There’s the old saying: It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Well, in the Twitter world, it’s better to have pitched and lost than never to have pitched at all. Because whether you get the desired literary agent ‘LIKE’ or not, Twitter Pitch can still be a rewarding experience.

I finally gave it a try on March 4th, my first Twitter Pitch session. I will cut to the chase: I didn’t receive the coveted LIKE. Uber disappointing. However, I did learn a great deal before, during, and after the event.

First, the event. The website where I found the rules and information about Twitter Pitch sessions is Pitch Wars. Look under #PitMad and you will find an overview of the event, rules, dates, FAQs, etc. You will also find the very important age category and genre hashtags that you will include with your pitch. Why use hashtags? Because these categories and genres are what the agents use to search through thousands of pitches.

Second, the pitch. There is information on Pitch Wars under #PitMad on creating your pitch. There is also a great article which I have referenced on my Resources web page where a literary agent details how to craft your Twitter Pitch. Both are valuable resources. But why not also check out the source? If you go on Twitter and search #pitmad (with or without hashtags), you will find more pitches than you know what to do with. Now, I did notice some folks revising their pitch later in the day. Others were pitching more than one book.

This is one of the reasons why I found the pitch event valuable. Hundreds (thousands?) of people were pitching, and they were pitching great ideas across categories. I wished I had gotten a babysitter for the day because I wanted to devote more time to reading and learning from others’ pitches.

Next, the pin. Wait, what? That’s right, we need to pin that tweet pitch. You use those three dots on the top of your tweet and pin your pitch to the top of your profile. This way, it is easy to find for those who will RT your pitch.

RT is retweet. This is an essential part of the event. You can retweet others’ pitch tweets, and they can retweet yours. But they have to be able to find yours and that’s why you pin it to the top of your profile. Now, here’s where things get interesting: the more your pitch is retweeted, the more often it appears in the feed, less chance of it getting buried and lost, and more chance of agents reading it. Plus, you are supporting other writers by retweeting their pitch.

There are kind members of Twitter’s #WritingCommunity who offer prior and during the event to RT your pitch. Take them up on this! I wish I had more. But during the event, you still have the chance to connect with others. I retweeted loads of great pitches across categories, added comments of support, and was gifted with others retweeting my pitch.

You do want to avoid LIKE-ing other writers’ pitches. The LIKE/Heart button is for the literary agents to communicate their interest. Which is why the RT and the comment section is used so widely during the event as the primary ways to support each other.

Overall, it was a great event to connect with other writers. I followed others and they followed me. Connections in the #WritingCommunity increased substantially throughout the day. It was fun and collaborative and in good spirit.

Last, I’ll share my pitch:

THIS SAVAGE SONG + CROWN’S GAME

Imbued with wolf essence, stone mason Arturo struggles to own his volatile power while being hunted by mercenaries, who are also stalking partially blind Isabel as she unearths clues about the royal family’s mysterious disappearance.

#PitMad #YA #F

Comps are on the top. (Some folks have an X between them while others have +. I saw X more often.) They give the agent a good sense of how your book compares in the genre and a sense of what it’s like. I saw many who didn’t use only books but branched out into movies, tv, characters, concepts, etc. Next, we see the pitch – the most exciting and essential part of the book. You only have 280 characters for the entire pitch so keep this part concise. Last, your hashtags so the agents can find your age category and genre. There are many genres listed on the #PitMad page on Pitch Wars. I saw others list more than one genre (when applicable) so they would come up in more searches.

Most importantly, this is a successful event for some. I’ve seen several writers post about agents liking their pitch and sending in requested materials. How amazing is that!!!

I hope to see you in June at the next pitch session!