Every three months, Twitter is bombarded with thousands of 280-character book pitches.

It’s not a paranormal phenomenon–it’s #PitMad, the most exciting day of an anxious, desperate, sleep-deprived writer’s life.

And, if you are a writer with a finished manuscript hoping to pursue traditional publishing, it should absolutely be part of your querying strategy.

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The next #PitMad is coming up! Learn how to craft the perfect Twitter pitch before the big day.

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So what is #PitMad, exactly? And, more importantly, how do you approach #PitMad to help guarantee success?

We’ve got your answers and step-by-step guide right here.

What Is #PitMad?

#PitMad is the largest and most popular of the Twitter pitch parties. It is put on by the same people responsible for Pitch Wars, a mentoring contest for aspiring writers.

Like all Twitter pitch parties, the point of #PitMad is to attract the attention of participating agents and editors with a 280-character book pitch.

If an agent or editor “likes” your pitch, then it means they are requesting that you query them. Often, agents participating in #PitMad have special rules for “liked” authors that allow them to submit more pages than a traditional query submission.

#PitMad occurs four times a year, with each one three months apart.

To participate, all you have to do is tweet out a pitch for your book with the hashtag “#pitmad” on one of these special days.

Why Should You Participate in #PitMad?

If you go into #PitMad thinking it will validate you for all your hard work, you’ll be disappointed. If you think your pitch is so epically perfect that you’ll get a hundred likes, you’ll also probably be disappointed.

If you go into #PitMad understanding that it is a fun event where success is as much a matter of luck as it is talent, then you are going to love it!

With all that said, there is no reason you shouldn’t try #PitMad.

In fact, once you polish your MS and start the querying process, you should participate in every #PitMad (and other Twitter pitch party) you can!

Why?

Because only good things can come from them!

There are no rejections here. Only opportunities. The worst that can happen is no one likes your tweet. And all that likely means is you weren’t visible enough to be seen by the right people.

(Don’t worry, I’ll show you how to make yourself more visible and get luck on your side in the steps below.)

What Are the Rules of #PitMad?

Before you hop straight into the next #PitMad, it’s a good idea to know the rules.

Below are the current #PitMad rules. Be sure to check the official site before the next #PitMad to assure nothing has changed.

• Do NOT pitch previously published works
• Do NOT participate if you are already agented
• Do NOT participate if your MS is not complete and polished
• All genres and categories are welcome
• No images (except for picture books/graphic novels), no GIFs, no threads, no links, and no tags are allowed in your pitch tweets
• You can pitch each MS up to three times throughout the day
• You must include the #PitMad hashtag and age category hashtag (genre hashtags are optional)
• You are encouraged to support others by RTing but leave the “likes” for industry professionals

5 Steps to Rock #PitMad

As I mentioned earlier, #PitMad is much less about how good of a writer you are and much more about how lucky you get.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t steps you can take to help set yourself up for #PitMad success.

Here are five simple things you can do to make sure you rock your next #PitMad.

Step 1: Write the Perfect Pitch

Okay, so this isn’t so simple… In fact, it is by far the hardest part of any Twitter pitch party.

Last week, I talked at length about how to create a great Twitter pitch. If you are still working on your pitch, take a look at that post, here.

To sum up, the perfect pitch combines all of these elements:

• Uses details specific to your book (no generalizations!)
• Highlights what makes your book unique and worth reading
• Focuses on the main character
• Ends by revealing what’s at stake
• Leaves the reader wanting to know more
• Includes #PitMad, age group, and genre hashtags (don’t forget to count these toward your total character limit–you only get 280!)

Once you have the perfect pitch that encompasses each of these elements, you’re done, right?

Well…

Do I really need three different pitches?

The short answer? No. But it doesn’t hurt.

If you have three different pitches you really like, then, by all means, use them all.

You could get lucky and pique the interest of an agent with one of your pitches even though they didn’t care for the other.

If you only have one or two pitches, that’s okay. You will just have to use one multiple times. But here’s the catch–and this is something most people don’t know–Twitter will no longer allow you to post the same tweet more than once.

That means in order to get away with tweeting the same pitch multiple times, you do have to tweak it just slightly.

This can be as simple as changing an “and” to an “&” or leaving out a coma. But it is best to be prepared for this ahead of time.

Step 2: Jump on the RT Bandwagon

If this were a perfect world (or if this event took place on a different social media platform) then creating an amazing pitch is all you would need to do to find success.

But the Twitter world is far from a perfect world. In fact, it is a lawless hellscape where tweets disappear faster than they are created.

Agents find pitches they are interested in by searching using the #PitMad hashtag. Each time a new tweet with that hashtag is posted, your pitch moves down the list.

And since there are literally thousands of people competing in #PitMad each go-around, it doesn’t take long at all for your perfect pitch to disappear entirely.

So how do you make your pitch more visible to agents?

Tweets that gain a lot of attention–through comments, retweets (RTs), and likes–are more visible on the search list.

