Challenge yourself to write a short story, well, a pretty long short story, for a chance to get publisher feedback or a request.

The Best Reason to Challenge Yourself with a Short Story:

Announcing the Pitch Your Shorts  online pitch session!  

Several editors from Entangled Publishing will be visiting Jami Gold's blog in the second week of January to take pitches for shorter length works.  They’re interested in stories with strong romantic elements that end in a “happily ever after” or a “happily for now.”  They’re looking for stories in the 10-60K word range and are open to many genres:

• Contemporary
• Historical
• Romantic Thrillers
• Science Fiction, Dystopian, Steampunk
• Paranormal and Urban Fantasy
• Fantasy

If you have stories already completed that would fit those guidelines, get them polished.  If you have ideas along those lines or if you’ve thought about attempting a short story, get writing.  (Another great thing about short stories is they’re quick to write and revise.)

The editors have promised they’ll make at least one request from those who pitch on Jami's blog, and for the pitch that excites them the most, they’ll offer detailed feedback.

Do you notice that phrase: “they’ll make at least one request”?  That means this isn’t a contest, where only one pitch can win. This is more like a writing conference, where editors can request every pitch that interests them.  Yes, really.

This is a fantastic opportunity, and I want you all to consider pitching something.  I’m asking for you to help spread the word about this so everyone has time to get something ready.  I love helping my friends and readers out, and this could be a way to start a publishing career, experiment with a new genre/point-of-view/verb tense, or try out a new format.

Even if you consider yourself a novel writer, try writing a short story for this pitch session.  Get a head start on a New Year’s Resolution to work toward a publishing credit with a buzz-worthy publisher.  Plus, this is a chance to improve our skills.  In one shot, we can practice our structure, learn how to write a short story, pitch to several editors, and have a chance at a request and/or feedback.  How cool is that?

Mark your calendar: Pitch Your Shorts will begin January 10th

Have you written a short story before?  Have you ever developed a short story into a longer one?  Is it easier for you to see story structure in shorter works?  Will you be preparing a short story for Pitch Your Shorts?  (Please say yes!)

Excited? Spread the word!