Which sounds better: promoting yourself on social media, or a kick in the face?
Just checking. A year ago, I might have chosen the latter; at least I’d get a story out of it. But that was before I started participating in Twitter pitch contests.
For the uninitiated: pitch contests invite writers to pitch their books in 280 characters or less. Literary agents can “like” tweets to invite writers to query them. It’s not a bonanza. Any given writer has only a small chance of getting likes, and an even smaller chance that a like will lead to an offer of representation. So why bother?
Because it will make you better at writing pitches, and even queries. You’ll get to see the (brilliant, generic, funny, alarming) ideas other authors are pitching. And how they’re pitching. What formats are they using? What’s getting likes and retweets? Each pitch contest is a one-day class in how to impress an agent.
Contests are also a great forum for interacting. It feels wonderful to leave a positive comment on another author’s pitch, knowing know it’ll lift their mood—because you know how it lifts your mood when someone says your idea is awesome. Follow people who seem cool. A lot will follow you back.
Still insecure about putting yourself out there? If you’re paying attention, the non-pitch tweets will show that no one feels they know what they’re doing. Everyone is insecure. Everyone has the emotional highs and lows that come with facing rejection. But we’re in it together. Participating means discomfort, but it also means benefiting from the massive amount of camaraderie and support in the community.
So I’m going to say it: yeah, I had fun promoting myself on Twitter. I must have smiled fifty times during the last pitch contest. And I’m going forth with a lot more knowledge, and a lot more confidence in my ability to craft pitches and queries. That’s enough to make anyone grin.
To see when pitch contests are happening in 2022/early 2023, check out: https://writingcommunity.ca/twitter-pitch-parties-for-writers/.