How to Win at #PitMad: Tips and Tricks

It's that time again...for #PitMad!! #PitMad, or Pitch Madness, is an event created by author Brenda Drake, where authors pitch their books in a single Tweet. Agents and editors then comb through the hashtag and favorite Tweets with pitches for manuscripts that they want submitted to them. Authors then decide which agents and editors to submit to and submit their manuscripts to them. Sometimes, this can lead to an offer of representation! It's a fun way to get your story out there, and honestly, going through #PitMad Tweets as an intern for Entangled Teen and submitting my fave Tweets to my supervisor was one of my favorite things to do.

After going through a few rounds of pitches on #PitMad over the years, I feel like I've definitely learned some things about what makes an effective pitch, and I thought this would be a good time to share them with you, since there are still a couple of days to get those pitches polished!

1. Read the rules. The new webpage for #PitMad has a lot of tips for pitchers, plus rules about who can like and retweet, and it's super important to follow them!

2. Pitch in a SINGLE TWEET. It might seem ridiculous, but I have actually seen lots of people try to cheat and do 1/2 2/2 tweets instead of pitching in a single tweet, which is the point. The point of the contest is to pitch your story in a concise way, and, even though there are many more characters on Twitter now, you still want to use as few as possible to make it easier for editors and agents going through pitches. Nobody wants to read your paragraph-long tweet.

3. Don't waste characters with useless info. If you use the proper hashtags, as listed on the webpage, you don't need to list the age of your characters or start your Tweet out like, "seventeen-year-old Azriel..." Save your characters for the meat of the story, and use the hashtags to give the other information. People will figure out your audience from that.

4. Know what your age audience is. If people see you post about an MG novel about a 15-year-old character, they're going to be confused. Know who your audience is!

5. Don't be offensive. For instance, if you're a soccer mom writing about a soccer mom, don't say your story is #ownvoices. That's not what that means, and I have seen people do this. Also, the "A" in LGBTQIA doesn't stand for "ally."

6. Get to the conflict of the story. Know your story's main hook. Don't tweet about a quirky subplot or something that happens in the last quarter of the book. The agents and editors are reading to know what the heart of your story is.

7. Don't just tweet quotes from your writing. Sure, you might think that 280-character sentence is the best sentence in history, but quotes without context don't tell an agent or editor anything. Publishers aren't going to want to read more of your story if they don't even know what it's about, so again, stick to giving the conflict of the story.

8. Do your research. Just because an editor or agent favorites your pitch, it doesn't mean you have to submit to them. Doing your research on who favorites your pitches will help you decide who would be the best fit to work with your story, and also weed out possible scammers, because you never know who's browsing the hashtag. Plus, you have to know what their submission guidelines are and follow them before submitting.

If you want some help putting together Twitter pitches, I do offer services for editing Twitter pitches for $5 per round on my editing site. Turnaround time for Twitter pitches is less than 24 hours, so if you need some help, please don't hesitate to reach out!!

Things I am Learning while Doing NaNoWriMo

Something weird is happening this month, people. I decided to do NaNoWriMo and...I'm actually doing it. As of the writing of this post, I have a little over 14,000 words and have written every single day of the month so far. This is unprecedented and has never happened, because usually I quit after about two days because I feel like 1,667 words per day is too daunting a task and I feel like I'm going to fail anyway. Apparently that is not happening this year, because this year I am kicking anxiety's butt and am a BOSS.

I am learning a lot through this process. For instance, I am finding having a deadline very useful. Without a deadline, I feel less motivated to write every day. I am also finding it very useful to have an excuse to go balls out on writing and just write whatever words come to mind simply to get the word count and get the story down. Since I'm focusing on just the word count and getting a first draft done, I'm not worrying about everything coming out perfectly the first time or going back and editing as I write; I'm just getting things done.

This method may not work for everyone, but for me, this mode of speed writing is incredibly useful and motivational for just getting something down. In a post at a different time, I will write about how I plan to do editing and revising for this first draft I plan to finish (with Scrivener!!), but for now, I'm just getting everything out of me and onto the page, and it's great.

I don't have a lot of places or outlets in my life where I feel like I can just do or be and not have to be perfect at the doing or being. Writing, however, at least in this speedy, NaNo-style, is definitely turning out to be one of those places. If the first draft is terrible, who cares? It's a first draft, which means I can fix it and be hard on myself later. For now, I can just get all the ideas out for the sake of having a draft and a story and meeting a certain word count.

I'm also relearning how much I love writing. I did Camp NaNo a couple years ago and met my goal, but stopped writing shortly after, largely because the story wasn't working, but also because once I got out of the habit of writing every day, I forgot that I was writing because I simply enjoyed it. I started dreading it and being scared of it again, which I hadn't been when I was just writing to get reach a goal and get a draft on paper, because I just made myself do it.

When I finish a writing session, even if I don't feel great about what I put down, I always feel satisfied and fulfilled in other ways. Writing makes me feel like I'm doing something I should be doing; like I'm doing something that makes me genuinely happy. NaNo is reminding me that I love writing, and that I want to be a writer still, and that I should do it as much as possible so I can be happier more often.

