#PitchMe is a unique type of Twitter pitch contest created by author Krista Van Dolzer with the help of author Tara Shiroff. It involves four weeks of mentoring, opportunities to connect with other writers in your genre, and a pitch fest which will be reviewed by a group of agents and even editors.

For the 2022 #PitchMe, there were two 30-minute submission windows in which you sent several items from your query package such as your pitch, query, and first page of your manuscript. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect when I sent in my submission for my middle grade fantasy, Maira and the Rainbow City.

I was so grateful to be selected as one of the thirty finalists!

Then the mentoring began: Krista sent out feedback for adult, young adult, and middle grade submissions while Tara sent feedback for picture book submissions. The feedback was very helpful and precise, and we were able to send back the revised materials so they could be reviewed again. My query really came together under Krista’s guidance. And it took more times than I can count until I had a strong pitch which would be posted on Krista’s Twitter feed for the pitch fest.

Here’s what my final pitch looked like: https://twitter.com/KristaVanDolzer/status/1582720721872207873

In addition to feedback, Krista and Tara hosted two zoom meetings where we could chat about our books, ask questions about the contest, and learn more about the publishing industry.

The day of the pitch fest was so exciting. Our pitches were posted, and the agents and editors came to check them out. I personally pinned mine to my Twitter page so I could monitor it (i.e., obsessively look at it over and over again). Friends were also welcome to comment, RT and QRT — anything but Like!

After the pitch fest, Krista sent us information about what to send to interested agents and editors. For some, it was a query and a partial request. For others, it was a query and a full request.

Does this sound too good to be true? It was really a wonderful experience.

Krista and Tara are very generous with their time and supportive of querying writers. Krista also posted her thoughts on her blog about the #PitchMe entries she received and offered feedback after the contest by request.

You can follow Krista and Tara on Twitter at @KristaVanDolzer and @TaraShiroff. And if you haven’t checked it out already, all the information you need about #PitchMe is on Krista’s blog!

Thanks for reading!