PitDark – May 2016

Welcome to #PitDark, the only Twitter pitching contest for dark literature!

#PitDark is the first and only Twitter pitch event to highlight literature of a “darker” nature.  Importantly, this is not limited to horror works; however, any pitched manuscript must contain an element of horror or darker writing.  Examples of such categories include pure horror novels, dark fantasy, murder mysteries, psychological horror stories, non-fiction works about darker subjects, etc.  MG, YA, NA, and adult age categories are welcome.

The first #PitDark will take place on May 12, 2016. 

The Basics

The contest will happen on Twitter under a common hashtag (#PitDark). During a 12-hour window on the chosen day, authors with completed manuscripts who are seeking representation or publication can tweet a pitch for their books (at most, once per hour).

Agents and publishers will make requests by marking pitches as a favorite on Twitter. If your tweet is favorited, please follow the agent or publisher’s submission guidelines. 

General Pitch Party Rules

• Pitch limit. Please do not pitch more than once an hour, per manuscript.
• Time-frame:  8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern.  Please do not pitch before or after this twelve-hour period.

Please follow these guidelines to keep this event fair to everyone involved!

When to Pitch

This event happens annually.  The first #PitDark is scheduled for May 12, 2016.  On pitch day, we will go from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern. 

What to Pitch

Participants get one pitch per hour, per manuscript.  

This contest is for completed, unpublished manuscripts. Complete means that it’s proofed, polished, and ready for submission. Unpublished means you haven’t self-published it online, on Amazon, or in print. For more information on genres, please see below.

Genre mashups, such as dark fantasy, are welcome, as long as you’re not just trying to pass off your book as something that doesn’t contain “darker” themes.

How To Pitch

Your pitch should contain four elements:

1. First and foremost, the hashtag for the contest, #PitDark.
2. An indication of the book’s age category. 
3. An indication of the books’s genre in existing terms. See below for hashtags.  A genre hashtag is mandatory.
4. A pitch for your book. Ideally, it should tell us character, desire, obstacle(s), and stakes

You should tweet your pitch no more than once per hour throughout the day. Make sure each tweet is slightly different, as tweeting identical text is a violation of Twitter’s guidelines.

Hashtags for Age Category

Please use these hashtags to indicate the target age group for your book:

• #YA – Young adult
• #NA – New adult
• #A – Adult

Hashtags for Genre

Please use a hashtag to indicate the genre of your book. The following are example hashtags that may be relevant to your manuscript:

• #H – horror
• #PH – psychological horror
• #GH – gothic horror
• #CSH – cosmic horror
• #BH – body horror
• #CH – comedy horror
• #DC – dark comedy
• #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
• #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

Feel free to use two genre tags, as long as they’re compatible (e.g. #FA #DF), but there’s no pressing need to have more than one. For a description and some examples of these subgenres, see the Genre Subcategories post by Connor Goldsmith of Fuse Literary. Please let me know — by e-mail or Twitter — if I haven’t specified your subgenre!

Pitching Guidelines

Here are some general guidelines to ensure fairness and respect during the contest.

Please DO:

• Pitch completed, unpublished manuscripts that represent your best work.
• Include the contest hashtag, #PitDark.
• Use appropriate hashtags for age category and genre/subgenre.
• Pitch your book once an hour to give everyone a chance to see it.
• Make sure that your tweets are not identical. Twitter will block multiple instances of the same tweet, so be sure to move the hashtags around or change a character each time.
• Follow submission guidelines. Scroll up in an agent or publisher’s tweets to see what they are, and be sure to follow them.

Please DON’T:

• Pitch more than once an hour, per manuscript. This ensures that no one spams the hashtag, and gives everyone a fair shake.
• Pitch directly to agents or publishers (unless invited to do so). In other words, don’t use @ at the beginning of your pitch.
• Use weird formatting or images to get attention. No ALL CAPS or multiple lines. These are annoying.
• Use the hashtag to self-promote. This is not the place to hock your e-book, editorial services, etc.
• Favorite other pitches unless you’re an agent or publisher. There’s nothing more disappointing than getting notification that your tweet was favorited, only to find out it was just another author.

Who Is Participating? 

See below for a list of a few of the participating agents and publishers. This is not an exhaustive list, and since #PitDark is a public event, many more agents and publishers are likely to join in on the day! Please be sure to research any agent or publisher that likes your pitch. There is no obligation to submit your work to anyone you don’t want to.

Agents:

The Bent Agency

• Beth Phelan, @beth_phelan
• Heather Flaherty, @HeddaFlaherty
• Victoria Lowes, @torilowes

Chalberg & Sussman

• Lana Popovic, @LanaPopovicLit

The Cooke Agency

• Ron Eckel, @roneckel

The Deborah Harris Agency

• Rena Rossner, @renarossner

Dystel & Goderich Literary Management

• Mike Hoogland, @mike_hoogland
• Sharon Pelletier, @sharongracepjs

Falkin Literary

• Mark Falkin, @MarkFalkin

Full Circle Literary

• Taylor Martindale Kean, @TMartindaleKean

Harvey Klinger Inc.

• Andrea Somberg, @andreasomberg

Inklings Literary Agency, LLC

• Michelle Johnson, @MJsRetweet

Janklow & Nesbit

• Paul Lucas, @canonizer

Linnan Literary Management LLC

•  Jen Linnan, @jenlinnan

Maria Carvainis Agency, Inc

• Elizabeth Copps, @escopps

The McDermid Agency

• Monica Pacheco, @monicapacheco

McIntosh & Otis

• Christa Heschke, @ChristaHeschke
• Shannon Powers, @S_E_Powers
• Shira Hoffman, @ShiraSHoffman

Rees Literary Agency

• Rebecca Podos, @RebeccaPodos

Sanford J. Greenburger Associates

• Stephanie Delman, @imaginarysmd

Talcott Notch Literary Services

• Gina Panettieri, @ginapanettieri

Writers House

• Alec Shane, @alecdshane

Publishers:

ChiDunnit (ChiZine Publications)

• Samantha Beiko, @SMBeiko
• Sandra Kasturi, @Sandra_Kasturi

ChiGraphic (ChiZine Publications)

• Samantha Beiko, @SMBeiko
• Sandra Kasturi, @Sandra_Kasturi

Crimson Edge Press

• @CrimsonEdgePub

Fat Lip Press

• Kasey Hill, @FatLipPress1

Jolly Fish Press

• TJ da Roza, @TJdaRozaEditor

Pandamoon Publishing

• Cheri Champagne, @CheriChampagne
• Rachel Schoenbauer, @RASchoenbauer
• Saren Richardson, @SarenRichardson
• Zara Kramer, @zarakramer

REUTS Publications

• Kisa Whipkey, @KisaWhipkey

Sands Press

• @SandsPressPub

Skyhorse Publishing

• @skyhorsepub (Chelsey Emmelhainz and Alex Hess)

If you are an agent, editor, or publisher who would like to be listed as a #PitDark participant, please contact me.

Pitching Tips & Advice

The following are a few great articles for Twitter pitching advice:

• Dan Koboldt’s brief guide to Twitter pitching
• Shira Hoffman’s The Art of #TwitterPitching
• How to PitMad by Heather Burnell on Sub It Club
• How #PitMad Helped Me Get A Literary Agent and tips for the next one, by Diana Urban