Tag Archives: Opportunity

Pikes Peak Writers Conference

Pikes Peak logo

Pikes Peak Writers Conference is an opportunity to get literary advise from a professional in the business or get invaluable feedback on your manuscript. The conference will be April 17-19, 2020 held  in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:

  • Delilah Dawson (New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Phasma and more!)
  • Laura DiSilverio (National bestselling and award-winning author of 21 mystery, suspense and young adult sci-fi novels.)
  • Mary Jo Putney (New York Times bestselling author, won ten RWA RITA nominations, two RITA wins, and received RWA’s 2013 Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award.)
  • Chuck Wendig (New York Time bestselling author of Star Wars: Aftermath, alongside other works across comics, games, film, and more.)
  • Reavis Wortham (Spur Award winner and author of historical mysteries and contempory westerns.)

ACQUIRING EDITORS:

AGENTS:

For more authors and specialist, go here. And be sure to register before the workshop fills up and make your reservations at the DoubleTree by Hilton Colorado Spring. As always, have fun!

P.D. Pabst

Author Mentor Match #AMM Round 7

Author Mentor Match was created by Heather Kaczynski and Alexa Donne. The object is to match new writers with authors further along in the publishing process and gain invaluable mentoring! That’s right, this is an opportunity to get your manuscript critiqued (for free) before submitting to agents!

Authors can select up to four mentors during the submission window which is already opened! Submissions close tomorrow February 16, 2020. Watch for the mentor BIOS to be posted to learn what age groups and genres they wish to see in their inbox!

Please note there is a two-step process for entering:

  1. Fill out the submission form. (I believe the form will appear during the sub window period.)
  2. Email the proper information to authormentormatch@gmail.com:
  • A query (pasted in the body of the email!)
  • The first 50 pages/3 chapters of your novel (whichever is longer & can be attached)
  • A synopsis

Be sure to include in the subject line the manuscripts Age Category +Genre + Title. (ie: YA Sci-Fi – Mars Plants are the Bomb) on the email submission. And check out the site in order to know how to select the mentors you wish to submit because it isn’t clear quite yet. (I’m guessing this might be part of the submission form.) As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.

#Pitmad is Almost Here!

Pitmad

Nothing soothes the writerly soul than a good twitter pitch party! This Thursday on December 5, 2019 is the infamous #PitMad founded by Brenda Drake, ran now by Managing Director Sarah Nicolas, and a full committee (yeah, it’s grown that much!). This event will run between the hours of 8am-8pm (EDT). Common age category and genre hashtags are below.

Age Categories:
#PB = Picture Book
#C = Children’s
#CB = Chapter Book
#CL = Children’s Lit
#MG = Middle Grade
#YA = Young Adult
#NA = New Adult
#A = Adult

Genres/Sub-genres:
#AA = African American
#AD = Adventure
#CF = Christian Fiction
#CON = Contemporary
#CR = Contemporary Romance
#DIS = Disabilities
#DV = Diversity
#E = Erotica
#ER = Erotic Romance
#ES = Erotica Suspense
#F = Fantasy
#H = Horror
#HA = Humor
#HF = Historical Fiction
#HR = Historical Romance
#INSP = Inspirational
#IRMC = Interracial/Multicultural
#MR = Magical Realism
#M = Mystery
#Mem = Memoir
#LF = Literary Fiction
#NF = Non-fiction
#R = Romance
#P = Paranormal
#PR = Paranormal Romance
#RS = Romantic Suspense
#S = Suspense
#SF = SciFi
#SPF = Speculative Fiction
#T = Thriller
#UF = Urban Fantasy
#W = Westerns
#WF = Woman’s Fiction

Additional hashtags (optional):
#POC = Author is a Person of Color
#OWN = Own Voices
#IMM = Immigrant
#LGBT = LGBTQIA+ subject matter
#IRMC = Interracial/Multicultural subject matter
#MH = Mental Health subject matter
#DIS = Disability subject matter
#ND = Neurodiverse subject matter

The rules clearly state to only pitch THREE times per manuscript during the contest. Don’t break the rules and clog the feed! Also, please remember anyone can stalk the pitches. So, do your research before submitting your manuscript. And as always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA Fiction.

#FaithPitch is Coming!

littlelamb_final_logo1-e1437675387523-1

A Twitter pitch event exclusively for faith-based fiction is being hosted by Little Lamb Books on November 20, 2019 between 8am –  8pm CST. This is for board books, picture books, middle grade, young adult, and adult fiction that fall under the categories of inspirational, faith-based, biblical worldview, or Christian. Different denominations, ethnicities, a POV in this niche are encouraged. Be sure to use the hashtag #FaithPitch and only pitch 4 times per manuscript during the pitch window. (Maximum of 4 manuscripts are permitted.)

As with all pitch events, any agent or editor can troll the feed. Be sure to do you research before sending off your book baby! For complete guidelines, go here. And as always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.

#PitDark is Next Week!

PitDark-May-October

A cool twitter pitch party is coming on October 24, 2019 and I’m excited! Author Jason Huebinger is the host of #PitDark. This is one of my favorite contests because it’s strictly for manuscripts with darker elements, which is soooo down my alley. The event is between 8am and 8pm EST. Authors may pitch once an hour per manuscript. Please do not clog the feed by over pitching so agents don’t get frustrated and quit reading.

