Have You Heard of a Twitter Pitchfest?

My friend L. Diane Wolf is offering a great way to pitch publishers and agents--fast!  It's called a Twitter Pitch Party and if it works out, it may become a regular.  Still, if you or an author friend has a book ready to pitch, don't miss this.  It may be a one of a kind. And see the amazing gatekeepers  you can reach (with links!), below!  Learn more at  http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-twitter-pitch.html

Here's the invitation:

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Twitter Pitch Party! 

#IWSGPit

July 27, 2017

8:00 am to 8:00 pm Eastern Time

All writers and authors are invited to participate in our very first Twitter Pitch.

Create a Twitter-length pitch for your completed and polished manuscript and leave room for genre, age, and the hashtag. On July 27, Tweet your pitch. If your pitch receives a favorite/heart from a publisher/agent check their submission guidelines and send your requested query. 

Many writers have seen their books published from a Twitter pitch - it’s a quick and easy way to put your manuscript in front of publishers and agents.

Rules: 

Writers may send out 1 Twitter pitch every 1 hour per manuscript.

Publishers/Agents will favorite/heart pitches they are interested in. Publishers can either Tweet basic submission guidelines or direct writers to their submission guidelines. (Writers, please do not favorite/heart pitches.)

Pitches must include GENRE/AGE and the hashtag #IWSGPit.

Ages: 
#C - children’s
#MG - middle grade
#YA - young adult
#NA - new adult
#A - adult
Genres: 
#AD - adventure
#CF - Christian fiction
#CO - contemporary
#F - fantasy
#H - horror
#HI - historical
#LF - literary fiction
#MCT - mystery/crime/thriller
#ME - memoir
#NF - non-fiction
#PB - picture book
#PN - paranormal
#R - romance
#SF - sci-fi
#WF - women's fiction

Participating Publishers and Agents: 

Acorn Publishing

Bond Literary Agency

Tiny Fox Press

Dancing Lemur Press

Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC

Entangled Publishing

Curiosity Quills Press

Rainbow Nerds Literary

Blaze Publishing

Inklings Literary Agency LLC

Owl City Press

Donald Maass Literary Agency

Carina Press

Anaiah Press

Speilburg Agency

Blue Ridge Literary Agency, LLC

Emerald City Literary Agency

Red Fox Literary

Fraser Bub Literary

Golden Wheat Literary

AB Literary Agency

Holloway Literary Agency

Dingbat Publishing

Aevitas Creative Management

The Knight Agency

Prospect Agency

Keen Editorial and Literary Services

The Friedrich Agency
Gandolfo Helin & Fountain Literary Management
Writers House LLC
The Seymour Agency
With more soon to come!

*Authors, please check out the publishers and agents before #IWSGPit day and before submitting.*

Please join us and spread the word! 


MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER


Howard-Johnson is the author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers including the award-winning second editions of The Frugal Book Promoter (where she talks more about choosing and the advantages of winning contests and how to use those honors)  and The Frugal Editor. Her latest is in the series is  How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically. Learn more on her Amazon profile page, http://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile. Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers is one of her booklets--perfect for inexpensive gift giving--and, another booklet, The Great First Impression Book Proposal helps writers who want to be traditionally published. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it will help them convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. In addition to this blog, she helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs at all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor (http://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com )

Tony Todaro Extends SharingwithWriters Readers Invitation to Success

This is the only conference quite like this so I thought I'd pass the invitation along my SharingwithWriters subscribers and visitors.  It's not too late to register and it's supremely affordable. (Read that frugal! )  And yes, I'll be there on Friday with an indepth hour on improving dialogue and avoiding humiliation by making errors with punctuation--the kind that keep you from getting past the gatekeepers who have the power to say "yay" or "nay" to your manuscript.

By the way, they partner with LA's famous Sportsmen's Lodge for special rates on accommodations. And our weather is gorgeous! (-:  

 

New Story Conference

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is your invitation straight from Tony Todaro, Director of Big Story Writers Conference in Los Angeles.

“Please join  fellow writers at the Big Story Writers  Conference , an event  uniquely focused to help define the elements of  virtually any story concept or plot you  envision and develop it a truly BIG STORY  with the potential to become a best-seller or  hit movie.

