Countdown to #SFFpit

In six days, authors seeking representation or publication of their fantasy/sci-fi manuscripts will have the chance to pitch them (on Twitter) to agents and editors. This is the first #SFFpit event, and I’m happy to tell you that the response has already been tremendous.

At the time of writing, four small/medium press editors and agents from seven different literary agencies have already promised to participate. My own agent (Jennie Goloboy) will be reading pitches, and she’s invited several of her colleagues as well. Wondering if your dream agent or editor will be there? You’ll find out on pitch day!

The Warm-up: #SFFpit Practice

Yesterday we had a warmup exercise — a practice run for #SFFpit — in which I challenged writers to craft a Twitter pitch for Lord of the Rings or Star Wars.  It was a fun and spur-of-the-moment thing, and open to anyone. I think that I had just as much fun making up pitches as everyone else did. For LOTR, I just had to give the pitch from Boromir’s POV:

Boromir wants the ring to protect his people, but taking it off that pesky hobbit might just bring about their doom. #SFFpit #practice –@DanKoboldt

I also had fun writing a pitch for Gimli — liked him in the books, LOVED him in the movies:

A dwarf helps carry a dangerous artifact to the one place it can be destroyed, mostly to keep it out of elven hands. #SFFpit #practice –@DanKoboldt

For Star Wars, I went with another favorite character’s point of view, because hey, every character’s the hero of his/her own story, right?

Lando’s finally gone legit when a smuggler friend turns up with a bounty on his head. At least he can get his ship back. #SFFpit #practice –@DanKoboldt

And I even tried pretending I was a romance author, with this pitch:

Han’s looking for work to pay off his debt to a gangster. Falling for a princess and her rebellion was never the plan #SFFpit #practice –@DanKoboldt

There were literally tens of other participants in the warm-up exercise! Thank you to everyone who partipated; I was alternately cracking up or fist-pumping as I saw your pitches throughout the day. I had to laugh out loud at this one, from a guy who gets bonus points for having “Jedi” in his Twitter handle:

#SFFpit #practice A race of giant birds refuse to help a tiny man destroy some jewelry because reasons that are never made clear. –@ShinobiJedi42

We even got a glimpse of success when all-star pitcher Diana Urban joined the fun:

A hobbit must outrun orcs through Middle Earth to drop an evil possessed ring into Mt. Doom or else Sauron will kill all. #SFFpit #practice –@DianaUrban

The Winning Pitches

I did promise to pick two winning pitches, whose authors would take home a prize from my e-book collection. My favorite LOTR pitch came from Laura Rueckert

#SFFpit #practice Frodo and Samwise flee from monsters and magic to destroy a deadly ring which poisons Frodo’s mind a little more each day. –@LauraRueckert

Here’s what I liked about her pitch: She gave us Frodo and Samwise, telling us it’s not a solo adventurer, it’s a team. She gave us their goal (destroy the ring), their motivation (it’s deadly), and the stakes (it poisons Frodo’s mind). Well done, Laura! My favorite Star Wars pitch came from Michelle Collins:

#SFFpit #practice Luke uses the Force as he attempts to rescue his friends, defend the Rebels, and deal with his Daddy issues. –@EmCeeCollins

Incidentally, Michelle made a few different pitches throughout the day, which is a good strategy and it paid off. Her pitch gives us character, magic, goals, and it made me laugh with “Daddy issues.” Good writing always stands out, but humor does, too.

#SFFpit Is Next Wednesday

It’s hard to believe that the #SFFpit event is less than a week away! You can help make this a success, if you’re willing to do three things:

1. Polish your pitches. We want the very best, so that agents and editors are glad to have spent their time on the feed. Get some feedback from someone! I’m still offering pitch critiques to people who join the mailing list.
2. Tell people about #SFFpit. Now’s the time to shoot an e-mail or tweet at someone about this contest, especially if you know that they write fantasy or science fiction.
3. Have fun with this! Even if you can’t participate, feel free to send out encouragement on the hashtag, retweet pitches that impress you, and connect with some other authors.

You have your marching orders. May the Force be with you!

Click to Tweet Science fiction & fantasy writers: Pitch your novel to agents & editors on Twitter! #SFFpit by @DanKoboldt is coming June 11, 2014.

 

Follow me and you'll never miss a post:

Please share this article: