And the results are in…

Sorry for taking so long to write this post, but it’s been Christmas and I’ve been taking a sort of hiatus from the cyber world in Tasmania – my annual summer escape 😀

I’ve sifted through all of my Twitter pitches and compiled a list of the twitches that snagged attention.

Over all three events (#PitMad, #SFFpit and #PitchMAS), 10 of my twitches were favourited (in total) by 4 publishers and 1 agent:

• 17yo Boudica can tame vampires with her words. But she’s being hunted & must decide if her childhood beau is friend or foe. (favourited 3 times)
• In 18c Scotland, 17yo girl must hone her ability to tame vampires if she wants to face the monsters who massacred her kin & live. (favourited twice)
• In 18c Scotland, a smithy’s daughter & a cute vampire in a kilt must join forces to defeat the monster who massacred her kin.
• In 18c Scotland, where hellhounds roam & witches harbor secrets, the survival of an entire clan rests with a 17yo girl.
• For 17 years she hid in plain sight. Now the bloodsuckers who massacred her kin have found her. HARRY POTTER x VAMPIRE DIARIES.
• Scotland 1723: To save her clan, 17yo girl must hone her vampire taming powers but it means trusting the boy who betrayed her.
• Cute boys in kilts? Aye. Power to tame vampires? Aye. Psycho bloodsuckers butchering your loved ones, one by one? Ack, no!

You might notice several of those twitches are new – after #SFFpit, I crafted a few extra for #PitchMAS that I hadn’t included in my original posts. I ended up with 20 unique twitches. I added comp titles this time. Funnily enough, prior to crafting these twitches I’d never realised my novel shared themes with Harry Potter.

1. What do you get when you mix the romance of OUTLANDER with the teen angst of VAMPIRE DIARIES? A Scottish love story with fangs.
2. Scotland 1723: 17yo girl must hone her ability to tame vampires if she wants to face the monster who massacred her kin & live.
3. She can tame the undead with her words. He chose to become undead to keep her safe. A love story inspired by Celtic folklore.
4. To save her clan 17yo girl must choose: shun the boy who betrayed her or accept his help to harness her vampire taming powers.
5. The vamps who killed her parents have found her. If she wants to live, she must learn to whisper. HARRY POTTER x OUTLANDER.
6. Life is bonny when an old flame returns, until the laird’s brother demands her hand in marriage & her daddy gives it to him.
7. Cute boys in kilts. Witches harboring secrets. Monsters masquerading as friends. Life’s complicated when you’re the Whisperer.
8. 17yo Boudica can tame vampires with her words. But she’s being hunted & must decide if her childhood beau is friend or foe.
9. When you’re being hunted & you don’t know it, when your survival depends on a whisper. Stiefvater’s LAMENT meets OUTLANDER.
10. To save her clan, 17yo girl must harness her ability to tame vampires. If only she knew if she could trust the lad she loves.
11. In 18c Scotland, vampires control the clans, until a 17yo smithy’s daughter discovers her words can control vampires.
12. Some people can tame horses, others can sweet-talk hounds, but 17yo Boudica can force vampires to their knees…with a whisper.
13. For 17 years she hid in plain sight. Now the bloodsuckers who massacred her kin have found her. HARRY POTTER x VAMPIRE DIARIES.
14. Scotland 1723: To save her clan, 17yo girl must hone her vampire taming powers but it means trusting the boy who betrayed her.
15. In 18c Scotland, a smithy’s daughter & a cute vampire in a kilt must join forces to defeat the monster who massacred her kin.
16. In 18c Scotland, where hellhounds roam & witches spin lies, the survival of an entire clan rests with a 17yo girl.
17. When what’s in his mouth is more dangerous than what’s under his kilt. OUTLANDER x VAMPIRE DIARIES.
18. 2200 sunsets since he was stolen from her, 6000 miles wedged between them, and all it took to bring him back was a whisper.
19. When a 17yo girl is savaged by a hellhound & left for dead, she’s forced to question her new beau’s motives & her own identity.
20. Cute boys in kilts? Aye. Power to tame vampires? Aye. Psycho bloodsuckers butchering your loved ones, one by one? Ack, no!

I have to say, participating in #PitMad, #SFFpit and #PitchMAS was an exciting experience and I really enjoyed connecting with all the other writers who were involved. Thanks for all your support and I look forward to catching up with you again next pitch season!

Oh, and by the way, Happy New Year!

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Update: My Twitter Pitches – New & Improved …

After reading numerous online articles, hanging on Brenda Drake’s every word on @WWWriting’s live feed the other day, and receiving some amazing feedback (thank you Lorelle), I’ve come up with a new and improved pitch compilation. You can see my original twitches (twitter pitches) HERE.

