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Editor's note: I am declaring
November 2010 to be "Agent Guest Column Month," and therefore, every weekday, I will
be posting a guest column by a literary agent. Day 3: Today's guest agent is Miriam
Kriss of Irene Goodman Literary.
Miriam Kriss is an
agent with the Irene Goodman Literary Agency representing commercial fiction and she
represents everything from hardcover historical mysteries to all subgenres of romance,
from young adult fiction to kick ass urban fantasies, and everything in between.
Miriam’s co-agent, Irene Goodman, offers
manuscript critiques on eBay every month, starting on the first day of each month,
with all proceeds going to charity. Click on the link for more details on these
critiques and charity auctions.
I go to a lot of writers’ conferences and the highlight of many of them for both myself
and the aspiring authors who attend them is the agent pitch sessions. The format of
these appointments varies from conference to conference. Sometimes they’re five- to
ten-minute meetings between an agent and an aspiring writer, other times they’re speed
dating style mini encounters. Still other conferences go with a group pitch model
where a group of writers sit down all at once with an agent.
Whatever the format these are opportunities for writers to not only convey their excitement
about their project to an industry professional but to also get some sense of who
the agent is and if they would like to work with them. Often attendees put a great
deal of pressure on themselves for these meetings and feel the whole of their future
careers depend on this short encounter. I wanted to give some tips about what agents
look for in a pitch to let you feel more prepared the next time you sit down across
from your dream agent.
1. Know Thy Genre (or Sub-Genre)
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve sat down to with someone and asked them
what they write, only to be faced with confusion. Knowing where your book would live
in the bookstore is crucial to making sure the agent can evaluate it properly. Even
if you’re writing something that has elements from several genres, it’s important
to understand it can only be shelved in one place when in the bookstore, so you need
to determine who your audience is and make that clear from the beginning of your pitch.
2. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
This isn’t the moment to go into every intricate plot point. Rather, think of
your pitch in terms of cover copy. What’s your log line? A logline, or one sentence
pitch, is a phrase borrowed from Hollywood, where as Mamet’s character Charlie Fox
said in Speed the Plow, “You can't tell it to me in one sentence, they can't put it
in TV Guide." This is the intrinsic hook that will make people want to pick
up your book. A common mistake I see is for people to try to use that one sentence
to sum up every aspect of their story and then get frustrated when it doesn’t. This
isn’t meant to be a synopsis of your plot, rather it’s bait to make people want to
read it. Likewise, the body of your pitch should be more like back cover copy
than a synopsis, meant to give the high points of the story, not a blow
Editor's note: I am declaring November 2010 to be
"Agent Guest Column Month," and therefore, every weekday, I will be posting a guest
column by a literary agent. Day 2: Today's guest agent is Dan Lazar of Writers House.
The surefire way of tempting a literary agent into reading your work is by sending
them a fabulous query letter. A great query letter trumps all, every time. But how,
you’re wondering, can you possibly encapsulate your amazing manuscript, your sweat
and tears, your next Great American (if you’re Canadian, then your next Great North
American novel) … into one letter? Because remember, at the end of the day, it all
comes down to the writing. If you’re a great writer, who’s written a great novel,
you can write a great query letter. Period. Here are some tips of mistakes to avoid.
Guest column by Dan Lazar, an
agent
with Writers
House in New York.
1. Be specific, but don’t vomit information. Saying “my novel is about a mom
going through some life challenges” is vague, and remember: Vague = boring. However,
be careful not to stuff your letter with so many details of your plot that it’s confusing
to decipher what’s going on. Reading your pitch letter out loud can often help you
identify these flaws.
2. Avoid the “duh” trap. Don’t bog down your writing by overstating the obvious.
For example, “I'm writing this letter to tell you about my fictional novel, which
I'd like to send you, and it is called TITLE.” That’s an awkward sentence. A simple
“I'd love to send you my novel, TITLE” is short and sweet. If this is confusing, read
both out loud. Seriously. Try it. Reading your own words out loud can sometimes reveal
the awkward or run-on sentences.
Another “duh” trap would be: “My novel will make you laugh”
or “My writing is lush and literary”—you’re
begging the agent to disagree. Many writers say “my novel will be a bestseller," or
"my book could easily be made into film," in an effort to excite an agent. But truthfully,
this is borderline offensive to most agents—it’s
presumptuous and naïve to assume your work can easily bypass all the guardians and
hard work it takes to make book into a bestseller or a movie.
3. Don’t call your manuscript a “fiction novel.” There’s no other kind. If
you can’t tell the difference, that’s a problem.
4. Don't say other readers loved the book, unless those other readers are published
authors of note. If you’re writing a children’s book, saying your class loved
the book is equally unhelpful.
5. Make sure the agent accepts e-queries before you send one. Just because
his/her e-mail is listed somewhere, doesn't mean they do. Most agents now have websites;
check their submission guidelines. If you're not sure, send your query by snail mail.
6. E-queries must also look neat. Colorful border, graphics or emoticons are
not only unprofessional, but they’re often caught by spam blockers. And if the agent
requests your work by e-mail, e-mail it in one or two attachments. Not twenty.
A thousand other questions may be running through your head now – but these are the
basics. For all else, use your common sense. Courier New versus Times New Roman? 1
inch margin versus 1.25? Doesn’t matter, trust me. Just write
If I am represented by a good agency and am pitching to a top magazine or newspaper, should I mention the fact that I have an agent who deals with NY Times best-selling authors in my bio?
Will it seem strange that I am mentioning that I have an agent but that I, not them, am doing the pitching?
