Artwork by S.P. McConnell
Welcome to the mentors’ wishlist blog hop! From today until submission day, hop to all the mentors’ websites/blogs to read their bios, wishlists, and what categories and genres they want to mentor. At the end of this post, you will find the rules and submission guidelines for August 18.
For those unfamiliar with Pitch Wars, it’s a contest where published/agented authors, editors, or interns choose one writer each, read their entire manuscript, and offer suggestions on how to make the manuscript shine. The mentor also critiques his/her writer’s pitch to get it ready for the agent round. To do this, the mentors read all their applications and choose the writer they want to mentor for two months to get them ready for the agent round (agent list here) on November 4-5. Writers can pick up to four mentors to submit to.
You will notice the mentors are not separated in categories, so you will have to do your homework, much like with an agent search, to find the right mentors for you. Use this opportunity to get to know fellow writers, some a little further in the publishing journey than you, because making connections can bring new friendships, new favorite authors, or new advocates for your work. Happy hunting!
Marieke Nijkamp has put together #AskMentor for #PitchWars on Twitter. There will be two mentor chats on August 11 at 2PM and at 6PM. Stop by at either time spot and ask any questions you have or just get to know our talented Pitch Wars mentors.
And here are your mentors…
Please be respectful to our mentors. Ask brief questions, but do not ask for feedback or for them to go to links to read stuff.
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Submission Guidelines …
Submission day is August 18 for 24 hours starting at 12:01AM EDT (NY time) and ending at 11:59PM EDT (basically, mid-night to mid-night).
In addition to their top pick, mentors will pick one alternate each in case their writer drops out of the contest. The mentors will critique the alternates’ pitches & first chapters only. We may or may not have an alternate showcase on a day other than the agent round for the top picks. Stay tuned for more information about that later.
This year, we’ll have an easy submission form courtesy of Dan Koboldt. The form will go live at midnight (EDT – New York time) August 18 and remain open for 24 hours. What will you need to enter in the form? Your top four (max – you don’t have to pick 4, but you are limited to 4) mentors, your email address, title of the manuscript, category and genre, your query letter (sorry no personalized queries this year), and the first chapter of your completed manuscript (Word .doc or .docx format). The sample chapter should be manuscript formatted pages (12pt, double-spaced). All of this will be fill-in-the-blank on the form.
Submission Guidelines:
- Only Middle Grade, Young Adult, New Adult, or Adult manuscripts will be accepted.
- This is open to completed, full-length, fiction manuscripts only.
- You may only enter one manuscript.
- Only the genres requested by each mentor will be considered for the contest.
- Writers can apply to 4 mentors max.
- Mentors can only consider the categories they’ve signed up for. (The mentors’ categories – MG, YA, NA, or Adult – are set.)
- Writers cannot apply for a mentor that is not in their category or the application will be deleted.
- No nonfiction, picture books, chapter books, or previously published works. (If you’re an unagented author and have self-published before, you may enter the contest with a never-before-published manuscript.)
WARNING: Just like an agent, mentors may request more pages or a synopsis of your manuscript to help them make their final decision, so get them ready!
If you make it into Pitch Wars, you may not enter any contests during the mentoring period and until after the agent round, which is November 4 -5.
For those who do not make it into Pitch Wars (and those who want to join in), we’ll hold a Twitter Pitch Party on #PitMad September 9 from 8AM to 8PM EST. If you make it into Pitch Wars, you may not pitch in #PitMad.
68 Comments
Tiffany Rosenthal · August 3, 2014 at 11:52 pm
It was so good to connect with these wonderful mentors earlier on Twitter. I’m sure the #AskMentor and all the other time during this contest are going to be fuck and amazing, and just…. the sh*t. Can’t wait. I’ve picked my four already, and I wish everyone luck. Let’s have some fun and be EPIC guys!
Rissa Watkins · August 4, 2014 at 2:11 am
So hard to choose from all the mentors! Can’t wait for the 18th.
Alison Whipp · August 4, 2014 at 4:04 am
Yay – the list is up! Thanks so much for doing this and for getting this out early in the day. Just one question — is there any way of telling which age group the mentors represent?
Brenda Drake · August 4, 2014 at 9:40 am
I’m sorry, we aren’t separating out by categories this year. Part of the blog hop is to get to know all the mentors, and maybe meet new friends or authors you’ll love.
Vanessa Lillie · August 4, 2014 at 8:21 am
Thanks so much, Brenda (and amazing mentors), you ROCK!
Sherry Howard · August 4, 2014 at 11:02 am
I’m so excited to see this! Working on a YA novel and would love the gift of working with someone experienced!
