Polish Your Opening Lines with 8 on Eight!

Today’s magic number is … 34. 

Why?

Because that, my friends, is the number of days until the Pitch Wars submission window goes live!

*insert long, dramatic pause to let that reality sink in*

Hopefully, right now you’re feeling like this:

And like this:

But if you are human, the idea of entering your manuscript in Pitch Wars probably makes you feel something more like this:

And when you start thinking about what a huge opportunity it is, the pressure only increases. Over 40% of the 2015 mentees have signed with agents and new contracts are being inked all the time. With over 1600 entries last year, the competition is fierce. And writing a killer opening is more important than ever.

Fortunately, the good folks over at The Winged Pen (including yours truly) are hosting a contest on July 1^st to help one lucky kidlit writer (PB, MG, or YA) polish his or her opening eight lines*.

To enter 8 on Eight, simply keep an eye on The Winged Pen blog and leave a comment when the contest goes live. If your name is randomly drawn from the Triwizard cup at 8pm on July 1st, at least 8 Winged Pen members will provide feedback on your first eight lines. For more information, read about the contest here.

Good luck!

*Winning this contest is no guarantee that you'll be selected for Pitch Wars, but getting feedback from 8 serious writers surely can't hurt. And please remember that even if you don't win 8 on Eight or go on to become a 2016 mentee, Pitch Wars can still be a powerful––and enjoyable––opportunity to build a community and support your fellow writers.

Jessica Vitalis is represented by Saba Sulaiman at Talcott Notch. An active member of the literary community, she volunteers as a Pitch Wars mentor, with the We Need Diverse Books campaign, and contributes to two blogs: Writing With The Mentors and The Winged Pen. When she’s not pursuing her literary interests, Jessica can be found chasing her two precocious daughters around Atlanta, Georgia (or eating copious amounts of chocolate). She’d love to connect on Twitter at @jessicavitalis