I never worked in the acquisitions department of a magazine, so I can’t say with complete certainty how a magazine editor thinks or works. Maybe one of my readers would know. That being said, I don’t think it could hurt to say your agent is currently shopping your book.
If you are shopping a nonfiction book and you are an expert, I would definitely mention it. It’s something that will give you more credibility as the author of the article and the book.
As for whether it’s strange that your agent is pitching for you: Not strange at all. Few literary agents pitch to magazines.
Jessica
"I try to leave out the parts that people skip."
~Elmore Leonard
Footnotes is a recurring series on the GLA blog where I pick a subject and
provide several interesting articles on said topic. We’ve
all been there. First, your throat begins to tighten and then your mouth goes dry.
Your heart beats so fast it feels like it could leap from your chest at any moment.
You take a deep breath and begin your pitch, hoping what you say will make some sense.
Today, I’m serving up four articles on surviving the conference pitch.
1. First impressions count. An
article on Suite 101 shows you how to prepare for the pitch like you would a job
interview.
2. Different situations call for different pitches. Nathan
Bransford explains one sentence, the one paragraph and two paragraph pitches.
3. Pitchcraft. Agent
Katharine Sands explains the elements that should be included in the pitch and
ones you should leave out.
4. Some agents hate pitches, too. Agent
Janet Reid explains what not to do.
Want more on this topic?
This weekend I taught at a writers' conference and my topic was "Selling Your Stuff," creating those all important sales materials for your book:
The one-sentence summary.
The query.
The pitch paragraph.
The elevator pitch.
The proposal.
I was talking to a room full of novelists, so I focused on fiction. I told them that the main elements of a pitch for a novel are:
Character
Their choice, conflict, or goal
What’s at stake (may be implied)
Action
Setting
But I know it's still hard figuring out exactly the right way to pitch. You have to simplify your story and pitch a single plot thread and as few characters as possible. You have to be precise, and use specific (not vague) language. And you have to make it interesting, which means you need to find the most unique and special aspect of your story and make sure it's covered in the pitch.
So I've come up with a set of 11 questions that I recommend novelists work through before even starting to craft a pitch or summary. If you think about the answers to these questions, and write them down, you'll be more equipped to find the right elements of your story to include in the pitch.
The 11 Questions
1. What’s the genre of your book?
2. What’s the hook, or what’s most unique or special about your book?
3. Who is the protagonist and what’s the most interesting thing about him or her?
4. Who is the antagonist and how is he/she standing in the way of the protagonist’s goal?
5. What conflict, dilemma or choice does the protagonist face? (Central story question.)
6. What is at stake? What are the consequences of the choice or conflict?
7. What is the catalyst, or the main event that gets the story started?
8. What are the main points of action that drive the plot?
9. What is the setting of the story?
10. What is the interesting backstory that affects your characters in the current story?
11. What is the book’s theme?
The point of these questions is for you to identify the crucial elements that would make for a good pitch, and it's best to figure it out before you get started rather than in the middle of trying to write your pitch paragraph or 1-sentence summary. Let me know if you find these helpful.
(c) 2010 Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent
Anyone who is a member of RWA knows that today kicks off the RWA National conference in Orlando, and, as always, I will be in attendance. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, I will be doing things a little differently this year. This year, I have not signed up to hold author pitch appointments. I’m already participating in two workshops and at least one agent panel. Adding in appointments would severely cut into the time I have with clients, and since that’s why I’m really there, it just didn’t make sense for me this year.
So what do you do if you were hoping to pitch to me and are disappointed I’m not taking pitches, or what if you planned to pitch to another agent but didn’t get a slot with her? Why, the elevator pitch, of course. Or the bar pitch, the breakfast pitch, the lobby pitch. Just whatever you do, don’t try the bathroom pitch or the gym pitch.
Every agent will have a different suggestion for how to pitch agents outside of a traditional pitch appointment. What’s mine? Toss the pitch altogether. I hate the feeling that the only reason an author is talking to me is for the opportunity to pitch a story. That being said, I love to talk about this business. If you happen to catch me at the bar by myself or enjoying a cup of coffee in the corner, don’t hesitate to approach me. It’s almost guaranteed that I’ll be reading something, but if I’m in public I’m expecting to talk to people. If I want a break I’ll sneak out of the hotel for a walk or up to my room for a nap.
How do you approach? Walk right up, say excuse me and ask if I would mind if you joined me for a minute or if you could talk to me. I like to think I’m a pretty friendly person and I don’t think I’ve ever turned anyone down. I might tell you I only have a few minutes, but since it’s National I always only have a few minutes.
What to say? Come with some questions, some comments, or compliment me on my brilliant shoe choice that day. In other words, have a conversation with me. It’s almost guaranteed that I’ll ask you about your writing at some point, but if not, what you’re doing is making an impression. Listen, I accept queries from everyone. Getting a query to me isn’t the point. Making yourself memorable is. If you have questions about the business, want a professional’s advice on your book idea, or just want to sit down and take a load off for a minute, this is the time for that. If our time is cut short and you haven’t pitched, I think that’s fine. In fact, it’s great. I’m usually tired of the pitches and networking is about far more than pitches. And this way, when you query (which is often a more comfortable way to pitch anyway) you can say that we enjoyed a nice talk in the corner of Starbucks right before my meeting with Sally MacKenzie. I’m sure to remember you and that’s what networking is all about. As to whether or not it means I’ll request your work: A verbal pitch won’t do that either, but it might give your work that extra little push if I’m on the fence.
Can’t wait to meet you.
Jessica
Today I'm offering some thoughts on a few of the one-sentence summaries that were entered in the contest. Sometimes it's helpful to see what's not quite working, in order to learn how to do it better. Maybe these examples will help you spot something you can improve with your own pitch. We'll group them according to common problems.