Kevin Springer · August 4, 2014 at 12:46 pm
Wow! Just finished hopping around to all of the blogs and are my legs tired! Narrowing down to four was hard. Can’t wait until the 18th!! Thank you for organizing this.
Amber Daulton · August 4, 2014 at 4:10 pm
Thanks so much for this contest. I’ve gone through all the mentors’ wishlists (WOW – what a list!) and I found the ones that fitted my submission needs. I can’t wait for the 18th!
Athena Franco · August 4, 2014 at 8:50 pm
So exciting! Thank you and all the mentors for this amazing opportunity. Can’t wait to start going through the list.
Mike Hays · August 4, 2014 at 9:26 pm
Thanks to the organizers and the mentors for their voluntary sharing of time and talent. This writer business, especially in this community, is a slice of awesome.
Good luck all and let’s have some fun.
Dominika · August 5, 2014 at 8:41 am
What a great list of mentors (and agents)! If only my manuscript was complete…. lol, I know I’ll finish it in 13 days! JK~ But what a wonderful group of people for such a massive collaboration.
Sarah (appifanie) · August 5, 2014 at 11:13 am
Read them all and made a first list – thank you Brenda and everyone involved! 🙂
katz · August 5, 2014 at 5:03 pm
Thanks, this is going to be so much fun! There are so many people I’d like to work with!
S. Mitchell · August 5, 2014 at 9:51 pm
This is an incredible opportunity. Quick question. If the author’s work begins w/ a prologue, should he/she send it and the 1st chapter? Thx!
Brenda Drake · August 6, 2014 at 12:20 am
You should only send the first chapter, not the prologue. When the mentor asks or receives the full they will get the prologue then.
Hope Schultz · August 6, 2014 at 4:57 pm
Was there a preferred length for the query letter?
Brenda Drake · August 6, 2014 at 7:27 pm
It’s the typical length you would send an agent. I’d stay under 350 words.
Quiarah Butler · August 7, 2014 at 1:48 am
Super excited about pitch wars!! Hopping around from each mentors’ list was crazy fun! Still narrowing down my four, but I got a pretty good list of mentors to choose from. 🙂
Jerry Quinn · August 7, 2014 at 4:43 pm
Question. I notice a lot of mentors are either “NA/A” or “MG/YA.” If one would consider one’s manuscript “YA/NA” (following protagonists from age 12 to 24) is it permissible to query both YA and NA agents that otherwise appear to be good matches?
Thanks 🙂
Jerry Quinn · August 7, 2014 at 4:45 pm
Apologies for reflexive “post a reply” hitting: Is it permissible to query both YA and NA *mentors?
Brenda Drake · August 7, 2014 at 5:14 pm
Jerry, you should pick a category for your manuscript and stick to that category. This is tricky, and thought I don’t know the plot of your story, it sounds to me that New Adult or Adult would possibly fit. It, of course, depends on the theme of your story.
Jerry Quinn · August 7, 2014 at 5:18 pm
Thanks! I asked some of my favourite mentors (in very brief terms) if they’d consider it suitable for their age categories of choice and depending on their responses I’ll go all with YA or all with NA.
Stephanie Scott · August 8, 2014 at 12:44 pm
This blog might help about the differences between YA and New Adult. Like Brenda said, you should definitely pick one since they are considered different categories with distinctions:
http://avajae.blogspot.com/2014/03/young-adult-vs-new-adult.html
Hope Schultz · August 8, 2014 at 6:01 pm
Stephanie, thank you so much for that link! I was agonizing over category, and the link really made me more comfortable with my choice. 🙂
Ann LaBar · August 8, 2014 at 1:36 pm
Very excited for this year’s Pitch Wars. So many phenomenal mentors. Back to reading their work and about them. Thanks, as always, to Brenda Drake for this incredible opportunity for new authors. Good luck to all!
Lilly · August 8, 2014 at 11:30 pm
Hi Brenda,
I noticed that there is a mentor team where both members are listed separately, so does that mean I submit to both and that counts as two? Or do I choose one and they both will receive my submission?
Does that make sense?
Thank you,
Lilly
Brenda Drake · August 9, 2014 at 3:19 pm
Send to one of them and they’ll both receive it, and it only counts as submitting to one mentor.
Jodi Sh. Doff · August 9, 2014 at 4:13 pm
So, just to make sure I’m clear, no memoir, correct? Fiction only?
Brenda Drake · August 10, 2014 at 9:00 pm
Correct. No memoir, just fiction. Thank you!
robin storey dunn · September 2, 2020 at 2:36 am
i thought i read elsewhere on this site that a few mentors might accept memoir. i’ve seen at least one mentor (keena roberts) who writes memoir…could i not submit my memoir project to her?
