Community Workshop: Prep Your Pitch!

Nationals is looming on the horizon. You've filled out the online forms and signed up for your most vaunted editor so you can have a few precious minutes to tell her your book and skip weeks of torment on if your query letter was able to do the job.

But the question now is...can YOU represent your work as well?

Going verbal is a brand new ball game, folks. Are you up to the challege? Do you have tips to share from past experiences? Let's help each other put our best foot forward!

Adding to that tip...I have never given a pitch to a publisher, but I do give presentations and pitches to companies every day.  It's how I make my bread and butter, and one way to practice is to video tape yourself.  Yes, I know...it sounds silly, but it works.  Most of the time we do things and say things that we aren't even aware of until we see ourselves.  Once you've done that, and you are now aware of what you're little "statics" are,the next step is to appoint a "catcher".  Your "catcher" needs to be someone who you spend a lot of time with.  Kids are great, they love to catch mom doing something wrong...Tell them what you DON'T want to say and do, and get them to tell you when you do them.  The more you are aware of what you are doing, the easier it is to remove it from your pitch. 

Hope that helps some.

 Tiff-

Now that's one area that I will probably fail miserably, Dee.  I'm a hum-haller.  Tsk, tsk, tsk, shame on me, I know, but I often catch myself saying 'and, uh, well, you know what I mean?  H'm?' LOL!  I may be hopeless.  But I'll try to correct myself.  Truthfully, I'm praying that I won't have to pitch verbally - I'd prefer doing it on paper, at least in the beginning. 

Thanks for this tip!

 Oh, and the swaying to silent music is funny too.  I've seen a lot of people do this.  Especially young parents  who are used to rocking for comfort.  I think I'm a weight shifter - shifting my weight from one foot to the next repetitiously when I'm nervous.

If you're going to fast and you can feel your mouth getting too flappy, force yourself to take a breath, keep eye contact with the editor and count to two. If you're still quiet, continue. Make sure you're breathing.

A big sign of talking too fast is that you're getting it all out in one breath. Purposely take a soft breath at the end of every sentence. This will keep you reasonably paced and hopefully, conscious. Don't take deep, gulping breaths. Just easy, slow ones.

Any other tips for this, gang?

Dee

As well as videotaping, you can also practice in front of a mirror....I do it all the time before a gig ( I sing) and any other time I need to get up in front of people or am going to be in a sitution that might put me out of my element.......

Is the RWA National Convention, where many folks are preparing to give live pitches to captive...er, present editors, lol. Alas, yup, it's expensive. People tend to save all year to go, but depending on what you're there for, it can be very much worth the trip. Many authors consider it a prime point for your career. But no worries, you can totally have a good career without it. Just fewer drinks. :)

Dee 

Thank you so much for posting the tips on this string -- I appreciate it!

I'm attending RWA Nationals for the first time this year, and am pins-and-needles nervous over the pitch opportunity (I'm signed up to pitch to a Harlequin assistant editor who was listed as being able to take pitches across all lines).

If it helps any other newbie authors out there -- to prepare for my pitch, I've been working on my industry terminology using Leslie Wainger's terrific Dummies book and also an older volume called "You Can Write a Romance" (by Rita Clay Estrada, the first president of RWA).  Both volumes were available at my local library.

As a long-time romance reader, it has been a real education in approaching a book from the author's point of view.   NOT just the writing part....but also developing a professional query letter, synopsis, and pitch.  These books, along with the fabulous articles posted on the e-Harlequin website, have been great resources.

BTW, I'm nervous enough that I cribbed some of my DH's index cards that he uses to make flash cards for school, and made my pitch notes on them!  Lame but true, I'm probably going to walk into my conference pitch with a little set of 4x6 cards so I keep myself on point!

• Themes and Hooks: What kind of story is this? Where is it aimed? Is it complete?
• Knowledge of your characters: Goals, motivations, internal and external conflicts. Physical descriptions, unless pertinent to plot, are not generally required.
• Knowledge of your plot: Especially if it's complicated. Be able to explain why this is happening to your characters and how---one never knows what an editor might ask about.
• Knowledge of your romantic plot: What attracts your characters? What keeps them apart? How are they being pushed together?
• Resolution: The editor will want to know that you have all the ends tied up. They are not, generally, interested in the details of if you have sequels lined up, but you can let them know if the story is open to further stand alone off-shoots.

And then, when you've relayed all of that, you've got to train yourself to stop talking and listen. Answer questions concisely. The person behind you will be so grateful that you don't take more than your allotted time and so will the editor. :)

Thoughts? Questions? Additions?

...I always thought editors were interested in sequels, although it's not necessary in order to be published, I think that's what Dee meant.  The Writer's Market says that it lets the editor know you have more material available.  With Harlequin's books, a lot of them stand alone, although I've noticed quite a few sequels as well.  The book should probably be able to stand on it's own, but could meld with a sequel if needed.  Am I right, Dee?

Thanks for explaining -- I would have just thrown anything I had madly at them!  Fine lines out the window!  Take my manuscripts, please!

