Ally Aldridge Books, Query, Tips, Writing

Seven Secrets to PitMad Success

I met debuting author Roxy Eloise through Instagram. We connected during a very exciting time for her author career! Roxy has just landed a publishing deal following her first attempt at PitMad.

In the spirit of authors supporting authors, Roxy agreed to share her experience and some tips to help other hopeful writers find success with PitMad.

What is PitMad?

Well, before we get into things, I should probably cover what PitMad is. PitMad is an event held on Twitter by Pitch Wars. It enables unrepresented writers to pitch their novel in the hope of attracting interested agents/publishers. Those interested will like the tweet to signify a request for the manuscript. Read more about the event on the Pitch Wars website.

Roxy Eloise’s PitMad Success Story:

I joined Twitter in January 2021 with the hopes of connecting with fellow writers, but feeling like the new girl in school, I remained silent for the whole month! For some reason, I felt nervous to send out my very first tweet. Instead, I just watched my timeline, during which, I picked up a few key hashtags, #PitMad being one of them. I kept seeing it over and over again until one morning my curiosity got the better of me. What is this #PitMad? After a quick google search, I discovered I had been on PitchWars.org a few months prior, and I had already bookmarked the page to check out at a later date. Well, I stumbled upon it again, but this time it just so happened to be on the morning of their Twitter event called PitMad.

I only had a short while to prepare my pitch, and I was at a huge disadvantage because I hadn’t gotten myself on any retweet lists, but I decided to try my luck at it regardless and chalk it up as experience. My pitch could’ve been better and there are a few things I would have done differently but I never needed to. 

On the morning of March 4th, I started the day by reaching out to a few of my followers and asking them for help. After a few retweets, my pitch began to take off, and by the end of the day, I was on the ‘TOP’ page for the hashtag PitMad. The next day, I had a full request off Entrada Publishing, and then, after a few rounds of proving myself and my book, I got offered a traditional book contract. Thanks to PitMad, The Guidal: Discovering Puracordis will be coming April 2022!

Here is my original pitch which attracted the attention of my publishers:

Now after you read this article, you will notice its flaws, and this is what I would have done differently:

THE LAST AIRBENDER X DIVERGENT

A suspiciously paranoid man adopts children to protect him. All raised in a strict academy together, one trouble-maker discovers she is dangerously different. #PitMad #YA #D #MR #R

Roxy Eloise Revamped Pitch if she were to do it again

But with everything in life, we learn as we go. Isn’t it crazy how when we were newbie writers we believed our first drafts were outstanding? But then we grew as writers and now we cringe at our early drafts. If you still think your first draft is amazing, unfortunately you still have some growing to do. But one day you will see it, and when you are at that stage, you are ready to pitch your work.

Follow the seven secrets below, and you too could see yourself a PitMad success.

Seven Secrets to PitMad Success

7 Secrets to PitMad Success

1. Read the Rules

This point may be self-explanatory, but it’s surprising how many tweets I see before the start time or how many I see with GIFs. What’s the point of going through so much effort to create an awesome pitch only to risk your chances of success with an image? Don’t hinder your chances; read the rules carefully before participating.

One last thing to remember is to not like your friends’ pitches. The like button is reserved specially for agents and industry professionals. You can show your support by leaving comments or retweeting.

2. Create your Ultimate Pitch – CONFLICT IS KEY

So you’ve read the rules and now you’re ready to create your eye-catching tweet. Well, first off, what’s not eye-catching is a sentence with unfamiliar names which instantly make the agent feel lost. If you have a unique MC name, keep it for the full proposal. Refer to your character as a boy, a woman, a witch, a lawyer, a narcissist.

You only have 280 characters to entice your agent, so do just that… entice them. You don’t have to explain the plot of a 100K novel in 2 sentences. To entice them, focus entirely on the conflict. Any other elements can be revealed after you’ve reeled them in and they’ve asked for a full request.

Which one of these would you hit the like button for:

Saraiya walked the street at night when she was kidnapped by Kanhoa and put in an enclosure with other prisoners. She falls in love with Fenrir and they devise a plan to escape. (All names taken from actual pitches.)

