I’m thrilled to announce the Pitch Wars Mentor Critique Workshop featuring some of our talented current and past mentors! The mentors will help some lucky winners of our drawing shine up their queries and first pages. This year, we are giving away query and first page critique packages, so each winner will have both their query and first page critiqued. (How many times can I say query, first page, and critique in one paragraph? Ha!)
So far we have 67 critique packages to giveaway and we may have more. Mentors are still signing up until the 12th.
We will try to post all the critiques on the blog, so that even those who don’t win a critique in the drawing can view and learn from them. Please only enter if you’re willing to have it posted to our site. All critiques will be anonymous – no writer names or titles of work will be listed.
This is for all genres in the middle grade, young adult, new adult, and adult categories of fiction. We do have mentors taking memoir, graphic novels, and erotica. Winners will be announced on August 17 at 10AM (the drawing will close August 16 at 11:59PM) Eastern and winners will receive an email, so be ready to submit your sample for critique immediately.You will have 48 hours from the date of your instruction email to get your query and first page package to us. If you miss the window, your critique will be given away.
What if I’m not sure I’m going to enter Pitch Wars? That’s okay! Everyone is welcomed to enter the giveaway.
All you have to do is to enter this rafflecopter. One entry per person. (Or you can click this link to access the rafflecopter: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/dd6a04e128/?
Here are the winners for the mentor critiques … Winners will receive an instruction email shortly. Please follow the directions and send in your samples within 48 hours of the dated email. Thank you!
| Winner Name |
| Cynthia Cloughly |
| Kimberly A. Zook |
| Sarah Petzold |
| Joseph Othieno |
| Lea Beddia |
| Brianna Faulkner |
| Rachel Larkin |
| Petra Kelly |
| Bronwen Fleetwood |
| Keeley French |
| Lisa Davidson |
| Ben Humeniuk |
| Jessica Spencer |
| Ciahnan Darrell |
| Sarah Foil |
| Skyla Arndt |
| Ellis Jones |
| Paula K. McLaughlin |
| Ashton Ray |
| Heather Davis |
| Susan Poole |
| Uma Hamzic |
| Cory Adams |
| Jess Lake |
| John Previti |
| Meredith Jeffers |
| Abigail Burke |
| Romany Heartford |
| Quinn Gold |
| Julie Affleck |
| Sarah Lael |
| Tonya Preece |
| Jessie Nees |
| Megan Lynch |
| Rusty Armstrong |
| Judy Broad |
| Jesse Liberty |
| Renee Stevens |
| Kim Crow |
| Ivelisse Rodriguez |
| Gaye Sanders |
| Tammy Bird |
| Juie Shattuck |
| Cynthia Kadlec Sullivan |
| Eric Haan |
| Ren White |
| Angelica Ellis |
| Jericho Leonard |
| Billy Wittenberg |
| Alison Luff |
| Ann Jensen |
| Jae Chun |
| Meredith Crosbie |
| Marena Galluccio |
| Kiley Orchard |
| Trish Renee |
| Alex Kaslovsky |
| Nithya Angadi |
| Nick Curtis |
| Shweta |
| Karen Lee |
| Will Luckman |
| Brittany Valdez |
| Rob Teplitz |
| Heather Marie Spitzberg |
| Bonny Fawn |
| Annia Dowell-Wiltshire |
| Maria Pawlak |
| Kate Ferrall |
| Jenny Perinovic |
| Nicole Rubino |
| Imani Joseph |
| Laura Rose Gold |
| Danielle Ott |
| Logan Stoves |
| Siana LeForest |
| Ashlee Hashman |
| JT Yamamoto |
| Daniel Romero |
| Melissa McKinnon |
| Carolyn Ziegler |
| Meghan Tomlinson |
| N.C. Kay |
| Sasha Thomas |
| Jeff Faville |
| Elizabeth C. Chestney |
| Cathy Gove |
| Stephanie Whitaker |
| Marie Davies |
| Wendy Blankenship |
| Rachael Robinson |
| Maggie Wheeler |
| Pat Scaramuzza |
| Morgan Watchorn |
| Rachel Rowlands |
| Nicole Fitton |
64 Comments
Shireen Hakim · August 10, 2020 at 1:16 pm
Hi, how can I change the category of my giveaway entry?
Thanks
Shireen
Brenda Drake · August 10, 2020 at 6:23 pm
I can manually change it. What is the correct category?
Shireen Hakim · August 10, 2020 at 7:36 pm
Thank you. It’s New Adult.
Brenda Drake · August 11, 2020 at 10:30 am
Great, thank you!
Shireen Hakim · August 16, 2020 at 10:59 pm
Hi again. Should my graphic novel be in YA? My character starts as a freshman in college (18 yo) and ends as a senior in college. The content seems YA, despite the ages.
Thanks.
