Seventh Annual NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza

NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza 2017 on YouTube live

NaNoWriMo + The Book Doctors + Youtube = Pitchapalooza 2017

You wrote your 50,000 words (or got pretty close!). You’re a winner. You felt the high. Now what are you going to do with your precious manuscript? That’s where we come in.

 

For those of you not familiar with Pitchapalooza, here’s the skinny: You get 250 words to pitch your book. Approximately 20 pitches will be randomly selected from all submissions. We will then critique the pitches during a live webinar on February 28, 2017 at 4PM PST, so you get to see what makes a great pitch. At the end of the webinar, we will choose one winner from the group. The winner will receive an introduction to an agent or publisher appropriate for his/her manuscript.

 

Beginning January 11, 2017, you can email your pitch to nanowrimo@thebookdoctors.comPLEASE DO NOT ATTACH YOUR PITCH, JUST EMBED IT IN THE EMAIL. All pitches must be received by 11:59PM PST on February 14, 2017.

 

We will also crown a fan favorite who will receive a free one-hour consult with us (worth $250). On March 1, 2017, 25 random pitches will be posted at our website. Anyone can vote for fan favorite, so get your social media engine running as soon as the pitches go up! Voting closes at 11:59PM PST on March 15, 2017. The fan favorite will be announced on March 16, 2017.

 

If you purchase a copy of our book, The Essential Guide To Getting Your Book Publishedby March 15, 2017, we’re offering an exclusive one-hour webinar where you’ll get the chance to pitch your book (worth $75). Just attach a copy of your sales receipt to your email and we’ll send the link to the webinar dates.

 

It’s been a great year for past NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza winners. Gloria Chao, sold her novel American Panda (think My Big Fat Greek Wedding meets Amy Tan) to Jennifer Ung at Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster. Publication is planned for Spring 2018. Stacy McAnulty,  got a three-book deal from Random House for The Dino Files series. Her third book, The Dino Files: It’s Not a Dinosaur, was released this year.
Are you feeling a little unsure about exactly how to craft your pitch? Keep reading.

10 Tips for Pitching

  1. A great pitch is like a poem.  Every word counts.
  2. Make us fall in love with your hero.  Whether you’re writing a novel or memoir, you have to make us root for your flawed but lovable hero.
  3. Make us hate your villain.  Show us someone unique and dastardly whom we can’t wait to hiss at.
  4. Just because your kids love to hear your story at bedtime doesn’t mean you’re automatically qualified to get a publishing deal. So make sure not to include this information in your pitch.
  5. If you have any particular expertise that relates to your novel, tell us. Establishing your credentials will help us trust you.
  6. Your pitch is your audition to show us what a brilliant writer you are, it has to be the very best of your writing.
  7. Don’t make your pitch a book report.  Make it sing and soar and amaze.
  8. A pitch is like a movie trailer.  You start with an incredibly exciting/funny/sexy/romantic/etc. close-up with intense specificity, then you pull back to show the big picture and tell us the themes and broad strokes that build to a climax.
  9. Leave us with a cliffhanger.  The ideal reaction to a pitch is, “Oh my God, what happens next?”
  10. Show us what’s unique, exciting, valuable, awesome, unexpected, about your project, and why it’s comfortable, familiar and proven.

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