VS. 

A man steps from the shadows and covers her mouth. When she wakes up naked and exposed, she immediately needs to fend for her life. She is not alone in this prison.

One focuses entirely on the conflict, whilst the other introduces stakes that I could take or leave. Escape is obviously the stakes. Life or death is another. It is not necessary to TELL the agent. You have already SHOWN it in the pitch.

One pitch also made me stumble over unfamiliar names. The agent will learn your unique names in the synopsis. This is also the time for them to learn about the added romance.

3. Use Hashtags and Comp Titles

Got a romance in your genre-blend sci-fi, adventure novel? Tell them with Hashtags. The agent may be very specific in what they are looking for. If they want sci-fi with a romance they can search #PitMad #SF #R and your tweet could suddenly appear on the ‘TOP’ page. Visibility—when you’re in amongst hundreds of thousands—is fundamental. Find which hashtags to use on their website.

Comparative titles can very quickly build a picture in an agent’s mind and it only takes a few characters. If I said to you HUNGER GAMES X HARRY POTTER, you suddenly think “okay, witches and wizards fighting it to the death in a sinister survival game.” You know there’s magic, and you also know there’s a survival of the fittest game. You got all that from just 27 characters. It’s a good use of your limited 280.

4. Have fun and Be Active

Being active can help tremendously on the day. If you support other authors, they are likely to support you back. Positivity can go a long way, so have fun and enjoy the day engaging with fellow writers.

You will also learn a thing or two by reading other pitches. You learn what to do and what not to do. If you find yourself saying “who cares?” after every stakes question, then don’t use a stakes question. “Who will win?” “Will they do it in time?” “Will they survive?” Who cares?

5. Pin your Pitch

So, you have the pitch of your life and your friends want to come and support you, but they go to your profile and are met with a list of other people’s tweets. Or worse, the agent liked your pitch but wanted to see your profile before they hit the like button, and now they are on your page and can’t find your pitch. What they do see though, are your fellow writers’tweets. Great for them but not great for you. You potentially lost an agent.

To solve this, simply pin your tweet so it stays at the top of your feed on your profile.

6. Make a Retweet List and Get on Retweet Lists

So this is not one-hundred-percent essential but it does help. Not only are you engaged, active, and having fun, you are receiving support on your own pitch.

Retweets may sway an agent to hit the like button if they think other people are interested. Sometimes they could be undecided and 200 retweets could be the one thing that persuades them.

7. The Flaw to THREE Variations

And finally, you come up with three variations of the same book, you send them out a few hours apart, and they all get 50 retweets each… Well, if you weren’t distributing your retweets between three pitches, you could’ve potentially had150 retweets on one post. Having 150 on one, looks better than 50 on three. And guaranteed they are 50 different accounts on each post.

Now, I know agents may not be biased and like pitches according to the amount of retweets they have, but I can also guarantee that if you go and look at a pitch with 500 retweets, it has at least one agent like on it. It’s all about making your pitch look popular and generating a bit of excitement about your story; after all, it is fabulous!

Why not let the retweets reflect that. Retweets also get you on the ‘TOP’ page for that hashtag, and this means even more exposure for you.

Thank you Roxy

I want to thank Roxy for taking her time to write this post for my blog, and I hope this helps another aspiring author to achieve their dream.

I also love that despite getting a deal on her first PitMad, Roxy is already reflecting on what she could do better. And, that is the key quality of successful people, to keep growing and improving. I’m sure this book deal is just the start of her author career and I can’t wait for her book to release and to see the other titles that follow on for this debuting author.

Make sure you follow Roxy Eloise to keep up with her journey and book news. Here are her links:

www.instagram.com/RoxyEloiseOfficial

www.Twitter.com/RoxyEloise_

If you enjoyed this, you will like:

PitMad September 2019 – My Experience

PitMad June 2019 – The Tweets

PitMad December 2018 – My Experience

Writers Beware – Know who you are querying

[kofi]

Ally Aldridge Competition, Novel, Publishing, Query, Tips, Writing

There’s more than one way to query…

Querying literary agents and publishers requires thick skin and believing your novel is good enough. But, for a long time, I believed self publishing was even more scary.

