Speaking of pitching...

There's such thing as Twitter pitching! It's completely difference than your query, verbal pitch, etc. It can be similar to your hook though or a quick one liner. And no, you can't just send Twitter pitches to agents whenever you feel like it. That's not what Twitter is used for. But developing a Twitter pitch "just in case" is great practice for you to look at your ms differently. If forced to use 134 characters (minus six for the hashtag and space), can you describe your ms better than using 300 words? I bet you can, and you'd be amazed at how much information you can convey.

Keep all the same info in mind as you would when constructing a query or verbal pitch. You need character (with the "why we should care" in there too) and conflict. But in 134 characters.

For example, if I were to pitch whatever book in sitting on my desk, which happens to be Cinder by Marissa Meyer (it should be on my bookshelf, but it's too pretty to put away), it might look something like this:

#WVTP In a steampunk twist, Cinderella, a cyborg mechanic, catches the prince's attention; only she can save him from the evil moon queen

(Give me a break, I came up with it in two seconds)

You'll notice I'm not using chat speak. I consider it cheating, so steer clear as much as possible.

Here's a great post about constructing your Twitter pitch (more in depth than I'm getting), with links to more help in the post. I think I might have broken like five of her rules--especially with the vagueness.

And what is this #WVTP you might ask? Apparently you haven't been on Twitter lately. If you've seen anything about The Writer's Voice that was going on all this month, this is a related event. Tomorrow (Thursday) you can pitch via Twitter using this hashtag (which stands for Writer's Voice Twitter Pitch). If one of the lurking agents (myself included) likes your pitch, we will request it. If you get two or more requests, you get to choose one of us to submit to (a twist on The Voice).

Find out more info here on one of The Writer's Voice contest coaches, Brenda Drake's blog (including time the pitching opens and closes--so if you do it wrong, I know you didn't actually read it) as well as which agents you can expect to see lurking.

What's the point of Twitter Pitching rather than querying? Well, you can certainly query. But this is fun! Plus, it gives you a chance to try out Twitter pitching, hooks, one-liners, etc. If you don't get any bites, you know your pitch needs work. If you get a bite, you know you have something great. Instant gratification of sorts.

Otherwise, just come and hang out at the hashtag (if you don't think about it too hard, it doesn't sound so nerdy). Us agents might be flinging poo--er, trash talk--around.

(PS, no Wednesday Reads this week. I'm pacing myself since I'm reading less lately. June is still scheduled as a hiatus month, so no Wednesday Reads then either--I'll have one more Reads for you before I go on break though)

For a little (more) fun, and practice, Twitter pitch me your favorite book (not your own) in the comments. Let's see if yours is better than my Cinder pitch--and I welcome Cinder pitches too. Show up the agent!

Happy pitching!