Saturday, November 30, 2013

#PitchWars: Suggested Readings

With Pitch Wars submissions opening just two days away, I've been compiling some articles, blog entries, and essays that you may wish to peruse as you put the finishing touches on your entries.


On Writing

Baker's Dozen Slush Reader Jodi Meadows: Common Problems with Beginnings
Samhain Publishing: Common Mark-Ups
Agent Janet Reid: How Good is Good Enough?
Pitch Wars Mentor Jaye Robin Brown: Are Online Pitch Contests For You?



On Social Media

Pitch Wars Mentor Erica Chapman: Social Media & You: The Basics
Self-Published Author Leigh Ann Kopans: Publishing 101: Working on Your Platform



On Submission

Author Ilona Andrews: Queries: Common Issues
Pitch Wars Agent Agent Carly Watters: What are agents looking for in a writer?
Ilona Andrews: Do I Need an Agent?



On Pitch Wars


Sunday, November 24, 2013

#PitchWars: Checking In

This blog has gotten so many visitors over the last four days, thanks to Pitch Wars, that I felt like I should check-in or something. By now, all the revisions on your manuscript should be complete and you should be making a short list of possible mentors. Pitch Wars entrants will be able to submit the first five pages of your manuscript to four different mentors on December 2nd. Go to Brenda's blog for the complete listing of submission rules.

Now's the time to get to know the mentors. A lot of us are on Twitter (I'm @lionessbkshelf) and we can often be found hanging out on the #PitchWars hashtag. I really encourage you to peruse the tag because we mentors are a witty bunch. Check out S.P. McConnell's and Fiona McLaren's trash talk, in a way that could only be done by book lovers. I've been answering a lot of 'What do you think about X genre' questions and I've been trying to answer them very honestly and seriously because I want all y'all to get an idea of what it'd be like to have me as a mentor.

I also had to defend my geek cred. 


You know what they say, no pix, no proof. Sooo...

I'm wearing it as I type this entry.
I have a Joss Whedon action figure too! Anyways, I pretty much bought this shirt as soon as Scott Kurtz released it so mine has the PvP logo on the back, but you can buy a newer version with a slant-ier logo here. Action figure not included.

If you can't pick just four out of the wonderful bunch in your category, be sure to participate in the scavenger hunt/word jumble for a shot at earning a fifth mentor slot. Five lucky contestants will win the chance to submit to five mentors instead of four, if they correctly solve the puzzle and submit the answer by November 30th. For the rules and the puzzle, go here. My clue is on my wishlist, but you have to pay attention to find it; Brenda couldn't even find it the first time she looked. 

I will probably post another blog entry or two before the 2nd (it'll be an early Christmas miracle!), but in the meantime, if you have any questions, please ask them now. Comment here or tweet me. I also want to reiterate, because I think some of you are getting blinded by my Whedonism, I am only mentoring Adult and New Adult manuscripts. If you send me Young Adult or Middle Grade, they will be deleted and you will have wasted one of your mentor slots. So do your homework and remember, "small, concealable weapons always go to the far left of the place setting."