Heres How to Navigate a Twitter Pitch Party (and Land a Book Deal)

Heres How to Navigate a Twitter Pitch Party (and Land a Book Deal) The Ins and Outs of a Twitter Pitch Party If you're familiar with the traditional publishing landscape, you'll know that it's really hard to land a book deal without an agent, and it's impossible to get an agent without sending dozens of query letters†¦ There are, however, a few ways to  get to know agents before you submit to them. One is to go to conferences. Another one is Twitter Pitch Parties - and those don't require you leaving even your house!In this post, publisher, author and professional speaker L. Diane Wolfe explains what these "parties" are, and how they can help you find that agent or get that book deal you've been dreaming of! Wolfe is also an administrator for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, which is launching its annual Twitter Pitch Party on January 18, 2018. Details here.You’ve probably heard of pitch parties or seen one in action. There are dozens upon dozens of pitch parties throughout the year. Some draw over a thousand participants. If you’re not familiar with the con cept, you might be wondering†¦What is a Twitter pitch party? Hosted by an organization, individual, or publisher, a Twitter pitch party usually lasts twelve hours. Using the designated hashtag for the event, writers Tweet a summary/pitch of their manuscript. Publishers and agents watch the hashtag feed and â€Å"heart† pitches that interest them. Writers receiving a â€Å"heart† can then submit a completed query. And the best part? It’s already been requested, which means it won’t be an unsolicited query that falls into the slush pile.Each organizer has its own set of rules, but these are the general guidelines:Writer Tweets must include the Twitter pitch hashtag. (#IWSGPit, #PitMad, etc.)Tweets must also include the appropriate genre hashtag. (e.g. #YA)Tweets can only be sent out at intervals - once an hour, once every other hour, etc.You can re-Tweet your friends’ Tweets, but do not â€Å"heart† them.Publishers and agents will â€Å"heart† the pitches that interest them, inviting those writer s to send a query. Looking for an agent? Take a look at upcoming Twitter Pitch Parties in your genre! Who should enter a Twitter pitch?Any writer with a complete and polished manuscript that is ready for querying or in the process of being queried. (Unless you have already signed with an agent or publisher, or your manuscript is under exclusive consideration.) Writers should check the dates of pitch events and the genres featured. Some include a wide variety of genres and some are very specific. Find the pitch contests that fit your manuscript best.Preparation is key. Familiarize yourself with the participating publishers and agents if they are listed on the host site. You can then tailor your Tweets to what they seek. Write your pitch Tweets in advance, crafting 3-4 different ones for each manuscript. Be sure to leave room for hashtags and include all those that pertain to your story in your Tweets. Avoid the use of images, including â€Å"possible† cover art. Write your pitch tweets in advance and craft 3-4 different ones for each manuscript. How to make the most out of the pitch partyOn the day of the event, start Tweeting at the appropriate time. Remember to send Tweets out at the requested intervals and alternate your Tweets so participants aren’t seeing the same one over and over. Some publishers and agents tune in early and some later in the day, so you’ll have to continue checking the hashtag feed. Check your own profile and note any â€Å"hearts† on your pitches. You can also check on the competition and do a search for your genre’s hashtag among the Twitter pitches. If you receive â€Å"hearts† on your pitch, go to that publisher or agent’s Twitter profile first. Many will tweet how they want to receive the pitch queries. Whether they do or not, visit their website and read the submission guidelines. Even if it was a requested query, you still want to follow etiquette and send a proper query. Before you send any query, double-check the publisher or agent’s reputation. Go a general Google search and check sites such as Critters Workshop or SFWA. When you send your query, be sure to note that it was a Twitter pitch request (using the pitch’s hashtag) in the email’s subject line. If you get your Twitter pitch "hearted," make sure you follow the agent's guidelines when submitting! If you don’t receive any â€Å"hearts,† don’t despair. This business is all about timing. Perhaps your pitch sounded similar to a book already in production. Or perhaps the right publisher missed your pitch. Take this opportunity to fine-tune your pitch for the next pitch party. And of course, continue sending query letters to agents and publishers on your list. Twitter parties don’t replace actual query letters, but they are a great way to test the waters and perhaps get a request. There are hundreds of success stories - you might be one pitch party away from yours.If you’re ready to jump into a Twitter pitch party, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group is hosting one on January 18, 2018. Details can be found here.  Lists of Twitter pitch parties can also be found at Carissa Taylor's blog and John R Berkowitz's. Join @TheIWSG's Twitter pitch party on January 18 for a chance to land a publishing deal! Have you had any luck with Twitter pitches in the past? Share your success stories with us, or feel free to ask Wolfe any question about pitches in the comments below!