Hashtags for AGE CATEGORIES

  • #MG – Middle Grade
  • #YA – Young adult
  • #NA – New adult
  • #A – Adult

Hashtags for GENRES & SUBGENRES

  • #H – horror
  • #PH – psychological horror
  • #GH – gothic horror
  • #CSH – cosmic horror
  • #BH – body horror
  • #CH – comedy horror
  • #DC – dark comedy
  • #DR – dark romance
  • #SFH – science fiction horror
  • #PNH – paranormal horror
  • #ZH – zombie horror
  • #MH – monster horror
  • #GRH – graphic horror
  • #MM – murder mystery
  • #FA – fantasy
  • #DF – dark fantasy
  • #T – thriller
  • #EF – epic or high fantasy
  • #HF – historical fantasy
  • #LF – literary fantasy
  • #AH – alternate history
  • #PN – paranormal
  • #PR – paranormal romance
  • #UF – urban fantasy
  • #MR – magical realism
  • #SF – science fiction
  • #AF – apocalypse fiction
  • #ML – military science fiction
  • #PA – post-apocalyptic SF
  • #CP – cyberpunk
  • #SFT – sci-fi thriller
  • #SH – superhero / superhuman
  • #SO – space opera
  • #DS – dystopian
  • #SP – steampunk
  • #TT – time travel
  • #WW – weird west
  • #SPEC – speculative fiction
  • #NF – non-fiction

For complete rules, go here. (Note: If your curious about previous agent, editor, and film company participation, there is a link on this page.) As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.

#PBPitch is Coming!

PBPitch 2018

It’s time for another picture book twitter party using the hashtag #PBPitch! So, if you write or illustrate picture books, this is the event for you. This party will take place Thursday, October 24, 2019 from 8am-8pm EST. But remember, anyone can troll the feed, so be sure and do your research! There will be legitimate agents and editors popping in and out, including those that haven’t confirmed their attendance. (You can visit the PBPitch website for a list of over 100 picture book agents.)

Be sure and only pitch once before 2pm and once after! (Yes, twice is all you get per manuscript!) If you’re an illustrator, you can attach an image to the pitch. For complete rules and proper hashtags, go here.

As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.

Yes! It’s MSWL Day!

MSWL Logo

That’s right folks, today agents and editors tweet about their manuscript wish lists on twitter using the hashtag #MSWL. So, if you’re looking for an agent, read their wishes because you just might’ve written exactly what they’re looking for. As for the editors, be sure and check their guidelines because not all of them accept unagented manuscripts. Then, why are they tweeting you ask? Because agents need to submit their clients just the same as when an author subs to an agent.

Don’t worry if you miss the live event, you can always scroll through the feed afterwards. And if you want to get more details regarding what agents/editors want, go to the website Manuscript Wish List. Now, quit dawdling and get to perusing the hashtag!

Good luck finding the perfect match!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.

L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contest

L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers and Illustrators of the Future contest entries ends on September 30, 2019. So, hurry and get your submissions in.

Writers
L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest is an opportunity for new and amateur writers of new short stories or novelettes of science fiction or fantasy. No entry fee is required. Entrants retain all publication rights. All awards are adjudicated by professional writers only. Prizes every three months: $1,000, $750, $500, with an annual grand prize: $5,000 additional! If you have not read the contest rules, please click here before submitting. To enter, go here.

Illustrators
L. Ron Hubbard’s Illustrators of the Future Contest is an opportunity for new science fiction and fantasy artists worldwide. No entry fee is required. Entrants retain all publication rights. All judging by professional artists only. $1,500 in prizes each quarter. Quarterly winners compete for $5,000 additional annual prize! If you have not read the contest rules, please click here before submitting. To enter, go here.

As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.

Pitch Wars Is Almost Here!

PitchWars Logo

For many writers, Pitch Wars is considered the crème de la crème of writing contests that was created by Brenda Drake. It is ran by Managing Director Sarah Nicolas, and a full committee (yeah, it’s grown that much!) Unfamiliar with Pitch Wars? This is an event where mentors select a mentee’s manuscript to revise to help them get ready for an agent round. That’s right, they help a mentee rework their entire manuscript for free. This is because authors and editors want to give back to the writerly community. How exciting is that? There is so much love people!

Submissions will be open from September 25, 2019 (midnight EST) and ends on September 27, 2019 (10pm EST). Manuscripts must be completed and polished in order to enter. This is the crème de la crème of writing contests and only happens once a year! So, get those manuscripts edited for the mentors you hope to sub to because you only get to pick four. Soon, their wish lists will be posted! And as always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.

Pass or Pages Contest

PASSORPAGES

Operation Awesome is hosting a Pass or Pages this month. For this round, the category is  for Middle Grade. Submissions open between September 9 (6am EST) to  September 13 (6pm EST), 2019 This is an opportunity to get feedback from an agent on your query and first 250 words of your manuscript. Peeps, this is priceless! And as a possible bonus, the agent reserves the right to request your FULL.

The participating agent:

There will be a form for submissions on Operation Awesome when the entry window opens. For complete rules and previous feedback reveals, go here. As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.