Pitching Agents And Readers

I talk a lot about pitching agents via the query process, but that’s not the only way to pitch. There are verbal pitches to agents. And? There’s the pitching you need to do to the READERS!

6 New Tips For Pitching Agents

Here’s a couple things to keep in mind.

1. In person, if you’re not very social, it’s fine to keep the pitch extra short!
2. In the written query, the part addressing the story is typically
   1. First paragraph is the character, setting, and inciting incident
   2. Second paragraph is the escalation
3. It’s okay to close with a question!
   1. I’d heard so many times that agents “hate rhetorical questions” that I’ve just banned any question from my query letters. BUT! I’ve been told, it’s okay to have a question, especially in the summary sentence. “Will Carol manage to finish dinner before the store closes, or will she find herself locked in, forever!“
4. A strong character voice in the query is very dangerous, but on rare occasions will work.
5. Only describe your background/education if it’s on display in the book.
6. A lot of publishing houses are looking more for duologies and stand alone books than series. It’s a smaller commitment, that can be expanded if the book(s) sell well!

Pitching Readers

The number one thing you have to remember when pitching to your readers is … if you’re planning on selling on Amazon, no matter how amazing your cover text is, Amazon only shows the first 2 lines of your blurb. Make Them Count.

No Matter Who You’re Pitching

There are two things your pitch has to accomplish.

1. Show how your story is distinct from the others in its genre
2. Show how your story fits in the market

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What pitching tips work best for you?

What ones would you suggest we avoid?

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Here were more notes from all the panels I hit at Balticon53 and I’m still not done. I attended all the panels, so you don’t have to.

Tune in again next week for more writing tips and writerly musings.