You’ve just completed a fabulous novel with characters that sizzle and a plot with just the right amount of twists and turns. Now comes that hard part, you have to pitch your story to an agent. The agent is that person who takes it to a publisher and turns it into a best seller where you make millions. Not so, ask the thousands of writers who are waiting to be published.
I signed up for the East of Eden Writers Conference this September as a learning experience but also a great opportunity to meet authors, agents, and publishers. Each writer has the opportunity to pitch to as many agents as they feel fit their genre. This being my first time at bat, I hadn’t a clue how to pitch to an agent. So, I decided to attend the South Bay Writers Group pitch workshop on Saturday, along with several fellow writers, in search of the perfect pitch. We’re not talking about music, but how to wow an agent into reading your novel.
So glad I did because I think I may have saved myself a lot of embarrassment. One of the most important aspect that I came away with is give a straightforward summary and don’t ramble on reciting your synopsis. The agent only wants to hear the arc of the story. The summary should be about 25 words that contain main character(s), plot or theme, motivation, setting, and time period. Sounds simple but if you have a very complex story line it can be a daunting task.
There is a fair amount of luck involved in getting published but more so through perseverance. So to my fellow writers, keep on trying. There’s an agent out there waiting for you.