Surprise! We’re opening the submission window early! It will remain open until the original closing of August 6 at 10PM EDT (New York time).
For those unfamiliar with Pitch Wars, it’s a contest where published/agented authors, editors, or industry 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 a little over two months to get them ready for the agent round. Writers can pick up to four (4) mentors to submit to.
Want to have two bonus entries? Go to this page here and find out how you can submit to six (6) mentors instead of four.
Last year we had over fifty mentees sign with agents and several of those resulted in book deals. This is our sixth year and Pitch Wars has reached almost 250 successes to date. We’re excited to see what happens in 2017. We hope to have many more successes this year!
For a list of our mentors go here, for submission guidelines go here, and for a list of our agents this year, go here and here.
And make sure to enter the scavenger hunt for a chance to win a mentorship with a chance to enter the agent showcase in November. Only those who enter Pitch Wars can participate in the scavenger hunt. After all the mentors make their mentee picks, we’re holding a drawing and picking three lucky writers to go through the mentoring process. This is a random draw. So anything goes! And anyone can win! That’s one writer each from the middle grade, young adult, and adult/new adult pool of submissions. More information on this post here. You have until August 23 at 10AM Eastern time to solve the puzzle and submit your entry.
If you have any difficulties with this form, or if there’s a technical glitch, or if the site blows up, don’t panic! Just use the form under the Contact Me page/label at the top of the blog and let us know the issue.
About your queries: It should have all parts of the query, as if you were sending to an agent. “Dear Mentor” works for the salutation and make sure to include your bio (if you have one) and category/genre/word count.
About your first chapters: Upload the first chapter of your manuscript no matter how long it is. You can include short prologues (5 pages or less) or send the prologues later if the mentor asks for a full manuscript. If you don’t have chapters in your book or feel your chapters are too short, send the first ten pages of your manuscript.
PLEASE DO NOT ENTER IF YOU AREN’T READY. Once you hit send, there are no take backs or changes. Double check that you have the right mentors for the category (MG, YA, NA, or Adult) you are submitting. Your entry will be deleted if you send it to a mentor who is not requesting your category.
Make sure to name your document file with your name and title of your manuscript. (Example: Brenda Drake_Library Jumpers.docx)
After you hit send on the form, the page will reload. Scroll down to where the form was and it will tell you if your submission has been accepted. YOU WILL NOT GET AN EMAIL RECEIPT.
Please do NOT re-enter your form. When you hit submit, the page will move to the top, scroll down to where the form was and it will say your entry has been received.
AGAIN, please do not re-enter your entry!
If the forms don’t load for you, try changing internet servers.
THE SUBMISSION IS NOW CLOSED. Come back on August 24 (Time TBD) to find out who the mentors picked!
101 Comments
Patricia · August 1, 2017 at 11:40 pm
Thanks! It feels great to have entered!
Michelle Archer · August 4, 2017 at 7:21 pm
Thank you very much. You are the best for giving us this opportunity Thank you. Good luck to everyone.
Christina · August 6, 2017 at 4:12 pm
Same! I just found out about this contest and started the entry process two nights ago. Feels great to have done it!
Micki Berthelot Morency · August 2, 2017 at 12:18 am
Thank you to the whole gang of organizers/administrators and mentors for this great opportunity. Good luck to all applicants.
Regina Castillo · August 2, 2017 at 12:26 am
Thank you for all of the hard work. Y’all are greatly appreciated!
Anna Stalzer Turner · August 2, 2017 at 12:45 am
Thank you to each and every mentor and to Brenda and team. Every opportunity for advancement is a slice of hope, so no matter how this ends for me, I appreciate the hope (and thereby, encouragement) you’ve given me!
Merlin Love · August 2, 2017 at 12:48 am
…Long time listener… first time caller. Away we go!
sarahniebuhrrubin · August 2, 2017 at 1:03 am
PItch Wars entered. Thanks to Brenda Drake and all hardworking administrators and mentors and support. This is an awesome opportunity and I’m excited to have submitted my materials!
costnerkl · August 2, 2017 at 1:46 am
Just submitted! So excited.
Angela · August 2, 2017 at 4:51 am
*phew*
Application in! Good luck everybody!
