Questions about Pitching for Premiums

[WriterLinXiaolong]

So... I am close to 300 subs (Currently at 280±) for one of my series and I want to try to pitch for tapas premium. I have also checked the guidelines for pitching premiums but there are few things that I want to be clear of.

Requirements:

At least 300 subscribers on Tapas
At least 10 published episodes

In your pitch, please include:

Series summary
Series outline
Link to existing Tapas series
If your novel is under consideration, we will also ask for a completed or near-complete manuscript before signing.

1. For the series summary, must it be summaries for the whole series? My series has several arcs planned. The rough drafts for the series totalled to 350k words in estimation. And in tapas, the series is already halfway through the first arc and is already around 80k words due to edits and some expansion. Do I have to fit everything in the summary? It will be very challenging to fit everything in one or two pages (actually, might be impossible for me to fit everything into one or two pages )

2. Then, it says that if the novel is under consideration, they will ask for a complete or near-complete manuscript. So here is my problem. My rough draft is written in physical notebooks so I will not be able to send it to tapas. Meanwhile, second draft is only up to Arc 3 out of 5 arcs planned. To pitch to tapas, will the second draft be enough? (2nd draft is a different version from the one in tapas).

3. I may need samples of how outlines should look like because mine is in the form of bullet form

4. Other than those mentioned in the guidelines, is there anything else that I need to prepare?

Thank you in advance for your time!

[ratique]

Since Tapas didn't post an example pitch (as far as I'm aware), nobody can tell you what the best pitch would look like. I can give you insight on what I did or how I would do it again. I have a comic, so there are differences for novels, but the basic idea is the same.

For the series summary, must it be summaries for the whole series? My series has several arcs planned.

When I submitted, I only summarized my first arc since it was enough for one season for Tapas. I did mention the other arcs, but did not go into details. I recommend this summary to be as tight and short as possible, as your outline will go more into plot point details. In the summary, I tried to do something similar to the plot outline on the back of a DVD cover or a book - I wanted to hook the reader (Tapas editor) to be interested and invested in the story.

My rough draft is written in physical notebooks

If you seriously want to proceed getting your work published, it is time to get it digitalized. You may also want to consider updating your episodes to the 2nd draft, if it is different and the way you want to move forward.

What you put online is technically considered your final version, and trying to explain that what is uploaded so far isn't actually ready may be confusing for the other party.

may need samples of how outlines should look like because mine is in the form of bullet form

Mine were too - and I'm pretty sure my outline was really shitty... Luckily my summary (and sample chapters) were better. They didn't seem to mind the bullet points, and I still think it's the best way to share a long story.

Other than those mentioned in the guidelines, is there anything else that I need to prepare?

Make sure you're confident in your story and have a clean pitch before you send it. Let others read it and critique it, to make sure everything makes sense, has no grammatical errors or typos. Ask them if they would read a book with this content. (I did none of those things because I was an idiot.)

If you had a comic, I would also recommend to do character designs and banner artwork, but this doesn't seem to be necessary for novels.

Happy writing and good luck!

[WriterLinXiaolong]

Thank you very much! These are very helpful!

You may also want to consider updating your episodes to the 2nd draft, if it is different and the way you want to move forward

The one in tapas is currently the version I'm planning to pitch for. The 2nd draft is the one I posted in wattpad which, have tons of cough errors and plotholes cough

So, I guess I'll have to write everything to the updated version before throwing a pitch!

Let others read it and critique it, to make sure everything makes sense, has no grammatical errors or typos. Ask them if they would read a book with this content.

I will go and make a thread about this soon! I'm sure there are tons of grammatical errors in my story, even though I do try to reduce them as much as I can with programs such as Grammarly. Hopefully, someone will help. Its probably going to be a bit hard though, since it's BL

Anyway, thank you again!! Wish you a very nice day!

[Karmillina]

I was today years old when I learned pitching for Tapas was a thing lol

[Drewbie]

Sorry to bring this up so late I'm just a bit confused. So are we only pitching for the first book/season and giving smaller details about the rest of the series later on if we get accepted? If not then what exactly does it mean by near complete. Like 75% of the series?

[ratique]

I only pitched the first season because it was a closed storyline and it wasn't necessary to tell the rest of the story at that point. I don't know how this would be handled nowadays, I'm guessing a more complete story is easier to sell.

[Drewbie]

thank you for answering

[denaliah]

does tapas ever tell us how much they pay for premium artists?

[vvbg]

If you're a novel writer, you should pitch it like it's going to be traditionally published. So if you have a series of books planned, pitch the very first complete arc, as if you were pitching the first book in a series. It should have a beginning, a middle, and a end. The reason why they say your manuscript should be complete, or near-complete, is that they want to know that if they accept your book, you will be able to finish it. Much like in traditional publishing, they don't want to take a risk on someone who will drop out of the project and be unable to finish their book for whatever reason.

A long time ago, I wrote a Detailed Guide on how to pitch for the Tapas Incubator Program.

The format is different for novels of course, but perhaps there are some tips and pointers that you may find useful (and of course would help anyone who is trying to pitch for a Premium Comic). I would also look up novel pitches for book publishing to see what published authors have to suggest. It never hurts to do your research and present yourself in the most professional light possible!

Hope this helps! Good luck and happy pitching!

[vvbg]

There are different Premium contracts available, and therefore there are different rates for each contract. If you're interested in the Premium program, you can always try and go for it! Best possible outcome is that you get accepted and they offer you a contract that meets your needs as a creator. You can always negotiate or refuse a contract, after all.

You never know until you try!