Thank you, SCBWI San Diego!

I gave an intensive on The First Ten Pages . . . don’t let them put it down, and a workshop on #PitchWars, #PitMad, and #PitchMadness yesterday, February 11th. There were so many writers there with an impressive, collective talent. Their kindness was paramount. I had my own two-liter of Diet Mt. Dew, a fun lunch, a loud Mariachi serenade at dinner, and I met so many interesting people. The San Diego SCBWI community is truly blessed and I loved being a part of it!

Among many other things, we discussed all the ways to get your first 250 words, your pitch or logline, your synopsis, your query, your manuscript, and your first ten pages looked at for free. I wanted to give the links to all these opportunities in one easy place. Ultimately, all these roads lead back to me and my collegues–and I’d love to help you in any way I can.

Cornerstones offers a free assessment of your first ten pages and synopsis. Click on the logo below and click through the red “Get Started” button to have them looked at by me or Michele Rubin, 17-year agent with Writers House and now head of Cornerstones US.

#PitchMadness is a way to get your pitch and first 250 words looked at for free. It’s a contest though, so you have to apply using the submission window on February 24th. Click on the Candyland game below for more information about Pitch Madness.

#PitMad is a contest where you tweet your 140-character pitch and agents scroll through the feed and like, favorite, heart the pitches they would like to have submitted to them. It’s a great way for agents and authors to connect!

#PitchWars is a contest where you win a two-month mentorship with a publishing industry professional. If chosen, they will help you polish your query, pitch, and entire manuscript to be presented to agents who will request the manuscripts that fit their lists.

As always, if you have any follow-up questions, you can reach me through Twitter: @HeatherCashman

If you were there, I’d love to hear what you thought in the comments!