Beautiful Books: NaNoWriMo

Beautiful Books is a feature by Cait of Paper Fury. Over the weekend, I answered part two of the questions on our NaNo novels, because I missed part 1, so today I'll be answering the Part 1 questions on NaNo stuff.

1. What inspired you to write your novel, and how long have you had the idea?

I've actually had the idea for quite a few months, and even wrote about 5,000 words of it before I dropped it so I could rewrite those words and finish it during NaNoWriMo. The story is inspired largely by the death of one of my best friends from high school, as well as my love of books. Writing this novel is turning out to be both difficult and cathartic because of the subject matter, and I'm still really worried it is too depressing for YA, but I'm trying to push those thoughts out of my head for now and to just get down a draft.

2. Describe what your novel is about!

- Bisexual and anxiety rep

- Bisexual anxious girl falls for her best friend, but also meets her favorite writer at a bookish convention (think BEA or BookCon) and falls for her, too

- Chocolate mousse tortes

- Dealing with the grief over her friend's suicide

- Dealing with the guilt of feeling like it should have been her who died

- Lots of f/f sexy times

- Book blogging

- Book editing

3. What is your book's aesthetic?

As I was making an aesthetic board on Pinterest, I realized the colors coincide with the colors of the bi pride flag, and I am really quite pleased with this:

4. Introduce us to your characters!

My MC doesn't have a name yet, but she's going to dye her hair blue, is a book blogger, is bisexual, and has anxiety/depression.

My MC's best friend who she falls for is named Beck, and she has black curly hair, plays the cello, and is very outgoing.

The other love interest, the author, is named Rose, has pink hair, has a lot of deeper mental health issues that will be revealed throughout the book, is 19, smokes, and is very spontaneous and adventurous. 

5. How do you prepare to write?

Well, my plan was to outline the whole thing on Halloween, but that did not happen. Mostly I do a lot of thinking and panicking because I don't know what's going to happen. Plus I bake. A lot. Lots of baking.

6. What are you most looking forward to about this novel?

Writing the romance between the best friend and the other romance between the MC and her favorite author. I'm looking forward to having two f/f romances and turning the love triangle trope very bisexual.

7. List 3 things about your novel's setting.

- Is near NYC, but a lot of it will take place in NYC

- Lots of diner happenings

- I don't know a third thing. I have honestly not thought much about the setting.

8. What are your character's goals and what stands in the way?

My MC's main goal is to find something that will bring her hope after her friend dies and her struggles with anxiety and depression get worse. Basically, she is the one who stands in her way, as well as her romance with the author, which will get increasingly toxic as the book goes on.

9. How does your protagonist change by the end of the novel?

She is more confident in herself and her sexuality, and realizes that sometimes just being "okay" is enough.

10. What are your book's themes? How do you want readers to feel when the story is over?

Even though my book will revolve a lot around mental illness and suicide and grief, I want it to be an ultimately hopeful story. Self-worth and building up self-worth and confidence will also be a major theme. Taking care of oneself is also a big part of it, and I really want to show a teen character with a mental illness getting the proper help she needs and taking care of herself.

Beautiful Books: NaNoWriMo Edition

Beautiful Books is a feature for writers by the glorious Cait of Paper Fury, which is clearly the best blog other than mine (haha). This round of beautiful people is focused on NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, of which I am a participant writing draft 1 of Bisexual Bookish Novel.

1. Overall, how is your mental state, and how is your novel going?

This is my mental state:

But in reality I think the novel is going well. As of the writing of this post, I have about 8,000 words, which means I've been clocking in at about 2,000 words per day, which is pretty good. However, my mental state is a bit head desk, and I am freaking out internally because HOW AM I GOING TO THINK OF 42,000 MORE WORDS?!?!?!?!?! But also there is excitement because I didn't quit after day two like I usually do.

2. What's your favorite sentence (or paragraph)?

The first one:

"When I get out, the first thing I notice is the sun."

Don't ask me why I like it so much. It's so banal.


3. Who's your current favorite character in your novel?

Probably my MC's love interest, Beck, who is a questioningly bisexual cellist. She is very talkative and worries about the MC a lot and is very happy they are going to the same college together in the fall (as of now).


4. What do you love about your novel so far?

How bookish and bisexual it is. There are going to be 2 female love interests, and the MC is a book blogger, and her mom is an editor for a small publishing company.

5. Have you made any hilarious typos or other mistakes?

Well, my MC has breakfast for four pages in chapter four because there's so much going on in her head, but I'm not as good at the outside stuff in a first draft, so that amused me a lot.

6. What is your favorite to write: beginning, middle, or end--and why?

I think I'll like getting to the middle because it's where the actions will happen and where the goals of my MC will take shape, and where the love triangle will happen and a lot of other fun things I'm planning. And depressing things, because it is a Sad Book.


7. What are your writing habits? Is there a specific snack you eat? Do you listen to music? What time of day do you write best?

