Your manuscript has been reread so many times you’re cross-eyed. You think it’s time to put away the polish and let your work shine, so you register for a conference, like New Jersey Romance Writer’s “Put Your Heart In A Book”—and if you haven’t, here’s the link:  http://njromancewriters.org/index.php?/conference/put_your_heart_in_a_book_conference/

But the sigh of relief you feel upon completing a manuscript is fleeting. Because now comes the panic, when you must flick the switch in your brain from a creative, oh-let-me-try-that mode to a hard-sell this-is-what-readers-want-to-read mode.

It’s time for business. It’s time to perfect your pitch.

I’d like to share with you a compilation of advice gathered over the past few years. Though I have enough notes to write a small chapter book, here are some tools I’ve found useful when perfecting my pitches. My suggestion is to select what works best for you, and make it your own.

Good luck!

Beginning

Consider using a brief personal anecdote as a hook. At NJRW’s Michael Hauge workshop, he modeled this technique with a few opening lines about his troubled childhood as a lead into his pitch. It was an anecdote everyone sympathized with, which made his pitch seem like a story everyone could identify with. And, he lied! The anecdote was a complete fabrication and a simple ruse to catch the audience’s attention (and in turn, an editor/agent).

Suggestion:  Focus on something in your life, however minor, that your character might have to deal with. For example, falling off a curb at an Italian Ice venue—a crowded one—and breaking your ankle. After you share the anecdote, lead into your pitch with: “So, it made me wonder about” or “Imagine a heroine who broke her ankle, a career-ending injury . . .”

Remember, you want to reflect the tone of your book in your pitch.

Finally, it is a great way to break the ice. You’ve established a dialogue with your target editor/agent, with a purpose—selling your manuscript.

Transition

Use the anecdote to lead into the Title, Target Market, Completed Word Count. This will signal the editor/agent that you’re about to share the heart of your story, and that you’re pitch isn’t a rambling self-indulgent mess! They are expecting this information.

Body of Pitch

In your pitch, you want to answer these questions:  Who is the protagonist? What choice does he/she face? What are the consequences of the choice?

Kimberly Killion offers this template, which can be helpful when flushing out a concept for a story, as well as for formatting the bones of a pitch.

“TITLE is a WORD COUNT, GENRE about MAIN CHARACTER, an ADJECTIVE/DESCRIPTION, who wants to DEFAULT ACTION. But when CALL TO ACTION, he must STORY GOAL, which seems impossible because CENTRAL CONFLICT.”

When an editor or agent asks, “Tell me in one or two sentences about your story”, this template is the bare bones of it. You can add a bit more detail and flesh out the bones, but make sure the information is important to theme, characterization, goal, motivation, or resolution.

Conclusion

You want to establish within the body of your pitch that you’re not just anybody. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist!)

What I mean is you want to place the seed in the agent/editor’s head about how to position your book. Give them a selling tool. Why does it have mass-market appeal or why does it fit a certain category line.

The simplest way of doing this is compare your manuscript to current published works or movies. In my True Blood meets Modern Family-toned paranormal romance . . . (Wouldn’t that make an interesting story—or compilation of stories?)

Remember:  Make sure what current movies/television shows/books you refer to is reflected in your writing. Imagine instead of True Blood meets Modern Family, it’s True Blood meets The Flintstones.  What a horrible surprise!

In Kerri Nelson’s Pitching Your Novel class, she suggest ending with a line incorporating the theme of your story. Keep it short. “Veronica learns that sometimes a lie is the only way to learn the truth.”

The next step

Most resources I’ve gathered suggest you initiate the next step . . . “I hope you’ll consider me for representation” or “I’d be glad to send you my manuscript . . .”  However, I’ve never had to conclude a pitch. Agents and editors will prompt you with questions and concerns. You don’t have a lot of time with them. So usually what happens is they’ll end the pitch by asking if there’s anything else you’d like to tell them, or some other key phrase letting you know you’re time is up. They will request a partial or full if they want your manuscript.

Make sure you understand what they are asking for.  A partial manuscript is the Chapters 1-3. Some editors/agents might ask for the first 20 pages, or first 50 pages. If you are lucky, they will ask for a full.  Find out how they prefer submissions—usually an e:mail in Word, with a blurb reminding them what you’re manuscript is about. Get their business card, and write this information on the back.

Useful Tips

• Do your homework. Know what the editor and/or agent is acquiring and who they represent/publish. Information can be found in the market updates of Romance Writer’s Report, The Writer’s Market, and on the agent or publisher websites.

How does your manuscript fit into this?

• Think and write out a career strategy: where you are now, where you want to be in five years.

Be prepared. Editors and agents want to know your career goals. Often they will ask what else you have written or are working on.  They might request blurbs on the next two books to be sent along with your requested manuscript.

Do you have ideas for a series based on your manuscript?  What other books are you writing or developing?

• Type, cut, and paste your pitch on index cards. Number them. Highlight words you’d like to stress, especially main plot point, etc.  You might want an additional index card with one or two sentences describing the heart of your book.

•  Practice, practice, practice. You’ll use the cards to practice your pitch until they become more of a guide than a crutch. Even though having them in your hand might give you a sense of comfort, be prepared enough to pitch without them.

During your appointment, the use of index cards is acceptable, but you want to refrain from reading them directly (see warning below). Make eye contact and smile. Keep the editor/agent engaged.

Keep it brief as the appointment is only eight to ten minutes long, and you want to leave time for discussion.

WARNING:  Do not depend on the index cards. You know your story, so make sure you have it simplified in your head. I had an editor tell me “I’d rather you tell me about your story than read from cards.”  Fortunately, I was prepared (and thus confident)  and slid them back into my bag.

So, are you ready to find representation and to sell your manuscript?

Writing is subjective and, having taken numerous pitching classes, I’ve discovered the format of a pitch varies as well.  My advice is to find a format that works for you.

Please feel free to comment and give additional strategies and advice on writing a pitch.