#PitchMe tends to follow a fairly consistent timeline:
First Wednesday after Labor Day: The submission windows open
2 weeks later: Selected submissions announced
4- to 5-week window: Mentoring takes place
A Wednesday in late October: Revised Twitter pitches posted; agents (and editors!) like their favorites
2 weeks later: Selected submissions announced
4- to 5-week window: Mentoring takes place
A Wednesday in late October: Revised Twitter pitches posted; agents (and editors!) like their favorites
Submissions
To enter, your manuscript must meet two conditions. First, it must be COMPLETE, NEVER-PUBLISHED, AND READY TO QUERY, and second, it must be in one of the following genres:
PB fiction and nonfiction (all genres)
MG fiction (all genres)
YA fiction (all genres)
Adult fiction (all genres, including commercial, literary, and/or upmarket but excluding erotica)
PB fiction and nonfiction (all genres)
MG fiction (all genres)
YA fiction (all genres)
Adult fiction (all genres, including commercial, literary, and/or upmarket but excluding erotica)
1. All submissions must be sent to kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com and include A TWITTER PITCH, A QUERY, AND THE FIRST 250 WORDS of your manuscript. (PB author-illustrators are also encouraged to share links to their online portfolios.) You must paste these items IN THE BODY OF YOUR E-MAIL; otherwise, I'll disqualify it.
2. Please submit ONLY ONE PROJECT. If you submit multiple projects, I'll only consider the first.
3. It would also really help if you INCLUDE YOUR CATEGORY--PB, MG, YA, OR ADULT--SOMEWHERE IN YOUR SUBJECT LINE, but it's not a requirement.
4. THERE WILL BE TWO 30-MINUTE SUBMISSION WINDOWS to (try to) accommodate work schedules and international entrants. The first submission window opens at roughly 10:30 a.m. EDT and closes half an hour later. The second submission window opens later that same day at roughly 10:30 p.m. EDT and closes half an hour later. Hopefully, you'll be awake and/or not at work during one of these 30-minute intervals!
5. Once you send me your submission, I’ll send you a confirmation e-mail with a summary of these rules.
6. Previous finalists may enter again AS LONG AS THEY HAVE A NEW MANUSCRIPT TO SUBMIT.
7. Publishing professionals (i.e., anyone who is currently employed by an agency or publisher, including but not limited to agents, editors, and sales reps) MAY NOT ENTER #PITCHME. (Previously published authors MAY enter #PitchMe as long as that's their only previous or current connection to the publishing industry.) I know this sounds harsh, but publishing professionals have inside tracks to securing representation should they decide to try their hands at writing (because they can contact agent and editor friends directly, bypassing regular query channels to some degree), and I don't want someone who has no inside track to miss out.
Selections
I'll select 6 entries within each major category--PB, MG, YA, and adult--and up to 6 wildcards. I may pick 6 adults or 3 YAs and 3 MGs or just a single PB with those wildcards; it depends on what I know the agents are looking for and which submissions seem strongest.
I'll select 6 entries within each major category--PB, MG, YA, and adult--and up to 6 wildcards. I may pick 6 adults or 3 YAs and 3 MGs or just a single PB with those wildcards; it depends on what I know the agents are looking for and which submissions seem strongest.
Once I've finalized my picks, I'll e-mail the winning writers and announce the winning titles here and/or on my Twitter feed two weeks after the submission windows close. Then the real work will begin!
Mentoring
For the next 4 to 5 weeks, the winning writers will revise their pitches, queries, and first pages with my help. You won’t be obligated to incorporate my thoughts, and the feedback I provide on your queries and first pages won’t actually be featured in the agent round itself. I just want to help you make your pitches, queries, and first pages the very best that they can be.
Mentoring
For the next 4 to 5 weeks, the winning writers will revise their pitches, queries, and first pages with my help. You won’t be obligated to incorporate my thoughts, and the feedback I provide on your queries and first pages won’t actually be featured in the agent round itself. I just want to help you make your pitches, queries, and first pages the very best that they can be.
Liking
On a Wednesday in late October, I'll post the revised pitches ON MY TWITTER FEED for the agents (and editors!) to review. The agent panel varies from year to year but typically includes 10 to 15 agents from well-respected agencies. Each like will count as a partial or full request based on the agents’ preferences. Agents will be able to review and like your pitches for at least 24 hours, at which point you’ll be allowed to submit your materials to all the agents who requested them. These likes represent serious interest in your project, so PLEASE DON’T ACCEPT AN OFFER OF REPRESENTATION BEFORE GIVING THE #PITCHME AGENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A COMPETING OFFER.
On a Wednesday in late October, I'll post the revised pitches ON MY TWITTER FEED for the agents (and editors!) to review. The agent panel varies from year to year but typically includes 10 to 15 agents from well-respected agencies. Each like will count as a partial or full request based on the agents’ preferences. Agents will be able to review and like your pitches for at least 24 hours, at which point you’ll be allowed to submit your materials to all the agents who requested them. These likes represent serious interest in your project, so PLEASE DON’T ACCEPT AN OFFER OF REPRESENTATION BEFORE GIVING THE #PITCHME AGENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A COMPETING OFFER.
I also enlist the aid of some lurking editors. Their likes will also represent requests, but even if their publishers allow you to submit without an agent, I strongly recommend that you wait until you secure representation. A smart, savvy agent is worth their weight in gold, and I'm hopeful agents will be even more interested in your project if they know you've got an editor request (or two!) in your back pocket. The editor panel also varies from year to year but typically includes 4 to 6 editors from publishers like Sourcebooks, Charlesbridge, and St. Martin's Press.