Revision Contests: AMM, Pitch Wars, DVMentor, and Beyond

There are twitter pitch contests, and then there are revision contests. These are competitive opportunities to work with a mentor to revise your manuscript. Oftentimes, these contests come with some element of mentorship for querying as well. 

There are several big revision contests: Pitch Wars, Author Mentor Match, DVMentor, RevPit, and WriteMentor. Before you look into mentorship contests, you have to have a completed manuscript in hand.

Pitch Wars

According to the Pitch Wars website, “Pitch Wars is a mentoring program where published/agented authors, editors, or industry interns choose one writer each, read their entire manuscript, and offer suggestions on how to make the manuscript shine for an agent showcase. The mentor also helps edit their mentee’s pitch for the contest and their query letter for submitting to agents.” 

Applicants select four Pitch Wars mentors to apply to, and send in a query, first chapter, and synopsis. The application window is usually in late September, although their website provides dates for the upcoming year. 

Author Mentor Match (AMM) 

According to the AMM website, “Author Mentor Match pairs unagented, aspiring writers with mentors to help them with their manuscripts and guide them through the publishing process...AMM focuses on building lasting relationships. Mentors will help writers revise their manuscript before querying, give advice and tips on agents, and support through the process.” 

Applicants select four AMM mentors to apply to, and send in a query, 50 pages, and synopsis. The application window is usually in January. 

RevPit

According to the RevPit website, “In this contest, authors will be eligible to receive developmental edits on their full fiction manuscript from professional editors, ensuring their works are polished and ready for those agent inboxes. Not only will authors be immersed in a supportive community of their peers, they will also have the chance to learn more about how their story fits into the industry and obtain understanding of why different edits matter and how to continue practicing them in the future.”

Applicants select two editors to apply to, and send in a query letter, synopsis, and first 5 pages. Applications usually open in April.

(Psst - my fantastic agent Hannah Vanvels is a RevPit editor!! Check out her wishlist!)

WriteMentor

According to the WriteMentor website, it is a “summer mentoring programme is an application-based mentorship that you can apply for if you have a completed PB, CB, MG or YA manuscript that you’d like to develop with the intention of improving craft. It takes place over 4 months in the summer.”

Applicants select three mentors to apply to, and send in a query letter, synopsis, and sample pages. Applications usually open in April.

(And I’m a mentor for this one! If you’re writing fantasy, check out my MSWL next year!)

DVMentor

This is a new program by Diverse Voices, Inc. According to the website, “The DVinc Mentorship Program takes place over a 6-month period (June 1 - December 1) during which published and agented book creators from traditionally marginalized and/or underrepresented communities will volunteer to mentor other self-identifying marginalized book creators, one-on-one. The purpose of the mentorship program is to assist book creators by providing information and advice with the goal of becoming agented and traditionally published. Mentorship would include but not be limited to: editorial feedback, querying guidance, and pitch help for (optional) participation in October’s #DVpit (and/or other pitch events).”

Applicants send in a query letter and full manuscript, and apply to the general mentor pool. Applications for this program open in May.

(And I’m a mentor for this one too!)

Is a Revision Contest Right For You?

Revision contests can be a great bridge between editing your manuscript and querying it. If you feel like you’re almost there but need help getting across the finish line, you might be a good fit for a revision contest! But since these contests usually only happen once a year, you have to weigh the benefits of waiting to apply versus jumping into querying with a bit more self-editing. And the mentorship process is usually intense, so make sure that you have the time and bandwidth to devote to working with a mentor before you decide to enter.