So there are a couple of amazing opportunities out there tomorrow for writers who have a manuscript ready to query. One is the incomparable Authoress’ new On the Block contest, a progression from her very popular Baker’s Dozen contest. The other is #PitMad, a twelve-hour pitch session that happens four times a year, dreamed up by contest queen Brenda Drake. I’ve participated in both of these in the past (well, Baker’s Dozen) and actually received quite a bit of interest on my last manuscript for both. I may even still be waiting on a few agents to respond … ahem. Anyway. On the eve of these opportunities, I thought I’d throw out a few words of both encouragement and caution.

5 Signs You Should Be Submitting/Tweeting Tomorrow

1. You have a solid logline/tweet prepared. I’m not just talking something you’ve come up with off the top of your head. I mean you’ve run it by people who’ve read your manuscript and people who haven’t to ensure it makes sense and will draw interest.
2. You have a solid first page/first pages. In the case of On the Block, being selected rests on that first page, so it’s very important where that 250-word sample ends. But the first pages are important for PitMad, too, because it’s likely that if an agent or editor favorites your tweet, they’ll be asking for sample pages before a full.
3. You have all of the necessary querying materials prepared. This point is more for PitMad as On the Block will end up being a certain number of pages, but agents could ask for a synopsis or even a bio, so make sure you’re ready.
4. You are 100 percent confident in your manuscript RIGHT NOW. If an agent favorites your tweet tomorrow, they expect you to send your manuscript right away. It’s not an “I’m interested in seeing it whenever you have it ready” kind of thing. And maybe with On the Block you think you could get away with submitting your logline and first page tomorrow and then tweaking the manuscript before the go-live date. Well, perhaps you could, but what if you get into those tweaks and discover there’s more work to be done than you realized? You shouldn’t be gambling with those agent opportunities that way.
5. Your readers/other writers have told you it’s ready. Chances are you’ll never think it’s ready on your own, but if other people are telling you it’s the best thing you’ve written and agents are going to jump on it, that’s the best recommendation you can have to start testing the query waters. Might as well start with PitMad or On the Block!

5 Signs You Should NOT Be Submitting/Tweeting Tomorrow

1. You are still waiting on feedback from someone. If you still have your manuscript out with a beta reader or critique partner or–since I expect this may be the case for a number of writers out there–are waiting on feedback from a PitchWars mentor who promised it, WAIT FOR IT. I know this is hard, guys. Believe me. There’s this fantastic opportunity to get in front of agents and it won’t happen again for months and … I’m going to stop you right there. Never rush sending out your manuscript. Getting a complete picture of what it needs is more important than a pitch contest, no matter how exciting it is to dive in.
2. You don’t have a strategy for your manuscript. This particular point is more for PitMad than On the Block, which is agent-focused. Do you want an editor? An agent? What kind of agent? PitMad is open to all kinds of industry professionals, so you should know what you’re looking for before you participate. You don’t have to respond to every favorite you receive, particularly if you think a publisher or agent may be sketchy. I recommend knowing what you want before you participate, but if you decide to test the waters anyway just to see who’s interested, make sure you research them all before you submit anywhere.
3. You just want to see if agents or editors are interested in your concept. Another PitMad comment here and just … no. If they ask you for more and what you send them is not query-ready, you’ve just wasted a first impression. You can’t go back to them later and say, “But I fixed it now!” You also can’t say, “It’s not ready yet but I’ll send it to you when it is.” By the time you have it ready, they might not be interested anymore. So much of this industry is catching the right person at the right time.
4. It’s the best contest ever. I get how much of an honor it is to be selected by Authoress for one of her contests. I was there last year in Baker’s Dozen, and it was an honor–but I also was ready with that manuscript. I’m sure this new contest will be equally prestigious and exciting to see your entry singled out and bid on by more than a dozen agents. I think every contest that’s coming up seems like the most important, best contest ever–whether that’s PitchWars, The Writer’s Voice or this new On the Block–but not if you’re rushing things to submit. I can’t stress that enough! Authoress (and I assume Jodi Meadows again) only see your logline and first page, so they don’t know if the rest of your manuscript is ready. YOU are the only one who knows that. Don’t submit if you’re only doing it on the strength of your first page and not the entire manuscript.
5. Everyone else is doing it. I can understand this temptation tomorrow, when you see everyone else tweeting pitches. It would be so easy to dash off a tweet, just to see … but don’t do it unless you’re ready. Like your parents always said, if everyone else was jumping off a cliff, would you do it? Don’t be a lemming!

Best of luck to everyone submitting to On the Block or pitching during PitMad tomorrow. And if you decide to hold off, remember that many, many writers have found their agents the old-fashioned way through the slush pile. When I have this current manuscript ready, that’s the route I’ll be taking!