It’s hard to send your book out into the world. Finding critique partners can be so challenging, and how do you know if you’re ready to query or not? There are several events held throughout the year with hundreds and thousands of participants in the same boat. True, the competition can be fierce, BUT these contests can be the kick you need to get your work out there and also network with fellow writers!
Twitter Pitch Contests are essentially self explanatory: pitch your book on Twitter. The trick? Obviously, your pitch has to fit within a 280-character tweet, including the proper hashtags. The idea is that your hook wins the like of an agent, which is an invitation to send your submission materials. Some of these contests are massive–#PitMad (RIP) saw millions of tweets–while others are small and don’t see as much agent participation. Check out my post on Twitter pitches here.
Mentorship opportunities are fairly competitive, and many host smaller Twitter events either around the time of applications or throughout the year. Each mentorship is different, but most take a complete manuscript and help polish it up under the guidance of a professional editor or a fellow author, often one who’s published.