I’m not querying anymore, I am bravely going indie, and super excited about it. But over the years I tried various methods of querying and I want to share these with you because you might find it useful…

Query Letter (or email/form)

This is the most well known method. Traditionally, you’d identify identify a Literary Agent or Publisher you feel will be interested in your novel and send them a letter with your manuscript. Today, many allow you to submit online using a form or by email. It’s important to follow their submission guidelines which are often available on their website.

Many publishers don’t accept “unsolicited” manuscripts. This means you need a Literary Agent. Literary Agents used to insist on exclusive queries meaning you send to one agency at a time. Thankfully this is not the norm anymore as it made the process more time consuming.

You can find details about publishers and agencies by searching online or buy The Artists & Writers Yearbook. It’s a directory of contacts and full of useful article’s- it’s updated annually.

Query Service

It can be hard work to find who to query, manage the various submission requirements and keep track. As a result various companies have set up services to support you in this.

When WeBook was about, I loved their query service. They identified who was interested in my manuscript type, adapted my attachments for each agent, and kept track of my emails. It worked and I did get a few requests.

Sadly, WeBook is no more but other companies offer a similar service, like Tracker Query. There was Agent Query Connect but the page won’t load – maybe they’ve gone.

Here’s a video review of Agent Hunter from 2 years ago. I think they rebranded as Agent Match by Jerchio Writers.

Writing Platforms

Another thing my beloved WeBook did was a competition where readers voted on the first page of a book. Then the first chapter. Then the first three chapters. If you made it to the finals it would be read by agents & publishers. Readers got virtual badges if they were good at spotting a winner!

Wattpad has the Wattys. This is an annual competition for users of their platform. The story must have been posted on the site during a set period of time. If you win, you get offered a publishing contract.

TechUntold have a good list of writing platforms in this article: 7 of the best sites like Wattpad

Swoon Reads

This is similar to the social media platforms above except it is owned by a publisher. You must post the whole complete final novel, exclusive to them for 6 months.

Readers vote on their favourites and can offer feedback. The publisher chooses their favourites from the site to offer publishing. I recently blogger about my experience which you can read here.

It sounds like Sweek offer a similar idea but with more social engagement. But, I’ve never tried Sweek – let me know if you have.

Write Mentor

This is a supportive platform full of advice and information, mainly for people interested in children’s fiction through to YA fiction.

They have exclusive opportunities for paid members but also have events for all. For the public they host an annual book festival (with opportunities to pitch & meet agents) and competitions.

Publisher Competitions

Check out publishers that publish books like yours. Although they probably don’t accept unsolicited manuscripts, they may run a competition.

I entered Chicken House Publisher’s children’s fiction competition. Although I didn’t win, it was another option.

Bath Novel Awards

Look out for competitions like The Bath Novel Awards. This competition is judged by Literary Agents and readers. The winners gets a lump sum and offered representation.

Having this kind of accolade as you publish is going to be great for marketing your book. That’s why winning any competition is valuable to an author.

Mentor

If you can find a mentor, they can support you in getting published. There are plenty of competitions to find a mentor. This is another service offered by Write Mentor

The Arts Council England have different programs around the country to support writers. For example, in Norwich the National Writing Centre has mentors, and you can enter their Escalator competition to win one.

Book Festival Pitch Events

Look out of opportunities to pitch direct to an agent. Think of it like speed dating. You only have a few minutes to sell your book face-to-face. It helps to go prepared.

I took part in one at YALC and both agents I pitches to requested my manuscript.

Twitter Pitch Events

PitMad is probably the biggest query Twitter event but there are many more and some are genre sprcific.

You need to pitch your novel in a Tweet. Interested agents & publishers will like the tweet as a request. You follow their submission guidelines if you are interested back. Remember, you don’t have to send it if you’re not interested.

Manuscript Wishlist

If you’re on Twitter search for the hashtag #MSWL (Manuscript Wishlist) plus other keywords. For example, I searched for #MSWL #Mermaid to discover who wanted a mermaid story.

