For those of you who follow me here or on Twitter, you may have noticed me talking about Pitch Wars. A few times. For more info on this amazing contest, check it out here.
Curious about what I saw in my inbox?
I received 102 (!!!) submissions. I said it was 101 on Twitter, but that’s because I’m an English major, not a math major. Also, I thought about creating a graph, but eh. I’m too busy reading. Those submissions broke down into 10 categories:
Contemporary: 36
Fantasy (includes contemporary fantasy and urban fantasy): 35
Mystery/Thriller: 13
Sci-fi: 7
Paranormal/Supernatural: 4
Horror: 3
Magical Realism: 1
Speculative Fiction: 1
Dystopian: 1
Comedy: 1
Of those, my requests so far are:
Fantasy: 3
Contemporary: 2
Mystery/Thriller: 2
Sci-fi: 1
Magical Realism: 1
Horror: 1
If you haven’t gotten a request from me (yet):
More full requests may go out, it all depends. Some of them in the maybe folder were really, really strong.
There are submissions in my not for me folder. Some of these submissions I see mentors talking about as being some of their top contenders. I wish all 102 of you would get picked for the contest, but there’s a lot of competition. It’s way harder having to choose than I thought it would be.
If I requested a full from you:
So far I’ve requested 10 fulls. I can’t take all of you onto the agent round. Mainly because other mentors and Brenda won’t let me. If I requested a full from you and you don’t make it into the contest, I will be giving you some kind of feedback. Some may be general, others may be edit letters. Since there are 10 of you, it could take a while, but it will happen.
Curious about the mentor whose name was the most commonly one listed on the subs with me?
I had the most subs with Samantha Joyce at 17. Next closest were Kelly Hopkins, Cat Scully, and Erin Foster Hartley–all three had 10 subs each with me. They must have amazing taste.
To everyone who submitted: You guys are amazing. There are fantastic entries this year. Mentors are talking behind the scenes about how hard it is to pick only one. Pitch Wars is a huge endeavor. It’s a lot of work, even if you don’t get picked. I hope you guys remember that this isn’t the only avenue to publishing. No matter what, I urge you guys not to give up.
Remember: your words matter, and I’m so thankful you chose me to share them with.
So glad you got so many wonderful entries, Judi! I did not sub to you because…well, I didn’t sub to anyone who I’ve worked with in a freelance capacity or who I’ve taken courses with outside of Pitch Wars. (I didn’t want to have any conflict of interest or break any rules.) But I did want to stop by and tell you I hope you get an awesome mentee! And to whoever gets Judi as their mentor-you’re so lucky!!
Aw thank you so much!!