Issue: Not using specific language. Many pitches suffer from being a bit too vague to effectively build interest.
When things are not what they seem, Kimberly must overcome many obstacles in her life, to find herself again...at any costs.
>>Notice the general, not specific words. “things are not what they seem.” “overcome many obstacles.” “find herself.” They lack real meaning and don't give us anything to visualize. After this pitch, we still don't know what the story is about.
When a lonely scientist’s nightmares become reality, she must embrace her magical abilities to save her planet from an invading alien force.
>>I don't know what the nightmares are about, there is no clue as to the nature of her magical abilities, and the alien force could be darn near anything. Just a few carefully chosen words could make this more visual and draw my interest.
After the world she grew up in is irrevocably altered, a girl named Evernow determines to live by her own rules in the fractured world she’s been left with, even if that means treading a fine line between species and the battles taking place between them.
>>Again, use of non-specific words makes it impossible to understand what this story is really about. “irevocably altered.” “live by her own rules.” “treading a fine line.” These are amorphous terms, they're not visual or compelling, so there's nothing I can actually picture happening in this story.
Note: Although I didn't include any examples here, quite a few of the contest entries had a character needing to "deal with" something. Be careful of that language. To "deal with" something is again, vague and non-visual.
Issue: Confusing or just doesn't make sense.
A Bible belt of California teen, hell-bent to choreograph a Moby Dick modern dance masterpiece, is blown off course by the true love of a purity-ring wearing eco-warrior.
>>Unfortunately this doesn't convey a coherent story. The danger, besides not making anyone want to read the book, is that someone might assume the problem isn't just a muddled pitch, it's a muddled book.
When the ship carrying Marcus Reider sailed into Lemaigne, the city's Observer had no idea this would overturn his loyalty to the Security Corps, and his sense of reality.
>>I couldn't make heads or tails of this. There's nothing to grab on to.
Reviewing the origins and impact of today’s dichotomy, a new paradigm is offered for the relationship between social action and evangelism in 21st century Christianity.
>>What is "today's dichotomy"? Starts off confusing, and feels like jargon. It also uses the passive voice. This pitch is unclear and doesn't make the book sound interesting.
A kick-ass heart surgeon, hung-up on a terminal patient, is thwarted by a hot researcher who is not sharing his discovery until it is stolen and they are fighting for their own lives.
>>This is confusing and the language is unspecific. What does “kick ass” actually say about the heart surgeon? And by “hung up” do you mean
Wow! We had nearly 500 entries in last Wednesday's contest. I'm thrilled, because this means 500 of you worked on creating a concise summary for your book, something most writers find difficult. But it can be done, right? I hope this served as a helpful exercise for you.
Of course it was very difficult narrowing down the entries. Don't feel bad if I didn't choose yours. There were quite a few really effective ones in the mix, but I was only able to choose 1 out of every 100 entries, so the odds were high.
Of course, choosing the winners was an exercise in subjectivity. But notice that the summaries I chose each present an interesting scenario and a clear conflict. Occasionally they break the "formula" but are still successful because of they way they use humor or intrigue to build interest in their story.
NOTE: Tomorrow I'll do one last post on one-sentence summaries, offering critiques of some of your entries and a few more tips. (Please email me if you DON'T want your pitch critiqued on the blog.)
Thanks everyone for participating, and again, I really hope this gave you the motivation to create a rockin' summary of your book in 25 or fewer words!
Here, with my brief comments (and in no particular order), are...
***THE WINNERS***
Peter Robertson serves on the jury for the trial of a murder that he committed.
~Portermaker
RG says: This is very simple and doesn't say anything about what happens, but the premise is interesting enough in itself that I'd want to hear more.
When a dangerous romance puts two teenage girls on opposing sides of a supernatural war, they must choose between their lifelong friendship and the survival of the human race.
~Audry T
RG says: I like when circumstances put people in the position of having to make impossible choices. This one has friendship, romance and a supernatural war—lots of potential for a good story.
A boy who remembers his past lives finds the girl who’s always shared them, but this time she doesn’t remember him and he must earn her love before she forgets him forever.
~Wen Prior
RG says: A nice description of a promising romance story. This summary is very clear on the protagonist, his goal, and the stakes.
In 1823, one freed slave surmounted the seemingly impassable barriers of gender, marital status, and race to become the first single woman missionary of the American Missionary Movement.
~Noel
RG says: Sounds like a terrific true story about a fascinating woman in history.
A girl discovers her geneticist father is covering up multiple secrets, all of which are named Jason.
~Jill Williamson
RG says: Couldn't help it, this made me laugh. There is a lot of information hiding behind the words "geneticist" and "Jason."
Winners: Please email me!
***HONORABLE MENTIONS***
(I did not include the authors' names on these, sorry.)
FICTION
→ After a series of devastating losses, a southern girl moves back to her home state of Georgia to take a job in the wine business, discovering that a bottle of wine, paired with her best girlfriends, can solve almost any problem.
→ Just moved to Luling, "the armpit of Texas," because of her Dad's job, a preacher's kid with a reputation for accidental miracle-working decides to break all 10 Commandments to get him fired and her family sent back to their old hometown, where her best friend is waiting.
→ When her precious, stolen song flies up the country music charts, a music teacher battles the thief--a famous Nashville songwriter who threatens to steal her heart as well.
→ When a staircase portal opens in Madison's backyard cavern, she is drawn int
First, the good news. In fact it’s great news. Readership has risen at an astonishing rate since The ScribeChat Review’s birth in January 2010, and in the last month alone it’s gone up 180%! That is downright gobsmacking, and I’m so delighted that you’re all enjoying the blog so much!
