As every writer knows, getting published is a challenge; while more avenues to publication have opened for authors, navigating the landscape remains frustrating. Pipeline Media Group, which was initially launched as a resource for screenwriters 25 years ago, has since expanded to include Book Pipeline, which provides a plethora of opportunities for writers hoping to break through. The platform offers book contests, editing resources, manuscript reviews, one-on-one consultations, networking with established industry veterans, live events, and much more. With the company turning 25 this year, its senior executive and partner, Matt Joseph Misetich, spoke with PW about Pipeline's commitment to launching—and nurturing—the careers of today's emerging authors.
Tell me about the origin story behind Pipeline Media. What is the platform’s continuing mission?
Pipeline Media Group is now in its 25th year, with the Book Pipeline division in its 10th year. Originally, the company was launched to help emerging screenwriters with script notes and in 2003 expanded to annual competitions to connect writers with industry professionals, primarily managers and production companies. The goal back then was to help launch careers and funnel projects closer to production, and I’m proud to say that’s still the goal. We aim to discover and develop new, talented voices in film, TV, and publishing and help foster what I think is the most critical stage—breaking in and finding the proper representation, the proper foundation, for them to kickstart their careers. Whether it’s newer writers who are still green to the industry or veteran writers who need to find another way in, we want to help them gain their footing in this competitive landscape. In broader terms, we want to encourage storytellers to branch out, explore, and educate themselves across other mediums. The 2021 launch of Pipeline Artists and our ongoing conference series, Symposium, are focused on just that.
We also co-launched a small press this year, Fringe Press, with author Lee Matthew Goldberg and editor Zoe Quinton. I'm pleased to say we’ll be publishing our first title, hopefully titles, in 2025! *And yes, we’re open to queries!
What was the motivation behind expanding Pipeline to include books and other media?
Simply? We thought we’d duplicate the success we had with screenwriters. By 2014, we'd had a lot of success in introducing screenwriters to reps and helping launch their careers. We were on the tail end of some big success stories, including Evan Daugherty—a contest winner we set up with management—who then sold a script (Snow White and the Huntsman) to Universal for $3.5 million, which later grossed half a billion at the box office. Along with other writers getting work optioned and produced, it made sense for us to expand into books with this same process. So, initially we launched one competition, seeking material that could be adapted for film and TV. Then we added a second division to help unpublished authors connect with lit agents. Our team on that front, which initially included Peter Malone Elliott, who helped expand our relationships with agents and publishers, is now headed by Ciara Duggan and Jeanne Bowerman, along with a small team of editors.
I'm very proud to say we’ve helped get many authors signed, which has led—so far!—to a couple books published and another coming in 2025.
What makes Pipeline’s book contests unique? How do they help launch and support the careers of new authors?
The contest model is fundamentally the same. We’re not exactly reinventing anything in terms of basic structure. But behind the scenes, we feel our judging process is fair, equitable, and one that keeps a very open mind about the types of storytelling we look to champion while still taking into consideration the demands of big and small publishers alike—or reps and producers on the film/TV end. What sets us apart, though, and what we’ve come to be known for, is the long-term, one-on-one guidance we give our finalists and winners. This isn’t an “okay, here’s your award, here’s your money, best of luck” type of situation. We keep in touch with the vast majority of our former winners and finalists, and all are welcome to submit new material to our executive team in the future. With no cost for review or anything, we make ourselves available for additional development and mentorship and, if they have a new piece of great material, further circulation to industry. For Pipeline, it’s ultimately about creating lifelong relationships with creatives, no matter where their journey might take them.
How is Book Pipeline positioned to reach a diverse new generation of young creatives?
We already have an excellent network of industry professionals with whom we have close relationships, but I feel it’s our team itself that’s so well-positioned to find the next waves of remarkable writers and projects. A company is only as good as the human beings behind the curtain making everything happen, and we’ve been blessed to work with such tremendously smart, well-connected, experienced execs and readers over the years. On a business level, our industry reach and our relationships with great lit agents, publishers we really love and respect, editors, the works—all continues to grow. And with that, I expect more options on where to place our authors.
You also offer editing services. What options are available to writers?
It’s a pretty basic and simple list: we offer query letter evaluations, which, imo, is the absolute most important thing; feedback on fiction, any genre, and nonfiction proposals; and synopsis reviews. We also have what’s called a “First Impressions” review, which I actually had two of our editors do on the first chapter of my own book, and it was truly indispensable when I was editing my early draft. So, I’m not just the management, I’m also a client. Ha.
We also offer one-on-one custom consults on pretty much any topic an author needs, and we’ll match them to the proper editor on staff. So, if someone needs some career guidance or specific things in the manuscript reviewed, we can handle that sort of customized request.
What additional resources does Pipeline offer to authors?
Our digital magazine, Pipeline Artists, was initially envisioned as a sort of New Yorker for creatives. The way it has taken shape over the years, it’s... not quite that. I think it’s even better, honestly. A free digital magazine/educational hybrid of sorts that features articles, essays, interviews, a host of things—all meant to give authors new perspectives on not only publishing but also film, television, theater, an artist’s lifestyle, and the arts as a whole to better inform an expanded outlook. You never know where your writing could take you, and we’re glad we’re able to offer resources like this.
We also publish short fiction—and pay! $150 for accepted pieces.
Can you share some details about Symposium? What types of programming do you provide to aspiring authors?
We launched in 2022 and haven’t looked back. Jeanne Bowerman, our Symposium exec, and I have set up I think close to 70 or 75 free and low-cost events spanning topics in publishing, screenwriting, filmmaking, comic books, and more. For authors, we’ve had sessions on how to find and work with lit agents, perfecting your query letter, book marketing, self-publishing, and more. We just did a free Town Hall Q&A event with publishing expert Jane Friedman and have plans for other free author-centric panels and interviews to round out 2024, along with a few special ones planned for 2025 with bigger name authors and editors who I can’t mention quite yet.
Our goal with Symposium: to kill the notion that webinars are lame or too “basic” or not worth the money/time—a complaint we’ve heard for years from writers—and instead to offer super-affordable, super-grounded sessions covering topics you don’t typically see discussed from a realistic “how are things on the ground right now” POV. And then we offer those sessions on streaming so that attendees can revisit later, a component we felt was crucial in understanding the information and insight provided by our extraordinary hosts. We bill it as “a year-round conference in the arts.”
For authors struggling to break into traditional publishing, why is Book Pipeline an ideal resource?
In all humility? I think it’s another tool, another resource, every author should explore. Are contests the only way to get signed? Obviously not. But it’s one option, and one that could lead to getting repped and published, as it has for several of our writers. Are notes on queries and manuscripts from a paid service like our Workshop necessary for everyone? No. But the fact that we offer affordable evaluations from professional editors should fit with a large swath of newer authors out there.
It’s hard to get published. It’s hard enough to get repped by a good lit agent you click with. We’re just trying to give more options to writers who might be frustrated with other means of breaking in and, most importantly, finding champions for their material.
What’s next for Book Pipeline?
We're looking forward to shopping more published books and projects to our film/TV contacts, now that the landscape is recovering from the WGA strike and things are back on track. I'm very excited to see this new crop of unpublished authors and sending those out to lit agents and publishers and equally excited to enter the comic book world, build relationships with top publishers and illustrators, and help connect the dots between them and innovative writers. Lots more conferences, love supporting our current partners at Bouchercon, ThrillerFest, and more.
But longer term, we're continuing to refine our current process. We’re always on the lookout for new, undiscovered voices in fiction and nonfiction, ones who might otherwise be overlooked in a still-very-hard-to-navigate environment.