- Chocolate chip cookies are my weakness. Also melted chocolate chips that I eat with a spatula. Also copious amounts of tea, but I am running out and need there to be the holiday sale at Teavana so I can buy more
- I love listening to music while I write, which my writer boyfriend totally doesn't understand. I need calm indie music to listen to, a la The Head and the Heart, or, currently, Grizfolk.
- I like to write most at night. Maybe it's because I have a sense of urgency of getting in my words before I sleep, but I always feel like my creative juices get going right after dinner-ish time.


8. How private are you about your novel while you're writing?

Usually I'm very quiet about writing because it makes me feel pressure to have people know about it, but this time I'm writing about it on Facebook, Twitter, and to my boyfriend and my family because I need the extra encouragement. Plus, it's fun to talk to people about writing, even if what you talk about might change in a later draft.


9. What keeps you writing even when it's hard?

This novel is very personal to me, and I feel like it's an important story to share. Also, I feel like writing something so queer is like an act of resistance against the current Trump regime, so that is motivational. Also, my boyfriend is a sweet writing angel who tells me I'm talented and encourages me throughout the whole process, and I love him for it (we met in creative writing class our freshman year of college, so we know each other's writing fairly well).


10. What are your top 3 pieces of writing advice?

OMG, I don't think I'm an experienced enough writer to give advice, but I'll give it a shot:

- have lots of snacks. Snacks, caffeine, and tea are all amazing motivators.
- keep reminding yourself that you're writing because you love it.
- talk to other people about your writing. It'll be fun and motivational to have cheerleaders and people who support you 10000% helping you along during the hard times

I Worry Too Much About Naming Characters

Honestly, I could have just left this post title as "I Worry Too Much" and it still would have been true. But we are not here to talk about my general life worries, like OMG asking people for recommendations is so scary or OMG I hate going into Barnes & Noble now because I'm bombarded by people asking me if I need help and no, no I do not, I am a librarian and probably know way more than you about all of these books anyway. No, we are here to talk about how darn much I worry about naming my characters when I start a new WIP.

I have always been super into names and have been a collector of unique names. When I wrote as a little kid, I would make an index of names in the back of my notebooks to choose from. I even got three baby naming books, which I'm sure the Barnes & Noble people thought was questionable at the time, to help me out eventually, and which I would sometimes look through just for fun because I really, REALLY like names.

For the last novel I tried writing, the names came to me right away. I knew I wanted my characters to be named Molly, Jack, and Aaron. Those were probably the most normal names I have ever used on characters. I am definitely a victim of using super weird names in YA, but it's okay because it's YA and everyone uses unusual names pretty much.

For this WIP I'm working on for NaNoWriMo, however, I am having a lot of trouble coming up with names. My MC has gone through about three names in earlier drafts of my first 5,000 words, and she still doesn't have a name. For this draft, I'm just calling her MC for now and plan to change it later on when I revise.

But why do I worry so much about names? First of all, as I've already said, I simply like them and think they're super fun. But also, when I'm conceptualizing a story concept, the whole story can change based on what the MC's name is. I feel like the name can tell you so much about not just the character, but the vibe of the story and what kind of choices the character will make. Maybe I'm a lone wolf in thinking this; maybe most authors are like "it's just their name." But for me, the name is a critical component of my character development process.

So, I'm super interested in seeing how my character development changes or improves or evolves without starting out with a name and just calling my anxious bisexual main character "MC" for the whole first draft. Maybe it won't make a difference, or maybe I'll realize I put too much emphasis on the name for character development when I should have been focusing on deeper things. Maybe it'll be hard for me to come up with personality traits or quirks without having a name.

I guess we'll have to see, and I'll have to pick the perfect name at a later date.

NaNoWriMo 2017 Goals

Here's what usually happens during NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, which takes place during the month of November: I decide to do it, write for a couple days, fall behind in my word count daily goals, realize I can't possibly get 50,000 words in one month, freak out because I have an extreme fear and anxiety around failure, and quit to avoid said failure and also because I am still a little afraid of writing what I really want to write.

That is not what is going to happen this year, because I have a great cheerleader in my boyfriend, and I have new goals that are going to make this month of writing more manageable and doable:


1. Write for a couple hours every day. If I set a time goal rather than a word count goal, I'm hoping I'll be more inclined to not view my writing sessions as failures.

2. Write more of Queer Bookish Novel. Maybe I won't finish it, but that's not my goal. I just want to get more of a draft on paper.

3. Don't worry about hitting 50,000 words so much. Even though that's the "official" NaNo goal, my own goal is just to write as much as possible.

4. Write even when I don't know what to say. All the writing advice I've been reading about writing during NaNo and writing a first draft says it's okay if your story goes around in circles in your first draft and if things aren't perfect. So, I'll try to remind myself of this as I write, and just try to get something down most days.

5. Outline the poop out of this novel. I feel like I'm probably more of an outliner than a pantser, so I hope to outline most of this novel so I have at least some idea of where the heck it's going if I don't finish.

6. Have fun. I'm going to try my best not to put too much pressure on myself to be perfect, which is hard for me, but I'm going to try to do it because writing is supposed to be a thing I enjoy, and I want to make the most of this month to remind myself I like writing.