Even then, my MS wasn’t suitable for all. Some wanted a LGBTQIA+ mermaid story which Ocean Heart was not. Another wanted a mermaid story that represented BAME or other minority groups. Another was looking for a fantasy erotic novel.

It’s not worth wasting your time sending your MS to someone if they are looking for something specific and your MS doesn’t match.

Go Global

I kept most of my queries to the UK as I liked the idea that I could meet my agent/publisher in person. However, technology is changing all the time and making it accessible to meet people all over the world from your armchair.

During a Write Mentor festival, I got a one-on-one with a Literary Agent miles away. Whilst editing Ocean Heart, I had a meeting with my editor who was in another country.

Don’t restrict yourself by location.

I hope these 12 ideas help you in expanding your query options.

If you’re interested in indie publishing, stay tuned. I got sick of waiting for someone to say yes, so I gave myself permission to publish. I’ll be sharing my journey to help others interested in self publishing.

Redfae Bookshop is my Affiliate Bookshop.org shop link.

[kofi]

If you enjoyed this, you will like:

The Author & Me Show

How to beat writers block

Why you need a developmental editor!

Now you can PreOrder Ocean Heart!

Ally Aldridge Book Genre, Books, Contemporary, Fantasy, Publishing, Query, Romance, Tips, Writing

Swoon Reads

The best way to explain Swoon Reads is as a public querying platform where readers influence agents on what to publish. The agents behind of this site are from MacMillan Publishing.

Swoon Reads publishes under Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan.

https://www.swoonreads.com/about/

Writers: The platform was initially for YA Manuscripts only but now also accepts NA. The MS must be the writers original work and posted as an exclusive query to Swoon Reads for at least 6 months. One uploaded, it cannot be edited – that would be a new submission.

Readers: Site members read Manuscripts that appeal to them. They can comment to give the writer feedback with ideas for improvement or how much they loved it! Readers rate stories.

My History

Back in January 2014, I uploaded a copy of Drift to Swoon Reads. Drift was first drafted in Dec 2009, so I’d spent about 3 years working on it and thought it was ready to be queried.

The idea of readers choosing my book really appealed. At first, I got lots of positive ratings and excitedly awaited an agent to notice… and, I waited… and, I waited… and, after 6 months I returned to the traditional query trenches.

As you know, Drift has changed a lot in the last 10 years.

  • Was 24 chapters, then 36 chapters, now 30 chapters
  • Prologue cut
  • Merged with book 2
  • Changed character names
  • Given Ana (formerly Annie) a bigger role
  • Added a full mermaid shift
  • Added an epic battle
  • Changed the ending
  • Professional edit (twice) plus the countless self edits
  • Renamed as Ocean Heart

I uploaded Drift to Swoon Reads in January 2013. I got quite a few votes which moved my book into the top three most voted at the time. I thought this was pretty impressive as I didn’t have a huge social circle and my social media was limited to who I knew in real life, and I was too shy to tell them to go read my novel.

Despite the attention I got from readers, the agents never showed any interest. I don’t even know if they read it. But, the books they chose were always well deserving brilliant stories.

Moving on

After 6 months, you are free to leave your book on their site in hopes an agent will stumble across it and fall in love. I saw no harm in doing this.

I then queried and pitched other literary agents and publishers. I entered competitions. I did everything I could think to get my MS in their hands. Until, I realised, I could self publish.

This year, I’ve been working hard towards self publishing and in August, I got a strange message on Tumblr. They claimed to be a publisher that had seen ‘Drift’ on Swoon Reads and were interested.

Hmm…

One reason to Self Publish is there are lots of con artists about. Most reputable agents or publishers are so busy with manuscripts sent directly to them that they are not crawling the web looking for authors. They certainly wouldn’t use another publishers platform to poach authors.

I ignore them but it did remind me that my book is on Swoon Reads. I began to panic about their rules and if it’d affect my self publishing- eek.

