitter pitch party: A specified date and time where writers can craft a 280-character tweet to pitch their book (think hyper-elevator pitch). They must make sure to use the event hashtag as part of those 280 characters. If a publisher or agent likes the tweet, the author has permission to send his or her manuscript to them.
*Note to agented authors: Make sure to put (Agented) in the pitch, so agents don’t heart the pitch. Otherwise, you may have some agents clamoring to represent your manuscript when you’re already represented.
Now for the Twitter pitch parties coming to you soon:
#PBPitch (Oct. 25, 8-8 EST): Calling all picture book writers, this one is for you. You can only pitch your book twice during this event. Make sure to include the subgenres as a hashtag.
#NF = Nonfiction
#C= Concept
#L= Lyrical
#I= Interactive
#AdPit (Nov. 7, 9-3 CST): This pitch party includes all non-children’s categories. Participants may pitch a book up to six times during the event (about once per hour).
#Kidpit (Nov. 7, 9-3 CST): All Children’s, MG, and YA authors can pitch their books six times. Same as AdPit, except for younger audiences.
#Faithpitch (Nov. 28, 8-8 CST) All inspirational/Christian market authors can pitch each project up to four times during this event. Make sure your manuscript has reached final edits, though, before you participate in this event.