Peer Critique Workshop! PitchMAS 2016

On the First Day of #PitchMAS, Tam and Jessa gave to me: 

A Peer Critique/Honing Workshop!

HAPPY #pitchMAS, YOU GUYS!

Comment below with your pitches (both 35 word blog pitches and 140 character Twitter pitches, or just one--whichever you feel you need help with!). Your peers will comment and help you hone your pitches into something that will grab the attention of our esteemed editors and agents during the live pitch fest.

Please, please, please read each other's comments and share your thoughts and pointers. 
That's what today is all about! 

***PLEASE READ THIS!***

Because of the sheer volume of comments on the pitch-honing workshop, you'll have to click "load more'' at the bottom of the page a few times to see all of the comments. When in doubt, hit 'refresh'!

Here are a few free tips from Tam: 

-In a pitch, we need a GOAL, a CONFLICT, and STAKES.

The goal is what the main character/s need to accomplish.
The conflict is what's preventing them from accomplishing that goal.
The stakes are what happens if the main character fails.

Sometimes these can be combined, but we need to get a feeling for those points. I know it sounds like a lot to cram into 35 words, but here is one of mine as an example. 

*And please remember, a pitch CAN break the rules--it's there to HOOK us. Forest/trees. If it doesn't have all three but makes us get grabby raccoon hands for your MS, then it does its job.*

-Hyphenated words count as ONE WORD, but don't try to be sneaky with it. Follow grammar rules. 

-Especially in Spec Fic, the temptation to use unique words comes up. But if your character is a Thferzle, that gives me NO information out of context in a pitch. Judges haven't read your MS and don't know what YOUR Thferzle is. Avoid using made up words because they raise more questions and give no information--burning up one of your precious words. 

-Things you can PROBABLY safely cut from the blog pitch: 

               -Ages (we can infer your MC's age is 13-18ish if the category says YA. Don't waste one of your 35 words on something we don't need.)

               -Last names
               -Anything that's listed in the relevant information above the pitch. Category, genre, POV, tense. (These might be necessary in the twitter pitch, but the blog gives you more wiggle room as you get to include more.)

-PLEASE make sure it's a PITCH and not a SPOILERY SYNOPSIS. Don't tell us everything that happens in 35 words. ENTICE US to read more WITH those 35 words!!! No one likes a spoiler. 

-PLEASE don't try to entice us by being deliberately vague. By this, I mean don't try and use made up words, or 'you'll never guess what happens next!' as a means of piquing our interest. MAKE US CARE about what happens next. There's a difference between being mysterious and being annoyingly vague. 

And one more bonus tip: 
Questions in your pitch are almost always something to avoid. "Will she save the day!?" I don't know, will she? We don't know enough about your character to care, frankly. So don't waste precious pitch space with a question that we can't actually answer. (Side note: this is a great piece of advice for QUERIES as well.) 

An example of a comment during the pitch-honing workshop could look something like this:

Name: Tamara Mataya
Title: THE BEST LAID PLANS

Category: Adult
Genre: Erotic Romance
Wordcount: 55k

35 word blog pitch:

Ten years later, she doesn't recognize him. He never forgot her. Jayne wants the perfect lover. Malcolm wants revenge. But you know what they say about the best laid plans...

Twitter pitch:

Jayne wants the perfect lover. Malcolm wants revenge. But you know what they say about the best laid plans. #PitchMAS

Once your comment has posted, people can respond telling you what would work better for your pitch,  what they like, dislike, etc, and you can all help each other with honing your pitches and making them contest ready. 

NOTE: Tamara and Jessa will not be participating in the peer critique/pitch honing portion of #pitchMAS, as we are the ones who will be picking the Top pitches for the blog, so it would not be fair. 

We will, however, be around to answer questions on Twitter, so @ us or use the hashtag! 

Good luck, everyone! We can't wait to read your polished pitches once the submission window opens on Sunday, and hopefully help you on your path to bringing your writing dreams to fruition! 

Click here for PitchMAS Dates and Details!
Click here for our list of 2016's participating agents and editors! 
Click here for an Info post that might answer your questions! 

XO,

Tam & Jessa 

***PLEASE READ THIS!***
Because of the sheer volume of comments on the pitch-honing workshop, you'll have to click "load more'' at the bottom of the page a few times to see all of the comments. When in doubt, hit 'refresh'!