Sadly, I didn’t have a Space Opera ready to go; but I have a character and plotline that I’m pretty excited about and am determined to hack out a rough draft of in the next month and a half. 

I guess my biggest question is - should I even be pitching at this point? From poking around, it seems that most authors that are participating already have well-vetted manuscripts that they’re using for the contest. 

Nothing like a trial by fire to vet an idea, and as an added benefit submitting a book to Inkshares is very low risk. If your funding is not successful it returns to draft state and you can attempt to fund it again at a later date when you feel ready. You’ll retain the book’s followers and any pre-orders will be refunded. Aside from the stress associated trying to fund a book (which is completely up to you,) there is little reason not to throw a book in the mix. 

I’m polishing a Southern Gothic Noir MS right now, and I’m trying to decide if I’m willing to set it aside to get my Space Opera completely drafted. Now that we’re a few days in, I think I might use this round to find other writers to cheer for and hope to build some goodwill for when a genre I’m more prepared for comes along.