As always, thank you to Susanna Hill for this contest and to all of the talented agents and authors offering prizes. Happy Valentiny Day!


Bigfoot's Valentine
209 Words
By Kirsten Leestma

It was February in the alpine forest. 

Two feet of snow covered the ground. Another two feet nervously tapped up and down. Valentine’s Day was tomorrow and Bigfoot didn’t know what to do. 

“I want a valentine,” he said to no one, “but who? And how?” Bigfoot spent his whole life hiding, too afraid to step out of the forest. Here was his chance to be brave.

He listened to the birds sing love songs to each other. Bigfoot tried to belt out a tune, but the whole forest went quiet.

“Oh well. I’m pretty good at being alone, but I do always get the feeling I’m being watched.” 

“That’s it!”

Bigfoot grabbed sticks, bark, and berries. It took all afternoon. Bigfoot was nothing if not precise. Finally, his valentine was ready. With as much courage as he could muster, he stepped out of the forest.

“Hello? Are you there?”

Silence.

“Yoo-hoo!”

Nothing.

Bigfoot was losing his nerve, but called out once more.

“WILL YOU BE MY VALENTINE?”

Snap. Bigfoot turned towards the sound just as he was about to give up. Another Bigfoot stepped into the clearing and said,

“Yes.”

The bigfeet blinked.

“Then this is for you,” he said beaming, glad he stepped out of the woods.

No hearts? No worries.

I've participated in 4 or 5 various Twitter pitch parties over the last couple of years. I've never received a heart and for the first few events, that really bummed me out. Last fall when I participated I made the conscious decision to be more active throughout the day. I didn't just pitch it and forget it, but did my best to interact with other authors pitching that day. Did it work? YES! But not in the way you think.

I did the same today and while my pitches still remained heart-less, these last two pitch parties have not only helped me network in the kidlit world, but have made my entire manuscript better. Here are some of the things I've gained by actively participating in #PBpitch:

• I revised my pitches for the afternoon based on the type of comments I received. For one of my pitches, the whole point of the story wasn't landing the way I wanted it to. I revised it and hopefully made it clearer the second time around.
• People responded to the voice of my pitches. Hooray! That's one thing I hope comes through in my writing.
• Some commenters included ways they would use the text if it were published. Some were obvious, but some I had never even thought about. How cool that someone would connect with my writing in a way I hadn't dreamed of.
• I met other authors! Twitter is a big place and can be overwhelming, but the kidlit community is nothing if not supportive. Every single one of us wants our work to be noticed, but is just as eager to make someone else's dream come true at the same time. 
• Story swaps! I have found a few other writers who are pitching that are willing to swap stories. It's never a bad thing to get another pair of eyes on your manuscript.
• You can see what connects with people! Two of my pitches did way better than the other today and one in particular pleasantly surprised me. I love when commenters will share what they connected with in the pitch and how much they would love to see that book in print. What a mood booster!

SO. If you're on the fence about pitching on Twitter, I say jump right in! Will you get a heart from an agent, editor, or publisher? Honestly? Probably not. If you do, that's a huge win, but I'd call my heart-less day a big win just the same.

Happy writing!