#the book doctors
Ready to pitch your novel to the pros? Here’s a message from The Book Doctors to tell you how!
You wrote your 50,000 words (or close!). You’re a winner. You felt the high. Now what are you going to do with your precious manuscript? That’s where we, The Book Doctors, come in. Join us for our twelfth annual NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza to learn how to catch the attention of publishers and readers.
For those of you unfamiliar with Pitchapalooza, here’s the skinny: You get 250 words to pitch your book. Twenty pitches will be randomly selected from all submissions. We will then critique the pitches during alive webinar on April 2, 12PM PT, so you get to see what makes a great pitch. At the end of the webinar, we will choose one winner from the group. The winner will receive an introduction to an agent or publisher appropriate for their manuscript.
We will also crown a Fan Favorite who will receive a free one-hour consultation with us (worth $250). On April 3, 2022, the 20 random pitches will be posted on our website, www.thebookdoctors.com. Anyone can vote for a fan favorite, so get your social media engine running as soon as the pitches go up! Connecting with your future readers is a vital part of being a successfully published author, and this is a great way to get some practice. Voting closes at 11:59PM PT on April 25, 2022. Fan Favorite will be announced on April 26, 2021.
Here’s how to enter:
- BeginningFebruary 15, 2022, you can email your pitch to [email protected].
- Do not attach your pitch, just embed it in the email.
- You get up to 250 words to pitch your book.
- Includeyour title and your name at the top of your pitch. These don’t count toward your 250 words.
- All pitches must be received by 11:59PM PT on March 15, 2022.
Where are they now? NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza Success Stories
It’s been a great year for past NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza winners:
In 2016, May Cobb ran away with NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza. She’s been capturing attention ever since. In 2019, it was a “heated six-publisher auction” that ended with Berkley winning the rights to publish her novel The Hunting Wives, which was pitched as In a Dark, Dark WoodmeetsMean Girls.The Hunting Wives launched in May 2021 with buzz from The Skimm, Cosmopolitan, SheReads, PopSugar, BuzzFeed, Goodreads, E! Online, Crime Reads, Book Riot, Bustle, and more. In September 2021, May announced another two-book deal with Berkley. First up, My Summer Darlings hits bookstores in May 2022: three lifelong friends plus a dangerous, sexy new stranger in town add up to a scorching summer of manipulation, obsession, and murder.
Gloria Chao won the 2015 NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza with the novel that would become her critically-acclaimed debut American Panda. Her award-winning books have been featured on the “Best of” lists of Seventeen, Bustle, Barnes & Nobles, PopSugar, Paste Magazine, and more. American Panda received four starred trade reviews, was on the Amelia Bloomer list, and was a Junior Library Guild Selection, Indie Next Pick, and YALSA Teens’ Top 10 Pick. Her second novel, Our Wayward Fate, came out in 2019 and her third novel, Rent a Boyfriend, is out now from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
But that’s not all. Fools in Love, an anthology released December 7, 2021 (Running Press Kids/Hachette), features Gloria and fourteen bestselling, award-winning, and up-and-coming authors as they reimagine some of the most popular themes in the romance genre that are sure to steal your heart. Gloria’s work graces Game On: 15 Stories of Wins, Losses, and Everything in Between that released last month from Viking/Penguin. And coming from Viking Penguin in Fall 2022 is When You Wish Upon a Lantern, a YA romance that sold in a heated auction! In Spring 2023, look for Freshman Orientation, a YA anthology of linked stories set on the first day at a small college, from the perspective of teens moving into their dorms, making new friends, avoiding old ones, and trying to fit in (Candlewick).
Gloria is giving back to aspiring authors by being a 2022 We Need Diverse Books YA mentor.