Brenda Drake · August 17, 2020 at 10:26 am
We don’t give advice about where to place your novel on the blog. If you get a critique, a mentor may suggest which one. Or you can ask during our ask mentors events on #PitchWars. Watch or Twitter account @PitchWars they should be announcing the dates for the events soon. Here’s a resource blog post you may want to read about how to make this decision here: https://diymfa.com/writing/book-ya-adult
Cori Nevruz · August 11, 2020 at 7:58 am
Whoopsies. I put genre in for category… can you change mine too. Should be Adult. Thanks
Brenda Drake · August 11, 2020 at 10:22 am
Yes, I’ve changed it Cori. Thank you!
Jordan Richardson · August 11, 2020 at 8:09 pm
Hi Brenda,
I think I submitted to the giveaway but will I receive any confirmation? Thank you!
Brenda Drake · August 13, 2020 at 10:47 am
You won’t get a receipt, but I do have yours. 🙂
Adam Numack · August 10, 2020 at 2:34 pm
My question is not related to the workshop…
Can a book having 2 writers enter in pitch wars??
Brenda Drake · August 10, 2020 at 6:22 pm
Yes, you can enter with two authors for one book.
Hailey Niederhauser · August 12, 2020 at 11:15 am
Can I change my category to adult from NA? I also can’t remember if I submitted under the last name Niederhauser or von Niederhausern
Brenda Drake · August 13, 2020 at 10:48 am
I see it under Niederhauser and I will switch it. 🙂
Rose · August 10, 2020 at 4:22 pm
Hi, the raffle doesn’t load when I click on the link. Is anyone else having this issue?
Brenda Drake · August 10, 2020 at 6:29 pm
It’s either taking time to reload or you may need to try a different browser.
Maryam Sullivan · August 10, 2020 at 4:25 pm
Greetings,
How do I sign up for the workshop? I don’t a submission button for the raffle?
Thanks,
M.Sullivan
Adult fiction
Brenda Drake · August 10, 2020 at 6:29 pm
It’s either taking time to reload or you may need to try a different browser.
Lori · August 10, 2020 at 6:12 pm
unable to get into Rafflecopter.
Brenda Drake · August 10, 2020 at 6:21 pm
It seems to be working and people are signing up. Maybe try a different browser? Sometimes that will help. Let me know if it doesn’t work.
Brenda Drake · August 10, 2020 at 6:28 pm
It’s either taking time to reload or you may need to try a different browser.
Cy · August 10, 2020 at 6:50 pm
I can’t access the giveaway on either Chrome or Firefox. Can you post a link to it directly?
Brenda Drake · August 10, 2020 at 7:14 pm
I put the link up on the post. It may just be Rafflecopter today. I have a message into them. Mine did load but it took forever.
Sarah · August 10, 2020 at 9:45 pm
Hi!
I can’t seem to load the raffle either. I tried on Chrome and Edge. this is the link to the raffle that I am getting: https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/dd6a04e128/?
Cheers!
Brenda Drake · August 11, 2020 at 10:24 am
Rafflecopter answered my help message and it should be fixed for everyone now. Can you try again and let me know if it worked. Thank you!
India · August 10, 2020 at 9:40 pm
Hello! I got through to fill in the submission boxes but there was no “enter” button to click (just a check mark in gray in the right corner) and I just want to get a verification as to whether or not I’m entered so I can know to keep staring at the page waiting for it to load fully or not.
Brenda Drake · August 11, 2020 at 10:26 am
If you last name’s initials are B-F, I’ve received it.
Saskia Akyil · August 11, 2020 at 2:17 am
Hi there,
I entered 4 times by accident because I didn’t realize the submission was going through (I think it went through). Sorry about that, I’m not trying to trick the system! Only one of my entries had all of the fields filled out (MG contemporary)
Saskia
Brenda Drake · August 11, 2020 at 10:23 am
No problem, Saskia. I’ve removed the extra entries. Thank you!
Terri Moreau · August 15, 2020 at 1:09 pm
My screen is also showing 4 entries. Not sure if you only see one or four on your end. Thank you!
Brenda Drake · August 16, 2020 at 10:10 am
Yours is good. I should see four entries for your form and I do. Each question adds an entry in the Rafflecopter.
Stephanie Cotela Tanner · August 11, 2020 at 8:20 am
Hi Brenda,
I apologise in advance for my following question…
I filled out the boxes on the form and I got a check after each one but no submit button or anything. Is that it? Have I entered successfully?
Thank you,
Stephanie
Brenda Drake · August 11, 2020 at 10:22 am
No apologies, Stephanie! I’m happy to answer your questions. Can you please enter again? Let me know if that happens again.
Brenda Drake · August 11, 2020 at 10:28 am
Never mind, you don’t have to enter Stephanie. I found yours.
Debbie · August 11, 2020 at 10:12 am
Is it one entry per person? The 1/4 that appears on Rafflecopter made me wonder if we were permitted up to four entries. Thanks!
Brenda Drake · August 11, 2020 at 10:20 am
It is one per person. You pick one category.
