The Book Docotrs

NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza 2016

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Read the 2016 pitches below and vote for your favorite.

Total Voters: 1,279

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758. That’s how many pitches we got from our awesome NaNoWriMo friends.  As you can see below, we got everything from future midwives to murder-solving college administrators to husband and wife pirate teams, to virtual reality transgendering all the way from Botswana.  We think it is a testament to the amazing imagination, wonderful skill, and literary daring of Wrimos the world over.  Though only 25 of the 758 pitches are critiqued below, everyone should be able to take away information from these critiques and apply it to your pitch.  If you read the critiques carefully, you will see certain commonalities.  Too much telling, not enough showing.  Too much book-report writing, not enough beautiful prose.  Hardly any comparable titles.  Not enough insight into our heroes.  Not enough details about the dastardly villains we’re dying to hate.

Now for the 411: The 25 pitches below were selected randomly.  Our comments follow each pitch. It’s our mission to try to help all you amazing writers not just get published, but get successfully published.  That’s why we’ve told you what works, but also what needs to be improved.

On April 1st, we will name a winner. But, in the mean time, don’t let our opinion sway you. What story intrigues you? What pitch would prod you from the couch to the bookstore (or, if you’re really lazy, to buy it online)? This year, we’ve made it easy for you to vote for your favorite pitch. The pitch that receives the most votes will be awarded the “Fan Favorite,” and the author will receive a free one-hour consult with us (worth $250).

But please note: YOU CAN ONLY VOTE ONCE! So please choose carefully. Don’t just read the first couple of pitches — read them all. You owe it to your fellow Wrimos. Encourage your friends, family and random strangers to vote for you via the link to the poll. We will also be posting these pitches—a couple a day–on our Facebook page. We encourage anyone to “like” your entry but only poll votes from the webpage will count towards the Fan Favorite.National Novel Writing Month logo

This year, we’re doing something new and special. We’re hosting a free webinar on Thursday, April 7th at 8PM EST. During the webinar, we’ll be teaching the art of the pitch.  A great pitch can open so many doors for you.  A terrible pitch pretty much assures that those doors will remain closed.  We will also answer any questions about pitching, publishing, writing, books, or the nature of the universe, mankind, womankind, life, love and death. Details to follow, but mark your calendars now!

Finally, through April 1st, we are still offering a free 20-minute consult (worth $100) to anyone who buys a copy of our book The Essential Guide To Getting Your Book Published, which was updated in July 2015! The new edition includes information on e-books, crowdfunding, social media, micro-publishing, and more. It retains all the topics covered in the earlier edition, including how to get an agent, self-publishing, and marketing. Just email us (david@thebookdoctors.com) a copy of your receipt and we’ll be in touch to set up a time to talk.

Your humble servants,

The Book Doctors

The Book Doctors, Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. You can join our newsletter to receive interviews and tips on how to get published.

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The Book Doctor Client Leslie Sorrell Wins Texas Writers League Memoir Contest

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Our absolutely fabulous client Leslie Sorrell, whose amazing memoir just won the Texas Writers League Memoir Contest. Can an absolutely fabulous book deal be far behind?

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2015 NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza

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Read the 2015 pitches below and vote for your favorite, by author:

Total Voters: 1,157

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Nano Nation delivers yet another batch of pulse-ponding pitches!  Rum Runners and American Revolutionary girls. Expiring ovaries and paralyzed vocal chords.   Blood crazed blondes and Time traveling teens. There’s something for everyone here.

Once again, we were totally blown away by the diversity, quantity and quality of pitches we got in our NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza. But of course we’ve come to expect this level of excellence from NaNo Nation. The Book Doctors had an absolute blast swimming in this vast pool of pitches. Write on, Wrimos!

Now for the 411: The 25 pitches below were selected randomly.  Our comments follow each pitch. It’s our mission to try to help all you amazing writers not just get published, but get successfully published.  That’s why we’ve told you what works, but also what needs to be improved.

On March 31, 2015, we will name a winner. But, in the mean time, don’t let our opinion sway you. What story intrigues you? What pitch would prod you from the couch to the bookstore (or, if you’re really lazy, to buy it online)? This year, we’ve made it easy for you to vote for your favorite pitch. The pitch that receives the most votes will be awarded the “fan favorite”, and the author will receive a free one-hour consult with us (worth $250).

But please note: YOU CAN ONLY VOTE ONCE! So please choose carefully. Don’t just read the first couple of pitches — read them all. You owe it to your fellow Wrimos. Encourage your friends, family and random strangers to vote for you via the link to the poll. We will also be posting these pitches—a couple a day–on our Facebook page. We encourage anyone to “like” your entry but only poll votes from the webpage will count towards the Fan Favorite.

Finally, through the 31st, we are still offering a free 20-minute consult (worth $100) to anyone who buys a copy of our book The Essential Guide To Getting Your Book Published. Just email us (david@thebookdoctors.com) a copy of your receipt and we’ll be in touch to set up a time to talk.

 

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The Book Doctors NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza Winner Gets 3-Book Deal with Random House

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The Book Doctors are proud to announce 2013 National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) winner Stacy McAnulty got a 3-book deal from Random House for The Dino Files, in which a nine-year-old dino expert has adventures at the Dinosaur Education Center of Wyoming, run by his paleontologist grandparents.

stacy-bio-200The 2015 Book Doctors NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza is accepting pitches from now until March 6. Just send your pitch to: nanowrimo@thebookdoctors.com. PLEASE DO NOT ATTACH YOUR PITCH, JUST EMBED IT IN THE EMAIL. All pitches must be received by 11:59PM PST on March 6, 2015. The 25 random pitches will be posted on March 15, 2015. Winners will be announced on March 31, 2015. Anyone can vote for fan favorite, so get your social media engine running as soon as the pitches go up!

Like last year, we’re offering free 20-minute consultations (worth $100) to anyone who buys a copy of The Essential Guide To Getting Your Book Published. Just attach a copy of your sales receipt to your email and we’ll set up your consultation.

It’s been a great year for Pitchapalooza winners. Cathy Camper and Raul Gonzalez III were our Pitchapalooza winners from world-famous Powell’s bookstore in Portland, Oregon. Their middle grade graphic novel, Lowriders in Space, is the first in a two-book deal with Chronicle Books. Cari Noga was the NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza winner in 2011. Her novel, Sparrow Migrations, was a semifinalist in the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest, the spring 2013 winner of the ForeWord Firsts contest sponsored by ForeWord Reviews, and was named a literary fiction category semi-finalist in the Kindle Book Review’s 2014 Kindle Book Awards. She recently received an offer from Lake Union Publishing, an imprint of Amazon Publishing. Then there’s Pitchapalooza winner and NaNoWriMo veteran, Gennifer Albin. After she won Pitchapalooza, one of New York’s top agents sold her dystopian novel in a three-book, six-figure deal. Her third book, Unraveled, just came out this past fall. And these are just a very few of our many success stories!

Are you feeling a little unsure about exactly how to craft your pitch? We’ve got 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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