From September 22-28, we’re posting mini-interviews with some of our 2021 Pitch Wars mentors. We thought it would be fun to have them answer one question. A question that would give you an idea of their personalities. And possibly spotlight a mentor you may have missed on your exhaustive search through the blog hop for the perfect four mentors to submit to when the Pitch Wars 2021 submission window opens. Don’t know what Pitch Wars is START HERE.
Giveaway!
We’re also giving away 2021 mentors’ and committee members’ books! Go to the bottom of this post for details on how to enter for a chance to win.
Need to connect to the community?
Join the Pitch Wars forum to have discussions with some of our mentors and other writers or get your work critiqued by your peers (and sometimes mentors) or search for critique partners. It’s our gift to you for being so awesome, and we hope you find this space useful. To join the forum go here: http://pitchwars.proboards.com/
Mark your calendars!
Join us for our official #PitchWars #askmentor chats on Twitter and our live mentor video chats happening on Sarah Nicolas’ Youtube channel. Go to this blog post for dates and follow @PitchWars on Twitter for all the details.
This is the question we asked our mentors to answer:
If you could tell your younger self anything about writing or the publishing world you’ve learned or didn’t expect when starting out, what would it be?
And here are their answers …
Alexia Gordon
“I’d tell myself that publishing is a business and being an author is a career, not a one-time thing. It’s important to dedicate the same energy and professionalism to publishing that you’d dedicate to any other job. And it wouldn’t hurt to take some classes in marketing and promotion.”
Wishlist Link | Mentor Page | Book Link
Carolyne Topdjian
“I would tell my younger self: It’s a good thing you enjoy suspense and gothic horror, because the pathway to publication is full of cliffhangers and wounds—we’re talking blood and guts, swollen eyes, the occasional involuntary heart extraction. But like all “final girls,” you’ll be smart and survive till the end. You’ll land a sequel; go through it all over again. Just keep dreaming and writing and working. The ending will sort itself out.”
Wishlist Link | Mentor Page | Book Link
Preslaysa Williams
“I would tell my younger writer self: ‘TRUST YOURSELF. You hold the magic, and so the miracles will follow suit. Have confidence in who you are as a writer and in what you bring to the table. You look for validation from outside sources way too often. Don’t give away your power so easily. Trust your voice. Trust your stories. Your team will assemble because they will easily see the light that shines from within you. Don’t dim your light in your quest for validation.'”
Wishlist Link | Mentor Page | Book Link
Paris Wynters
“I would tell my younger self don’t be afraid to speak up about what works best for you (whether it’s with an agent, editor, CP, or beta reader). It took me until my third editor to finally mention how examples work great for me when pointing out something that is not working. It ended up being one of the best editing experiences.”
Wishlist Link | Mentor Page | Book Link
Enter for a chance to win one of our mentors’ or committee members’ books. We’ll choose ten winners to receive one book each. You ARE NOT limited to the mentors featured in our spotlight posts. You can choose any 2021 mentor or committee member’s book. All you have to do is search our mentors’ and committee members’ books, pick one you’d like to receive should you win, and enter it in the rafflcopter at the bottom of this post. The book must be one from our 2021 mentors or committee members.
You can find our mentor pages here: https://pitchwars.org/mentor-status/active/ And you can find our committee members here: https://pitchwars.org/about/meet-the-pitch-wars-committee/
It’s open internationally, but only for books available on the Book Depository. Make sure to go to their site and verify the book is listed for sale there before choosing your book in the Rafflecopter. Please note: The book you choose might not be immediately available due to supply chain challenges impacting the entire publishing industry.