Brenda Drake · September 2, 2020 at 10:03 am
There are others who will be accepting memoir. They’ll have it in their wishlists during the mentor wishlist blogshop that will go live this month. The schedule is below. Or you could ask during one of our #askmentors chats on Twitter. The schedule for that is up top in a blog post for the live chats schedule.
Dottie · August 9, 2014 at 10:42 pm
can’t find any info on what Cecily White is looking for in pitch wars. anyone know?
Brenda Drake · August 10, 2014 at 9:01 pm
Cecily is looking for MG – Fantasy, Adventure, Contemporary with humor.
Carolyn Chambers Clark · August 12, 2014 at 1:15 pm
Hi Brenda,
Thanks for doing all this work. It’s a great contest!
Just need to clear up one thing…
I believe the rules state we can’t enter another contest until after November 5th. Does that refer to this manuscript or any manuscript?
Thanks so much,
Carolyn
Anastasia Stratu · August 12, 2014 at 11:52 pm
Hello Brenda,
I want to join the Pitch Wars with “Conception”. I have a question, though. I had self-published it, but subsequently subjected it to a thorough rewrite. I also changed the name of the novel, of the potential series, and my own nom de plume.
So, technically, I could meet the “never-before-published manuscript” requirement. Is that correct?
Thank you!
Anastasia
Brenda Drake · August 13, 2014 at 12:07 am
Did you take the other novel off the market? Is there an ISBN number? There wouldn’t be first publishing rights, they’d be gone if you self-published, if it’s still up and has an ISBN number. I’m not clear if you took the book down, or what percentage of the manuscript you changed or what percent is still available to the public, which would constitute it being published already, and that would mean it is not eligible for this contest.
Anastasia Stratu · August 13, 2014 at 12:15 am
I understand. Thank you very much for the clarification!
Brenda Drake · August 13, 2014 at 12:18 am
Anytime. You can submit another manuscript that hasn’t been published before, though.
Anastasia Stratu · August 14, 2014 at 5:47 am
Hello Brenda,
I have written a detailed reply, but it’s a bit long for a regular comment, so I sent it to you through the form on your “Contact Me” page.
Thank you again!
Anastasia
Anastasia Stratu · August 14, 2014 at 7:01 am
I apologize for the solid text block… your “Contact Me” form does not support paragraph breaks… or it is me who did them the wrong way.
Thank you!
Anastasia
Kay · August 14, 2014 at 2:57 pm
Does the first chapter have to be formatted as if we were submitting to agents, or do we just send them in as they are? Thanks for re ply in advance.
Brenda Drake · August 14, 2014 at 3:53 pm
Yes, just as you would send to an agent.
Don King · August 14, 2014 at 9:06 pm
It was exciting to receive a request from a mentor who enjoyed my first chapter! What a wonderful way to meet new writers/friends who stood where we stand and fully “get it.” I look forward to the day when I can give back to the writing community in the same way. Awesome job, Brenda!
Lindsey · August 16, 2014 at 11:36 am
Hello, I’m not ready for pitch wars this time around. Do you know when the next will be?
Brenda Drake · August 16, 2014 at 11:39 am
It’ll be the same time next year.
Corey · August 16, 2014 at 3:35 pm
Brenda – sorry if this is posted somewhere and I just didn’t see it, but after the submission window is closed at midnight on Aug. 18th how long do the mentors have before they announce who they’ve chosen?
Thanks for putting this together!
Brenda Drake · August 16, 2014 at 4:14 pm
The mentors’ picks will be posted on the blog on September 3.
Rachna Chhabria · August 18, 2014 at 12:46 am
Hi, I made a mistake, from the four mentors I have chosen, I accidentally chose one who wanted YA. The other were MG. Will my submission be rejected because I made a mistake? Can I please resend my submission again this time choosing all four MG Mentors?
Brenda Drake · August 18, 2014 at 12:51 am
Rachna, your entry won’t be deleted the three MG mentors will consider your entry, while the YA mentor will ignore it. The other MG mentors will pass it on to someone if they feel another MG mentor would be a better fit for it.
Rachna Chhabria · August 18, 2014 at 12:59 am
Thanks Brenda. That’s such a huge relief. I was very worried that my submission would be disqualified. I don’t know how I made that mistake 🙁
I thought it would be better to ask before I resend.
Aiko Miraval · August 18, 2014 at 2:48 pm
Hi Brenda, Can we submit with our Pen Name? Or do we have to use our legal name? Thanks in advance for your reply.
Brenda Drake · August 18, 2014 at 5:38 pm
It’s doesn’t matter. Only your mentor will know the name you use. So whatever you want the mentor to call you. If you’re picked by a mentor, you can use your Pen name for the agent round.
Aiko Miraval · August 18, 2014 at 10:51 pm
Thanks for your reply, Brenda!
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