This Writer's World & Plot Bunnies: March 2014

It's not even April yet, but as everyone knows you can blink and the contest will be tomorrow. Plus we wanna give everyone a chance to familiarize themselves with how things are gonna work once the crazy fun begins in a few weeks. That and any questions or concerns folks might have can be addressed beforehand. There's a lot of info here, but it's pretty straightforward. Still, if there's anything you're not clear on or a detail you're wondering about that isn't mentioned, don't hesitate to let us know.

Everyone ready? I'm so excited!

4/20/2014: Auditions! - The submission round will open Sunday at 12:00 am EST and will stay open until 11:59 pm EST. Any entries sent before or after those indicated times will be deleted without being read. 30 seconds early or late is still early or late. The auditions are open for 24 hours, so no need to rush, but don't wait too late, y'dig? At this point only your 35 word pitch will be submitted. You read that right, and there's a good reason for it, just hang tight.

Once the Auditions are over, the Managers and their Talent Scouts (hosts and slush partner) will comb through the pitches offering feedback* on things like vagueness, no stakes, all of those things mentioned in Pitch Madness teaser tweets that had folks going "man, I wish I could revise and resubmit!" well, now you can! No fooling.

4/23/2014: Call Backs! - This is where you'll submit the first 250 words of your completed and polished manuscripts, without the pitch. Just like the audition round, it'll be open for 24 hours, from 12:00 am EST and will stay open until 11:59 pm EST. And like before, feedback* will be given on things like showing vs telling, info dumping (not the good kind), back story, etc.

4/26/2014: VEGAS! - You know how on SYTYCD or American Idol or whatever they tell people auditioning "YOU'RE GOING TO VEGAS!" and there's screaming and tears and such. That's what this is. Armed with feedback* that helped you craft a better pitch and stronger first page, it's time to send in those shiny new words. 12:00 am EST until 11:59 pm EST on that day, the mail will be open again to take on your best! THIS is the pool the Managers and their Talent Scouts will be buildings their teams from.

4/29/2014: THE BATTLE! - This is it! The big show, where those chosen by the Managers will be posted to their blogs for the executives at Literary Records (the agents) will swoop in and make their requests. Each band will be comprised of TEN entries for a total of 50 finalists. The band with the most requests wins bragging rights and the coveted title of Rockingest! That's totally a word.

The Execs will make requests based on the music recording sales thresholds:

Demo Tape - Query and first 5 pages
Silver Record - Query and first 10 pages
Gold Record - Query and first 50 page
Platinum Record - Query and first 100 pages
Diamond Record- Query and full

Each Exec gets an infinite number of tapes to use, but certain records will be limited. And if we have more than one Exec toss out a Diamond Record, whomever tosses theirs first wins and the other Exec is bumped back to gold. We don't call this a Battle for nothing, heh.

That's the gist of it dudes and dudettes. A reminder post along with submission details and formatting, including what email address to submit to, will be posted closer to the 20th, so stay tuned.

Also, because we here at R&R Management are a group of fun loving people, we've also come up with a week's worth of awesome hashtag shenanigans to get up to on the #PitchSlam tag between rounds, to stay in your groove~. Check it:

Monday 4/21/2014 – #FirstLines. Where you post a first line from your book along with the tag. This can be for chapters, too.

Tuesday 4/23/2014 – #LastLines. Same rules from First Lines applies.

Wednesday 4/24/2014 – #ManuscriptMusic. Post your playlist for the manuscript on your blog and link it on Twitter so we can check out your jams! This playlist should include the music you listened to while writing.

Thursday 4/25/2014 – #ThemeSong. Songs for not only the book itself but characters, scenes, chapters, etc.

Friday 4/26/2014 – #CoolParts. You all know what this one's about, oh yeah.

Saturday 4/27/2014 – #PlaysMyMC. Tell us who would play your protagonist. Heck, go crazy, secondary characters, villains, comedic relief, give'em all!

Sunday 4/28/2014 – #CharacterMusic. Your protagonist have a favorite band or singer? How about a favorite song? Same with antagonist or secondary characters, the more the merrier.

Monday 4/29/2014 – #MyMusic. Who's your favorite singer or band?

Remember, these tags go along with the #PitchSlam one, otherwise we can't see what you're posting, and we wanna! So get ready for a week of awesome music, writing, and fun! While you're polishing up those pitches, be sure to check back for spotlight posts on the Managers and their Talent Scouts, as well as the ridicu-cool Execs who'll be waiting to get their hands on your work.

The season of Rock fast approaches, and we can't wait to get started. Questions? Concerns? That's what comments are for.

Hasta~!

***Feedback provided will be general but still helpful. In other words, no line-edits.

READ THIS! - It should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway. Anything sent before or after the entry windows of the second and third rounds will be discarded. Any entrant who fails to supply their work for said subsequent rounds will be disqualified from the contest as a whole, and no submissions will be accepted for ANY round unless the entrant participated in the previous ones. What this means is, in order to make it to VEGAS, an entrant needs to have participated in both the Audition and Call Backs rounds. No trying to squeeze an entry in at the last minute. Also, no switching up manuscripts in the middle of the game. You pick a story, that's the one you carry through with.

So there you have everybody! Tell me, are YOU ready to ROCK?! Let me know in the comments and feel free to ask questions or voice concerns.

Until next time, happy reading and writing everyone!

The call went out for a pitch contest where entrants would be able to revise and resubmit before the final round, so this behemoth was born. Introducing the first ever Pitch Slam!

Here’s the deal with the musical theme. Nearly every writer I know has a playlist (or six) they rotate through when they write. On top of that, a slew of tweets where writers paired songs with their manuscripts took over Twitter last week. It’s obvious music is part of writing culture, so we’re gonna celebrate both for the inaugural run.

Everyone here at R&R Talent Inc. knows how valuable feedback on a previous performance is, and how it can strengthen your next show. Our Managers (hosts) are ready to work with their Talent Scouts (slush readers) to hunt down good pitches and first pages, and make them great.

Auditions open at 12:00 AM EST April 20th, and will remain open until 11:59 EST that night. There is no limit on how many people can submit, but any entries received before or after the appointed times will be deleted without being read. Sorry guys, but rules are rules for a reason, so please follow them.

Everyone is encouraged to submit, though there are a few stipulations. One one entry per person. Said entry needs to be for a completed and polished manuscript. By manuscript we mean novel length work, no novellas. Adult, New Adult, Young Adult, and Middle Grade works of all genres are welcome.

What you’ll need to take part of Pitch Slam!

A 35 word pitch, the first 250 words of your manuscript, and the song you associate with your story. That’s right, we just asked for theme songs, and please include the artist.*

Posts about the Managers and their Talent Scouts–as well as the executives from Literary Records who’ll be making requests for your work–will go up over the next couple of weeks. Be sure and check back for all that awesome info as well as a breakdown on how the rounds work, and audition guidelines.

**Song choice will have no bearing on the outcome of any portion of the contest.

Follow my #PitchSlam partner in crime & #PitchSlam master mind, Leatrice McKinney. She is amazaballs!

Until next time, happy reading and writing everyone!