Tonight we had some pretty chronic [...]
Related posts:
- TOPIC: Mastering The Art of The One Sentence Pitch
- TRANSCRIPT: Fantasy Literature In The Classroom—Angel or Demon?
- TRANSCRIPT: Identifying and Developing Dramatically Rich Story Ideas
- TRANSCRIPT: The Secret To Writing Humor
- MINI-CHAT Transcript: Is It Madness To Plan Your Dream Launch Party Before You’ve Finished Your Manuscript?
First, the good news. In fact it’s great news. Readership has risen at an astonishing rate since The ScribeChat Review’s birth in January 2010, and in the last month alone it’s gone up 180%! That is downright gobsmacking, and I’m so delighted that you’re all enjoying the blog so much!
Tonight we had some pretty chronic [...]
Related posts:
- TOPIC: Mastering The Art of The One Sentence Pitch
- TRANSCRIPT: Fantasy Literature In The Classroom—Angel or Demon?
- TRANSCRIPT: Identifying and Developing Dramatically Rich Story Ideas
- TRANSCRIPT: The Secret To Writing Humor
- MINI-CHAT Transcript: Is It Madness To Plan Your Dream Launch Party Before You’ve Finished Your Manuscript?
I've also read in a few places that comparing your novel to other published works is iffy at best, and comparing it to best sellers/classic novels is suicide. Are there two schools of thought on this?
I think I’ve blogged on this before, but after three years of blogging it’s sometimes starting to feel like I’ve blogged on everything and, I suppose, it never hurts to repeat things. Believe it or not, sometimes my thinking changes on things.
This question came in response on my previous post on Making Comparisons. And yes, the reader is correct, I think comparing your novel to other works is “iffy at best,” and I don’t recommend doing it unless you are absolutely certain your comparison will grab an agent’s attention. The reason agents can make the comparison is because we have a personal relationship with editors and know what types of books editors are looking for or, even better, what authors editors and houses wish they had on their lists.
Jessica
If you dread writing a query letter or composing a pitch for
your book, perhaps all you need is a little feedback and instruction. That's why I'm
running a webinar called "Novel
Queries & Pitches: Critique Series." Here's the deal: The
key to catching an agent's eye is a compelling query and pitch, so all registrants
are invited to submit a hook (200 words or fewer) in advance of the event. All submitted
hooks are guaranteed a critique! You can retool your query before sending it out to
more agents.
DETAILS
It all goes down at 1 p.m., EST, Thursday, May 6, 2010.
The session lasts 90 minutes. If you sign
up but cannot make the entire webcast, no worries—because it will all be online
and archived for you to watch over and over again for one year.
WHY SIGN UP?
Successfully pitching an agent or editor on your book concept takes brevity and power.
Whether you're pitching at a live event, or in the context of a query letter, two
essentials must guide you: protagonist & problem. What you'll learn:
-
5 essential elements of every query, and how to order them
-
3 components of a compelling novel hook
-
Common mistakes and red flags that appear in typical queries
-
Why a shorter letter is more likely to succeed
-
What to put in your bio even if you have no credits
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
-
Writers who are actively querying agents and publishers
-
Writers whose query letters always get rejected (or never get
a response)
-
Writers who will be pitching their concept at a conference
I hope to "see" you on May 6! Sign
up here.
It’s not at all uncommon for authors to compare their work to that of others. In fact, it’s not uncommon for agents to do the same thing. In a quick search of Publishers Marketplace I found the following comparisons:
pitched as in the tradition of Raymond Carver and Lorrie Moore
pitched as in the spirit of Alain de Botton's How Proust Can Change Your Life or Richard Holmes's The Age of Wonders
pitched as a James Bond-meets-The Da Vinci Code political crime thriller
pitched as in the tradition of Kate DiCamillo
pitched as in the tradition of Robert Ludlum and Dan Brown
pitched as a Pete McCarthy-meets-Nick Hornby travelogue
pitched as Infinite Jest with Silence of the Lambs
pitched as Sebastian Faulks's Birdsong meets Diana Gabaldon's Outlander
pitched as Dexter meets The Silence of the Lambs for teens
Now, my guess is that while some of these samples will appeal to you, others will turn you off. Maybe you’ve never been a fan of Robert Ludlum or you despised Infinite Jest. Whatever the reason, that’s the trick with using comparisons and why I caution you to be careful when doing so. Just as a comparison can give an agent or editor a very quick and easy idea of what your book is, it can turn them off or, worse, make it more confusing.
For example, I have no idea what Twilight meets Blue’s Clues would even be. Who would be the audience and how would a book like that work? And yes, this example is based on an actual pitch I received.
If you choose to do comparisons, take a look at Publishers Marketplace to get an idea for what works. Comparisons are used to show who an audience might be and work best if you’re using bestselling names, current or recent bestselling names, and not old or obscure references. They also work best if you have some idea that they are books or authors that will appeal to the agent you’re trying to pitch.
Jessica
Pearls Before Swine By Stephan Pastis
For the past few months, I rewrote, revised, puttered with and polished my middle grade manuscript. My core query is tightly written and ready for agent-specific info. I researched a targeted agent list and I am putting finishing touches to each query. My synopsis is is a 500-word wonder. Will I let the worst possible time of the year during the worst possible economy stop me from hitting send?
Heck no. For me, it's the right time.