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Biography

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Biography Occupation:  orator; labor organizer, IWW organizer; socialist, communist; feminist; ACLU founder; first woman to head the American Communist Party Dates:  August 7, 1890 - September 5, 1964 Also Known as:  Rebel Girl of Joe Hills song Quotable Quotes: Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Quotes Early Life Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was born in 1890 in Concord, New Hampshire. She was born into a radical, activist, working-class intellectual family: her father was a socialist and her mother a feminist and Irish nationalist. The family moved to the South Bronx ten years later, and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn attended public school there. Socialism and the IWW Elizabeth Gurley Flynn became active in socialist groups and gave her first public speech when she was 15, on Women under Socialism. She also began making speeches for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW, or Wobblies) and was expelled from high school in 1907. She then became a full-time organizer for the IWW. In 1908, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn married a miner she met while traveling for the IWW, Jack Jones. Their first child, born in 1909, died shortly after birth; their son, Fred, was born the next year. But Flynn and Jones had already separated. They divorced in 1920. In the meantime, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn continued to travel in her work for the IWW, while her son often stayed with her mother and sister. Italian anarchist Carlo Tresca moved into the Flynn household as well; Elizabeth Gurley Flynn and Carlo Trescas affair lasted until 1925. Civil Liberties Before World War I, Flynn was involved in the cause of free speech for IWW speakers, and then in organizing strikes, including those of textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and Paterson, New Jersey. She was also outspoken on womens rights including birth control, and joined the Heterodoxy Club. When World War I started, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn and other IWW leaders opposed the war. Flynn, like many other war opponents at that time, was charged with espionage. The charges were eventually dropped, and Flynn picked up the cause of defending immigrants who were being threatened with deportation for opposing the war. Among those she defended were  Emma Goldman  and Marie Equi. In 1920, Elizabeth Gurley Flynns concern for these basic civil liberties, especially for immigrants, led her to help found the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). She was elected to the groups national board. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was active in raising support and money for Sacco and Vanzetti, and she was active in trying to free labor organizers Thomas J. Mooney and Warren K. Billings. From 1927 to 1930 Flynn chaired the International Labor Defense. Withdrawal, Return, Expulsion Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was forced out of activism not by government action, but by ill health, as heat disease weakened her. She lived in Portland, Oregon, with Dr. Marie Equi, also of the IWW and a supporter of the birth control movement. She remained a member of the ACLU board during these years. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn returned to public life after some years, joining the American Communist Party in 1936. In 1939, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was re-elected to the ACLU board, having informed them of her membership in the Communist Party before the election. But, with the Hitler-Stalin pact, the ACLU took a position expelling supporters of any totalitarian government, and expelled Elizabeth Gurley Flynn and other Communist Party members from the organization. In 1941, Flynn was elected to the Communist Partys Central Committee, and the next year she ran for Congress, stressing womens issues. World War II and Aftermath During World War II, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn advocated womens economic equality and supported the war effort, even working for Franklin D. Roosevelts reelection in 1944. After the war ended, as anti-communist sentiment grew, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn again found herself defending free speech rights for radicals. In 1951, Flynn and others were arrested for conspiracy to overthrown the United States government, under the Smith Act of 1940. She was convicted in 1953 and served her prison term in Alderson Prison, West Virginia, from January 1955 to May 1957. Out of prison, she returned to political work. In 1961, she was elected National Chairman of the Communist Party, making her the first woman to head that organization. She remained chairman of the party until her death. For a long time a critic of the USSR and its interference in the American Communist Party, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn traveled to the USSR and Eastern Europe for the first time. She was working on her autobiography. While in Moscow, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was stricken ill, her heart failing, and she died there. She was given a state funeral in Red Square. Legacy In 1976, the ACLU restored Flynns membership posthumously. Joe Hill write the song Rebel Girl in honor of Elizabeth Gurley Flynn. By Elizabeth Gurley Flynn: Women in the War. 1942. Womens Place in the Fight for a Better World. 1947. I Speak My Own Piece: Autobiography of the Rebel Girl. 1955. The Rebel Girl: An Autobiography: My First Life (1906-1926). 1973.