Greetings All! I was going to try and do this post as a video, but I just don’t have the time to beat this face and get pretty with makeup, record, edit, and then upload. It’s ‘Locs In A Bun & Sweats Season’, while I home school the kiddos, and try to maintain being a small business owner. Anyway, I did want to share my experience with participating in #pitmad on Twitter, this past Sept. 3rd, 2020.
I’ve only participated in #pitmad one time before at the beginning of the year. I read up on everything that was expected of a participant and then I prepared my manuscript and tweets. I posted each tweet throughout the day and NOTHING happened... I might have received a few likes from my fellow authors but no movement which was fine. I didn’t get in my feelings about it or have any negative thoughts, I just chalked it up to experience and went on with my writing path.
Shortly after, life started happening, and then this amazing thing called ‘Shelter In Place’, happened and like everyone else, I took a little time out to reorganize and adapt to the new normal. I took the changing times as a blessing in disguise. I spent time going over my manuscript, solidifying a game plan for my day career, and I continued with my writing endeavors. I found a good groove for how to utilize my time once our kids started back to school at the beginning of August. Then one day, I realized that I was a few weeks from the next #pitmad event. The excitement started brewing for it again and so I prepared my three tweets and went over my manuscript for the hundredth time. Then when that glorious day came, I posted those amazing tweets and tried to busy myself from obsessing over watching twitter all day long.
Then it happened people… I… Got… A… Like… From… An Editor/Publisher. I just about jumped out of my seat and started the process of submitting my manuscript. Then less than twenty minutes went by before I had a reply. Again, I danced with excitement and then I read the bold print that said, WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU! (Insert cry emoji and the dead skull emoji, because I almost died). Now, don’t cry for me or give me the consoling pat on the back, because I got this… We got this… I learned that the awesome part about all of this came down to FOUR KEY THINGS. So here they go:
1. Ask Lots of Questions – The more questions you ask to those that are participating and hosting the event the more you will learn. Everyone that I spoke to was so nice and they all welcomed my crazy questions.
2. Network w/ Other Authors and the Available Mentors – Self-explanatory! You + Networking = Support
3. Mark the Milestones – You may pitch and not get selected but that doesn’t mean that it’s not a milestone. It is a milestone, -o celebrate the likes and the retweets. Remember that there may be many bystanders watching to see what happens to those that participate, and they never step into the game. So, mark the day you got off the bench and played. You won’t win them over all the time, but you’ll build the momentum until you do win them over.
4. The Series Impact – Finally! This was the biggest impact made on me. The book that I was going to pitch was the second book in a trilogy that I wrote. That was the reason why I didn’t make it beyond the veil after the editor contacted me. I learned that most publishers will not accept a book that is a part of a series if the other books were previously published, and even self-published in my case. They don’t care, BUT THERE IS HOPE! I was told that if I really wanted to get my foot in the door, I could take down the book that I self-published and combine all three books and then resubmit as one whole saga. How epic is that? So, guess what I’m doing and editing at this moment? Exactly, editing and formatting all three books together. I’m not a sucker or too prideful to learn, adapt, and go with the flow when needed.
Anyway, this was just a quick peek into my second experience with #pitmad. I don’t know it all and like many of you, I’m learning as I go. I’d love to hear your experiences as well, so be sure to connect with me on the social medias. Keep writing my good people.
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