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”

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Click My Link Tree
To Connect On Social Media
Click My Link Tree
To Connect On Social Media

Felixstowe Book Festival – The Publishing Industry

This event was hosted by Phoebe Morgan who promised to share her advice on how to get published, attract an agent and attract an editor. It was held at the Sailing Club with stunning views of Felixstowe Ferry.

Introductions

Phoebe Morgan is the best selling author of The Doll House and works at Orion as an Editorial Director. She explained a little about the books she works on (crime, thrillers, women’s fiction and saga). She had created a presentation especially for us.

Before she started, Phoebe went around the room and got each of us to introduce ourselves and what we are writing and hoping to get out of the talk. There was something very endearing about Phoebe. People instantly warmed to her and wanted her to know about their writing. I think it is the way she appreciated and valued every writer in the room.

I shared that I have just finished editing Jewel of the Sea and sent it out to Beta Readers.  I explained that I have queried a lot, been rejected a lot and then edited again and have lost count of the cycle.  I confessed that I am now considering self publishing and believe my query letter and synopsis is not having the right effect on agents.

First Impressions

Phoebe’s talk began talking about bestsellers and popular genres and why these books are doing well. She emphasised why it is so important for writers to know what is trending when they are querying because this links to how it will be pitched to editors and publishing houses.

Phoebe had put together examples of pitches to illustrate how important it is to quickly get agents up to speed on what your novel is about in just one sentence.

Example: The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins – Woman sees inciting incident through her train window.

Phoebe told us what genres are trending right now. However, it is best to write the novel you want as these are constantly changing. She talked about why genre fiction is popular and why it is important for us to identify the genre where our novel will be placed. This helps the publishers identify where to market, package, design and price it. She pointed out how we need to be passionate enough about our books to promote it for two years!

Phoebe had collected examples of the first line of successful books and discussed how these sentences grip the reader right from the start. She pointed out how agents are often very busy and if they are not pulled in from the start, they will move on to the next. She pointed out how in a shop, a reader may pick up a book and look at that first line to decide whether to buy it or not.

Example: The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins – There is a pile of clothing on the train tracks.

Then, she got us to share the first line of our books and discussed their strengths. She also suggested that some writers should consider starting further into the story where the action starts.

Novel Writing

She went on to talk about how to use suspense and pacing in our novels giving us tips on how to use these to make our novels a page turner. For examples, shorter sentences and chapters can speed up action but you can do the opposite for when you need to pull the reader in for more detail – there needs to be a balance between the two.

Ending a chapter on a cliff hanger can leave a reader needing to read the next chapter, to do this successful you need the reader to care about the character and be worried about them or the invested in the outcome. It helps to make the characters life full of obstacles – if it is too easy, it is boring. Obstacles create conflict.

Phoebe briefly covered different ways to structure your novel and why this is important.

Characters are incredibly important in your novel so Phoebe had collected a few tips to help us. In my notes I jotted down:

  • Not too many – you only need three to five main characters.  If you have more then you can lose the reader as they won’t be able to connect with them.  If you have too many, see if two characters can be merged together to fulfil one role.
  • Zoom in technique – Imagine a lens and zoom in and think of little things that makes the character who they are.
  • Back stories – Make sure you know your characters back stories, even if this doesn’t come into the story it will influence who they are and make them more vivid when you write.
  • Motivations – Understand what drives your characters.  What are their goals and what they want to achieve, etc.
  • Likeable?  – It is not necessary for the reader to like your main character whoever readers do need at least one character they can emphasise with.  

Phoebe then got us to think about one of the characters in our novel and write for five minutes about their backstory.  I chose Luna who is a secondary character but her back story and actions are the catalyst for the entire series.  She is a character I need to know inside and out.  I may one day write a short story about her. 

Roles

She then told us about the steps to getting published. There were twelve steps! I’ve always been focused on ‘getting an agent’ that I have not thought much more about ‘what next’. It turns out there is a lot that happens after you get an agent, and a lot that happens after you an editor and after all that, when you finally get an offer from a publisher, you can say no.

Phoebe went into more detail about what an agent does and how to pitch one. I felt like I knew a lot of this as it is something I’ve done a lot of. Phoebe was able to recommend some good agents and resources like The Writer’s and Artists’ Yearbook.

She then told us what editors look for. It was very insightful to hear this as the agent will be looking for these things in your query. The agent will be trying to figure out whether they can pitch your novel to editors. Here are the main things editors want:

  • A strong, clear, one-sentence hook
  • A good sense of voice – character needs to feel new and unique
  • Fill a spot on their list – keep an eye out for out for wish lists
  • Pleasure to work with – they will check out social media to see if you take writing seriously but this is not a deal breaker.
  • A clear vision – they need to believe in the book and be able to see it doing well.

