Treat everyone with respect. Absolutely no harassment, hate speech, or discrimination of any kind will be tolerated.
By joining the server, you promise to not plagiarize any ideas, pitches, or works by your fellow writers. You agree to not pitch or use any A.I. generated content. By joining the server, you understand that you are freely sharing your intellectual property and the #DVpit team cannot and will not be held responsible should anyone plagiarize your ideas.
Don’t DM people without permission. Please do not send unsolicited direct messages (DMs) to other server members unless 1) they’re already your friend or 2) you’ve requested permission to DM them in an open chat channel and received their consent. No spam or self-promotion (server invites, advertisements, etc) without permission from a team member. This includes DMing fellow members.
No age-restricted or obscene content. This includes text, images, or links featuring nudity, sex, hard violence, or other graphically disturbing content.
If you see something against the rules or something that makes you feel unsafe, let a team member know. We want the server to be a welcoming space! If, at any point, someone is harassing you or your sense of belonging, please tag our (@DVpit Moderator) team for assistance.
Breaking one or more of these rules will result in a warning, server mute, or server ban issued by the #DVpit Moderator Team at our discretion. It is our goal to create a safe space for marginalized creators, and so please remember that the #DVpit Moderator Team has the final say when it comes to interpreting server rules and we reserve the right to take any and all disciplinary action in order to ensure the health and safety of this community.
Be kind and respectful to your colleagues and follow Discord’s Community Guidelines and Terms of Service.
The participating agents and editors will be looking for a variety of work, including all categories of fiction for adults, teens, and children, as well as nonfiction, and artist originals and commissions—as long as they qualify per the description.
Please only pitch your completed, unpublished manuscripts. If you are pitching artwork, you must be unagented and include samples in your pitch, and must have a complete proposal. If you are pitching yourself for work-for-hire/commissions, include samples from your portfolio and what sort of work you are interested in doing. Nonfiction work need not be complete, but you must have a proposal. You must be un-agented to participate.
You must have (or create) a Discord account displaying your real name or the pen name you plan to use. You can gain access to the Discord server by clicking this link.
If you’re new to Discord and/or pitch events, check out this beginners’ guide.
You can pitch your unagented, complete projects (or proposals, in the cases of graphic novels/art and nonfiction) into the pitch-specific channels open on the day of the event. The available channels will be divided by category: Picture Books, Chapter Books & Middle-Grade, Young Adult, Adult, #DVart (Graphic Novels & Art). There will be additional non-pitching channels as well: Watercooler, Comps, #PreDV (for practice pitching), and more. Please pitch no more than three (3) times total per project. You may pitch more than one project, as long as they are complete and unpublished. Pitch channels are for pitches only; please keep conversation in the non-pitching channels.
Your pitch must: (1) fit the 280-character max, (2) be posted in the appropriate category channel, and (3) include at least one genre hashtag (and there is no longer any need to include the #DVpit or #DVart hashtags in your pitches). If you are pitching art, your pitch must also include #WFH (work-for-hire) or #OG (original project that includes text) and the category and genre if applicable, as well as a link to your portfolio/website.
We are working on the honor system here. We will trust that you are an eligible creator per the description on the About page. If the work you are pitching also reflects a marginalized identity/background, and you want a quick way to make that more apparent in your short pitch (and you can fit a few more characters), we also encourage you to include an abbreviation to get that information across. Examples: BIPOC, LGBT, DIS (disability), IMM (immigration), TV (trans voice), NV (Native voice), JV (Jewish voice), LV (Latinx/e voice), etc. Please make the abbreviation as clear and straightforward as possible for our agents/editors. These codes are up to you—we are in no place to judge or police how, or even if, you label your identity or your book. Please remember they are optional. You will *not* be at a disadvantage if you don’t include them and you are not in any way obligated to disclose any information you do not feel comfortable sharing. Additionally, please refrain from policing the identities of other participants.
Artists only: these rules apply for artists as well (except you need a proposal, not a complete manuscript), but you must also include image samples (up to 4 per pitch). If you are pitching your original work, you should use the space to pitch the book idea and include the hashtag #OG. If you are pitching for work-for-hire opportunities and general representation, your "pitch" can include your experience, notable awards, preferred style, the kind of work you're looking for, category hashtags to indicate target age groups, etc. Please also include the hashtag #WFH. #DVart will take place alongside #DVpit, and if you are pitching #OG work, you can feel free to cross-post your pitch in the category channels that are relevant as well. If you are pitching your portfolio rather than an original work, please only pitch in the #DVart pitch channel.
Note: We do not condone use of images unless it's public domain, you own or have received express permission from the copyright holder, or it falls directly under fair use guidelines. We absolutely do not allow the use of AI-generated images or text. Please include alt-text on your images.
The event will run from 12:00AM ET until 11:59PM ET, so please only tweet your pitches during that block of time, on the day of the event.
Should you encounter any issues or have concerns during the event, please feel free to reach out to the #DVpit Moderator Team.
Agents/editors will react to your pitch with a red heart (❤️) if they’d like to see material from you (so please don’t ❤️ other creators’ pitches). Each agent/editor will have their own preferences for receiving submissions, so if you get a ❤️ from someone, please refer to the submissions channel to review their instructions.
There will also be editors participating who are unable to consider work that is not agented, so for those folks, you can expect them to reply/comment on your pitch to express their interest in seeing the material on eventual submission with your future agent.
If you see that multiple agents/editors from the same company have ❤️-ed your pitch, please contact them directly for their policy on multiple submissions, or reach out to us and we will be happy to find out for you.
Keep in mind that many agents/editors will get sidetracked with their usual work or unexpected crises and may have to revisit the pitch channels after the event is over. So don’t be surprised if you receive ❤️s after the period closes! The server will remain open to them for a week after the pitch day has concluded.
We are unable to vet all agents, editors, and publishers who participate in this event. As such, please do your research before submitting to anyone you are not already familiar with. You are not obligated to submit your work to any party who requests it, should you not feel comfortable doing so.