On Thursday I took part in #PitMad, my second foray into Twitter pitching! Unlike #KissPitch, #PitMad is a broader pitching event, open to a wide range of genres. Quite a few of my Twitter friends were participating, and it was great to share our pitches, comment on them to help them gain traction, and retweet them.
As one of my NZ friends pointed out, it’s really tricky participating in Twitter pitches that are in a different timezone. #PitMad uses EDT and while you can schedule Tweets using Tweetdeck, it’s still frustrating when you feel like you miss out on some of the live action. It’s really exciting to join in when the pitching is live because you can see new tweets popping up everywhere. I’ve found this really helpful to find other writers to follow and connect with, because as we all know, the Twitter algorithms often mean that many of us tweet but are ‘invisible’.
The best thing for me about #PitMad was that it demonstrated the #WritingCommunity at its most supportive. It’s tempting to view Twitter pitches as a competition, and I know my own tendency is to be unhelpfully competitive. I found KM Weiland’s blog post about ‘Writer’s Envy’ really helpful. Here’s what she says:
I believe it is an absolute truth that when one artist succeeds, the rewards belong to all of us. When a good story (or song or picture) is given to the world, and then given a platform from which it can be shared with the greatest number of people, that is one of the most perfect things in life.
In short, on a purely artistic level, there is no competition. There is only cooperation. Your art makes my art better. My art makes your art better. And we all benefit.
https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/writers-envy/
If you think about it, reading a fantastic book doesn’t make you think: ‘Great, I’ve read a brilliant book. Now I never need to read again.’ No! It makes you want MORE! I finished the Hunger Games, then I was recommended Divergent, and the rabbit hole of YA dystopia continues on and on! Reading well written stories gives you an appetite for more great stories, and of course helps you as a writer to continually hone your own craft. Writers have to be readers first.
So if you build healthy, co-operative friendships with other writers on Twitter and other platforms, you are actually also building a future readership for that day when you are published… But even if that never happens, you’ve found a community. Creating stories is often a lonely and frustrating process, and I’m not sure you CAN push through without encouragement, support and the help of others’ critique.
I really enjoyed #PitMad; if nothing else, I get to tell more people about my story, and I get to see all the other great ideas my writing friends are working on. I look forward to reading them!
Sophie Toovey 