Perfect Pitch—Grabbing My Attention by Literary Agent Susan Brower

I can tell you right now, I am not a big fan of April Fool’s Day! Mostly because I am usually the one at the receiving end of the punchline.  But I do love that it also means Opening Day for baseball. So, what do the end of Speedbo and the beginning of baseball season have in common?  It’s time for the BIG PITCH!

Today, I’m going to tell you what works for me after over twenty years publishing fiction and in my new role as an agent for Natasha Kern Literary Agency. It may not be what you are told by other agents and editors at conferences or workshops, it’s what I have experienced to be successful.  

Like it or not, the only way you are going to sell your novel is to learn to be a Sales Rep! And your proposal is your sales kit!  You can think of the pitch is the jingle that gets our attention. So, other than writing a stellar novel, your proposal is the first and most important piece of marketing material you will ever create for you book.

What should be included?

Ø  Jacket Blurb: This should be 250 words of compelling copy that grabs the reader. Take a few minutes and look at the backs of your favorite books in the genre in which you are writing. What was it about the jacket copy that intrigued you? What is the tone?

Ø  Short Summary: One to one and a half pages of description that tells the beginning, middle, and end of your story. Include major characters, story arcs and conflicts.

Ø  Hook/Pitch: A two to three line reason this book will appeal to readers. Focus on what you think will be important to them.

Ø  Overview: First, note if the manuscript is complete and how many words it has. Then write the overview. This is not a retelling of the story, but rather a commercial for it. What reader need does this fulfill? What trends does it support? Are there popular movies or films or television series that attract the same audience? Is there any historical significance to the time or setting of your novel?

Literary Agent Susan Brower

Ø  Comparable Titles: Which authors and titles are your fans buying now? This is a very important element if you are a newer author. What I want to know and what the publisher wants to know is “Who is the audience for your novel? And you have to be specific. “All romance readers” is not enough.  “Fans of Mary Connealy and contemporary romance with cowboy heroes will want to read my books.” You can find other novels that fit this audience by looking at “Customers Also Bought” on Amazon. Try to stick with novels published in the last two-three years that have similar tone, structure, and themes. 

Ø  Author Bio: Keep this tight. Include things like “best-selling,” award-winning.” Is there anything that makes you more qualified to write this novel? Do you have a speaking schedule?

Ø  Author Track Record: List all of your previously published books and sales if you know them.

Ø  Reviews and Endorsements: These can be from previously published novels or reviews. My rule of thumb for all authors is to seek endorsements from people in the same genre who are well known.

Ø  Marketing: Hopefully you have been paying attention and online and have some ideas for how you can market your book. How are you going to partner with the publisher? How are you going to increase your presence on social media?

¨      Facebook

¨      Twitter

¨      Blog

¨      Website

It’s always good to include numbers if you think they are significant. How many followers, friends, and subscribers do you have in your various forms of social media?

These are all the elements that an agent or acquisitions editor needs to determine whether they will accept or reject a novel. Yes, we can always come back to you for more information once we our interest is captured. But it is so much easier for me to respond to an author if I have all the pieces right there in front of me.

Overall, this is just a guide. Make it work for you. If you are missing information for any one section, emphasize another. You don’t have a track record? Ok, this is where you have to make your overview and comparable titles really work for you. In most cases, though, it is the first three sections, Jacket Blurb, Short Summary, and Hook/Pitch that are going to catch the eye of your potential editor or agent.

These are just some of the elements that make a great proposal. There are also some elements that have little to do with what you present, but how you present it.

¨      Proofread all your materials!

¨      Include the title, approximate word count and status of the manuscript in your queries.

¨      Research your agent and publisher targets.

¨      Read and follow the submission guidelines!

¨      Don’t send queries until your manuscript is finished.

¨      Send proposals with documents attached NOT inserted into the text of the email.

¨      Always send sample chapters with your proposals (usually three chapters or about fifty pages if chapters are shorter).

¨      Send the full manuscript only when asked.

¨      Proofread all your materials (It’s important enough to say twice).

Pitch Perfect

Questions?  What is the most difficult part of a proposal for you to write? What recommendations would you make to your fellow authors?  Are you overwhelmed with the “selling” part of the writing process? Please share you questions and experiences with the group.

A chance to pitch to Susan Brower. We can all learn how she wants you to pitch to her the next two days--but you are eligible to enter the contest--ONLY if you were involved in SPEEDBO--The rules are under the rules tab at the top of the page for our PERFECT PITCH CONTEST!