If I wasn't ready before, I had an aha moment at our last critique group meeting. We discussed how editors and agents must view "prepublished" writers. How they must see two-thirds of conference attendees as never-to-be-published, with one-third holding publishing possibilities. And how the same work of fiction is viewed oh-so-differently once it's fully justified and between the covers, rather than printed flush-left on 8-1/2" x 11" copy stock.
Enough of this, I thought. Hit send, and send, and send again, until I find a match.
Agents do sign first-time writers and editors do acquire that work. They do get excited by manuscripts they find in the slush. (Or as Edward Necarsulmer IV at MacIntosh & Otis calls it -- the Discovery Pile. I love that.)
So, I'm spending my summer vacation on the agent prowl. Anybody care to join me? And has anyone out there been discovered in the slush? Care to share your story?
Earlier this month I attended the Northern Colorado Writers Conference in Fort Collins, Colorado (and followed it up with some much-needed vacation). The conference immediately followed my post on Agentfail, so I was feeling a little bruised, battered and unsure if I had done the right thing. Obviously this post sticks with me since I can’t seem to let it go.
One of the things that struck me about this conference was how much agents really, truly love our jobs. The first night there, conference director Kerrie Flanagan took agents Jeffrey McGraw, Jon Sternfeld, and me out to dinner. I felt a little bad for Kerrie because immediately upon getting three agents together all we did was talk shop. We shared stories of how we handle submissions we love, how we handle those we’re on the fence over, and what we do when we think a submission needs too much work to offer representation on, but we love it anyway. We shared client horror stories and experiences on how to deal with difficult clients as well as discussed what makes a great client. We talked about publishing news and gossip, and we offered advice to each other. Good grief, we just talked and talked and talked shop. Dinner lasted an hour, but since we weren’t even close to done, we moved to an amazing chocolate café for dessert. Poor Kerrie.
On Friday we had pitch appointments and I have to say, this was one of the best-prepared groups I had ever met with. Every single author I met with came in prepared to give a pitch and talk about themselves. More important, though, every author had a list of questions prepared in case the pitch ended early and there was time to just chat. Kudos to Kerrie, who revealed later that she had offered a three-hour pitch workshop. It really showed, she needs to take that workshop on the road. I heard some great pitches and was, hopefully, able to give some constructive advice. One author, at the suggestion of another agent at the conference, asked my advice on how to handle a difficult situation with her agent, while others wanted to know my thoughts on what genre they should be targeting or looking into (not based on trends, but based on the description of the story). I found that, throughout the conference, the writers were warm, engaging and intelligent. The questions they asked were great and the conversations were always lively.
Friday night after dinner, and I really have to shake my head, Jon Sternfeld and I dragged a group of writers into the bar where, yes, we could just talk and talk and talk some more about publishing. It’s a little embarrassing really and makes me wonder, do we just love to hear ourselves talk? I swear, if I get a captive audience (hello, blog readers) I can really talk forever about publishing. I love sharing my knowledge and experiences and I think most other agents do too. The truth is we want to see publishing success whether we’re part of the journey or not, and the more we can do to help authors along the way the happier we are. I remember sitting there and thinking how much fun Jon and I were having. We had never met before, but our common love of publishing created an instant connection. We were in our element. It was great!
I was asked during the cocktail party why I do conferences; the author wanted to know if it was for the pay. LOL. Newsflash, except in very, very, very rare instances, agents do not get paid to attend writer’s conferences. Typically hotel, conference fees, and airfare are covered, but we still need to somehow get to and from the airport, pay for meals that aren’t included and cover any other incidentals we might need (Internet access at the hotel, for example). I don’t do conferences expecting to sign new clients and I certainly don’t do them for money. I’m not going to pretend I’m a saint and attendance at conferences is completely altruistic. Sure, I never know who I will meet or what that will lead to, but primarily I speak at conferences because I love being surrounded by others who have a passion for books, who love to write and who really, truly want to learn more about publishing.
Jessica
While traveling to a conference recently I got to thinking about pitch appointments. For those who haven’t yet had the opportunity to attend a conference, pitch appointments are brief, 10-minute assigned meetings between an author and an agent or an editor. Typically to have a pitch appointment you need to have signed up ahead of time and you need to have a completed manuscript.
My thoughts aren’t so much about how authors could better conduct themselves in these appointments, but how they’re often handled from the perspective of conference coordinators. Should pitch appointments be a perk or should they be something that you ensure every attendee is able to get? I can only imagine the headache that goes into handling pitch appointments. I would imagine it’s probably one of the more difficult jobs of volunteer organizers and I have always done my best to respect those who planned the appointments as well as those who manned the desks during my appointments.
Now I know that every author who attends a conference is going to feel that with the money they are paying they should all get appointments with as many of the agents and editors as they want. I disagree. I think organizers should plan ahead of time how many appointments each agent and editor will take (and I do not think anyone should be required to take more than two hours of appointments in a day) and from there you’ll need to figure out how appointments get assigned. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I have spent up to eight straight hours in a room taking appointment after appointment because organizers wanted to make sure that everyone who wanted an appointment got one. In fact, I’ve even been told by conference organizers that they brought me in to work me and that’s fully what they intend to do. I realize that the agents, the editors and the bestselling authors are usually the draw for conference attendees. I also ask organizers to remember that agents and editors talk too, and you’ll find it more and more difficult to find attendees when we tell others how hard we were worked.
Pitch appointments are useless if the agents are so tired they can’t see straight, let alone listen. If instead of looking at the next author as a potential client we’re looking for the door, a pillow, and a quiet room where no one knows us, you’re in trouble. Pitch appointments are exhausting for the agents and I think by now you’ve all come to realize that they are probably my least favorite part of conferences. So when scheduling appointments and trying hard to please all the authors who want an appointment with a certain agent, please don’t forget the agent and that the best thing you can do for everyone is give her a break too.
