Pitching Advice

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Miriel

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I run the pitch room for my conference and have done it for about 6 or so years. These are some do's and don'ts of pitch sessions.

Make sure your book is completed, and that you are pitching a book. We've had people try to pitch three chapters and short stories.

When you pick your agents, make sure that they represent the genre you're writing in. We had people who couldn't find a second agent who repped their genre, so they picked a second one who didn't, figuring she'd listen to their pitch anyway. The agents turned them away.

Once you get your agents reserved and the times, print a copy of the schedule for yourself. We had someone who didn't bring her information, went to the reception desk to get it, and either got it wrong from the volunteer or wrote it down wrong. If you have the schedule in hand, you can refer to it easily.

Wear a watch. And, if necessary, set the alarm and then show up for your pitch session early. Seriously. We had a lot of people show up late because they literally weren't paying attention to the time. In most cases, they were lucky, and the agent saw them anyway. But one fellow showed up 30 minutes later, and the agent was gone.

Dress nice, but in clothes you are comfortable with. Meaning that you can do jeans if they look nice, and you don't have to do a suit unless you want to. Your favorite colors are encouraged if they make you feel lucky or comfortable!

Bring a notepad and a couple of pens. When I pitched this last time, the agents told me what they wanted, and I wrote it down on my notepad. Do have your synopsis and first 3 chapters handy, but expect the agents to ask you to email it to them.

Don't sabotage yourself. We're big on staying on time at our conference, and we get the writers in and out. We tell them if the agent is still with someone just to get in the agent's sightline. Usually the agent breaks when the writer does that. Sometimes the agent doesn't, and we work around that. But we had one guy who literally hid in a corner because he didn't want to bother the agent. He was so well hidden, he was five minutes into his ten minute session before we noticed--and he still refused to "bother" the agent. I had to march him over so he would get his turn. And once the agent saw him, she stopped her session and went right to his.

Always, always, always, smile and be polite, even if the agent doesn't rep your work. If you meet an agent outside your genre, they will likely still ask you what you're working on, and you can practice your pitch. Maybe you'll even get a name from the agent on who to send it to.

Don't try to sneak into the sessions. Every year, it seems like we have one person who creates a bad impression because he wants to get over. One guy showed up early for his pitch session, then wanted to hang around for his next pitch session. We told him he needed to go check in, which he did. After he finished that pitch session, he wanted to go see an agent he claimed he had the next pitch session with (he was lying). We told him to go check in again, and he kept trying to wheedle a session out. The agent was on a break, checking her email, and he kept going, "But she's not doing anything. Why can't I see her?" Every time we get one of these guys, we tell the conference coordinator. We usually don't see these people at the next conference.

If you require any special accomodations, tell the conference people when you schedule the pitch and see if they can schedule (if you have more than one) pitch sessions together. Last year, we had one woman on a walker, and her pitch sessions were more than half an hour apart. We let her sit at a table so she wouldn't have to go back upstairs.

Finally, don't be nervous--or at least don't make yourself more nervous about worrying. Agents are generally nice people and will understand that it's a nerve-wracking experience. To give you an idea of what we see, when it was time for the woman on the walker to do her pitch, the agent hopped up and went to see her.

This was very helpful to me -- thanks!
 

jonaki

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OMG I devoured every bit of advice here. I have a month to get my pitch act together. Is anyone going to the SF Writers Conference on Feb 18-20? Maybe we can buddy up and practice our pitches on each other?
 

yorkshirelass

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Great advice - all of it - thank you. I am attending my first pitch in three days' time. Have memorized my pitch, business cards in hand, flash drive in pocket, query letter and first chapter printed out. Now, all I have to remember is my name!! Maybe see some of you there (Writer's Digest conference, NYC)??
 

Procrastinista

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Sort out your hook. In just a few sentences lay down the foundation of your story and then say your hook. And most important. Stop talking. Let the agent ask questions. Answer succinctly.

I've followed this practice for about six agents and they've all asked for partials or fulls.
 
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