Ask Annie: Pitching Your Story

On the first Friday of each month, Novelista Annie Burrows will be drawing a question out of the jar where we've been putting all the questions about the writing process posed by readers –

This month, the question is...

What are the differences between pitches?
For your book?
Elevator pitch, etc.

Annie's reply:

Elevator pitch?  Oh, yes, I’ve heard of them.  That’s when you go to a conference, and stalk an agent until she gets into an elevator (or a lift as we say in the UK) then jump in after her and rapidly tell her all about your book and why you should buy it before she manages to escape at her floor.

I’ve never tried one of those.  I have a sneaking suspicion that if I attempted one, the agent would not only not want to buy my book, but may never look favourably on anything I attempted to submit in future, either.

But then I’ve never managed to get an agent, no matter what I submitted, or how.  Instead, I kept on submitting first chapters to Mills & Boon, until eventually I’d learned to write well enough for them to ask to read the rest of the story, and then, when I’d done the few revisions they requested, offered me a contract.

For subsequent books, I’ve had to submit synopses for any new stories I wanted to write for them, before I start work on the story itself.  Which is a form of “making a pitch.”

And I’ve got to admit, it’s a process that I dread.  How can I condense all the twists and turns that my protagonists will go through before they reach their happy ever after, in the two pages that seem to be what writing gurus tell us is what we should be sending?  How can I make the characters come to life in so short a time?  How, in short, can I persuade the editorial and marketing teams that I have an idea that will turn into a story that lots and lots of people will enjoy reading?

Most of the time, my lovely editors give me the benefit of the doubt after reading the brief outline, containing the protagonists motivation, the rough idea of how I’m going to get them together, tangle them up, then bring them through to their happy-ever-after.  I’ve only had one or two story proposals rejected when I’ve pitched them.

But last year, I pitched ideas for a full length story, and a novella, and the team came back with the offer of a 4 book contract.  Which was rather worrying, since I didn’t have ideas for another two stories.  Only vague scenarios, a couple of characters I thought would be interesting to work with, and one opening scene.  So I owned up to my editor at the time, and she volunteered to have a brainstorming session with me.  From that lunchtime session, we hammered out a series of three books with linked heroes, who are each on the trail of a criminal and come across their heroines in their pursuit of him (or her).  I then came home and wrote out a synopsis for each story, as well as the over arching story that runs through all three books, and a trilogy was born!

Book 1 will be out in August/September, under the title “The Major Meets His Match”, and I’m in the process of writing the second of the trilogy.

So…pitching books?  In my experience, it’s different for every book, every editor, and every contract I’ve had.

One thing I do know, though, I am far too diffident to ever pin an agent into the wall of an elevator until I’ve told them all about my latest brilliant idea!

If you can't wait until August to read the first of that trilogy Annie was telling us about, look out for "The Debutante's Daring Proposal" which will be out in the UK, US, and Australia in June.

NCW Graduate Fair 2016 - Part 2: Pitching to Agents by Sophie Claire

On Friday, Sophie Claire and Louise Marley attended the National Creative Writing Graduate Fair at Manchester Metropolitan University. Organised by Comma Press and The Manchester Writing School, there were panels and workshops on a variety of subjects, AND the chance to pitch to a literary agent!

In this post, Sophie shares her experience of pitching to two literary agents.

Pitching One to One:

I must admit, I couldn’t concentrate on the talks and workshops (which Louise blogged about here) because I was so nervous about pitching to agents! I've never pitched 'live' before, so I spent the morning rehearsing in my mind what I wanted to say and trying to anticipate questions the agents might ask. Which was a shame because there were several workshops which looked good – for example,  perfecting your elevator pitch and using social media to support your writing career.

Those of us who chose to pitch to agents were each given two slots – 15 minutes each – with an agent relevant to our genre. It all looked a little intimidating: rows of tables laid out as for school exams, and an organiser blowing her whistle to signal when the 15 minute slots were over. But it turned out that my agent meetings weren’t half as terrifying as I’d expected. Agents are human, after all, and I got the impression I wasn’t the first nervous writer they’d had to deal with! 

So what did we talk about? We discussed my French ancestry and how I draw on this in my writing. We also talked about why I use a pseudonym, what agents are looking for at the moment (they don’t always know until they find it, a compelling hook, voice, heart), and our shared admiration for Jojo Moyes’ books.

I took written copies of my pitch because I tend to muddle my words when I’m nervous, and one agent reassured me that an author isn’t often – if ever – required to pitch their work verbally, and these things are usually done in writing. The only question which I found tricky was ‘sum up the plot for me’. Yikes! I wish I’d answered this more concisely and not missed out some key elements.