Jessica
Tip of the Week: Practice those one sentence pitches.
Remember how way back last summer I talked about pitching? Well, the subject is still important even today.
Just now, I had my assistant start to write up a one-sentence pitch for one of our fall books. It took her about a half hour, and I thought she just might scream in frustration.
One sentence pitches are hard to do. Practice now. You never know when you'll need one.
(And I know I never finished those pitch contest entries. I'm still slowly but surely getting through them. Between the books releases and the First Trimester of Doom, some stuff has gotten really backed up.)
I have spent the last two days crafting the perfect query letter. It’s painful and tedious and is driving Kim crazy because every single incarnation of my pitch paragraph is getting IM’ed to her for feedback. I think by now she probably feels she has read the proposal.
Agents often tell authors that a query letter is just as important as the manuscript and that time should be spent carefully crafting and perfecting the query, but I think few realize how much time is spent on the agent’s side doing the same thing. In this case the letter is for a new book by one of my published clients. She is looking to break out into a new direction, and while this proposal will also be going to her current editor, I’m hoping to shop it around to new editors as well. The problem? I need to get across the tone of the book along with the story and of course the hook without making it sound cheesy. And that’s hard. Is it a cheesy book? Not at all; in fact it’s an incredibly rich urban fantasy/romance with a hook that is so amazing that it’s hard to describe. It’s that new and original.
Once an author and I have a proposal ready to go out on submission the first thing I do is ask the author to send me a blurb for her book, just a short paragraph that can be rough. My purpose is to get the author’s voice and ideas in front of me so that I can reshape and hone the blurb to fit my letter. Now, like anything else, some authors are better at this than others. With many of my clients I’m able to take their blurb almost verbatim and use it as my pitch to editors. With others, I simply read it through and throw it out. It’s not going to work for my purposes or isn’t quite up to the standards I think it needs to be at to grab an editor’s attention.
Now that I have the blurb in hand from the author, whether I’m using it or not, I feel I’m ready to sit down and start writing my letter. Sometimes the blurb helps ground me and get me into “condition” for query writing. When sitting down to craft my query I usually start by writing a powerful opening that will grab the editor’s attention and show them what they would be missing by not jumping on this immediately. In this case I’m highlighting the author’s background as a published author and the successes she’s had.
Then I introduce the editor to the book and that’s where my blurb comes in. Nine times out of ten I try to keep my blurb to one paragraph and keep it as short and concise as possible. In this instance I started with two paragraphs, the first outlining the world, the second focusing on the plot. Kim immediately told me that it needed to be tightened and that I should lose the first paragraph. I did and she was right. So I spent hours working on that second paragraph. Writing, rewriting, changing words and reworking entire sentences. I was almost done when I realized that the first three sentences were great, the last two fell a little flat. I needed a break. I put the letter away for the day and went home. The next day I got into work and spent the morning catching up on usual business—I reviewed contracts, answered email, argued with editors, and finished contract negotiations. Then, sometime after lunch, once I had a fairly clean plate (ha ha, get the pun) and a clear head I went back to work on the letter. This time I focused on the last two sentences. Working and reworking and of course reading the paragraph over and over, which, of course, meant that the more I changed in those sentences the more I changed in the paragraph overall.
Finally, after many hours and two days of work I felt that I had a solid pitch, one that would wow editors.
Once my pitch is perfected I add a paragraph about the author, something to expand on what I may have written earlier, and sign off with a personal note to the editor reminding her that this is something I am over-the-moon excited about.
I actually love writing queries. It’s an opportunity for me to use my creative and my marketing skills, two things I happen to think I’m very good at, and while it’s not easy, it’s certainly a challenge I relish.
I’d love to share my letter with you, but I’m afraid the book is still out on submission and I don’t want to jinx anything. I have a good feeling about this though. It’s a really exciting book.
Jessica
Can you finish that tagline? Why not let a computer do it for you?
The excellent Script Reader blogger this essay about the awful glut of science fiction scripts they read on a regular basis. Inspired by the mediocrity, one reader created an Aliens or Predator computerized science fiction script pitch letter generator. Read it and weep:
"the entity shows itself to be a terrifying alien shaped like a huge, grotesque version of a vagina with a acid-filled mouth."
If you are inspired by those laughable taglines, you simply must enter the Worst Storyline Ever contest at brilliant Guide to Literary Agents blog. You only have a few more days to enter, but how can you not write something beautifully bad like this:
"After the death of his goldfish, a priest renounces his faith and gets a job at the local White Castle, where he becomes addicted to special sauce and tries to dance his way to getting respect on the streets."
Most importantly, laugh at all these lines, but use these clichés and jokes and baaad writing examples to purge the nonsense out of your own agent pitches. To that end, read Chris Webb's book proposal advice. Happy reading...
Before I go though I must check my list twice to make sure I’m not missing a thing. Let’s see, I’ve got about 100 business cards, let’s hope that does it. I have my handy-dandy notebook for tracking all of my clients' projects, I have my computer, my calendar (which is exhausting to say the least), I have phone numbers, my phone. I have cute shoes (five pairs), running shoes (in case authors get desperate), outfits for every cocktail party and a few extras. I have books for the plane, queries for the plane, proposals for the plane, a snack for the plane, music for the plane . . . whew, that flight better be a long one.
If you haven’t guessed it yet, RWA is upon us. For those who aren’t members of Romance Writers of America, you don’t yet know that this is the conference to end all conferences. Everyone who is anyone in the romance community attends, and from Wednesday to Sunday I’ll be joining the hordes of agents and editors to enlighten you about the business, meet and greet, and hopefully make a few dreams come true.
