Dumb question about pitch and query's

This is how I understand it.

"Pitch" is a word that's literally applied to short oral spiels about your book. (It comes from "sales pitch," I assume.) But I've also heard people use it to refer to the middle section of queries where the concept of the book is described.

I've been curious about the distinction as well. I'll be watching this thread!

I think of it as the pitch being what you use to get an editor or agent's attention - a one or two sentence summary of the plot. The query is a more fleshed out version, with a few more details.

JMHO

Will Lavender said:

This is how I understand it.

1"Pitch" is a word that's literally applied to short oral spiels about your book. (It comes from "sales pitch," I assume.) But I've also heard people use it to refer to 2 the middle section of queries where the concept of the book is described.

Click to expand...

1. Yes.
2. I've heard that called "the hook."

Yeah, I call it a hook sentence and usually toss right up there in the front of the query. I call it a tag line also, but that is borrowed from screenwriting.

Tri

Nessam, not dumb at all. And your understanding is the same as mine. A query letter includes your "pitch"--the hooky, one or two-paragraph description that describes your novel. But you can also "pitch" to agents verbally. (Often called "pitch appointments" at conferences.)

I think the best distinction is the one a particular editor makes -- they may call the same thing a pitch, query, hook, outline, summary, or any other esoteric term. If you aren't sure exactly what they want based on their descriptions or requests, I wouldn't take the chance -- a quick call or email can solve the mystery. Also, I haven't come across too many editors that are really nit-picky about exactly how you present an initial idea, so long as you do have all the important elements present.