Tweeting can now get you one step closer to a cookbook deal. But unlike traditional proposals, each pitch will need to participate in a March Madness style basketball tournament before final approval.

The Lisa Ekus Group is taking an untraditional route by hearing the best culinary non-fiction ideas via 140-character (or less) tweets to Literary Agent Sally Ekus (@SallyEkus) using the hashtag #SignMeSal. Inspired by the NCAA Men's Division basketball tournament, the agency will select 16 finalists who will then be asked to round out their proposals with additional tweets that cover standard proposal elements, such as the book’s point of differentiation.

The participants will then be whittled down to two finalists — who will compete against each other during a Twitter chat on March 25, 2013. A single winner will be chosen and then work with Sally Ekus to develop a fleshed out proposal to pitch to editors at publishing houses.

“In the face of a constantly shifting publishing environment our agency is increasingly interested in finding new ways to discover fresh voices and concepts," Ekus said. "The Twitter contest is a result of the fast paced landscape we all work in, and a desire to give an unpublished or un-agented author a chance to work one on one with our agency.”

At a time when many bloggers — food or otherwise — are enamored with a book deal, it makes good sense to consider the resources needed to launch such an endeavor. Most writers and photojournalists could stand to reflect more closely on building a team to support their vision in tandem with receiving a book advance. We love how this contest allows participants to see the value of a literary agent and an agency through an authentic, realtime social media discussion.   

For more details on the contest, including deadlines, click here.