My calendar is a busy one with back-to-back individual meetings with each of my clients. These are really my favorite. They give us time to sit down, face-to-face, and really talk about what’s going on. Are you happy? Unhappy? Are you having fun or just plodding along? What are your goals for this year, next year, the next decade? And did you see the dress on that editor last night? Wowza!
Now I know a number of my readers are not romance writers or RWA members (did you know you don’t have to write romance to be a member?), but there’s still a great deal that can be learned from this conference. One of my favorites is how, despite the bickering that can go on in any organization, RWA really comes together and supports all of its writers. The erotic romance authors stand shoulder to shoulder with the inspirational authors to cheer on everyone as they win a RITA, another book contract, or finish a manuscript. That’s cool.
So what’s my advice to those who are reading this from a San Francisco hotel room, getting ready to board my plane (I see you) or sitting at home taking a year off? In fact, what’s my advice to anyone attending a conference this weekend or any other weekend whether it’s a romance conference, SF/Fantasy, or a general conference? My advice . . . relax, have fun, and learn a lot.
If you have a pitch appointment with me you might be surprised to find out that I’m really not that scary. I like to think I am, but am told time and time again that I’m really not that mean. It’s a little bit of a disappointment for me really. Oh well. When you're meeting with me for a pitch, all I ask is that you make the best use of your 10 minutes. Come prepared. Give your pitch and then listen to what I have to say. I find that sometimes I can be full of useful information and I won’t mind at all if you want to take notes. If we both finish early, get ready with your list of questions. Ask me about me, about the business, if I know of any good restaurants in the Bay Area. Ask me to dispel any myths or gossip you’ve heard over the course of the weekend. In other words, engage me. It works, it really does. Remember me? I’m easily charmed.
If you meet me in the hallway, by all means smile, say hi, and introduce or reintroduce yourself. As tired as I might look or be, I’m always happy to meet another author. This is why I go to these things and, between you and me, I really do love the attention.
If you attend my workshop, laugh at all my jokes. It makes me feel good. Tee-hee. No really, feel free to stop up and say hi afterward, and if I didn’t get to your question, don’t hesitate to ask it then.
I’ll be blogging from the conference and I’ll try to keep you updated on what I’m seeing and hearing about the romance market, but also about other markets as well. With the blending of so many genres these days I think that all of you—fantasy, sf, mystery, women’s fiction authors—and everyone else will find something useful from my posts this weekend.
And before I board I’m going to sign off with this little teaser from a workshop I’m doing with BookEnds wunder-client Christie Craig, her partner in crime Faye Hughes, and Faye’s agent, Caren Johnson: The Great Agent Hunt.
Jessica
"[I was] thinking about that E.B. White passage you once showed me ... the swooning bit where he says that it's the native New Yorkers who give the city its stability, and the commuters who give it a daily tidal rhythm or something, but it's those dreamers from elsewhere, the striving poets and wannabe circus performers and so forth, who power it with enough heat and light to dwarf the consolidated Edison company..."
That’s one of Ed Park's characters paraphrasing a famous line from E.B. White.
Park's new book, Personal Days, explores how that idealism gets wrecked on the shoals of Manhattan office culture. In addition to his fictional work, Ed Park is a founding editor at The Believer and literary blogger over at The Dizzies.
Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.
Jason Boog:
At the end of your book, you meditate on all the millions of pages of lost, dull prose produced by people in offices every year. When you worked in an office environment, how did you manage to stay creative and productive in your writing? Any advice for writers who feel dulled by their day-jobs?
Ed Park:
Discipline will take you a long way—if you set aside time every day to write, you will find something to write, even if you don’t know what you’re doing as you approach the desk. Continue reading...
I admit that I'm cheating a little bit. I didn't have time to answer the actual questions I got because of the pitch contest. But I thought this particular question was germane to our current discussion. Originally it was asked over on the GLA blog. Chuck answered the question, and then I felt the need to add my own, long winded opinion. Here I've duplicated, with permission. (Chuck is very nice.)
One of (my group's writers) is co-authoring a book. She wants to know if she and her co-author would be advised to pitch this book to agents together at our upcoming conference, or if they should they pitch separately, maximizing their coverage. What should they do?
Chuck's Answer:
Depends. I recently pitched a book to an editor with my writing partner nowhere in sight. It didn't matter because I knew answers to questions. If these writers are a two-headed monster (perhaps one knows the material, the other the marketing), then they should stick together for sure. Presenting together tends to give off a professional approach. To me, at least...
If time is an issue, then you they want to split up. At our conference in LA last weekend, we had some long lines for a few agents and hundreds of writers running around. We keep the pitch time very short so the line keeps moving; but if you truly fear you will be missing face time with agents you really want to see, then split up down the stretch.
My brilliant additional two cents:
I agree with Chuck, but I thought I’d add my own perspective on the matter too.
As the editor who was pitched the book, I can tell you that Chuck is right in his case. He does know all the answers to all the questions, and if he doesn't, he finds out quickly enough. I've actually never had any contact at all with his co-writer. Everything she says comes through Chuck since he was the one that pitched the book. In this example, Chuck has become the point person for this team. Although I would love to meet the other author, it is not entirely necessary.
However, if neither author wishes to take the lead, then the two should always try to communicate simultaneously using teleconferencing or CCed emails, and you should pitch together at the conference. Everyone should have equal say in all decisions anyway, but in this case you would also want equal access to the editor or agent. If you start by pitching separately, the person who actually physically does the pitch becomes the de facto leader of the team simply by having a longer, even if by only a few days, relationship with the editor/agent.
