When PW folded, so did its Twit pitch event, #PitMad, and I fully expect to see a plethora of new pitching events to fill the gaping void.
I don't usually feature Twitter pitches here, just because if you're motivated to be in the #writingcommunity on Twitter, they'll find you.
But I love the concept of these two:
I'll start with #FlipPit. From it's feed:
"Agents and presses write their pitch as a tweet thread with three tweets
- First tweet is for your manuscript wish list
- Second tweet is to tell everyone a bit about yourself
- Third tweet is to tell authors how they can query you"
And it's next week, May 26.
To be clear, I don't expect agents to like and / or participate in this. It literally, like the name suggests, flips the existing pitching power structure on its head, from one of authors sending their pitches into the ether of who-the-heck-knows who's participating/liking pitches, to allowing authors to peruse who / what's out there and choose from the options available. Agents are already inundated with queries, hundreds a day, without participating in something like this. And if they participated, it means they'd be obligated to respond to all the added queries they'd get. Which I just don't think is likely.
But I love the #FlipPit concept and I support the attempt, providing it isn't spammed to death by predatory vanity & hybrid publishers. I'll be watching, just to see what's out there and so, probably, should you.
This is an opportunity for legit small presses to highlight their different strengths. I've seen first-hand what some small presses can offer authors (and how they can hamstring authors' books too, but that's another matter entirely), and it'll be interesting to see if they pitch those angles.
As always, do your research on any press you're interested in, first! Get acquainted with Writer Beware and other places to check on predatory vanity / hybrid publishers, predatory contracts, predatory agents, etc.
The second, #PitLight, has a webpage.
What I like about this one is that it gets eyeballs on your concept, in Twit pitch form, even before you've finished your MS. If it stays positive, I think this has great potential! It could be a great community of authors helping and lifting up other authors. If it falls prey to trolls...
Again, I'll be watching, just to see how it unfolds.
The next one is August 13 for Kidlit -- PB, MG, YA.
So mark your calendar and keep an eye out for it.
Good luck!