“During three days of  workshops, you will learn how to fine-tune and  master your skill sets to produce the best  structure for a work of fiction, non-fiction,  screenplay, short story, or poetry, as well as  how to write a solid book proposal, draft a  great query letter to agents, develop a synopsis  or story bible that reflects your voice as an  author, and more.

“This  educational and inspirational conference will  include dozens of guest speakers, veteran  educators, industry experts, publishing  professionals, noted writers and best-selling  authors on four simultaneous tracks focused on  the craft of writing the BIG  STORY.Writers of all levels and  genres will benefit from this  event.

MEET AGENTS  AND PUBLISHERS LOOKING FOR NEW TALENT
The Big  Story Writers Conference offers ProCritiques™ with professional  editors, and  Masters ProCritiques ™ with agents and  publishers looking for new talent. This is a  terrific opportunity and cost-effective way to  receive one-on-one  constructive, professional feedback on your  novel or screenplay, and increase your chances  for success as an author now and in the  future. We also  offer ProConsultations, which are  opportunities for authors with completed,  polished manuscripts to pitch  literary agents and publishers at no extra  cost. We even offer an  informative seminar with the "agents du jour"   to help you prepare for your live meeting  later that day.

We look  forward to your joining us for this educational  and inspirational event for writers of all  genres and disciplines.

Continued success with your  writing,
Tony N  Todaro
West Coast Writers  Conferences
info@wcwriters.com

-----
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .

Query Letters: A Writing Skill You'll Use Forever

As I was working with my husband on the promotion for his book What Foreigners Need to Know About America From A To Z (http://amzn.to/ForeignersAmericaUS) I realized how much I’d forgotten about my American history, but it also made me aware I should be reminding you all of the format to use for your query letters.

 

I noticed that many authors believe query letters are only necessary when they're trying to interest an agent or publisher, but learning to write and edit an effective one is a skill that you will continue to use all during the marketing campaign or your book--and the one after that.

 

Query letters are the introductory letters you use for every kind of request you make. When you request a review of your book. When you ask to partner with a retailer for and event, workshop, or book signing.  When you pitch a feature story to an editor of your local newspaper. Or guest spot on a radio station. The list is endless.  

 

Yep, it may be time to review the section on writing and editing query letters (page 27 in your paperback edition) in The Frugal Editor (http://budurl.com/TheFrugalEditor ). It starts on page 27 of your paperback edition. 

 

It includes query letter pet peeves direct from the mouths of famous agents and sample letters in the Appendix like avoiding making judgements of your own work. For agents "awesome" is a four-letter word!

 

 If you have The Frugal Book Promoter (http://budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo), jump back to the Index and look up “query letters” to learn everything you’ll need to know about them. 

 

Here's tip number one to get you started. A query letter asks something of the person it's addressed to. Don't avoid that question. Nike says "just do it." The query letter rule is "just ask." Your contact needs to know what you want from them. They may wear more than one hat, but in any case, you'll want to be clear just because that's what professionals aim for.

 

-----
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor . If your followers at Twitter would benefit from this blog post, please use the little Green widget to let them know about this blog:

How Would Winning a Contest Affect Getting a Publisher or Agent in the Future?

Many of you know that I am an Ann Landers fan. I came to understand how valuable the questions from her readers and her own pithy answers to those readers were to living a less dysfunctional life when I was responsible for writing headlines for her column and for editing them down to the space we had available for said column in the what we then called the society section of the Salt Lake Tribune.

Now, I love to run occasional columns "A la Ann Landers." For writers. From writers. About writers. I hope you find them as much fun as I do.


QUESTION:

Hi, Carolyn,

My team mate Sarah Moore and I have a question from a client (read below). I've never had this question before and I'm not sure how to answer. It seems to me that a book having won an award would be one that a house would want to publish. However, to be sure, I am checking with you to see what insight you might have.

