Today I’m just going over some basic guidelines and things to consider if you’re participating in our #MoodPitch Twitter pitch event.
If you haven’t already heard about it, it’s a pitch contest (the first of which is coming up on Thursday, April 7/22 from 8am-8pm ET) for writers with fully polished, ready-to-query manuscripts. Agents and editors from publishing houses will be participating, so that means they’ll be perusing your amazing pitches—AND MOODBOARDS—for ones that they’re interested in. If they like your pitch, that’s an invitation to send them your material.
That’s right, folks! Most Twitter pitch parties don’t allow the use of moodboards, and certainly not any that include all age categories and genres. But we do! We recognized a need for this, and thus, we bring you #MoodPitch!
Note: there is no obligation to send material just because you receive a like. You need to research the agent or editor and decide if it’s one who you feel you’d like to potentially work with.
Some quick mentions:
You can pitch three times through the day per manuscript, and you can only use one moodboard or aesthetic per pitch. Please don’t add links to your pitch and don’t tag anyone in your pitch. You only have 280 characters to showcase your manuscript and make it stand out, so every bit of that is valuable real estate.
We’re asking that you use the ALT text feature on Twitter to make this contest more accessible for the visually impaired. You can read about how to do that here.
Things to put in a pitch: Main Character + inciting incident + goal + conflict + stakes. You can read more about how to craft a perfect pitch in a previous post here. Please also try to remember to use capitals in your hashtags, like #MoodPitch, as this makes it easier as well.
Our website, www.moodpitch.org, gives you all the details you need to know, including event guidelines, a list of hashtags you can use in your pitches, a list of participating agents and publishers (this list is not exclusive as others may participate without letting us know), FAQs, and more.
You can find out how to create a beautiful moodboard by watching this tutorial I made with the talented Taylor Grothe here.
And you can listen to a bonus episode here where I critiqued pitches sent in by writers. Even if it’s not your pitch, you can learn a lot about how to craft them and what to improve on—as well as what works well—by listening to the critiques.
Be sure to follow us @moodpitchers on Twitter. We have some fun activities in the days leading up to the big day. These are designed to help prepare your pitches and moodboards and build up some hype in the pitch event
Here is a schedule of events, starting this Friday, April 1/22:
If you have any questions about #MoodPitch, please reach out here.
Listen to today’s episode here and catch my interview with horror author H.S. Dilazak!
Halimah S. Dilazak was born and raised in Birmingham where she currently lives. She writes horror fiction often thematic of the surreal, mental health, nature and social commentary. Her debut gothic short story, “The Hollow” was printed in the Winter 2021 issue of Quill and Crow Publishing House; and her first flash fiction story ‘The People in the Boxes’ will be published in Issue 7 by Bear Creek Gazette. You can find her on twitter @Dilazak_HS29
Thanks for reading and listening! If you’re participating in #MoodPitch, I hope you find success not just with finding an agent or publisher, but with making lasting connections with writer friends!
Kathleen Foxx || Author || Editor || Podcast Host 