 

Sue Brower is an agent with Natasha Kern Literary Agent www.natashakern.com. She is looking for novels in the Suspense, Romance (contemporary and historical), and Women’s Fiction categories.  She is also a consultant and freelance developmental editor at Susan Brower Editorial www.susanbrower.com.

Seekerville Welcomes Love Inspired Editor Emily Rodmell: How to Pitch Your Book Like a Rock Star!

Love Inspired Editor Emily Rodmell

Seekerville is honored to have Love Inspired Editor Emily Rodmell guest blogging with us today. Those of you who follow Emily on Twitter @EmilyRodmell or eHarlequin.com know the many innovative ways she connects with writers and readers to promote Love Inspired Books. Committed to publishing excellence, Emily is always searching for new authors to bring into the Love Inspired lineup. Today, she's providing detailed information about what editors look for in a pitch, which is especially timely for all those meeting with editors and agents at the upcoming RWA National Conference. Thanks, Emily, for sharing your tips on pitching. Now, please join me in welcoming Emily, who happens to be my wonderful editor, to Seekerville!

With conference season upon us, many writers are gearing up for editor or agent pitches. I’ve sat on the other end of those pitches many times as an editor both in person and online, so I wanted to take a moment to share some advice for making the most of the opportunity. Here are some tips to take your in-person pitches from drab to fab.

 • Don’t be nervous. For my first pitch session as an editor, I was sent--by myself--to a place where I was required to take almost 30 pitches. I had never done this before and was a bit nervous, so imagine my surprise when pitchers sat in front of me and were so nervous that some of them were visibly shaking. At the time, I was mystified and thought, “If only they knew I’d never done this before and was just as nervous as they were.” While I’m now a pitch veteran, I still don’t think my fellow editors and agents and I are scary. So breathe. We’re just your average everyday people, and your entire career doesn’t depend on this one pitch session. Even if you don’t get a request, you could still go on to sell a book and have a great career. So take the pressure off yourself.

 • Treat the pitch as a conversation rather than a speech. Editors and agents will love you for it. Think of it this way: you’re trying to sell your book. When you go into a clothing store, which do you prefer? The salesgirl who takes one look at you and sends you where she thinks you belong (i.e all older women directed to the boring grey dresses, and younger women to the flashy neon pink ones.) Or the salesgirl who takes time to ask you questions and find out what you like, and discovers that both of you really want a chic, sophisticated red dress. Editors and agents are the same. We much prefer the author who comes in and has a conversation with us, to the author who comes in and immediately starts rattling off a memorized blurb or reading off a piece of paper for five minutes. Come in, exchange pleasantries, tell us why you want to work with us, offer a short blurb (advice on crafting that below) and ask questions. That will be less pressure for you and more enjoyable for us.

Emily gathers with some of the Seekers!

Now that you know what frame of mind to approach the pitch from, you’re on your way to preparing your materials for the actual pitch, and I have three simple tips to help you make your pitch take shape.

First, kick back story to the background. If you’re pitching a novel, especially a romance novel, here is the key: focus on plot, conflict and hooks rather than back story. I can’t tell you how many times I have sat down with an author who talks in great detail about the hero and heroine’s back stories. When the author finally takes a breath and finishes her pitch, the first question out of my mouth usually is, “So what happens in the book?” Followed by the inevitable answer, “Well, they fall in love.” To which I say, “How?” Cue blank look from author who has spent five minutes telling me about the back story and hasn’t said a word about what happens in the actual book. Back story isn’t going to sell your book, the actual plot of the book will. My colleague, Elizabeth Mazer put it best when she said, “What the reader is going to see is what the character is doing, right in the moment when the action starts--so that's where the pitch should start, too.” 

Second, prepare a short blurb that focuses on hooks, plot and conflict. Now that you’ve taken your focus off back story, put it on the important parts of your story. To craft a short summary of your book that will entice editors and agents, you want to ask yourself three questions: 

1. What are my hooks? Hooks are the selling points for your book. For instance: Cool location (Texas, Alaska, New Orleans), popular theme (Amish, Reunion Romance, Secret Baby), Unique Occupation (pirates, Secret Agents, Bodyguards), Time period (Regency, Western, Turn of the Century), ect. 