Most new twitches focus on the stakes. I’ve omitted the more catchy hook-style pitches on Brenda’s advice that the they are better saved for the query (although I have to say I’m very tempted to slip in one or two just to see if they draw any interest – I know, naughty me…)

So here goes:

To save her clan, a 17yo vampire whisperer must choose: shun the boy who betrayed her or accept his help to harness her powers. #PitMad #YA

In 18c Scotland a 17yo vampire whisperer must harness her powers to save her clan but it means trusting the boy who betrayed her #PitMad #YA

Cute boys in kilts. Witches harbouring secrets. Monsters masquerading as friends. Life’s complicated when you’re the Whisperer. #PitMad #YA

In 18c Scotland, 17yo girl must hone her ability to tame vampires if she wants to face the monsters who massacred her kin & live #PitMad #YA

A 17yo vampire whisperer must join forces with the boy who betrayed her to defeat a baobhan sith bent on stealing her powers. #PitMad #YA

To save her clan, a 17yo vampire whisperer must harness her powers. If only she knew if she could trust the lad she loves. #PitMad #YA

In 18c Scotland, a smithy’s daughter & a cute vampire in a kilt must join forces to defeat the monster who massacred her kin. #PitMad #YA

17yo Boudica can tame vampires with her words. But she is being hunted & must decide if her childhood beau is friend or foe. #PitMad #YA

Some people can tame horses, others can sweet-talk hounds, but 17yo Boudica can topple vampires to their knees…with a whisper #PitMad #YA

In 18c Scotland, where hellhounds roam & witches harbour secrets, the survival of an entire clan rests with a 17yo girl. #PitMad #YA

The vampires who killed her parents have found her. If 17yo Boudica wants to survive she must learn to whisper #PitMad #YA #vampirewhisperer

The only thing that worries me is that someone who isn’t familiar with my novel might not understand what a vampire whisperer is. But I’m hoping most agents are familiar with the terms horse whisperer and dog whisperer and be able to infer its meaning from there (ie. that Boudica can tame vampires with her words).

Anyways, according to my calculations #PitMad starts 11.00pm tonight, Brisbane time (AEST) – although if I’m wrong please correct me. I’ve been known to erroneously convert time across zones in the past.

Wish me luck! (please)

Oh, and good luck to everyone else participating too! A success for one writer, is a success for all 😀

Thank you, Doctor!

 

Twitter Pitch Experiment…

For an update – please click HERE

Over the next two weeks, three exciting pitch events are happening on Twitter – #PitMad, #PitchMAS and #SFFpit.

In a Twitter pitch event, writers summarise their completed manuscripts into 140 character pitches and then fire them out on Twitter every half-hour or so. Throughout the day, agents and publishers browse the pitch event hash tags, and if a particular pitch intrigues them, they favourite it, inviting the writer to query.

This year will be my first time participating so I’m going to approach them as a learning experiment.

I have compiled 14 different pitches for The Mark of the Cagairáin. Now I understand writers commonly prepare one or two pitches and rotate them throughout the day. My problem is that I have so many and I’m not sure which pitches are good and which ones are bad (and which ones our downright horrific) – some have stakes in them, others are plain old hooks. So I thought, hey, why not put them all out there and see if I get success with any of them?

They do say the best way to learn is to do and fail (and fail and fail and fail)… don’t they????

Thank you, Cordy…

So, without further ado, please put your hands together for my 14 Twitter pitch candidates, going live this December 4 on #PitMad:

2200 sunsets since he was stolen from her, 6000 miles wedged between them, and all it took to bring him back was a whisper. #PitMad #YA

To save her clan, Boudica must choose: turn her back on the lad who betrayed her, or accept his offer to help harness her powers #PitMad #YA

Boudica doesn’t know she’s a whisperer until the undead come a-courting, coveting her heart & the power pulsing through her veins#PitMad #YA

Cute boys in kilts. Witches harbouring secrets. Monsters masquerading as friends. Life’s complicated when you’re the Whisperer. #PitMad #YA

A gripping love story about a girl who can tame the undead with her words & the boy who chose to became undead to keep her safe. #PitMad #YA

17yo Boudica must join forces with the boy who betrayed her heart to defeat a power-hungry baobhan sith bent on possessing her. #PitMad #YA

When the monsters who massacred her people find her, Boudica must embrace her ancient powers or risk losing everyone she loves. #PitMad #YA

To save her clan, Boudica must harness the power buried within herself. If only she knew if she could trust the lad she loves. #PitMad #YA

Some people can tame horses, others can sweet-talk hounds, but 17yo Boudica can bring vampires to their knees…with a whisper #PitMad #YA

A sentimental Scottish lassie & a cute vampire in a kilt must join forces to defeat the monster who massacred her family. #PitMad #YA

She thought he came back because he loved her, but then she discovered his secret, and the truth behind her parents’ massacre. #PitMad #YA

In a world where hellhounds roam & witches harbour secrets, the survival of an entire clan rests with a simple smithy’s daughter #PitMad #YA

Something old & evil is stalking Boudica, & picking off her loved ones one by one, all because she’s the last vampire whisperer. #PitMad #YA

When 17yo Boudica is savaged by a hellhound, she’s forced to question her childhood sweetheart’s motives and her own identity. #PitMad #YA

Of course, if anyone is willing to offer feedback re: which they think are the best and which are the most-cringeworthy, please share 🙂 As I said, this is all a learning exercise for me and I ain’t too proud to take criticism (just please be gentle)…

Otherwise, be sure to check back here later in the week when I post the results of my experiment.

Fingers crossed one of my darlings receives at least one request 😀