Mirrigold: Mutterings & Musings

THE CARINA PRESS EDITORIAL TEAM IS HOLDING THEIR ANNUAL PITCH EVENT ON TWITTER VIA THE #CARINAPITCH HASHTAG TODAY FROM 9AM EASTERN TO 9PM EASTERN.

New for 2018: Editors are open to proposals during #CarinaPitch. You do not need a complete manuscript to participate this year!

The publishing house has requested revisions on and/or signed to publication more than forty manuscripts via #CarinaPitch since holding the first event five years ago. Their ultimate goal is always to find new authors to acquire, not new authors to reject, so get those pitches polished.

PLEASE READ ON FOR DETAILS ABOUT HOW THE EVENT WILL WORK AS WELL AS TIPS AND GENRE HASHTAGS.

Today Carina Press editors will be monitoring the #carinapitch hashtag for book pitches from authors.

 THE BENEFITS:

• If a book pitch is favorited/liked by an editor, that editor will review the full or partial manuscript, whichever is available.
• Editors will respond with personalized feedback to all #carinapitch projects they request and receive.
• All authors who receive a #carinapitch request will receive a response by July 13, 2018.

**Please note that they ask authors not to expect paragraphs of critique, but specific feedback will be offered, noting what the editor sees as not working or needing attention.

**Carina Press also would like to emphasize that the nature of this business is subjective, so the editor may provide feedback the author may not agree with. They’re offering insight into why the book doesn’t work for them (should they choose to pass on it, rather than acquiring, which is certainly a possibility!), not providing detailed instructions on how to “fix” any issues they see.

ELIGIBILITY TO PARTICIPATE:

1) Your proposed or complete MS must fall within one the adult fiction genres we publish. (Please view our submissions guidelines here for an overview of genres.)

2) You must be prepared to send your materials by May 28, 2018. Any materials sent after midnight on Monday, May 28^th will still be fairly reviewed by editorial staff but won’t be eligible for the feedback.

3) The project you’re pitching must be new material, not previously published material, whether self-published or released via a publisher. Only new material will be considered during this event. We define previously published as something that has been available for sale or free download on a retail site. If your book was placed on Wattpad, critique sites or other similar crowd-reading sites, we do not consider that as previously published.

4) The project cannot be one that has previously received a pass letter from Carina Press.

5) You may pitch more than one project.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

1) Wait until April 18th from 9am Eastern to 9pm Eastern, which is when the editors will be monitoring the hashtag.

2) Craft your compelling book pitch into one (no more than two) tweets. Indicate if it’s more than one tweet by using 1/2 and 2/2 so we can piece them together.

3) Post them to Twitter from your public* account using the #carinapitch hashtag (the only way they’ll know they’re for them!) They also suggest using genre hashtags, listed below, to further categorize your submission.

*If your Twitter account is locked/private, they will be unable to see your posts on the hashtag or any @ replies you direct to them. Tweets from private accounts are ONLY viewable to those friends with the account. Your account must be public to participate.

4) Please do not post pitches for one book more than twice during the #carinapitch event. Even if you’re changing your pitch, please pitch the same book no more than twice during the day. Don’t worry, they’re reading every single pitch, so as long as you post it once, they’ll see it! Twice gives you the opportunity to change things up.

5) Watch for a reply/like/favorite from a Carina Press editor.

6) If an editor lets you know that they’d like to see your submission and your manuscript is NOT currently on submission with us:

• You will need to follow that editor on Twitter so they can DM you their private link for submission. Only those whose pitches are chosen will receive this link.
• Please follow the submission guidelines here and include all required information via the received Submittable link. NOTE: For proposals, you must follow submission guidelines as outlined here.
•  If more than one editor asks for your submission, you may choose which editor to send to, though you may also wish to indicate the second editor who had interest, in case the first editor decides another editor would be better suited for your particular manuscript.
• Send your submission no later than midnight Eastern time, Monday, May 28, 2018. The link you receive will expire after that, and you will be unable to submit via this route.

If an editor lets you know they’d like to see your submission and your manuscript is already in their queue:

• Update your submission via Submittable, using a note.
• In the note, please include the Twitter pitch you used and your Twitter name (to help the editor recognize your request & verify that they asked for it) as well as the name of the editor who requested the manuscript via #carinapitch.
• Update your submission no later than Monday, May 28th at midnight Eastern.

NOTES ABOUT #CARINAPITCH

• You don’t need to direct your tweet to a specific editor. They will all be monitoring the hashtag throughout the day. However, if you want to bring it to the attention of an editor you think it’s particularly suited for, you are welcome to do so. At the bottom of this post is a list of participating Carina Press editors and their Twitter IDs.
• Please don’t post your pitch more than twice during the day. Carina knows you want to make sure they see it, so they don’t mind if you post it at two different times, but please don’t post one manuscript more than twice. Though you are welcome to craft each pitch differently, please don’t post any 1 project more than twice, regardless of wording. Two pitches per project, so the hashtag doesn’t become cluttered, and so that all authors have equal opportunity to be seen. Don’t worry, we will see your pitch and consider it, even if you only post it once. Thank you!
• You can find out what our editors are looking for by clicking here. You can see editor bios here.
• Information about what we publish, our submissions guidelines and specific FAQs can be found here.
• Feedback is welcome! Please email us at editor@carinapress.com if ever you have specific, constructive feedback you’d like to share.
• Use genre hashtags! We’ve listed a few for you at the bottom of this post!

ONE LAST (VERY IMPORTANT) NOTE:

If your pitch isn’t selected by an editor, that doesn’t mean your project isn’t right for Carina. In the end, it’s the story that will get them to acquire the book, not the pitch, so if you’ve written something they publish, please still submit it to them. They’re always open to submissions, from agented or unagented authors.

PARTICIPATING EDITORS:

Angela James @angelajames | Kerri Buckley @BuckleyKerri

Stephanie Doig @StephanieDoig | Deb Nemeth @DebNemeth

Alissa Davis @AlissaDenay | Mackenzie Walton @MackenzieWalton

Carrie Lofty @CarrieLofty | Daphne Watson @mypassionspen

Heather Monroe @coastbold | John Jacobson @DreamingReviews

Kate Marope @TheRibbonMarker| Ronan Sadler @ronanedits

ADDITIONAL SUGGESTED HASHTAGS:

#CR = Contemporary Romance | #DIS = Disability

#DV = Diversity | #ER = Erotic Romance

#F = Fantasy | #HR = Historical Romance

#IRMC = Interracial/Multicultural | #LGBTQ = Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer

#M = Mystery | #OWN = OwnVoices

#POC = People of Color | #PR = Paranormal Romance

#ROMCOM = Romantic Comedy | #RS = Romantic Suspense

#SF = SciFi | #TT = Time Travel

#UF = Urban Fantasy