Today was #PitMad on Twitter! Here are my top tips on how to get the most our of PitMad if you’re participating in pitching your novel or even just observing the chaos.
WHAT’S PITMAD?
For the uninitiated, PitMad is an event on Twitter where authors tweet out their 280-character “elevator pitch” for their completed novels using the #PitMad hashtag and agents like tweets to request that the author send them a query letter with a more detailed synopsis of the work. It’s a way for agents to find authors and stories they’d be interested in representing and a way for authors to match with agents. That’s the short version, there are rules to follow, and you can read up on all of the details here.
HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF PITMAD
This not being my first rodeo, I’ve compile a few tips to help you pitchers get the most out of your Pitch Wars Experience:
PIN YOUR PITCH TWEET
It’s such a huge help to everyone who visits your timeline to see what you’re pitching if your pitch is your pinned tweet.
CHANGE YOUR HANDLE FOR THE DAY
Change your display name to something like “Lacy is Pitching TITLE” for the day. This will let people know to visit your timeline if they are seeing you interacting elsewhere but haven’t seen your pitch tweet yet.
USE ALL THE HASHTAGS
If the only hashtag in your pitch is #PitMad, you’re not taking full advantage of the opportunity to connect with agents who specialize in your genre. Check the full list of hashtags here. The #BVM - Black Voices Matter - tag debuted today to lift up black authors during this time of policing reform protests, so be sure to check the list often, as it evolves over time.
PITMAD AFTERCARE
My favorite time of the PitMad day is after 8pm when the official pitch period is over. Here are some things you can do to follow up on your Pitch Wars Day.
SCOPE WHAT YOUR FAVORITE AGENTS ARE LIKING
When the frenzy dies down, I pull up my Twitter List of agents I want to eventually query and scope what pitches they liked. It's a great way to refine my list of potential agents and learn more about their interests. To see what a specific agent has liked, go to their profile. Under their bio are a few tabs labeled Tweets | Tweets & Replies | Media | Likes. That last one is the one you want. It’ll show you everything that agent has liked recently. (Every tweet a user likes is publicly viewable, if you weren’t aware. And yes, I’ve unfollowed people before because I’ve seen them like a tweet that was reprehensible.)
WHO IS LIKING PITCHES SIMILAR TO YOUR WIP?
Similarly, if I run across a pitch that shares aspects with my WIP, I make sure to bookmark them and check back to see if any agents have dropped a like on the tweet. It’s an excellent way to find more agents who would potentially be interested in the types of stories I write, and if you don’t already have a list of agents who you want to query when your manuscript is completed, PitMad is an ideal day to start one!
SEARCH THE TAGS THAT FIT YOUR WIP
Search the genre tags that apply to your WIP (i.e. “#PitMad #A #LF #MH” for adult literary fiction that deals with mental health issues) and check out which tweets are getting the most likes. You can use these pitches as references for how to craft your own pitch when the time comes, or just scan through the likes to see which agents are actively seeking new work to represent in your genre. Consider querying them through their usual guidelines.