What is #MoodPitch and how can I participate?

Gather ‘round aspiring authors. Twitter is here to make your writing dreams come true. 

The social media juggernaut is back with its second bi-annual #MoodPitch contest, a process by which eager and aspiring authors can pitch their completed, polished manuscripts into the hands of established and ready-to-represent agents. The catch: you have to submit your stories using, you guessed it, mood boards. 

What’s that – you didn’t know Twitter had a platform-wide pitch contest for writers? You’re not the only one. The inaugural event took place on April 3, 2022, and according to the over half a dozen success stories (that Twitter has shared), it was an absolute success. Now, the contest is back, and on Nov. 3, 2022 aspiring authors all over the world can get their works of art into the hands of agents who can get those works of art onto the desks of publishers who can then get those works of art into the hands of readers. It’s a win-win all around. 

What exactly is #MoodPitch and how are mood boards involved?

#MoodPitch is what the word implies. It is the pitch of a completed and polished manuscript using a query letter, a synopsis, and — yes — a mood board. 

Those who have dabbled in Pinterest know exactly what mood boards are, but for those unfamiliar, here’s what you should know about it. Mood boards are basically a collage of artistic photos that encapsulate the mood of your story. That may be a cottage in the middle of the woods where your main characters go to make out. It can be the diary at the bottom of the sock drawer where your main character pours her heart onto its pages. It can be the pointed ears of an Elven queen standing over the city she governs. 

Mood boards are unique to each story, and #MoodPitch is leaning into the creative outlet to help writers get the full essence of their stories out there. Those who need a little guidance about how to create a mood board can read more about it on the resources section of #MoodPitch’s website. 

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, here are some specifics about the contest.

What are the guidelines and how do I participate?

The way it works is this: you tweet out a refined synopsis of your story along with your mood board and the hashtag #moodpitch. If an agent likes your tweet, they will then message you and instruct you to DM them. That’s when you gather your query, refined synopsis, and polished manuscript and let the arrow fly. 

The contest takes place for one day only. In 2022, that was April 7 and Nov. 3. Submissions are due between the hours of 8 am and 8 pm Eastern Time, but participants need not live on the east coast or in the United States to apply. 

There are certain requirements that all participants must abide by. The biggest ones are that participants cannot be represented by an agent at the time of their submission, even if they are looking for new representation. 

Participants must only submit manuscripts that have not been published yet. The contest is for only unpublished manuscripts by aspiring authors who don’t currently have representation. 

More information can be found on #MoodPitch’s frequently asked questions page, which all participants are advised to read through before submitting. Additionally, participants should also thoroughly review the event’s guidelines page for formatting tips, do’s and don’ts, hashtags, and examples of perfect pitches, among others. 

Best of luck to any and all writers submitting their works. We’re rooting for you.