They are a publisher that have built a good reputation for themselves so I hoped when I explained the situation they’d take my book down quickly. I explained:

  • Drift was uploaded in 2013
  • I’m self publishing but…
  • It has been edited a lot (characters names and plot changes)
  • Has a new title – Ocean Heart
  • Has a new cover

It was anxious for their reply. When I heard nothing I logged on and found it was gone. I’m no longer an author on Swoon Reads.

Comments

Readers can make comments on stories to encourage you or help the writer develop. Swoon Reads does warn writers to save these before taking an MS down otherwise they’ll be lost. I took screenshots. Here they are:

There will be, but book 2 is from Kiely’s perspective and much darker.

Tarot has done a great job of summarising Mariah (aka Lily) first love. Yes, I’m going to indulge you in a whole series based in the world of shifters.

Thanks Mike – met on WeBook a writing platform that no longer exists but where Drift was first posted online!

Mike, it’s evolved more! It’s got even better! No longer a twinge of magic, there’s even an epic battle.

I love comments like this. ?

Yay! Thank you x

You’ll be pleased to know that prologue is long gone. Lol ?

Thank you so much Debbie, I’m glad you loved my twist on magic.

Wow! This makes me want to happy dance.

Hopefully you won’t have to wait much longer as I’m working on Sky Heart (book 2) for 2021.

Thanks Anni. I’m working hard to make sure book 2 is just as awesome.

Do I recommend Swoon Reads?

Yeah. It’s been a positive experience for me. I didn’t get published but I did get useful feedback and encouragement from readers.

Ocean Heart

Drift has evolved and transformed into Ocean Heart. The comments above are by readers of the 2013 version.

These comments make me so happy. Whenever I get nervous about putting Ocean Heart out into the big bad world, these readers sweet words make me feel braver.

Soul Heart Readers

I’ve created a Facebook group for my Street Team, basically my first fans.

They’ll be first to hear how Ocean Heart is coming along, be offered ARCs and to be part of my virtual book tour, plus more…

If this is something you’d like to be part of, come join us in the Soul Heart Readers Facebook Group.

Redfae Bookshop is my Affiliate Bookshop.org shop link.

[kofi]

If you enjoyed this post, you will like:

Soul Heart Readers – Street Team

Why you need a developmental editor!

Why I have chosen to Self Publish

Writers Beware: Know who you are querying

Ally Aldridge Blogging, Book Genre, Competition, Contemporary, Fantasy, Fiction, Novel, Query, Writing, Young Adult

#BoostMyBio for Pitch Wars 2019

Pitch Wars 2019

Are you wondering, “What is Ally up to now?” Well, let me explain…

Pitch Wars is a competition where the prize is a mentor. I’ve never taken part before but this year I’m going to do it.

I only get to choose four mentors to submit to and the mentors can only pick one mentee from all their submissions. Wish me luck!

To read other #boostmybio mentee posts, click here.

To read the mentors profiles, click here.

About me

I’m a natural redhead. It’s the first thing people notice about me. I married my first love in Mauritius, we have a son, a daughter and two cats. I’ve just returned to work from maternity leave but I still find time to write and drink copious amounts of tea.

I have wanted to be an author since before I can remember and been chasing the dream ever since. My favourite genre is YA Contemporary Fantasy/Paranormal Romance. I love making my characters everyday problems a little more complicated with a touch of magic and fantasy. I’ve also written a picture book and my short romance story was published in an anthology.

This year I have discovered the #writingcommunity on Instagram and loving it! I blog about my writing journey and share tips along the way to help my fellow writers. I also post book reviews.

My novel is Jewel of the Sea

#YA #PR #ContemporaryFantasy

TEEN WOLF but mermaids in the UK.

Love struck, misfit, redhead discovers she’s a mermaid. With her emotions connected to her dormant weather manipulation powers, falling in love is deadly dangerous!

https://twitter.com/Fae7/status/1169639368857935873

Jewel of the Sea was inspired by Rachel Vincent’s werecat shifters series.  I found myself creating my own world of shifters but aimed at a younger audience and put my own spin on things. 

It would appeal to fans of The Immortal Instruments, Vampire Academy and Wolves of Mercy Falls.

