That's right all you literary hopefuls, #pitmad is just around the corner! But what exactly is #pitmad, and how do you participate? I thought I'd give you a run down and suggestions while I also furiously scribble out pitches for the event.

#Pitmad is a quarterly pitch party where writers tweet a 280-character pitch for their finished manuscripts. Agents and editors will be scouring twitter and liking/favoring tweeted pitches that catch their attention. If they like your tweet, that means they want you to query your book to them. Yes, this is a real thing. People have landed agents and editors this way!

Some things to keep in mind:

Make sure your manuscript is complete. This event is for people who are ready to query their books (query letter, manuscript, synopsis and all). If you can't participate on December 6th (8am-8pm EST), don't worry! The next one is March 7th.
Don't favorite other friends' tweets, because that's how agents communicate with the authors. If you want to support your friend, retweet their post!
Include #pitmad and an age category to help the agents better find your work.
You can pitch more than one manuscript, but each manuscript only gets three pitches for the whole day, so space them out.
If an agent or editor likes your tweet, make sure to research them to ensure it's someone you want to represent you.

For more information, check the official website.

But what is a pitch, you might ask? It's basically a summary of your story in 280 characters. That's right, that huge manuscript you wrote? You need to tell us the most important things about it in a sentence or two.

And you thought writing a synopsis was hard.

Writing the perfect pitch can seem impossible, which is why you should check out Amelie Zhao's blog post How to Write a Killer Twitter Pitch. She gives excellent examples of pitches that caught an agent's attention, including her own during #dvpitch.

A few tips to keep in mind are:

Introduce a protagonist and antagonist.
Explain what's at stake.
Add in what makes your pitch/story unique.
Show your personality.
Think of comps, or books that are similar to yours to show you know what kind of audience your book will attract.
Test your pitch out on other people.

Amelie breaks this down into even more detail, but this list can help you get started. Also, don't get discouraged if you don't get chosen. Thousands of people are pitching at the same time, and agents have to sift through everyone. That's why it's so important to make your pitch unique and eye-catching (and I don't mean by using images).

If you're doing #pitmad, give a shout out below, and feel free to practice your pitch!

Good luck and happy writing!

A few months ago I decided that I wanted to try out for the Zebulon contest through the Pikes Peak Writing Convention in Colorado. The goal is to submit 2,500 words of your story, write a mock query letter, and create a synopsis. Up until that point, I hadn't tried to write an official query letter. I had made a draft of one when I was a student at the Denver Publishing Institute, but that was more a trial and error attempt. It was very, very real for the Zebulon. They even created a mock agent that you had to address. I don't claim to be a perfect query letter writer, but after that experience, I do have some tips I would like to offer to those of you who are trying to get your novels published. You can try to go through a publishing company without an agent, but from what I've read, you'll have a better shot if you have an agent at your back. So, here are just a few tips:

Research your agent: Know what he/she is looking for. You don't want to send a fantasy query to a person who only accepts non-fiction stories. Look at some of the stories he/she has already chosen. That might help you decide if you have the right fit.
Include information about the agent in your query. This makes the letter more personal and lets the agent know that you've taken the time to research her. This may include mentioning the books she's acquired, or the types of things she likes to read.
Understand the query guidelines for your agent. One mishap can cause your letter to get thrown in the garbage.
Make your query letter only a page long, or follow the word count guidelines on the agency site.
Be confident, but not cocky. Make the agent believe that you have confidence in yourself, but don't be arrogant.
Be professional.
Sell your book. Create a strong attention getter that makes the agent want to keep reading your query letter. Depending on what resource you go through, you might include the hook at the beginning of the letter, or right when you discuss your story.
Don't talk too much about yourself. If you've had work published, then include that, and the numbers too of how many books were sold. If you're a beginning writer...don't say it. Just show that you're confident in your book.
Include word count in your query letter. Agents can often tell just how much revision you might need by the amount of words in your story (i.e. 300,000 words might be a red flag for a first time fantasy book).
Know your facts. If your book falls under a very popular genre that's sold millions of books, say it. This means that your book might be easier to sell, and therefore the agent might be more inclined to look it over.
If the agent asks for money upfront, RUN AWAY. This is not a legitimate agent. An agent should not be paid until your book has sold, and she'll take commission from that.
Spell check. I can't emphasize this enough. One misspelling is a good way to get your query letter thrown out.

These are just a few things that I learned. If you want additional guidance, you can check out How to Write a Query Letter.

There are a lot of resources on the internet, but your best bet is to go through the agency website to see what they require. Good luck!