THE CARINA PRESS EDITORIAL TEAM WILL BE HOLDING A PITCH EVENT ON TWITTER VIA THE #CARINAPITCH HASHTAG ON THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2015, FROM 9AM EASTERN TO 9PM EASTERN.
#Carinapitch is a Twitter event we’ve been doing for two years now, in which we offer an opportunity for authors to submit their work and get both an expedited response and feedback. We’ve had tremendous response to this and, we hope, have aided a few authors along the way with some of the feedback we’ve offered, so we’re thrilled to be doing it all over again in 2015.
Not only is #carinapitch popular with authors and those following along just for fun, it has been successful for us as well. Since the first #carinapitch, we’ve found over thirty manuscripts that we’ve either requested revisions on or signed for publication—an amazing result! Our ultimate goal is always to find new authors to acquire, not new authors to reject.
PLEASE READ ON FOR DETAILS OF HOW THE EVENT WILL WORK.
On Thursday, Carina Press editors will be monitoring the #carinapitch hashtag for book pitches from authors.
THE BENEFITS
Book pitches chosen by an editor will be reviewed by that editor. Editors will respond with personalized feedback to all #carinapitch manuscripts they request; we are expediting response time for this opportunity, so that all authors who receive a #carinapitch request will receive a response by May 8th, 2015. Please note that we ask authors not to expect paragraphs of critique, but specific feedback will be offered, noting what the editor sees as not working or needing attention. We also would like to emphasize that the nature of this business is subjective, so the editor may provide feedback the author may not agree with. We’re offering insight into why the book doesn’t work for us (should we choose to pass on it, rather than acquiring, which is certainly a possibility!), not providing detailed instructions on how to “fix” any issues we see.
ELIGIBILITY TO PARTICIPATE:
1) You must have a complete, ready-to-send, manuscript that falls within the commercial fiction genres that we publish. (Please view our submissions guidelines here.)
2) You must be prepared to send your manuscript within 3 days of the #carinapitch session. Any manuscripts sent after Sunday, March 22nd will still be fairly reviewed by editorial staff but won’t be eligible for the feedback/accelerated response time.
3) The manuscript you’re pitching must be new material, not previously published material, whether self-published or released via a publisher. Only new material will be considered during this event.
4) The manuscript cannot be one that has previously received a pass letter from Carina Press.
5) You may pitch more than one project.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE:
1) Wait until March 19th from 9am Eastern to 9pm Eastern, which is when the editors will be monitoring the hashtag.
2) Craft your compelling book pitch into one (no more than two) tweets. Indicate if it’s more than one tweet by using 1/2 and 2/2 so we can piece them together.
3) Post them to Twitter from your account using the #carinapitch hashtag (the only way we’ll know they’re for us!)
4) Please do not post pitches for one book more than twice during the #carinapitch event. Even if you’re changing your pitch, please pitch the same book no more than twice during the day. Don’t worry, we’re reading every single pitch, so as long as you post it once, we’ll see it! Twice gives you the opportunity to change things up.
4) Watch for a reply from a Carina Press editor.
5) If an editor lets you know that they’d like to see your submission and your manuscript is NOT currently on submission with us:
- You will need to follow that editor on Twitter so they can DM you the private link for submission. Only those whose pitches are chosen will receive this link.
- Please follow the submission guidelines here and include all required information via the received Submittable link.
- In the dropdown menu you’ll see at the private Submittable link, please select the editor who chose your pitch. Address your query letter to the editor who requested your manuscript.
If more than one editor asks for your submission, you may choose which editor to send to, though you may also wish to indicate the second editor who had interest, in case the first editor decides another editor would be better suited for your particular manuscript.
- Send your submission no later than midnight Eastern time, Sunday, March 22nd, 2015. The link you receive will expire after that, and you will be unable to submit via this route.
6) If an editor lets you know they’d like to see your submission and your manuscript is already in our queue:
- Update your submission via Submittable, using a note.
- In the note, please include the Twitter pitch you used and your Twitter name (to help the editor recognize your request & verify that they asked for it) as well as the name of the editor who requested the manuscript via #carinapitch.
- Update your submission no later than Sunday, March 22nd, 2015 at midnight Eastern.
NOTES ABOUT #CARINAPITCH
You don’t need to direct your tweet to a specific editor. We’ll all be monitoring the hashtag throughout the day. However, if you want to bring it to the attention of an editor you think it’s particularly suited for, you are welcome to do so. At the bottom of this post is a list of participating Carina Press editors and their Twitter IDs.
Please don’t post your pitch more than twice during the day. We know you want to make sure we see it, so we don’t mind if you post it at two different times, but please don’t post one manuscript more than twice. Though you are welcome to craft each pitch differently, please don’t post any 1 manuscript more than twice, regardless of wording. Two pitches per manuscript, so the hashtag doesn’t become cluttered, and so that all authors have equal opportunity to be seen. Don’t worry, we will see your pitch and consider it, even if you only post it once. Thank you!
An updated list of what different editors are looking for is available here. You can see editor bios here.
Information about what we publish, our submissions guidelines and specific FAQs can be found here.
Feedback is welcome! Please email us at editor@carinapress.com if ever you have specific, constructive feedback you’d like to share.
ONE LAST (VERY IMPORTANT) NOTE:
Even if your pitch isn’t selected by an editor, that doesn’t mean your project isn’t right for us. In the end, it’s the words you write in the story that will get us to acquire the book, not the words you wrote for the pitch, so if you’ve written something we publish, please still submit it to us. Your chances of having the manuscript acquired are just as good as those whose pitches we single out.
*Permission to forward this post, use it on blogs and author forums is granted.*
PARTICIPATING EDITORS:
Angela James @angelajames
Kerri Buckley @BuckleyKerri
Deb Nemeth @DebNemeth
Alissa Davis @AlissaDenay
Rhonda Helms @rhelmsbooks