Stacy McAnulty has been on fire since she won our third NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza, publishing twenty-eight books and counting. Her latest novel, Millionaires for the Month, is out now from Random House Books for Young Readers. Kirkus calls it “cinematic, over-the-top decadence, a tense race against time, and lessons on what’s truly valuable.” Stacy also signed a deal with Random House to publish another middle grade novel, A Penny Doubled, pitched as How to Steal a DogmeetsBrewster’s Millions. She also published three picture books in 2021: A Small Kindness (February 2), Mars! (February 9), and Brains! Not Just a Zombie Snack (August 31). And Little, Brown recently won at auction rights to publish her debut nonfiction middle grade Save the People! Halting Human Extinction, a look at our potential demise with a side of humor and a powerful remedy: scientific knowledge. In April 2022, look for Our Planet! There’s No Place Like Earth, and in August, Blood! Not Just a Vampire Drink.
“Winning Pitchapalooza gave me confidence and the courage to keep fighting. It also helped bring my manuscript to the next level.”
–Gloria Chao
Important NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza Dates
- Tuesday, February 15, 2022 — Pitch submission opens
- Tuesday, March 15, 2022 — Final day to submit pitches
- Saturday, April 2, 2022— NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza live on YouTube
- Sunday, April 3, 2022 — Voting for Fan Favorite begins at www.thebookdoctors.com
- Monday, April 25, 2022 — Final day to vote for Fan Favorite
- Tuesday, April 26, 2022 — Fan Favorite announced at www.thebookdoctors.com
NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza FAQs
Q: May I submit more than one pitch?
A:Yes, you may submit multiple pitches. Please include your book’s title and your name at the top of each pitch.
Q: How are the 20 pitches selected?
A: The 20 pitches are randomly selected; however, we read all the pitches.
Q: Are the choices for Fan Favorite also randomly selected?
A: Yes. They are the same 20 pitches that we read during the webinar.
Q: Will a recording be available?
A:Yes. You’ll be able to view the recording at www.thebookdoctors.comandon YouTube.
Q: Does my novel have to be finished?
A:No, you may pitch a work in progress.
Q: May I submit a pitch for a self-published novel?
A:Yes.
Q: Will the writers of the randomly selected pitches be notified ahead of the webcast?
A: The writers of the selected pitches will not be notified ahead of the event.
Q:Where can I learn more about writing my pitch?
A: We offer resources on our YouTube channel. We recommend that you watch “The Art of the Book Pitch”, last year’s NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza, and our Pitch Tips playlist. Hungry for more examples? Check out our Pitchapalooza playlist. You can find Gloria Chao’s pitch tips here.
Are you feeling a little unsure about exactly how to craft your pitch? We’ve got you covered.
10 Tips for Pitching Your Novel
- A great pitch is like a poem. Every word counts.
- Make us fall in love with your hero. Whether you’re writing a novel or memoir, you have to make us root for your flawed but lovable hero.
- Make us hate your villain. Show us someone unique and dastardly whom we can’t wait to hiss at.
- Just because your kids love to hear your story at bedtime doesn’t mean you’re automatically qualified to get a publishing deal. Make sure to include only relevant information in your pitch.
- If you have any particular expertise that relates to your novel, tell us. Establishing your credentials will help us trust you.
- Your pitch is your audition to show us what a brilliant writer you are, so it has to be the very best of your writing.
- Don’t make your pitch a book report. Make it sing and soar and amaze.
- A pitch is like a movie trailer. You start with an incredibly exciting/funny/sexy/romantic/etc. close-up with intense specificity, then you pull back to show the big picture and tell us the themes and broad strokes that build to a climax.
- Leave us with a cliffhanger. The ideal reaction to a pitch is, “Oh my God, what happens next?”
- Show us what’s unique, exciting, valuable, awesome, unexpected, about your project, and also why it’s comfortable, familiar and proven.
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Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry have appeared everywhere from NPR’s Morning Edition to The New York Times to The Wall Street Journal to USA Today. They have taught everywhere from Stanford University to the Miami Book Festival to the granddaddy of American bookstores, Strand Books in New York City.
Their book, The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published, is the go-to book on the subject, and contains all the information you’ll ever need, taking you through the entire process of conceiving, writing, selling, marketing and promoting your book.