Kathryn · August 11, 2020 at 11:04 am
I had the same issue others are having. I entered all of my information, but did not see a submit button. I tried logging in through facebook to see if that would give me different results, but it did not. Can you check to see if I’m entered? thank you!
Brenda Drake · August 11, 2020 at 5:53 pm
Kathryn, I couldn’t check without your last name. The email for this comment does not have a form. Not sure if you used a different email or your Facebook has a different email. What is your last name and I’ll check?
Kathryn · August 12, 2020 at 9:23 am
It is Scherer. My facebook does use a different email address than the one I provided. Thank you so much for checking!
Brenda Drake · August 13, 2020 at 10:46 am
I did receive yours, Kathryn.
Kathryn · August 13, 2020 at 1:29 pm
Thank you so much for confirming!
Cortney · August 11, 2020 at 11:08 am
I had the same problem with loading Rafflecopter, and I finally got it to work. So, I thought I’d share what I did! Ultimately, it was just a lot of waiting.
The clickable link never loaded. I opened it two hours ago and it is still spinning in another tab. But, the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this blog post loaded after about thirty minutes and it took 5-10 minutes to get through each click after that. I just left my laptop open and checked back occasionally to see if the information had gone through. I made it to the end. It now says I have four entries. I haven’t received a confirmation email of any kind or verification, but it has seemed to accept my info. I used Google Chrome browser. I hope that helps everyone!
Brenda Drake · August 11, 2020 at 5:48 pm
Thank you, Courney! It won’t give a receipt. This has been aggravating. They supposedly fixed it. I am switching to Google forms next time.
Brenda Drake · August 11, 2020 at 5:53 pm
Oh and btw, Cortney, I do have your entry.
Anastasia · August 12, 2020 at 11:19 am
Dear Brenda,
I am not sure if I completed the entry form properly. I meant to enter only once, but the system says I have three entries. I think my information may have been entered one field at a time and I may be missing a field? Can you check to see if I have entered successfully? Thank you! Anastasia
Brenda Drake · August 13, 2020 at 10:50 am
I have your entry. Each question give you one entry into the rafflecopter. So each person actually gets four entries because they assign one point to each. So you’re good!
Skye Allen · August 11, 2020 at 12:10 pm
Hi Brenda,
I accidentally failed to fill out my genre. It’s Young Adult. Would you be able to change it?
Many thanks for all your hard work on this!
Skye
Brenda Drake · August 11, 2020 at 5:46 pm
I will add it. Thank you!
Lauren Westberg · August 12, 2020 at 3:39 pm
Hello,
Can you confirm my entry was submitted? I did not see a submit button, just a grey check box.
Thank you,
Lauren
Brenda Drake · August 13, 2020 at 10:52 am
I did receive your entry, Lauren. 🙂
Lauren Westberg · August 13, 2020 at 11:29 am
THANK YOU!
Kayla Hadjiandreou · August 14, 2020 at 2:04 am
Hello! I was wondering if someone would be able to check whether I entered more than one entry? I had to log in and out of Rafflecopter a couple times and wasn’t sure what went through. Thank you so much!!
Brenda Drake · August 14, 2020 at 9:51 pm
I received just one entry, Kayla. 🙂
Kayla Hadjiandreou · August 16, 2020 at 12:17 am
Thank you so much Brenda! Appreciate it!
Holly Hoffmann · August 15, 2020 at 11:32 am
I think I’m in the same boat as everyone else… Pretty sure my entry was submitted but there wasn’t a clear verification. Could you check for me? Thank you 🥰🥰
Brenda Drake · August 16, 2020 at 10:12 am
I’ve received yours too, Holly. 🙂
Mariya Vlasova · August 15, 2020 at 11:43 am
Hello,
Would you mind checking if my entree went through, please? Thank you so much for your time.
Brenda Drake · August 16, 2020 at 10:11 am
Yes I’ve received your entry, Mariya. 🙂
Ellen Bracquiné · August 15, 2020 at 4:48 pm
Hi Brenda! I submitted a raffle entry but I think I entered it as YA dystopia, while it’s better classified as YA Science Fiction. Would you be able to help me and change the entry?
Thank you in advance!
Ellen
Brenda Drake · August 16, 2020 at 10:08 am
Yes, I will change it. 🙂
Ryan P. C. Trimble · August 15, 2020 at 6:32 pm
Hi! Thank you so much for putting this together! Because I love a follow-up, just wondering if you could confirm you got my entry. As seems to be the theme, I think it went through but I can’t be sure.
Thanks!
Ryan P. C. Trimble
Brenda Drake · August 16, 2020 at 10:08 am
I have yours, Ryan. 🙂
Oyin · August 15, 2020 at 9:04 pm
Hi, I filled out all four boxes thinking it was one entry, not four. I apologize, can you remove the other 3?
Brenda Drake · August 16, 2020 at 10:07 am
It’s good. Each question give you an entry. I couldn’t put a 0 value to any question. So you answered all four of my questions, then you get four entries. Sorry for the confusion
Comments are closed.