S.M. Roffey · August 2, 2017 at 5:13 am
Thank you, Brenda Drake and all of the Pitch Wars Team/Mentors, for the amount of effort that goes into this! Good luck, fellow mentee hopefuls (Remember, don’t sweat it…because we already won! I’ve met so many new people and learned things from that alone. Keep writing:)
Debbie · August 2, 2017 at 5:37 am
After submitting my entry to my mentors, I saw the requirement for naming my file. Is there any way I can resubmit the file with the correct name?
Lee · August 2, 2017 at 7:54 pm
I’m guilty on this one too, LOL. Not sure how I didn’t see that. Got the MS name, but not my own.
Brenda Drake · August 3, 2017 at 2:52 pm
Don’t worry about that, it was just to help look for it if we needed to.
alyssaspice · August 2, 2017 at 8:16 am
Thank you to Brenda Drake and her Pitchwars team for this opportunity. Your time and care for new writers is much appreciated! Thanks to the wonderful mentors who have agreed to participate this year as well! Good luck, writers!
Mirror MUSES · August 2, 2017 at 9:29 am
Thank you for all of your hard work on this contest. I am so excited to be paired with a mentor! (crossing my fingers and toes) Best of luck everyone 🙂
mtmckiever · August 2, 2017 at 10:30 am
Hi Brenda,
Thanks so much for having this contest. I’m a 1st time PW, and have already messed up my entry. It’s my fault, but I submitted my first 10 pp. single spaced, same as the query. Will I be disqualified?
Also I paid $20 for the bonus entries and uploaded my receipt, but the form wouldn’t take it said to : enter a value with a valid extension. So I couldn’t even submit to the bonus entries. though I caught my mistake and formatted these correctly. Just thought I’d check if there was any way to fix this.
Thanks, Martha McKiever
Brenda Drake · August 3, 2017 at 2:53 pm
No worries Martha, we won’t disqualify for it. And I do search for receipts on all bonus entries that are missing a receipt so no need to worry about that either. 🙂
Susan Wallach · August 2, 2017 at 10:42 am
Thank you so much for this. I have a question about formatting pages in addition to double-spacing and 12-point type. Include the title of novel? Our name? Anything needed on each page? I’m so excited to be part of this.
Brenda Drake · August 3, 2017 at 2:54 pm
No that’s it and sorry for the delay. We were working on issues. 🙂
Michael J Bowler · August 2, 2017 at 2:31 pm
Thanks to everyone who put this event together, and to all the mentors for giving their time and expertise.
Martha Taylor McKiever · August 2, 2017 at 3:00 pm
Looks like I’m good to go now. I switched to firefox for the browser and it worked. After all that work, I’m relieved I could submit!
Thanks again Brenda, for all your work.
Victorianne Castle · August 2, 2017 at 3:12 pm
Links can’t be click?
Victorianne Castle · August 2, 2017 at 3:14 pm
Links shows `No Result Found` when clicked.
Darian Lindle · August 2, 2017 at 3:44 pm
#Pitchwars! Thank you so much to all the mentors for this opportunity!
Karen Mullane · August 2, 2017 at 7:00 pm
Thanks to everyone involved for this opportunity!
Susan Paxton · August 2, 2017 at 7:53 pm
Brenda and Heather do such amazing work in helping emerging writers. Their efforts have enabled so many writers to have success in ways that go way beyond getting an agent. They create a community that supports, enlightens, and yes, entertains. Amazing!
mtmckiever · August 2, 2017 at 7:56 pm
Thank you so much, Brenda and Heather, for organizing and providing this wonderful opportunity. It’s exciting to take part in!
Darin TaDream · August 2, 2017 at 8:07 pm
I missed out last year, not being ready to jump into the online writer’s contests. I’ve thrown my MS into other contest, gotten critiques and revised, revised, revised, even renamed the story to up the “READ ME” factor. So here I am jumping head and heart long into the fray. To all the mentor’s, agents and our hosts: Brenda, Heather, Nikki, Monica, Joy, Yamile and Leigh, THANK YOU
pseudonymtbd · August 2, 2017 at 8:33 pm
How long does it take to receive an email confirmation of the submission?
Brenda Drake · August 3, 2017 at 10:02 pm
There are no email confirmations.
Gina Dewitt · August 2, 2017 at 9:14 pm
hmmm….I think i may have just entered without submitting a MS! *sigh* LOL…I am sure my second guessing myself will be funny later ;-D
Melissa Tison · August 2, 2017 at 11:40 pm
Thank you!
Harlow Kane · August 3, 2017 at 9:34 am
Thank you for the opportunity!
