Pitching at Conferences

Pitching face-to-face with an agent or an editor is one of the best ways to get your material on their desk. With the experience fresh in my mind, I thought I would share some tips about how it works, what you should wear, whether or not you should be nervous, and whether the stress is worth it.

First things first. Before you even sign up for an appointment, do your research! Make sure the person you are meeting with represents or publishes the type of novel you are pitching. Also, make sure your book is finished. Pitching an unfinished book about a serial killer to an agent who only represents sweet historical romances is only going to waste her time and will get you nowhere in your goal to become published.

How does a pitch appointment work? There are probably lots of different kinds of pitch appointments, but so far in my experience, a one-on-one pitch lasts about ten minutes and is given sitting down at a table with the editor or agent. Like in this photo of last week's pitch room at RWA's National Conference, pitches are often given in a room full of agents and editors, rather than in a private room. Be sure to arrive at least fifteen minutes early in order to sign in and find your seat. At RWA, a volunteer was there to line up all of the people who had appointments at a specific time so that we could walk in an orderly way to our respective agent or editor's table. Personally, I like to sit in the waiting area for about thirty minutes thinking about my pitch and getting my mind in the right place. (Translation = giving myself a pep-talk and saying things like "you're awesome" and "everyone wants to read my book!")

Once you sit down with your agent or editor, you have about ten minutes. It's a good idea to introduce yourself and ask how their conference is going or if they are having a nice morning. Compliments are always nice, especially if you have done your research about this particular agent and you love some of their client's books or have been following their blog for the past year, just be careful not to ramble! A lot of times, the agent or editor will then ask you what your project is about, at which point you should launch into your pitch.

"The Pitch" is best kept to around a minute. That way, the editor or agent has plenty of time to ask questions about your novel and to judge whether this particular project sounds interesting to them or not. Having notes in front of you doesn't seem to be a problem most of the time, just try to remember to look up from time to time and make eye contact. As far as what to say in your pitch, I personally have had a lot of success with simply telling them about the inciting incident that pushes the story forward. What's the hook of your story? What's that first thing that sends your character into a new world? A pitch appointment is not the time to tell the agent or editor the entire story all the way to the end. Think back cover blurb or query blurb, not synopsis!

As far as what to wear, keep it professional. Be comfortable and most importantly, be yourself. Jeans and a tshirt is probably not the best choice for a professional meeting, but in the end, what really matters is your story. Write the best book you can. Period. I just think that dressing nice shows an editor or agent that you respect them and that you take the opportunity seriously. This is a first impression scenario, so make the most of it!

Try not to be too nervous! I know, this is a tough one! I get nervous too, of course, but try to remember that editors and agents are people too. The reason they are taking pitch appointments in the first place is that they are looking for new authors. They want to find a book that they can sell or publish. They are rooting for your book to be the next story that touches their heart or keeps them up late at night turning pages. Deliver your pitch, answer questions slowly and speak clearly, and chances are, they are going to ask to see something from you. Most of the time, it's a partial - like the first 30 pages or the first three chapters and a synopsis. Sometimes, they might even ask for the full manuscript! Outright rejections at a pitch appointment are rare unless you didn't do your research and are pitching your novel to someone who simply isn't interested in your genre or sub-genre.

Most importantly, follow up. If someone requests your manuscript, send it! This is your chance to bypass the slush pile and get your work in front of someone who can potentially change your life! Don't let that opportunity pass you by simply out of fear of rejection or because you weren't prepared. One question people ask a lot is how much time after the pitch do you have to submit? I think the answer is different for everyone, but my advice is the same no matter what - send it in as soon as possible. An editor might still look at your partial manuscript six months down the road, but by then they might have already acquired a book like yours and no longer have room on their list. An agent might have truly been interested in your hook and excited to read your pages, but if you wait three months to send it in, you're allowing that interest to cool and pass away. Send your pages as soon as you can, preferably within the first week after the request was made. That alone will put you way ahead of the game.

Pitch appointments are always worth it as long as you are ready to submit and are looking for an agent or an editor. It's great experience talking about your novel and answering questions, and it's the fastest way to get your work on an agent or editor's desk with the words "Requested Material" on it. Take the chance to pitch every single time you have it, just make sure you aren't wasting anyone's time by pitching something you might never finish or send. Now, I'm off to finish reading through a final polish of my novel so that I can send requested pages to both an agent and an editor I met at RWA last Saturday! Wish me luck!

RWA National Conference in Orlando

Laptop? Check.

iPod loaded with a brand new audio book to enjoy (Ally Carter's I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You!)? Check.

Super cute business cards? Yep.

