I went to WFWA’s conference in Chicago a while back to take pitches from authors. There were a lot of good ones! There were a few not so good ones too, so I thought it may be helpful to do a reminder how-to-pitch post for those of you with pitches coming up in the near future.
First off – remember that the publisher/agent/editor wants to love your book just as much as you want them to love your book. We are just people. We understand that you are nervous. It\’s okay that you are nervous. After all, you are putting your baby out there to potentially be rejected. We know that. We don’t usually bite though.
Here are some steps to help you be spectacular!
- Take a deep breath as you walk up to us. Exhale. If you need another breath to help you relax, take another one. Exhale. It\’s okay if you need a second.
- Smile.
- Make eye contact (if you can. We know that not everyone can do the eye contact thing).
- Sit down (organized pitch sessions are usually a table and two chairs—one chair for the pitchee and one chair for the pitcher).
- Introduce yourself (Hi. I’m Jon Smith).
- Tell me if your book is completed (It’s okay if it’s not. I will just consider your pitch to be practice but I won’t request pages most likely).
- Tell me the genre of the book and the word count.
- Pitch me (three or four sentences).The short pitch is just enough to give me an idea of what your story is about. It also forces you to focus on the main character, the main conflict, and hint at the theme. Incorporate the below into three sentences and you will be almost there.
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- What is your main character\’s name and initial situation? (Billy Bee was minding his own business on the honey farm)
- Add “when” to indicate the main plot problem (when a pesky bear came and raided the bee hive.)
- Add “now” to show the high stakes that your character must overcome (Now Billy must rescue the queen and rebuild the hive before winter comes.)
- Add a hook question if you want to. (Can Billy save the queen and the hive before the world freezes over?) This step is not always necessary, but it can be helpful to help you focus your pitch.
Then smile, and let me ask you questions.
See? It’s not so hard. You can do it! I do recommend that you practice your pitch (maybe in front of a mirror or in front of your friends and family) because this will help you polish your presentation and be more comfortable with the process. It will also help you to be clear on what your story is actually about.
Good luck!