Thoughts on #PitMad

Science Fiction City by Aranami — **Science Fiction City** by Aranami

On June 3, 2021, I participated on my first ever #PitMad, attempting to pitch my novel “The Replicant in the Refugee Camp” (and its sequel, “The Replicant, the Mole & the Impostor”) to agents following that twitter thread.

I tried to find out how it really works beforehand, but no useful information (except a link to the Pitchwars website which I had already checked) was forthcoming.

So I prepared three different tweets (why use the same one all the time?) and went in. Here are my impressions:

It’s a madhouse. It feels like all the novels that get pitched to agents in a year—in all genres—are squeezed into a 12-hour slot. Which isn’t that for from the truth, I suspect. I estimate that there have been anything between 25,000 to 40,000 tweets labelled #PitMad in those 12 hours. Not all of these are pitches, some are from moderators, agents and authors not participating yet encouraging fellow authors. To be followed by an army of tweetbots later on. And all authors have 3 posts, so one should divide all those posts by 3. Nevertheless, this means that something like 8 to 10 thousand novels are being pitched in 12 hours, or about eleven to thirteen pitches a minute.

Nobody can keep up with that.

So maybe, you think, I’m going to be utterly unique. It doesn’t work that way. I checked Twitter for “#SF upbeat” and found my second #PitMad tweet was the only hit for that day (other hits were weeks, even months ago). So while I was unique, it went unnoticed like the proverbial tree in the forest falling down when nobody looked.

Yes, it had ten retweets—and thanks to those who retweeted—but in the madness of #PitMad that’s just a drop in the ocean. Your novel can be like the best white truffle in the forest, without the right tracking dog (or pig), nobody will find it. You have to be noticed, and for that you need to apply some hacks to maximise your visibility.

Upbeat SF still as rare as SHINE eleven years ago; — *Upbeat SF* still as rare as **SHINE** eleven years ago;

Therefore:

Recommendations for authors bold enough to engage with #PitMad (and other pitch parties on twitter):

Pin your tweet, because this makes it easier for other participants to retweet you (in fact, they don’t retweet your original #PitMad tweet, because that’s lost in the massive multitudes already, but the pinned tweet of your @twitter account, which immediately shows up if they click on your @twitter handle;
On top: BESTSELLER X FAMOUS MOVIE (or some variant of it). Twitter is searchable, so if you search for #PitMad and then select “Top”, you see the most popular tweets with that hashtag. Those using the bestseller/movie comparison or some variant of it get the most retweets, and—as a consequence—are more visible to agents (who probably also use search terms);
Followed by a sharply worded high concept or trending plotline (whatever that is);
Consistently use the same tweet (I tried 3 different ones for variety: they get lost in the madness) to maximise RTs;
It most probably pays of to launch your tweets in the first couple of hours. I do realise the advise of PitchWars is to keep them 4 hours apart, but I disagree, for two reasons:
1. It’s a madhouse, and agents are, most probably, sharper during the first two or three hours. After that, it becomes one big blur;
2. Once #PitMad starts to trend on twitter, the tweetbot accounts begin swamping it with bullshit that has nothing to do with #PitMad, at all. But because they use the hashtag, they increasingly pollute the thread;
3. And it doesn’t let off. Actually, I get the impression it gets even more busy in the last 6 hours (even if with tweetbots), so being there early seems to be advisable;

Which—as far as I could see—is a way to maximalize your visibility during #PitMad. You’re gonna need it, because:

When I went away for 56 minutes to cook my dinner (The Netherlands is CET, or 7 hours later than EST), and according to Tweetdeck I missed more than 2290 tweets with the hashtag PitMad. This calculates to well over 29,000 tweets featuring #PitMad;
Meaning you need the visibility of several hundred RTs, otherwise the onlooking agents are likely—by no fault of their own—to totally miss your tweet. Nobody can read 2,500 tweets per hour (not without burning out or going totally insane);
Meaning it probably pays of if you ask people well before the day of a #PitMad to put you on their RT list. If it looks like begging, well, it is, but it can be very effective;

Which leaves us the question: will it work?

The only honest answer I can give: I don’t know.

If you use all of the above hacks (and some more that I’m not aware of), you’ll gain more visibility—several hundreds RTs needed, probably—and subsequently a greater chance of getting that desired like from an agent. Or several likes, if you’re lucky (or sly).

Will that lead to actually getting an agent? It’s definitely possible, as there are many success stories from authors who did get an agent that way.

Will that lead to a whittling down of those 8 to 10 thousand novels to, say, the best ten or so? I very much doubt it.

What #PitMad does—as far as I can see—is select for the most savvy pitch from a popular twitter author who presents an easy recognisable crossover (GAMES OF THRONES X MARVEL U) combined with a pitch that resonates with the greatest common denominator. Amongst writers (who are the majority of the RTers).

Will that lead to success? Who knows, but probably yes if success is defined as getting the attention of an agent. And if that—most likely rather derivative—novel sells well, then both author and agent (and publisher) are all happy.

But will this lead to finding a truly ground-breaking novel? To finding the equivalent of the works of, say, Franz Kafka (published posthumously) or John Kennedy Toole (ibid)? Not all writers are natural self-promotion machines, often preferring to utilise their time writing a genius novel rather than pitching it in a tweetstorm. So I really doubt that.

Unless somebody can give a counter-example. A novel published thanks to #PitMad (or another twitter pitch party) that’s truly exceptional, like, say, A Memory Called Empire, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, Dead Astronauts, Monstress (all examples of the past ten years)? I’m happy to be enlightened, but prepared to be disappointed.

Will I join again on September 2? Possibly, because it’s also quite a community event, a way of finding fellow writers who you would not easily find otherwise. On top of that, if you make it a habit of following the writers that RT your pitch, you will gain quite a few extra followers on twitter.

Having said that, what are your experiences?

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