Dee, thinking of THAT in dating terms.....oh dear, I can't go there!!  LOL

I appreciate both your responses!     :-)

...smack in the middle of a series of books before and felt a little disoriented when, say in book three, dozens of characters are thrown at me without giving me a full explanation of what they'd done in the previous books (not usually Harlequins).  So I totally agree that each book should be able to stand on it's own.  The ms I submitted to SSE is by itself.  However, it has possibilities for a sequel, although I haven't thought seriously about details.  I'm glad, Dee, that you brought up this issue.  I've heard different opinions on the subject.  No better way of finding out the nitty-gritty details than from the ones who actually 'know' from experience.

Oh, and LOL about the dating difference between shaking hands and butt-squeezing! 

I took debate in high school. My teacher had a lot of work taking the fidget out of me. I'm a twitcher. LOL!

I'll be back shortly to see if we can talk about working up your pitches!

Dee 

yes, pitches at conferences are very short. Some are only 5 minutes. There's also "Group Pitches", where like ten people get 30 minutes with an editor and they take turns in front of her--and each other. Getting a slot at all can be quite competitive and you have to sign up early. I doubt there's any left by now, but if you're going, you can sign up for standby, in case some one cancels.

Dee, this is really fantastic information.  I am loving these BBC discussions!  You ever thought about being a writing teacher?

I just wanted to chime in to say that while pitching is a GREAT(if nerve-wracking) opportunity, and you should definitely do your best to make your pitch as perfect as possible in content and delivery, they're not the end-all and be-all of your writing career.  They're frightening things and it's easy to get caught up in worrying about them.  But in the end, editors are people, not big scary monsters, and you can do perfectly well career-wise even if your pitch doesn't go so well.

I pitched at Nationals twice before I sold a book.  Neither one of them went particularly well.  I was totally prepared, but for whatever reason, my stories weren't right for that editor/agent.  However, both of those stories were bought afterwards by two major publishers and they have been released all over the world.  (I just got copies of one of them in Italian this morning!)

So do your best, but take comfort that even if it doesn't go according to your dreams, you can still succeed.

On the other hand, the tips about pitching that Dee have mentioned here are stuff I use all the time now that I'm published.  You have to sum up your book for the media, for the cover artist, at booksignings.  And I usually sell my next book to my editor with a verbal pitch, just like what Dee's talking about doing here.  So this is a very, very valuable skill no matter where your career's at. 

I'm doing a live pitch soon and all these tips are like gold dust for me, especially Dee's checklist of things to include! I've set myself a deadline for preparing my pitch on paper, so that I can stop worrying about the content of it and then practice, practice, practice until the day itself. I struggle with nerves and tend to babble, but being prepared really helps with that.

I've been told that rehearsing in front of a mirror really helps, although I've yet to try that!

I've got 2 pitches at Nationals, though one of them is on paper.  Don't ask, it came about in an unusual way and I'm thrilled at the opportunity, but very nervous about the in-person pitch.  I'm definitely making notes and practicing in the mirror.  I'm going to wait a while before I have the kids start pointing out my flaws, though.  They would have waaaayyyy too much fun with that!

trish 

I promise. Some are, though. But it's not exactly going to be like going into a voting box, either. Well, in some cases, depends on the hotel and what accomodations they have for this. You won't be performing in front of the world, but worst case scenario might mean that you'll be at a polite distance. Best to be prepared so you can be relieved instead of blind-sighted. :)

Dee 

Or anyone really..

Is there any tip for online pitches? I'm entering the Nocturne Bites Pitch and i have to admit I'm nervous.

...to a job interview?  I read an article on how to put your best foot forward in an interview with the really good advice, including:

• Don't slump in your chair.  Lean forward and look interested.
• Be enthusiastic (and most of us don't have any trouble being enthusiastic about our books & characters!)
• Dress for the job (I guess in this case, for the book, though I wouldn't recommend showing up in costume if you write historicals! ); just don't show up in jeans and a torn T-shirt...
• Be relaxed and don't forget to breathe.

That's all I can remember, but maybe it will help!  Wish I were going to be there with all of you, pitching!  I wish all of you the very best of luck, and I hope to see you all on the Author board of eHarlequin soon!

Dee, do you know if there's going to be another Love Inspired pitch any time soon?  My would-be HA turned into an LI...  Thanks!

I've only done online pitching, but I imagine it's about the same.  The editor will ask about what interests her, so know your characters, their goals, motivation, and conflict inside and out.  By all means, make a list of things to take with you, but be prepared to answer any questions she asks about your book.  If you're in love with your characters and your story, talking about them should be a breeze!  Good luck, and be sure to let us know if you are invited to submit! 

In an online pitch is is appropriate to use common acronyms? I see two reasons for this - saving time (I'm a slow typer an I have typer's dyslexia, lol), and it might make the tone more conversational, as if we were actually speaking face to face, let a little more personality shine through. But, on the other hand, those may also be things you don't want during an online pitch...Dee?