A mermaid reading Jewel of Sea and loving it!

Jewel of the Sea is based in my hometown, Felixstowe, which has enabled me to recreate the coastal town in a vivid and realistic light.  My husband was my first love and best friend, so a lot of the romance in this story was inspired by my personal life. Jewel of the Sea addresses many issues teenagers experience at school but the fantasy elements enable them to escape into a magical world.

The following list is a sample of what to look forward to in Jewel of the Sea:

  • mermaids
  • shape shifters
  • fairies
  • storm summoning
  • weather manipulation
  • spell casting
  • An epic battle
  • Romance
  • friends to lovers
  • enemies to lovers
  • love triangle
  • coming of age
  • first kisses
View this post on Instagram

Are you taking part in #PitMad on Twitter? Today’s #aestheticWIPup is an #elevatorpitch and I thought I’d share the #pitch for my completed novel Jewel of the Sea. ? PitMad runs from 8am to 8pm EDT, which I think it 1pm to 1am GMT. Visit the Pitch Wars site for full details on the rules and wish me luck. ? #YA #PR #ContemporaryFantasy TEEN WOLF but mermaids in the UK. Love struck, misfit, redhead discovers she's a mermaid. With her emotions connected to her dormant weather manipulation powers, falling in love is deadly dangerous! ? #novelpitch #query #querying #amquerying #jewelofthesea #yafiction #yafantasy #paranormalromance #mermaidstory #aspiringauthor #hustlingwriterscommunity #urbanfantasyauthorcommunity #novelist #writingcommunityofinstagram #writingcommunity #writersworld #writerslife #authorslife #writersofig #writersofinsta #pitchwars #pitchtrenches #querytrenches via @preview.app

A post shared by Author Ally Aldridge (@redfae) on

What I’m hoping for

I’ve lost count of the amount of edits and years spent working on Jewel of the Sea. I’m constantly seeking feedback from others but what I need is a professional pair of eyes. If I had the money, I would hire an editor! I truly believe they are worth their weigh of gold and imagine you can learn a lot from them about your writing. Please tell me how I can make my novel better?

Stefan talking about my manuscript.

This year, I realised I’ve been neglecting my query/pitch. I feel so stupid for not twigging sooner how important it is. I have been working hard on fixing it but have no idea what else I need to do. Please help me make my first impression irresistible?

Make them go, ‘Gimme, Gimme Gimme!”

I am sure there is so much more I need to know that I haven’t thought of because I don’t even have an inkling. What am I missing?

I typed in ‘Lost Kitten’ and got another Salvatore #feelinglucky

And, I hope this doesn’t sound sappy but after all our hard work together I would love to become lifelong friends.

If you enjoyed this post, you may like:

About Me

Have you finished your novel? What is next?

How was #PitMad September 2019?

What to watch if you love mermaids!

Click My Link Tree To Connect On Social Media
Click My Link Tree
To Connect On Social Media
Ally Aldridge Query, Tips, Writing

How was #PitMad September 2019?

As always, this Pitch Wars event isn’t simply about grabbing the attention of your dream agent or publisher. It is also about connecting with the writing community.

Taking part, I gained more followers. People retweeted my pitch to show support and help it get noticed and some even commented to let me know they liked my idea which is really encouraging. Further down you will find a collection Tweets that sum out the event for me.

The Manuscript Wishlist

One Tweet that was incredibly useful was by @RebeccaFKenney1 who told me about #MSWL. I never knew that agents tweet about the manuscripts they are wishing for. A quick search for “#MSWL Mermaid” sorted by most recent, brought up the two agents she had sign posted me to.

I have now discovered that on 24 September 2019 is #MSWL Day when agents will tweet their wish list to help authors find their match. I shall be adding that to my Literary Calendar which you can access to discover useful literary dates.

How successful was I?

  • Tinsel Tiger (picture book) – 4 likes (none were agents or publishers)
  • Jewel of the Sea (YA fiction) – 5 likes (three by publishers)

I will research these publishers to see if I feel they are a good fit for me before submitting.  On initial inspection, one of them really appeals to me due to their ethical values.

