Pitchfest Writer’s Guidelines

Last week I attended the AHCJ writers conference “Pitchfest” and handed out this one-page overview to prospective authors. (Disclaimer: I pulled this together at midnight the night before and was half-asleep, and I MAY SEEM LIKE I’M YELLING, but it still distills key points to hone your pitch to an agent & publisher.)

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Susan Raihofer/ David Black Literary Agency/www.susanraihofer.com/ twitter @sraihofer

After nearly two decades as an agent, I’ve heard thousands of pitches (and have survived). I do believe anything is possible. But in today’s challenging publishing economy, you need heavy doses of talent and determination, along with some basic tools, to find representation and a book deal. Whether it’s a health/science proposal or a celebrity memoir or a practical sex book, my advice is the same.

What I am looking in a non-fiction pitch:

1. PLATFORM:
Are you an expert in the field?
Cross promotional marketing opportunities?
Contacts for advance praise/blurbs?
Contacts throughout the media?
Successful blog, twitter following, facebook, etc.?
Do you give talks/lectures regularly?

2. AN EXCELLENT IDEA–a high concept, excellent writing, something that can hook a major mainstream audience and has tie-in promotion

3. TRACK RECORD:
Have you published a book before? If so, what’s the sales track record–everyone in the business has access to this info through Bookscan; it’s the first thing an editor looks at when considering a book proposal. Track record needs to be overcome creatively when pitching why this book is a departure from previous book (and its track record).

OTHER tips from agent to writer:

TITLE/SUBTITLE: please…you need a spectacular title and subtitle (I have taken on projects based on phenomenal, succinct titles that also had a strong platform connected to them.) A BAD TITLE can also kill it. (I think: can I hear myself saying this to an editor and hear his/her instant enthusiasm??) The title should hook reader and tell us about content/audience/narrative arc of the book.

CATEGORY: The book needs to specifically fit into a particular, SUCCESSFUL mainstream genre (ie, don’t pitch me a chick-lit novel; look up NYT article on the death of chick-lit). You should know exactly who your book buyer is–you must clearly envision this person and know what category it belongs in.

WRITING: can no longer be just ‘good’ to find an agent and publisher. GOOD and GREAT will not suffice. It needs to be elevated (think U2!), impressive, extraordinary. You know it when you see it. Think: when several agents read this they will ALL want to represent. (I always wonder: do I HAVE TO represent this? A ‘maybe’ is a ‘no.’)

DO YOUR HOMEWORK: research agent, publisher. Know the kinds of books they work on. Don’t pitch me a kids book or a graphic novel, for instance. That will irritate me and make me lose my trust in you and instantly delete.

SUBSCRIBE/follow Publisher’s Lunch/publishersmarketplace.com, PW, various agents/editors on Twitter, blogs; study the bestseller lists, see what’s working, etc.

ADVANCE PRAISE/advance blurbs from authors of note are a big selling tool; if possible you should have advance blurbs ready at the time of selling a book to publishers. Through contacts, can you have commitments from magazines, tv, radio–to do a story or have you on show at time of book release?

PROPOSAL: boiled down in one line, should include: Introduction, Outline, First two chapters, Overview, Books In Market/comp titles, Marketing (including all fabulous social media stuff you’re doing), Bio

WRITE 1 paragraph pitch, ie, flap copy to summarize book idea–can include in proposal or just have to help focus idea.

IS YOUR BOOK worthy of a book length narrative? Would someone pay $25 (or even $12 in paperback…or $7.99 as an e-book?) for this…or is it just a magazine article?

IT’S EASIER for a prospective agent (or prospective editor) to SAY NO.

EDITORS will not buy a book because a proposal is well-written or a great idea. That’s not enough. They want a sure thing and NO RISK.

IN A QUERY letter, I don’t need a lot of background, just a succinct description of the idea. But MAINLY I want to hear about your major platform and cross-promotional selling points along with the high concept.

**As for query letters: unless you have been REFERRED by someone (in which case, put that in the SUBJECT LINE of your email), I do not respond to queries. I look at everything that gets emailed to me, and we have readers reviewing what’s mailed in, but time does not exist for me to have a one-on-one dialogue with every query letter that’s submitted. Highlight your REFERRAL and your platform in the query. That will get my attention and then I’ll look at your idea.