PITCHWARS - PITMAD - WRITEONCON - Know these words writers!

If you don't know these words - PITCHWARS - PITMAD - WRITEONCON - and you're a writer….shame, shame, shame. 

Actually, only a few weeks ago, I had never heard of them. Now, I've gotten full requests from entering these contests and conferences. 

Let's start with #PITCHWARS (which you can find on Twitter) 

You'll want to google Brenda Drake and go to her website Pitch Wars - Brenda Drake | Brenda Drake

Brenda is the brainchild of PITCHWARS - which has a slew of talented, agented authors, offering up their time and knowledge to help un-agented writers get their manuscripts ready for querying. 

If you have a completed manuscript and/or you've been rejected by agents, or have not tried yet to query an agent, PITCHWARS is for you. 

The mentors are mad scientists. They help you with revision, cutting pieces here, and suggesting other parts there. And in 3 short months, your work will be in the best shape of its young life. 


Now, for #PITMAD - Also one of Brenda-the-awesome's ideas. #PitMad - Brenda Drake | Brenda Drake Here, you elevator pitch your completed manuscript in under 140 characters. Agents watch the pitches, and if they LIKE one of yours, you query them.

You've got to be ready to pitch at least once per hour but no more than two. You want to give other writers a chance and not seem too pushy.

PITMAD is where my query madness began. I got LIKED - and so started my query process. 

Last tally: 16 queries - 5 request for fuels - 1 partial - and 2 rejections. I wouldn't have had the guts to query without PITMAD! 








What about #WRITEONCON?

Go to WriteOnCon.com | WriteOnCon is an Online Children’s Writers Conference created by writers, for writers.

This is a free summer conference in a virtual space put on by writers for writers. It's too late this year, but it's amazing! You'll want to participate next year. 

It's very fast-paced, and you must know which agents are speaking and when - calendar your phones to ding you when they begin, or you'll miss out on the open Q & A's. 

Here you will upload your Query, First 5 pages, and or your First Chapter. You can upload all three and link them so that if a secret agent stops by and likes your query, they can quickly click on a link to your pages. **DON'T forget to do this!

You'll also get comments from fellow writers. They will critique your work, and some will offer to partner up in virtual critique groups. The writers I met at WRITEONCON helped me make my query much stronger. 

So there you have it - three words every new writer must know! 

And, even if you're not ready to pitch or snag a mentor, you can snoop and watch the madness on Twitter. This might just help you get the guts to join in and get critiqued!


Good luck!
As always,
Write~on
Angie