Finally, before you decide whether or not to split up, you both need to consider your own pitch skills and styles. If you pitch best as a team with each of you bolstering and hitting ideas off one another, then pitch as a team. Also, if one of you is a vastly superior pitcher, consider pitching as a team or having only one person do the pitch. What you do not want to do is pitch separately if either one of you is a poor pitcher or if your styles of pitches are going to be radically different. You don't want to break each others confidence in one another over something as unimportant (in the overall scheme of things) as a three-minute pitch. Practice beforehand and make certain you are both confident and calm before you go pitch separately.
Any ideas of your own on this subject? Leave us a comment. I'd love to see this open into a discussion.
I have officially responded to every person who entered the pitch contest.
If you didn't get an email from the pitch contest email address, let me know ASAP.
I tried to do these as quickly as possible so that I could get them all done tonight before bed. So, that means that I had to take a few shortcuts. I apologize now if I
- misspelled something or added or missed a word in a sentence
- addressed your email to the wrong person, wrote the title to the wrong book, or classified your book in the wrong genre
- sent you something resembling a form email
If I asked to see some or all of your work and there was nothing wrong with your pitch, I did indeed send you a form email. My reasoning was that I wanted to get back to everyone as fast as possible. Since I'll be looking at your work in more detail when you send me whatever I've requested, I plan to give you a more personal response at that time.
However, if I did not ask to see your work or there was something wrong with your pitch, I did not send a form email. I individually composed every single one of those messages and hopefully those of you who received them will now understand why I did not ask to see your work. In almost every instance it was because it was a book that would not work with our list for some reason. I tried to give that reason in every case.
I would like to end by saying that all of the pitches I got were good. Clearly all of them had been thought out in advance and carefully crafted. Not a single one left me at a complete loss as to what the book was about. A few of the pitches left me asking a question or two, and I passed along my comments to those authors. Overall though, these were some of the better pitches that I've ever been presented. Bravo to all 28 of my entrants.
And everyone who didn't enter, give a metaphorical round of applause to our contestants. It takes guts to present your work to a complete stranger. These folks were a brave lot.
I'm so sorry, but I'm not all the way through the pitches yet. I'm going to finish them tonight and email all of you then. So, although no one has complained yet, I just wanted everyone to have a status update before the panic set in.
On the up side, I finished the ARC for Stacy Nyikos's new book, Dragon Wishes. It's downright splendid if I do say so myself. And Regan did a fabulous job on the cover. Perhaps I will post a sneak peek in the next few days.
"[I]t is harder today than ever before to get into a selective college. Harvard College turned down almost 21,000 candidates--including thousands of valedictorians and students with perfect SAT scores--in 2006-2007. That same year, Columbia University denied admission to about 16,500 high-achievers. And Stanford University sent out approximately 21,500 rejection letters."
Those are a few depressing statistics from Joie Jager-Hyman's new non-fiction book about the mind-numbing struggle to get into an Ivy League school. In , she followed five students from the application process to the final acceptance and rejection letters.
Jager-Hyman is our special guest this week, explaining how she used her experience as a college admissions officer to pitch, research write and promote this captivating book.
Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.
Jason Boog:
How did you go about proposing this book? What did you do to make your idea stand out in the field of college-prep books? Any advice for journalists looking to propose a larger project?
Joie Jager-Hyman:
I hadn't seen any books that talked about the college application process from the students' point of view, so I guess I'd tell other writers to look for something that hasn't been done. Continue reading...
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"I never worked in the acquisitions department of a magazine, so I can’t say with complete certainty how a magazine editor thinks or works."
I've worked with magazine editors on my own many times. And each editor and magazine is different, so it's hard to give any set advice.
It can't hurt to mention that you have an agent, but I doubt it will impress them one way or the other. And they won't think it's strange your agent is not pitching. They won't even go there.
Magazine editors work fast, on deadlines. Their goal is to stay ahead of schedule and they only care about the piece you are submitting to them at that time, especially European magazine editors.
With that said, magazine editors are the best. Though they work fast and can be abrupt, they are the nicest people to work with, the contracts are simple nowadays, and magazines usually pay very well.
I would say it depends on the magazines. I don't work in magazines that pay well enough, generally speaking, that it would interest an agent (although it adds up). However, I do have a writer friend, Doug Stanton, whose agent works (or did) with him on magazines, but those magazines tended to be Esquire and Men's Journal, etc., which pay very, very well, and Doug was doing things like profiles of celebrities where he would go stay at Woody Harrelson's house for a few days, or go flying with Harrison Ford. Now I think Doug mostly writes books.
This isn't strange (mention you have an agent, but not have them involved in the submissions process.) Not at all.
Back in the day, when magazines were like blogs, there were agents who specialized in magazine submissions. Life, The Saturday Evening Posts - outlets with enormous readerships - could sustain financially sustain writers. Then, the idea was to place your work in "the glossies," and get paid a good rate.
Although I would definitely consult with my agent about a submission, I wouldn't ever expect him to submit an article. There are huge writers with agents who deal with editors. I may be wrong, but I think most literary agent/magazine editor dealing are excerpt driven.
There was a moment when agencies were dedicating resources to non-fiction pieces ie., brokering film deals (a flurry of these happened with the New York Times; the now defunct, TALK, was semi-launched on the idea of synergy between the magazine and Miramax Films.)
Should I make up the fact that I have an agent who deals with NY Times bestsellers? Just kidding.
As always Jessica,thanks for your blog.
Should I make up the fact that I have an agent who deals with NY Times bestsellers? Just kidding.
As always Jessica,thanks for your blog.