Tuesday, August 30, 2016

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... ;-)

8 comments:

  1. Sounds good to me, but what do I know? I need to start my in person pitch. Surrey isn't that far away.

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  2. You worked hard on this, Zan Marie, and it shows. Nice work!!>

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  3. Sara, I'll see you at Surrey!!! And you're right--it's time to get ready. Since I've used this already to good effect, I'll use it again.

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  4. Thanks for reading all the drafts, Cathy!

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  5. Zan Marie,

    It's a great pitch. Good for you! I'm still struggling with a logline.

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  6. Thanks, Rose! it's so hard to pare it down this tight. The in-person pitch was three sentences. The query, not much more. Taking a 76,000 word manuscript and having to tell it tight is a challenge, but a necessary one.

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  7. Hope you get to try it out often at Surrey!!

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    Replies
    1. I'll try! I can't wait...that's next on my conference agenda.

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