Thanks so much,

Yvonne Perry
Writers in the Sky Creative Writing Services
Author of More Than Meets the Eye
615-415-9861


THE LETTER FROM YVONNE’S CLIENT:

As you know I have entered my book for The Claymore Dagger Award. My question is if it is acceptable to continue to submit it to literary agents as well. I do not want to be unethical or anger the literary world before I even get my foot in the door. I have read the home page for the contest and all that is stated is that the manuscripts must be unpublished and not under contract. I need your professional opinion on what is acceptable. Thank you for your help.


ANSWER:

One can't be sure that any general statement applies to every agent and every publisher, but here goes: Generally speaking, an agent (and any publisher your client might contact) should be thrilled to have an author whose book has already won an award and who is a savvy enough promoter to have already garnered attention.

If I were consulting with her, I'd even advise her to put the Dagger win (once it becomes a win!) in her query letter. In other words, highlight it. Shout it out! If one publisher or one agent doesn't like that, perhaps he or she wouldn't be the right agent/publisher for this author in any case.

One question for an author to ask in a situation like this is:

Is the award given by an individual publishing company that includes publication of the winning submission?

If so--from an agent's point of view--it would only mean that it had been submitted to a publisher before they took it on. Ethically your client should be willing to let the agent with whom they sign a contract represent them for the book published by this publisher, should both publisher (the one who ran the contest) and author agree to a publishing contract. The agent may choose to advise the author during the negotiations, but even if they don't, the offer should be made. After all, the agent would have already invested time and effort into that author.

Sometimes we authors look to legalities, but it's lots better if we put ethics first. That means putting ourselves into the shoes of an agent and treating them with as much consideration as we would want to be treated.

-----
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor . If your followers at Twitter would benefit from this blog post, please use the little Green widget to let them know about this blog:

Shopping Your Book Is Part of Your Business

If you were in any other business other than writing, would you think it great advice if you were told not to follow up on important business? The advice writers often get can be so confusing. Here is reprint from my Q&A a la Ann Landers column in my Sharing with Writers newsletter. Those who don't want to miss any of the tips, articles and advice may subscribe by sending an e-mail with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line to HoJoNews @ aol.com.


QUESTION:

Hi, Carolyn!

I am an author who had quite a bit of response shortly after submitting a query letter to hundreds of agents and publishers. It’s been about two months and I haven't heard back from the four agents and six publishers who initially requested my proposal and/or manuscript. I am thinking of e-mailing the four agents to let them know that the book is under review by six publishers and listing the names of the publishers to see if this sparks some interest. Do you think this is a good idea, or do you think I should wait to see if I hear from them? How long should an author wait before moving to the next option?

Yvonne Perry, Writers in the Sky Creative Writing Services, 615-884-1224

ANSWER:

When agent Michael Larsen is featured at writers’ conferences, I always try to attend his seminars. He takes a no-nonsense approach to the agenting process and I've never seen him when he doesn't say that he's surprised at how many authors don't follow up with their agents after a reasonable amount of time. When he mentions this, it is usually in regard to a slow answer from the agent. Well, a slow answer seems much less pressing than this situation.

So, yes. I would let all the agents know. I'm not sure I would list the others when telling them of your situation. You might mention that the others’ names are available upon request, just to add credibility to your letter.

If you have a preference among the ones still holding your manuscript, I would contact him or her first, though. Sort of prioritize. If that agent passes, then you could send out your letter to the others at the same time (but not in a copied e-mail--obviously each deserves their own personalized communication). With each of these follow-up notes I would add an additional sales point, perhaps some award or promotional activity you've been involved in since you last talked to them. If not, then a reminder of one of the best points from your platform.

You might also consider calling these agents if they don’t specifically forbid that in their guidelines. That will give you a chance to relate to them personally.

Those writing a book proposal will want to download my 49-cent wonder, the Amazon short, “The Great First Impression Book Proposal: Everything You Need To Know To Sell Your Book in 20 Minutes or Less.” Find it at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YG6O5U/ It will help you get the kind of results Yvonne is describing.

Technorati Tags:
book proposals, shopping books, getting agents, yvonne perry, carolyn howard-johnson, sharing with writers, writers newsletters, writers digest 101 best websites,
Add to: | Technorati | Digg | del.icio.us | Yahoo | BlinkList | Spurl | reddit | Furl |



-----
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.