News from Omega Writers | September 2021 (and Introducing #FaithPitch)

By Iola Goulton

Today I'm sharing the news from Omega Writers, and introducing #FaithPitch, an online event connecting Christian writers with agents and publishers.

Omega Writers

If you are a current member of Omega Writers, you should have received an email with this information last week. If you didn't receive the email (and it's not in your spam or junk folder), please email membership [at] OmegaWriters [dot] org and we can check your membership is still current and forward the email. Bookings are open for the revised 2021 Omega Writers Retreat, which is now being held online (via Zoom). The cost is AUD 50 for members, and AUD 70 for nonmembers. Members, you will have received an email with the discount code. Click here to book. The weekend starts with the Omega Writers Annual General Meeting on Friday 8 October, at 7pm AEDT, followed by a general catch-up at 8:30pm. Everyone is welcome to attend the AGM, but only members are able to vote.

The retreat proper begins on Saturday 9 October.

This will include genre-based breakout sessions, and general sessions from psychologist Collet Smart on mental health and creativity, and Nicole Partridge on the writer’s life.

Introducing Collett Smart

Collett Smart is a psychologist, qualified teacher, speaker and internationally published author of ‘They’ll be Okay: 15 Conversations to help your child through troubled times’ (Hachette). She has also contributed chapters to a number of other parenting books. You might catch her on Channel 7 every Sunday morning, on a segment called ‘Wellbeing with Collett’, or on radio, where she chats about youth mental health and family relationships. She is the resident psychologist and monthly columnist for Mums At the Table magazine. Collett has delivered seminars around the world and is an Ambassador for International Justice Mission Australia and eChildhood. She lives in Sydney, with her husband and 3 children, aged 19, 17 and 12 years old. Find Collett online at https://collettsmart.com/

Introducing Nicole Partridge

Nicole Partridge is a freelance journalist and writer whose work has been featured in leading magazines and newspapers around the world, including: Marie Claire, The Guardian Weekend magazine (UK), Good Weekend, The New York Times, Readers Digest Australia and Europe, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Sunday Telegraph, Daily Telegraph, AAP, Grazia, Body and Soul, WorldNews.com and Charisma magazine. In 2013, her feature story on the Hudson River Plane Crash, was reproduced in English textbooks as an example of how to write a first-person story. She has co-authored several books, including the best-selling, Heart of a Lioness and Lofty: My Life in Short – Harper Collins and managed the Australian publicity for the New York Times best seller, Heaven is For Real. Find Nicole online at https://nicolepartridge.com/

Schedule

After lunch (well, lunch in AEDT), there will be two panel sessions: Pathways to Publishing, and Pathways to Promotion. The day will finish with the CALEB Award presentation in the evening, starting at 7pm AEDT. It's free to attend the CALEB Award presentation, but you will need to sign up to receive the Zoom link. Click here to book.

I'm signed up and looking forward to the retreat. Are you?

Introducing #FaithPitch

The lack of in-person writing conferences and retreats means a lack of opportunities to meet and pitch to agents and publishers. But #FaithPitch is still operating, and the next date is coming up soon: 30 September.

What is #FaithPitch?

#FaithPitch is the Christian version of #PitMad, a regular opportunity for authors to pitch their manuscripts to interested agents and editors on Twitter. It's free, which means there is nothing stopping you. It's only one day, which means interested agents and editors will make time to check out the hashtag (and Tweets aren't deleted, which means they don't have to check immediately). FaithPitch is hosted by Little Lamb Books, but is open to all authors, agents, and publishers working in the Christian market.

Do People Get Published from #FaithPitch?

A scroll through the #FaithPitch hashtag on Twitter shows that some participants do go on to get their manuscript published. Others connect with agents. Still more are asked to forward a proposal. I'm sure that's only a small percentage of participants, but it's more than nothing ... which is what will happen if you do nothing.

How Do I Participate?

Basically, you have to pitch your book in a single tweet (up to 280 characters ... characters, not words). The Tweet has to include the #FaithPitch hashtag (so interested agents and publishers can find you), and should also include age group and genre hashtags (e.g. #YA for young Adult, and #R for Romance). So that means you have around 260 characters for your actual story ... You can only pitch a complete, unpublished manuscript, and there are strict rules around Tweets. Find out more about #FaithPitch at: https://www.faithpitch.com/ Also, check out the list of hashtags here: https://www.faithpitch.com/hashtags

Have you participated in #FaithPitch? What was your experience?