2. What is my plot? There needs to be something interesting happening in your book that you can talk about other than, “They fall in love.” What happens to lead them to that point? It needs to be more than them just going on dates or running into each other around town. 

3. What is my conflict (both internal and external)? There needs to be something keeping them from falling in love right away. If both the hero and heroine don’t have a good internal conflict and external conflict then your book will feel episodic (like a series of unrelated “episodes” that are strung together with little to connect them rather than a defined plot that grows to a climax). Internal conflict is simply factors inside the hero and heroine’s minds that could prevent them from falling in love. For example, the heroine’s husband left her for someone else, so she doesn’t feel she can trust men, and the hero puts his career above everything and doesn’t want to show weakness by falling in love. External conflict is the external forces in the plot that could prevent them from falling in love or having a relationship. For example, the hero and heroine can’t be together because the hero is the developer trying to build condos over the nature preserve the heroine manages. 

If your book is focused, you should have no problem answering those questions and coming up with a great pitch that can be two to three sentences. If you can’t answer those questions without going into a long explanation, your book probably isn’t focused enough, and you’d be better off working on it some more before pitching so that you can put your best foot forward with the editor or agent. 

Love Inspired Editor Emily Rodmell hard at work
in her NYC office.

Here’s an example of a pitch that incorporates plot, conflict and hooks: Small town sheriff hero is thrown for a loop when his ex-fiancé  moves back to town and runs against him in the election. As they fight for the town they grew up in, they rediscover the love of their youth. 

Hooks: Small town, sheriff, reunion romance 
Plot: Each wants to win the election without losing their hearts. 
Conflict: They're fighting for the same job, and fighting feelings for each other.

Third, prepare questions. I recommend that you come to the pitch with questions for the editor or agent. If you’ve gotten your blurb down to the few sentences, there should be time left over for you to use the opportunity to learn more about what the editor or agent is looking for. That information can sometimes be more valuable than an immediate request. I actually bought two books from authors who came to the pitch, ran an idea by me that I felt wasn’t for us, then proceeded to ask questions about what did work for us. They then submitted new projects that we eventually bought. 

With these few steps, you’ll be on your way to wowing an editor or agent and selling your book. I hope this has been helpful for you all. If you’re pitching soon, feel free to try out your new short blurbs in the comments. And if you want to put your pitches into action with me, I’ll be taking pitches at the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference in September. If you can’t make it there, Love Inspired always accepts both agented and unagented submissions year round.

Emily Rodmell and Love Inspired Associate Editors
Elizabeth Mazer and Shana Smith

Bio: Emily Rodmell is an editor for Harlequin’s Love Inspired, Love Inspired Suspense and Love Inspired Historical lines. She is actively looking for new authors (especially romantic suspense authors who can write stories featuring edge-of-your-seat danger and suspense with heart-pounding romance mixed in). For tips on writing and publishing, along with the occasional cute animal picture or NYC slice of life observation, follow her on Twitter @EmilyRodmell

Leave a comment, question or a two-to-three line pitch to be entered into today’s drawings. Seekerville is giving away the following seven bundles of Love Inspired, Love Inspired Suspense and Love Inspired Historical books: 

Georgia Sweethearts, by Missy Tippens 
Yuletide Hearts, by Ruth Logan Herne 
Noah's Sweetheart, by Rebecca Kertz 

Mending the Doctor's Heart, by Tina Radcliffe 
Reunited Hearts, by Ruth Logan Herne 
The Officer’s Secret, by Debby Giusti 

The Bride Wore Spurs, by Janet Dean 
Small-town Hearts, by Ruth Logan Herne 
The Captain’s Mission, by Debby Giusti 

Mended Hearts, by Ruth Logan Herne 
Georgia Sweethearts, by Missy Tippens 
The Colonel’s Daughter, by Debby Giusti 

A Horseman's Hope, by Myra Johnson 
A Family to Cherish, by Ruth Logan Herne 
Baby in His Arms, by Linda Goodnight 

His Mistletoe Family, by Ruth Logan Herne 
Montana Wrangler, by Charlotte Carter 
A Canyon Springs Courtship, by Glynna Kaye

The Lawman's Second Chance, by Ruth Logan Herne
A Canyon Springs Courtship, by Glynna Kaye
The Bride Wore Spurs, by Janet Dean

The coffee's hot and the breakfast bar is open. This morning, we're serving scrambled eggs, hash browns, fruit, pastries, muffins, and grits. Enjoy!