When it comes to preparing a pitch for your book, the main thing I took away with me was to look at the blurbs and covers of books in your genre and learn how to tempt your potential reader into wanting to read your book. There are key words and questions in each genre, and common hooks which readers seek out. For example, in psychological thrillers, questions often revolve around ‘Can the protagonist stay alive/solve the puzzle before time runs out?’ (I noticed a lot of fellow writers were working on psychological thrillers). Also, a pitch isn’t about condensing your plot into two lines; it’s about setting up the story, then throwing in a point of intrigue to make the reader want to know more. Here’s a condensed version of the blurb for Paula Hawkins’ Girl On The Train to illustrate:

Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses …

And then she sees something shocking.

Approaching an Agent:

We were told several times throughout the day how important the cover letter is when an agent receives your submission, and the key points for a successful one are:

a) Tailor your submission to that agent. Tell them why you’ve chosen to approach them specifically (eg you think your book would fit with their client list, or you've heard they’re looking out for the type of book you’ve written)

b) A concise and compelling hook, which makes them want to read your book

c) Put yourself in their shoes – if they like your book, what will they need to sell it to a publisher? The hook we’ve already mentioned, but also a unique feature which makes your book different from the rest, a description of where it fits in the market (eg: name other books in the same category) or who your potential readers are 

d) Keep it short and relevant.

In Summary:

Chatting to other writers on the day made me realise that we were all nervous about pitching, but I'm so glad I took this opportunity. It was a rare chance to get feedback on my pitch, to make a personal connection with the agents, and to learn more about the business side of publishing.

Have you ever 'live pitched' to an agent? What was your experience like? 

Sophie.x 

Links:

The National Creative Writing Graduate Fair

Comma Press
The Manchester Writing School
Manchester Metropolitan University

Related Posts:

NCW Graduate Fair  2016 - Part 1: Panels & Talks by Louise Marley

How Not to Submit to a Literary Agent by Sophie Claire

Manchester LitFest 2015 by Sophie Claire

Writing: Getting Serious by Louise Marley

Pitching to Agents and Publishers at the RNA Conference 2014 by Sophie Claire

This wasn’t my first conference, but it was definitely the scariest! 

This year I had three appointments with publishers and agents to pitch my work: one finished novel and one which still needs a bit of work. I was asked to send in my work beforehand – most wanted a chapter and synopsis – and I must confess that, waiting for the first appointment, I was a bag of nerves.

What if they asked me to give an elevator pitch (when you condense the premise of your book into one line, exciting enough to intrigue a jaded publisher)? Or asked me a question I couldn’t answer and I made a fool of myself? It felt like I was preparing for a job interview. However, I know it’s invaluable to get feedback from industry professionals, and these ten-minute appointments are like gold dust.

In the end I wasn’t asked to give an elevator pitch, and in fact we had some really interesting discussions. One publisher asked what I knew about them, which was fine because I’d done my research on the company, listened to an online interview with the company’s Managing Director, and a very kind friend who is published with them had spent 30 minutes on the phone telling me about her experience of working with them. In another appointment I was asked what had inspired the idea for my novel because it was unusual, and we discussed my characters in more depth. One editor had gone through my sample chapter with a red pen and asked me to check some finer points, like the legalities of a quick divorce in the UK. 

In all my appointments I could see the agents/publishers assessing not only my writing, but how it would fit in the market – they were looking for themes and topics which are current, or a setting which is a little different from the ordinary. This is the business side of writing, which we authors don’t always consider, but it can’t be ignored and perhaps it’s of particular interest to me because I used to work in Marketing.

Another important subject – it came up twice! – was the importance of writing novels which are consistent in terms of genre or style. Readers want to know what they’re buying when they pick up a book, and they don’t like nasty surprises! So there’s a fine line to be observed between not churning out the same story over and over again, but not writing wildly different books with no unifying element either.

Sophie Claire and Sophie King

If authors do write across genres, and I believe this is happening more and more as self-publishing allows authors the freedom to experiment, one solution is to use a pseudonym. Or, in the case of Sophie King (aka Janey Fraser and Jane Bidder), several pseudonyms!

You might remember that one of my short stories came 3^rd in the Sophie King Prize earlier this year, and another highlight of the conference for me was to meet Sophie King in person for the first time. 

It’s always exciting to be in the company of established writers like Katie Fforde, and there were some interesting panel discussions at the conference this year, including this one about The Future for Romantic Fiction. 

Katie Fforde (left) in panel discussion

I was really sorry to have to leave the conference early for a family holiday. But before I vanished, there was time for an evening of glamour:



Dressed up for the gala dinner