Stephen · August 3, 2017 at 9:49 am
Hello,
This looks like a fantastic opportunity, and I’d love to participate. I tried to submit an entry (3 times) but got an error message each time that my computer couldn’t make contact with the server. Did my submissions, perchance, make it through anyway, and if not, do you know what the problem might be (I have on other connection difficulties, and I even tried disabling the firewall but it didn’t help)?
mtmckiever · August 3, 2017 at 9:53 am
Hi Stephen, I also got an error message on the donation window, and changed over to Firefox, from Safari. Then it worked. Don’t know if this will help or not. Good Luck!
Kathy Steck · August 3, 2017 at 10:13 am
Optimism abound. I just submitted too.
Thank you Brenda Drake for creating this opportunity!
Thank you to all the mentors for giving so generously!
I look forward to the day I can join your ranks.
Phil Cobb · August 3, 2017 at 1:00 pm
Thank you Brenda, Heather, Nikki, Monica, Joy, Yamile and Leigh for putting together Pitch Wars. It must be a massive undertaking.
angiemccullagh · August 3, 2017 at 1:27 pm
Thank you so much to Brenda and the tireless mentors! So, I entered but never saw where it said my entry was received. It just bounced back to the Pitchwars post/form. Did that happen to anyone else?
mtmckiever · August 3, 2017 at 1:32 pm
Yes. I wasn’t sure if mine went through, and didn’t receive a green notice that they did. So I tweeted one of the mentors and she said it did. Then I found out all mine went through.
angiemccullagh · August 3, 2017 at 2:32 pm
Thank you, mtmckiever. That makes me feel better.
tracikenworth · August 3, 2017 at 2:19 pm
Thanks to all the Mentors and Brenda for this wonderful opportunity!
Lynn Cz · August 3, 2017 at 2:38 pm
I can’t believe I did it, but I did! Thank you Brenda for Pitch Wars!
mtmckiever · August 3, 2017 at 3:02 pm
Thanks Brenda, Heather and all for being so supportive. Whew” I’m glad everything went through .
Tamura Arthun · August 3, 2017 at 4:05 pm
The mentors I am trying to submit to are not on the drop down menu, is anyone else having this issue?
Susan Cady Allred · August 3, 2017 at 4:29 pm
Thank you so much for this opportunity. The experience thus far has been terrifying, yet exhilarating. What an amazing group of people running this contest.
Lori Sheroan · August 3, 2017 at 8:14 pm
Thank you so much for this opportunity! I hope my dinosaur of a laptop came through for me without any glitches!
Malachi Maynard · August 3, 2017 at 8:42 pm
Hi so I accidentally in my first submit didn’t label the file correctly so I hit the back button and did a resubmit. I hope this won’t disqualify me. Also I just did a donate as well.
Kate Lufkin Day · August 3, 2017 at 9:10 pm
Thank you to Brenda and Heather and all the mentors. You so generous with your time–I’m in awe of what you do.
C. D. LAWSON · August 3, 2017 at 11:09 pm
What y’all are doing here is so boss. Thank you so much for your hard work and the opportunity. Best of luck to everyone.
Stay gold!
Catelynn · August 4, 2017 at 1:46 am
Oh no! I just entered, but misunderstood and only selected one mentor! I have painstakingly chosen three others, is there a way to pitch to them as well?
Catelynn · August 4, 2017 at 1:59 am
Okay, I hit the back button and tried re-submitting the form. I hope this works!
Good luck everyone!
Thank you to all the wonderful, caring Mentors that giving your time and energy to us! <3
And thank you, Brenda, for creating such an awesome opportunity!
Catelynn · August 4, 2017 at 6:17 am
No!!! After reading through the guidelines, I read NOT to re-submit the form! Have I made a mess of things?
Preparing for this year’s Pitch Wars has been exhausting! My computer keyboard shorted out night before submissions opened, and it took me three long, gruelling days to find a temporary replacement. Seventy miles of driving, and a few sleepless nights later, I finally have a way to finish my pitch! Then, this! I am sorry.
Heather Cashman · August 4, 2017 at 2:49 pm
Don’t worry. We’ve got you. You are a true Pitch Wars Warrior! Thank you for your submission. 😉
Heather Cashman · August 4, 2017 at 2:48 pm
We have the submission for your four mentors, Catelynn! Good luck with Pitch Wars!
