It’s hard to describe my jumble of emotions leading up to the agent showcase for PitchWars. The most apt comparison I can come up with goes something like this:
Imagine you’re a senior in high school and it’s a week before prom. You spot your crush walking across the cafeteria right toward you. He may be coming to ask YOU to prom and you’ll live out the final scene of Twilight with the sparkly lights! It will be AMAZING! (I write Young Adult, okay? I can hear you judging but I’m painting a picture here so bear with me.)
Okay, so he could be coming to confess his undying love for YOU!
Or… he may walk right past you to ask the girl who teases you on the bus every day. Or he may not see you at all. Or he may see you and…. Okay, you get the point. You’re hovering on the cusp of something potentially momentous, but you have no idea which way it will go. You’re excited, you’re nervous, you’re telling yourself not to get excited. All of that.
And yet, that metaphor isn’t quite accurate either. Because if that high school dreamboat walks right past you, it’s a total disappointment with no silver lining.
And THAT is not remotely true for participating in PitchWars.
PitchWars has been incredible. For the past two months I’ve revised and polished my manuscript to a shine. I am proud of it. It is everything I hoped it could become. I’ve had the honor of working with a fantastic mentor whom I now consider a friend. I’ve made dozens of new writer friends, both among my fellow Pitchwarriors and other writers. I’m a better writer and I have a stronger writing community. And that really is the most important part.
But still the butterflies flutter away.
For some of the Pitchwars mentees, this week will officially kick off their writing career. One or more may become “the next big thing!” overnight. For others, a few requests or even no requests will be a disappointment but then they’ll diligently set out to query agents the old fashioned way, with a stronger book than they would have had otherwise. And many of them will soon announce their offers of rep, too!
The agent round isn’t the end. It’s the beginning of a hundred different journeys toward publication.
People will celebrate. People will drown their sorrows. We’ll cheer each other on, and pick each other up. We’ll give pep talks and high fives.
We’re a team now. And we’ll be there for each other, whether that dreamboat drops to his knees for an epic promposal or breaks our hearts. (What!? I had to wrap up the metaphor!)
Oh, and I have no intention of letting go of my new writer friends when PitchWars comes to an end. They’re stuck with me. HI, GUYS!!!
I can’t wait to celebrate offers of representation, book deals, book releases, and more with these incredible people over the months and years to come. Judging from the books I’ve already sampled, the world is in for a real treat when the Pitchwars Class of 2017 starts hitting the bookshelves.
So… buckle your seat belts, friends. The PitchWars agent round kicks off in 48 hours! Let’s do this.
