How to Succeed with PitMad

Are you familiar with PitMad?

#PitMad is a pitch party on Twitter where writers tweet a 280-character pitch for their completed, polished, unpublished manuscripts. Agents and editors make requests by liking/favoriting the tweeted pitch. Every unagented writer is welcome to pitch. All genres/categories are welcomed. #PitMad occurs quarterly.

Pitchwars.org website

The next PitMad is coming up December 5th. I considered the last PitMad to be a success for me because I got a heart from an agent on my list, and another from a publisher I recognized.

On PitMad days, the camaraderie among writers gives me such a boost. It’s the perfect time for connecting with other writers and supporting each other.

After I’d done a few pitch parties, I had the sense to search for other people who are writing work similar to mine by looking for their hashtags. I’m not good at Twitter. Even so, I am figuring out how to participate in Twitter parties. To participate in a Twitter party you don’t necessarily have to be great on Twitter. 

TIP: Follow other authors in your genre and support them.

One of the best things about participating in PitMad was that it forced me to be concise and specific about my book descriptions. The tweet that got the most attention was short and simple.

My Tweet

Theater kids, small town, Asperger love. WHAT TO SAY NEXT x GEM & DIXIE #PITMAD #YA #CON #MH #DIS #ND #autism Coming of Age + Sweet Romance

This tweet went against a lot of advice I’d received about how to craft the perfect tweet. I am impatient when reading tweets, so I wrote one likely to get my attention, as descriptive as I could, using as few words as possible. (I posted another tweet that did well for a different pitch party on my blog here.)

TIP: Practice writing your tweets ahead of time.

Another key may have been how many times it was re-tweeted. I got a huge boost from my WFWA group. There was a specific list to join if you were participating in PitMad so that we could easily find each other’s tweets and support each other by retweeting. It’s difficult to keep up with everyone’s tweets, and without that list I would have been lost.

TIP: Pin your latest tweet so your friends can find it easily and retweet.

I was pleasantly surprised to get a heart from Flux books. At the end of the day, I had a hard time winding down. Several hours after the party was over, I got another heart. This one was exciting, because not only did I recognize literary agent, they were on my query list. 

TIP: Not all hearts are the same. Do your research.

I couldn’t sleep, so by 3 o’clock in the morning (!) I’d sent my submissions, one of which was a full. I also used the PitMad requests as an opportunity to nudge to an agent who’d had my manuscript for a few months.

TIP: Have your materials ready to go.

PitMad isn’t the only Twitter party. 

You can try out your tweets for #faithpitch, #REVpit, #kisspitch, #sffpit, or #IWSGPit and more.

Have your manuscript finished and polished, write your tweets, and join the party. If you aren’t ready to pitch, use a pitch party to connect and support other writers.

There’s nothing to lose and quite a bit to gain.

Have you participated in a pitch party? Do you plan to? Leave a comment!

Donna Jo Stone writes YA contemporary novels about tough issues but always ends the stories with a note of hope. She blogs at donnajostone.com.