Pitching Report

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I think this is one of the hardest lessons of writing. No matter how hard you work, write, edit, and polish, there's another step to go on the long list of to-do's for hunting agents. You need to following:

• log line or pitch--also known as an elevator pitch--no more than fifty words
• short pitch for conference pitches in person--usually about 3 sentences
• query
• synopsis of varying lengths
• outlines as requested (even if you don't write from an outline)
• snips from the manuscript of varying lengths

In the interest of feedback, here's my elevator pitch for MOTHER'S DAY. What do you think? Would you want to read this book?

A retired teacher, childless and recently widowed, defies her narrow-minded family and her small Southern town when she opens her home to an abused twelve-year old, little realizing that the girl is the key to long-buried family secrets.

Next Week: IWSG--I'm back... ;-)

Vision

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Vision has been on my mind lately. After two cataract surgeries in two weeks of each other this July, it's no wonder. My dominant eye is now my distance focus and it's happy with anything that's a few feet to any distance. My weaker eye is my close focus--reading. If you've followed my blog at all, you know reading is key to my happiness. My brain is still figuring out how to shift from one focus to another and how to blend them to create depth perception. I'll be honest, the lag of my brain getting the message is a bit disconcerting.

But, I'm getting there. The journey has me thinking about visual detail and how to use it better to draw my readers into the scene. My characters' view points matter. What Laura Grace sees in a home or garden would be very different from Mack. Or Rosemary.

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Diana Gabaldon describes using the close and far views to draw readers into what she wants them to see. I like that idea. Now, I need to use my personal experience to utilize visual details more effectively.

What about you? How do you use the visual detail in life or your writing?

Next Week: Pitching Report

August Links

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Jane Friedman offers "5 Steps to a Killer Book Talk." Now, we know what we have to do once we have a book to talk about.

And here's good link for about copyright myths: "'Busting' Some Popular Copyright Myths" by Susan Spann.

I don't know about the rest of you, but setting is one of my weakest points, so I really enjoyed Becca Puglisi's "4 Ways to Choose the Right Story Setting."

Chuck Sambuchino offers up "10 Tips on Landing an Agent at a Writers' Conference."

And just when you want to be proud of your accomplishments, Emily Ross warns about "The Seven Deadly Sins of Debuts."

You won't look at genre the same after reading "Ursula K. Le Guin talks to Michael Cunningham about genres, gender, and broadening ficiton."

Ruthanne Reid gives us "All About Commas."

Of course, you knew this already--"Can Reading Make You Smarter" by Ceridwen Dovey.

I dare you not to laugh: "What I've Learned About Heterosexual Female Desire From Decades of Reading" by Mallory Ortberg is the perfect place to end this link list. ;-)

The Book Pusher's August Mini Book Reviews: V. Diffenbaugh, J. Kibler, C. Martin, P. McLinn

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THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS Vanessa Diffenbaugh: Women's Fiction

 An amazing journey of a foster child into love, loss, and growing up with all of life seemingly against her. Her one solace gives her a voice--flowers and their meanings. This is an absolutely must read.

CALLING ME HOME Julie Kibler: Women's Fiction

A poignant story of love and loss, and what we sacrifice for both. Calling Me Home is a deep, enriching story that shows racism in all its facets, but also tells how love can heal. The lovely characters live and will steal your heart. Must Read!

THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN US Charles Martin: Suspense

The Mountain Between Us is an amazing testament to enduring love and the stamina and faith required to maintain it. Must Read

SHOOT FIRST Patricia McLinn: Mystery (Caught Dead Wyoming #3)

McLinn continues her charming mystery series with another twisty story.




Next Week: August Links!