The Perfect Pitch
My first time pitching a manuscript to an editor ended in disaster and tears. It was at my very first writing conference and I was there to learn from published writers and meet with agents and editors from big and reputable companies. The manuscript I’d brought with me had gone through numerous revisions and my writing group had critiqued it all the way through—twice. I felt ready and then immediately unready when I found out that you don’t bring your manuscript to a conference, you bring your pitch.
Luckily, the conference information I received when I picked up my name tag and bag of goodies included a sheet describing the pitches I would need. A two minute in-person pitch for my group appointments and a thirty second elevator pitch for when I bumped into publishing professionals in the bar, in the hallway, and—well—the elevator. Written in bold and extra large font was the warning to never, ever, ever pitch to an agent or editor in the bathroom, no matter how friendly they appeared when next to you at the urinal or sink.
I did the worksheet and attended a morning workshop on pitching before it was time for my appointment with a Random House editor. In the morning’s agent/editor panel, she had gushed about how happy she was to be in Seattle to meet new and inspiring writers from the Pacific Northwest. The first thing she said to me and the other five people sitting around her table, nervous and sweaty, was that she didn’t even look at unrepresented writers so we should just forget about sending her stuff, but she’d listen to what we had to say. I went third and gave her my practiced pitch, making sure I didn’t talk too fast and that I kept an upbeat and cheerful tone. (I probably sounded like a laundry detergent commercial.) After I finished, the agent asked “Is this your first book?” I confirmed that it was and she said, “That’s what I thought,” before moving on to the next person.
I sat stunned for the rest of the pitches but recovered the use of my mouth in time for the short question and answer session when I stuttered out some words about why she knew this was my first book and what I could do to perfect the pitch. She looked at me, sighed deeply, and said, “Well, the genre you’re writing in is dead so if you don’t have a book out already, nobody’s going to publish you. Random House certainly won’t. You should switch genre or stop writing.”
Ouch! Burn! After spending the night crying and wondering why I wasted years trying to write a book and seriously doubting the integrity of my writing group, I decided to get a second opinion. I got a slot at a table with a guy from TOR. He told us he didn’t know how to judge a book by hearing a pitch, that’s what agents were for. Instead he gave us his card, told us all to send him fifty pages, and wanted to spend the time answering any questions we had about publishing. My hand shot up faster than greased piston and I asked him if women’s fiction was a dead genre. “Why do you ask?” the TOR editor wanted to know and I told him about the previous day’s experience. “Well,” he said, “she probably thought you were writing chick-lit and the head buyer from Barnes & Noble has just announced that if he as to see another pink-bubble-gum cover, he’s going to puke. Just call it contemporary women’s fiction when you pitch and you’ll be fine. It’s not dead; it’s what sells the most right now.”
The moral of the story: always get a second opinion, don’t bother bringing a print-out of your manuscript, and never, ever, pitch by the bathroom stalls. Oh and also, there are some unfriendly agents and editors out there but there are some incredibly fun and helpful too.
I’ve met some more from the unfriendly category at other conferences, but the majority have definitely been extremely kind and encouraging. Last year when I was the co-chair of a fiction conference here in Spokane, I had the pleasure of working with some fantastic (friendly, funny, fabulous) agents and editors. Before Bernadette Baker-Baughman of Bakers Mark Literary Agency, JD DeWitt of The View Literary Agency, and Rene Stephens of The Wild Rose Press arrived at the conference, they were kind enough to answer the questions below so that we could post the answers on the conference webpage. Here they are again, just for you and your perfect pitching.
Questions:
1) What are the 3 most important things to include in a pitch?
2) Is there anything you’d like for a writer to bring to a conference pitch? (query letter, summary, synopsis, etc?)
3) Anything else that would be helpful for a writer to know before meeting with you?
What Bernadette Baker-Baughman’s said:
1) A 30 second elevator pitch about the book. Information on how and where the book will fit into the market (similar books, why this book is better/different). Authors should talk about their relevant writing experience and platform.
2) If the book is illustrated or highly visually oriented, the author should bring representative material. Otherwise, if we are interested in seeing more we will leave the author instructions on what material we would like to see, as well as how to submit.
3) Baker’s Mark is very interested in nonfiction, highly visual books, or fiction with a very wide entry point for a reader. The more bizarre, the better. We are big fans of young adult fiction that is edgy and speaks to its demographic instead of speaking down to them. We are not interested in religious titles, epic fantasy, or books with made up words (unless it is a book about made up words), or 1st drafts. We are looking for career writers, people who see themselves making their living from their writing and have a strong action plan to achieve that.
From JD Dewitt:
1) Genre. A compelling hook! And keep it brief, allow me to ask the questions. Why would I like this project? What makes this story unique? Any publishing history or contest awards?
2) Nothing! If I’m interested in your work, I’ll ask you to email it to me.
3) Please pitch finished works only. And it’s a good idea to only pitch what my interests are. Most likely, there are other agents at the conference, make sure you hone in on agents who are interested in what you write. Sometimes, I believe writers just want to get their work out to as many as possible… but you’re not going to change my interests, even if your work is fantastic!
Rene Stephen’s answers:
1) A quick synopsis of the story that can be given in 2-3 sentences. Length and genre. What makes the story stand out?
2) No – there’s nothing they need to bring except a pitch that gets me excited about their story
3) Do a little bit of background on our company so that you know what we publish. It doesn’t necessarily have to be just my particular line; however, understanding the type of books we publish makes the meeting much more productive. Don’t be nervous — think of the pitch as a conversation. In other words…How would a writer describe their story to friends or critique partners? That’s really what a pitch is all about.
This is great information, Asa. Thanks!
cool picture and great information! Michael Lawrence also has a book on book proposals that I hear is pretty good.