Make Your Best Pitch
By Jacqueline Floyd
One of the most nerve-wracking experiences an unpublished writer can face is an agent or editor appointment at a conference. Remember, editors go to conferences because they're looking for new writers, new manuscripts, and new ideas. If they aren't, they don't take open appointments. Here are some general tips along with some scenarios to help you prepare for your meeting.
- If she meets with you at conference, chances are good that she will want to request what you've pitched to her, but not if it's wrong for her house.
- Be professional. Be on time for your appointment; don't go over. If she wants you to keep talking, fine, she'll tell you. Otherwise, leave when your time's up. You can have a business card with you if you want, but that won't make or break your meeting. If you have time at the end, ask what she reads, likes, and looks for in a book.
- Do your research. Know what the editor/publishing house is looking for. Read RWR and other writing publications to find this out. Request their tip sheets. Check out their website.
- Have notes prepared, but try not to read from them. Offer specifics, but not too many details.
- If this is your first appointment, sign up for a group instead of an individual. You'll end up with the same results, and there will be less wear and tear on your nerves.
Here's a fictional example of an unprepared author who had not done her homework or prepared her notes in a coherent, realistic manner. The editor is trying to be professional and polite, but has a tough road on this one.
Bad Writer (BW)/Good Editor (GE)
BW: Hi, I'm Jackie. I have to tell you I'm unpublished, but I've been a member of OVRWA for five years, and I've written 6 single title contemporaries, 2 historicals, 3 Temptations, 6 short stories and 20 poems.
GE: Impressive production Jackie. What--
BW: I've won a lot of contests, or, I mean, I've entered a lot of contests. I've won some of them, but not all of them, but that's really not my fault. Some judges don't really appreciate what I try to do, the themes, the symbolism, the significance I try to include in every word I write. But that kind intelligent structure just goes over some judges' heads. You know what I mean?
GE: I think I do. Out of all your projects, what have you written that you think Excellent Press would be most interested in acquiring?
BW: I really think you'd like them all.
GE: Let's start with just one.
BW: Well, my most recent 180,000 word historical is called On the Wings of a Dove, because at the beginning and the end, a dove flies into the convent, symbolizing love, and peace, and hope for the heroine, whose name is Hope, because she's so hopeful her cruel stepfather will relent and release her from the convent and let her marry the hero, Ruark, who's so gorgeous. He's the man of mystery the stepfather wants Hope's ugly stepsister, Bertilda, to marry in her place. Of course, Ruark wants to marry Hope, but they've been cruelly separated by Fate. And the war. Hope has the most beautiful flowing red hair, and Bertilda's is a boring mousy brown that she just can' t get to grow past her shoulders. And of course, in the end, it all works out. I mean with Ruark and Hope.
GE: Oh my. What is the time period and the setting?
BW: Well, I call it a historical because some of it takes place around 1950, but most of it is really set a hundred years in the future, Star Date 2101. Doesn't that sound romantic?
GE: Very romantic, but you know Jackie, I'm not sure Excellent Press would feel comfortable publishing a futuristic/time-travel/historical.
BW: But I've seen your company publish all three before.
GE: Yes, but not all rolled into one.
BW: I thought you'd be more open-minded. You said in your talk that Excellent Press buys based on the individual story, not on tip sheet guidelines.
GE: That's true. We will look at something unusual if the idea has merit.
BW: Wings of a Dove has merit.
GE: (Heavy sigh) You might be right. Send me a synopsis and three chapters and I'll take a look at it.
Sometimes the writer is prepared and has done her homework, but the editor just isn't open to what she's written. Here's an example of that.
Prepared Writer (PW)/Bad Editor (BE)
PW: Hi, I'm Jackie Floyd. It's really nice to meet you.
BE: Thanks.
PW: The manuscript I've most recently completed is called Meet Your Mate. It was a finalist in the OVRWA contest and came in second in this year's Maggies' as well as coming in first in the Outreach International Award of Excellence. I'd like to tell you about it if I may.
BE: Fine. (Bored voice, filing her nails)
PW: Meet Your Mate is a 50,000 word contemporary set in Cincinnati.
BE: 50,000 words. Hmm, that's kind of short, isn't it?
PW: Well, it's targeted for your Two-for-Love line.
BE: I don't acquire for Two-for-Love. Do you have anything else I might be interested in?
PW: Yes, of course, (shuffles to find secondary notes) I have Babe in the Woods, a 70,000 word contemporary set in the Northeast.
BE: That's more like the length I'm looking for. What's that one about?
PW: It's about the famous playboy son of a wealthy political family who's on a mission to clear his father's name of an unjust accusation.
BE: Political family? Oh no, we never get political in our books. Could he be anything else?
PW: The strong family relationship and public recognition factors really are the core of the story.
BE: That isn't quite what I'm looking for.
PW: (scrambling through her notes now) I have a 90,000 word contemporary set in Texas about a pregnant librarian and her marriage of convenience to a cowboy.