⚡️ “#PitMad September 2019”

If you enjoyed this, you will like:

Writers beware! Know who you are querying.

#PitMad June 2019 Summary

#PitMad – December 2018

Seven tips for querying agents

Click My Link Tree To Connect On Social Media
Click My Link Tree
To Connect On Social Media
Ally Aldridge Book Genre, Books, Festival, Query, Tips, Writing, Young Adult

Why I love YALC

If you are a fan of YA Literature then you need to check out this book festival. It runs annually in London during the last weekend of July and the book deals are so good you’ll travel home like a pack donkey.

The book deals!

It’s easy to get carried away so here are some tips to help you curb your inner book dragon:

Here is what I bought:

The deal was three for £10 and a free Epic Reads tote. Because I chose a two hardbacks it bumped up to £12 which is still incredible value and I got the last tote!

The book nerd in me is looking forward to my showing off my new bag at my next library visit. I’m going to look epic!

These books from Bloomsbury were three for £10. They’ve been on my wish list for ages as I’ve seen people recommend them on IG. I’ve been warned they are steamy!

It was a total accident that all the books are by authors named Sarah. Did you notice? Do you like any books by a Sarah?

Author Panels

There is something amazing about meeting the mind behind a novel. Lots of the stalls are hosted by authors themselves and are happy to sign a copy of their book if you own a copy. In addition, the festival has panels and talks where the authors talk about their novels.

In addition, there are scheduled events where groups of authors chat to a live audience. Their is often someone asking questions and the talk is on a set subject.

Workshops by Industry experts

Experts from the industry deliver workshops during the festival. These are often run by authors, Literary Agents, Editors or publishers but the list is endless.

I attended a workshop in the Agent Arena by Zoe Plant talking about editing. Editing is one of the aspects that I find incredibly difficult with writing a novel as it is a massive task and I am not confident in my abilities. She had great advice on what to expect but not only was the talk really informative, it was also an opportunity to get to know Zoe too. I had not seen her before and she is truly lovely.

I also attended the Author & Agent talk between Literary Agent Chloe Seager and her non-fiction author Laura Coryton. Laura is a campaigner against Tampon Tax. I had heard about this before and think I signed the petition ages ago. It turns out that Chloe also signed the petition and decided that this would be a great subject for a non-fiction book to empower young adults. Chloe approached Laura to propose the idea and Speak Up! was born. It was fascinating to see how the non-fiction industry works in comparison to fiction novels. It was also extremely valuable to hear about Chloe as an agent as she has been a favourite of mine for a long time now.

Pitch to agents

If you are an author with a completed novel, looking for representation, then this is an awesome event to attend. Here, you get an opportunity to spend five minutes with a potential Literary Agent to sell them your novel. It’s an opportunity to be seen above the slush pile.

It’s not guaranteed that they will be interested. I pitched two years ago and wasn’t confident in myself. We ended up chatting about identifying my books place in the market but I did gain a little bit of experience in pitching, mainly what not to do.

This time, I felt more prepared (although still incredibly nervous) and I pitched to two agents who both asked me to send it to them. I also had a writer friend encouraging me to do it which really helped.

Fellow readers and writers

That leads me on to my next point. The festival is full of fellow readers as you would expect but a lot of readers are also writers. This year, I got to meet one of my online writer friends at YALC. She was so lovely we spent the day together.

Win competitions

The festival is full of competitions eager to get you to sign up and raise awareness. @hellomeitsyou tweeted to say I was their Sunday winner. I had already left so sent them my address so I can receive my prize. When I receive it, I’ll post a pic to IG.

If you like this, then you will enjoy:

Felixstowe Book Festival – The Publishing Industry

#PitMad June 2019 Summary

How I edited my novel – 12 tips for self editing

Ally Aldridge Books, Competition, Festival, Goals, Novel, Query, Tips, Writing

Have you finished your novel? What is next?

Writing a novel is mainly a solitary project that you work on for months. And, when you type ”The End” it is a huge achievement, but what do you do next?

