Ninth Annual NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza

NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza 2018 on YouTube live

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 not familiar 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 16, 2019 at 12PM PT / 3PM ET, 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, 2019, 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 PST on February 28, 2019.

We will also crown a fan favorite who will receive a free one-hour consult with us (worth $250). On March 17, 2019, 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 today. And this is a great way to get some practice. Voting closes at 11:59PM PST on April 1, 2019. The fan favorite will be announced on April 2, 2019.

If you purchase a copy of our book, The Essential Guide To Getting Your Book Published, by April 2, 2019, we’re offering an exclusive one-hour webinar where you’ll get the chance to pitch your book. Just attach a copy of your sales receipt to your email and we’ll send the link to the webinar dates.

Important NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza dates

Friday, February 1, 2019–Pitch submission opens

Thursday, February 28, 2019–Final day to submit pitches

Saturday, March 16, 2019–NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza live on YouTube

Sunday, March 17, 2019–Voting for fan favorite begins

Monday, April 1, 2019–Final day to vote for fan favorite

Tuesday, April 2, 2019–Fan favorite announced

NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza success stories

It’s been a great year for past NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza winners. Gloria Chao’s novel American Panda (Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster) released to multiple starred reviews. Read Gloria’s winning NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza pitch. 

Cari Noga’s novel The Orphan Daughter (Lake Union Publishing) published in May. Read Cari’s winning pitch. 

May Cobb’s novel Big Woods (Midnight Ink) came out in July. Read May’s winning pitch. 

Stacy McAnulty is now the award-winning author of 19 books for young readers. She launched her middle grade novel The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl with multiple starred reviews and a spot on the Indie Next List. Read Stacy’s winning pitch.


“Winning Pitchapalooza gave me confidence and the courage to keep fighting. It also helped bring my manuscript to the next level.”

–Gloria Chao


Are you feeling a little unsure about exactly how to craft your pitch?

10 tips for pitching your novel

  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, so 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.

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 long is a pitch? 

A: You get 250 words to pitch your book.

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: If I buy a copy of The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published, how does the one-hour webinar work? 

A: We limit each webinar to 20 people, which gives everyone the chance to pitch and get feedback.

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.

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