How to Succeed at PitchWars Without Even Crying

We're a little more than a month away from the opening of PitchWars, and writers everywhere are starting to talk about it. They've even started to pimp their bios. As a veteran of four PitchWars (two where I've gotten feedback and two where I haven't), I thought I'd share some pointers to help you make the most of your PitchWars experience.

What is PitchWars, anyway?

First, in case you haven't heard of PitchWars, let's explain what is it. PitchWars is an online writing contest in which agented, published writers, agency interns, and other industry pros each select a manuscript from the hundreds of entries and mentor an author through the process of polishing the manuscript and submitting to the Agent Round, where literary agents have the opportunity to select entries for possible representation.
It's a way to avoid the agent slush pile. If you make the Agent Round, the agent can be pretty sure you've submitted a quality manuscript that has been vetted and workshopped by a professional writer.
There's no cost, although beginning last year a small donation gave entrants a chance to pitch to additional mentors. I don't know yet what this year's policies will be.

Sounds Great! Tell me how to win.

Like everything in the publishing world, being chosen by a PitchWars mentor is a fight against long odds. Although there are typically close to 100 mentors, there are many more potential mentees than that, and each entrant pitches to multiple mentors. The odds of being chosen are better than they are in the slush pile of the typical agent, but they are still slim.
The good news, being chosen may be the ultimate goal, but it's not the only way to win. Here are some tips to increase your chances of having a successful PitchWars.

1. Define "winning"

You're most likely to have a good experience if you broaden your definition of what it means to win. For some, the only positive outcome is to be chosen by a mentor. These entrants are more likely to be disappointed.
Over the course of the contest, you'll have the opportunity to broaden your circle of writing friends. You'll gain the experience that comes from submitting and, more likely than not, you'll start to develop the thick skin that is necessary for success in the publishing world. You might get feedback from your chosen mentors (if only a sentence or two), and you might get information that helps you improve your work.
Three years ago, I received positive feedback from my chosen mentors, but all agreed on one thing: my manuscript was too short. I followed their advice and entered the same manuscript the next year. Again, I wasn't chosen, but the feedback I got was amazing, including one author who said she loved my book, but didn't choose it because she thought it was too polished for her to be of any help.
Not everybody gets this, but you might. And if you don't, that's a kind of feedback too. There's always more work to do.

2. Respect your mentors

There are several ways to show respect to your mentors:

• Carefully read their bios, which contain information about what they like, and pitch to mentors who are more likely to like what you wrote. This increases your chances, and decreases the odds that you will be ignored.
• Understand that mentors are volunteers who receive nothing in return but the honor of helping one writer get closer to his or her goals. They go into this knowing (and not liking) that they're going to disappoint a lot people, and that some people will even become angry when they are not chosen. Don't be one of those people.
• Give your mentors your best work. I can only imagine the time it takes to consider dozens of entries and look through additional chapters or full manuscripts requested from the lucky few who become finalists. Make their jobs harder and more enjoyable by giving them your best writing. It doesn't have to be perfect, but make sure it's good.
• Be friendly and courteous when mentors post on Twitter. Much of the contest communication is carried out over Twitter. Mentors often drop hints about what they're reading.

In all of your communications with the mentors and other writers, be nice. Be positive. People are here because they want to be helpful. Most of the mentors are sincere when they say they'd pick everybody if they could.

3. Don't stop with your pitch

Many PitchWarriors submit their pitch package and then stop and wait for the announcements of who was chosen. Although this is a perfectly valid way to participate, you can have a better experience if you participate more fully.
Even if you're not a fan of Twitter, you can bask in the (mostly) positive glow of the Twitter chats. It's very much like a conference, where even introverted writers can absorb energy from other writers. Watch for hints that might refer to your work, or might not. Encourage other participants who are feeling down or doubtful. Or hopeful.
It's corny, but true: the more you put in, the more you'll take out. Even when I've participated without any response, I've enjoyed hanging out online with other writers, other people with the same hopes and dreams and frustrations.

4. Redefine "winning"

Even if you're not chosen, find the positives in your experience. It's fine to be disappointed. We all are. But don't be bitter or angry. Look at all these positives:

• You've gained query experience.
• You've had fun hanging out with writers.
• You've put your work out there for others to judge, a very difficult thing to do.
• You might have gotten some feedback. Even if it's not much, it will help make your story better.
• You've learned more about how PitchWars works, information you can use for an even better experience next year.

In this world where participation trophies are too common, it sounds trite to say that everybody who participates in PitchWars is a winner. And, it's not entirely true. People who come out of it bitter and angry or convinced that their writing sucks are not winners.
But, people who come out of it understanding the positives, and realizing how hard it is to write something that's ready to enter in a contest like PitchWars, and how it's even harder to put that baby out there for other people, have won PitchWars. You've gained valuable experience that will help you persevere through the difficult query process, and you've had a fun couple of weeks (or more) of playing the game.
So, yes, there is crying in PitchWars, but if you do it right, the tears will not wash away all the experience and resolve you can win by having the courage to play the game.

Review: The Writer's Data-Book by Amber Florenza

The other day, I was browsing Amazon, looking for interesting writing stuff, and I came across The Writer's Data-Book by Amber Florenza. It costs just under $7 and I was curious, so I bought a copy.

Writers who like to plan your books meticulously will find a lot a lot to love in this book. Even if you only sketch out a few characteristics and useful facts, the worksheets Florenza provides will be useful.

The worksheets focus mainly on characters, although there are pages to help you put together an overview of your book and even draft the dreaded synopsis. Mainly, though, the worksheets give you a place to fill out information about your main characters and the "secondary characters  who matter" and "secondary characters who exist," as the book calls them.

Among the more interesting pages, useful even for pantsers, are worksheets that help you keep track of a character's family and pages where you can sketch out the floor plan of a character's house or other important places.

Many of the left-hand pages throughout the book are lined for notes, and there are blank pages at the back of the book where you can draw or mind-map or whatever it is you like to do.

One interesting element I don't remember seeing before is the concept of flavors for your story. There are a few worksheets where these flavors are included.

The book is clearly a Print-On-Demand book. Mine is dated the day I ordered it. It is available in several colors so you can choose your favorite, or even color-code your projects. The author has also generously provided instructions for printing additional pages that are easy to locate online. In fact, I suppose if you really wanted to, you could print pages without buying the book, but that's cheating. The author deserves something for the work she put into planning her worksheets. Nowhere does she ask you not to do that, but the workbook is reasonably priced and includes those extra spaces for notes and sketches, as well as some pages that are not available for download.

Although the book is a plotter's dream--or could be, if it included more worksheets for scenes and other plot elements beyond the basic book summaries--I think pantsers can also use it for ideas or to track certain details. There's no rule that says you have to fill out every line, but we all need to keep track of stuff. It's a good deal at $6.75, especially since we can print more pages. Even if you use something like Scrivener to keep similar notes, sometimes there are advantages to the old analog way of doing things, especially if you want to make sketches on note paper.

If you're looking for something to help you plan your next story or make notes about your current work in progress--especially information about characters--give this workbook a try.