Pitch Party in July!

Week 29: 40,000 words in 31 days

Pitch Party workshop, poolside

When this post goes live, I’ll be boarding a plane heading to Hawaii. The kids and I are taking a vacation and visiting my Dad at his home on the big island, and when I tell you we’ve been looking forward to it for years I’m being sincere.

We weren’t able to travel so far (or at all, most of the time) when Carolyn was in treatment. Last summer was her first summer off treatment, but the schedules didn’t line up— we were slammed playing catch-up from the cancer years and my Dad had his own travel plans. This year we made it a point to prioritize our visit, and I’ve been racing towards this vacation in ways I cannot explain.

I’ve gotten so much done this year and I’m proud of every inch of it, but I’m tired. It’s a good tired, a satisfied tired! I feel like I’ve accomplished many of the things I’d hoped to do. But the past few weeks have begun to feel claustrophobic, and I can tell that the clockwork in my head is calling for a break. I’m aching for some space to let my mind spread out, to experience something that will take my breath away. Enter: hiking a volcano, two teens in tow.

Part of the reason I’m feeling ready for a break is the monthlong workshop I took in July. It rocked my world— I don’t know how else to say it— and I’m going to tell you all about it.

Earlier this year, I saw a post from

Courtney Kocak

announcing her July Pitch Party: a monthlong intensive focused on pitching, writing, and landing pieces with a mix of different publications. Some of the publications were places I’d been trying to land work for some time, and I’d taken her Land Big Bylines workshop earlier in the year (and landed a big byline) so I knew the July workshop would be golden.

A monthlong workshop felt almost designed for my writing style. I am absolutely built for that kind of intensive work— I thrive in it. It felt like a dream offering. I signed up immediately.

From July 1 to 31, Courtney hosted daily Zooms where we’d meet as a group and write towards a prompt she offered. Some days we’d be writing pitches and some days we’d draft essays, but each day was a new target. As someone who is often spinning with ideas, the course helped me focus some of them and identify places where they’d be a good fit (one of those ideas is now forthcoming with The Sun!)

The daily Zooms were wonderful because it connected me to other writers. There were opportunities to discuss what we were working on, and I loved hearing how other writers ran with the day’s prompt, the ideas they were wrestling with as I was chewing over my own. The meetings offered both support and accountability. There was also an opportunity to swap work with other students in the class, as well as receive feedback from Courtney on four of the assignments (two pitches, one flash piece, and an essay.)

I worked to clear my deadlined items before the start of the workshop so I could spend July focused on generating new ideas. I prioritized the class, scheduling my weeks around the daily Zoom meetings. I wanted to commit to completing the entire workshop, to see how far I could push myself and my work. If I didn’t land a single piece all month, I thought, it would be okay as long as I kept showing up for class.

I’m thrilled to say that I did land a few pieces. I also came away with an enormous bank of ideas that I can tuck away for when I need to switch things up and work on something new for a minute while another idea marinates.

Let’s talk raw numbers: between July 1 and July 31, I wrote 40,000 words, which comes out to around 1,290 words per day. This isn’t so far off of my usual word count, but what I produced is much more focused than a lot of my day to day work.

I ended the month with 27 pitches. Of those, I sent 16 and landed 4. One is forthcoming with HuffPost. Another landed at Business Insider, and still another with Reactor Mag (Stephen King essay, part 2!)

I drafted 11 net new pieces and have so far submitted 7, with 1 acceptance and several still pending. One of the pieces had been giving me trouble for over a year— I knew where I wanted to send it but couldn’t make the jump from idea to draft. As of July 18th, it’s sitting in an editor’s inbox at the publication I’d wanted to send it to from the jump.

These are all quantifiable markers of my effort, and I’m proud of them— but of course, the story behind the numbers is where the lessons lie. Courtney’s workshop gave me an opportunity to commit to my work in a new way. I usually show up to the page every day, but participating in the July Pitch Fest brought an accountability into the mix that I was craving.

I also refined my approach to pitching pieces. I learned to better consider not just what story I want to tell, but how I want to tell it and where it fits in the fabric of the current writing landscape. Courtney provided a daily dose of prompts, tips, and encouragement, and reminded us that while we all have stories to tell, how we choose to tell them is a craft.

Some pitches felt like throwing spaghetti against the wall, just hoping something would stick. Others felt like carefully aimed arrows sent off with confidence that only comes from knowing you’ve done good work. Overall, I came away from the workshop with a deeper understanding of the relationship between a good idea and the publication it fits into.

Courtney is really fun. She has great energy, and she’s encouraging but also straightforward. As someone who loves to get the information I need with minimal fuss and flattery, I was immediately drawn to her style of instruction. I was (and am) very into spending a month under her umbrella. I’ve spent the bulk of this year pitching pieces, but it was Courtney’s course that set me on a course to actually land some.

I loved the course so much…that I’m doing it again! Courtney is running a Back to School Pitch Party beginning on September 1st with the same daily check-ins, Q&A opportunities, personalized feedback, and a roster of places to pitch and submit.

For anyone looking to step up their daily writing practice, or for anyone in a slump with pitching and submissions, this workshop will get you into your work. I signed up as soon as she announced it, and I’m so looking forward to taking a much-needed vacation and then diving back in on September 1.

If you want to join (I think you should!) the promo code ELIZABETH gets you $75 off your registration. Sign up here!

See you there!

Graphic courtesy of Courtney Kocak. Now go sign up!