…and I’m still in total and complete shock! For those of you who haven’t heard of Pitch Wars, it’s kind of like The Voice for writers, but there isn’t one set winner at the end (more details on the process itself in just a minute). About a month ago, I submitted my query letter (what you send to agents to try to get them interested in your book) and the first ten pages of my manuscript to four different teams of published authors (some of the published authors work alone, others work in pairs). I very quickly received a response from my top team, asking me to answer a few questions and send them my full manuscript. Which I did while squealing and hyperventilating. And then I had to sit and wait. I heard from my potential mentor team once more, they sent me some basic changes they wanted to recommend to me and asked if I felt comfortable with them, which I did. And then I sat and waited some more. During the waiting period (which was intense, emotionally), I connected with some other writers through Twitter, and that is honestly the only thing that got me through the waiting period. As supportive as my family and friends are (and they are immensely supportive), there is nothing quite like commiserating with people who are experiencing the same emotions as you.
We had been told that the final mentees chosen for Pitch Wars would be announced on Sunday, November 3rd. There was all kinds of speculation leading up to that date as to what time on November 3rd, but I figured since I’m on the West Coast, I would wake up and they would be posted and that would be that. Nevertheless, I turned on Twitter notifications for the Pitch Wars account and tried to put it out of my mind (hahahahahahahahaha). As soon as Matt (my husband) got home from work Saturday night, I told him I needed a mental break and I went to our room to read while he entertained and fed our five year old (affectionately known as Squirt). Friday and Saturday were probably some of the most anxiety-ridden days of my life, my stomach in knots the entire time. So I settled in to (what else?) read and calm my nerves. All of the sudden, my notifications started dinging, one every sixty seconds or so. The Pitch Wars account was tweeting out all kinds of teasers (or “foreshadowing” as they were calling it). After about the fifth beep on my phone, I tossed my book aside and spent the next however many minutes refreshing the PW Twitter page. As soon as they posted the link to the mentee list, I clicked, and saw my name, second on the list.
For a minute, I just sat in bed, staring at my name, wondering if this was really happening. Then I burst into tears, stumbled into the living room, managed to convey to my husband I was crying happy tears, and let the hugging commence. Squirt didn’t really understand the whole concept of happy tears so he was very concerned for me, but we convinced him it was a good thing by having a dance party in the hallway (to “Rubberband Man” if you’re interested in that kind of detail).
From then (it’s now been about three days), I’ve been in a whirlwind of Twitter notifications and new Facebook friends, and shock and awe, and I can’t believe this is happening to me! So what happens now? Now, my two mentors, working as a team, will help me get my manuscript in tip top shape. The first step of that is an edit letter, which I should be receiving this week (and I’m terrified to see) and then the revisions begin! The mentors (who I will spotlight later in their own post because they are amazeballs) help me go through the editing process for the next three months. Then in February, there is a big agent showcase where my pitch and the first page of my book are posted on the Pitch Wars website for all to see. If agents want to see more of my work, they will let me know. I will also send out my new fancy, spiffy, polished query letter and manuscripts to any agents I’m interested in. And then we hope someone likes it, signs it, sells it, and turns that baby into a movie! (I may be getting a wee bit ahead of myself.)
Honestly, I still can’t believe I was chosen for this incredible opportunity. I know the next three months are going to be A LOT of work, will probably include some tears, definitely lots of wine, but in the end, it is going to be so worth it. I can’t wait to share this amazing journey (#BachelorNation) with all of you! If you have any questions about Pitch Wars or the process, drop them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them!
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