Catelynn · August 4, 2017 at 10:56 pm
Thank you so much! I went into total panic mode! Thank you for responding so much and for the encouragement! ☺
Heather Cashman · August 4, 2017 at 2:47 pm
Just go back and fill out a submission form with the other three. No worries!
Jim Rosenberg · August 4, 2017 at 10:54 am
HI, this is such a fabulous event and thanks to everyone who helps to make it such a success. I am so embarrassed but when I submitted, I did not indicate that my submission was for the Adult category. The mentors I have chosen are all Adult mentors, but I wanted to make sure that they received my submission and they understood it was for the Adult category. So sorry for the problems I am causing.
Heather Cashman · August 4, 2017 at 2:50 pm
It’s okay. As long as you subbed to the mentors, they’ll know. And I’m sure your query will tell them too. It’s really fine. Good luck, Jim!
Jim Rosenberg · August 4, 2017 at 3:09 pm
Thanks Heather. The mentors were accurate, just the category I got wrong. Now one less thing for me to worry about. Thanks to all of you for this amazing event.
Susan Wallach · August 4, 2017 at 11:13 am
Thank you again to you Pitch War organizers and mentors for all your time and generosity! Just submitted and I’m so excited!
Susan Wallach · August 4, 2017 at 2:08 pm
OK, so although I thought I checked EVERYTHING when I submitted, I might have written in the wrong email address — is there any way to fix that? Thank you and so sorry.
Heather Cashman · August 4, 2017 at 2:45 pm
Susan, I gave mentors your email from the workshop. They should be contacting you . . .
Susan · August 4, 2017 at 3:56 pm
Thank you, Heather. I’m sorry to have made more work for you — on top of the work you do.
Kirsten Mah · August 4, 2017 at 5:13 pm
This is such a cool opportunity for growth- thanks for all your work in making it happen.
cherilynwrites · August 4, 2017 at 9:37 pm
Just found out about this recently by accident… yay me!! Submission done!! #pitchwars
Call Me Christina · August 4, 2017 at 11:59 pm
Just submitted this evening! It’s my first Pitch Wars and I’m so excited! I hope I did everything right!
rona · August 5, 2017 at 11:39 am
I’m super paranoid that I messed up on my email address! Is there any way to check to be sure it’s right?
Brenda Drake · August 5, 2017 at 1:16 pm
We have the email you used to submit this comment. 🙂
Abigail O'Bryan · August 5, 2017 at 11:47 am
Even though I filled out the form, one of the mentors reached out to let me know that my query letter and first chapter didn’t show up! Is there any way I can verify that my materials actually made it to the mentors?
Brenda Drake · August 5, 2017 at 1:14 pm
The query is there, but the chapter is missing. Can you email it to brendadrakecontests@gmail.com and we’ll forward it to the mentors?
Abigail O'Bryan · August 5, 2017 at 1:29 pm
Yes, thank you!
ste babur maya (@stebaburmaya) · August 5, 2017 at 6:02 pm
I DID IT yaaaaayyyyyy 🙂 sooo happy …..now the wait begins …….
Tara L · August 5, 2017 at 6:49 pm
Does the title of the manuscript ref to the title of the first chapter that I’m submitting or the title of my book? The word count req, I supposed that is ref to the word count for the first chapter that I’m submitting and NOT the whole book, right?
Brenda Drake · August 5, 2017 at 9:48 pm
I’m confused about the first part of your questions. The word count should be the word count of the manuscript.
Tara L · August 5, 2017 at 10:41 pm
The definition of ‘manuscript’ here is the ‘title of one’s book’ or is it ‘the title of the first chapter that one is submitting for this contest”? This is because the title of the book, e.g. “Paradise”, is different from the first chapter of the book, e.g., “Air crash”.
Brenda Drake · August 5, 2017 at 9:48 pm
Which I’m thinking the answer to the first part is it should be the title of your book.
Tara L · August 5, 2017 at 10:44 pm
This is because only the first chapter is required for submission for the contest. (Though I’m aware that an interested potential mentor would ask for the full manuscript later on.) Hence, I wasn’t sure if the term ‘manuscript’ refers to the whole book or the first chapter that one is submitting.
Brenda Drake · August 5, 2017 at 10:57 pm
You enter the title and word count of your book, not the chapter.