Since “liking” a tweet is reserved for agents and editors (though, DO expect a lot of randos to like your pitch because they don’t know the rules), that only leaves one great option for boosting the visibility of your pitches: RTs.

Many people, both those participating in #PitMad and those who just enjoy supporting aspiring writers, offer RTs for anyone who wants them. They usually do this before the event by creating RT lists.

The more RT lists you jump on, the more RTs you will be guaranteed the day of the event.

(Tip: The WRITE Prompt has an RT List for all Twitter Pitch Parties. Jump on board by searching for us in the Twitterverse: @the_WRITEprompt.)

You can also create an RT list yourself and boost others. Most participants will happily return an RT with an RT. (Which reminds me, if someone boosts your pitch, you better boost theirs back–you need the good karma to turn luck in your favor!)

It’s not cheating; it’s playing the game

Now there are people out there who think requesting RTs is cheating; that only the best pitches deserve RTs.

But here’s the thing: If you don’t get RTs then no one sees your pitch. So how is anyone going to know if it is one of the best or not?

To get genuine RTs, you first need a good amount of solicited RTs. This makes your tweet visible enough for others to see so they can decide if it is worth yet another boost.

If you want to attract the attention of multiple agents, then you need both types of RTs working for you.

Step 3: Pin Your Best Tweet

On the morning of #PitMad you want to start the day off by tweeting your very best pitch. As soon as you have tweeted it, pin it to your profile. (You can learn how to pin tweets, here.)

Once your best tweet is pinned, leave it there ALL DAY!

You heard me: ALL DAY.

Regardless of how many different pitches you are using, you need to keep your best pitch pinned throughout the event.

Why?

Because the tweet you pin is the one people will be RTing. This is true whether it is a requested RT or a reciprocal RT.

You don’t want to gather good momentum on one pitch just to replace it with a brand new pitch after a few hours. If you do that, you will be splitting your momentum.

A pitch with 300 RTs is going to be exponentially more visible than three pitches with 100 RTs each.

So choose your best pitch now and plan to use it first. Then pin it early on in the day. True, your next two pitches will be less visible. But that is why you are pinning the one you plan to land the most agents with.

Step 4: Engage–This Isn’t a Spectator Sport!

I know many people who schedule their tweets before #PitMad even begins and don’t look at their account until it ends.

This is a great way to guarantee only a handful of people will see your pitches.

You may get lucky and one of those people might be an agent. But your chances of that are far greater if your tweet has a lot of interactions.

And to get interactions, you must INTERACT!

Again, most people will RT your tweet in return for an RT on theirs. So start there.

RT everyone on your RT list and then go down the list of the latest #PitMad tweets and RT all of the pitches you like. Better yet, quote RT them and comment!

Some people will ignore an RT. But if you comment on what you like about their pitch or how great their book sounds, they are almost guaranteed to check out your profile and RT your pinned tweet. It’s just common courtesy.

Just remember: RTing is great. Quote RTing with a comment is better. But do not hit that heart button! That’s for agents.

The cruelest thing you can do to a hopeful participant is “like” their pitch and make them think they have finally landed an agent’s attention.

Step 5: Keep At It ‘Til the End (and After)

Participants often wonder when the best times to post their three pitches are. Most people will tell you to start early and end early because interest begins to wane at the end of the day.

This may be true of the general participant, but not necessarily for agents.

Most agents and editors do not take the day off for #PitMad. That means from about 9 to 5, they are only going to be looking at Twitter for short periods when work allows it.

Many agents won’t even begin browsing the pitches until after #PitMad has ended. Some may continue looking throughout the next day.

During my last #PitMad, I got two-thirds of my agent likes in the twenty-four hours after the event had ended.

With that in mind, I am not sure there are any “best times” for tweeting.

Definitely do start early–post that first pitch within the first hour. That will give you the most time to accrue RTs and momentum.

I usually do my next one around mid-morning and the last around mid-afternoon. It is probably a good call to avoid posting your last pitch within the last couple of hours. But then again, that might set you up to be more easily seen by a late-night agent scan.

Regardless of when you choose to pitch, keep your engagement up throughout the day.

The closer it gets to the final hour, the more other writers are going to need your support and boosts (and the more willing they will be to boost you back!).

Here’s to #PitMad Success!

While following the five steps above can’t guarantee you will land the attention of an agent, it has a pretty dang good chance.

But even if you do walk away from #PitMad having only gotten likes from your best friend’s mom and that one creepy dude who follows you, you are still likely to find some success.

By being an active and engaged participant in #PitMad, I have gotten more followers in the writing community than I would have ever imagined.

By helping others prep their pitches and get the courage to post them, I have found some of the best writing buddies a person could ask for.

What I am trying to say is, be sure you are willing to look at the broader definition of success.

The road to becoming a published writer is long and difficult. #PitMad may be just one stepping stone along the way. But, if you let it, it will be an important one regardless of how many agents give you a like.

To all you brave #PitMad souls, good luck!!!

And if you want help with your pitch, comment below and our community will help you craft your pin-worthy tweet in no time.