Pitch Wars Blog Archive

The Pitch Wars 2020 mentor application is live!

Want to be a mentor in Pitch Wars 2020? Applications to be a Pitch Wars Mentor in 2020 are now opened. Get your applications in! You have from today until the end of day Eastern Time on July 8 to apply. Mentors are typically agented or published authors or people who have worked in the publishing industry in some capacity (including interns). However, these are not requirements to apply. Literary agents and acquiring editors are not Read more…

By Brenda Drake, ago

Happy Release Day to THE KINDER POISON by Pitch Wars alum Natalie Mae!

Razorbill | Penguin Random House 2020 YA fantasy ISBN:  1984835211 (ISBN-13: 9781984835215) View on Goodreads | Read the first 4 chapters Buy From:  Indiebound | Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Book Depository   A race for the crown. A girl destined to die. A weapon more powerful than any blade. Perfect for fans of Victoria Aveyard and Holly Black, this enthralling fantasy adventure follows a sixteen-year-old girl chosen to be the human sacrifice in a deadly game Read more…

By Brenda Drake, ago

Pitch Wars Success Stories with Sawyer Lovett and Their Mentor, Brenda Drake

We’re back with another Pitch Wars Success Story! Please join us in congratulating Sawyer Lovett and their mentor, Brenda Drake! Sawyer signed with Andrea Morrison at Writers House. We’re so excited for them! Category: Young Adult Genre: Contemporary #ownvoices Sawyer, what’s your favorite tip you learned from your mentor/s? Brenda taught me a lot about depth, setting, and where they should be added. She also broke me of my bad habits of adding vocal tics to Read more…

By Rochelle Karina, ago

Pitch Wars 2020 Advice Blog Hop Sign Ups!

Hey there! If you’ve participated in Pitch Wars, we’d like your help. We all have those “I wish I knew that when…” moments. Well, here’s your chance to share yours. Last year, thanks to the tireless efforts of Ernie Chiara (awesome idea, and dude, you rock!), we hosted a Pitch Wars Advice Blog Hop and we’re doing it again for 2020! What does that mean, and how can you participate?  We’re glad you asked! How Read more…

By Rochelle Karina, ago

Announcing: Pitch Wars Prep!

  It’s almost time for Pitch Wars 2020! Which means it’s time to polish up your manuscript and start thinking about mentor choices. While Pitch Wars is an amazing program (not that we’re biased or anything), it’s also a lot of hard work. There’s tons of info out there about how to get your manuscript whipped into shape, or how to draft a query letter. But there is precious little talking about you—the writer—and how Read more…

By Rochelle Karina, ago

Pitch Wars Success Stories with M. J. Soni and Her Mentors, Kellye Garrett and Mia P. Manansala

We’re back with another Pitch Wars Success Story! Please join us in congratulating M.J. Soni (Manju) and her mentors, Kellye Garrett and Mia P. Manansala! Manju signed with Jessica Craig at Craig Literary. We’re so excited for them! Category: New Adult/Adult Genre: Mystery/Suspense Manju, what’s your favorite tip you learned from your mentor/s? Oh so many. I think my favorite tip from my mentors was to make my characters work for an outcome. This helped Read more…

By Rochelle Karina, ago

Pitch Wars Success Stories with Brendan Maghran and His Mentor, Amanda Panitch

We’re back with another Pitch Wars Success Story! Please join us in congratulating Brendan Maghran and his mentor, Amanda Panitch! Brendan signed with Sara Crowe at Pippin Properties. We’re so excited for them! Category: Middle Grade Genre: Contemporary Brendan, what’s your favorite tip you learned from your mentor/s? How to find the heart of your story. Tell us about the revision process during Pitch Wars. We touched up the outline first, and did two major Read more…

By Rochelle Karina, ago

Happy Release Day to DERAILED by Mary Keliikoa

  A dying wish. A secret world. Can this grieving investigator stay on the right track? PI Kelly Pruett is determined to make it on her own. And juggling clients at her late father’s detective agency, a controlling ex, and caring for a deaf daughter was never going to be easy. She takes it as a good sign when a letter left by her dad ties into an unsolved case of a young woman struck Read more…

By Rochelle Karina, ago

Pitch Wars Success Stories with Leila Mottley and Her Mentor, Samantha Rajaram

We’re back with another Pitch Wars Success Story! Please join us in congratulating Leila Mottley and her mentor, Samantha Rajaram! Leila signed with Lucy Carson at Freirdrich Agency. We’re so excited for them! Category: New Adult / Adult Leila, what’s your favorite tip you learned from your mentor/s? Plotting is important!! Start by following the “guidelines” so that you can divert from them with intention. Desire mapping and plotting help carry your reader through the Read more…

By Rochelle Karina, ago

Cover Reveal for THE FROZEN PRINCE by Maxym M. Martineau

I will fight—for her, for all of us—until I have nothing left to give. Noc, leader of the assassins of Cruor, may have broken the curse that’s kept him trapped for so many years, but the dark magic won’t be denied. If he doesn’t kill Leena—the girl he can’t live without—then his own life will be given as payment. To make matters worse, the truth of his past has fallen into the hands of his Read more…

By Rochelle Karina, ago