Priya · August 5, 2017 at 9:43 pm
Entered. Finally. Now do find a way to walk with my fingers and toes crossed.
the crafty b · August 5, 2017 at 9:52 pm
Thank you so much for the opportunity that you are giving hopeful writers! Good luck, everyone!
Nika · August 5, 2017 at 10:11 pm
Thank you so much for all your hard work with this undertaking Brenda! I had a bit of a panic – my browser crashed on my first submission attempt, so I refreshed and reentered, but I don’t know if it selected the right category! All my mentor pics are YA so I’m hoping the category choice was YA! 😀
Brenda Drake · August 5, 2017 at 10:56 pm
Yes we received your forms and it’s marked as YA. 🙂
Mary Sheeran · August 6, 2017 at 12:22 am
What a nice bunch of people on both sides of the “aisle.” Just reading comments, questions, and answers made me feel I’d joined up with a pretty good bunch. Good luck and thank you!
Jeannine · August 6, 2017 at 2:26 am
Thank you Brenda and team and mentors for the incredible opportunities!!! There’s something for everyone to take away from this! GOOD LUCK all fellow pitch warriors ?
D.M. Domosea · August 6, 2017 at 12:20 pm
Thank you to Brenda and her wonderful team for this opportunity, and good luck to everyone!
Clemence · August 6, 2017 at 1:02 pm
Hi,
I just entered Pitch Wars and accidentally submitted the two forms (my four picks and my two bonus ones) at the same time.
Could you please tell me if you have received both forms or just one of them? If one of them is missing, may I submit it now?
Thank you so much for our help and for organizing this awesome contest!
Clemence
Heather Cashman · August 6, 2017 at 4:22 pm
Clemence, we only have the bonus form. Please submit the main entry. If you have any more trouble, please email me at brendadrakecontests@gmail.com. Thank you!
emagait · August 6, 2017 at 5:23 pm
This is a wonderful opportunity. Thank you to Brenda, the team helping in the processes, and to the mentors for participating!
Ashley Christiano · August 6, 2017 at 6:27 pm
Hello! I submitted this evening (yay!), but got an email from a mentor saying my chapter wasn’t attached. I’m glad she reached out to give me the opportunity to send in my chapter, but not sure where in cyberspace my attachment went from the form. Am I out of luck?
Brenda Drake · August 6, 2017 at 10:38 pm
You’re not out of luck. The mentors are requesting missing chapters and passing them to the others on the list. You are welcome to send it us and we can forward it to the other mentors if you want. brendadrakecontests (at) gmail (dot) com
Bridget Burnside Grenolds · August 6, 2017 at 9:52 pm
Here’s to submitting at the last minute and hoping that the last shall be first?? 🙂 Thank you so much for this opportunity! Hopefully, I did everything correctly. XX
Brenda Drake · August 6, 2017 at 10:40 pm
We received it, but did you mean to only submit to one mentor?
Cathy Shouse · August 6, 2017 at 10:18 pm
I submitted at the last minute but my document is messed up. Ugh! It says “the document name or path is not valid.” This has never happened to me before.
Brenda Drake · August 6, 2017 at 10:37 pm
Emailed you.
Brittney Morris · August 6, 2017 at 10:22 pm
Darn. I think I missed the deadline by mere minutes…can you let me know if you received my submission?
Brenda Drake · August 6, 2017 at 10:42 pm
We received it but the chapter didn’t make it through. Can you email it to brendadrakecontests (at) gmail (dot) com and we’ll forward it to the mentors. Thank you!
Aly · August 7, 2017 at 12:26 pm
Hi,
Two of the mentors I submitted to last night emailed me to say that my first chapter hadn’t come through the form. I sent it to them over email, but I haven’t heard anything from the other two mentors. Is there any way to confirm if those two received it? Thanks!
Brenda Drake · August 7, 2017 at 8:14 pm
The mentors are passing the missing chapters that they get from the writers to each other in our Facebook group, so the other mentors might have already given it to the mentors you haven’t heard from. If you want to, you can email us the chapter at brendadrakecontests@gmail.com and we’ll forward it to all mentors.
Pitch Wars 2017 … all the details! « Pitch Wars · August 2, 2017 at 11:00 am
[…] The submission window is now open. Go visit Brenda Drake Contests to submit! […]
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[…] your 4 mentors you will then have to go here and fill out this form at the bottom of the page. PitchWars submission form Do exactly as the form says, you will need to query the mentors, so hopefully you have a query […]
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