For me, I sat alone at my PC.  After editing 85k words there was nobody around to celebrate with me. To be honest, that isn’t the end.

Entered Wattys

If you have been following my blog, you are probably aware that my novel is posted on Wattpad so when I finished editing, it was very easy to submit my novel into their annual competition.  

Beta Readers

While it is sitting on Wattpad being judged by the judges, I decided to send my novel to a select group of beta readers to get feedback.  07I will take their feedback into consideration and make any necessary amendments and then I will decide whether to query agents, self publish or enter other competitions.

Research

View this post on Instagram

How is your book published? For years, I’ve had my heart set on being traditionally published. I like the validation that someone else sees merit in my novel. I fear that I do not know the industry well enough and like the idea that my agent or publisher will push me in the right direction. However, the problem with the traditional method is my success relies on convincing someone else to believe in me. My novel has to stand out in a competitive slush pile. It needs to reach them when it is exactly what they are looking for. My voice needs to be fresh, original yet fit in with others on the market. Even then, it still might not be enough. Whereas self published authors are their only hurdle – only they need to believe in themselves to be published. However, all the work is on them to edit, market, sell, etc. But, if they have a ‘can do’ attitude there is no holding them back. I’m starting to wonder if I am my biggest hurdle. That I don’t need to win a literary agent or publisher over, I could self publish today. So, why don’t I? What am I afraid of? Is anyone else not published yet that feels like this? #traditionallypublished #traditionalpublishing #indieauthorsofinstagram #selfpublished #indiebooks

A post shared by Author Ally Aldridge (@redfae) on

Meanwhile, I will be researching literary agents to see who is a good fit for my novel.  I am attending an event about the publishing industry (how to get published, attract an agent, attract an editor with Phoebe Morgan) and an agent one-to-one with Florence Rees.  

I am also part of World Indie Warriors which is a collaborative group that are supporting authors in the self publishing industry or those aspiring to self publish.  Meeting them has been a very enlightening experience and as a result I feel more motivated and informed about self publishing.  It no longer feels like a scary unknown. 

I am also attending a marketing course with Pagan Malcolm on book prompting which will be beneficial whichever route I take.  

Next Project

Although I’ve taken a creative break, I have already started plotting the next novel.  I am going to rework and finish Diamond of the Sky.  This will be my project for Camp NaNo (July 2019).

Read

This summer, I will be catching up on my reading.  Reading is a great way to continue to develop my writing skills as I soak up the methods others have used.  It is also a great way to support other writers.

What do you do when you have finished writing a novel?

If you liked this post, you may also like?

How I edited my novel – 12 tips for self editing

Spotlight on Summer Literary Dates calendar

Book Review:  Rebel of the sands

Reflecting on Camp NaNoWriMo (July 2018)

  if_twitter-01-01_3066980  if_instagram-01-01_3066990  if_youtube-01-01_3066976  if_g-01-01_3066962

Ally plus text

Ally Aldridge Novel, Query, Tips, Writing

#PitMad June 2019 Summary

I just finished editing Jewel of the Sea. The chapters are in draft on Wattpad and I just need to consolidate and format them into a manuscript. So, I decided I should take part in PitMad.

I joined the PitMad Challenge Facebook group hosted by Kathy Ver Eecke. For the week leading up to PitMad, Kathy set daily challenges to help us with developing our pitches for the event. It really helped.

I got some likes but they were by other writers that were being supportive and I don’t think they realised what it meant. All thought I didn’t get any real requests, I did make a ton of connections. Twitter kept freaking out with all the activity and kept checking I wasn’t a robot due to the unusual activity. In just a few hours of starting I had 200+ new followers.

Here is my Twitter Moment created to highlight my experience of #PitMad June 2019.

PitMad runs roughly every three months. If you want to know about the next event, head over to the Pitch Wars website to find out about the next date.

If you enjoyed this post, you may enjoy:

#PitMad – December 2018

#PitMad – October 2016

Seven tips for querying agents

Literary dates calendar

  if_twitter-01-01_3066980  if_instagram-01-01_3066990  if_youtube-01-01_3066976  if_g-01-01_3066962

Ally plus text