She ended by warning us that rejection is something almost every published author has experienced. She gave us tips on how to deal with and was very encouraging that a rejection doesn’t mean give up.

Summary

She finished by giving us a list of resources for further information and how to contact her if we have further questions. She also took our emails so she could send us a copy of her presentation.

Phoebe was so lovely, approachable and genuinely wanted to help everyone in the room. Writers who get to work with her are truly blessed.

I did have a damsel in distress moment in the car park where a knight in shinning armour came to my rescue. More about this in my next Felixstowe Book Festival post.

I hope you have found this useful. If you want to connect with Phoebe, you can find her:

Twitter: @Phoebe_A_Morgan

Facebook: @PhoebeMorganAuthor

Instagram: @phoebeannmorgan

And don’t forget you can buy her debut novel The Doll House, or The Girl Next Door.

Learn more about Phoebe Morgan on her website.

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Felixstowe Book Festival – Containment

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#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.

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#PitMad – December 2018

I took part in the Pitch Wars event on 6 December 2018.

This event takes place on Twitter on scheduled dates throughout the year and is for Unagented writers, editors and agents. Dates for 2019 are:

  • March 7, 2019 (8AM – 8PM EDT)
  • June 6, 2019 (8AM – 8PM EDT)
  • September 5, 2019 (8AM – 8PM EDT)
  • December 5, 2019 (8AM – 8PM EST)

Writers

The unagented writers must have completed, polished manuscripts. They can write up to three pitches per story. pitches must include the #PitMad tag. It should also have tags to show what genre the story is.

If their tweet is liked, they can submit to that editor or agent. Here are my pitches: 

*****

The Little Mermaid crossed with XMen in a British high school.  

Being a storm summoning mermaid gives a new meaning to ‘it’s complicated’. #YA #UF #PITMAD #Mermaid

This coming of age story has all the firsts as well as magic and shape shifting.

*****

She’s crushing on her BFF, rivalling with the swim team star and about to discover she’s a mermaid! With a magic meddling mum & an impending battle with the death crows,  she must gain control of her storm summoning powers before she kills! #YA #UF #PITMAD #Mermaid

*****

DAWSON’S CREEK X THE SECRET CIRCLE

In this ‘fishy tail’, Mariah’s love life is just the ‘spark’ of her problems!  ‬

‪Her storm summoning powers are connected to her emotions & if she can’t control them then the death crows will come for her soul!  ‬

‪#YA #UF #PITMAD #Mermaid ‬

*****

Editor/Agent

If they like a pitch, its a request. They should make their submission criteria clear. It is up to the writer whether they want to submit – they are under no obligation to do so.

Other Twitters

They can share or comment on your pitches to support you but must avoid temptation to like because.., see editor/agent above.

#PitMad

How did it go?
I didn’t get any requests which is a shame as that was my ultimate goal.
This time, I do feel better about my pitches but there is always room for improvement.  I managed to spread my tweets out over the course of the event. I also enjoyed discovering lots of new Twitter writers to follow who write in the same genre as me.
 
Have you given #PitMad a go or are you thinking about it?
 
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How to handle rejection

The scary thing about querying agents is that they’ll either accept you and promise to make your dream of being an author a reality or reject you. Sadly, agents get so many queries you are most likely to receive the later. Here is how to handle it:

1. Don’t takes it personally

“It’s not you, it’s them.” This is the main reason they’ll say no. Fiction is an art and subjective. Your agent needs to love it to get behind it. They also need time to promote your books and can’t take it if it competes with another they are already pushing or can’t invest the time it deserves.

2. Deal with your feelings

It’s okay to be disappointed. All fiction writers have wild imaginations and you likely had a little day dream about getting signed by them. It’s okay and it’s not personal. Publishing is a business. So, allow yourself time to process their reply and don’t respond about what a big mistake they’ve made in passing on you. Just accept their position and move on.

3. Be in it, to win it

If you didn’t query, you’d never find an agent. Give yourself a pat on the back for all you have achieved. Writing a novel is no easy feat. It takes time, persistence and editing not to mention the accompanying documents. You’ve achieved so much. Be proud of yourself for being brave enough to put yourself out there.

4. Don’t give up

What sets apart ‘real writers’ from ‘wannabe writers’ is that we don’t give up. It’s time to think about the next project. You know, once you are lost in a new plot you’ll forget all about the agent(s) that said no. Perhaps this new novel will be the next best seller.

5. Reflect

Reflect on the process, review your submission(s), relook at the market and agents out there. Every experience is a chance to learn. If you allow yourself to gain from this, you will become a stronger writer. You can make changes, improve, and query again. Next round, they might say yes!

***

Please share with me your experience and tips for querying and how you handle rejection?

If you’ve not queried yet, I hope this post gives you the courage to go for it. Please let me know how you get on.