Social Media Pitch Parties
The Pros and Cons of Twitter Pitch Parties
By Julie Tollefson
If you’ve spent any time on Book Twitter, you’ve seen hashtags like #DVPit, #PitMad, #PitDark, and many more for Twitter pitch contests — events where authors pitch their work in 280 characters or less hoping to catch the eye of publishing professionals. Before you join the fray, consider these five tips from Mia P. Manansala, author of the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery series.
1) Look to the past to prepare for the future — Research is the watchword for every phase of participating in a Twitter pitch event, from identifying a contest that fits your goals to crafting your pitch to following up with agents or editors who express interest in your work.
Finding a contest is easy: A Google search will turn up a multitude of events for every style of story, from romance to science fiction. There are also events like #DVpit, specifically designed to showcase historically marginalized authors.
“Oddly enough, I don’t think there’s a mystery-specific one unless you happen to write dark,” Mia says. But, “The meaning of dark can lean so many different ways. A lot of genre crossing happens in #PitDark.”
After you’ve identified a contest you want to participate in, check to see which publishing professionals have participated in the event in the past. Search the hashtag to see which pitches historically received a lot of “likes” from publishing professionals and dissect them to figure out what the author did right to attract so much attention.
Make sure you take a look at the rules for the event, too. Some events limit the number of pitches you’re allowed to post throughout the day.
And a caution for anyone new to Twitter pitch contests: Unless you’re an agent or editor, don’t “like” tweets in a pitch contest. A “like” is how publishing professionals express interest in an author’s work. If you want to support a pitch you find intriguing, retweet it to help increase its visibility.
2) Experiment with different formulas — Create two or three versions of your pitch to post at different times throughout the day, if the rules allow. Try different wording or different approaches.
“It’s best to not have the exact same pitch every time,” Mia says. “Try to test out different ones, maybe first on your friends to see if anyone has any critiques to give you.”
Because Twitter imposes a limited character count, make every word work for you. Ask yourself where you can tighten the pitch and whether the pitch captures the flavor of your story. Make sure, though, that you’re not too concise. Even at 280 characters, your pitch has to convey enough of your story to capture the imagination of an agent or editor.
3) Research, research, research — If your pitch gets a “like” or several from agents or editors, your next step is to make sure the people requesting your manuscript are legit.
“Sadly there are a lot of scam artists out there who know how hungry writers are to be published. They know how excited we can get,” Mia says.
If agents like your pitch, are they reputable agents from reputable agencies? Do they have a sales record? How many deals have they made and with which publishers? Ask similar questions about editors or small publishers who request your manuscript.
“When you are unpublished or unagented, a bad agent is worse than no agent. Being poorly published is worse than not being published at all,” Mia says.
A bad experience can not only be disheartening for you as an author, but it can leave a negative impression of you in the industry that could affect your future career.
4) Don’t despair if no one “likes” your pitch — “That is entirely normal,” Mia says, especially today when pitch contests have proliferated and attract hundreds or thousands of participants from around the world.
“Publishing professionals are overwhelmed, inundated,” she says. “Maybe it’s not your pitch. Maybe they didn’t see it.”
Plus, she says, a lot of books don’t lend themselves to the brevity of a tweet. They really need the space a traditional query provides.
“This is just one avenue to get an agent or a publishing deal,” Mia says of pitch events. “It’s not the only way. Querying is still there.”
Mia participated in Pitch Wars, a now-discontinued mentoring program, and the associated #PitMad Twitter pitch contest in 2017 when these types of contests were relatively new, and she received several requests. Still, when it came to signing with an agent, she chose one she found through traditional querying.
5) Consider your participation in a pitch contest a win, regardless of the outcome — “Honing and refining your pitch is a skill that you could and should be working on constantly,” Mia says.
Crafting short, concise pitches to sell the idea of your book is a skill every writer needs.
“You don’t want to be that person with the long rambling spiel. You want to be able to quickly and concisely give one or two sentence about what your book’s about. I don’t see this as a skill that’s only for Twitter. It’s a ‘fun’ exercise — fun in quotes,” she says.