My experience with #PitDark

Query Trenches

My experience with #PitDark

There’s unexpected good news here. Effort was high. Stress was high. I got good at writing a pitch — having to write 12 versions will do that. I made many connections with authors. I received one ❤️ from an agent.

I set up a new Twitter account. By early 2023, I had torched my account from 2009. @dmdealwis on Twitter: Day 1—Zero followers. [Note by late 2024 I would torch my twitter account after getting up to 500+ followers. The most recent ones being bots. I am no longer on X, find me on Bluesky.]

Literary Agents

These fabled creatures have dedicated their time to finding and promoting the works of others. They come in all shapes and sizes. Agencies hold different philosophies. As a person of colour, seeing a wall of mostly white faces can be intimidating. I feel like it’s changing — slowly — from the bottom up. These are people who bounce between being Editors and being Agents. Some are climbing that ladder. So, when choosing an agent — do you go for an associate/junior or a well-established one?

As the agents will say to you, it’s subjective.

Most senior agents will have a full docket of authors they represent. To squeeze into their interests is possible. However, let’s be realistic here. If you’re a new author looking to publish a series of books — understanding the literary agent’s trajectory may be helpful.

At the same time, some agents publish a Manuscript WishList from time to time. Here, you find out what they’re looking for. I’ve queried agents who were 1–1 with what I had to offer. I was rejected. Why? It’s subjective.

There’s that word again. Subjective.

Think about it. I picked up Yangsze Choo’s THE FOX WIFE the same weekend I received my copy of Roshni Chokshi’s THE STAR TOUCHED QUEEN. Reading the first paragraph, I was instantly immersed in Choo’s work, whereas I didn’t have the attention span required for Chokshi’s. Doesn’t mean one’s better than the other. It’s subjective.

I couldn’t read L.M. Montogmery’s ANNE OF GREEN GABLES until my mid-teens. I remember picking up the book and being unable to make headway past the first few paragraphs. I’ve since read this book more than a dozen times in this lifetime.

So I get it. We authors need to have infinite patience with our literary agents. They’re human. They have got to feel like reading our work. I’m sure my queries are sitting on a dozen ‘maybe’ piles.

#PitDark a Tweetstorm of Pitches to Agents

Then, I learned about #PitDark, which Jason Huebinger started to close the gap between agent and author. Rather than waiting to receive hundreds of queries, why not have the authors stand at an auction, and the agents come up and show interest in what they see? Authors have the agency to give multiple pitches. They can also choose which publishers or agents (❤️ is a request) they query. Authors have a public forum to showcase their work — a gauntlet for the uninitiated.

Rules of #PitDark

Authors can post their pitches online, 1 per hour. Agents show their interest by liking the post (❤️). Authors can submit a query formally to that agent. The rules are outlined here. You can post between 8 AM and 8 PM.

Gaming the System — let’s make some noise!

I very quickly discovered how authors ‘game’ the system. Twitter is run by an algorithm. We all want our pitches to reach the eyes of a willing agent. Authors welcome commented feedback that shows their post is well-received or liked by the community, and this IS a community of fantasy, horror, and thriller fans.

Meat Market Effect

Much pre-event and post-event networking happens with folk maintaining a list of authors they want to boost. It can be an eye for an eye. Some people retweet, and others start a comment thread. It is chaotic. Twitter does its thing to protect you from spambots. You will see phantom likes and comments from these bots. In some cases, it stops the passionate from retweeting. Halfway through the event, someone noticed the algorithm weighted for ‘liked’ posts. Then all hell broke loose.

As an author, pin the pitch you want to be seen to the top of your profile. Have fun reposting and commenting on other authors’ posts that you like.

Reset Expectations

I received little feedback on my pitches, and often, it wasn’t relevant feedback. Many are stunned at the premise of a Water Buffalo Demon. Many recognized the story within a story — an epic in the making.

#PitDark is not a feedback loop; it is a lottery. I sympathize with the agents who must pick through all the noise, looking for what resonates in a hailstorm of great pitches. Like us, they depend on that Twitter (X) algorithm to bring forward that diamond in the ruff.

The Pitch

12 pitches, to be exact.

• The main character, by name or vivid description.
• The central conflict around which the plot is based.
• The stakes of success or failure by the main character.

Kickstart: I took my synopsis to Gemini and asked, “Give me a pitch in less than 140 words.” It gave me drivel. But I was able to use that drivel to draft my first 12. I didn’t like them. A couple of hours later, I reviewed them and changed things around. I had my 13-year-old son read them. He reads a lot of my work. He doesn’t seem to mind. Eventually, I ran them by a very critical friend. He gave a thumbs up for 3 out of the 12. The rest he was ‘meh’ about.

I rewrote again, nudging the format so the stakes were at the beginning. I ordered them based on what I felt was the strongest to the weakest. Then I realized my 12th was terrible. I rewrote it in a different format.

The three pitches with the most traction:

Victory stinks. Sinha slays a tyrant king. The king’s right hand loses everything. This god-turned-demon burns with the rage of 1000 lifetimes. Reincarnation. Karma. Samsara. Will our hero escape, or will he fall victim to his own legend? (@dmdealwis, Link on X)

Power corrupts even the gods. An invincible tyrant is killed. Our reluctant hero sets off a chain of events leading to a vengeful god-turned-demon seeking revenge. Sinha can’t rest as his past sins destroy his world. (@dmdealwis, Link on X)

Heroes are tools in the hands of the gods. Used and discarded, our reluctant champion must face the consequences of his crimes. A god-turned-demon seeks vengeance. Will Sinha ever break free of the demon’s game? (@dmdealwis, Link on X)

Voila, the 12th, and a link to all of the rest: https://x.com/Dmdealwis/status/1793778943176397195

Total of 3,501 impressions for all 12 pitches. (Range 554–108 per post, ~lunchtime and first pitch had most hits.)

But where are the agents?

Looking at the posts for #PitDark, several agents are interested and excited to read the pitches. There were a lot of good pitches. (For example, #PitDark #POC, at the time I write this — I’m 48 down the list.)

By noon yesterday, no agents. Tumbleweeds. Then, at 6:20 PM, I saw it.

Not a spambot. Not an accidental followers like. This is a legit agent like.

Celebrate!

By the end of the day, I had sent my query to the agent and withdrawn a competing query with a more senior agent at the same agency.

Now, the wait begins. She may still reject me.

Then what?

Who knows.

But what if it all works out?

-D.M. De Alwis