ELEVENTH ANNUAL NANOWRIMO PITCHAPALOOZA
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, The Book Doctors, come in.
For those of you unfamiliar with Pitchapalooza, here’s the skinny: You get 250 words to pitch your book. Twenty pitches will be randomly selected from all submissions. We will then critique the pitches during a live webinar on March 13, 12PM PT, 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 February 1, 2021, you can email your pitch to nanowrimo@thebookdoctors.com. PLEASE DO NOT ATTACH YOUR PITCH, JUST EMBED IT IN THE EMAIL. Include your title and your name at the top of your pitch. All pitches must be received by 11:59PM PT on February 28, 2021.
We will also crown a Fan Favorite who will receive a free one-hour consult with us (worth $250). On March 14, 2021, the 20 random pitches will be posted on our website, www.thebookdoctors.com. Anyone can vote for a fan favorite, so get your social media engine running as soon as the pitches go up! Connecting with your future readers is a vital part of being a successfully published author, and this is a great way to get some practice. Voting closes at 11:59PM PT on March 31, 2021. Fan Favorite will be announced on April 1, 2021.
NANOWRIMO PITCHAPALOOZA SUCCESS STORIES
Gloria Chao won the 2015 NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza with the novel that would become her critically-acclaimed debut American Panda. Her second novel, Our Wayward Fate, came out in 2019 and her third novel, Rent a Boyfriend, is out now from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
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- Gloria Chao
In 2016, May Cobb ran away with NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza. She’s been capturing attention ever since. This time it was a “heated six-publisher auction” that ended with Berkley winning the rights to publish her latest thriller The Hunting Wives, which was pitched as In a Dark, Dark Wood meets Mean Girls. Berkley plans its release for May 18, 2021.
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- May Cobb
“Having my pitch selected as the 2016 winner for Pitchapalooza was such a boost! Of course it was wonderful to win, but even more than that, having the Book Doctor’s feedback on my pitch was instrumental.”
–May Cobb
Stacy McAnulty has been on fire since she won our third NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza, publishing twenty-five books and counting. Her latest novel, Millionaires for the Month, is out now from Random House Books for Young Readers. Kirkus calls it “cinematic, over-the-top decadence, a tense race against time, and lessons on what’s truly valuable.” Stacy also signed a deal with Random House to publish another middle grade novel, A Penny Doubled, pitched as How to Steal a Dog meets Brewster’s Millions. Look for it in spring of this year. She’ll also publish three picture books in 2021: A Small Kindness (February 2), Mars! (February 9), and Brains! Not Just a Zombie Snack (August 31).
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- Stacy McAnulty
Cari Noga was one of our first NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza winners. Her winning novel, Sparrow Migrations, went on to be a semi-finalist in the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest, then she received an acquisition offer from Lake Union Publishing. Her latest novel, The Orphan Daughter (Lake Union Publishing), is out now.
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- Cari Noga
“Winning Pitchapalooza gave me confidence and the courage to keep fighting. It also helped bring my manuscript to the next level.”
–Gloria Chao
IMPORTANT NANOWRIMO PITCHAPALOOZA DATES
Monday, February 1, 2021–Pitch submission opens
Sunday, February 28, 2021–Final day to submit pitches
Saturday, March 13, 2021–NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza live on YouTube
Sunday, March 14, 2021–Voting for Fan Favorite begins at www.thebookdoctors.com
Wednesday, March 31, 2021–Final day to vote for Fan Favorite
Thursday, April 1, 2021–Fan Favorite announced at www.thebookdoctors.com
10 tips for pitching your novel
Are you feeling a little unsure about exactly how to craft your pitch? We’ve got you covered.
- A great pitch is like a poem. Every word counts.
- 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.
- Make us hate your villain. Show us someone unique and dastardly whom we can’t wait to hiss at.
- 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.
- If you have any particular expertise that relates to your novel, tell us. Establishing your credentials will help us trust you.
- Your pitch is your audition to show us what a brilliant writer you are, so it has to be the very best of your writing.
- Don’t make your pitch a book report. Make it sing and soar and amaze.
- 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.
- Leave us with a cliffhanger. The ideal reaction to a pitch is, “Oh my God, what happens next?”
- Show us what’s unique, exciting, valuable, awesome, unexpected, about your project, and why it’s comfortable, familiar and proven.
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NANOWRIMO PITCHAPALOOZA FAQS
Q: May I submit more than one pitch?
A: Yes, you may submit multiple pitches. Please include your book’s title and your name at the top of each pitch.
Q: How are the 20 pitches selected?
A: The 20 pitches are randomly selected; however, we read all the pitches.
Q: Are the choices for fan favorite also randomly selected?
A: Yes. They are the same 20 pitches that we read during the webinar.
Q: Will a recording be available?
A: Yes. You’ll be able to view the recording at our website.
Q: Where can I learn more about writing my pitch?
A: We offer resources on our YouTube channel. We recommend that you watch “The Art of the Book Pitch”, last year’s NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza, and our Pitch Tips playlist. Hungry for more examples? Check out our Pitchapalooza playlist. You can find Gloria Chao’s pitch tips here.