#PBpitch on twitter?

NicolaSchofield

@Coley here's the info: http://www.pbpitch.com/pbpitch-twitter-event.html

Essentially you write a tweet-length pitch for your book with the hashtag #pbpitch then agents and publishers actively monitor the hashtag on the day and if they like your tweet then that means they are interested and want you to send them the full manuscript.

Coley

@neschof thanks for the summary and the link!

Katie Kordesh

@neschof I just found out about it too! It seems like a great way to get noticed. Would be cool to have some stuff prepared for the next one

NicolaSchofield

@Katie-Kordesh it's a good length of time, now until June, to try and get something together. A good incentive to keep working on one thing until it's polished too.

burvantill

I just put the June event on my calendar so I won't forget. What do you guys think about sharing our prepped pitches with each other for feedback?
Maybe in this post?

Coley

@burvantill should we do it maybe more privately so its not stolen by random surfers lol. Not sure how to do that tho ...btw I don’t have a manuscript together but have a few very rough drafts....

NicolaSchofield

@burvantill @Coley I'm even further away with only a few ideas / outlines at the mo. But I'm hoping 4 months will be enough time to put something together. I was planning on going through the writing picture books SVS course to develop them. I'd be really up for having a group to read and critique our writing / pitches, however you think best to organise it (here or more private via Google docs or similar).

Coley

@neschof google docs might work. I’d be up for the course here too. Maybe we can split it into manageable chunks like Braden does. I could take a look at the course this weekend and chunk it into a plan.

Katie Kordesh

Ooo I love that idea!! I'd be down to try either

Also, I'm in a similar situation @neschof . I have a few ideas I have been mulling over but nothing concrete

Are you guys thinking of making illustrations to go with it or just the manuscript? When I was scrolling through pitches the ones with illustrations seemed to really stand out.

burvantill

I’ve joined a critique group locally that uses google docs to share their stories. I don’t know how to start a private group but I can certainly learn and set one up for us. As soon as I do that I will send the link ( if that’s how it works. Lol. ) through a chat.

I am editing my first story. But I have 2 more that are ideas that I could pitch.
Does anyone know, do the stories have to be completely written to pitch them or can they be well thought out ideas?

@Coley I’m interested in doing the picture book class. I’m going to go check it out right now to be sure.

NicolaSchofield

@Katie-Kordesh yes, I was definitely going to illustrate it. Probably try and have a dummy book ready with everything sketched out and a couple of finished spreads.

@burvantill I think if an agent or publisher indicates they're interested then the expectation is you'll send them a full manuscript pretty soon. If you also have illustrations then maybe they'll be a bit more flexible, I'm completely guessing though

Coley

@burvantill it would be fun to have a group work through it together. The lessons are longish, maybe an hour or more. There are 9 lessons plus a free session at the start. We could do one a week. I've done up to lesson four I think but got off track because nothing holding me accountable.
Last time I started looking up some of the books she was referencing on YouTube read aloud channels. Which definitely expanded my internal library of books. So that's more extra homework if you do that. Plus there are rewrites most weeks of your story or stories eg from different points of view

Jeremy Ross

Hi @Katie-Kordesh, this is really cool. I’m not on Twitter, but interested to see how this plays out.

StudioLooong

Ahh I want in on this! I've been throwing around some ideas for manuscripts. One of my goals this year is to finish a book dummy and I'd love some feedback on story ideas. From looking into it, it seems like to really be successful/seen for #pbpitch you need to have over 1000 followers on twitter (something about # of followers plays into what tweets are seen for trending topics) and it also helps if others retweet your tweet so maybe we could strategize for day of to give each other a boost

Katie Kordesh

@StudioLooong welcome!! and agreed! Anything to get more eyes on our stuff.

burvantill

@Coley I just watched the intro video. I've downloaded all of the material and will start on the assignments ASAP. I already have a story so I may be able to catch up quick.

burvantill

I watched the first video for the Writing Picture Book class and the first assignment is to read some from the textbook.... which I don't have and can't get from my library. She did mention that she would be drawing from other newer sources, so i'm not going to buy her book. BUT, I did find a site that has some great info from her book and some additional info supplied by the blogger himself.
Writing Picture Books with Ann Whitford Paul (Part 1)
Writing Picture Books with Ann Whitford Paul (Part 2)

mag

PBPitch twitter party tomorrow! Are you going to participate? Do you have more than one story ready in case editor/agent likes your tweet? I really really wanted to participate, but it looks like I'm not going to have my picture book dummy polished and ready to present on time. Also I only have one picture book dummy right now (although I have few more manuscripts finished...) So I don't know. Should I try it anyway? What are your strategies regarding this Twitter event?