Hello Kitty notebook so I can make tons of useful notes during workshops? You betcha.

I am so excited about heading out to the RWA National Conference in Orlando! I've been packing all weekend, making sure laundry is done (both mine and my husband's - not sure he would even know how to do his own laundry anymore. He's so spoiled :p), downloading a new audio book for the trip, working on my pitch, going over any last minute revisions. I feel totally ready to go, and I know that this year, I'm going to make the most of it.

Last year was my first time at RWA Nationals, and I have to admit, I was nervous. I barely knew anyone, I was sharing a room with two others and ended up sleeping on a rollaway (ugh), and I basically had no idea what I was doing. Things have changed for this year. I'm much more confident in my writing, I have an actual completed book to pitch that I love and truly believe in, and this year, I have my very own bed in the hotel room. Well, not MY bed exactly, but it's mine for five nights and I plan to enjoy it!

My plane leaves in the morning, so I'm not sure how often I'll get a chance to update the blog this week, but if anyone reading is heading to Orlando, feel free to email me if you want to get together! (It's times like this I really wish I had an iPhone or a Droid or some other email-enabled phone. /sigh.) And if you're going to Orlando, I hope you have an amazing time. I will write all about it when I get home!

The Value of Outside Advice

No one ever said that being a writer would be easy. For the most part, it's a solitary task. It's just you, all alone, sitting at a keyboard somewhere, trying to come up with an original story and unique characters who will draw people in and make them care. Since joining RWA and my local chapter, HCRW, I have found that there are valuable resources out there that can change everything. Through RWA I met two amazing critique partners that read everything I write and encourage me every step of the way. Of course, they also tear my writing apart sometimes, but that's one of the reasons I've gotten better and better over the last couple of years. BUT (and this is a huge BUT), outside advice is not the be-all, end-all. It's not the final word or the definitive answer. I think this is something I'm learning bit by bit.

As a writer, I find that I am constantly searching for that positive feedback and validation. It's simply a hunger deep inside of me I can't control. So, when I put my pitch paragraph out there for my critique group, some people from an RWA loop or on an agent's forums, I hit "submit" and pray for that validation. Sometimes, the response is brutal. "Your story isn't unique." "Haven't we seen this before?" "This is unclear. What's really going on in your story?" "I don't like the wording here, this is too generic." And the list goes on.

Other times, you've got one person saying they hate it and another saying they think it's perfection (knuckle bump, girl! this rocks!) So how do you tell who is right and who is wrong? That's the truly infuriating part. No one can decide which pitch to put out there when the time comes except for you. Er, me, in this case. The writer, when it comes down to it, is still that solitary figure, making those decisions alone. It can sometimes be a very scary place to be. Not everyone is going to love what I write or the decisions I make, but at some point, I have to just believe in myself enough to make a choice and know that this is ME. My passion. My best. My voice.

Writing A Pitch

There are all types of skills you have to learn in order to pursue being published. As if writing, say, A NOVEL, isn't difficult enough, you also must learn how to write both a brief (4 page'ish) synopsis and a longer synopses (10-15 pages). It sounds easy enough, right? What's 4 pages, really, compared to an entire novel? Yeah, you try slimming down your baby with all its plot twists and intricately carved out characterizations. It aint easy. And you know what's even worse? Writing a pitch/query letter.

Now that my novel is nearly complete and ready to start submitting to agents, the query letter and synopsis are the next big hurdles for me. Sure, I've been working on these things all throughout the novel writing process, but it's only now that I have a clear view of the novel and truly can see what it's become that I can sit down and get to work on my pitch. Ah, the pitch. I curse you!

Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to have the opportunity to pitch and query agents. I'm thrilled to have a novel I believe in that is so close to being ready to send out. On the other hand, I hate writing a pitch. Condensing the entire novel down to just a few sentences is one of the toughest things in the world. And even if you can get that done, you have to ask yourself: Is this interesting? Am I getting my hook across? Does the voice and tone of the novel come through? Would anyone in their right mind want to read this novel based on these five sentences?

Seriously. It can drive a writer crazy.

Over the next two weeks, I am going to be working on my pitch. First, I will pitch in person at the RWA National Conference in Orlando. Then, I will start sending out query letters to agents soon after. This pitch has to be dynamite. It's so incredibly important to get it right and to entice the agent/reader to keep reading. How do you do that? Well, what I think might be most important is to keep it simple. Too much plot information soon becomes a jumbled mess in a query letter. I am going to try to focus on the inciting incident - that thing that makes the story take wings. Then I'll briefly mention the central conflict of the book and make sure that my hook is clear. Five or six finely crafted sentences. It won't be easy, but I know I can do it.