BE: I like the premise! But 90,000 words would be a little long for anything I'd be interested in. Could you cut it down to about 70,000?
PW: I could try and lose some of the secondary characters, I guess, but I think I really do need them to fill out the story.
BE: Secondary characters. Like who?
PW: Well, the heroine's grandparents own the ranch where a lot of the action takes place, and the hero's conniving uncle plays a major role in keeping the couple apart.
BE: We really prefer not to have really elderly characters in our books. Can you just cut them and have the heroine own the ranch?
PW: Well, maybe, but I like the message that comes from good triumphing over evil in the scene just before the heroine agrees to marry the cowboy. With the grandparents, the heroine and her baby all about to lose the only home they've ever known, it depicts three generations fighting together--
BE: They're losing their home? That sounds pretty depressing. I prefer something more lighthearted. Have you written anything humorous?
PW: Yes, the Two-for-Love manuscript I mentioned at the beginning.
BE: Two-for-Love, hmm? I'm not really acquiring for Two-for-Love at this time, and all of our lines are really tight, right now. I'm afraid you haven't written anything that's really right for us.
PW: (desperate) Maybe I could leave you my card and then send you a synopsis next week of my newest project?
BE: Sure, you can do that.
PW: How long will it take for you to reply to a submission?
BE: By the end of the year, for sure--or next year at the latest.
Here's an example of both participants clicking, and things going ahead as planned.
Good Writer (GW)/Good Editor(GE)
GW: Hi, I'm Jackie. Thanks for meeting with me.
GE: It's my pleasure. I love to hear what new writers are working on. Tell me Jackie, what are you working on?
GW: I write single title contemporary, and I've just finished a project that I'm really excited about. May I tell you about it?
GE: Please do.
GW: Babe in the Woods is a 90,000 word contemporary set primarily in Maine that I've targeted for your new suspense line.
GE: Great. I love romantic suspense, and we're really aggressive about looking for stories to market under our new imprint. What's it about?
GW: It's a story of family loyalty and hidden secrets. The playboy son of a wealthy political family goes to a small town and must team up with his enemy's sister, a down-to-earth nurse-midwife in an effort to clear his father's name of an unjust accusation.
GE: Interesting. How do they meet?
GW: The heroine's car dies as she travels home to temporarily help out her grandparents with their bed and breakfast just as the hero is coming into town. He reluctantly gives her a lift, but each one is suspicious of the other. The attraction builds when he finds the cabin he intended to stay at is uninhabitable, and he has to stay at the B&B. As his investigation into his father's past comes to a standstill with the reticent down easterners, the heroine offers to help him with the locals, but she intends to prove his father's guilt, while he wants to clear his father's name. With the investigation coming to a head, they're trapped in a burning building and that emotionally fraught situation pushes their attraction to one another into the open.
GE: Do they clear the father's name?
GE: They clear it regarding the primary reason for the hero's investigation, but other secrets from the past are revealed that tarnish it a bit in other areas. All is resolved, but it's not a happy resolution for anyone but the hero and heroine when they're able to set aside their differences and distrust to build a life together.
GE: Sounds like just what we're looking for, Jackie. Send me three chapters and a synopsis, and I'll take a look at it.
Here are some tips for preparing a practice pitch of your own.
- Start with a single sentence that reveals the name of your book, the length, targeted line (if applicable), the time period, the setting, and whether or not the project is complete. Example: Meet Your Mate is a completed 50,000 word Duets-targeted contemporary set in the Midwest.
- Indicate a recognizable high concept, basic premise of your book, or the one element that makes your book unique. Examples: A new twist on the fish out of water, true love never runs smooth, Nanny from Hell meets Dr. Spock.
- State an adjective/noun description for both your hero and heroine that depicts their dominant characteristics. Examples: Charming nuisance, blind astronaut, heartless executive.
- Follow the dominant characteristics with a statement containing the hero and heroine's goal, motivation and conflict in twenty-five words or less. Come on, you can do it! Encapsulate. All right, use thirty words if you have to, but brevity is the key. Example: A feisty midwife needs a psychic archaeologist to act as her guide and ease her transition into the mountain community, but he's a recluse who doesn't trust outsiders.
- Be prepared to continue with five major plot points. Example: the hero and heroine's first meeting, the event that spurs their attraction to the next level, one or two turning points, the black moment and the resolution.
Jacqueline Floyd is a member of RWA, OVRWA, OIRW, and the Golden Network. As well as frequently submitting manuscripts to agents and editors, she's won and placed in numerous contests including the Georgia Romance Writers Maggie Award of Excellence, RWA's Golden Heart, and OVRWA's first chapter contest. She writes short contemporary and single title.
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It's Great to be
Golden Again
Make Your
Best Pitch
Painless Synopsis
Three by Five
Life-Saver
Critique
Groups 101
Self-Editing
What Is It You
Really Want
Maximizing
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